Arced intranet
OVERVIEW
Arced runs 100+ cranes and over 300employees across Germany and Europe, but worked internally on paper forms and phone calls. Staff on remote sites had no fast way to reach the right contact, find equipment docs, or request support.
I led the end-to-end design of Arced’s internal platform, from stakeholder workshops to a role-based intranet used daily by drivers, workshop, and admin.
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
TEAM
1 PM
3 Engineers
1 Designer (me!)
TIMELINE
May - Sep 2025
SKILLS
UX Research (AI-assisted), IA, UI Design, Prototyping
Main insight discovered:
With 300+ employees spread across on-site locations, many with limited or no internet access, there's no central system for requests or documentation. Approvals, manuals, and contact lookups run through phone calls, emails, and printed binders.
The result is approval delays with no visibility into status, critical documents lost to paper and single locations, and inconsistent support with no clear path to the right contact.
Goals
Cut resolution time for support requests with a trackable request system.
Centralize manuals, forms, and approvals in one place, reachable from any site.
Make the right contact reachable in seconds.
Keep it usable on-site, even with weak or no connectivity (offline-first).
Research & Insights
I ran stakeholder workshops and interviews with 10 employees across drivers, workshop staff, and administration.
I mapped the findings on an affinity diagram, grouping pain points by role. The patterns defined the core user roles and their priorities.
Two constraints stood out. Staff mostly work on iPads and laptops on-site, and many locations have weak or no connectivity. The platform had to be fast on those devices and usable offline.
User Roles
Instead of fictional personas, I mapped the three real user groups by need, device, and context. This shaped the role-based access model, so each role opens a dashboard built around what they need.
Drivers need fast access to crane documents and approvals. iPad, often offline on-site.
Workshop need equipment history and maintenance docs. iPad or laptop, changing locations.
Administration oversee requests and approvals. Laptop, office, stable connection.
The Solution
One platform that brings every site, document, and request together
I designed a role-based intranet that centralizes communication, documents, and support — fast and usable on-site, even offline. Each person opens a dashboard built around their role, so the right file, contact, or approval is seconds away instead of buried in calls and paper.
I added:
Role-based dashboards, showing each user only what's relevant — notifications, approvals, and key links up front.
Centralized documents, with offline access and a sync indicator for the latest version.
Trackable support requests, without phone calls or emails.
Employee directory, to find the right person fast.
Emergency access, for procedures and contacts when it counts.
Information Architecture
With role-based access as the core feature, I mapped the structure as a simple sitemap. It shows how each role opens its own dashboard and which sections, documents, and tools it can reach.
Testing & Iteration
Testing showed search was the priority, so I focused there.
I built low-fidelity wireframes for the key screens and tested them with employees. Since people relied on search, I focused on a global search and added filters on the Documents and Cranes pages. I also added a download section on each Crane page with clearer naming, so users could grab the right file fast.
Digging Deeper
Drivers found the right crane but not the right file.
Testing surfaced real friction. Staff used to paper-based processes needed time to trust a digital tool, some workflows were too complex at first, and search wasn't well optimized early on. The clearest issue was with drivers: they reached the right crane, but document naming was inconsistent and hard to scan, so finding the right file still took too long.
Results
The platform is rolling out as an internal pilot. Early on it improved access to documents and communication, cutting reliance on phone calls and paper. In testing, staff could find information faster and reach the right contact more easily.
Iterations like global search, filters, and clearer grouping made complex content easier to navigate. Next: simpler document naming, a refined Cranes section, and gradual onboarding for less tech-savvy staff.
What I learned
If I started again, I’d involve drivers earlier. The naming problem only surfaced in testing. Earlier on-site interviews would have caught it sooner.
Next steps: simplify the document-naming convention, rework the Cranes section for faster scanning, and add guided onboarding for less tech-experienced staff.
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