When something is being built in Switzerland, there is a high probability that the form work systems of Holzco-Doka are being used. The company, based in Dietikon near Zurich, supports developers throughout Switzerland, in projects using concrete, with its technical know-how and many years of experience and proven products.

"Growth is only possible by increasing efficiency and developing new business segments."
Stephan Zeidler, Trade Manager of Holzco-Doka in Niederhasli, CH

As a sales partner of the globally active form work manufacturers Doka however, an expansion into foreign markets is not possible. The company is only able to strengthen its leading position in Switzerland by optimally utilising existing resources and developing new business segments.

To explore more efficient possibilities, Holzco-Doka has analyzed the potential for the optimization of their complete work processes in association with Itartis. After successful test runs the new staff process portal was released in December 2008.

Interview with Stephan Zeidler, CFO at Holzco-Doka:

Mr Zeidler, what where the main sticking points hindering your operational processes?
Stephan Zeidler: "We had repeated incidents of unnecessary misunderstandings and redundant processing. A classic example: A construction site in a remote valley or in a quarter of the old part of a city is faced with very difficult access conditions. It can occur that exactly this vital piece of information gets lost somewhere, and on the day of delivery, the semi trailer truck packed with our special concrete forms gets stuck. This will result in delays and extra costs.
With the new user friendly communications tool, which we have developed with the help of Itartis, this type of information will no longer get lost. This will create trust with our customers."

How did you experience the implementation of the process changes?
Stephan Zeidler: "As a middle-sized company it was extremely important for us to find someone for this sort of task who speaks our language. Itartis works in a very practice orientated manner, using concrete working processes without losing the overview of the entire project. All employees have been involved in the re-design of specific processes.

As a result of the step-by-step implementation it is possible for the employees to provide feedback during every phase, for example if something doesn’t function as expected. Suggestions for improvements are normally implemented in a very short time frame, which has an enormous impact on staff motivation.
Additionally, Itartis is able to take care of all the aspects involved in such an expansive project: This begins with the business administration side of things, and goes on to include the practical side of work processes, including the set up of IT and preparation of data centre capacity."

How would you rate the usefulness of the measures?
Stephan Zeidler: "Basically, in relation to computer supported processes the most important thing is that they work, that they are easy to use and in the optimal case can be utilized with no prior training. I am convinced that my staff prefer spending time on a complicated construction project, rather than searching for data on a computer. Here, the tailor-made process portal solution provided by Itartis creates free capacity for each Holzco-Doka employee. Additionally as a middle-sized company we need to be very flexible and adaptable, in order to stay in business long-term. The interesting thing for us in relation to Itartis' process solution is their building kit principle. Whenever we see the need for action we are able to add new processes. For instance we are able to make available an on-line forum for our customers, where they can discuss specific problems relating to their building projects."

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