UMT Plus
By Laubrass Inc.
Laubrass Inc., the developer of UMT Plus, is a Canadian technology company based in Montreal, Quebec. Since its founding in 1988, Laubrass has established itself as a global leader in the field of work measurement and productivity improvement software. The company’s primary focus is providing industrial engineers, continuous improvement professionals, and management consultants with tools that eliminate waste and optimize human and mechanical resources. Laubrass operates with a philosophy centered on 'Lean' principles, ensuring that their software not only collects data but helps organizations visualize and eliminate non-value-added activities. Their footprint extends across more than 40 countries, serving sectors ranging from automotive manufacturing to high-stakes healthcare environments. The company is recognized for its technical expertise and its ability to adapt industrial engineering methodologies into user-friendly mobile software solutions.
Laubrass was founded in 1988 in Montreal by a group of industrial engineering experts, including Charles-Etienne Brassard, who has led the company as President. The company began as a consulting firm focused on operational efficiency and productivity. Recognizing the severe limitations of stopwatches and paper-based data collection in the late 80s and early 90s, the founders pivoted toward developing software that could digitize the observation process. This led to the creation of the original UMT (Universal Measuring Tool), which initially ran on early PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) like the Palm Pilot. Over three decades, the company evolved the product into UMT Plus, transitioning from legacy handhelds to modern iOS and Android platforms, while maintaining a strong commitment to its roots in industrial engineering precision.
Laubrass Inc. is a privately held corporation. Unlike many modern software startups that rely heavily on venture capital (VC) funding and rapid-burn growth strategies, Laubrass has historically followed a model of organic, sustainable growth fueled by product revenue and long-term client partnerships. This self-funded approach has allowed the company to maintain strict control over its product roadmap, ensuring that feature development remains focused on the practical needs of industrial engineers rather than investor demands. While the company does not publicly disclose funding rounds or valuation milestones, its longevity (35+ years) and the global adoption of its tools by Fortune 500 companies like Avon and diverse healthcare systems attest to its financial stability and market-leading position.
The company’s product portfolio is centered around the UMT (Universal Measuring Tool) brand, with UMT Plus serving as the flagship work measurement suite. Beyond UMT Plus, Laubrass offers specialized modules like UMT Standards, which helps managers manage and maintain labor standards across large organizations. Other key offerings include UMT Audit, designed for inspections and quality control audits; UMT San, a niche tool for managing and processing sanitation inspections in highly regulated environments; and UMT Flow, which focuses on workflow management and path analysis. Each of these products is designed to work within the broader Laubrass ecosystem, often sharing the same philosophy of mobile data collection followed by robust PC-based analysis, allowing companies to standardize their efficiency-tracking tools across different departments.
Laubrass has successfully expanded from a local Canadian consulting firm into a global software provider with thousands of clients worldwide. Its geographic expansion has been driven by both direct sales and a network of specialized partners and distributors in regions like the United States, Europe, and Asia. Notably, the software is widely used in the United Kingdom, the US, and across Western Europe in manufacturing hubs. The company has also made significant inroads into the healthcare sector, particularly in the US and Canada, where its tools are used to optimize nursing workflows and hospital operations. Recent expansion efforts have focused on enhancing their cloud infrastructure to support multi-site global enterprises that need to aggregate productivity data from facilities located in different time zones and countries.
The most recent major release, UMT Plus Version 20, introduced several critical updates designed for modern collaborative environments. Key new features include integrated video capabilities, allowing observers to record video alongside timestamps for even more detailed process analysis. The version also significantly upgraded data communication methods, introducing seamless integration with Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive, as well as a new 'Cloud' version that facilitates easier team collaboration and remote study management. Furthermore, the UI for both Android and iOS apps was refreshed to improve user experience on modern high-resolution tablets. The StatUMT module also received updates to its reporting engine, adding more granular filtering options and faster processing for datasets exceeding one million observations.
The culture at Laubrass is described as innovation-driven and engineering-centric. With a team comprised of many individuals with backgrounds in industrial engineering and software development, the company emphasizes 'wise advice' and 'friendly service' as much as its technical output. There is a strong emphasis on the 'Lean' mindset—not just in the products they sell, but in their internal operations. This translates to a work environment that values efficiency, practical problem-solving, and continuous improvement. The company maintains a close-knit feel, despite its global reach, and prides itself on providing high-touch support and customized training to its clients, reflecting a culture of partnership rather than just vendor-customer transactions.
Laubrass fosters a dedicated user community primarily through its technical resources, training webinars, and social media presence on LinkedIn and Facebook. They provide an extensive library of 'Tips and Training' guides, startup manuals, and video demonstrations that serve as a learning hub for industrial engineering students and professionals alike. The company often participates in major industrial engineering conferences and Lean summits, where users of UMT Plus can share best practices and case studies. Their LinkedIn community is particularly active with updates on productivity improvements and software tips. While they do not host a traditional public forum, their support ecosystem acts as a tight feedback loop where user requests directly influence the development of new software versions.
