Frankfurt University Hospital
Case Study
How Frankfurt University Hospital saves time and money managing their signs with SignAgent
THE CLIENT
Frankfurt University Hospital
Frankfurt University Hospital is among the leading clinics in Germany. The Clinic, founded in 1914, combines therapeutic, rehabilitation, and research areas. It has become a world famous and popular medical institution. The hospital’s 433,200 square meters of floor space includes 32 departments, 10 specialized centers, and 25 institutes. It can accommodate about 1,360 patients.
HOST GmbH is a part of the University Hospital Frankfurt specializing in facility and construction project management. With a multi-professional and multinational team of all trades related to facility management, HOST GmbH takes care of the technical repair and maintenance of 70 buildings, 16,000 rooms and 25,000 medical devices on the campus of the university hospital.
Onandi Elliott works for HOST GmbH, a joint department responsible for operating this and other associated properties. Included in his role is the management and maintenance of wayfinding and other signage.
THE CHALLENGE
Tedious, time-consuming processes using multiple softwares
Onandi was using a manual process for document management and to share information with his consultants and vendors. He used a variety of softwares, including Adobe Illustrator and FileMaker.
For Onandi, just checking in on the status of projects took at least 30 minutes, as it required reviewing and transcribing information from several files and documents. Preparing estimates for projects took hours, and sharing information with installers was not intuitive. Templating was tedious. He would use paper, pen, and laptop, and take multiple trips to do a site survey.
THE SOLUTION
An easy onboarding process with immediate progress
SignAgent was able to demonstrate how using the platform could save time and eliminate headaches. With SignAgent, Onandi was able to quickly add the hospital’s floor plans to the software and easily begin an inventory. SignAgent’s customer success manager provided training and support to ensure an easy onboarding process.
In the first week, Onandi was already making good progress on his project and saving a considerable amount of time.
THE RESULTS
Completion of two sign projects with 1,100 signs in just a few weeks.
In just a few short weeks, Onandi was able to complete two survey projects and enter 1,100 signs in SignAgent. He now uses SignAgent for about an hour every day. Here are some of his findings:
Searching for a specific sign in SignAgent takes seconds versus the 10 minutes it used to take to open a sign in Illustrator or FileMaker.
Overviews of project states can also be obtained in seconds rather than 30 minutes to transcribe all information.
A simple inventory of sign types is displayed in the left-hand sidebar, eliminating the need to access several files and documents.
Site surveys can be completed 5 to 6 times faster than using paper, laptop, and multiple visits.
Costing a project is fast and easy: it takes seconds to calculate the cost of changing out signage on a floor compared to hours.
Installation instructions are easy for installers to access, and SignAgent can be customized to each installer’s workflow.
Overall, work is completed at least 4 times faster using SignAgent.
“I sleep better at night knowing I have SignAgent in my corner!
It has allowed me to expand my role from being a designer to a true facility manager.”
Onandi Elliott
Lead Wayfinding Designer
HOST GmbH
Onandi Elliot
Lead Wayfinding Designer
HOST GmbH
