Why It’s Time to Ditch Excel for Planning: A Smarter Approach with Mobideo

For decades, Excel has been the go-to tool for planning and managing complex operations across industries. Its flexibility, accessibility, and familiarity made it a mainstay in every planner’s toolbox. But as operations have become more complex and data-driven, the cracks in Excel’s foundation are becoming harder to ignore—and the risks are too costly to overlook.

 

The Problem with Excel: Limitations That Lead to Failure

Despite its ubiquity, Excel is not a purpose-built planning platform. In fact, it’s the source of some of the most well-known and costly errors in operational history.  Phys.org reports that a recent study found 94% of business spreadsheets contain critical errors, posing significant risks for financial losses and operational mistakes. This Guardian article discusses several high-profile spreadsheet errors, including a case where nearly 16,000 COVID-19 cases went unreported in England due to an Excel file exceeding its row capacity. CIO.com details eight significant spreadsheet mistakes, emphasizing the prevalence and consequences of such errors in various industries.

 

Consider these failures:

  • Simple errors with massive consequences: From JPMorgan’s $6 billion “London Whale” trading loss due to a copy-paste mistake to the previously mentioned 16,000 COVID-19 cases lost in the UK because of Excel’s row limit, history is full of examples showing just how dangerous spreadsheet errors can be.

  • Manual inputs = human error: Research shows that nearly 90% of spreadsheets contain errors. A single incorrect formula or missed update can ripple through a project, leading to scheduling delays, budget overruns, and safety risks.

  • Lack of real-time collaboration: Excel files are typically emailed around or stored on shared drives, leading to version control nightmares. It’s nearly impossible to track changes, maintain a single source of truth, or ensure the right people have the right data at the right time.

  • Not scalable for complex projects: Excel wasn’t built to manage thousands of interdependent tasks, multiple teams, dynamic resources, and evolving priorities. Yet many planners continue to stretch it far beyond its intended use.

 

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Enter Mobideo: Digital Planning Purpose-Built for Industrial Execution

Mobideo offers a digital planning and execution platform specifically designed to handle the complexity of industrial operations—Turnarounds (TARs or STOs), capital projects, and ongoing maintenance—with precision, visibility, and control.

Here’s why organizations are replacing Excel with Mobideo:

 

✅ Eliminate Errors and Gain Trust in Your Data

Mobideo removes manual data entry and siloed spreadsheets by creating a centralized, digital environment for planning. Instead of copy-pasting between sheets, planners use intelligent workflows, integrated systems, and structured templates that reduce human error and ensure data accuracy.

 

✅ Real-Time Visibility and Collaboration

With Mobideo, the entire team—planners, schedulers, supervisors, and contractors—works from a single, real-time platform. Everyone sees the same information, updated live, eliminating confusion and streamlining communication.

 

✅ Built for Scale and Complexity

Unlike Excel, Mobideo is built to handle the scale of industrial operations. Whether you’re managing 10,000 tasks or coordinating across multiple units and disciplines, Mobideo gives you the tools to visualize, prioritize, and adapt in real time.

 

✅ Connect Planning to Execution

Mobideo bridges the gap between planning and field execution. Planners don’t just build Gantt charts—they integrate with P6, assign digital work packages, track progress live from the field, and gain insights that inform better decision-making throughout the lifecycle of a project.

 

 

The Bottom Line

Excel will always have its place—for quick calculations or small-scale planning. But when it comes to critical industrial operations, where millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours are on the line, it's no longer sufficient.

Mobideo isn’t just an alternative to Excel—it’s a necessary evolution.

 

Learn more about Mobideo's template-based Planning Solution at https://mobideo.com/sto/addressing-the-complete-sto-lifecycle/