Smart working is often spoken of while using the expression as a synonym for “teleworking”: although the technological aspect is important, the term “smart working” is accompanied by a cultural change that also affects traditional working environments, as well as the way we work and the logic behind coordinating employees.

It is about adopting processes and solutions that make people more autonomous in managing their daily work, helping them carry out their tasks and pursue their goals by reducing constraints in both place and in time: the fixed desk has disappeared; an internal telephone number is linked to a person and not to a single device; etc…

More and more companies are recognizing the benefits of smart working, investing in both reviewing their processes and in specific structures and resources.

The avant-garde Maire Tecnimont is among these: an international player working in the fields of engineering, construction, technology and licensing, and specializing in the Oil & Gas, Petrochemical and Fertilizer industries.

The hall of Maire Tecnimont’s headquarters in Milan is home to one of our WIB PickUps

The company is present in 40 different countries (with more than 8,000 professionals); it asked us – together with our partner Ricoh –  to install a WIB PickUP smart locker at its Italian headquarters in Milan located on Via Gaetano De Castillia (Porta Garibaldi area).

Thanks to the integration with the Maire Tecnimont information systems implemented in record time, WIB PickUP has become a 24-hour operational contact point that improves the workday of many people at the Milan office.

One of the first practical uses is employee onboarding: company resources for a single employee (smartphones, tablets, computers, etc.) are made available in one of the smart locker compartments and are accessible via a custom QR code (which is sent via email along with the instructions) that the person can have the machine scan to open the compartment.

A similar procedure has been set up to help manage business materials that require technical intervention. In this case, the employee can open a ticket by signaling the problem and, if required, provide the device that needs repair by delivering it directly to the indicated smart locker, where he will already find a replacement device.

Employee access to the smart locker is extremely simple, thanks to possibility of using their company badge or scanning QR codes, as in the case of onboarding.

A third use relates to access to commonly used devices such as video projectors or the like, which are passed from person to person according to actual needs.

All anyone who needs to use any of these gadgets has to do is send the request through the platform developed by WIB Machines and Maire Tecnimont together with Ricoh: the employee will receive instructions on pick-up availability and will be able to pick it up when it is most convenient.

For its WIB PickUp, Maire Tecnimont chose a mixture of 40 x 40 cm and 20 x 40 cm cells from those available; the machine interacts with the employees through a 19″ display that guides its use by indicating the few, simple steps for carrying out the necessary operation. The individual lockers are also identified by means of special LEDs that guide users and make the process even faster.

We are very pleased with the proposed solution because it solves many problems and saves us time and resources. We were truly impressed by the speed of integration with our systems, which allowed us to be operative in little time – says Michele Mariella, CIO of Maire Tecnimont – We are very confident about the positive outcome of this test, and we trust to be able to extend its benefits to other locations and new application areas soon.

In fact, one project for the immediate future offers the possibility to distribute meals through smart lockers and smart automated vendors: this feature is made possible thanks to WIB machines’ capacity to maintain temperatures for extended periods of time, preserving heat or cold for food, depending on the type.

And there’s more: with the proper integration with company processes, today these technologies make it easy to deliver purchases (for example online) in the office, as is already the case at the Copernico co-working spaces on Via Copernico no. 38 in Milan: there is a WIB Machines smart locker in the office that will handle inbound and outbound mail for the members of the office center, with a safe and accessible location where people can drop off or pick up their packages and envelopes at any time. Mail Boxes Etc., a partner of WIB and Copernico, will see to picking up and delivering daily shipments.

WIB PickUp at the Copernico offices in Milan

Thanks to the adoption of technologies like this, companies truly have the potential to improve the daily lives of their employees: highly automated, safe coverage such as WIB PickUP translates into the possibility of streamlining many procedures and freeing staff of time constraints while improving processes’ efficiency.

This is smart working, too!