VEBIDAK digitalised roof inspections with Snagstream

"Companies that digitalise, and digitalise seriously, stand a better chance of revenue growth." That is what economists at Rabobank wrote in a recently published study. Logically, many companies are moving as many processes as possible from paper to screen, yet that does not hold for everyone. In the same study they note that construction still lags a little behind. That VEBIDAK is not among the parties finding this harder is clear from its efficient way of working. To learn more, we spoke with Andre van den Engel, deputy director and head of Technical Affairs at the trade association.

Introducing VEBIDAK

"VEBIDAK is the trade association for bitumen and plastic roofing companies. At the time of writing, around 170 companies in the Netherlands are members," Van den Engel begins. "We focus mainly on our members' entrepreneurship, but clients such as owners' associations, housing corporations and private individuals are part of our field too. Alongside the paperwork VEBIDAK supports, we also have a technical advisory department that carries out inspections for both member companies and their clients."

And that is before we even mention the time it saves.

Inspecting is a skill you learn

Van den Engel continues: "That technical advisory department is made up of a number of advisers and an inspector who carries out roof inspections, mainly on flat roofs. That takes a lot of kit, equipment to make incisions, to take moisture readings and to work safely. Inspecting was then done with paper and pen, and worked up afterwards into a report. That is why a need arose for a system to inspect and report digitally. We already reported digitally, so we were not starting from scratch, but inspecting digitally really mattered, because we saw more and more clients doing it themselves. That makes sense, because it lets you exchange data very easily. And that is before we even mention the time it saves. That is how we ended up at Snagstream, one of the forerunners of Prostream, from Pro4all."

Time saved, tailored by Pro4all

We were looking for a party that could help us inspect digitally, and Pro4all could deliver genuinely bespoke work, Van den Engel explains. "Of course that happened in close consultation. We had a number of wishes about reporting formats we wanted included, and that was arranged quickly. It is also good that we can keep developing it, and our contacts help well with that."

Back to that time saved

Besides the bespoke work Pro4all delivers, Van den Engel is positive about the time Snagstream saves the organisation day to day. "It starts with being able to enter text into predefined fields on your iPad up on the roof, and to add photos there. Thanks to the text blocks that come as standard in Snagstream, you can produce a report with minimal edits. On top of that, before you even go up on a roof you can already fill in part of your report, such as the building details. That is known well in advance. After that you only have to carry out the inspection and you have everything together. The turnaround time on reports has become shorter. It is not that we have all started working half-days, but by working efficiently on one front, we have more time for work on another."

On top of that the weather is better again, and good weather is roofing weather.

Construction, and so VEBIDAK, can use the time

That the time saved matters a great deal, Van den Engel confirms: "That comes down to many factors, such as changing and increased demand. We are dealing with rising material prices, scarcity, a shortage of people, and a lot of demand from clients. That last point has to do with deferred work, for instance because of the pandemic, so there is catching up to do now. On top of that the Quality Assurance Act is on the horizon, which adds to quality-thinking and the checking of completed work. All of that means we are always busy and can put the time to good use."

Building in the future

"That is why I think the role of construction software will only grow in future. Think of BIM, where you can connect all parties, but also the role of technology in itself. Digitalisation is so closely tied to build quality that, to me, it is only logical it will keep growing and that the whole construction sector will have to move with it."