The Dresden engineering office for road construction and civil engineering emerged in 2006 from a branch of a large internationally active engineering office and has thus existed for around 25 years. The scope of services includes traffic, track and wastewater planning, the planning of gas and water supply systems, pipeline and SiGe coordination. With 16 permanent employees, most of whom have been with the company for many years, the office has a comparatively lean structure despite large civil engineering projects.

Professional competence and planning security,...

... but also speed are top priorities at IBK Dresden. That is why office and project management software (BMSP for short) is used at each of the 16 PC workstations to optimise office processes and control projects. Previously, only general office software was used - invoices, for example, were created using spreadsheet software. The relationship between the time required and the services billed had to be estimated individually for each project. "Whether projects were likely to cover costs or be completed at a loss was more or less a matter of reading tea leaves, especially in the case of complex projects," remembers Mike Silbermann, IBK staff member responsible for accounting, controlling, IT and CAD. As a result, it was not possible to draw up an interim balance sheet of ongoing projects at the end of the financial year. This has changed with the introduction of the office management software. For Mike Silbermann, the gain in security, speed of reaction and flexibility is paramount: "Deficits are now discovered more quickly and you can see immediately where they come from. Relying solely on your gut feeling can, under certain circumstances, go to the very substance of the office."

First fee-based, then BMSP software

In their search for a suitable solution, the IBK team first became aware of HOAI-Pro from Vordruckverlag Weise during intensive internet research, and the fee calculation software was introduced as early as 2006. "Due to our experience with standard programmes and the practical handling of the HOAI software, we quickly recognised the advantages of subject-specific software," Silbermann recalls. In the meantime, HOAI-Pro has become part of everyday life. It ensures that fees are calculated exactly and fee margins are optimally sounded out. Both simple fee estimates and complex civil engineering projects with several service specifications, repetitions, different cost allocations, etc. can be processed efficiently with it. In order not to burden the staff with several new programmes at the same time, the HOAI programme was retained for the time being. But the appetite was whetted and four years later the BMSP software VVW Control came into the office. "The decision criteria were the software's performance, ease of use and clear, comprehensible structures. But it was also important for us to have a manufacturer who is open to customers and willing to learn," Silbermann explains the decision to buy with a twinkle in his eye, adding: "While working with the software, but also due to structures specified by the customer, new requirements and suggestions on how to optimise and expand the software constantly arose. To this end, the VvW Control development team received practical suggestions from us - for example, how to make the accounting more flexible, and how to design function sequences and structures more clearly. This is how it was later implemented. Our good cooperation with the Vordruckverlag Weise also benefits other users, improves the practical relevance and expands the application spectrum of the software."

For 15 years, Ingenieurbüro Többen has been involved in the planning, tendering and construction management of technical building systems. "With seven employees, we are a small but well-coordinated team of planners specialising in building technology, building physics, building climate control and project controlling," says Többen, the founder of the office, describing the profile of his engineering firm. Together with clients, architects and other specialist engineers, the Munich-based engineering firm develops holistic building services concepts for private, public and commercial construction projects. Martin Többen knows how to assert himself in a highly competitive market: "Our goal is to optimise the building services and energy efficiency of construction projects. We don't just pull standard solutions out of a drawer, but use our know-how to develop solutions that are precisely tailored to the project.

"With software, service is also important...!"

Off-the-shelf solutions are also not his thing when it comes to choosing his own office tools: "Actually, we were already well equipped in terms of software with Office, AVA, CAD and specialist programmes. Only project times were still documented with a spreadsheet programme and had to be evaluated manually. Therefore, we were looking for a lean office management solution. We came across VvW Control through intensive internet research," recalls Többen. Before deciding to buy, the management and controlling solution was compared with "complete solutions" from other providers. These contained complete office management with office, CRM and AVA functions. Since these areas were already working well in the office, Többen ultimately opted for VvW Control because it filled a gap and fitted well into existing structures. "In addition to the price/performance ratio, the modular structure was also decisive, and the programme modules met our requirements profile exactly," explains Többen, explaining why he decided on the office management solution of the Vordruckverlag Weise. And because the VvW Projektmanager product portfolio also includes a project management tool, the engineering firm also opted for the project management and construction scheduling software because of the consistency of the data and work processes. Five years after the purchase, Többen still feels in good hands with the Dresden-based software provider: "Our field of expertise, building services planning, requires a large number of industry-specific software products. Our 'software fleet' is correspondingly large. That's why we can judge the support and hotline quality well - and that is at least as important as the product itself. In a direct comparison, we quickly noticed the helpful and committed support team at Vordruckverlag. With other providers, we sometimes had the feeling of being more of a 'nuisance' and being 'dispatched' on the phone," says Többen, summarising his different experiences.

"If you're in control of time, you're in control of the office!"

All beginnings are difficult - this also applies to familiarisation with an office and project management tool. "Support helped us with the first steps with a short telephone briefing and online remote maintenance. The rest was learning by doing and after about a week the employees were fit," recalls Többen, who did, however, have to invest more time for familiarisation with the evaluation and control functions. In the meantime, VvW Control and the VvW Project Manager, each in the current 2014 version, are being used productively at five workstations as a cost-effective network solution. VvW Control is mainly used in the areas of Zeiterfassung, project costing, controlling and HOAI. Via the digital "time clock", the employees record their individual working hours daily, which are directly assigned to the projects and service phases of the HOAI. This is the basis for successful office management. After all, personnel costs, at around 60 per cent, are the largest cost block in a planning office. "A decisive advantage of an office management solution is that with consistent Zeiterfassung and evaluation, you can continuously assess the economic situation of both individual projects and service phases as well as the entire office. If you have time under control, you also have the office under control," Többen sums it up. For him, staff and project times are important basic data that enable an up-to-date overview of target/actual times, project costs, etc.. For this purpose, he uses VvW Control to create evaluations for individual, several or all projects. The comparison of project- and activity-related costs with the agreed fees enables a constant control of success. The focus is not only on the actual costs incurred, but also on future costs. Martin Többen comments: "If times and costs get out of hand, I can now take countermeasures in time. On the other hand, the recorded times form a secure basis for future calculations, so that I can offer our services on a more reliable basis.