Verboon Maasland on the cooperation with VanMeijel Automatisering

For more than 70 years, Verboon Maasland has been "balancing" on the border between land and water. In doing so, this contracting company focuses on three areas of expertise: Land, Road and Hydraulic Engineering (GWW), dredging and specialist projects. For the registration and cost control within the various processes Verboon Maasland uses the digital solutions of VanMeijel Automatisering.

"In a water-rich country like the Netherlands, safe living between land and water is essential," says Ton Vijverberg, work planner at Verboon Maasland. "We have been contributing to this for more than 70 years by keeping ditches and canals navigable, excavating (sometimes very deep) wet construction pits, improving quays, preparing for construction and housing for projects, and repiping." Verboon Maasland also provides for the construction of new nature and special infrastructure projects. Together with its clients, the company realizes high-quality projects with an eye for innovation, sustainability and the environment.

Grip on projects

"With such projects it is crucial to have business processes in order, so that you don't see the results only at the end of a project. To gain a better insight into the costs, to be able to make interim adjustments and to work more efficiently and accurately in the administrative area, we have therefore made an important digitization step. Here VanMeijel provides the automation solutions for the necessary grip on projects." 

Re-implementation

Ton explains that Verboon Maasland has been working with VanMeijel since 2004 but the Metacom platform was not being used optimally within the company. "In recent years we have grown considerably, especially after we acquired contractor company J. den Boer from Lienden in 2016. This led to the need not only to modernize various processes, but also to merge the various administrative processes and ways of working. Uniform registration within the organization contributes to the speed and reliability of the processes and the provision of information." It was therefore decided to re-implement Metacom, updating the platform and adding new functionalities. "We wanted to restart building a reliable system and thereby let go of 'old habits,'" Ton said.

Optimally supporting

During a strategy session with VanMeijel, the future vision of the organization was determined and goals were set. As project supervisor and work planner, Ton oversaw the entire Metacom re-implementation including application management. "Change often brings resistance, which is why it is important to keep everything as simple as possible and to bring everyone along with the need for this digitization move." After the kick-off, working groups were formed and a schedule outlined. "These working groups met weekly with VanMeijel to come up with a good 'digitization blueprint' for our organization. Step by step, Metacom was reintegrated into daily operations."

One software package for all processes

When reimplementing Metacom, Verboon Maasland chose to combine it with the low-code platform Bizzstream (aka Metacom Online). "This gives us the right tools to digitize all business processes," says Ton. "The big advantage is that you can work in an integrated way, because Metacom and Metacom Online connect seamlessly." The platform is accessible on any device and enables paperless working, both in the office and on the construction site. "You can create or modify forms and work processes such as time registration, work orders and purchase forms yourself. And it's easy too!"

Ready for the future

Ton is satisfied with working with VanMeijel. "They understand and develop what we need as a company. For example, we now get our weekly reports from Metacom Online, which we previously did in Excel. This way, everything now needs to be registered once and the information is easy and insightful from multiple places in the organization." Metacom helps considerably in creating fast and reliable management reports, Ton believes. "As a result, processes can be better linked and failure costs reduced. Meanwhile, Metacom is fully integrated into Verboon Maasland's work processes and is used for time registration, purchase and sales payments, remuneration and fuel registration. "In addition to internal improvements, we also see an increasing demand for information, for example for various certifications."

Verboon Maasland wants to improve cost control even further. "It is a continuous process, both internally and with VanMeijel. It is important that VanMeijel continues to develop and that our people know what Metacom can do and actually use it. That is what I am committed to as a process monitor," Ton concludes.