Checkfirst

160+ hours - saved per month on administrative tasks

11% - increase in auditor utilization (74% → 85%)

26% - more time available for revenue-generating activities

The Company

This industry-leading risk management provider has a global presence and offers technology-led solutions. For over four decades, they've specialized in compliance certification, supply chain verification, and advisory services by helping organizations create safer and more sustainable workplaces through UKAS-accredited ISO certifications.

The Challenge: Manual Allocation Draining Resources

The company managed a team of 100 highly trained auditors who needed to be precisely matched to specialized assignments involving over 1,000 specific qualification codes. This expertise-based matching required meticulous attention to ensure the right auditor was assigned to the right project.

The allocation process was entirely manual and consumed one to two weeks of valuable time each month. With 1,876 appointments spread across 2,000 projects, their team was spending significant hours on administrative tasks instead of conducting actual audits.

Despite having qualified personnel, the team's utilization rate remained at 74%, indicating substantial room for improvement. The manual nature of the scheduling process created several specific challenges:

The match between auditor qualifications and specialized ISO codes required precision that was difficult to maintain at scale.
The time-intensive allocation process reduced the availability of auditors for revenue-generating activities.
Human error in the scheduling process occasionally resulted in mismatched resources and project requirements.
Growth was constrained by administrative limitations rather than actual service capacity.

The Solution: Use of AI for Planning and Scheduling

After evaluating several options, the company partnered with Checkfirst for a Proof of Concept (PoC) to test how artificial intelligence could transform their allocation process. The implementation focused on:

Automated Expertise Matching: Our AI scheduling tool, ScheduleAI, analyzed their historical data to automatically match auditors to tasks based on their specific qualifications and the codes required for each project.

Time-Optimized Scheduling: Rather than manually working through thousands of appointments, the automated scheduling system generated optimal schedules that maximized auditor utilization while considering geographic constraints.

Streamlined Allocation Process: The entire workflow was redesigned to eliminate manual touchpoints and speed up the decision-making process.

"The PoC showed how a structured digital system with AI scheduling can help us in a smooth allocation process that saves a lot of time and effort," noted the company's Project Manager.

Measurable Results: From Weeks to Minutes

The implementation of AI scheduling software, ScheduleAI, produced immediate and measurable improvements across key performance indicators:

Significant Time Savings: The allocation that used to take up to 2 weeks each month, now takes only 30 minutes – a 99% drop in the time spent on administration.

Improved Resource Utilization: Auditor utilization went up from 74% to 85%, increasing productivity by 11%.

Enhanced Scheduling Accuracy: The AI schedule planner matched auditors to appropriate tasks with greater precision, which reduced errors and improved overall scheduling quality.

Scalability for Growth: The company could now handle larger volumes of projects without proportionally increasing administrative resources.

"We were amazed at how much time we saved and made better use of our other resources," said the Operations Manager. "The AI schedule builder could clearly help us minimize our dependence on manual scheduling, making things more efficient."

Beyond the Numbers: Qualitative Improvements

The transformation extended beyond just metrics. Team members reported several qualitative improvements as well:

Auditors spent more time on value-adding audit activities and less on administrative coordination

Management gained better visibility into resource allocation and capacity planning using our AI tool for scheduling.

The scheduling team was freed to focus on client relationships rather than manual scheduling tasks

The organization became more responsive to changing client needs and market demands

Looking Forward: From PoC to Full Implementation

Following the successful Proof of Concept (PoC), the company is evaluating a full-scale implementation of AI based scheduling system. The projected benefits include:

Continued optimization of the auditor scheduling process through AI planning and scheduling

Potential for further utilization improvements through data-backed insights

Enhanced ability to scale operations in response to growing market demand

Improved customer experience through faster response times and more efficient service delivery

The Compliance Lead at the company was particularly impressed with the technical aspects of the solution: "The AI schedule generator has potential to be used to assign auditors to tasks with greater accuracy, and the speed of completion was very remarkable."

Ready to transform your operations with AI planning and AI inspection? Contact Checkfirst today for a personalized consultation.