Kamtower decided to embrace a full-on implementation of TimeLog in all areas of the company.
That has meant that the company can now track its contribution margin on both major, pan-organisational projects and small, individual assignments in the different branches.
“When everything is fixed price and all agreements are based on calculations, we simply have to be able to see whether things are profitable,” says Mads Hald.
Before Kamtower implemented TimeLog, the company used a competing solution that was complex and not overly intuitive.
“The problem with our original system was that it was extremely complicated and not intuitive at all. Over several years, we’d built up a huge volume of cases without any naming standards. Moreover, we had all kinds of projects in the pipeline that we hadn’t yet closed. I guess we had about 5–6,000 open cases at one point,” explains Mads Hald.
One consequence of the lack of standardisation was that it was incredibly difficult to extract data and measure performance on projects and the company itself.
So it was hugely important to get off to a good start with the new system to avoid the same thing happening again.
Mads Hald and Kamtower used the TimeLog template feature to ensure the uniform registration of all data from the start.
Using templates, the company can ensure that all projects – large and small – are set up and named in the same way, making it quick and straightforward to dive down in the data afterwards and analyse performance.
The project managers tasked with governing the large, pan-organisational projects can “go shopping” among finished project templates for the smaller sub-projects run by the different branches all over the country.
This means that in practice, project managers can use the finished templates for the sub-projects as the project progresses and different departments are brought in. Rather like putting a project together with LEGO Bricks. As a result, the individual departments can start executing right away – and all time is registered correctly from the start.
The templates are set up in advance in the different branches based on their individual experience and expertise. Every template contains a complete project plan, budget, payment plan and staffing plan.
“We needed a new system that could bring us a little closer together as a company. We decided to implement a change management project to turn us in the right direction. We’ve worked hard to emphasise the importance of financial management and contracts. And we’ve succeeded in encouraging loads of people to get involved in the way project finances are handled, to form an opinion about the issue and to familiarise themselves with the ins and outs of it,” adds Mads Hald.
The entire implementation process took about six weeks and involved the company’s project managers and specialists from all parts of Denmark. And the entire process was run online.
Whereas the previous system resulted in our employees following a fragmented work method, the implementation process has helped boost working relationships throughout the organisation.
“We’ve got off to a flying start with TimeLog. The new system has fired our employees up to get a grip on the issues we were struggling with. Succeeding in generating interest in it has been a huge benefit.”
Kamtower provides telecoms consultancy and calculation services. The company’s assignments cover everything from contract negotiations with clients, construction permit applications and foundation design to static calculations of masts, foundations, supporting tubes, and the like.
The company was founded in 2004 and currently employs 81 people worldwide from offices in Denmark, India, and Myanmar.