MinuteShift

Work

Practical fixes for real operational problems.

MinuteShift is built around the gaps that appear between systems, spreadsheets, people and physical work.

Sometimes the answer is automation. Sometimes it is a small internal application. Sometimes it is simply connecting two things that should already talk to each other.

These are examples of that kind of work.

Built04 operational systems
Built

Warehouse / Internal application

From printed pick lists to a guided warehouse workflow.

The problem

A warehouse process relied on printed picking sheets, manual progress tracking and updates after the work had already happened.

The replacement was deliberately smaller than a full warehouse management system.

Before

  1. print
  2. allocate
  3. remember
  4. tick
  5. update later

After

  1. order
  2. guide
  3. scan
  4. verify
  5. complete
  6. status updated

What was built

Built
  • Import orders
  • Assign picking work
  • Guide operators through picks
  • Validate products by barcode
  • Capture quantities
  • Record shortages or exceptions
  • Track completion in real time
  • Provide an administration view
  • Feed operational status displays

The useful change

The existing operation stays in place. The manual layer around it doesn’t.

Built around web application · database · barcode scanners · warehouse displays

Built

Office / Automation

Turn a recurring spreadsheet routine into a controlled process.

The problem

A weekly administrative task involved opening the same workbook, changing dates and week numbers, inspecting files from the previous period and calculating information required for the next invoice cycle.

The individual steps were simple. Repeating them correctly every week was the problem.

Before

  1. open
  2. find files
  3. count
  4. calculate
  5. update cells
  6. check
  7. save

After

  1. run
  2. review proposed changes
  3. approve

What was built

Built
  • Identify the correct reporting week
  • Calculate upcoming dates
  • Inspect files from the required period
  • Calculate workbook values
  • Update required cells
  • Show proposed changes before committing them

A dry-run mode allows the operator to review exactly what will change before the workbook is modified.

The useful change

The spreadsheet remains the spreadsheet. The repetitive preparation around it disappears.

Built around Excel · PowerShell · filesystem automation · validation

Built

Integration / Internal tool

Turn a barcode into usable information inside the existing workflow.

The problem

Product information existed in another system, but checking it required manually searching for each product and transferring the result elsewhere.

The useful information existed. The systems simply were not connected.

Before

  1. barcode
  2. website / system
  3. search
  4. find product
  5. read value
  6. copy

After

  1. barcode
  2. lookup
  3. structured result

What was built

Built
  • Receive a product barcode
  • Identify the corresponding product
  • Retrieve the required product information
  • Return structured data
  • Expose the result directly inside the existing administration workflow

The useful change

No new platform for the operator to learn. Just the missing connection.

Built around barcode data · APIs · web systems · automation

Built

Office / Data workflow

Make messy weekly files behave like one system.

The problem

Operational information often arrives through recurring Excel files, CSV exports and documents created at different times or with slightly different structures.

The problem is not always collecting more data. It is making existing data dependable enough to use.

Before

  1. files
  2. inconsistent columns
  3. manual cleanup
  4. matching
  5. checking
  6. report

After

  1. files
  2. process
  3. validate
  4. exceptions
  5. output

What was built

Built
  • Combine recurring files
  • Normalise inconsistent structures
  • Validate required fields
  • Detect missing or duplicate records
  • Perform calculations
  • Reconcile information between sources
  • Prepare reports or downstream files
  • Surface exceptions instead of requiring inspection of every row

The useful change

The aim is not to replace Excel whenever Excel is useful. It is to stop somebody becoming the integration layer between spreadsheets.

Built around Excel · CSV · Power Query · scripts · data validation

The common pattern

Not every problem needs a platform.

These projects use different interfaces and different technology, but the pattern is the same.

Keep the useful system. Remove the awkward middle.

A warehouse may need a scanner workflow. An office may need a small automation. Another business may need a lightweight application sitting between two existing systems.

The size of the software isn’t the point. The amount of unnecessary work it removes is.

Have something similar?

Show us what happens today. No technical brief required.

Show us the process