Digiwork – creation of a mobile WFM system
Objective
In 2019, Energie AG Oberösterreich (specifically its grid subsidiary Netz Oberösterreich GmbH) decided to introduce its own workforce management system. Manual workforce management processes had led to high process costs for grid operation, grid construction and technical development, overlapping activities and projects, and complex internal communication. A preliminary cost-benefit study of WFM systems showed that a mobile WFM system can optimize and accelerate processes within a short time. A subsequent market analysis examined standard WFM systems. Due to Energie AG's special requirements and the obligation to tender under the federal procurement act, it was decided to specify and tender a customized system. As Energie AG OÖ has the highest quality standards, ReqPOOL's specialists were brought in; thanks to long-standing collaboration in earlier projects, ReqPOOL was already familiar with Energie AG OÖ's strict quality criteria, and the shared basis of trust eased the project delivery.
Approach
The main requirement for the future WFM system was clear: it must make work easier for mobile field staff. Previously, technicians on site had to check several order sources (such as e-mail inboxes) to retrieve orders; in the future, orders are consolidated in the digital WFM system. The first kick-off for the requirements specification with ReqPOOL took place in January 2019. Thanks to ReqPOOL's existing WFM expertise in the energy sector, an existing requirements catalog could be used as the starting point. Within only two months, requirements were tailored to Energie AG OÖ in regular workshops with the business units, following an iterative refinement process — adapting existing requirements, adding new ones, and including or dropping modules. One of the main goals of the specification was to keep Energie AG's tight schedule and start implementation in early 2020; ReqPOOL's best practices and template catalogs played a major role. The award criteria for an EU-wide best-bidder tender were defined by ReqPOOL in workshops with procurement. By the end of March, the requirements catalog was mature enough to start the two-stage tender. From April, participation applications with concrete use cases were published; by May, up to 30 interested parties had responded. The complete tender documents including all requirements were finalized and sent out in early July. After a presentation phase in September 2019, the integrator was selected and the kick-off took place in December 2019 — keeping the project on schedule for the 2020 implementation. ReqPOOL supported the award procedure in hearings, bid evaluation and offer negotiations. During implementation, ReqPOOL supported Energie AG's project management with experts for requirements management, process management, agile methods (Scrum), testing and acceptance. Joint workshops produced not only the project budget but the complete project setup, aiming for precise delivery in terms of cost and schedule. Another important topic was the GUI design, where ReqPOOL also contributed its experience.
Result
The mobile WFM system will make the scheduling and order management of up to 500 employees, including external companies in the field, more efficient than before. It will allow technicians on site to create new orders, capture project-relevant data and times and store them in surrounding systems such as the ERP system. Back-office staff will be able to create meaningful reports and plan and monitor projects more easily. It thus eases the entire workflow and the communication of everyone involved in projects across the company. Due to the project's success, further follow-up projects between Energie AG and ReqPOOL have already been agreed.
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