Digital innovation

What does it mean to be future-proof? How do you sharpen your distinctiveness in the market, with automation that fits each client exactly? VanMeijel does that by putting the customer first and delivering innovative solutions tailored to the customer. Becoming a niche player precisely in the specific needs, enabling immediate response to needs. This way you are future-proofed as a customer. How does VanMeijel do that? We would like to take you with us.

How does VanMeijel stand out in the marketplace?

The supply in the market continues to grow and with it a wide range of functionalities. Being able to offer everything is impossible. Therefore, we at VanMeijel have chosen to continue offering commodity functionalities such as BI or document management systems, but to work with partners for this purpose. Our partners are experts in their field and we in ours. This allows us to offer an ERP system in which we offer a lot and at the same time enter into intensive cooperation with our clients.

We position ourselves as specialists in a changing construction world, which is increasingly moving from traditional infrastructure to work around cables, pipes and maintenance. The shift in work demands specialized automation solutions that move with changing needs. 

Turning desires into functionalities through studios

But how do we turn changing needs of infrastructure companies into new functionality? For this we have set up a new working form: studios. This is our way of developing new applications in co-creation with the leaders in the industry. Think of registrations around sustainability and relieving the contractor of his administrative work. But studios, what exactly is this and how does it work? 

What is a studio?

A studio is a kind of "catalyst" in which we realize solutions to very concrete cases, with the ultimate goal of developing a solution, turning a desire into functionality. What makes our approach unique is that we let our customers be part of our studios. As a result, the solution perfectly fits the client's challenge.

Several topics have already been covered in a studio or are under development. For example, consider an innovation to enable registrations around sustainability, in particular calculating nitrogen emissions and CO₂ easy and clear. For example, you can immediately see what the emissions amount to and thus also speed up the process for obtaining permits. Another example is equipment management, which we will discuss in a bit more detail in this article. 

Studio: improve equipment management practices

In a studio, we go through four different phases, namely: 1) Concept, 2) Construction, 3) Implementation and 4) Use. What can
be improved or changed in the current way of working, and what shows that? Together with end users from different clients, we brainstorm extensively, looking together at which ideas best fit the challenge at hand. Do we have an idea that fits this well? Then we move on to creating a business case and, of course, developing a prototype. 

Why improve equipment management?

Recently, we started in a studio to analyze the wishes, challenges and needs from practice regarding equipment management. Equipment management concerns all operations in the areas of hiring, renting, buying and maintenance and certificate management
of material pieces. 

Equipment is one of the most valuable assets within an organization. For optimal equipment management, you need control and insight into the available equipment, so that you can carry out timely inspections and maintenance in addition to a tight schedule. This can greatly optimize the use of equipment. To do this, however, you need software that works optimally and maps out everything about your equipment. The current way of working and available solutions still offer many opportunities for improvement, which is why we started the studio together with several contractors.

What innovation was needed?

In practice, equipment management was found to be done in multiple systems, spreadsheets and/or apps. As a rule, these systems are not well connected, resulting in a lot of double entry of information that is also incomplete. In addition, current solutions do not excel in user-friendliness.  

Now that we know what needs to be changed, we can move on to the next step: building the "new functionality. By developing incrementally, we always focus on what provides the most value for the needs in the market. During this phase, we keep in close contact with end users who deal with equipment management on a daily basis, so that what we build actually meets users' needs.

Through this multidisciplinary approach, we gain very diverse insights and expertise, allowing us to perfect the digitization of equipment management. 

What can we expect from the updated equipment management solution?

Equipment touches many other processes: planning, purchasing, maintenance, (time) registration, financial administration. Therefore, it is important to properly integrate equipment management functionality with these related processes. We improved this by making all modules work integrally so that the user can see everything related to equipment management at once: from rental to maintenance. By having all information available in one system, you always have up-to-date information and reduce the chances of errors due to incomplete information. 

Implementation

After the build phase is complete, it is time for implementation. This is the final testing phase for the customer. During implementation, extensive testing is performed to ensure that the functionality works optimally. After implementation, the result is a good integrated equipment management solution that supports users in their daily work. The workday for people who manage equipment on a daily basis has become smarter, more fun and more efficient.

How to proceed after the studio phase?

The product, as for equipment management, is developed and ready to be used by the customer. In principle, the studio has been successfully completed! Nevertheless, new challenges may arise during use. After all, when you use something intensively, you only really find out what works well, what is missing or what could be improved. This is why we have an active feedback loop with our development department, so that our solutions are continuously developed. This can manifest itself in updates and minor adjustments or even in ideas that in turn lead to a new studio. 

The new way of working with studios has now led to solutions that are directly related to practice. We and many contractors have become enthusiastic about innovating together in this way. So we will continue with this, so that not only ourselves, but especially contractors continue to innovate. In this way, together we are ready for a digital future!