About Royal BAM Group
Royal BAM Group is a leading European player in the building industry. Within Europe, there are offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Furthermore, BAM International, a subsidiary based in the Netherlands, focuses on international construction projects in Africa, Australia, Asia, the Middle East/Gulf states and the United States. The company has a workforce of approximately 20,000 people and an annual turnover of more than 7 billion euros. Until recently, all establishments in the various countries operated independently of one another but, at this moment, BAM is in the middle of a strategic transformation, where One BAM is the guiding philosophy.
The challenge: office capacity planning
In March 2020, the corona crisis broke out and staff at Royal BAM Group switched to teleworking overnight. Because the company quickly got on with it, the organisation was able to keep moving. This offered the builder time and room to think about how they could design the business in line with the “new normal”, when employees would be allowed to go back to the office. In this endeavour, a special challenge was that BAM is active in various countries and regions with widely divergent legislation and regulation.
The approach: a properly functioning app within three days
To coordinate capacity at the workplace, Macaw implemented Desk Planner App at Royal BAM Group, a solution which Macaw developed in-house using Microsoft Power Platform. Macaw began with the implementation and roll-out of the app in Belgium first. Within three days, they put into practice a solution that worked very well. After this successful pilot, the app was also rolled out in the Netherlands. Here, three apps were developed for three different regions. More countries to follow shortly. During this process, Macaw introduced the “BAM starter packs”, enabling BAM to roll out the app to new regions efficiently and independently. To this end, BAM was involved in the implementation of the app from the very outset. And should there be any changes in national regulations such as mandatory distancing, then BAM can easily make the adjustments in the app themselves. At this moment, Desk Planner App for Royal BAM Group is the one-stop shop for everything related to reserving desks as well as meeting rooms.
The outcome: a properly functioning and favourably received app
Reactions from BAM staff are unanimously favourable: the app is very easy to use. Staff know, before heading for the office, if there is a free desk. This has given BAM full control over available capacity and prevents unnecessary travel. Desk Planner App can also align the amount of parking space and catering with the number of people at the office. In doing so, the app takes into account national and regional guidelines regarding social distancing, for instance. For receptionists, there is a Power BI front end, enabling them to see if any desks are still available.
Currently, BAM is monitoring capacity for its office employees on a weekly basis. The app thereby generates a lot of useful data. If, against all hope, a corona infection takes place, then it is possible to find out who the person in question has been in close contact with. In using the app, BAM is strictly observing the GDPR.
What about Royal BAM Group?
Shaun Maistry (IT Project Manager, Royal BAM Group) states: “The turnaround time we have realised together with Macaw is impressive. Within three days, we had a functioning Desk Planner App in Belgium! This solution turned out to mesh perfectly with our philosophy of One BAM, and because Macaw attaches great importance to ‘doing it yourself’, we quickly learnt to work with the app ourselves. As a result, we have built so much confidence that we can now manage and maintain the app on our own.”
Final comments
Would you like to know more about Desk Planner App? Read more.
