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How I Built My First Compliance Dashboard

When I started my AI Engineering apprenticeship at Corndel, I inherited a compliance tracking system that lived entirely in Excel. Multiple spreadsheets, manual updates, and a monthly scramble to compile reports for stakeholders.

There had to be a better way.

The Problem

Our facilities team was managing HVAC compliance across multiple sites. The data existed — temperature logs, maintenance records, testing schedules — but it was scattered across different systems. Every month, someone spent hours copying and pasting data into a master spreadsheet, formatting it, and hoping there were no errors.

The pain points:

  • Manual data entry (20+ hours per month)
  • High risk of human error
  • No real-time visibility
  • Difficult to spot trends or issues early

The Solution

I proposed building a Power BI dashboard that would:

  1. Pull data automatically from our existing systems
  2. Update in real-time
  3. Highlight compliance risks immediately
  4. Generate reports at the click of a button

The pitch was simple: "Let me spend one month building this, and save us 20 hours every month after that."

What I Learned

Start with the end in mind

Before touching Power BI, I sat with the facilities manager and asked: "What decisions do you need to make? What questions do you need answered?" This shaped everything.

Automate incrementally

I didn't try to automate everything at once. First, I built the dashboard with manual data imports. Then, I automated one data source at a time. Each step showed value and built confidence.

Design for your audience

Facilities managers don't need fancy visualizations. They need clear, actionable information. Red for overdue, green for compliant, amber for approaching deadlines. Simple works.

The Impact

Three months in, the dashboard has:

  • Eliminated manual monthly reporting
  • Caught 3 potential compliance issues early
  • Given leadership real-time visibility
  • Become the single source of truth for HVAC data

More importantly, it proved that investing time in automation pays dividends. The team now asks: "Can we dashboard that?" instead of reaching for Excel.

For Anyone Starting Out

If you're building your first dashboard:

  1. Talk to users first — understand the problem before you start building
  2. Start small — one data source, one clear question
  3. Make it useful, then make it pretty — functionality beats aesthetics
  4. Document as you go — your future self will thank you
  5. Show progress early — stakeholder buy-in is easier when they see value quickly

Building dashboards isn't just about technical skills. It's about understanding business problems and creating tools that make people's jobs easier.

That's the work I love doing.

Have questions about building your first dashboard? Connect with me on LinkedIn.