Success story

Successful implementation of digitalisation strategy

With over 100 employees at four locations, WSP Suisse AG is one of the leading construction management offices in Switzerland. The innovative company is always looking for new solutions and pursues a consistent digitalisation strategy. Thanks to this approach, WSP Suisse AG not only remains strong in the market, but also manages to constantly improve the quality of its buildings despite increasing complexity – a decisive plus for its customers.

Peter Zwick is a busy man. In addition to his functions as Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of WSP Suisse AG, he is a lecturer at ZHAW Winterthur and President of Maneco, the professional association for management and economics in the construction industry.
In all his roles, the digitalisation of the construction industry is a major issue for him. “We must always be aware that what we build affects us all, including future generations. This is why we have to strive for good quality in all respects and use all technical possibilities that help us to improve our buildings,” says Zwick.

Understanding digitalisation as a tool

Digitalisation offers many opportunities for optimisation, but all the technical platforms are ultimately only tools, he says. “It’s us humans who plan and build. This is why we should also question our processes and cooperation models, and discuss and try out contemporary approaches such as lean management,” explains Zwick. “Only when people and tools interact optimally can we exploit the full potential of digitalisation.” Zwick refers to communication as an example: “We have to move away from chaotic e-mail traffic! It makes so much more sense to communicate in a structured way via a central platform in a project. That’s why I was convinced by smino’s comprehensive approach with protocols, journal, defect management, plan filing and so on. The whole toolkit of construction management is covered.”

Convincing even the sceptics

Zwick doesn’t just talk about digitalisation, he also backs up his words with action: following a test phase in a real project, smino was released to the entire workforce at WSP Suisse AG – but on a voluntary basis. “I’m not a fan of simply imposing new software solutions on the workforce. In a situation like that, resistance is inevitable,” Zwick explains. “In addition, a solution primarily needs to prove itself to the people in the field. Our savvy employees have taken to smino quickly and well. This generated a lot of positive feedback internally, and ultimately convinced even the sceptics.”