Tracking equipment status
Improving operational visibility of equipment for a construction equipment rental company.

Problem
When customers returned rented equipment, it was moved to a "maintenance" area for inspection and repairs. However, franchise store managers often didn’t know which equipment was under maintenance, why it was unavailable, or when it would be ready for rental again. This lack of visibility led to operational delays and inefficiencies.
Solution
I designed a mobile application that allowed mechanics to log returned equipment with detailed statuses and descriptions. This tool provided store managers with real-time visibility into which items were unavailable and why, streamlining equipment management and decision-making processes.
Our Goal
Empower franchise stores to optimize equipment availability and improve operational efficiency
Key Results

The solution was implemented in 322 out of 700 franchise stores, covering nearly 50% of the company’s locations.

Improved visibility into equipment maintenance status, streamlining operational efficiency.

Enabled franchise stores without inventory classification processes to implement one effectively.

Enabled better planning for equipment maintenance and downtime.
My role
UX/UI Designer
Duration
Jul 2021
Key activities
Product discovery
Site map
Stakeholders validation
Prototyping
Visual design
Team
1 Front-end developer
1 Back-end developer
IT Manager
Company
Casa do Construtor
A franchise company in construction equipment rental, with 700 stores across 3 countries in Latin America.
Initial context
During the pandemic in 2021, the company identified the need to digitize some processes as an opportunity to streamline operations and improve efficiency. The IT manager, already familiar with the internal processes, took the lead in mapping requirements and defining user stories, laying the foundation for a digital transformation that would improve how things worked day-to-day.
User stories
When I joined the company, the IT manager provided me with the user stories to work from, which became a key reference, clearly outlining the business and user needs. I used them as a starting point to understand the project and design the solution.
Throughout the process, I worked closely with the IT manager to refine the user stories when needed, ensuring that the solutions stayed aligned with the project’s goals and delivered a functional and intuitive experience.

CSD matrix
After receiving and analyzing the User Stories, I created a CSD Matrix to organize the certainties, suppositions, and doubts. This approach helped prioritize validations and address the open questions, providing a clear structure for the project's next steps.

Site map
With the project context in mind, I built a Site Map to outline the app’s structure and content organization, ensuring alignment before progressing to the next steps and helping clarify the overall user experience while streamlining the navigation setup.





Benchmarking
I conducted benchmarking to gather visual references for components and analyzed the company's existing apps to understand their usability. This approach ensured the new solution maintained consistency with the user experience and design standards already established in the company.

Design validations
Through ongoing feedback sessions, I refined design elements, adjusted business rules, and revisited user stories as the layouts evolved. This iterative approach not only enhanced the solution's alignment with user needs but also ensured it adhered to the project goals, resulting in a more cohesive and effective outcome.
Design System
An initial Design System had already been established within the company, with colors, typographys and other guidelines that were already being used across other products within the company. For components, we were using Material UI as the standard.
To simplify the development process, I focused on making minimal customizations to the components, prioritizing consistency and ease of integration.

Handoff
In the project handoff process, I decided to divide it into two stages to ensure an efficient transition between design and development.
The first stage involved creating an interaction flow with Figma frames, which helped the developer understand how the app screens are connected, ensuring clear and logical navigation. The second stage included creating detailed documentation, where I described the business rules to be applied on each screen, ensuring that all functionalities were implemented according to the specifications.

Final designs
The final designs were delivered after validations with the IT manager and developers, ensuring that the design met the project goals and was technically feasible.






Business impact
In 2021, I designed and delivered the complete layouts and flows for this project. Shortly after, I transitioned to a new company and, as a result, did not participate in the development and implementation phases.
Curious about the project's outcome, I contacted the company in 2024 to ask whether it had been developed and understand its current status. I was informed that the project was successfully implemented, and the following results were shared:
Broad Adoption
The solution was implemented in 322 out of 700 franchise stores, covering nearly 50% of the company’s locations in Latin America.
Maintenance Visibility
Improved visibility into equipment maintenance status, streamlining operational efficiency.
Process Transformation
Enabled franchise stores without inventory classification processes to implement one effectively.
Operational Planning
Enabled better planning for equipment maintenance, which minimized downtime.