KPMG rolls out Power Platform-fueled assessment tools for workplace re-entry

Microsoft's Power Platform, its set of low-code/no-code tools plus Power BI business-intelligence offering, is at the heart of a new KPMG framework for workplace re-entry.

Written by Mary Jo Foley, Senior Contributing Editor on June 25, 2020

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Now that more companies are moving toward having their workers come back to the office -- at least to some degree -- tech companies are looking for ways to participate in the process. KPMG is using Microsoft's Power Platform low-code/no-code tools to create a new risk-based framework meant to help companies implement a workplace-re-entry program during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The framework integrates Power Apps, Power BI and Power Automate with apps and services that customers can use to create a data-driven return-to-work strategy, KPMG officials announced on June 25.

KPMG's "Restarting America program" digital toolkit consists of six major components: A mobile app meant to be used by employees, fans, crews, and others who need to handle wellness tasks like daily check-ins, status reports, travel or stay-at-home requests, etc. This app was built with Power Apps which also can be integrated into Microsoft Teams

A decision-support dashboard for decision-makers and facility managers to obtain insights on employees, facilities, protocols, etc., which KPMG built using Microsoft Power BI, and which optionally integrates with Power Automate for workflow-management
A risk-scoring engine that provides quantified scores for community and individual threat revels and risks. This is exposed as application programming interfaces and uses Microsoft's Azure Functions serverless technology
Workflow and case management for automation of various tasks using Power Automate
Data and App integration, which integrates HR, testing provider, badge reader, wi-fi-gateways, and other back-end systems. This uses Power Automate and Microsoft Logic Apps technologies under the covers
Contact and proximity tracing built around ten techniques and using Power Automate and/or external workflow tools

KPMG officials said they've built accelerators, or user-customizable blueprints, for each of the six components. The framework pieces plus accelerators are custom-built, so pricing varies depending on integration and other the type of specialized workflows users need built.