Conectiv · Custom workflow and field solutions

When off-the-shelf software doesn’t fit: custom workflow and field solutions

Some processes are too specific for any ERP and too important to leave in Excel. Conectiv builds the software for that gap, and connects it to the system you already run.

By Rob Griffin, Founder and Principal · Updated

Talk about a workflowBuild or buy?
The short version
If you only read one thing on this page
  1. 1Buy the ERP. Build only what makes you different.
  2. 2OpsEdge replaced spreadsheet and paper work-order tracking at Bright Star Solutions, a union utility contractor.
  3. 3Built by people who already understand construction and field work, so nobody has to explain the business first.
Case in point

OpsEdge at Bright Star Solutions

Bright Star Solutions runs utility crews on maintenance, repair and construction work for a major energy company. Work orders arrived fast, changed constantly and could be recalled. The whole process lived in a spreadsheet, on paper and in people’s heads: organized chaos, full of manual steps and human error.

Conectiv built OpsEdge, a workflow management system for those work orders. The spreadsheet history, including notes and statuses, was migrated with AI assistance, and a matching module linked every job to the crews’ existing project checklists.

Bright Star Solutions utility crew
BEFORE OPSEDGE
  • Work orders tracked in a shared spreadsheet, with statuses and notes nobody could audit
  • Paper work-order packets that got lost between the office and the crew
  • Texts, emails and shouting across the office to find out who had what
  • Recalled or duplicate work orders discovered when two crews showed up
AFTER OPSEDGE
  • Every work order digital, assigned and tracked in one system
  • Status visible to the office and the field at the same time
  • No texts, no lost packets, no guessing which spreadsheet is current
  • Connected to the crews’ existing time and project checklists
The field adopted it
Foremen of every age and background came through training without pushback. Management was in the room with answers, and the rollout had guardrails.
Go-live was smooth
Because we already understood the work, the team only had to explain how they measured and allocated it, not what it was.
It keeps changing with them
New business arrived mid-build and went into the scope. After go-live, requests come in weekly and releases go out a couple of times a week.

Build or buy?

Short answer: Buy the ERP; build only what makes you different. Accounting, job cost, billing and payroll are solved problems. Custom software earns its cost where a workflow is unique to your business and no product fits.

BUY WHEN
BUILD WHEN
The process is standard accounting, billing or payroll
The workflow is how you win work and no product supports it
Compliance and tax rules change every year
A retiring system has no suitable off-the-shelf replacement
You need it live this quarter
The gap sits between your ERP and your field tools
You want a vendor to carry upgrades and security
A critical process lives in Excel and nobody trusts which version is current
The hidden costs of building
  • Maintenance and security for the life of the system
  • Documentation, so it doesn’t live in one developer’s head
  • Key-person risk when that developer leaves
  • Rebuilding features a product already ships with

Budget for the life of the system, not the first release. Conectiv supports what it builds.

Where custom solutions fit

Common gaps we’re asked to close.

Field and workflow gapsA working ERP, but field tools that don’t fit how crews actually work.
Critical processes in ExcelDispatch, scheduling, approvals or tracking built and maintained by hand.
End-of-life with no replacementA retiring system that no off-the-shelf product replaces.
IntegrationsConnecting the ERP to field, payroll, time and document tools.

Conectiv and OpsEdge questions

What is Conectiv?

Conectiv is the custom workflow and field solutions practice of Dominate Solutions. It builds and supports software for the processes an ERP doesn’t cover, such as field work-order management, and connects it to the ERP.

What is OpsEdge?

OpsEdge is a workflow management system Conectiv built for Bright Star Solutions, a utility contractor, to replace work-order tracking in spreadsheets and paper with one digital system connected to crew time and project checklists.

Should a contractor build custom software or buy an ERP?

Buy the ERP for accounting, job cost, billing and payroll. Build only where a workflow is unique to how you win work and no product fits, and budget for maintenance and support over the life of the system.

How fast can custom workflow software be built?

Much faster than it used to be. With AI-assisted development, changes discussed one day can be shown the next, and OpsEdge moved to weekly releases after go-live.

Have a process stuck in Excel? Tell us how it works today.

Where to go next

ProofBright Star SolutionsRead the story →Step 5Support after go-liveSupport →GuideThe full decision guideBuild vs buy →
1aThe other side