Company profile

With 38 separate health insurance companies and organizations spread throughout the United States, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a very large organization. When combined, these companies and organizations either indirectly or directly insure nearly 100 million citizens of the country. Blue Cross Blue Shield is comprised of two merged companies. Blue Shield originated in 1939, while Blue Cross dates back to 1929. The two companies merged in 1982, creating what we now know as the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Business situation

Blue Cross Blue Shield has over 80 million patient histories. Getting this information into a readable, recognizable format is important. It is also crucial to be able to analyze data and clinical practices. It can be very expensive to get a database with the information needed.

Technical situation

Though there are data warehouses, databases, and even data marts, it is very difficult to get all of the information together. It is likely that most large healthcare organizations have one of these data pools, however most mid-to-small companies do not. On top of that, some of these companies have many different data centers. Getting all of the information stored in useful information, in an easy to access spot can help every part of the healthcare industry.

Solution

Using a SharePoint Workflow platform, users are able to collaborate and enter data that is needed. Documents can be saved and digitized. Reports can also be generated with statistics and other information that is needed. With options for multiple users from different facilities, SharePoint could quickly and easily combine the patient profiles that are needed.

Benefits

With the availability of profiles and data, Blue Cross Blue Shield will be able to quickly and effectively make reports. On top of that, studies that need to be done will have the information they need. Clinical practices are viewable by users, allowing them to review the data. Patient histories will be available with a quick search. This will allow Blue Cross Blue Shield to view patterns of insurance claims, health issues of patients, and more.

Company profile

With over 3,600 employees and 60 offices through the nation, HNTB provides a range of civil engineering, architecture, construction, and planning services. HNTB is also ranked as one of the top 20 architectural and engineering firms in the United States. The company has been around for nearly 100 years, and in the early 1900s the first modern turnpike was designed by the engineers at HNTB. Later, the company’s engineers also designed a large portion of the Interstate Highway System.

HNTB started working with the Utah Department of Transportation in 2009 on the I-15 CORE project. This expansion of the I-15 roadways cost approximately $1.8 billion. The project added two extra southbound and northbound lanes from Provo, Utah to American Fork, Utah. The project also included the reconfiguring of interchanges, extending of the express lane, and the modification or replacement of bridges.

Business situation

Despite various options for specialized construction software, the company felt there was a lack in communication and collaboration within their company systems. This lead to problems between teams. HNTB needed a business application that would solve this and support for their technological systems.

The management needed a product that would help with commitments, oversight, and project requirements. Required processes included reporting, acceptance and verification, and contracting.

The contractors for the project needed a way to communicate with the management as well as collaboration tools. Payment verification, a public information assistance portal, an updated correspondence system, an viewing system for the MOT/Control point notice, document and contract management, and submittal and transmittal tracking needed to be implemented.

Internal project management and scheduling also was lacking. It was necessary to come up with a solution that would help with all of the above projects.

Solution

Because of the all-enveloping solution that was needed, SharePoint Engine was asked to provide a robust solution. This included easy-to-use interfaces, simplified end-user adoption processes, workflows with built-tracking, updated notifications, and empowered business intelligence.

Using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 as a base, SharePoint Engine’s team was able to create and implement these solutions. Custom workflows were created to help management and teams. Dashboards and reporting were important for the executive teams. A portal for communication, collaboration, and document management was also introduced.

Using the Quality Matters! Verification Management System, the project was started. This helped the auditing process become quickly and easily streamlined and automated. Business users were able to create real-time reporting as well as dashboards based on the information captured. Workflows were created to meet the very specific needs of support, contractors, and more. More than 25 workflows were built.

Benefits

The project allowed HNTB and UDOT to achieve a substantial increase in overall efficiency. Many of the manual processes that were cumbersome were eliminated. Previous procedures for communication and verifications took up to several days, while the new system allowed completion within minutes.

Even when in the field, managers and engineers were able to synchronize their processes. This helped the teams’ performance and reduced inter-team conflict. Team were also able to quickly find the most up-to-date information on project status and company communications.

Audits and quality assurance have become easier in the new system. There had been no tracking system in place for many core project elements. The SharePoint system allowed real-time insights and reporting into all key project factors. Monthly reporting became possible and is now a part of regular company procedures. In-depth project reporting became immediately available to the organization's executives.

Company profile

For over 15 years, South Jersey Healthcare has been serving its community. This leading healthcare provider is a non-profit health care organization. Though the facility has not been around as long as others, South Jersey Healthcare can trace its roots back to 1898, when the doors of Bridgeton Hospital first opened.

Business situation

South Jersey Healthcare has shown a lack of efficiency. The executives at this facility have reported many areas that needed to be improved. These included setting timelines, ensuring the hospital is growing at a good, yet sustainable rate, and hitting fundraising goals. It was virtually impossible to track requests. Because of the process requests underwent, no one could tell whether a request was just stared or nearly through the process. The efficiency was extremely sub-par. After data was entered on paper forms, it was then recorded into an Excel spreadsheet. At times, this information stopped other places along the way – for example, it may need to be reviewed by someone else at the facility before being entered. Even extremely important items, such as funds forecasting and expenditures would go through similarly extensive and redundant steps. Since this non-profit organization had nearly 1,000 requests each year, it is easy to see where a system that is based in paper forms would not work. Not only were users of this system unable to predict what was just around the corner or further in the future, they were unable to have access to the information on the forms when needed.

Solution

Using the SharePoint Workflow platform, a workflow solution was developed. This business process made the organization much more efficient. In fact, with easy collaboration and effective content management capabilities, users could quickly and easily get the information they needed.

Benefits

Not only has the management at South Jersey Healthcare received exceedingly high reviews from other departments, they have also received praise from the directors of the facility. The modern, advanced system is extremely efficient. There has been a significant reduction in the cost of document management. On top of that, turnaround times have been slashed. This new system has saved the company a huge amount of money and time. Even this, though is only phase one of the project. The internal team at South Jersey Healthcare is now looking forward to the next step of the process. They plan to automate emails, as well as introduce faxing and scanning integration in their SharePoint solution. This will continue to save the company time and money, as well as resources. Another benefit of this program is that they are now about to make better decisions when it comes to the company’s finances. The financial data that they have almost immediately helps in the decision making process. Real-time reporting makes all the difference in being able to forecast the financial well-being of the organization. The search functions available on SharePoint also allow the employees to find the information they need quickly. When looking for a financial report, or trying to get statistics, the information is readily available. This was impossible previously. It could take days to find information that was needed.

Company profile

FINRA, otherwise known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for security firms in the U.S. FINRA makes sure that the securities industry is fair and honest to America’s investors. Overseeing 4,380 brokerage firms, 162,845 branch offices, and 629,640 securities representatives as of 2012, FINRA is dedicated to the protection of investors. Operating from Washington, DC and New York, NY, as well as 20 regional offices throughout the country, FINRA employs approximately 3,300 people.

Business situation

FINRA was in need of quality SharePoint consultants. Not only had they tried hiring independently, they had also using multiple staffing agencies. The company needs were left unmet. The employees and candidates fond by the company and the staffing agents were unable to complete the required tasks, and some staffing agencies were unable to produce potential employees that had any experience with SharePoint. The difficulties in hiring caused project delays and became visible in company costs.

Solution

When FINRA started working with Knacktek, we were able to successfully fill three positions for them within the first month. The candidates that Knacktek put forward were well-versed in SharePoint and had a love for the job. The employees were also ideal fits for the cultural environment at FINRA, making integration with the company simple and fast.

Because of the quality employees that Knacktek was able to provide, FINRA was able to proceed with their projects and development immediately. By avoiding both hiring costs and fees from multiple staffing agencies, the company was able to improve their bottom line.

Benefits

Knacktek is known for having a large pool of candidates. Because KnackTek has access to a large pool of candidates with a high degree of expertise with SharePoint, FINRA's positions were filled quickly and by appropriate candidates.

As a field, SharePoint development has seen a higher degree of market demand but a smaller pool of available candidates over the last few years. As a result, finding quality SharePoint developers is difficult. Knacktek's capabilities, reputation, and existing pool of candidates allows the company to fill open positions. When working with FINRA, KnackTek was able to demonstrate these capabilities by finding the appropriate candidates after multiple staffing agencies had failed to complete that same task.

Company profile

SharePoint Engine has had the opportunity to work with several major school across the country. Higher education institutions require specialized systems that accomplish administrative tasks, enable improved communications, and provide student-facing and professor-facing online systems.

Major institutions who have worked with SharePoint Engine include Huntington Learning Center (HLC), The Phillips Exeter Academy (PEA), the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), and the Stanford National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).

Business situation

Faculty, students, and staff have expressed frustration with sharing work with each other. Administrative tasks are made more complicated, inter-professor communications are often complicated, and student-to-professor communications through a web interface are often impossible.

With either online or traditional classes, these communications are vital to both the academy's success and the success of the student. The use of multiple tools that don't provide full-service options often leads to professors utilizing their own preferred toolset, which can cause frustrations and confusion for students.

Solution

With a SharePoint solution, higher education facilities are able to facilitate professor-to-professor and student-to-professor communications. Administrative tasks are simplified and additional tracking features allow for powerful reporting for the institution's administrators. Collaborative functionalities have been used at a departmental level to great success.

SharePoint has also been used to create attractive user-facing websites for professors, students, and potential students. The customization features and streamlined user experience allows the institution to present itself effectively on the web.

Benefits

The following key features have been used to great effect:

Search – The search feature in SharePoint allows users to search for one another. This makes finding contact information for teachers, students, and people in other departments much easier than it was in the past.

Wikis – When students need to collaborate on a project, a wiki allows students to add and change any information they need. When putting together a project in a wiki, it is easy to see the revisions that were made, as well as who made them.

Blogs – When it is important to make sure that certain information gets out to students and faculty, a blog is very beneficial. This will allow for regular updating, as well as the ability to review previous information on the blog.

MySites – Teachers or departments can each have their own website through the SharePoint solution. This allows for greater flexibility within the solution.

Educational institutions who have utilized these resources have seen visible increases in both professor and student satisfaction with their online systems.