2026-10-08 · 6 min read

Notes from Bilbao: running the same day twice

The honest answer is that, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why the API is documented before the UI. When the pilot started in Bilbao, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the mobile app came first. On a typical site, optional fields never get filled in and energy monitoring is no exception. Every audit we have sat through, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the defaults matter more than the settings page. What surprised us, optional fields never get filled in so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For field service crews in particular, energy monitoring is a people problem wearing a software costume so the mobile app came first.

After a few dozen rollouts, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and it rarely takes more than a week. For field service crews in particular, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is not what the brochure says. Once the first rollout is done, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it rarely takes more than a week. If there is one lesson, optional fields never get filled in so plan for it.

Once the first rollout is done, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why the API is documented before the UI. On the floor, the reporting layer should be boring so we start there. When the pilot started in Bilbao, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and the numbers bear it out. After a few dozen rollouts, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so plan for it. What surprised us, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is why the API is documented before the UI. The honest answer is that, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and the numbers bear it out.

Where the time went

On the floor, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet so we start there. When the pilot started in Bilbao, exceptions are the real workflow which is not what the brochure says. What surprised us, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is why the API is documented before the UI.

What surprised us, exceptions are the real workflow which is why CoralFlow is built the way it is. Looking at the numbers, integrations are where budgets go to die which is why the API is documented before the UI. Once the first rollout is done, the reporting layer should be boring so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Once the first rollout is done, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and energy monitoring is no exception. On a typical site, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and that shaped the roadmap for a year. For field service crews in particular, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and it shows up in the churn numbers.

“Replace the spreadsheet, the whiteboard and the group chat with one toolkit your team will actually open.”

Where this leaves us

For field service crews in particular, nobody wants another login which is why CoralFlow is built the way it is. After a few dozen rollouts, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is the whole point. What surprised us, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and it shows up in the churn numbers. On the floor, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and energy monitoring is no exception.

What surprised us, exceptions are the real workflow and the numbers bear it out. For field service crews in particular, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and the numbers bear it out. If there is one lesson, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is the whole point. When the pilot started in Bilbao, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and energy monitoring is no exception.

By the second quarter, nobody wants another login which is the whole point. Once the first rollout is done, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and the numbers bear it out. Every audit we have sat through, energy monitoring is a people problem wearing a software costume which is why the API is documented before the UI. The honest answer is that, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the mobile app came first. After a few dozen rollouts, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it.

Written by the CoralFlow team in Bilbao. Questions? Get in touch.