Defect resolution improved by more than 100%
Here’s how Mostostal Zabrze GPBP SA improved planning and coordination thanks to PlanRadar
Mostostal Zabrze is a corporate group involved in projects in the area of general, industrial and specialized construction, industrial and electric power installations, as well as the production of machine and steel structures and the supply and installation of mechanical and piping systems.
According to Bartosz Filipów, Reinforced Concrete Package Manager at Mostostal Zabrze GPBP, among the company’s most important projects in recent years were the construction of a waste incinerator in Warsaw, the construction of the Egzotarium Environmental Education Center in Sosnowiec, the construction of a power plant in Opole, and the ongoing construction of a Transfer Center in Gliwice. Mostostal Zabrze GPBP used PlanRadar during the execution of the latter project and the construction of the Data Center in Sekocin Stary near Warsaw.
The challenge: preparation of the appropriate action plan, many defects and difficulties with communication
According to Bartosz Filipów, who leads and coordinates teams involved in reinforced concrete construction, task planning began to play a particularly vital role during one of the previous projects. This posed a major challenge. At one point the team had to handle more than 900 defects. Communication between participants became increasingly problematic. Inaccurate information flow between teams lead to confusion. It was difficult to determine both the location of defects and their status.
“We were unable to precisely pinpoint the location of the defect in question. Of course, the quality department knew all the details, but simply communicating the necessary information to a specific manager often proved downright impossible. In addition, no one really knew what was yet to be done and what had already been completed. As a result, this led to delays. There were situations where we as supervisors didn’t know that some defects had already been rectified. As a consequence, in some situations teams were dispatched several times to the same defect because the paper documentation was not up to date,” Bartosz Filipów explains.
The solution: Advantage over competing solutions, ease of implementation and simplicity of use
The aforementioned challenges, combined with investor requirements, led to the decision to search for a tool that would allow a different approach to planning and execution of work. Initially, Mostostal Zabrze GPBP turned to another solution available on the market. However, its limited functionality could not meet Mostostal’s quality requirements for the management of construction projects and did not result in an increase in the execution efficiency. In addition, the software provider wasn’t willing to customize the service to suit Mostostal’s individual needs.
As a result, Mostostal Zabrze GPBP decided to look for another software solution. The company finally decided to implement PlanRadar. “Actually, we initially turned to another solution because of the support we were supposed to receive. However, it turned out that the application offered by vendor, although initially appealing, was in no way on par with the functionalities offered by PlanRadar,” explained Bartosz Filipów.
The result: improved planning, double the efficiency of defect resolution work, improved communication, and easier reporting
The company didn’t have to wait long for the effects of PlanRadar implementation. Above all, it was possible to streamline the planning and coordination of ongoing work in accordance with investors’ requirements. “Our efficiency has improved significantly. We schedule and resolve each daily task via a ticketing system available in PlanRadar. Now, if we see that someone is already working in an area, we don’t send anyone else there. By scheduling tasks daily, we are able to reduce possible downtime and make sure that individual members of the team don’t interfere with each other’s work. On a construction site, no one walks around with a huge, printed construction plan or timetable anymore – now everything is clearly pinned on a digital map accessible via phone or tablet, so every team member knows right away what needs to done and where,” emphasizes Bartosz Filipów.
Currently, the Quality Department simply marks the location of the defect in PlanRadar, adds the description and additional comments, and then designates the work to a specific person. The organization and streamlining of the process have made it possible to significantly improve the efficiency of the ongoing work. It was possible to increase the defect resolution virtually by 100%. At peak times, this number was even higher. This has also resulted in time savings: “If we assume that a task from the start of work to handover takes 20 hours, of which 3 hours involves the preparation of QA documentation, we save up to 2 hours,” calculates Bartosz Filipów.
“Now we can produce handover protocols that clearly show what was done and how well it has been completed. This saves a lot of time and, consequently, money.” Bartosz Filipów, Reinforced Concrete Package Manager at Mostostal Zabrze GPBP
However, PlanRadar’s functionality is not limited to defect management. “We are at the stage of pouring foundations. Each task is a separate ticket in PlanRadar. After that we use straightforward checklists, that we create on our own without much hassle, to generate handover protocols automatically and quickly,” adds Bartosz Filipów. As a result, the Quality Department no longer needs to create all the necessary documentation on its own. Now, thanks to PlanRadar software, documents are generated automatically based on the data collected at the construction site. The simplicity of the mobile version of the PlanRadar app on smartphones and tablets means that the entire process takes only a moment, and it doesn’t place any burden on employees.
PlanRadar has also improved communication between the office and the construction site. Additionally, all parties involved in the project have access to up-to-date information at any time. The system is currently used by more than 20 internal users involved in various levels of the project – from the contract director to the construction engineer and subcontractors. The project’s investor also recognized the advantages of this form of collaboration. As pointed out by Bartosz Filipów, “Initially, the investor was skeptical about this solution, but he quickly noticed the advantages of utilizing PlanRadar, and most importantly the significant time savings on his side.”
“It was possible to increase the defect resolution virtually by 100%. At peak times, this number was even higher.” Bartosz Filipów, Reinforced Concrete Package Manager at Mostostal Zabrze GPBP
