Innovations
KCI has had the pleasure of working with clients, many for several decades, to create systems, software, standards and processes which have resulted in meaningful improvements in the client's environment. We have had these opportunities in the fields of healthcare, insurance, government, membership management, printing, and scientific research, as well as in commercial and First Nations enterprises.
In the course of working with our clients, KCI has often had the opportunity to not just build a system but to offer true innovation. Listed below are examples of such innovations - solutions which were not simply logical variations of existing systems or implementations of conventional systems – they ‘changed the game’ in terms of what clients could achieve, either for their in-house operations or for the benefit of their customers.
We intentionally listed the innovations listed below by date rather than by the industry where they were first applied. You may find, as we have, that sometimes the solution you are seeking is suggested by a solution applied in another sector.
Benefit
Innovation
Year
Sector
Provided a repository of all file versions, and records file and version changes and the details of all instances, file exchanges, and deployments. Reduced deployment risk and simplifies deployment of updates and the creation of new site instances or rollback to prior builds.
Designed and implemented a content management system. Provides a historical repository of files, file change lists, exchangeable packages of file, and point-in-time instances of site builds for ‘one click’ deployment to test and production environments.
2012
Insurance
Allowed merchants to re-use their Internet connection and reduce their reliance on telephone lines; this reduces costs and/or opportunities for interference with other telephone based devices (fax, modem).
Developed a system for the secure exchange of credit and debit card transactions over the Internet.
2005
General
Allowed a card-order website to provide draft copy of the cards to be ordered, and supported direct production of print plates upon order confirmation. This reduced production costs and provided greater customer participation in the design process.
Devised a service which accepted card stock, user-supplied text and characteristics which returned an image of the text on the card stock including typeset features such as multi-letter kerning.
2005
Commercial Printer
The standard is used extensively in oral health in Canada and Bermuda, and across disciplines in the National Health Service in the UK. Its advantages are: security (authentication and encryption); correct endpoint knowledge of state; and, endpoints can move transactions without the need to know how to interpret or process the transactions.
Created an ebXML-based communication standard, as an HL7 International standard, for the secure and authenticated exchange of financial and clinical transactions across the Internet.
2004
Health
This system has gone from concept to handling over half the electronic oral health claims in Canada. This design improved system uptime, error detection, service and support, for both claims and clinical messages.
Designed, piloted and rolled out the ITRANS centralized internet-based electronic claims and clinical message exchange system.
2002
Electronic Claims
Provided a model and mechanism for use of a single credential which could be accepted across the health industry thereby increasing the state-of-the-art of security while reducing administration costs.
Devised a Public Key Infrastructure for authentication of Health Care Providers.
2002
Health
Reduced the number of computers to support the game system from eight to one thereby reducing cost and complexity.
Devised efficient video driver to support unique video delivery to multiple touch-screens from a single PC.
2001
Gaming
Removed human intervention thereby reducing risk.
Devised a method for ‘reading’ playing cards to automate table games.
2001
Gaming
Key steps in the implementation of a ‘chipless’ table game and financial management system.
Implemented simulators for card shuffler and specific game ‘perfect player’ systems for product certification.
2001
Gaming
Virtually eliminated registration paperwork and maximized frequency of product registration.
Developed a Web-based software activation system for a commercial software product which KCI also developed for a client.
1999
Commercial
Provided desktop application-like user experience in a Web-hosted application.
Implemented the 4GL as an ActiveX control and implemented task-servers to manage a Web-hosted implementation of the IFIS Insurance management system.
1996
Insurance
Reduced the ‘barrier to entry' for Insurers to be able to receive electronic Dental claims.
Created an interface engine to link 3rd Party Health Insurer proprietary systems to dental offices using the CDAnet standards.
1993
Electronic Claims
Significantly reduced administration time and costs, allowed processing without human intervention and virtually eliminated the bottleneck associated with large submission volumes just before deadlines.
Implemented an optical scanning input system, by fax or scanner, for course credits which linked directly into the transcript and membership management system.
1991
Continuing Education
Provided increased design consistency, and reduced development and maintenance timeframes and costs.
Developed a 4GL environment with a hypertext-based help system and data-driven screens, menus, database structure and a commercial report generator.
1988
General
Significantly reduced the administration staffing, input delays and costs associated with underwriting and accounting.
Created an interface engine to link central market policy adjustment and financial transactions to company Policy and Claims system.
1987
Electronic Claims
Provided significant performance, availability, flexibility and cost savings.
Developed first LAN-based Policy and Claims system for a London market Direct Property and Casualty Insurer located in England.
1987
Insurance
Reduced errors and administrative costs associated with collection and conveyance of log scaling information from the yard to the mill.
Co-developed a hand-help log scaling and reporting system.
1986
Forestry
Reduced ‘time to develop’, risk and associated costs for reporting.
Developed a report generator add-on to a 4GL environment.
1985
General
Provided significant performance, availability, flexibility and cost savings.
Developed first LAN-based Policy & Claims system for an International Reinsurer.
1985
Insurance
Reduce the administrative time and costs for geological surveys which in turn allowed for in-field alteration of surveys in response to findings.
Developed a hand-held data collection system, remote data submission and mapping system for geological surveys.
1985
Mining
Allowed business to use dBase III for multi-user applications.
Devised a modification to dBase III to support multi-user implementations.
1984
General
Significantly reduced the size, and cost of a multi-channel light show-controller.
Co-devised a new computer system and developed the software to manage a sound-activated light-show system.
1983
Entertainment
Significantly reduced the cost and time required to calculate a new set of projections.
Devised a new migration estimation approach for the population projection system.
1981
Government
Provided a standardized measure of cardiac function.
Co-developed standardized measure of S-T Segment Depression for assessment of a post-coronary exercise program.
1980
Health
Allowed for identification of service ‘gaps’ and provided more grounded support for initiatives and budget requests.
Co-developed a needs-based budgeting methodology and system for a department within the Ministry of Health.
1979
Health
Reduced administrative costs, created early health record system, provided research and monitoring database.
Applied Optical Scan Form technology to University Health Services standard intake form.
1979
Health
When iteratively fed back to equipment calibration, resulted in significantly fewer returns.
Devised an approach to defect analysis to ascertain possible causes of package failure.
1978
Commercial Dairy
Resulted in a better list of questions: better accuracy; fewer false positives and negatives; and, expected lower rate of negative health events and lower national health costs.
PAR-Q – Devised alternate approach to question selection for the Canadian national Physical Activity Readiness Questionaire.
1978
Health