Kronos Efficient-cy tastes so sweet
The Belgian Chocolate Group registers staff and time using Kronos Efficient software
The Belgian Chocolate Group uses Kronos to control access to its buildings and plan staff deployment accurately and efficiently, as well as for the automatic, error-free time-registration of its employees. The manufacturer and exporter of Belgian chocolate has upgraded its existing application to Kronos Efficient, which is a total solution featuring integrated shift roster planning, time-registration, access control and project monitoring.
Belgian through and through
The Belgian Chocolate Group is a major producer and exporter of Belgian chocolate. The business was established in 1956 and has gained its current form as a result of various acquisitions of smaller companies. The company is particularly well known for its Koetjesreep brand, which evokes pleasant childhood memories for so many. This confectionery, originally from the Netherlands, with its famous, typically Dutch Delft-blue wrapper featuring an illustration of a grazing cow, was acquired by The Belgian Chocolate Group in 1999. The company also produces the mainly internationally renowned "The Belgian"brand of chocolate.
The Belgian Chocolate Group has two divisions, one in Wetteren and the other in Olen, where the head office is located. 100 full-time workers are currently employed at Olen, with a further 15 at the Wetteren production unit. In the high season – during the run-up to public holidays, for example – the full-time staff is reinforced by temporary workers. Estimated sales for 2008 were in excess of 30 million EUR.
Previously, the organisation used Captor software for its staff planning and time-registration. Remon Geelink, Manager Operations at The Belgian Chocolate Group is responsible for production, logistics, technical planning and quality assurance. “After Kronos took over Captor, the existing software ceased to be supported,” he says. “That prompted us to go looking for a new solution to handle our shift rosters, holiday planning and time-registration.”
The search for an alternative software program
At the beginning of 2008, The Belgian Chocolate Group decided to invest in a new, future-proof system. The software also had to be capable of linking access control to shift rosters and holiday planning, as well as time-registration and vital hygiene instructions for people working on the production line.
The organisation used a particular benchmark to go looking for a suitable software provider on the Internet. “We started by going to talk with the providers we selected from this process,” says Geelink. “We quickly came to the conclusion that the Kronos solution best suited our needs. Naturally that was great, because Kronos also already happened to be our IT provider already.”
The Efficient Personal, Time, Access and Planning module went live on 1st May, with the project module following in October. “Stefan Kinders, our consultant at Kronos, supervised implementation from A to Z.” continues Geelink. “In June, he also gave me and the five other team leaders a very concise and clear training course. I am now able to provide any follow-up training myself to the various line managers, who need to be able to read the data generated by the system. They all find that the software is particularly easy to operate and intuitive in use.”
Efficiency to relish
Both the factory workers and office employees at The Belgian Chocolate Group in Wetteren and Olen are required to identify themselves with a security badge before they can access the factory. They also have to register their hours using a punch-clock. “In itself, nothing has changed in that regard, although we have increased the number of controlled access doors from 4 to 8,” adds Geelink. “We have also upgraded the existing time-registration clocks and access modules, but we did that separate to implementing Kronos.”
Using the Kronos software, all employees with a PC and their own e-mail address can now view their remaining days of leave or the overtime hours they have built up and apply for time off. “That system is being opened up even further. In December, even people who do not have a PC or e-mail account – usually the factory workers – will also be able to work with the system,” says Geelink.
“Information about non-normal occurrences – such as arriving late, unexpected absences, etc. – are now notified to the department head and HR department via an automatically generated e-mail,” he continues. “They can then enquire about the reasons for the occurrence, which relieves the HR department of a significant burden.”
The system also makes it possible to conduct in-depth analyses into how time is spent, as well as cost centres. “Kronos Efficient Time gives us a tool for allocating costs. It registers how long workers have spent on a particular line and on what and for how long a person has been occupied,” he says. “It then enables us to draw conclusions about the internal cost price of a specific product.”
The time-registration module at The Belgian Chocolate Group is also linked to a hygiene requirement. “You can’t come into the production department without washing your hands,” says Geelink.
Ready for the future
What is the cost impact from upgrading the existing system at The Belgian Chocolate Group? Remon Geelink is definite: “I can’t give you an actual return on investment time,” he says. “But the fact that we will recoup the cost of installation over a relatively sort period of time is a given. The time-savings we are achieving already in the areas of payroll and holiday planning are considerable.”