Besides high quality in installation, SanTech Gebäudetechnik AG offers high-quality servicing and maintenance. That makes the difference, because what their installations carry is food-grade. Regular maintenance of the installations is therefore becoming ever more indispensable. For this the company relies on qualified and motivated employees who, through continuous further training, are always up to date with the applicable standards and guidelines. The individual training courses are geared to the respective employees' areas of work, something customers notice when working with them.
Their speciality includes turning «old» into «new», e.g. bathroom refurbishments for private customers or riser refurbishments in apartment buildings for corporate customers. In new builds too, whether single-family or apartment houses, they use their innovative «pre-production». In their workshop, stud walls are made up complete with pipework in order to reduce the installation risk of delays or complications.
Everyone working in the young firm is a specialist in their field; they have a passion for their trade and train young people for the future as sanitary installers (EFZ) or building services planners.
Mr Luttringer: what was the highlight of the past year?
Definitely the move to Lausen on 1 January 2020. We found a great location here at Tonwerk Lausen and were able to adapt the premises to the company's needs. The additional space allows us to expand prefabrication, acquire new equipment and optimise our internal processes.
Where did you learn resource planning?
This area was touched on in the advanced professional examinations. We learned the actual implementation in practice, however.
How did you learn deployment and capacity planning?
Likewise, learning by doing…
Is there also further training in this field?
It is a component of the head fitter and project manager training. As far as I know there is no further training solely in this area.
We do think, however, that resource planning is a key element for successfully handling projects, and that more attention should be paid to it in initial and further training.
How did you hear about Vanillaplan?
Vanillaplan was recommended to us by Orbit Informatik AG.
How did you do resource planning before Vanillaplan?
With an Excel spreadsheet.
How did getting started with Vanillaplan go?
Very well. We were looked after superbly. Vanillaplan is very clear and quick to understand. There were certainly queries while getting to grips with Vanillaplan, but they were on a small scale.
What were the challenges?
The biggest challenge is obtaining the dates from our clients. Often no definitive execution date can be given when the contract is awarded.
It also requires great discipline from those who feed Vanillaplan with information.
Beyond that, we have to keep questioning the way we use Vanillaplan and adjust certain processes. The longer we work with it, however, the better the cogs mesh and the greater the benefit of Vanillaplan.
Who is responsible for resource planning?
Capacity planning is handled by the department management. The detailed deployment planning is then done by the installation management.
How are capacity and deployment planning organised in your business?
Capacity is adjusted weekly by the department head. As regards deployment planning there is a coordination meeting twice a week at which the resources are definitively scheduled. In part, assignments are also adjusted daily by the installation management.
Unfortunately there are often short-notice changes on the client side, and since our employees are informed about their work via the Vanillaplan mobile app, it is very important that this is always up to date.
What do you like about Vanillaplan?
It creates enormous transparency. The many pieces of information and dates come together on one platform to which all managerial staff have access.
What is your benefit?
We have access at any time and from anywhere to the company's utilisation and know where each resource is currently deployed. Holiday planning is made easier and can be better coordinated with utilisation. The bottom line is that Vanillaplan allows us to act rather than, as up to now, to react.
Many thanks for the interview, Mr Luttringer!
SanTech Gebäudetechnik AG was founded in 2014 by Fabrizio Piras and Patrick Luttringer and is based in Lausen, in the Liestal district. The young company with 23 employees focuses on the planning, installation, maintenance and servicing of sanitary installations for conversions and new builds as well as for small to large buildings.
