Tradition and innovation

The Sievers family has been in the construction business for more than 100 years. Since then, a lot has changed. Now the company is taking the next step: all processes are becoming digital. "Sievers has always been very innovative," Oliver Rieper tells us. He is responsible for controlling and pulled the strings when the new software was introduced. "Our invoice workflow is already completely digital. The invoices reach us by mail and are directly processed digitally. There are no media breaks at our company." This makes Sievers one of the pioneers in the industry.

Digitization in the construction industry.

Currently, only around 4% of companies in this sector work digitally. The majority of companies still use pen and paper. This does not always work smoothly. Recording hours in particular is a challenge for many companies. Slips of paper get lost in the construction site vehicle or it takes a very long time to record the hours. At Sievers, this is a thing of the past. With their Molteo software, the hours are recorded directly on the construction site by each individual employee, or collectively via the foremen, using an app. "Above all, this saves us having to transfer the timesheets to the office," Rieper is pleased to say.

An investment that pays off.

Rieper encourages all entrepreneurs who are still hesitant and or don't know how to tackle digitization: "Based on our experience, we recommend that every entrepreneur take the important steps toward the future now. Digitized processes offer a wide range of options to become even better," the controller emphasizes. But even in the first few weeks after the changeover, the new way of working is already paying off. "In time recording, we can see at a glance whether any times are still missing. In addition, the software eliminates double bookings," explains Rieper. "I also appreciate the simple operation and intuitive use of the software," adds Bennet Petersen. He is a bricklayer and concrete foreman and works as a foreman at Sievers.

In addition, he praises the cooperation with the Molteo team. "At the beginning, it was necessary to enter the working hours for each employee. Since I record entire columns, it was relatively time-consuming for me. Therefore, I turned to Molteo with the request that I could deposit standard working hours. The team implemented this and now the processes run much faster for me," reports the 27-year-old.

Documentation without stress

Site documentation at Sievers has also not only taken a step into the future, but also gained in efficiency. Before the software was introduced, employees took photos on site with digital cameras. From these, the pictures were then transferred to the PC in the office and assigned to the respective date and project. "Now, on the job site, I always have my tablet with me. I use it to take photos and archive them directly," says the foreman happily. "And thanks to cloud technology, the data is available everywhere at the same time, even years later," adds Rieper. But it's not just from a purely business perspective that digitization is a benefit for the company. Generation Y employees in particular demand digital solutions from their employers. They have grown up with it, use smartphones privately and expect to be provided with a digital infrastructure at work as well. But more and more older employees are also recognizing the advantages over analog solutions. "In our case, an older employee was the biggest supporter at the beginning. He already knew the software and was therefore aware of the advantages. That helped us quickly gain acceptance for the digital way of working throughout the company," emphasizes Oliver Rieper.

Get to work now

To enable its employees to make the most of the software, the company has also invested in new technology. "Capturing and communicating via tablet works better than via a small mobile device. Today, it's as much a part of my job as the folding rule and safety shoes," says Petersen. In addition, the foreman praises the cooperation with the Schleswig start-up. "Our suggestions for improvement and our criticism were always implemented promptly. This made it easier for us to implement and use the software." Rieper agrees and speaks courage to the entrepreneurs of the construction industry "We advise everyone to finally tackle digitalization. Together with the Molteo team, we were able to implement the software successfully." But the digitization of analog processes is far from the end for Sievers. In the future, the data basis that has now been created, together with artificial intelligence, will serve as the basis for planning and calculations. "We are using the best of both worlds: Our centuries of experience as well as state-of-the-art algorithms. Tradition and innovation go hand in hand for us," emphasizes Oliver Rieper.

About Sievers The Sievers family business has been in the construction business for more than 100 years. Their achievements reach from the building of houses, over the reorganization of objects up to the commercial building and establishment of public buildings, and from planning to the conversion. The company's declared top priority is customer satisfaction. A total of around 50 employees work at Sievers. In addition, the company also provides training in traditional trades - a matter of course for the Sievers family.