At Komatsu Europe's headquarters in Vilvoorde, 310 office and warehouse employees now handle their own leave requests, clock in on the shop floor and plan their shifts through Protime. Senior HR coordinator Sonja De Hertogh explains what changed — and what she'd still like to see next.
Customer story — Komatsu Europe
From handwritten leave cards to a workforce that manages its own time
'Throughout my entire career, I have used three or four systems, but with Protime there was always this immediate click.'
Why Komatsu chose Protime
Komatsu Europe's Vilvoorde site is not a simple environment: a 57,000 m² spare parts warehouse, a fixed shift system, and hundreds of office staff supporting sites across Europe. Five things made the difference.
Adoption without a training programme
Many blue-collar workers at the warehouse don't have a company email address or computer. They picked up the myProtime app on their own smartphone straight away — no convincing needed.
One system, two very different working populations
White-collar and blue-collar employees both request leave through myProtime. On the shop floor, physical time clocks linked to Protime handle the actual punch-ins.
Detail where it matters
Warehouse staff enter a specific code for each individual task, so Komatsu keeps the detailed efficiency calculations it needs — without asking people to do more admin.
Planning in the hands of the foremen
Foremen and managers use ProTeam to build the warehouse planning schedules. Komatsu's UK factory uses it for the same purpose.
A direct link with SD Worx
Protime's direct link with SD Worx as payroll service provider makes importing and exporting data considerably easier.
Consultants who actually respond
An analytical, service-driven approach and a team of dedicated consultants providing swift support.
The challenge
Paper, and a lot of chasing
When Sonja De Hertogh joined Komatsu in 2006, leave cards were still entered by hand. The tools were in place, but it took a major restructuring in 2009 before the organisation started using them properly.
A workforce that doesn't sit at a desk
The Vilvoorde warehouse runs on 110 blue-collar workers in a fixed shift system, alongside 200 white-collar employees at the head office. A large share of the warehouse team has no company email address or computer — so any digital system had to reach them somewhere else.
Errors that cost a morning
Rectifying anomalies is the first job of Sonja's day. In the old situation, that meant physically seeking out every single manager to get corrections made.
The solution
Self-service leave, for everyone. Through what was then ProNet — the precursor of myProtime — Komatsu digitised and simplified the leave procedure. Today both white-collar and blue-collar employees enter their own requests, most of them from the myProtime app on their phone.
Registration that fits the shop floor. Physical time clocks linked to the Protime applications handle punch-ins at the warehouse, with a task-level code for each job. Overtime is registered and followed up in the same environment.
Planning where the work happens. Foremen and managers build their warehouse schedules in ProTeam, close to the reality of the shift system.
A clean handover to payroll. The direct link with SD Worx makes importing and exporting data a lot easier — codes still get checked, but the manual work disappears.
Results
310
office and warehouse employees at the Vilvoorde HQ working in Protime
No more
handwritten leave cards — the procedure is fully digitised
1
quick email now replaces a tour of every single manager to correct anomalies
57,000 m²
warehouse dispatching spare parts for Europe, Africa and part of the Middle East
2009
the year Komatsu started using the tools efficiently — and has done ever since
Day 1
adoption of the app by warehouse workers, most without a company computer
See what it would look like for your teams
Every organisation has its own mix of shifts, sites and systems. In 30 minutes, we'll show you how Protime handles yours — leave, overtime, planning and registration in one place. No preparation needed. Just bring your trickiest scheduling question.
'Both our white-collar and our blue-collar workers enter their leave requests by themselves using myProtime. We were pleasantly surprised by their enthusiasm.'
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