Baugruppe Stauch Opts For RIB 4.0

RIB 4.0 Provides Meticulous Detail Of The Company-specific Processes For This Medium-sized Construction Company

Baugruppe Stauch, a medium-sized construction company based in Kupferzell, Germany, spent 18 months searching for the right ERP software to meet all its needs. A team, led by the Head of Purchasing and IT, Alexandros Tzimas, along with six colleagues with various competencies in construction projects, as well as professionals from hfcon GmbH & Co. KG, a consulting company specializing in digitization, jointly set the course for this successful software implementation. In July 2022, the team decided to utilize RIB products and selected RIB 4.0, RIB Site, and RIB Finance for the implementation.

The management team, led by Christian Dorsch, had an IT system in mind that would support employees in increasing their productivity, facilitating construction execution at construction sites, and, in particular, support its skilled workers. In addition, the software needed to be BIM-ready, as Baugruppe Stauch plans to use BIM models in the future.

Baugruppe Stauch also required a web-based IT application because the company, with 140 employees, does not have a dedicated IT department. In order to ensure that all employees are ready to rapidly shift according to changes in their daily work, the software has to be able to reflect company-specific processes without major adjustments.

“It was clear to us that many companies, of various sizes, encounter problems during ERP implementation and often fail,” says Christian Dorsch. “For this reason, a detailed record of the initial situation was crucial as the foundation of this project. We also wanted to be sure that we could actually achieve the goals set,” adds Alexandros Tzimas.

Consistent Information Management And Effortless Data Retrieval

As a start point, it was necessary to thoroughly evaluate the daily work routines of Baugruppe Stauch employees. What media and devices do employees use? How do they acquire information, communicate with project participants, and what obstacles do they encounter in the process? Subsequently, all employees were briefed in several sessions and asked about further issues and requirements.

“The findings highlighted several limiting interfaces and problems,” explains Tzimas. “A significant amount of time is lost in searching for and finding information. Employees search for plans, emails, or devices. For this reason, the documentation of work processes was not yet optimal. Additionally, we had identified potential for improvement in information management. Since we were using different software programs and a lot of data was not yet digitized, there was no central repository for all the important information,” he adds.

The initial compilation of work processes into a paper flowchart resulted in a meter-long printout. Armed with this “wallpaper” and a specification sheet, developed by hfcon, Alexandros Tzimas and his team approached the software providers to find the right solution together.

An ERP System That Aligns With Company Processes

The core competency team identified the technical tasks area as the greatest overall potential for optimization.

“It was important for us to find an IT system that fits our processes,” CEO Christian Dorsch explains.

The company was looking for software for both the office and construction site, encompassing business partner and project management, estimation, project planning, procurement, resource management, project control, accounting, and payroll. The needs of the employees were also crucial in choosing the provider.

“We were looking for an ERP system that not only convinced us but the entire staff and the implementation had to be managed in parallel with project operations,” says Dorsch.

A Solution Offering A Single Source Of Truth

In the end, the RIB system convinced everyone involved–the internal project team and partner, hfcon, as well as the employees and management. The company highlighted that, of the software systems considered, only the RIB system was able to meet the extensive requirements of the specification sheet in just one package.

Even the ‘wallpaper’ did not deter the provider, RIB Software, in any way. The usability and uniform modern interface, in particular, delighted the purchasing manager.

“Now it’s time for the concrete benefits of this implementation”, Christian Dorsch concludes. “Employees have spent 15% of their time searching for information. With RIB 4.0 as the single source of truth, we will successfully reduce this to 5%.”

Pictures From The Project

Image credit: Baugruppe Stauch.