Headquartered in Verden, Lower Saxony, the Matthäi Group comprises of more than 40 independent locations and branches in northern Germany as well as its own construction and raw material production facilities in Germany and Europe. Today, the group of companies, whose origins lie in its foundation in 1933 by Hermann and Rudolph Matthäi, has a workforce of over 2,000 employees and comprehensive expertise in earthworks and civil engineering, road and rail construction, building construction, special engineering, turnkey construction, hydraulic engineering, infrastructure and power plant construction. At the same time, Matthäi has already implemented business segments such as “floating homes” in several German cities as residential, commercial and vacation domiciles.
Simple user guidance and extensive functionalities
After the civil engineering division had already successfully introduced the 123onsites app solution for time tracking in 2018, it was quickly decided to apply this to all construction sites throughout the Group. In addition to the extensive functionality, the simple user guidance and the offline data acquisition were relevant for the decision. Normally, the app sends the entered data straight to the office application via radio – without a radio connection, the data is nevertheless stored offline and automatically transferred as soon as reception works again.
Commercial employee Manuela Süßkind, responsible for the introduction of 123onsite throughout the group, explains: “Together with 123onsite, we worked out the rules to implement the recording of hours for payroll accounting in all parts of the group via the app in conjunction with the Office solution.”
Although Matthäi has several sets of rules for each branch, including individual working time calendars for each group with their different working and break times, this was covered quickly and easily with the software.
123onsite quickly implemented with over 1,000 employees
Afterwards, training was given to the data entry personnel (e.g. foremen, supervisors or construction equipment operators) as well as to the clerks in the branch offices. After an exceptionally short launch period, 1,150 employees were able to enter their hours via the app as early as June 2019. This rapid implementation with more than 1,000 employees was possible due to the fact that Matthäi assigned Manuela Süßkind, a competent and dedicated employee, to this task as well as the ease with which the 123onsite software can be integrated into existing systems.
Recorders book attendance times
In the morning, recorders log into 123onsite and log in to the construction site with their attendance time. In the process, the column leader also enters the times for his employees. The system assigns them to a construction site, parts and areas. Employees at the concrete mixing plants enter their times with RFID chips via permanently installed tablets. This digital approach reduces the workload for employees on construction sites, in mixing plants and offices.
Handwritten timesheets are a thing of the past, as are checks and erroneous data entry in the branch offices.
Optimally manage construction equipment and assign cost centers
Matthäi has successively introduced planning for the use of construction equipment in the individual company divisions and logged their use over time. The construction equipment operator can see on his smartphone which equipment has been assigned to him. The control center is thus informed at all times about how long the equipment has been in operation, who has operated it, and what output has been achieved.
In the future, it should be possible to recalculate every construction site on the basis of the exact figures. Süßkind explains: “To do that, it’s important to know how long these construction machines have been in use, whether we’re getting there with our imputed approach or need to make optimizations.”
Photo documentation and noting of remarks
The photos, which document the actual condition, construction site progress as well as safeguarding on a daily basis, are stored in the app and assigned to the construction site, project, construction stage and construction area as well as uploaded to the server. There, the data is available to all project participants in real time, depending on their authorization.
If the foreman has a question about an issue, he simply sends the site manager a photo of the current situation. Then the latter can make a decision without having to be on site. Also welcomed is the ability to enter comments at any time. And not only in writing, but also linguistically via microphone.
Means for the digitalization of construction processes
123onsite is a suitable tool at Matthäi for digitizing construction processes. The fast access to information saves a lot of time, which in return can be invested in the optimization of other process flows. When all employees are equipped with the app, the plan is to work with 123onsite to automatically generate daily construction reports from the previously collected data. The next chance to save a lot of time.
Süßkind appreciates the support from the Lohne-based software house and would like 123onsite to maintain the simplicity and good quality as it continues to develop the software.
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Image credits: 123onsite/Timo Lutz Advertising Photography.
