In many industries, paper-based processes can hinder operational efficiencies and increase risk of lost or inaccurate data. Equipment inspections in the Oil & Gas industry are no exception. One company used hyperautomation—the use of multiple automation tools across a business process to achieve end-to-end efficiencies—to digitize their equipment inspection process, and do so with systems located both inside and outside the firewall.
The Challenge
Many companies have data warehouses where digital assets such as documents, reports, and imagery are stored. For security measures, some companies deploy such data warehouses behind strict firewalls with no connection to any other application beyond their firewall. This creates a challenge for companies that are trying to automate manual processes involving people and systems both inside and outside the firewall, yet are obligated to comply with strict security policies.
An Oil & Gas industry provider had a manual process in place that required equipment inspectors to fill out handwritten paper-based inspection forms and submit those forms in job packets. Information from the job packets was manually entered into their on-premise document management system. This manual process was not only time consuming, but the job packets would sometimes get lost or misplaced along with other manual processes. This added labor costs to the company in reinspecting parts due to missing reports, prolonging shipment of the equipment to its destination.
The Solution: Hyperautomation
To improve productivity and efficiency, the company needed to build a web-based automation solution while complying with a strict firewall policy for their on-premises data warehouse system. Enter hyperautomation, which can help automate operational processes for accurate, efficient, and compliant data entry, while complying with security protocols.
The Oil & Gas provider built out a hyperautomation solution using Nintex Automation Cloud and Nintex RPA. The workflow starts with a centralized form that inspectors fill out upon inspecting industrial equipment. The workflow then executes checks and balances with multiple cross-functional teams and ultimately creates the approved document using Nintex DocGen and stores the document in an on-premises SharePoint site. The workflow then starts a Nintex RPA action, kicking off a botflow behind the firewall. The botflow moves the documents from SharePoint to the on-premises data warehouse.
The company also applied this hyperautomation solution to other areas of the business. Within Finance, an automated Purchase Order process is used, where all Suppliers are required to use a Nintex Form to kick off a similar hyperautomation solution. Here as well, a single Nintex workflow is used in conjunction with Nintex DocGen and Nintex RPA to complete the process, starting with an online form in the cloud and ending with generated documents stored in an on-premises data warehouse application behind a firewall. Using the Nintex Process Platform, the company brought together workflow, RPA botflow, and document generation to deliver a seamless end-to-end solution for its users.
Benefits Realized
The company experienced exponential operational efficiency as a paper-based process was replaced by a centralized, automated workflow and botflow, giving time back to inspectors. They slashed the time spent on inspections by 50% and reduced costs due to lost reporting by nearly 80%. Their suppliers and customers also benefited from this new digitally transformed process, with faster order fulfillment and improved customer satisfaction scores.
Conclusion:
Hyperautomation can help organizations like this one leverage multiple automation technologies, on-premises and in the cloud, to improve employee productivity and efficiency, reduce operational costs, and improve margins.. Through hyperautomation companies can leverage automation to streamline their operations and, ultimately, provide superior experience for both employees and customers.
To learn how to digitally transform your processes through hyperautomation, visit Nintex.com.
Nintex RPA action in NAC
