Interview with Renotec

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Efficiently managing 100s of machines with Dime.Scheduler.

Machines are often expensive to acquire and maintain. To fully benefit from their availability
and to plan maintenance routines in the best possible way, Group Renotec relies on
Dime.Scheduler.

Group Renotec is a highly specialized construction company. The group focuses on renovation and reconstruction projects, offering a new future to buildings, monuments and public infrastructure, such as bridges.

“We work on special assignments only”, says Guy De Knaep, ICT Manager at Group Renotec, “from redecorating outer walls, to renovating sewer systems, concrete constructions, historic buildings, and more.”

Some of Renotec’s recent projects include restoring the library tower at Ghent University and renovating house fronts at the Market Square in Brussels, a UNESCO world heritage site. Group Renotec is headquartered in Geel, Belgium and runs 3 more offices throughout the country. The group has about 650 employees.

We use Dime.Scheduler to manage the use of 100s of machines, scheduling their time at construction sites and anticipating maintenance.

• Guy De Knaep, ICT Manager at Group Renotec

Seamless integration

To achieve the best possible result in every assignment, Renotec equips its specialist teams with a wide range of machinery. “We manage a fleet of some 520 machines”, De Knaep explained. “To guarantee the business continuity of our teams at various construction sites, it is absolutely necessary to know where the machines are located, who is using them and when they will be available for a new assignment.”

Renotec had some experience with a planning tool to manage the company’s fleet of machines, but ultimately wanted a solution with richer functionality and a higher degree of user-friendliness.

"When we started looking for a new planning tool, it was very important that the new solution would seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, allowing us to easily allocate the use and the costs of each machine to the appropriate project", de Knaep elaborates. Renotec contacted Dime Software and was offered the possibility to try out Dime.Scheduler, the planning tool that was designed to fit any Dynamics NAV environment. Since then, Renotec hasn’t looked back.

“Our project managers use the tool to check the availability of a specific piece of machinery”, De Knaep explained. “If the machine is available, they book it for the time frame they expect to be needing it. In the next step, the colleagues who manage the logistics of the machines approve the reservation.” Finally, the data about the booking - and the costs - are automatically allocated to the right project in Dynamics NAV.

Asset management

Using Dime.Scheduler avoids machines getting ‘lost’ on one or the other construction site. De Knaep: “In that perspective Dime.Scheduler also acts an asset management tool. In just a couple of clicks, the site manager has an overview of all the machines that are currently at the construction site.”

About 80 of Renotec’s employees use Dime.Scheduler on a regular basis, with the tool in the role of user interface for project managers, logistics and technical staff. “We use Dime. Scheduler for scheduling machine maintenance as well”, De Knaep continued. “This way, project managers always know in time when a specific piece of machinery won’t be available for some time.”

As Dime.Scheduler is used by a wide range of profiles, it was important to Renotec that the solution would be user-friendly. “Dime.Scheduler turned out to be an easily understandable and intuitive solution. No training is needed to get started with the tool.”

Planning the use and maintenance of its machines offered Renotec an easy way to save time and gain efficiency. Currently, the company is considering a broader use of the tool. “We have a lot of specialists, working on assignments, travelling from one construction site to the other”, De Knaep concluded. “In the near future, we might look into the possibilities of scheduling their availability with Dime.Scheduler as well."