“When I became in charge of facility management for the Municipality of Lana in 2020, I started looking for the right tool. Many options were too complicated and would have taken a long time to set up. But Wowflow was different. It was easy to use and worked well for collaboration with external people and companies. I was sold on it right away.”
Thomas Ausserer, Building Maintenance at Municipality of Lana
Municipality of Lana
Company
Lana is an Italian market community with about 12,500 inhabitants. It is located in South Tyrol, south of the city of Merano. Since 2023, the facility management team under Thomas Ausserer has been using the Wowflow facility management software on a daily basis.
Industry
Municipality / Public service
Web
Clutter and inefficiency in facility management create the need for an intuitive tool
In 2020 – shortly before the first Covid lockdown – Thomas Ausserer joins Municipality of Lana. He takes over the coordination of the facility management team. It quickly became clear that the previous way of working, relying heavily on emails, phone calls, and numerous Excel sheets, had reached its limitations and was holding back efficiency. Tasks such as manually taking inventory of assets were simply too time-consuming. It was evident that the change was needed.
Thomas Ausserer had a clear goal in mind: to find a facility management software that was simple, intuitive, and could streamline daily operations. He first explored large-scale FM tools, only to discover their implementation was far too complex and time-consuming. Next, he considered various Office 365 programs. But these fell short of providing the required level of standardization and automation needed for effective collaboration with multiple craftsmen.
Recommendation of optimal solution
Another Wowflow customer, ARO Konsortium Südtirol (customer story), came with the tool suggestion at the right moment. As a network hub based in Bolzano, ARO Konsortium connects local craftsmen with customers and recommended Wowflow to the Municipality of Lana. Inspired by ARO’s positive experience with facility management tool, Thomas Ausserer was instantly convinced. He decided to experience the swift and user-friendly implementation firsthand.
“Indeed, using Wowflow is as straightforward as using WhatsApp. We were surprised by how quickly we could get the software up and running. Within a week, I had the basic structure of our facilities and work areas set up in the software. We then hit the ground running at the beginning of 2023. The process of handling notifications is well-designed and has been effortlessly integrated into our daily workflow.”
Thomas Ausserer, Building Maintenance at Municipality of Lana
The only area of concern was data import: Mr. Ausserer expressed a desire for a feature to upload asset data directly to Wowflow using Excel. Additionally, not all asset details can be captured currently. Side comment from Wowflow team: While we provided Municipality of Lana an interim solution, we are actively working on improving data import at Wowflow. We take all feedback seriously and are committed to delivering the most suitable solution.
100% software acceptance and better work quality with external partners
The special advantage of Wowflow: other public facilities in the Municipality of Lana also accept and work with tool right away. From the beginning, Mr. Ausserer used the tool in cooperation with the local police. That worked well as all work steps can be documented automatically and signed directly:
As a municipality, we work with the local police. In the past, the officers sent us various notifications by email which we had to manually forward to craftsmen to delegate the tasks. This is time-consuming – especially when you work with many different partners on a daily basis. Since we started working with Wowflow, everything happens in one place. The police, schools, and even kindergartens send us notification and reports directly via the software. It makes work so much easier!
“For example, we as a municipality work with the local police. In the past, the officers sent us various notifications by email. We in building maintenance then had to forward the tasks to the craftsmen in a non-automated way. This is time-consuming when you work with many different partners on a daily basis. Since we started working with Wowflow, everything happens in one place. The police, schools and kindergartens have been given access and send us the reports directly via the software. It’s so much easier!“
Thomas Ausserer, Building Maintenance at Municipality of Lana
Municipality of Lana works efficiently thanks to Wowflow
Efficiency in everyday work has increased significantly thanks to Wowflow. Our tool eliminates the need for frequent phone calls or lively e-mail traffic. Thomas Ausserer can concentrate fully on his administrative work, while his team of about 20 craftsmen concentrates on their tasks. There are no more unnecessary interruptions and distractions.
Also extremely important: Tasks are no longer lost! Before Wowflow, individual tasks could be forgotten for up to two years – that’s over now. The facility management software provides transparency and the necessary overview. According to Mr. Ausserer, the quality of the work substantially improved thanks to Wowflow:
“We reached our operational limit with the old way of working. An Excel sheet can only be improved to a limited extent after which you cannot keep with with the work effectively. What is essential for me in Wowflow is increased worked quality due to transparent workflows. No tasks and requests disappear or get forgotten anymore.“
Thomas Ausserer, Building Maintenance at Municipality of Lana
Do you want to improve the quality and efficiency of your facility management operations? Start with Wowflow for free!
