Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory, a division of Bartlett Tree Experts (BTE), offers a wide range of services aimed at providing preventive care and diagnostics to ensure good health for their clients’ trees.  Among Bartlett’s offerings are plant diagnostics, soil analysis, tree risk and structure evaluations and the production of yearly publications on topics such as Integrated Pest Management.

Bartlett faced numerous challenges that were impeding their operation.  These challenges included:

• Management and storage of vast amounts of information
• Difficulty dispersing diagnoses and recommendations made by their technicians due to the need to generate multiple reports to multiple parties including the Bartlett agents and national databases
• Inability to track which Bartlett agents had sent in samples
• Inability to easily update or access sample records and reports
• Inability to attach images to samples
• Errors due to generating reports by hand and the requirement of two full time employees to manage the process

In the past, Bartlett had utilized Microsoft Access or a paper based system.  When it became apparent that they needed an update, Bartlett explored the option of creating their own infrastructure but opted instead to use the University of Georgia's Consortium for Internet Imaging and Database Systems (CIIDS) Distance Diagnostics through Digital Imaging (DDDI) system.  BTE was attracted to the DDDI system because DDDI offered a web-based, fully hosted and supported application, easing the pressure on BTE’s  in-house IT staff.  Additionally, the flexibility of DDDI ensured that BTE  could work with the CIIDS staff to adapt the system to best fit their needs.

CIIDS created a robust system for Bartlett that allowed them to manage virtually all Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory services.  Some of the solutions the DDDI system has provided include:

• Streamlining plant diagnostics and soil submissions by storing all diagnoses and treatment plans in a central database, ensuring ease of sample submission and accurate recommendations
• Built in parameters to ensure data integrity including an extensive list of plants, specific plant and soil tests, user office organization, and client information retrieval from existing BTE databases
• Improvement in the production of the annual  pest management publication by allowing entries from 27 states as well as England and Canada to be stored in a central location that is easily accessible and modified as new recommendations are determined

Bartlett has seen a significant impact on their business operations.  These include:

• Ability to reposition two full time employees by eliminating the need to generate and copy reports by hand
• Reduction in turnaround time for diagnoses and recommendations by nearly a week which has led to an improvement in customer service and in turn, a greater capitalization on sales opportunities
• Reduction in the number of errors made on reports
• An incorporation of the system by the training department

A future goal for the system is to outfit their field officers with hand held data entry devices that will tie into the DDDI system.  This will allow field users to access information such as treatment recommendations as well as generating on the fly sample and activity reports all while out in the field directly servicing customers.  Bartlett Tree Experts has been extremely pleased with the applications developed by CIIDS.  Bruce Fraedrich, Bartlett Tree Experts Vice President of Research says, "I have been impressed by UGA's understanding of what we do and their ability to incorporate our needs into the DDDI system.  It has performed beyond our expectations."