Unfiltered flood of news stopped

In Germany, Bonava emerged from Industriebau Fürstenwalde, which was founded in 1964, and has been active in the German real estate market for more than 50 years. As a classic builder and project developer, the company drives forward more than 150 residential construction projects each year. In 2017, the company sold more than 2,400 houses and apartments to owner-occupiers and investors. Almost 1,000 employees at the German headquarters in Fürstenwalde/Spree and the ten regional offices in growth regions throughout Germany are committed to this.

Focus on quality - also for internal processes
With the independence of the residential construction division in 2016, the company was given the opportunity to realign itself. Bonava repositioned itself as an even more customer-friendly brand with a big focus on quality. "Our projects have changed since then. Since the reorientation, we have paid even more attention to environments that further enhance the quality of living. Instead of building one more residential unit, we plan more space for playgrounds or gardens. This makes Bona va's housing even more attractive and sets us apart from our competitors," explains Arne Senftleben, Head of Management System and Environment. The management system was also modernized in parallel with the reorganization. "We already had a system in digital form, but it was organized via a website with links to a server. The process descriptions and audit reports existed as Word documents or long Excel lists. To find your way around the system, you had to be very knowledgeable. It was particularly unfavorable that every employee was informed of all changes, even if they didn't affect them at all," writes Arne Senftleben.

All standards under a uniform interface
In 2016, Bonava decided to introduce ConSense IMS at its German headquarters in Fürstenwalde. The integrated management system, developed by Aachen-based ConSense GmbH, now brings together all the standards and regulations relevant to Bonava - the quality management standard ISO 9001, the environmental protection standard ISO 14001 and the occupational health and safety management system BS OHSAS 18001 - under a uniform interface. Among other things, personnel and commercial processes are also integrated into the new system.

A hands-on workshop by ConSense, at which Arne Senftleben tested the system, tipped the scales in favor of the decision. One important aspect that convinced the management system manager was that the software enables differentiated use with targeted information distribution. The ConSense IMS solution compiles the relevant information for each employee individually. Each user is given access to their processes and documents in the current and valid version, is automatically informed of changes and confirms that they have taken note of them via the system. On the start page, the system shows employees upcoming tasks or deadlines so that everyone has an overview of the due dates. "This has stopped the flood of messages for us. The information distributed via ConSense IMS receives more attention again because everyone knows that they are directly involved when they are notified," says a pleased Arne Senftleben.

Old system switched off immediately
At the beginning of 2016, Bonava transferred the previous management system to the new ConSense IMS. In total, this involved about 100 different processes and 1500 documents. These were uploaded in one step, then checked individually and assigned to the corresponding organizational unit. With the help of the modern mapping software integrated in ConSense IMS, the processes could be easily and transparently modeled in the form of flowcharts and designed as they run in reality. All steps were linked to the relevant employees or organizational units. "The interdependencies between the various processes quickly become clear. The interfaces are easy to work out and we could easily check whether everything was correct," writes Arne Senftleben. "We then switched off the old system immediately to avoid any irritations. Everyone now knew that what they were looking for could only be found in ConSense." In Arne Senftleben's opinion, a particularly valuable function of ConSense IMS is the practical search function, which allows every employee to quickly find the information they need.

To familiarize employees with the new system, the head of the management system developed an online training course. ConSense IMS makes it easy to create individual tutorials, e.g. from images and texts, which can be carried out independently by employees at any time. New employees explore the processes and documents relevant to them during their induction period. The system's dedicated regulation of roles and access rights makes this possible.

Audit and measures management
Thanks to the modular structure of ConSense IMS, the system grows with Bonava and can be adapted to changing needs at any time. Among other things, Bonava uses ConSense Audit Management, which supports the systematic organization, implementation and follow-up of audits. Arne Senftleben explains: "We find it important to include much more positive aspects in the reports. If, for example, we determine that a responsible site manager has ensured smooth processes with good results through detailed familiarization with a project and intensive training of his employees on the construction sites, this is highlighted in the audit report, which can then be called up in ConSense. This information can then be viewed at any time via the system by the people involved, especially supervisors. This is motivating."

The audit management module is linked to the action management module. This ensures the timely completion of pending tasks from various sources, including internal and external audits. All measures are managed and controlled centrally. This is achieved through the individual assignment of responsibilities and accountabilities. The system informs employees by e-mail about newly assigned measures or individual workflow phases. If predefined deadlines are exceeded, the system automatically sends a reminder. Supervisors can track the current status at any time. All open, completed and overdue measures are documented and can also be traced at a later date. And especially helpful: Regularly recurring measures can be triggered automatically. Arne Senftleben: "If, for example, it is discovered during an office audit that the house rules are missing or a fire extinguisher needs to be replaced, this is immediately recorded as a measure in ConSense and followed up on.

Support from management makes introduction successful
Arne Senftleben is convinced that the introduction must be a decision supported by the management. Those responsible should be firmly behind it and then also make the corresponding capacities available. "We were very fortunate that our management supported the project from the very beginning and exemplified the use of the system," explains Arne Senftleben. In addition, he considers it essential to deal intensively with the organizational structures from the very beginning and to define them in detail. "Every extra minute invested here pays off in the end in that the system functions smoothly and is then also accepted by the employees." The success speaks for itself: The fact that the employees use ConSense IMS because they know that they can find all processes and documents there is evidenced by around 1,500 usage sessions per week for around 700 employees who have access to the system.
to the system.