Bilfinger Maintenance Netherlands (formerly STORK Netherlands) is a leading provider of integrated industrial projects and maintenance services in the Netherlands. The company delivers maintenance for industrial installations worldwide, including chemical plants and energy facilities. Bilfinger chose to implement Centix when managing information on paper was no longer sustainable, both for asset management and for process-based tracking of overhaul projects.
Centix asset management
“It’s great to receive notifications when equipment needs to be inspected.”
Erwin van den Broek, Application Manager for Asset Management at Bilfinger, explains: “What really appealed to us was the automatic notifications when equipment is due for inspection. We also saw great potential — the webshop functionality, for instance, immediately stood out.” This feature is currently used by Bilfinger in Belgium to order tools that are delivered from the warehouse, covering both rental and sales items.
When equipment is no longer needed, teams can simply submit a return request via Centix from the project site, and the items are collected.
The webshop functionality has proven so effective that Bilfinger now plans to roll it out at its Rotterdam branch as well.
National rollout and centralisation
Bilfinger’s customers are primarily technical industrial companies. For many of them, Bilfinger manages assets in Centix, mainly using the platform for registering and inspecting work equipment.
The industrial service provider first implemented Centix’s Asset Management module at its Rotterdam site, initially using Centix Office. When feedback from the field revealed that inspection management could be improved, the company took a closer look at its processes. It turned out that each team maintained its own lists, creating inefficiencies. To centralise and streamline operations, Bilfinger decided to roll out Centix Online nationwide.
At Bilfinger, equipment with expired inspections has become a rarity. “We’re seeing far fewer notifications,” says Erwin. “That’s because we now have much better visibility of when inspections are due. It makes our way of working much simpler.”
He’s also enthusiastic about the benefits of centralisation: “Working within a single system makes it much easier for different sites to connect, for example, to borrow tools or equipment. There’s more collaboration, better communication, and greater visibility of what’s happening across the organisation.”
Centix Workshop Software IRIS
“This works much more safely for us, as the margin for error is smaller.”
The IRIS custom project for workshop automation of inspections and overhauls grew out of Bilfinger’s use of Centix for Asset Management. Centix was chosen to lead the project because, as Super Key User Eric Snopkowski explains, the company excelled in “ease of use, inspection functionality, and presentation.”
The IRIS workshop software is applied across three disciplines: motors, rotating equipment, and valves. To streamline overhaul work, Bilfinger uses tablets on the shop floor, allowing technicians to record all data directly during the process. “It’s a much safer way of working,”
Eric says. “The margin for error is smaller. Previously, inspectors wrote everything down and then had to walk to a computer to enter it, which led to mistakes and wasted time. Now, the tablets guide them through mandatory checklists. If they skip a step, they can’t move on. Built-in safeguards like this make the process both safer and more efficient.”
Safety and quality
Technology Manager Tim Leferink emphasises that both safety and quality are of paramount importance to Bilfinger. “Maintaining well-structured processes for quality and safety remains a key priority for Bilfinger. Combined with efficiency and ease of use, these are the main reasons we work with Centix.”
According to Tim, the reliability of the source data used in reporting is crucial, and it’s something Bilfinger’s customers have come to trust. “That trust is something we’ve built together over the years,” he explains. There’s always room for improvement, however. “We’re continuously working with Centix and our customers to create an even more user-friendly environment, for instance, by improving how users log in.”
In his view, the system has evolved naturally over time: “Our aim was to digitise. The result is that we now work with reliable data that’s available online to both our customers and our colleagues.”
Collaboration: Establishing a core team
Bilfinger has set up a dedicated core team around Centix’s solutions to ensure that knowledge and user experience are maintained — even if, for example, a key user leaves or becomes unavailable. The team’s role is also to work closely with Centix to further develop the software in line with user needs.
The IRIS core team includes an Application Manager and a Super Key User, Eric Snopkowski, who serves as the main link between the team and the users. “I gather input from the users and feed it back to the team,” Eric explains. “I understand both the software and the way people work with it.”
The team also includes a Business Owner, Tim Leferink, who provides resources, secures the necessary budget for continued investment, and liaises with senior management to make key decisions. Each discipline has its own Key User, responsible for reporting needs and challenges within their area, as well as testers, who either serve as Key Users themselves or report directly to them.
“Two years ago, this structure didn’t exist,” Tim notes. “Local teams weren’t always represented, and our collaboration with Centix was less intensive. That meant people weren’t always up to date on new developments, and the business wasn’t fully aligned with the system’s capabilities. By building a strong team, clear communication lines, and structured processes, we’ve involved all key stakeholders, and now we experience virtually no downtime. We’ve achieved this through better collaboration and communication with our colleagues, customers, and Centix.”
For more information about Bilfinger, visit the website of Bilfinger Maintenance Netherlands.
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