VoorInfra opts for GO FiberConnect

VoorInfra is a young and rapidly growing consultancy and engineering agency from Apeldoorn. As a partner for both network providers and groundwork contractors, the company offers a wide range of services. “These range from design to project control and management,” says Arjan Hukema (project manager) at VoorInfra. “GO FiberConnect was specifically developed for the FTTH process; a flexible tool that has proven its worth time and again – both in the back office and out in the field.”

As an example, Arjan mentions the project that VoorInfra is handling for Kabelnoord, a telecommunication provider with great focus on its clients. The contractor responsible for the rollout is Euronet Infratechniek. “At the start of the project, our job was to set up the process as quickly as possible from an organisational and technical perspective. We handle and support practically all activities, except for actually directing the teams and mechanics on location.”

Epicentre of information

Arjan emphasises the importance of proper information provision towards the client throughout the process. “What information do they want to receive regarding the project’s progress and with what frequency? What automatic triggers do we have to set up? GO FiberConnect truly is the epicentre of the process. It is where all information comes together.”

At the same time, it ensures other supporting systems are fed the right data. Arjan: “Think of e.g. the database at the address level that our planners use. For contractors and mechanics out in the field, it is important to have access to the right information at the right time. They also want to be able to share this information with the right colleagues quickly and easily. Then there is the stream of information between the end customer or resident about the date of the actual connection.”

In a process with this many stakeholders and variables, nothing every goes exactly according to plan. Arjan: “Every day, things happen that affect the planning and the work of someone else further down the workflow. Proper information provision during and between the processes is crucial in order to keep your eye on the ball, keep the project running smoothly and allow everyone to do their job with optimal efficiency.”

Finetuning

Arjan is happy with the tooling’s balance between client-specific customisation and standardisation. “You can really tell that the software was developed by people with knowledge of and experience with this specific process. Once the initial setup of the process was complete, we used the first six months to finetune everything together with GOconnectIT. During that time, we learned a lot about what is and isn’t possible. It is important to leave enough room for custom configuration in a process that is quite heavily standardised,” Arjan says. “At times, a seemingly minor addition of information from the client can have a significant impact in terms of efficiency. It can also give a major boost to the First Time Right percentage.”

According to Arjan, the complexity of these projects mainly lies at the back end of the process and in the interfaces with the myriad other systems that have to be established. “GO FiberConnect greases the wheels and ensures the process can continue to run smoothly. The more relevant information we can retrieve from the various systems, the better we are able to proactively think along with our client,” says Arjan, who has quite a few tricks left up his sleeve. “The fiberglass market will continue to grow rapidly in the near future. That means more projects with greater numbers of connections, more complex planning and closer interaction with end customers. It also calls for an even greater degree of efficiency and process automation. I hope GO FiberConnect can help us overcome that challenge.”