Palmerston North company Ezicheq helps businesses keep track of assets

Ezicheq business development manager Michelle Shailer and general manager Roddy Crowley with a safety net like the one that kickstarted some Palmerston North ingenuity. Photo / Judith Lacy

Scafit managing director David Crowley had a problem.

His Palmerston North-based scaffolding company was finding it difficult to manage the location of its safety nets.

So he helped developan equipment management system that uses technology and labels. Ezicheq is now a separate company that offers an online platform for companies to access the latest information about their assets.

Users can scan the QR codes on the asset labels using a smartphone or tablet.

Ezicheq’s software allows companies to create customised checklists, locate items, and receive alerts when an item has failed a check or needs servicing.

Users can run reports, request photos, collect signatures, and customise multi-choice questions.

The system can be used to demonstrate compliance and show the self-check history.

Ezicheq's QR codes give companies access to information about their assets including compliance status.

The company was launched in the winter of 2020. It was to have been launched just as the country went into its first Covid-19 lockdown, general manager Roddy Crowley says.

Then when Ezicheq was launched, potential customers were too busy to hear about new products and didn’t have spare expenditure as they got their own businesses back on track.

After a slow start, business picked up for Ezicheq by mid-2021.

Test patches of each safety net used in the construction industry are regularly sent for UV testing and locating those nets is an industry-wide problem, Crowley says.

David, his father, thought the solution Scafit developed could be rolled out to other scaffolding companies and other industries.

Roddy Crowley, who has a Bachelor of Agriculture from Lincoln University and was working in Canterbury, came home to help launch Ezicheq.

A range of industries need to know where stuff is, who has it and if it is compliant, he says.

Popular uses include hire equipment, site inspections, test and tag, and asset registers.

The software is developed by in-house lead software engineer Mike Dilger. Ongoing development of the software is customer-driven, Crowley says.

The talent in Manawatū is a real asset to the technology industry: Massey University, UCOL Te Pūkenga and a diversity of tech companies.

Michelle Shailer joined the company in April as business development manager.

She says her mind was blown by what Ezicheq offers. Compliance can make people groan but Ezicheq’s software makes it easy.

Everyone has assets and if they don’t have to worry about managing them they can focus on what they do best, Shailer says. People are skilled in their industry but not always good at crossing t’s and dotting i’s.

It is so rewarding when someone is struggling with asset management and Ezicheq tools make their lives so much easier.

When a customer is grateful and happy, it is such a great feeling, she says.