Queensland Mines Rescue Service tackles major ERP transformation led by Momentum

When every moment counts, the “Black Ops” of the mines knows transforming legacy systems isn’t just efficiency — it’s risk mitigation.

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Alistair Emery, Managing Director, Momentum Software

Queensland Mines Rescue Service (QMRS), a not-for-profit organisation responsible for emergency response in the state’s mining industry, has modernised its ERP system, in a major project led by Momentum Software Solutions.

The organisation was struggling with a legacy ERP system that relied on time consuming manual processes, with limited integration with business systems and poor visibility of other data sources.

"We’re in emergency response — we don’t have the luxury of waiting for end-of-month reports,” Trent McDonald, executive business manager, QMRS said.

Seeking a future-fit solution, McDonald approached Wiise who connected him with Momentum Software Solutions, one of a small number of partners in Australia, to lead the project.

A bespoke, legacy ERP platform that was not fit for purpose

Prior to the ERP overhaul, core functions such as finance, procurement, training and asset management operated in separate tools, data had to be entered multiple times and reporting was slow.

Alistair Emery, managing director at Momentum MD, explained, “If they wanted tailored reports, which is very common, that was very difficult [with the old system].”

Key tasks like payroll and leave tracking were still handled manually. Invoices and approvals had to be manually signed and emailed, making it difficult to keep an audit trail. Project budgets were tracked using multiple systems.

“It meant a hell of a lot of manual effort, either duplicating data in different systems to achieve a certain outcome, usually reporting, and no real-time transparency of information,” Emery said.

The lack of API integration with the ERP system prevented a unified source of truth and made it difficult to gain a complete view of business operations.

This is particularly important because QMRS receives funding from various sources, it must be entirely accountable for how that funding is used and provide detailed reporting across different programs.

“Because of the nature of their service, which includes training services and on-site mine rescue activities, they need to track funding with a high level of granularity,” Emery told CRN Australia.

Overhauling business processes starts with careful planning

Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the software giant’s ERP platform, Wiise offers deep integration with Office applications and is well suited to mid-size SMEs like QMRS.

Starting with a discovery process, the team analysed business processes in depth, gaps in the current system and future requirements for the new Wiise ERP system.

A prototype environment was built using existing data for QMRS to familiarise with the new system while Momentum developed custom forms and reports. After staff training, there’s a comprehensive testing period.

“The intention of testing an ERP is not to prove that the software works. You're really proving that it's been configured for that customer,” Emery said.

As with most complex, organisation-wide transformation projects, issues emerged during the implementation phase. These were routine and manageable, not major roadblocks to the implementation.

The Momentum team kept an issues register to identify and prioritise the most important or timely ones. The goal was to keep the project on track, although that doesn’t always mean strictly adhering to a go-live date, but to ensure readiness and minimal disruption in the changeover. With everything set, a full data migration was undertaken.

“There's a lot of planning around that to make sure all the key information, master files, opening balances, historical balances, are brought across and completely reconcilable to the existing system,” said Emery.

Adopting Wiise, QMRS has transformed its ERP system, bringing together key financial systems into one cloud-based platform. It now has a consistent, reliable source of truth across the organisation.

“We need live, accurate information at our fingertips to make fast, confident decisions. Wiise gives us that across both financial and operational systems,” said Trent McDonald, executive business manager, QMRS.

Invoice approvals and accounts payable are now automated, data now updates in real time across departments and project budgets and resource planning are now managed in one place.

Wiise has consolidated finance, procurement, payroll and training in a single platform and reshaped how QMRS operates across both finance and emergency response. In all, QMRS streamlined its operations, increased accuracy and future-proofed its operations through this transformation.

Recently, the addition of about 30 embedded Power BI reports in the Wiise application has offered the organisation new functionality to explore.

Another important area that will be improved with the new ERP system is asset management. Using Wiise, QMRS will be able to link financial tracking and maintenance tracking for the first time.

“Having an integration working would improve visibility and transparency for their maintenance team and their departmental managers who are responsible for those assets,” he said.

With the implementation phase behind them, QMRS is well-positioned to continue gaining improvements around reporting and leveraging software enhancements from Microsoft and Wiise.

“Because once you've got your head up for air after the initial flurry of activity during implementation, that's where you can really apply more focus to refining specific areas,” Emery ended.

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