Whangarei-based Donovan Group was established by Graham Donovan in the late 1960s with a focus on industrial electrical automation as well as the manufacturing of meter boxes, distribution boards and switchboards.
The business has been operating continuously since 1946, and today designs and manufactures steel framed commercial sheds.
Coresteel is the company’s brand of commercial sheds distributed to network licenced construction firms throughout New Zealand.
Over the last 14 years Donovan Group has grown production and revenue substantially, year on year.
“Our aim has always been to create a range of technologies, methods and products which positively change how we have conceived of building for centuries,” says Kyle Donovan, Donovan Group director.
Part of the company’s success has been keeping a finger on the pulse of equipment and processes, and ten years ago Donovan Group invested in digital technology of computers on the workshop floor and subscription-based Empower ‘Workshop Productivity & Scheduling’ software.
“Prior to 2014 Donovan’s used to be the typical engineering shop, not focused on times taken on jobs and not focused on ensuring workshop staff meet their times on each job. We did use manual time sheets our workshop staff recorded the job they recall they worked on and times they best recalled and they guessed they worked during the day. Manual time sheets gave us information that was substantially inaccurate, a day late and times on jobs at total job level only, which did not highlight where our issues were,” says Donovan.
Back then, when the company ‘back costed’ labour times and labour cost on their jobs, there was substantial variations between actual labour times and budgeted labour times on those same jobs.
“Using PCs for the workshop floor our workshop staff access their job list and they see their budgeted time when they start each job and they see their actual time when they finish each job, so they are aware, engaged and manage their own times and own productivity. Our management team now have accurate job times in real time and down to job and task level and down to individual workshop staff level.
Within four months of using this digital technology on the workshop floor management witnessed substantial improvement in key metrics: the entire nightshift was dropped and Donovan Group was able to maintain the same level of production; all forms of time that workshop staff lost in working hours during the day was been practically eliminated; lead time on jobs being completed for clients had dropped from 15 days average to seven days average, which was a massive improvement in customer service and labour time on jobs therefore labour cost on jobs reduced by estimated 30%.
“Empower Software has been a key component to our digital transformation strategy and continues to serve us well.”