As an “early adopter”, BEW was involved in the development process of NAVA at a very early stage: “In close exchange with other well-known network operators, we were able to bring our practical requirements directly into the development of the app.“, recalls Volker Schmitz, who is responsible for the departments of contracts, technical services and GIS at BEW. “Since 2018, we have been using NAVA to capture the house connections of the gas, water and electricity networks and, in some cases, to also directly measure the broadband connections.”

At the kick-off event, all the key divisions of the company were represented, from the network documentation to the work preparation, foremen, construction accounting and management. Initial doubts as to whether a smartphone could replace the professional surveying equipment were quickly dispelled – both among the responsible and the field engineers on site.

“In 2018, we carried out initial tests and equipped a first installation team with NAVA to digitally measure house connections. The other teams quickly expressed the desire to use the app as well. On the one hand, smartphone surveying is much easier and faster than conventional surveying, and on the other hand there are significantly fewer errors.“ The smartphone as a modern tool has also led to an enormous increase in acceptance of the surveying itself: “Of course, the most important thing for the field engineer in pipe construction or cable laying is that the pipes are laid tightly and sustainably. The surveying and the quality of the detail map are initially secondary and were an annoying additional task for a long time. Today, however, the smartphone is an integral part of the installation vehicles and is taken out of the vehicle and used as a tool like a hammer or pliers.“