Siegrist Maler AG was founded in Kirchdorf in the canton of Aargau in 1930 and currently employs 12 people. The company provides painting and plastering services for renovations, new buildings, and refurbishments. Its range of services includes: building envelopes, spray painting, wallpapering, plastering, interior decoration, and painting. The company is known for its expert advice and careful planning and organization of all its projects. They successfully put customer wishes and ideas at the center of everything they do.
Mr. Binkert, what was the highlight of the past year?
That was definitely COVID-19; it was difficult in terms of planning.
Where and how did you learn resource planning?
Nowhere. I taught myself resource planning.
Are there any further training courses in this area?
In our association, there are more overarching topics related to resource planning, less related to everyday life.
How did you hear about Vanillaplan?
I searched the internet and found Vanillaplan. There weren't that many simple programs; many were too bloated and complicated. Vanillaplan was advantageous because of its visual appeal.
How did you do resource planning before Vanillaplan?
I used to write down assignments on scraps of paper and sometimes enter them into Excel. At the time, we didn't know exactly how many orders the company had. We planned from the previous week to the next week.
How did you get started with Vanillaplan and were there any challenges?
Getting started with resource planning was quick and easy. There were no challenges.
Who is responsible for resource planning at your company?
I am mainly responsible for resource planning.
How is capacity and resource planning organized in your company?
Once a week, I discuss the resource planning for the coming week with my business partner. When an order comes in, I plan and see who is available when. If a call comes in in March and an assignment is planned for August, I enter this into the resource plan immediately. If the date is not yet fixed, I enter a pro forma date and then fix it a week before.
What do you like about Vanillaplan?
I like the visual aspect best. In the project view, I can easily move employees around and always see immediately who is still available. I also enter absences in the project view. I check the absence schedule from time to time to get an overview.
What is the biggest benefit for you?
Since we started planning with Vanillaplan, we have less downtime and have saved money as a result. I also spend more time on planning. Overall, fewer things get forgotten and I can see what's coming in advance.
Thank you very much for the interview, Mr. Binkert!
siegristmaler.ch