Ochs Bohrgesellschaft mbH · Construction · Nuremberg, Germany · Site Management. Around 100 employees and the company's machines need to be coordinated across construction sites and projects. Resource planning is a critical part of daily operations.
Planning in Excel
Before Dashwise, Ochs managed employees, machines and their assignments in Excel. The spreadsheets provided a familiar and flexible starting point, but certain planning rules and constraints could not be represented reliably. Users could make changes that created planning errors, and important functionality was not possible within the existing setup.
A small planning mistake can have a disproportionately large operational impact. If a machine or employee is incorrectly assigned, the resource may not be available where it is needed. In construction, even one incorrectly planned person for one day can represent a significant cost.
What planning needs
The team needed more than a digital version of its spreadsheet. It needed a system that actively supported the way resource planning works. Other software solutions did not fit the company's management process closely enough.
• Prevent invalid planning decisions and apply the right constraints. • Make conflicts visible before an incorrect assignment affects work on site. • Give management a clear overview of employees, machines, projects and assignments. • Support site managers in creating and adjusting plans, including scenarios Excel could not handle reliably.
A custom resource planner
Together with Ochs, we developed a custom resource planning solution on the Dashwise platform. The company's actual requirements shaped the system. The planner brings employees, machines, construction sites and projects into one connected planning environment.
Constraints and logic that were difficult or impossible to enforce in Excel can be built into the workflow, while preserving the customization needed to match existing processes. The result is a planning system that supports the way the people doing the planning actually work.
Before and after
Before Excel Employees and machines are assigned in spreadsheets. Planners have to catch mistakes themselves. • Rules are hard to enforce • Manual conflict checks • Spreadsheet-based assignments
After Dashwise People, machines and projects are connected. Planning rules become part of the workflow. • Rules built into the workflow • Conflicts made visible • One shared overview
Fewer errors, better visibility
With the new resource planner, Ochs has replaced its Excel-based process with a system designed for construction resource planning. The improvements cover five areas:
• Fewer planning errors: Constraints and rules reduce opportunities for incorrect assignments. • Less time spent correcting mistakes: Errors prevented early do not need to be identified, investigated and fixed later. • Faster resource planning: A more structured process provides the information needed to allocate resources. • Better overview: Management and site managers see employees, machines, projects and assignments together. • Better resource utilization: Correct assignments help prevent avoidable days of unused capacity.
Depending on the resource, an incorrectly planned day can mean costs of hundreds of euros or around €1,000. Preventing small planning errors can therefore prevent disproportionately large costs.
Built to fit
The core advantage is the close fit between the software and the company's management process. Ochs did not have to change its planning methodology to match a standardized product. Dashwise was used to build a tool around the requirements of the people doing the planning. That made capabilities possible that were not practical in the previous Excel workflow, while preserving the company's operational logic.
About Ochs
Ochs Bohrgesellschaft mbH Drilling and well construction · Nuremberg Ochs specializes in drilling and well construction. Based in Nuremberg, the company investigates ground conditions, builds wells for water supply, and carries out their rehabilitation and maintenance. Its employees and machines work across multiple construction sites. Location: Nuremberg, Germany Team: Around 100 employees Project: Resource planning
Your resource planning
Spreadsheets are flexible and familiar. As planning rules become more complex, it gets harder to control the process reliably. Dashwise can turn those rules into a purpose-built workflow that fits your company. Talk to us about your planning process.
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