At HGL(opens in a new tab), the company’s mission of protecting the environment and local communities has driven it to develop innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions that reverse harmful impacts to the environment, restore nature resources, and protect the future.

HGL’s Director of Technical Operations Chris Kerr discussed with Nutrient his decision to implement a workflow automation platform to help streamline day-to-day processes. Some of the company’s approval processes were manual prior to working with Nutrient, which involved passing paperwork between the proper person or department.

When working with paper-heavy processes, requests are bound to get slowed down, and bottlenecks can get in the way of efficiency. HGL’s approval processes ranged from purchase requisitions and work order requests, to onboarding tasks for new employees. Luckily, Nutrient was able to help streamline these processes from the start.

A rigid and outdated system hinders the desired flexibility

HGL recognized an opportunity to improve how internal paperwork and requests were managed. With limited visibility into request progress and a growing need for additional automation, the company identified a solution that would streamline routing and enhance process transparency.

After experimenting with another automated solution, Kerr quickly realized HGL needed more flexibility than the current system could provide. It was also becoming apparent that adapting business rules within an automated platform was of high priority. “The framework was old school; there were rigid rules that wouldn’t let us be creative,” he explained. To address these roadblocks, HGL needed a solution that could be more flexible and allow for more complex workflows to be built. That’s when the company turned to Nutrient.

Nutrient enables HGL to easily construct intricate workflows and provides flexibility to establish rule-based procedures. Additionally, Nutrient’s custom framework quickly proved to be more ideal than the canned approach used by other solutions HGL explored. “The first impression was great,” Kerr said about Nutrient. “It was so much easier to use.”

With the collaborative effort of Nutrient’s support team and HGL’s development team, the implementation process was a breeze. “Onboarding and support teams were very helpful and responsive,” Kerr shared. Because HGL initially used a sandbox environment to trial Nutrient, the company was able to transition the test environment into production mode almost immediately.

Nutrient’s ease of use, flexibility, and adaptability bring great value to the whole HGL organization

After turning to Nutrient, HGL automated processes across the entire organization, including:

• Work order processes for word processing and document reviews
• Purchasing workflows, including CapEx approvals through business rules
• Change management requests
• Incident reporting
• Audit management
• Project and proposal go/no decisions
• Lightweight learning management workflows for health and safety teams (quizzes and certifications)
• HR workflows, including onboarding, personnel actions, self-assessments, and performance evaluations

Because Nutrient is a low-code, drag-and-drop environment, it’s easy for almost anyone to access the platform and begin building workflows for their department. “A brand-new hire was sent off to training and came back after and was able to work on things quickly,” Kerr said, illustrating how quickly a new person could get things up and running. “[Nutrient] enables us to leverage in-house expertise to build complex workflows.”

In addition to its drag-and-drop interface, Nutrient offers an open API and AWS Lambda integration that enables personalized workflow integrations. The platform’s open structure allows clients to develop their own workflow tools that seamlessly connect with their current enterprise systems.

Additionally, Nutrient’s REST-based API allows for the process engine — which is an application that runs within a workflow automation system and makes decisions automatically based on preset rules — to be accessed programmatically, enabling the launch of processes, task completion, status checks, and other functions. This is a widely utilized capability, particularly in scenarios such as Kerr’s at HGL, where the ability to transfer data between systems or initiate processes is highly valuable for an organization.

Workflow speed like never before

Nutrient continues to help HGL improve operational efficiency. The streamlined processes have led to noticeable time savings, enabling quicker approvals and empowering users throughout the organization.

Some of the tangible end benefits for HGL include:

• Time savings — Streamlined workflows allow tasks to be completed more quickly, giving employees more time to focus on high-impact work.
• Operational efficiency — Faster workflows reduce bottlenecks, meaning approvals and requests don’t delay critical projects.
• Improved user experience — A modern, intuitive interface has enhanced usability, contributing to higher employee adoption and satisfaction.
• Scalability — Faster processes mean HGL can handle a higher volume of requests without adding headcount or resources.

The increased efficiency has resulted in concrete advantages for HGL. Nutrient has transformed its workflows and improved its daily processes through three main methods: versatility, momentum, and a simple workflow.

Nutrient empowers HGL workflow users

Kerr and the team have made significant progress since they began their search for a more adaptable solution to streamline ‌manual processes. It goes without saying that Nutrient can grow and adapt to your organization’s needs. With Nutrient Workflow, every task, request, and process can be automated, and its user-friendly interface makes it accessible for anyone to use.

By transitioning to customizable, user-friendly workflows, HGL was able to streamline requests, reduce task times, and eliminate manual processes, empowering teams to focus on higher-value tasks.