Handling Systems International Inc. is a leading manufacturer of Jib Cranes, Gantry Cranes, Workstation Cranes and Bridge Cranes, headquartered in McCook, IL USA.
Starting Small with DriveWorks Solo
HSI has been using DriveWorks since 2017, to automate the design process of their cranes. They started initially using DriveWorks Solo.
At HSI, cranes can range from 6 feet to over 300 feet, handling multiple capacities from 500 pounds to 40000 thousand pounds.
Part numbers can also range from 80 for a small system into the thousands for a larger system, making them extremely configurable.
Lead Mechanical Designer, Michael Townsend, downloaded the free DriveWorks Solo 30-day trial and created a small project to demonstrate the software capabilities to his colleagues.
Scaling up to DriveWorks Pro
After purchasing DriveWorks Solo, the company created their first project, but soon realized that they wanted to create a customer-facing online tool, and therefore upgraded to DriveWorks Pro.
Owing to the scalability of DriveWorks software, the data captured in the DriveWorks Solo projects was not lost and was easily migrated to form the basis of their DriveWorks Pro web-enabled project.
Quotinator™
Since purchasing DriveWorks Pro, HSI has been working on Quotinator™, their online tool for dealers, customers and distributors.
Quotinator™ uses DriveWorks and SOLIDWORKS to provide scaled drawings and quotes for their recently released NikoRail enclosed track cranes, as well as standard jib and gantry cranes.
Dealers can access Quotinator™ from anywhere, through the distributor login on HSI’s website.
Lead Mechanical Designer Michael Townsend says:
“End users are so happy that they don’t have to sit around waiting for a quote, that they keep returning faster and they can do it on the site too”
Security
Quotinator™ was BETA tested internally for two months and then rolled out to distributors.
To use Quotinator™, a distributor or customer must request a login from HSI. This is an extra security step to ensure HSI knows who is accessing the online configurator.
It also doubles as a sales tool, because they can track who is interacting with the site.
Improving and Adapting
HSI is also constantly improving and adapting the configurator and product options in response to customer demand.
The aspirations for the Quotinator™ and DriveWorks don’t stop there as they are looking to integrate DriveWorks with their CRM system too.
HSI believe in continuous improvement and are utilizing the form building tools found in DriveWorks to enhance the look and feel of the UI to make Quotinator™ even more user friendly, particularly on mobiles.
We look forward to following their progress! For more information about HSI and their products, visit www.hsicrane.com
Try DriveWorks Solo for free
Get instant access to DriveWorks Solo for 30 days. No credit card required.