Cégep de Saint-Laurent
Cégep de Saint-Laurent went digital by adopting Hector to manage equipment loans to students and staff.
Located in Saint-Laurent, at the heart of the city of Montreal, Cégep de Saint-Laurent offers everything a student is looking for. On top of a wide range of programs in regular and continuing education, Cégep de Saint-Laurent offers several specializations in the arts and sciences. Students are welcomed into an environment that lets them push their limits and innovate.
Hector helps with traceability, and with Covid-19 that matters even more. About thirty employees use Hector, and they are very happy with the features it offers.
Challenges
- Synchronization between the intranet and the Cégep's various departments
- Bookings not planned ahead and done manually
- No way to loan equipment to staff
For a few years, Cégep de Saint-Laurent had been looking for a solution to better manage its stores and equipment. The first goal was to bring all assets together under a cloud solution, to make managing the IT department easier.
Since students and staff could not make bookings in advance, achieving optimal management of equipment loans was very complex. That is why it became important to find a solution that could provide real-time data, but also ensure synchronization with the software the Cégep already used, such as Azure and Omnivox.
“About two and a half years ago, we wanted to find a solution to fit into the Cégep’s digital shift; we wanted a cloud solution.”
Solutions
Cloud software accessible online
Secure, unlimited access for staff and students
Online booking of equipment and study rooms
A reliable, accurate loan calendar
Management of the Cégep's various stores
Monthly payments based on the number of assets
Why choose Hector?
On top of this, the system the organization used before had suffered a major outage and was no longer secure enough to handle asset management. They had to make the switch quickly, and the Hector team was there to help them get their student loan service back on its feet.
“When we acquired Hector, the product did not yet meet all our needs, but it was always easy to reach the team whenever we had a problem. Two years later, the platform has grown and the Hector team is just as responsive.”
What stood out about Hector:
- A cloud solution
- Flexible pricing based on the number of items
- Unlimited number of users
- The responsiveness of the team behind Hector
- Continuous improvement and evolution of its features
- The API that bridges to other systems
Better visibility of available equipment
“At a glance, thanks to the catalog, students can see the equipment available on the dates they want, according to their program or study group. That is what we love about Hector: the information is updated in real time.
With the paper system, students did not always come back to cancel their bookings in the logbook, which led others to believe equipment was unavailable when there was still availability.”
A better experience for users
The arrival of Hector made booking a more pleasant experience for students and staff at Cégep de Saint-Laurent.
“Most students always have their phone in hand, so we needed a solution that would let them book online right from their phone.”
Better communication between requesters
Having all assets in one place helped avoid many misunderstandings between the people involved. And no longer having to go through different apps or send emails to follow up on bookings greatly reduces the number of errors.
How Hector made the difference
Hector is very effective at managing the equipment available for loan. At first, they realized they had very few assets but an enormous turnover rate, and that was for a single store. Today, the Cégep manages all of its stores using Hector.
Using Hector, they manage equipment for 13 stores, such as the visual arts, film, music, theater, recreation and library stores, and more.
The Cégep realized there was a need in the market and that Hector had the potential to meet it and to grow with them for many years.