Automation (NSW, Australia)
PHN – Internal Automation App
Pacific Hydraulics Newcastle (phn.net.au) relied heavily on manual processes to manage projects, timesheets, and reporting—often juggling spreadsheets, whiteboards, and paperwork. I designed and developed a custom internal web app to fully automate these workflows. The app integrates directly with their finance system and project files app, pulling and syncing data automatically. It tracks job statuses, team allocations, timesheet entries, and cost estimates in real time—making it easy for both staff and management to stay on top of operations. Built with export-ready reports and role-specific dashboards, the app eliminated redundant admin work, sped up reporting, and gave the team a single source of truth. It’s now used daily across departments and continues to save hours of manual effort every week.
Overview
Manual Workflow Bottlenecks: Staff heavily relied on paper documents and Excel files for internal processes leading to delays, errors, and double-handling.
No Real-Time Visibility: Management couldn’t easily monitor job progress, time allocations, or cost estimates across multiple works.
Disconnected Systems: Project files, finance data, and job info were stored separately, requiring manual updates across platforms.
Developed a custom web app tailored to PHN’s internal operations—centralizing project tracking, staff timesheets, and job costing.
Integrated with their finance and project file systems, enabling real-time syncing and eliminating manual data entry.
Implemented automated reporting and export features, making it easy to generate accurate timesheet summaries, cost breakdowns, and project status reports.
Rolled out in phases, with ongoing support and feedback loops to ensure smooth adoption.
Research
Functional and Minimal UI: Focused on usability—clean layouts, clear tables, and logical grouping of features to reduce the learning curve.
Visual Job Tracking: Included status indicators, filters, and sorting to help staff quickly see job priority and progress.
Export-Ready Views: Every key screen included options to export data to CSV or PDF, aligned with PHN’s workflow needs.
Design
The research focused on understanding:
How jobs were tracked, assigned, and updated
Where data was duplicated across systems
What reports were needed, how often, and by whom
The comfort level of different team members with digital tool
Results
⏱️ 1. Saved 10+ Hours of Admin Work Weekly
Automated data syncing significantly reduced manual input and double-handling across teams.
📊 2. Full Visibility Across Projects
Managers now have a real-time view of job statuses.
✅ 3. Adopted Company-Wide
The app is now a core tool used daily by PHN staff across departments.
