Best Manufacturing Mobile Application

BACKGROUND
Commercial Property and Facility Managers are often faced with an unsightly problem: ceilings in the
properties they manage can become water‐stained or damaged, and therefore reflect negatively on the
commercial interior. Walk into a school, restaurant, office, or retail location and look up, and you’ll likely
see the need to replace a ceiling tile or two. The challenge for Property Managers is two‐fold:
1) properly identifying the damaged ceiling tiles in order to find an appropriate replacement, and
2) locating a source to buy the replacement material.
SOLUTION
Armstrong Commercial Ceilings developed a Replacement Ceilings mobile app to solve these
challenges. The app assists users in identifying an acoustical ceiling based on what they are able to
observe while looking at the damaged ceiling.
After the user selects the app, they can either enter the manufacturer’s name, or the item number, or
search using a list of pre‐selected attributes. If the results are inconclusive, the user has another option.
They can take a picture of the damaged tile with their iPhone and email it to Armstrong Technical
Services for assistance.
To address the “where to buy” challenge, the app interfaces with Grainger.com, an industrial supply
company. All replacement ceiling products are linked to the corresponding Grainger website product
page where an order can be placed.
RESULTS
The Replacement Ceilings app is public and available in the App Store. It is co‐branded with Grainger for
use by the Grainger sales force. Since its launch in 2013, the app has been installed on nearly 900
devices; averages 160 uses per month; and is being added to the Grainger mobile app exchange for
mass deployment early this year.
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/replacement‐ceiling‐panels/id631518013?mt=8

Contributors:

Kate Burger:	User Experience Designer
Tim Funk:	Information Tech Lead
Robert Grube:	Software Engineer
Sally Kresge:	eMarketing Manager, Commercial Businesses
Gregg Maberry:	Sales Integration Manager
Gretchen Miller:	Information Technician/Architect
Michael Pearse:	Web Quality Assurance Analyst
Caroline Smith:	IT Project Manager
Steven Walter:	Senior Project Manager

ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES

Location: United States

About the Agency:

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of floors and ceilings. In 2012, Armstrong's consolidated net sales from continuing operations totaled approximately $2.6 billion. Based in Lancaster, Pa., Armstrong operates 32 plants in eight countries and has approximately 8,500 employees worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.armstrong.com/.