Alpin Sun: from field tablets to a 07:00 report for an 89.4 MW solar park
An offline-first automation that turns the installation status of 4,228 mounting tables into validated zone totals, an updated Excel workbook, a live dashboard and a daily PDF report.
| Client | Alpin Sun, solar park installation |
|---|---|
| Scale | 89.4 MW · 15 zones · 4,228 mounting tables · 144,000+ panels (615 W and 620 W) |
| Services | Field data capture, workflow automation, automated reporting |
| Stack | Offline tablet forms, cloud staging database, n8n, Python, Excel .xlsm, web dashboard, email |
| Project scope | Five phases, delivered within a 6-week contract window |
The challenge
On a utility-scale solar construction site, progress is measured table by table. For every mounting table, crews record the status of each post (rammed, drilled or ballasted), whether the substructure is assembled and how many panels of which type are mounted. Alpin Sun kept all of this in a large .xlsm workbook with one sheet per zone and summary sheets for totals, percentages and overall progress.
Filling that workbook by hand meant late numbers, typing errors and hours of office work every day. And the site has no reliable mobile coverage, so cloud apps that need a connection were not an option.
The solution: five automated phases
- Offline data capture. Tablet forms for each of the 15 zones record status per table: posts P1–P15 and p1–p15, substructure (SAT triangles), panels by type, and perimeter or central position. Everything works without internet.
- Daily synchronisation. When tablets reach the Wi-Fi at base camp, pending records upload to a cloud staging database. Each zone syncs independently, and retry logic handles interrupted uploads.
- Validation and aggregation. Automatic checks catch missing post entries, impossible panel counts, duplicate table IDs and status regressions. Clean data is aggregated into zone totals and completion percentages.
- Excel automation. The existing workbook stays the single source of truth for the team: zone sheets get updated rows, and the summary sheets SANTIER CIFRE, SANTIER PROCENTE and GGG get totals, percentages and the overall progress figure.
- Dashboard and reports. A live dashboard shows overall and per-zone progress, daily throughput and a projected completion date. A PDF report goes out automatically at 07:00, and email alerts flag milestones and zero-progress days.
Design decisions that matter
- Offline first. Capture never depends on connectivity; sync happens when it can.
- Keep the Excel. Project managers keep the workbook they know. Automation fills it instead of replacing it.
- Validate before you count. Errors are flagged the same day, before they reach a total or a client report.
- Zones are independent. One zone with a sync problem never blocks the report for the other 14.
The same pattern fits any project measured in repeated units: mounting tables, piles, cable runs, turbines, apartments or inspection points.
Why the daily report was the right first candidate, and how to find yours: where to start when you automate business processes.