ATSG News
ATSG Launches Construction Quality Manager® Release 2.0
New Capability to Capture Root Cause of Quality Issues Available.
ATSG’s Application For BlackBerry® Helps Win 2005 National Housing Quality GOLD Award for Grayson Homes
WIRELESS ENTERPRISE SYMPOSIUM – Orlando, FL, April 18, 2005 – Grayson Homes, headquartered in Ellicott City, Maryland, and Advance Technologies Support Group, Inc. (ATSG) of Owings Mills, announced that ATSG’s Construction Quality Manager (CQM) was a key element in Grayson achieving the 2005 National Housing Quality (NHQ) Gold Award, a prestigious recognition of Grayson’s quality assurance program. CQM, a full function mobile application built for the BlackBerry wireless platform, and powered by Microsoft and Flowfinity software, enabled Grayson to increase efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness to customers in their home inspection process. John Heinz, president of ATSG, made the announcement.
Using the BlackBerry Mobile Data Service™ feature of BlackBerry Enterprise Server™, construction information is wirelessly pushed to the handheld any time the central database is changed. As the construction supervisor enters data on the BlackBerry handheld, updates are sent wirelessly to the central server where the database is updated. Whether supervisors are in or out of wireless coverage, they can use CQM to capture and update project status data. All updates are automatically sent to the server as soon as the user returns to an area with wireless coverage.
The system operates on the BlackBerry wireless platform from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) and uses BlackBerry Enterprise Server to deploy Construction Quality Manager®, an out-of-the-box solution created by ATSG for BlackBerry. This robust interactive wireless solution enhances a field supervisor’s ability to track, manage and resolve construction defects in the field from their BlackBerry handheld. It also provides a database and management reporting system that provides Grayson Homes with a comprehensive view of its business. The application uses the Flowfinity Solutions Platform to provide an easy-to-use user interface on the handheld, integration with Microsoft's .NET platform and to support reliable mobile workflow. Flowfinity Solutions Platform technology is useful for extending an existing application to BlackBerry wireless devices. It is based on existing industry standards and enables application developers to leverage their existing tools for creating applications for BlackBerry.
“We were looking for a way to use technology to help our supervisors do their jobs more efficiently,” said Ron Swecker, Director of Home Building at Grayson Homes. “ATSG captured our requirements with a customized solution specifically for the construction industry. We benefit from the all-in-one functionality of CQM in that we now have a BlackBerry handheld with e-mail, calendaring, phone, Web browsing and a quality management system in one device, which has made us more efficient and responsive to our customers.”
CQM Release 2.0: Provides new capabilities, including the ability to wirelessly capture the “root cause” of quality issues. New reports and reporting options have been added, and administrative functions have been enhanced. With this new release, builders gain additional insight into their building process. This increases the value of CQM further enabling builders to manage quality and improve productivity with their sub-trades.
About ATSG: ATSG is a full service BlackBerry® integrator, collaborating with customers, carriers and other RIM ISV partners to create new business applications or extend the availability of existing systems to the BlackBerry platform. Founded in 1994 and based in Owings Mills, Maryland, ATSG services include handheld and software provisioning, planning, deployment, application development, project management, help-desk, technical support, and hosting. For more information, visit www.atsgi.com
About Grayson Homes: For 29 years, Grayson Homes has been building homes and communities of enduring value… providing customers, employees and trades with experiences that exceed expectations and improve quality of life. Its success is directly attributable to the work ethic and expertise of its craftsmen, the quality of materials used, and the prime land chosen. Today, nearly 3,000 families throughout the Baltimore/Washington region come home to Grayson. www.GraysonHomes.com
About Research In Motion (RIM): Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.
About Flowfinity Wireless Inc: Flowfinity Wireless is a leading provider of wireless application products and platforms. Flowfinity’s platform technology leverages Microsoft .NET and the unique capabilities of the BlackBerry platform to provide a unique blend of integrated innovation for Independent Software Vendors and Systems Integrators. Reach Flowfinity Wireless at www.flowfinity.com.
Media Contacts:
CCG Public Relations (for ATSG) ATSG Contact
Gwyn Walcoff
+1 (410) 224-9737
gwyn@ccgpublicrelations.com
John Heinz, President
+1 (410) 654-9595
john.Heinz@atsgi.com
For sample demonstration of Construction Quality Manager, visit www.atsgi.com