WML, a water company, chooses Ideo to implement Mobile Works and in doing so reduces the number of full-time equivalent positions and costs.
About WML
WML supplies 71 million cubic meters of drinking water annually to 540,000 private and business clients in Limburg. The water company was formed from a cluster of local water companies. It is only since the last fusion in 2002 that the entire county is part of their supply zone. WML’s main office is based in Maastricht and of its approximately 400 employees there are 136 external. WML has a number of installations on 28 locations across the county.
The Challenge
In 2008 WML started a programme to achieve operational excellence. The organisation therefore focused on working process oriented, maximally supported by a further introduction of SAP. SAP VENTO is the name of the extensive programme which was set up with a number of important spear points, among which was entry at the source and the increase of process efficiency. A very important spear point is that employees from all layers within the organisation have direct access to the correct information.
The mobile solutions provide a real-time availability of activity information in SAP, which means that all decisions are based on current data.
Selected Solution
Upgrades were carried out on the existing SAP CRM and SAP Industry Solution for Utilities, ISU in short, and a complete implementation of SAP Enterprise Central Component. Upon this sound foundation a number of modules and an entire mobility platform were installed. Ideo as official SAP partner became part of the implementation team.
The mobile solution Ideo Mobile Work Management, MWM in short, was specifically designed for companies that work with external employees. The application runs at a number of these companies, especially in the utility-sector. A portion of WML’s external employees already work with Ideo MWM and this was the final phase of the roll-out of all mobile solutions for external employees.
The MWM application directly connects WML’s employees with SAP and supports them during the entire administrative process. This allows them to record observations, report malfunctions, and describe activities. Employees can view their time sheets, record hours, and report descriptions about the cause of malfunctions. All of this is done online and data is thus directly entered into SAP. Furthermore, there is a connection with document management to provide access to documentation about affected objects. Naturally, employees have access to manuals and work instructions on their mobile device.
Result and Advantages
The mobile solution is the answer to the WML principle of entry at the source and unburdens employees of the following usually unpleasant administration. The internal employees always have access to real-time information on malfunctions and work activities.
- An improvement in efficiency of all external processes.
- The implementation of one of the mobile solutions is directly responsible for a reduction of full-time equivalent positions and costs.
- The mobile solutions allow a real-time availability of information in SAP about the work activities of external employees, for instance the chosen approach for a certain activity, time spent, and used materials. Based on this factual information a lot of insight is gained into the processes.
- Insight is gained into individual achievements.
Facts
Client: Waterleiding Maatschappij Limburg (WML)
Utilised Solutions:
- SAP CRM
- SAP ISU, which is ISS for the Utility Industry
- SAP Enterprise Central Component