BILA got their time consumption
and the registration of time with customers under control.
With a team of 75 fitters servicing robot and industrial plants for Bila’s customers across the country, there is a need for real-time data and accurate records of time and material consumption.
But the North Jutland automation specialist lacked a digital solution to provide fast and real-time data from the fitters’ reporting from the jobs. Until recently, fitters recorded their working hours and materials on fitters’ slips and handed them over to a coordinator, who entered them into the ERP system. Some entered their own information.
“It was an old-fashioned and unsustainable solution,” says project manager Morten Sejersbøl from Bila. “There was no control of the entries, great risk of error and then it was an old-fashioned and not very user-friendly solution.”
“We needed to get better control of our time spent with customers and in general, improve our internal logistics and customer service,” CFO Jens Erik Majgaard explains.
Standard solution with tailor-made adjustments
Therefore, Bila was looking for a time and material registration system.
The automation consultancy chose REEFTmobile for two reasons, Jens Erik Majgaard says:
1. The system can solve the basic needs for time and material registration. 2. Although REEFTmobile is a standard solution, targeted at service companies like Bila with all the benefits this brings, the system matches the particular way Bila runs their projects.
The fitters become more autonomous and save a lot of time.
Bila’s technicians save time when they are able to register both time and materials while still with the customer. They don’t forget important details and most importantly – they get it done! Even if they are in a production hall without internet access – REEFTmobile also works offline. The fitters have REEFTmobile with them as an app on their mobile or tablet. From the app, they have access to all the information they need to solve their tasks and they register and report directly to the ERP system via an easy-to-use graphical interface.
Now all hours and tasks are registered
“The time saved by removing the many double registrations is important,” says Morten Sejersbøl, “but the biggest financial advantage for Bila is that the fitters register their time, materials and details about the tasks immediately.”
This did not always happen before and much information and records of time and material consumption were lost. Now the technicians have a case number with them on their mobile, or they can quickly create a new case themselves.
The billing basis is accurate and ready much faster
If there are extra tasks, the fitter can send the task to the colleague who needs to solve it without involving the office. “We no longer risk the tasks falling between two stools but plan them immediately. It is also evident that technicians take greater ownership of the tasks,” says Morten Sejersbøl and continues:
“Previously, we collected time registrations and material consumption together and invoiced customers once a week. With REEFTmobile, the fitters cannot start the day’s tasks until they have approved the hours from the day before. Therefore, our invoicing basis is ready faster.”
Better customer service and fewer errors
REEFTmobile gathers all documentation and information about the specific task and customer in one place – e.g. photos of the completed task or any errors and omissions. The invoice itself becomes more precise and detailed when the fitter describes the task on site and attaches various types of documentation.
Both internal and external comments are available along with descriptions of the task and any issues. With access to documentation and history, the next technician is equipped to meet the customer and can provide a better service.
This function in particular is something the fitters are happy about, says Morten Sejersbøl: “They now have access to information they previously felt they lacked, e.g. the option to write internal comments to each other directly in the system.”
And not only that. In all the places in the system where certain fields need to be filled in, REEFTmobile can convert speech to text. The technicians thus avoid a lot of writing work and can instead record the information. This is a feature that Bila expects the fitters will find very useful and which will facilitate their reporting in the field.
Flexible collaboration with room for new ideas
REEFT custom-built the integration with Bila’s ERP system, an older NAV 5.0. REEFTmobile has been developed for newer ERP systems, so everything had to be adjusted and adapted to the older solution.
