Momentum Multiply has chosen DVT, a company in the JSE AltX-listed DTH group, to develop and build an application that maps and monitors clients' physical activity levels as a means of tracking healthy lifestyle improvement.
The wellness programme of insurance giant Momentum Multiply promotes healthy lifestyles through exercise and activity, sensible eating habits and a stimulated mind. The initiative measures activity using the Omron pedometer, a device designed in Japan that measures the distance clients have walked or run on a daily basis.
DVT was commissioned by Momentum Multiply to design and develop an application that enabled the downloading of data directly from the device to the company's central database.
“The ideal way to map our clients' activity levels was to gain insight into the distance they walked or ran each day,” says Norman Swart, head of operations at Momentum Multiply.
“Rather than rely on clients manually capturing their data into the pedometer, we needed the device to integrate directly with our central system via a Web service interface as soon as it was connected, measuring not only steps walked but, more specifically, aerobic steps - showing when clients moved on foot at a pace faster than one step a second for 10 minutes or longer. This would enable us to determine not only distance covered, but kilojoules and fat burned by the person each day.
“In addition, the solution had to be compatible with .NET v1.1 and run on XP, Vista and various other platforms. As a Microsoft Gold partner, DVT offered the right skills and development capabilities for the job.”
DVT's solutions architect Paul Stevens says the task presented two main challenges: firstly, the creation of an interop layer or custom wrapper to bridge the gap between C++, the language in which the device was written, and .NET, which was the code of choice for the application; and secondly, deciphering the documentation and sample code, which was written in Mandarin.
“A third challenge was the hardware itself - we're used to designing financial applications. This was completely different from anything we'd ever tackled,” says Stevens.
The solution was rolled out in July 2008, and the pedometers were distributed via Momentum's online shopping site. Swart says the uptake of the pedometers among Momentum Multiply's client base proves the success of the application - within six months more than 3 000 devices had been distributed, all without a single software glitch.
“We have an estimated 60 000 adults on our wellness programme to date, and we plan to roll out the pedometer to as many people as possible. The programme offers a financial incentive to those clients who achieve consistent lifestyle improvement, so we expect the uptake of the pedometer to increase steadily. Our short-term goal is to see at least 50 000 pedometers active in the next 12 months,” says Swart.
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