Leon Louw
Cradle to grave
financial system. With all the data in
Candy correctly coded to the right
subproject, the information is right
there and easily available.
This is also an example of Candy’s
integration capabilities. While the
platform provides one reporting
framework for the full project, the data
is easily split into the four subprojects,
which are then seamlessly loaded into
JD Edwards. It is similarly just as easy
to take output from JD Edwards and
transfer it into Candy.
“What would have taken me a day
or two now takes a maximum of four
hours with Candy,” Reddy notes. The
Venetia project is one of the bigger,
more complicated projects around,
so I can’t imagine how I would be
able to manage it to the same level of
detail and with the same speed and
accuracy if I didn’t have Candy.”
Added to that, he says the
flexibility of the system ensures it can
deal with almost any situation and
environment. This ability to adapt
is crucial in large projects where
costs and labour need to be strictly
controlled from day one.
Data consistency is also something
Widlake appreciates. “There is
standardisation in the processes
within Candy in that you can
load something once in terms of
worksheets, data files, labour, and so
on. The system then makes sure that
the changes are reflected globally
so that everyone is working off the
same information immediately.
The time saved in this feature alone
is incredible when one considers
the number of people in different
locations using the system daily.”
This is only one of the competitive
advantages Candy delivers. Widlake
adds that another is the ability to
provide concise information when
queries come through. When asked for
clarification after sending an account,
for example, Candy empowers Murray
& Roberts Cementation to answer
quickly and in detail, because Candy
stores all the data relating to each step
of the project.
The Venetia underground project
is a complex, multi-year project that
incorporates different companies
working on different phases at the
same time. Using Candy as the
main project estimating tool (the
estimation is a significant portion
of the expansion capital) assists in
producing clear project goals and
helping the management team to not
only adhere to them, but to achieve
them more accurately and efficiently
with more control. It also saves time
when it comes to generating accurate
reports and keeping administrative
chores on track.
APRIL 2018 MINING MIRROR
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