I use Kraaft as a site monitoring software for my pipe renovations

The challenges

The drinking water network in France is on average 80 years old. To avoid numerous leaks, it needs to be renovated. And the government's objective is clear:” halve the duration of the network renewal cycle” by 2024.

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The most common technique for these renovations is the replacement of pipes in an open trench. This consists of removing the ground, opening a trench, supporting it with armour and adding new pipes in parallel with the old network. Once the pipe has been laid, supported by a layer of sand or gravel, the main network can be connected to the secondary networks and the trench backfilled.

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As part of these linear projects, site managers encounter numerous unforeseen events. A crossing with a gas network, rocky ground that is difficult to dig, an immobilization because of a local resident's car along the trench, the encounter with a groundwater table. The plans provided in advance are not necessarily up to date, and you don't always know what you're going to encounter when you dig, despite the regulations for gluing and marking and picketing.

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On construction sites lasting several weeks or even several months, the ability to explain to the customer the imponderables of the work, and to justify the delays, often explains the profitability of the project. For their part, project management (MOE) and project management need to be responsive to site stoppages in order to validate additional costs and anticipate deadlines.

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In the field, for an experienced site manager, it is very difficult to trace all site hazards. And construction managers simply don't have time to generate reports on all the additional work they do on a daily basis.

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How does Kraaft help you?

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Kraaft is a mobile application, as easy to use as Whatsapp, which allows you to create dematerialized construction logs. On a daily basis, site managers share the progress and difficulties they encounter in the field. You send a photo, a video, or a simple voice note from your mobile. The construction manager is aware of the problem in real time. He can respond by sharing updated plans and transmitting information directly from Kraaft to the customer. This unblocks the work site and allows us to move forward to find solutions quickly.

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When he finds the time, at the end of the day or at the end of the week, the driver can then create a hazard sheet using the report format dedicated to the project. All the photos being geo-located and time-stamped, this allows him to find each hazard on the project's satellite map. And the customer can validate the unexpected as it happens.

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In the context of fixed contracts, the design office can find the history of all site hazards in an Excel table, and better respond to future calls for tenders. In the context of contracts with price lists, Kraaft makes it possible to monitor the progress of construction sites, which saves time on monthly invoicing and provides supporting documents for additional work.

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Beyond the imponderables associated with these underground network projects, Kraaft is a communication tool that makes it possible to promote the work of construction companies. Is there a groundwater table and does the network have to go to a depth of 7m? The MOE receives videos from the trench and projects itself into the complexity of the operation, the technicality of which it will communicate to the project owner or on social networks.

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The benefits

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✅ Ease of handling by site managers;

✅ More responsiveness with the customer on stopping points and additional work;

✅ Formality appreciated for site reports and attachments;

✅ Explanation of drifts and impact on planned rates;

✅ Photo and video feedback for the design office;

✅ Adaptability of the solution to the specificities of the market: form fields and reports that are 100% customizable;

✅ Valuation of the work and communication on the technical challenges of the project;

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