Toolware: digital tool chest Pon Equipment and Metaware

Pon Equipment looked for a tool to better manage its equipment and use it more efficiently. Together with Metaware toolware has been developed. This application perfectly unifies the power of Lotus Notes and a large dose of practical experience. Improved insight for users, improved investment planning and excellent calibration and maintenance safeguarding are the results of the fruitful collaboration. This spring toolware will be fully implemented at Pon Equipment and after that the same will be done for the sister organisations within the group.

Pon Equipment (PE) is one of the four operating companies which are part of the PON organization and it supplies large machinery for transhipment, forestry and road construction. Ground displacement machines, digging machines, asphalting equipment, are heavy machinery is sold by PE and all the equipment also needs to be serviced. From six different working locations, custodians would keep track of the use of the equipment and the need for maintenance and repairs. The exchange of data and knowledge was insufficient for this process. “Everyone was using a different spreadsheet. The need had arisen for all to be more aware of what the other locations possessed and how we could make better use of our equipment”, explains Quality Manager Henk van Berkum, as the motive for his search for a tool which could meet this growing need.

PE was already acquainted with Metaware, when Van Berkum told the company about his wishes this late summer. “We had been using the quality management application isoware for several years, so we were already aware of the advantages of central database based on Lotus Notes”, explains Van Berkum. “A central database would also be the focus for this tool. Firstly this would simplify the management tasks and secondly this would bring more consistency to our document management, whereby these data can be more easily shared amongst the users.” After an exploration phase and precise formulation of the wishes, we started to work with Metaware to develop the new application. When the testing phase has been completed, toolware will go “live” throughout the Netherlands. Next the sister organisations of the Pon Group in Denmark, Sweden and Norway will follow. Not only the six location managers in Amsterdam, Beilen, Arnhem, Valkenswaard, Papendrecht and Goes, but also five outdoor service coordinators and 50 engineers will use the application frequently.

Lotus Notes makes it possible to use the application at any place and at any time, but currently the database is only accessible at office locations of PE. In the near future the workers in the field will use a local version, which is updated when they connect their laptops to the existing network.

Van Berkum has found little resistance to the change, and even though the application isn’t implemented throughout yet he isn’t expecting there to be more resistance when it is. “We are receiving enthusiastic reactions form the equipment custodians. Especially the excellent accessibility of the application and knowledge sharing are an improvement to the users.”
The application contains a reservation and calibration function, amongst other things. This enables Geveke to keep track of every piece of its equipment, in terms of its status, if it’s being used for maintenance work and when the equipment will become available to other engineers. “Now we know exactly what equipment we have and when it’s due to be serviced or calibrated. This also enables us to make better informed and accurate investments”, as Van Berkum explains the advantages. He expects that the investments in toolware will pay off in short term. “But that certainly isn’t the main issue. The profit really comes from consistency, knowledge sharing and usability.”