“Take your time for automation and change.”

This article is written about Snagstream, the solid foundation on which Prostream continues to build. The components of the products will be the same, but will be supplemented in Prostream with the modern functions of today. The piece below gives a good picture of both the essence of Snagstream and the future functions of Prostream.

Intal develops, engineers, produces and supplies effective circular aluminum window, door and curtain wall systems. Intal uses Snagstream for quality registration; a widely used quality app in construction. The big advantage of that? 100% reliability of data.

Dick Rinia is responsible for the implementation of Snagstream at Intal. In the summer of 2022, Intal chose Snagstream after an extensive selection. “We are a company that does things differently. We work according to the principles of LEAN and with our own Intal method. That makes choosing software more difficult: You want to buy something that you can use immediately and that fits your work process 100%, but that didn’t exist. We also looked into what it would entail to have something developed ourselves, but that turned out to be a very expensive and lengthy process. We then invited a number of parties to see how these systems could work for us. Snagstream proved to be the most flexible in this regard. In addition, it was easily accessible to start with, so we opted for Snagstream.”

The figures are now representative and correct

Record quality control

Dick has been busy with the implementation since January of this year. “I’m on it full time and in terms of use we are now, mid-June, almost at 100%. The goal was to register 100% of our projects in Snagstream by July 1 and we are going to make it. Then we are ‘over’ and we do the full quality control via Snagstream. We are still working on custom adjustments, because we want to do even more with the system than is currently possible. A specialized partner is now using an API, an Application Programming Interface, to create a BI interface to automate even more work. Before using Snagstream, all communication regarding the implementation was via email, telephone and WhatsApp. This meant that performing quality checks and reports had to be done manually and was therefore time-consuming and unreliable. Our biggest goal was and is that we record all quality registrations in Snagstream. The WKB (Quality Assurance Act) is coming up, it is important for that, but also for monitoring and monitoring our own processes and throughput time.”

No more surprises

“With manual registration, the quality of that registration is personal. With registration in Snagstream, we have more insight and we can test the data, so that it is reliable and we are no longer faced with surprises,” says Dick. “We would also prefer to stay away from a contractor’s delivery system altogether, because we have recorded all risks and costs at a much earlier stage. If you are assembling a floor, you have no idea how things are going in the office. Previously, we had to email or call about the status, and then rely on the update from a (sub)contractor. That is difficult to record, which means that it happens less. With Snagstream we record the status of all frames per position. The status of each window is set to green as soon as it is finished, a photo is taken of it for the delivery report and then you can continue.”

Prevent problems

Our construction partners and collaborating parties also increasingly understand that this form of registration pays for itself and that it helps them in discussions about shortages of deliveries or damage, for example, says Dick. “A shift is slowly taking place among assembly partners who, in principle, prefer to only make as many square meters as possible. They discover all kinds of options and actively ask if they can add extra things in Snagstream. For example, if a contractor wants installation to take place while the surface is not good, the installation party would like to record this in case there is a disagreement afterwards. That is a very positive development. Initially, the reaction was mainly that they were not waiting for extra work, but now they are also starting to see the benefits. It is still growing, but at least we now have a very easy tool that everyone knows and offers support.”

If it’s in Snagstream, you can test it and you’ll know that all the information it contains is correct.

Pleasant cooperation

The reliability of the data is the biggest advantage for Dick. “If it’s in there, you can test it and then you know that all the information it contains is correct. If the information has not been added correctly, you can send it. You can control everything and offers options. All history of the snags can be retrieved. We are now working on getting even more out of the database, it is a pity that this is not yet standard, but the possibilities are there. All conceivable analyzes you want to do are possible. The collaboration with Pro4all is also very pleasant. You notice that they also enjoy it. They think along, are honest about the possibilities and impossibilities. I never get the idea that they are trying to sell something.”

Take time

The implementation has taken about half a year so far and that’s a good thing, Dick thinks. ”Improvement processes need time, you can’t do that too quickly. Changes take time to land. People have to get used to it, they have to be able to think about it, you can’t do that overnight. It also really helped that I’m doing this full time. You have to have room in your head to implement something like that. My biggest tip for implementing Snagstream? Making projects smaller and slowing down the process. But that actually applies to all of life. Changes take time. It took me a long time to realize that too.”