Fluix Success Story

How LUDWIG FREYTAG’s field and office teams gained from mobile document flow

320+

field technicians

360

automated workflows

50K+

completed documents

Before

Tedious paperwork and related costs
Time loss on asynchronous communication channels between remote sites and office
Shipment delays from the builders yard to construction site
Labor shortage

After

Saved time and costs with digital forms
Automated workflows with clear process and instant updates to clients
Barcode scanning on machinery and heavy vehicles for fast delivery of shipping documents
By switching to mobile, company attracts skilled young professionals

Background

Since 1891, family-owned LUDWIG FREYTAG has utilized the expertise of four generations to become a leader in the German construction industry. The company specializes in planning, maintenance and supervision for structural, industrial and civil engineering construction of all types and sizes.

Challenges

Upgrading construction management to the latest technology

Stable growth has allowed LUDWIG FREYTAG to expand through a broad network of branches and affiliated holdings for private and public sectors. However, the company encountered a number of challenges working on multiple construction projects, simultaneously:

1

Labor shortage: The biggest challenge in the construction industry. To attract more qualified workers, the company needed to adopt new technologies.

2

Paperwork: Company used to send drawings, forms, contracts, bids and other documentation by postal mail, fax or email. It was difficult to streamline information. Large paper drawings were hard to handle on site, especially when it is rainy or windy.

3

Damaged documents and possible data loss: Delivery notes changed hands several times during the process of completion. This often resulted in illegible handwritten notes, as well as documents disappeared or damaged during transportation.

4

High amount of small projects: Working on i.e. house connections involves a lot of drawings and forms for short lived projects which entails many folders of paper in a short amount of time.

5

Site-to-office miscommunication: Lacking asynchronous communication channels between the technicians on remote sites and the back-office often caused confusion and lead to time loss.

6

Shipment delays: It was a work intensive task to document shipments and the movement of materials, while transporting machinery from the builders yard to construction sites. Shipping detail had to be transcribed by hand into the ERP.

Solution & Results

Improving project documentation

Fluix construction field management software digitally transformed LUDWIG FREYTAG’s business processes with construction project document management.

Solving data-information transferring question

Timesheets in time. Many workers are paid at an hourly rate, so it’s really important to have their timesheets correctly submitted to the back office on a weekly/biweekly basis, in order for salaries to be prepared inline with billable hours.
Barcode scanning in document shipping workflow. Technicians don’t have to type anything in equipment shipment documents or delivery notes anymore — they just scan the inventory number or barcode on machinery and heavy vehicles. Such heavy construction equipment management helps to avoid the misplacement of documents and cutting delays in their delivery back to the office.
Automated data processing. The back office receives aggregated data collected from the field in a structured way, without the need to sort documents manually or figure out technicians’ handwriting.

Efficiency with mobility. The overall workflow process has been streamlined. Use of paper delivery notes has been reduced to almost zero in partaking divisions.
Saving time and costs with digital forms. All technicians fill out and sign forms on iPad with no need to carry heavy paper binders from the site to the office. Service reports and inspection checklists, time sheets, delivery notes, construction daily reports, etc. are digitized, up-to-date and instantly available at any time. Live search of information in a PDF saves time, compared to navigating through multi-page manuals.

Collaboration. With annotation tools teams can easily collaborate and add details to documents and drawings, as well as provide instant updates to clients or partners.
No in-house app coding. With Fluix, the company enabled numerous mobile processes without the need to write mobile apps themselves (and coding in javascript for PDF forms is much simpler than writing an app from scratch).
Real-time control. With construction project workflows, there is constant access and control over documents and the routes they take. Documents are filed back to the database, and cross-checking with the last person who worked with the document can easily be done.

Document distribution. The creation and distribution of forms and manuals containing the latest data, information and updates is a much quicker process using Fluix.
Easy launch and constant support. Every new branch or team starts using Fluix on site from day one without any learning curve. With tough and ever-changing schedules, efficient support is crucial. “If there is a hiccup somewhere in the process, you can send an email to Fluix and you usually get an immediate response” – says Timo Göbel.
Qualified talent. The company prides itself on using up-to-date technologies. By switching to mobile, they have attracted skilled young professionals.

How LUDWIG FREYTAG’s field and office teams gained from mobile document flow

Upgrading construction management to the latest technology

Improving project documentation

Solving data-information transferring question

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