Simple BI

Let’s get to the point: you’ve got data problems, and I’m here to solve them.

As Simple BI's Principal Consultant, I help companies like yours turn data into actionable insights. Here’s a look at some of my recent work:

Westlake Chemical
-Designed a self-service Power BI architecture, integrating Snowflake and SAP, led the adoption initiative across North America. 
Results: Unified data access, reduced report creation time, and empowered teams to make data-driven decisions.

MSA Safety
-Built Power BI dashboards to standardize KPIs and track productivity across global plants. 
-Developed Power Apps for data capture at the plants and centralized data in Dataverse. 
Results: Consolidated reporting, identified efficiency improvements, and eliminated manual data entry, boosting productivity.

Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs
-Replaced a paper-based process with a fully automated, cloud system with Power Apps, Power Pages, Power Automate, Dataverse. 
Results: Cut application processing time by 3 weeks, saving over $35k+ annually, drastically improving service.

Microsoft
-Streamlined report development by refining the Business Analysis process and optimizing Power BI with Dataflows and Data Marts. 
Results: Reduced development cycles by 2 weeks, enhanced self-service analytics and User Experience.

Waste Management
-Modernized legacy reports into dynamic, user-friendly Power BI dashboards, simplified 120+ semantic models, consolidated 180+ dashboards to improve governance and security. 
Results: Enhanced report usability, empowered teams with real-time insights, and reduced report redundancy, saving storage and improving data governance.

I’ve also worked with Smile Sonrisa Dental, Dan’s Management, My Everything Store, Transdev Canada, and Sera Tech, helping them harness the full potential of their data. 

If you’re ready to turn your data into your greatest asset, let’s connect. Shoot me a message, and let’s get started on solving your toughest challenges.

Power Platform & Fabric Principal Consultant

Core BTS

Looking back at my time with Core BTS, one project really tested my skills: Kroger Pharmacy. They needed two data marts—one for CDC Controlled Substances and another for The Little Clinic. The project was behind schedule, with potential penalties looming if we missed the deadline. And strict HIPAA compliance requirements added an extra layer of complexity.

Kroger had recently shifted from Data Vault to Dimensional Modeling, so we had to rethink the architecture fast and develop strong logical and physical data models. Using the Azure Data Platform, we built a new structure from the ground up: Azure Data Factory, and Databricks to move and transform data from the Data Lake into Azure Synapse Analytics. It was all about precision, security, and speed. 

In the end, we delivered on time, avoiding penalties and giving Kroger a scalable, efficient solution. This experience taught me the critical importance of data modeling, project management under pressure, and clear communication with stakeholders.

Later, I tackled a project with Subzero Group, migrating six legacy Crystal Reports to Power BI. Their reporting was clunky and outdated. By leveraging Power BI’s Dataflows and Datamarts, I turned these reports into scalable, real-time analytics tools that gave Subzero’s team the insights they needed, when they needed them.

Fast forward to today, whether I’m working with Microsoft, MSA, Westlake Chemical or Waste Management, I’m not just delivering projects; I’m crafting data solutions that scale, adapt, and drive lasting value. I know what’s at stake with data accuracy, deadlines, and compliance—and I draw on my past experiences to ensure my clients aren’t just keeping up; they’re staying ahead.

That’s the power of hands-on experience. I’ve seen how smart data solutions can transform businesses, and now I’m excited to help my clients turn their data challenges into opportunities for growth and success.

Sr Data Analytics Engineer

Insight

Working with Insight Enterprises —a leader in digital solutions— gave me hands-on experience with transformative tech projects. 

One of the biggest challenges was migrating TruGreen from Tableau and ThoughtSpot to Power BI. I began by assessing their needs, gathering requirements, and developing a roadmap for each migration. I optimized SQL scripts, adopted star schemas, and reusable semantic models ensuring the new Power BI systems were both robust and user-friendly.

One project that stands out was building a forecasting app that integrated Power BI with Power Apps for Tricorbraun. This tool allowed their global sales team to create forecast scenarios and write them back to an Azure SQL Database in real time from the Power BI interface. Seeing users build and adjust forecasts on the go—and with such ease—showed me the power of combining services of the Power Platform.

Another rewarding experience was with the LA City Fire Department. I designed geo-location maps in Power BI that displayed each unit’s real-time location and status, using Azure Databricks’ streaming capabilities. I also implemented Tabular models in Azure Analysis Services, enabling the fire department to analyze data more effectively, enhancing both speed and accuracy in critical decisions.

The result? I delivered scalable solutions that improved data insights, cut down on reporting time, and allowed clients to operate more efficiently. These projects at Insight Enterprises strengthened my consulting skills, data modeling expertise, and gave me experience managing complex stakeholder relationships—skills I now bring to every Simple BI project.

Today, as Principal Consultant, I bring this knowledge to clients like Westlake and Waste Management. I help them transition from outdated systems to scalable, cloud-based analytics that transform how they operate, make decisions, and grow. It’s all about leveraging experience to build future-ready solutions that help clients stay ahead of the curve.

BI Data Analytics Engineer

SMILE SONRISA DENTAL CENTER, P.C.

As a part-time Sr Business Intelligence Consultant in Smile Sonrisa Dental, one of the largest dental practices in Houston, I led, designed and implemented a custom business intelligence solution, enabling the management team to better understand their main KPIs and their drivers; in addition, I improved/automated several administrative tasks that saved a good amount of hours to this practice. Some of my more important achievements are:

• Designed and developed several Power BI reports showcasing the practice's main KPIs, providing the management team with a modern and efficient platform to understand their business and make informed decisions.
• Increased sales efficiency rate from 25% to 42% by identifying the dependence between treatment value and acceptance through regression models in Power BI and thus, adjusting the treatment proposal process.
• Slashed $3,000 per month by automating manual processes through Macros implementation in Excel (VBA).
• Trained the management team in the use and management of the dashboards and reports and, more importantly, helped them understand the importance and meaning of each KPI (from the business point of view) and the importance of the data being collected by the different business functions; through collective workshops and individual trainings.

Senior Business Intelligence Consultant

• Enabled management to make information-backed decisions by developing a BI platform in Power BI.

Business Intelligence Intern

Robert Half Management Resources

Working with Brock Group Texas as a consultant for Robert Half was a crash course in both technical skills and cultural adjustment. Coming from a Latin background, I found American office culture surprisingly distant. At Brock’s office, I rarely saw my supervisor, who was often visiting plants across the Gulf region. Feedback was hard to come by, which forced me to be resourceful and make decisions independently.

The project itself, however, was an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. Brock was using paper timesheets. I led the development of an electronic timesheet solution in Power Apps, which automated time tracking, saving over 800 hours of work in 2019—amounting to $12,000 in savings. 

At the same time, I worked on another critical project: analyzing cost drivers in maintenance projects executed at LyondellBasell's plats. Using Power BI and Excel, I built cost models that helped project managers optimize productivity and keep costs down. This was my first deep dive into data analytics on a large scale, and it taught me the value of connecting digital tools with practical, on-the-ground insights.

These projects came with their share of challenges. Navigating cultural differences, learning U.S. business practices, and managing stakeholder expectations stretched my skills and strengthened my resilience. I learned to collaborate with both field workers and office staff.

Today, as Principal Consultant at Simple BI, these experiences shape my approach with clients like Waste Management, Westlake Chemical and MSA. I bring a focus on efficiency, scalable solutions, and the ability to adapt quickly to different business environments. I know firsthand how the right digital tools can transform processes, save resources, and empower teams—whether they’re in the office or out in the field. 

My journey with Brock Group laid the foundation for the work I do now: helping businesses leverage data and technology to overcome challenges and drive meaningful change.

Business Intelligence Consultant

Tory Technologies, Inc.

Delivered data-backed recommendations which led to enhanced user’s experience, reduced clicks per transaction, leaner interfaces, shortlisted alternatives, and auto-filling capabilities, by means of multivariate quantitative analysis, decision trees models using R, Python.

Data Analytics Intern 

Agregados Rio Negro Cundinamarca SAS

In Agregados Rio Negro Cundinamarca SAS, a construction materials producer, it was my goal to optimize the production process, increase the quality of the materials produced, all this while decreasing the unit cost of production. During this time, my most important achievement was:
• Optimized and re-designed the hauling, stocking, re-loading operations through a detailed data analytics and methods engineering study, eliminating inefficient steps in the process, leading to an increased output of 8% per year and a reduction in cost of 3% of the total cost of production.

Optimization & Business Intelligence Manager

Various Companies

Contract Administrator, 9/2011 to 3/2013
SNC-Lavalin International – Coal Mining - Colombia

Procurement Coordinator, 2/2010 to 5/2011 
Frontera Energy Corp. (Pacific Stratus Energy) – Oil & Gas - Colombia

Various Positions

The Power BI Whisperer | Power BI, Fabric Principal Consultant @Simple BI Inc

Let’s get to the point: you’ve got data problems, and I’m here to solve them. 
 
Imagine running an operation where every decision is backed by clear, actionable insights.  

No more guesswork.  
No more surprises.  

Just a seamless flow of information that drives your company forward. 

I'm David Giraldo, Principal Consultant of Data Analytics at Simple BI.  

In every corner of the manufacturing world, I’ve seen: 
 
• Unreliable demand forecasts 
• Constant stockouts that leave customers frustrated 
• Capacity constraints bottlenecking your production, eating into your profits  

Over the past few years, I've helped companies like Microsoft*, Westlake Chemical*, Waste Management*, MSA The Safety Co*, Sub-Zero Group*, Tricorbraun*, and Kroger Pharmacy* not just navigate these issues but turn them into strengths. 
 
Here’s how I solved them: 
 
1. We start with your data.  
 
Whether it’s buried in SAP, outdated systems or siloed in 1,000 Excel files across your organization, we dig in and bring it all together.   

From there, we design advanced analytics solutions using Azure Data Platform, Microsoft Fabric to give you a 360-degree view of your operations. 
  
2. We build clarity.  

We create reports in Power BI that deliver the exact insights you need to: 
 
• Optimize your supply chain 
• Predict demand more accurately 
• Manage your inventory in real time 
 
3. We drive action.  

We work with your team to automate processes and simplify operations so you can focus on what matters:  

Growing your business without the operational headaches. 
 
My goal is simple:  

I help manufacturing leaders turn data into decisions that don't just keep businesses running, but position them to thrive in an increasingly competitive market. 
 
Ready to see how your data can work as hard as you do? 

Let's chat. Send me a message here on LinkedIn or visit www.simplebi.net. 
  
*Through third-party

Here’s my 4-stage root cause checklist that shows you why your dashboards keep failing: 

Most teams think “root cause” means fixing a DAX formula or tweaking a refresh. 

That’s why the same bugs keep haunting your dashboards quarter after quarter. 

Here’s how I break it down for clients who are tired of firefighting: 
 
1️⃣ Symptom level: 

What’s visibly broken? 

• Reports are late 
• Cards are blank 
• Numbers don’t match  

Too many BI teams stop here and patch the output (“just refresh it again!”). 

2️⃣ Data/model level: 
 
Break the KPI down. Ask: 

• Did the source system change a column name or data type? 

• Are new relationships or filters skewing results? 

• Is a calculated measure failing silently in the background? 

This is where you find things like schema drift, orphaned joins, or stealthy model bloat. 

3️⃣ Pipeline/process level: 
 
Go one step upstream: 

• Are refreshes colliding with end-of-month crunch? 
• Did someone change the dataflow schedule? 
• Was a gateway or API throttled? 

This layer exposes hidden operational failures that the dashboard UI will never tell you. 

4️⃣ System level: 

Ask the hard questions: 

• Who owns this metric? Is there a clear definition? 
• How are changes communicated – if at all? 
• If the report lead is out, can anyone else fix it? 
• Is there a runbook or just tribal knowledge? 

This is where most outages repeat – because processes, not tech, are usually the root. 

If you only dig 1 or 2 layers deep, you’ll keep firefighting. 

If you make it to step 4, you solve problems so they don’t come back.

PS. Save this post and share it with your team.

David Giraldo

Saved over $500k for clients with 25+ reporting and data analytics solutions | Azure, Power Platform & Fabric Consultant

Last quarter, a client’s lead analyst resigned. 

Next business review, nobody could agree if “Gross Margin” included rebates, freight, or both. 

Operations went one way, finance another, and the metrics war started – all because the logic wasn’t written anywhere practical. 
 
It doesn’t matter what stack you use. Your BI is only as resilient as your KPI definitions. 

Here’s how I stop this from wrecking teams: 

---

PS. Found this helpful? Save this post for later 💾

The Silent Killer of BI Projects

Every BI leader I talk to has the same dirty secret this year: 

They’re waiting for a visa, and losing six figures to delay while spreadsheets take over. 

H‑1B approvals are now a nine-month gamble.  

In the meantime, critical business decisions are starved of answers – and shadow systems creep in, fast. 

I wrote my new ebook – “BI After H‑1B” – for teams who can’t hire, can’t wait, and can’t afford another quarter of rot. 

Not theory. Not thought leadership. Field-tested fixes I’m shipping with clients, right now. 

You’ll get: 

👉🏻 The 30-day triage plan for teams stuck in “immigration limbo”  

👉🏻 Real-world case studies: see how teams cut refresh times from 42 to 9 minutes and saved hundreds of thousands after hiring stalled 

👉🏻 A nearshore delivery playbook: how to ramp up skilled BI support within two weeks – even if headcount is frozen and visas are in limbo 

👉🏻 Pricing, setup time, and retention risk – crunched: use the included breakdowns to make a credible business case for getting BI moving, not stuck in red tape 

If your BI team is waiting for the next H‑1B, you’re already behind. 

If you want the PDF, comment “EBOOK” or DM me.

The number your CFO actually cares about: cost of delay. 

And with the recent visa mess caused by H-1B, it’s even more important: 

Every time your new BI hire is stuck in “visa purgatory,” your CFO’s budget quietly bleeds out the side.  

Most teams brag about getting a great deal on day rates, but nobody wants to tally up the real price: four weeks of frozen reporting, blocked decisions, execs yelling for answers. 

Here’s what nobody puts in the RFP:

👉 Six months of stalled hires = $1M+ in lost margin, missed opportunities, and yet another shadow spreadsheet. 

👉 “Just wait for the visa” – meanwhile, your most valuable KPIs rot. The business loses trust, and by the time your new analyst finally arrives – the backlog doubled.  

No one remembers what “monthly revenue” even means. 

There’s a smarter math. Here’s what I use: 

• Count the decisions blocked this month (not tasks – calls that move dollars). 
• Estimate $ impact per week, per decision. 
• Multiply it out: blocked × $/week × 4 = cost of waiting. 

The fix is faster than you think. Nearshore pods ship in 10 days, not 2 quarters. They pay for themselves before HR gets a visa update. 

So: Are you still comparing vendors on day rate – or are you ready to put a dollar sign on waiting?

H‑1B hiring now takes 6–9 months and up to $100K before a single KPI ships. 

Meanwhile your backlog grows, execs bypass BI, and shadow spreadsheets take over.  

Visa approvals aren’t a delivery plan.  
 
They’re a hope strategy.  

The real cost is the quarter you lose while nothing ships. 

Do this instead: 

1. Start a 10‑day nearshore ramp with full time‑zone overlap. 

Day 1–3:  

↳ Triage the backlog 
↳ Pick the 10 decisions that are blocked 
↳ Run a health check on models and refresh 
 
Day 4–10:  

↳ Clean the model 
↳ Fix refresh windows 
↳ Kill dead columns 
↳ Separate exec scan from analyst views 

Ship version 1 by day 10. 

2. Run a 30‑day BI triage. 

Week 2–4:  

↳ Publish KPI contracts (owner, calc, freshness SLA, change window) 
↳ Add “What changed this week” to every exec page 
↳ Set alerts on failures, and bus‑test your team so one vacation doesn’t stall reporting. 

Expect 20–40% compute savings from basic hygiene. 

Simple BI Inc plugs senior Power BI and Fabric engineers into your stack in 10 business days. 

We stabilize models, publish KPI contracts, and get blocked dashboards live fast – so you can hire on your timeline, not the visa office’s. 

Sounds interesting? DM me for a free 15-min session about your current BI challenges with my team.

If one person holds your model in their head, the H-1B hiring freeze just turned them into a single point of failure. You know the pattern:  
 
Refresh fails at 6:05, a schema shifts, a KPI drifts 2–3%, and only one person knows the fix.  

They’re on PTO. Or in another meeting. Or they left. 
 
Here’s how I de‑risk this without adding headcount. 
 
Run the quarterly bus test and role swap: 
 
• One day per quarter, your hero is hands off. A second analyst runs the show. 

• They must ship one change and recover one failure using docs only. 

• Track where they get stuck past 15 minutes. Those are your documentation gaps for the next sprint. 
 
Also, bake resilience into your Definition of Done. More in the playbook below: 
 
––– 
PS. If your hero took two weeks off tomorrow, what would break first?

taplio

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