Built a tablet-optimized task management app for a car wash facility to replace paper checklists. Employees can track 60+ daily tasks across early and late shifts, with automatic email reports to management and full history tracking. Developed iteratively with constant owner feedback and on-site user testing.
The car wash was running on paper checklists for years. Every shift had a printed list of 30-40 tasks - everything from closing the entrance gate to emptying cash registers to cleaning the wash tunnel. The problems were obvious: papers got lost, handwriting was sometimes unreadable, there was no way to know if tasks were actually done or just checked off, and the owner had no visibility unless he was physically there. When something wasn't done properly, nobody knew who was responsible. The paper system also made it impossible to track patterns - like if certain tasks were consistently being skipped or if specific employees needed additional training.
Built a simple, iPad-first web application that mirrors their existing workflow but adds the tracking they needed. Employees log in with a shared access code (they're not tech-savvy, so we kept it simple), select their name from a dropdown, choose their shift type, and then work through the task list. Each task can be marked complete with a single tap, and there's an option to add notes for anything unusual. When the shift is done, the system automatically emails a report to the owner with everything that was completed, who did it, and any notes. The owner also has a separate admin login where he can see the full history of all shifts, track completion rates, and manage the employee list. The whole thing was designed around their actual workflow - we did multiple rounds of testing with real employees to make sure it was intuitive enough that anyone could use it without training.
Eliminates paper waste and lost checklists from daily operations
Gives management real-time visibility into shift completion without being on-site
Creates accountability through automatic tracking - everyone knows their work is recorded
Enables pattern recognition over time - identifying consistently skipped tasks or training needs
Reduces end-of-day communication overhead - automatic reports replace manual updates