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New Decade, New Decision- Making a VERI small difference to the carbon footprint in training.

Posted on 09/01/2020 - 6:59 pm by

Yesterday at the Pendulum Summit, a hero of mine management guru Stephen Covey expressed the need for agility for change in business in the new data driven world. His analogy was that it would no longer be the big fish eating the little fish, but the fast fish eating the slow one. 

Over twenty years working in training I have seen the mandatory compliance data and how people are locked into a paper process. this process  makes no sense with duplication, no transparency and lack of access to vital data. And of course, no time stamps or verification. 
There was also an issue for me around the tens of thousands  of sheets of paper used fulfilling training compliance. A one year QQI accredited ETB  training programme for 20 people could take up to 50,000 sheets of paper. If you take a contracted trainer with 19 programmes,  because of the required paper trail, they could generate up to 850,000 sheets of A4 paper annually.

Over 10 years that translates to huge administration costs, paper storage but also alarmingly; 

  • 2,500 trees
  • 56,000 gallons of oil
  • 450 cubic yards of landfill space
  • 595,000 KW (kilowatts) of energy

(Data Source: www.epa.gov)

So as Greta Thunburg says,

“no one is too small to make a difference”. 

For the new decade we decided to partner with a fantastic Environmental Training Agency Envirico and have now got  involved in supplying tools to help the Environment Right Now! Envirico as environmental partners consults nationwide and is viewed as a leader of community and field based learning. Evirico are also a Lantra Certified Training Body.
The first of our joint projects using the Veri dashboard is South Tipperary Development Association’s Water Biodiversity Programme. Experts from their 11 strong team of environmentalists will be Training in Citizen Science: Water Quality Monitoring and Community Action in Invasive Species Control. 
Our role will be verifying the training. We will be digitally bench marking skills. We will simultaneously communicating with the 40 strong communities’ participants and giving them online access to their learning and progression. Really importantly, our data capture can be visualised to then  embed the citizen science research and monitoring data into beautiful graphics dashboards, to tell the story that we all know needs to be heard. We are about to announce a second larger project and we are excited.  Like Covey said to be ready for the Tsunami ! 
Verifying quality training and reducing paper while communicating digitally and collecting data in the cloud, our new partnership brings an eco- innovative approach that we can share with our clients for the New Decade. If your Corporate Social Responsibility defines reducing your Carbon Footprint or like us, as an SME your conscious just makes you want to do one small thing, give us a call today! 
https://vericonnect.ie/contact/

 

Managing your Christmas Quality System

Posted on 19/12/2019 - 10:33 pm by

 ”A quality management system is a collection of business processes focused on consistently meeting customer requirements and enhancing their satisfaction.”

At this time of year, we at Veri believe everyone could benefit from checking our “personal” quality system, as well as our business systems. Are you meeting your own requirements and enhancing your own satisfaction?
The month of December can bring stress in many guises. Shopping for presents. The perfect wrapping paper. The cost of Christmas and dealing with high expectations forced on us by social media. It can seem overwhelming and can ruin what should be a lovely festive period.

Can we change things this year?

Can we move away from doing what we’ve always done, and make smarter choices? The answer is of course yes! Changing management is always difficult, but as in business, you’ve got to start at the top! You make the decisions, so ultimately it’s your choice where to place your priorities. 

  • Start with a list – The staff at Veri love data! Prioritise your actions, then start to include layers – who can help you? Delegate out the tasks and begin to feel the weight of stress lifting. 
  • Learn to say no – Don’t over commit and leave no time to relax and enjoy! Think of it as saying “yes” to yourself.
  • Don’t leave it all to the last minute – Tick a task or two off your list every day and it all seems more manageable
  • Make a Budget – a realistic one and stick to it!
  • Don’t look at what everyone else is doing – Social media is not real life! All those pictures of amazing trees and fabulous decorations are a single second snap shot.. who knows what happened in the next second! (see pics!!)

Make things easier on yourself this year, you’ll feel better and everyone around you will too!

Noleen Neill, Business Development MAnager at Fioru Software Solutions

 

Ireland Tops the List for Integration of Technology in Business

Posted on 21/11/2019 - 2:12 pm by
Compliance Software

A recent Veri article, 5 Reasons You Should Consider Digitisation, discussed the many benefits of going digital for business; from data accessibility to cost efficiency, the argument is undoubtedly persuasive. 
It is becoming increasingly clear that the businesses of Ireland are embracing this era of change, with The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report for 2019 revealing that Ireland ranks 1st, out of all European countries, for “Integration of Digital Technology by Businesses”. This places Ireland 7th overall for digital performance and digital competitiveness.

Although these businesses are reaping the obvious benefits of time saved and convenience, that can be achieved through the Integration of Digital Technology, many businesses still do not utilise the full potential of their digitised processes. As management consultant Peter Drucker wrote,

“What gets measured gets managed”.

An immense amount of the data accumulated through the day-to-day running of a company goes unmeasured. With records being archived instead of analysed, the potential for managing improvement is lost.
Veri combines Data Management, Quality Assurance, Evaluation and Analytics. Using this tool can help businesses adapt to an ever-expanding market. Thus yielding a distinct advantage in a time when digitisation is prevalent. 
Data Analysis can provide an insightful overview of real-time and past performance. This analysis also creates an outline of what to expect in the future. Consistent reviewing of yearly or monthly patterns, future trends can be predicted and prepared for accordingly.

Processes can be changed in line with evident strong/weak areas gleaned from analytics.

Consistent monitoring of these trends will greatly increase throughput in many areas, improving process efficiencies as a result. The added bonus is that the impact of each change implemented can now be visualised. Issues that otherwise may have been missed can be easily portrayed to all levels of an organisation. 

Grace McNamara is the Technical Operations Manager at Veri.

The Importance of Data in Reliability

Posted on 14/11/2019 - 11:07 pm by
Marijan Gradecak Chief Software Engineer at Veri Software Solutions.

As is the nature of startups, my job here at Veri involves many different
disciplines on a daily basis. One such discipline is Site Reliability
Engineering (SRE). SRE incorporates various aspects of software engineering and infrastructure management in order to ensure that we deliver highly reliable and robust software to our customers.
Achieving this however, is no trivial task. With the continued growth of Veri, our backing infrastructure has also grown in order to scale with the increased demand and continued innovation behind our product. So how do we do it then, how do we ensure high levels of reliability and robustness for our customers while continuously evolving?

The answer is data!

By collecting performance and system data on a large scale across our entire infrastructure, what we have at our disposal is the ability to identify and monitor (in real time) key metrics regarding the state of our systems and infrastructure. This in turn allows us to quickly pinpoint any potential issues in the system and trace them right back to the source as soon as they arise. From there our team can quickly tackle it moments after it arises, before the end users are ever made aware of it.
While our use-case for data collection is very specific to SRE, the usefulness of data in ensuring reliability spans across all disciplines. Instead of redundantly storing data on paper where it is rarely given a second look, why not employ your data to do the work for you. Let it provide you with the key metrics and insights necessary for your company to become proactive in ensuring the highest levels of quality for your users.
Marijan Gradecak is the Chief Software Engineer at Veri 

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5 Reasons You Should Consider Digitisation.

Posted on 07/11/2019 - 10:16 am by
Veri Digital Solutions

The old adage, it’s not done until you have it written down, is more apt now than ever. We are accountable for every action and must be able to produce the records to prove that the work has been completed. This process is costly. The data contained within these records are the lifeline of any operation. The insight and knowledge that could be gained for a business is wasted in the back of a filing cabinet somewhere. Despite evidence to the contrary many industries still rely on paper records.
The traditional paper records have numerous challenges from security to storage management.  A little research will show that the move to an effective paperless solution will greatly improve business but how?

  • Access

A digital solution will allow information to be shared with ease. In our case Veri can be accessed from any device and any data reviewed in real time. This also means no more searching in the back of a filing cabinet for a vital piece of information. The International Data Corporation reported that a worker spends up to 2.5 hours a day searching for information.

  • Security

It is often the view that a digital system is the more risky option. This is not the case. It is not easy to track each person that accesses a paper file. This means that people can access files without permission and even duplicate them without anyone finding out. A digital solution erases that risk. It also reduces the risk of files being damaged or stolen.

  • Reduce Waste

The earth is our most precious resource and the amount of paper used is having a big impact. If you can imagine creating a document that needs to be shared with 30 students on a training course. Each document has 20 pages. That is a substantial amount of paper. That process is repeated year after year. Digitize these processes and all that paper waste is cancelled.

  • Data Literacy

Time and resources are spent gathering data daily. Ideally we should be able to take value from this information. Subsequently creating effective processes that enhance productivity. The paper trail makes this very difficult. It’s time consuming to find data from years ago and even more time is spent correlating it. Digital solutions can do all this with ease and in an instant. This information can lead to vast improvements in your business.

  • Save Money

Who doesn’t want to cut costs? This can go back to access. How much resources are wasted looking for documents? When it comes to audits staff are often paid overtime to complete time consuming searches for relevant documentation. The right digital solution will remove that cost. It will also reduce the cost associated with the secure storage of files. In some cases a move to a digital solution has allowed businesses to downsize their premises resulting in huge savings.
There is a cost involved when moving to a digital solution but it will save you time and money in the long run. In fact in may even gain you business moving forward.

Fioru Software Solutions brings together award winning training and programme delivery expertise and the latest mobile responsive digital solutions. Our first product Veri is a Google Adopt a Startup award winning training compliance software.

Is Your Company Ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution?

Posted on 22/10/2019 - 12:20 pm by

In the September issue of IITD’s online publication TD I read an article. The article was about an event exploring digital talent trends by Robert Farrell. In the article he speaks about the 4th industrial revolution. As I was born and raised in USSR I have strong feelings about revolutions. I had looked into the 3 previous industrial revolutions and it makes for fascinating reading.
Industrial revolution #1 began in 1760. Manufacturing moved from hand production methods to machines. They began to use steam and water power in factories. There was a large increase in the development of machine tools and the introduction of total mechanisation. Who won in this revolution?  Arguably the people as they were afforded more free time. The 1st Industrial Revolution was the first period in history during which there was a simultaneous increase in the world population.
Industrial Revolution #2 dated between 1870 and 1914. We saw the introduction of the telegraph, electrical power, telephones and railways. Technology was moving at a much faster rate than ever before. It was an exciting era.  I saw a great film called “The Current War” this summer. It really captured the excitement of the time.
Industrial Revolution #3 started in late 1950 and is known as the Digital Revolution. We shifted from mechanical and analogue technology to digital electronics. Transistors, computers and Internet made their debuts. The first home computer was developed in 1977, the Apple II, made its way into homes. The Third Revolution comes to an end with the iPhone 11 and now we are entering the 4th industrial revolution.
Industrial Revolution #4 was first mentioned in 2015. It is  all about robots, artificial intelligence, 5G, 3D printing and technologies that combine hardware, software and biology.
Sounds great but I am not really comfortable when words “robots” “intelligence” and “revolution” are used together. I decided to ask my Echo Alexa about this revolution. My smart speaker and it’s voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant had very little to say. The only response I’ve got was “Hmm, I am not sure”. Very suspicious, don’t you think? I think I am going to be very nice to Alexa from here on in.
All this information made me think about some quality assurance and compliance processes that are still stuck at the end of Industrial Revolution #2. Reams  of paperwork (on high quality manufactured paper) and telephone as the communication channel. Here at Veri we can help you to win in the Digital Revolution and get your data ready for event #4. We can’t escape changes but we can prepare.

Eugena Valadkevich – Customer Success Manager

Language Schools Would Benefit from Digitisation

Posted on 16/10/2019 - 3:26 pm by

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Ireland is a popular destination for people to come and learn English. Every year 100,000 students attend one of over 60 language schools. The courses provided range from basic introductory courses to preparations programmes for the major English language examinations, such as TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge and Trinity College (London).
It is vital that high standards are maintained in the delivery of these courses. The level must be on par with international levels. The responsibility of monitoring the English language education sector lies with ACELS Accreditation and Co-ordination of English Language Services. Since 2011 ACELS is part of the QQI framework.
The Language school sector is in the news week because of their teacher’s strike. According to Charlene Kane who worked at Deflin, the strike has a lot to do with the paperwork workload. Reporting on compliance and preparing for lessons takes a considerable amount of time outside normal school hours.
English Language Teachers Strike

“I think a lot of people who aren’t teachers…don’t realise how much goes into it outside of classroom hours.”

Our app Veri reduces tutors’ paperwork requirement and streamlines the nonstop paperwork nightmare. Last year we won the Irish Institute of Training and Development Best Digital Partnership Award solving that very problem. 
 Our simple software application called Veri can pre-populate all the data required with just exceptions needing to be logged. We automate tutors track and trace and can support quality standards. A new international education mark for the ELE sector will be introduced in the coming months, Veri will support teachers with these guidelines and allow them to teach rather than fill and shuffle loads of duplicate  paper compliance forms. 
That’s just the start the capabilities of Veri. Digitisation has proven to save up to 40% administration time for present clients. 
 Features include

  • Attendance with logged hours , reasons for non attendance, evidence upload, free text for issues and most importantly analytics to understand and re-mediate 
  • Assessment tracking – real time progression to see where resource is needed 
  • Learning outcome verification, exception reporting 
  • Critical milestones for their progression and success

Streamlining not only benefits teachers but enhances the learner’s journey as well. No additional equipment needs to be purchased; the dashboard can be accessed from all devices. Access to all you need is instant and in real time. The best way to see how your business and your staff can benefit is to arrange a demonstration.  Click here.



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Data Collection has Improved my Performance

Posted on 08/10/2019 - 11:18 pm by

“I am a runner because I run. Not because I run fast, not because I run far. I am a runner because I say I am and no one can tell me I’m not”
John Bingham

I am a runner. I will certainly never win any races, but I have run 5k, 10k and half marathon distances. One of my proudest moments was crossing the finish line in Dublin Marathon last year! I am keen and enjoy how it makes me feel, particularly when running with friends. I like to do what I can to improve and to prepare for my next challenge. Our coach gives us great advice on training, nutrition and recovery, and I endeavour to follow his advice. Alongside that I monitor my progress on my Garmin running watch. It tracks the miles I run using GPS technology, providing me on my app, with a visual of my run, also my speed, distance, heart rate, my cadence, climb, even my sleep!
Even as an amateur in the sport, I can understand the value of this data, collection and appreciate how, almost instantly, the information is delivered and analysed to allow me to see my progress at a glance, and also where I need to work harder and improve.
That gets me to thinking that if it’s important to me, who can barely hit the 10 minute mile, if I were a professional, or striving to be a race winner, how much more important that monitoring and tracking events in real time would be for my success. 
Is this something that also should be at the heart of your business? Are you losing vital information that could be impacting on your performance? Are you getting the information, but too late to remediate and change the outcomes?
If the answer is yes to any of those questions, then you should be talking to us at Veri. Allow us to show you what we can do to help to digitally capture all that information that is at present on forms and spread sheets, and turn them into intelligent data that will help you create the success that you need! 

“How do you know if someone’s run a marathon? – Don’t worry, they’ll tell you!”

 

TD Magazine Featuring Ann-Marie McSorley

Posted on 02/10/2019 - 7:36 pm by

The Irish Institute of Training and Development have a digital magazine that’s published three times a year. It’s an invaluable resource for the profession. The latest issues the industry faces are always addressed along with interviews and best practices.
The latest publication is no exception.

Text so full of useful content, that it requires reading more than once.

 

Lory Manrique-Hyland talks about the pull not push approach that’s required for the future of learning and development. This ties in beautifully with a piece on peer coaching. This is a concept  we should all be aspiring to in the future.
Kingsley Aikins explains how networking is crucial. Despite what you may think, networking is actually more about giving than taking.
Orlaith Carmody examines how a coaching culture can transform your workplace and Noelle O’ Connell looks at how Brexit will affect the sector.
Finally in Careers Ann-Marie McSorley, our own CEO, gives an insightful interview. Ann-Marie shows the path from Trinity Graduate to her current role as head of Fioru Software Solutions. Incentives, experience and career highs are all touched upon and finally the love of horses features in her favourite way to relax.
That’s just a highlight reel, we encourage you to go and have a look at TD Magazine for yourself.