The challenges of EHTP Picardie (NGE) before Kraaft

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NGE, acronym for New Generations of Entrepreneurs, is an independent French construction group created 20 years ago by the merger of the companies Guintoli (VRD), EHTP (channellers) and GTS (foundations). Strengthened by the professions of Siorat (roads), TSO (railway), Agilis (railway), Agilis (signaling), NGE Civil Engineering, NGE Fondations, and NGE Infranet (telecom), the company now has 16,000 employees for a turnover of 2.8 billion euros.

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“Today, we are located in Montescourt-Lizerolles, on rue de Castres, on which a sanitation project is being carried out” begins Quentin. “We recreated a collector with 5 connections, because there was a small defect in the existing network. Our mission was to restore a traditional flow by reconnecting each individual to the right network.”

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The challenge here is timing. Since the municipality wants the work to be completed in August, which is 4 weeks for a project that normally takes 6 weeks. On this type of construction site in underground networks, communication between the various teams, the traceability of unexpected events and responsiveness with the project management (MOA) are essential to success.

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A handling as easy as Whatsapp

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The first challenge of a new software is its handling by the teams. “Kraaft, I used it a few months after I joined EHTP (...) it's an application that looks a lot like WhatsApp and we WhatsApp used it frequently so it's quite simple” underlines Quentin.

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And indeed, the principle is not complicated. The mobile application, whose interface is similar to a mobile messaging system, allows team leaders and site managers to upload photos, videos, voice notes, or comments in the dedicated site news feed. “Gradually, I got the application in hand and it works well” testifies Claude. “I use it for my marking and picketing and then throughout the site to send my progress (...) in the evening I take a photo to show that my markings are in place in case there is damage at night” adds the site manager.

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Better traceability between teams

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“You can identify each photo sent by a team leader, a site manager or even a machine operator. We know where and when he took the photo. It saves me from doing research” testifies Quentin.

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With the computer version of the software, construction managers can explore the satellite map of the construction site and download photos by zone, every week or every month. “Kraaft changes the way we work as a team because there is more sharing. On a construction site I will have the surveyors who arrive, then sometimes an asphalt team, and well for them it is very practical to have all the history of the operation on Kraaft” continues Quentin.

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It is in fact possible to add people at any time to the construction site news feed so that they have access to the history. At each stage of the construction site (costing, preparation, execution, delivery), the parties involved can therefore enrich the journal. Administrators themselves (sector heads, branch managers) can have an overview of all site discussions without being polluted by notifications. And customers, receive selected information with specific accesses.

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“We are also in contact with the design office on Kraaft (...) to show that we finally started the construction site in this way. It allows you to give feedback. I think we can go even further, in particular to share the constraints on the ground. As we work in all Hauts-de-France, it would allow us to have a map of all our past projects” continues the construction manager.

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More transparent valuation with MOA

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“We started talking to our client about Kraaft,” explains Quentin. The application allows the sector manager to output reports from the smartphone if the customer asks him, whether for the weekly photo report or for event reports.

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“We ask our site managers to measure the surfaces, to make us small sketches, or to write on the photos for our attachments (...) It allows us to provide information more quickly, whether for us or even for our client (...) For example, for an unknown network (...) For example, for an unknown network: we identify it, we put the diameter, the satellite position of the photo is automatic, and the information is sent back directly”.

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But communication with the MOA is not only about construction site hazards! EPCIs are becoming more and more demanding in terms of signaling and securing construction sites. For example, the EHTP teams took the habit of doing a photo report on Friday evening, to show that the barriers are in place and that the premises are clean for the weekend.

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“All exchanges are now taking place on Kraaft. We put everything from A to Z, we forget less things and we are more serene. That way we always have proof in case of problems” concludes Claude.

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The benefits

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✅ Easy to join in the field (as easy as WhatsApp)

✅ Photo evidence to highlight additional work

✅ Saving time and quality on reporting

✅ More responsive and transparent collaboration with MOA

✅ Database for REx at the design office/soil type

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