New software is usually sought when business processes become so complex that the previous software is no longer satisfactory. This is also what happened with Estonian Air Navigation Services (EANS), which needed something more than an Excel spreadsheet and e-mail to manage processes and projects. EANS has been using PlanPro software since 2018.
EANS provides air traffic services with air traffic management consulting and training. The company operates under the administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the sole owner is the Republic of Estonia. Together with other providers of international air traffic services, the implementation of digital changes for the organization of future air traffic in the European Union is managed. There are almost 200 employees in the team, nearly 83% of whom are experts in the field of aviation.
Teve Rahula, the head of the business development department, and Keiti Meriküll, a business development specialist, share experiences related to the use of PlanPro software.
Years ago, EANS started looking for a software solution that would help manage and manage projects and change processes, as their volume was expected to increase. In addition to technical capability, user comfort and intuitiveness were important criteria for the selection of the new system. The previous solutions – the shared Excel table in Sharepoint and e-mail were no longer sustainable, because working with them was very time-consuming and did not provide a unified overview.
There was a need to find a unified environment in which to deal with project and change planning, management and reporting. It was also important to be able to link projects to the company’s strategic goals. Instead of developing a tailor-made solution just for your company, PlanPro was chosen because the technical requirements met what was desired and the functionality was already available to a large extent in the software.
At the moment, the PlanPro tasks and project management module is most actively used in EANS. Projects often last for several years and include a large number of different (sub)activities and tasks.
In addition, due to the specifics of aviation, it is necessary to manage different types of change processes, including later being able to prove the existence of various approvals and activities. Keiti Meriküll adds: “For this purpose, PlanPro developed for us the possibility to create form with custom fields for the task. This has been extremely necessary in our communication with the Transport Administration, as we can now generate the necessary document from the completed form from the system with one click of a button.”
There is also an integration with the notification and asset management system, where follow-up activities requiring follow-up are sent from PlanPro. For larger projects, actual time is also tracked, but the full implementation of all working time planning and tracking options is still in the early stages.
Tasks related to one of the largest development projects of EANS – the remote tower system – are also managed in PlanPro. Remote tower is a technological solution that allows flights at Estonian airports to be coordinated from the one control center in Tallinn. A Gantt chart is often used to get a complete picture of a project lasting several years with sub-tasks on the timeline. An external development partner is also involved in the project, who was also given access to the EANS PlanPro software environment, otherwise only accessible internally (located on the company’s server).
Assessment of the impact of the working environment has been implemented in PlanPro, and in the case of each change, the impact on the working environment can be assessed in the system and is visible to all parties.
From time to time EANS needs to report on the objectives of the Single European Sky – what are the plans and status. This part is also built into PlanPro: information can be entered and monitored on an ongoing basis, and if there is a need to transfer information, it is available from one place.
In summary, Teve Rahula adds that PlanPro has several good functionalities that facilitate the company’s daily operation and give the management a good overview of the state of the company’s strategic goals.
The company’s strategic goals, the operational goals resulting from them, and the connections with the goals and activities of the departments have helped to bring goal-setting closer to the employees – to understand what and why we do in the company.
The strategic goals are visible to everyone company-wide, as well as the operational goals resulting from them and the connections with the specific tasks of the departmental goals and action plan. “The management of the company can easily see how many tasks are in progress, pending or done, and how the activities relate to the company’s strategic goals.”
“This has helped to bring goal-setting closer to the employees – to understand what and why we do in the company,” explains Keiti Meriküll.
One of the contributing factors to the successful implementation of the software within the company, Keiti Meriküll considers the capability of the software as well as the user-friendliness, “If you think about what we had before the introduction of PlanPro, the change has been big.”
Considering the cooperation so far, Keiti Meriküll can recommend the PlanPro strategy and task management software to others. “Communication with the developer has been efficient, and if we come up with new ideas, possible solutions are also offered by PlanPro’s own consultants.”
We will soon introduce the PlanPro performance appraisal module. “This is currently the missing part to form the whole,” says Meriküll. “In the performance appraisal module, we see a great benefit for both managers and all employees: conducting performance reviews becomes more flexible and transparent.”
Teve Rahula: “PlanPro makes it possible to link the strategic goals of the company with the goals of the department, and the goals of the department, in turn, with the individual goals of the employee. In PlanPro, the employee sees the connection between his own activities and the fulfillment of the company’s goals, which gives meaning and content to his work and contribution.”
There are plans to move some more processes, which are currently in Word and Excel format, to the unified PlanPro environment.
We plan to move some more processes, which are currently in Word and Excel format, to the unified PlanPro software environment.
Keiti Meriküll adds that the company plans to carry out a more comprehensive analysis and assess which business processes are still worth gradually moving to PlanPro. Still in order to take a step forward on the journey of digitalization and make it more transparent and convenient for employees to share information related to their work and plan activities.
Kalev Truusalu, representative of PlanPro: “One of the prerequisites for the successful implementation of the software is clearly defined goals that the software must help to achieve or solve. EANS had extensive preliminary work done and expectations were mapped. EANS has also made us work harder as a company and we had very close cooperation to find solutions to various business requirements.
The introduction of new software always leads to significant changes in the organization. Therefore, in addition to the support of the management, it is very important to have a strong project manager-main user on the client’s side, who will take over internal communication and support the users.”
If you are looking for an effective strategy execution software, then reach out and request a demo.
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