SAP integrated scheduling tool enables BIA planners to optimise resource management

The BIA Group is a leader in the sale and maintenance of machinery for mining, civil engineering, recycling, handling, and power. With headquarters in Belgium, the company also operates in The Netherlands and in more than 20 African countries. It employs over 1400 people across the group, with more than 750 of these staff in engineering and technical roles.

At any one time, BIA has around 600 technicians working on the service, repair and maintenance for its mining and civil engineering equipment in Belgium, The Netherlands and across subsidiaries.

This involves a lot of daily co-ordination for the planners, including when and where a technician is required to be, what tools and spare parts they will need, as well as managing all the associated costs.

BIA’s existing scheduling tool was not integrated into the company’s SAP ERP and had been causing delays and additional admin for the planners to be able to manage the workload.

• Significant time is saved with 360-degree visibility of all information relating to BIA’s planning activities
• Ready4 Advanced Scheduling and SAP Work Manager seamlessly integrated with BIA’s SAP ERP
• Planners can view and track all repairs and maintenance, allocate time and spare parts, helping to optimise resource management and save costs
• BIA has increased productivity across the business with use of the planning tool
• Red flags on the dashboard enable planners to see where technicians are allocated and where there is extra capacity, so that resources can be assigned efficiently
• Significant time is saved with 360-degree visibility of all information relating to BIA’s planning activities in Belgium and African subsidiaries.