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There was a time when businesses relied on pen and paper or spreadsheets to manage their assets. Thanks to solutions like Slate Pages, those days are over.
Slate Pages is a flexible asset tracking and management system used across multiple industries in the United States. It’s trusted by firefighters, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers, logistics companies, and supply chain teams.
Initially developed using Xamarin, the app faced challenges related to performance and scalability. To address these issues and enhance cross-platform capabilities, we initiated a gradual migration to Flutter. This transition allowed for improved performance, a unified codebase for both iOS and Android, and the ability to extend support to web platforms.
The system runs via a user-friendly mobile app and uses smart tags — called Slates — to identify and manage assets. Each Slate features a unique QR code that links to key information about the asset. The app is used to track everything from trucks and fleet vehicles to construction equipment, farm tools, HVAC units, and even small machinery.
We were proud to contribute to such a complex and impactful project — one that simplifies asset tracking and management for a wide range of businesses. Our main goal was to help Slate Pages and their clients move away from paper-based inspections and outdated tracking tools.
Our key challenge was to fit all the required features into a single mobile application that remained user-friendly and intuitive for all users. The system needed to keep maintenance logs well-organised and easily accessible for employees, technicians, and business owners — all from their smartphones. We also created an admin panel with a dashboard so that company administrators could manage ongoing activities with ease.
We gradually migrated from Xamarin to Flutter, adding Flutter screens to the existing Xamarin app. This was a rare case that not so many developers could tackle — one app working on two frameworks.
We started the migration process because Flutter was faster and supported the web version, too, so we could have the same codebase for both web and mobile. As we can see now, it was also a good idea because Xamarin is not currently supported, and Flutter is getting more and more popular.
So, how did we do it?
First, we integrated Flutter into Xamarin, making it possible to render Flutter screens inside the Xamarin app. Then, all new screens and features were created on Flutter, and old screens were migrated to Flutter one by one without a single maintenance day — users did not even notice it! We not only implemented a creative approach but completed the migration process gradually without developing two different apps.
We have developed a set of features to make the app highly functional.
One of the solutions we came up with to develop this complex system, yet keeping it simple to use, was asset tags (Slates). Each asset receives its unique QR code (as well as link and ID) that can be used for searching, tracking, managing, and sharing slates. These codes are typically located on the user’s asset, so the user can easily scan them to view more information. There is a camera option in the Slate Pages app, which is supported on iOS, Android, mobile devices run on other operating systems, and tablets.
Of course, not every single piece of equipment can be marked with a QR code. Some tools and devices, like fire hoses or firearms, are too small or too difficult to affix an asset tag to. In such cases, users can track by an ID number or name of the device. To achieve this, we have imported all the serial and ID numbers of equipment or its parts for easy search and system tracking.
Besides the inherent tracking option, we wanted to make sure each tag or slate contains important info about the asset — different field types like location, photo, date, text, and number — and is customizable by the user. A slate is essentially an asset card with unique attributes that can be used to find a specific asset. We have integrated the Maps, so the user can quickly update the equipment’s location via a smartphone's GPS when scanning a QR tag. Moreover, users can even get directions to the assets since the map view focuses on the address or coordinates. The web portal lets users see all their assets’ locations in one map view.
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Out technical, design, sales & marketing teams will gladly share their expertise and help bringing your idea to life!
Book A Meeting
Out technical, design, sales & marketing teams will gladly share their expertise and help bringing your idea to life!
Book A Meeting
