The Office of Public Works (OPW) is the Irish government agency responsible for the management, maintenance, and preservation of public buildings and historic monuments across Ireland. Managing a diverse portfolio that includes government offices, heritage sites, and national monuments, OPW coordinates inspection and maintenance activities across numerous locations, working with internal teams and external contractors to ensure these valuable assets are properly maintained and preserved for future generations.

OPW's inspection and maintenance operations faced several constraints that limited efficiency and scalability. The existing system was locked to iOS tablets only, which created significant equipment costs and restricted the number of field teams that could be deployed. This device limitation made it expensive to expand inspection coverage or bring additional contractors into the system.

Contractor teams needed to quickly adapt to the inspection system, but complex interfaces often meant extended training periods and ongoing technical support requirements. This slowed down the onboarding of new inspection teams and created dependencies on specialist support staff.

Project timelines were also a concern. Traditional development approaches for field inspection systems typically required months of development, testing, and deployment—time that delayed operational improvements and extended the period before return on investment could be realised.

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Emakin provided OPW with a flexible, low-code inspection and maintenance platform that addressed cost, usability, and deployment challenges.

Device Flexibility and Cost Reduction
Emakin's platform-agnostic architecture eliminated the iOS-only constraint. Field teams can now use a range of devices, including more cost-effective Android tablets and other mobile options. This flexibility significantly reduced equipment costs per inspector and enabled OPW to expand field operations without proportional increases in hardware spending.

Intuitive User Interface
The platform's user-friendly design simplified contractor onboarding. Inspection teams adapted quickly to the system with minimal training, reducing the time from user registration to active field work. The intuitive interface decreased dependency on technical support and allowed OPW to scale up inspection teams more efficiently.

Rapid Deployment Through Low-Code
Leveraging Emakin's low-code architecture and experienced implementation team, the project was delivered in just 3 weeks—significantly shorter than the initial 3-month estimate. This rapid deployment meant OPW could begin realising operational benefits immediately, with substantial savings in both time and project resources.

Streamlined Inspection Workflows
Field inspectors follow structured workflows that guide them through inspection procedures, capture required data and photos, and flag issues for follow-up. All inspection records are centrally stored and accessible to management for oversight and reporting.

The Impact

OPW transformed its inspection and maintenance operations with a solution that reduced costs, improved usability, and delivered results ahead of schedule. Equipment flexibility enabled the expansion of field teams without the burden of expensive, single-platform devices. Contractor teams became productive quickly thanks to the intuitive interface, reducing training overhead and technical support requirements.

The accelerated project timeline—3 weeks instead of 3 months—allowed OPW to implement operational improvements rapidly and begin seeing returns on investment far sooner than anticipated. The platform now supports efficient management of Ireland's public buildings and historic monuments, ensuring these important assets receive proper inspection and maintenance oversight.

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