Nintex > Case Studies > Digital Transformation in Construction: Ballast Nedam's Journey with K2 Software

Digital Transformation in Construction: Ballast Nedam's Journey with K2 Software

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Security Compliance
Robots - Wheeled Robots

Applicable Industries

Buildings
Cement

Applicable Functions

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Construction Management
Construction Site Monitoring

Services

Testing & Certification
Training

About The Customer

Ballast Nedam is a construction and development company based in the Netherlands and is part of the Rönesans Group, one of the top ten international contractors in Europe. With over a century of experience, the company has built, extended, and maintained airports, universities, civic buildings, and landmark developments throughout the world. The company regularly undertakes multi-million euro projects, building some of the most innovative and ambitious commercial, infrastructure, and residential structures globally. On these massive, complex, and prestigious projects, Ballast Nedam has to follow meticulous quality management procedures to ensure the quality of the finished building and the safety of workers.

The Challenge

Ballast Nedam, a Netherlands-based construction and development company, was grappling with the inefficiencies of paper forms and manual processes in managing its multi-million-euro construction projects. The company had to collect, analyze, and act upon a large amount of data from construction sites daily, including reporting potential safety issues, checking regulatory compliance, and recording deviations between plans and the actual build. This data collection was done using a variety of paper-based forms and manual processes, supplemented by a few isolated apps built using different IT packages from multiple vendors. This disjointed approach was hindering efficiency and the company sought to replace it with a single business process automation platform that could support all necessary registrations across all job roles and construction projects.

The Solution

Ballast Nedam adopted INDOCS, a pre-built K2 Software solution, to digitize and automate its quality and safety management processes. This solution enabled employees to use SmartForms and workflows on mobile devices in the field, even in locations without an internet connection. The SmartForms and K2 Five workflows prompted employees to undertake inspections and send details directly to the right person. They could view building plans, mark locations on plans, open checklists, red-line areas, classify issues, describe actions required, and assign a subcontractor to fulfill tasks—all from a construction site via mobile devices. The consistent format of the collected information allowed Ballast Nedam to use it more effectively in its business intelligence system, identifying patterns in quality management issues, learning from its experiences, and taking steps to improve quality in future projects.

Operational Impact

The adoption of the K2 Software solution has brought about significant operational improvements for Ballast Nedam. The elimination of paper-based forms and processes, coupled with the adoption of a standardized and automated approach for all registrations across all project sites, has resulted in considerable time savings. Inspectors and project managers can now identify actions and assign them in the field in one automated workflow. The new processes for Health, Safety, Security & Environment inspections have improved health and safety on construction sites by enabling employees to monitor compliance with regulations, quickly collect information about safety concerns, send notifications immediately to the relevant team, and ensure all necessary steps are taken to correct the situation. The company can now record evidence of compliance with regulatory requirements more efficiently and easily collect pictures to provide proof that key project phases have been completed correctly, thereby improving customer service.

Quantitative Benefit