CEO’s Blog – 2019: the year my baby learned to run

Posted on 16 December 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

A start-up is like a baby. When it is first born, you have to do everything to keep it alive. And, when the new company finds its feet and thrives, you really do feel as though the organisation you created and nurtured has a life of its own.

When I founded BigChange seven years ago, I had big ambitions for my new baby. But it was only in 2019 that I realised just how big this kid could get. As the year draws to a close, I’d like to share some of the highlights (and lowlights).

Setting the standard

I’ve posted about my ambitions to enter to corporate market with BigChange. Achieving BSI ISO 9001 and 27001 is a big part of being able to handle huge, multinational clients. The ISO 9001 proves that BigChange is fully committed to building quality products and services, while the 27001 accreditation shows that we are capable of handling data securely and effectively. We have also been awarded platinum partner status by Sage. These were major milestones in the development of this company.

A great place to work

The BigChange Team are a truly amazing group of driven individuals and a pleasure to work with. BigChange was ranked in the Sunday Times ‘Best Companies to Work For’ in 2020, proving that we are an outstanding employer. We are pioneers in creating work / life balance here, moving to a 4.5-day working week in 2019. We have also had some extraordinary speakers for our Motivational Monday initiative during 2019, from Kevin Keegan OBE, the football star and manager to Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell and model turned entrepreneur Caprice. Our commitment to creating a brilliant working environment helped us to recruit 60 new people this year.

Delighting customers

Our BigChange JobWatch system has gone from strength to strength this year, and I’m delighted by the depth of functionality we now offer customers. This is why we now have a record 40,000 users on the platform. We won 300 new customers this year, and an extra 100 came to us through the acquisition of two exceptional companies, Trace and Labyrinth. Our regular “shop floor” days make sure I’m tuned into the needs of BigChange’s customers. The newly created BigChange Network has provided a space where these customers can meet and share best practice and advice. That’s been a huge success. Big thanks to all our customers for being so supportive this year.

Charitable work

Building a profitable business has enabled BigChange to make significant charitable donations. This year, we gave more than £200,000 to incredible charities. Our seasons greeting card supports Transaid life-saving work in Africa, promoting driver training initiatives which improve driving standards, ensure safer vehicles and reduce the number of deaths on the road, which is the third biggest killer in sub-Saharan Africa following HIV/AIDS and malaria.

Standing out from the crowd

Winning awards helps to build buzz and get the brand noticed. BigChange has won a whole lot of awards this year. From the LDC Most Ambitious Leaders to the Sunday Times Tech Track, the Maserati 100 to the Tech Nation Fast 50, I’m delighted and humbled that so many people think we’re doing a great job.

Surviving technical challenges

In February this year, we had to undertake a wholesale redevelopment of our production environment. BigChange had grown so quickly that our architecture was starting to creak. It’s a testament to the wonderful relationship we have with our customers that they were understanding and patiently allowed us to work out the kinks. A big thank you to everyone who helped make the transition a success.

Going global

We founded BigChange France and brought on board a BigChange Cyprus reseller this year, and are slowly building market share in both territories. We continue to make progress in the US too, and I have just returned from a trip to Los Angeles where I spent time with prospective clients to find out what they need and how we can make their lives easier. I hope to continue delighting users all over the world next year.

Sharing knowledge

Given that I am dyslexic, I’m very proud to have written around 40 blogs this year on LinkedIn. A huge thank you to everyone that had liked, shared or commented on my posts. I enjoy hearing from all of you. I wish you all seasons greetings and a happy healthy 2020.

CEO’s Blog – It’s 3am and I’m awake

Posted on 16 December 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

One of the downsides of taking BigChange Stateside is the time difference between the UK and the US. I’m over in Los Angeles right now, and I can’t seem to sleep past 3am.

I’m writing this from a hotel room. It’s pitch black outside and my phone keeps buzzing with emails from the UK.

There’s no way I’m going back to sleep so I’ve decided to use the time wisely: to write about my experiences expanding into overseas markets.

There are a lot of tips out there for entrepreneurs expanding beyond their home borders. The usual ones include things like, ‘Always get on a plane’ – I get on lots of planes. They also tell you to expect cultural difference and it’s true, one size does not fit all when it comes to rolling out a product or service globally.

But there is one all-important point that never seems to get a mention. You must – and I mean must – make sure that all the process and best practice that you have painstakingly built up in your domestic market is transferred to new territories. Otherwise all is lost.

That’s one of the reasons I’m in the States. BigChange is planning on making major inroads here and we already have a couple of customers. I want to make sure that our nascent business is following the processes and brand guidelines that I’ve put in place in the UK.

It’s critical for a couple of reasons. First, is the Net Promoter Score. This is the holy grail for modern companies. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the NPS, it’s an index that ranges from -100 to 100, and indicates a customer’s willingness to recommend your brand to others. It’s source of enormous pride for me that BigChange has a score of 60 in Q3, which means we offer outstanding customer service.

It’s easy for customer service to be eroded by expansion. Too often, companies chase new business without thinking of what kind of experience those new customers will have. Everyone must follow our rules, with no exceptions. Especially when it comes to RoadCrew – our customer service function. This impacts everything from how we interact with customers, to how queries are handled, and the speed of our response.

One of our best routes to market out here is through existing customers; they will help us make connections through their networks. That means we have to be doing a brilliant job, consistently.

The second reason that process is critical is because it maintains efficiency. When you are building a business that is based on automation, you need to follow the rules or else new layers of complexity somehow find their way into the system. Rules can be reviewed and updated regularly but, ultimately, they are sacrosanct.

Luckily, we use our own JobWatch software, which allows us to bake in the processes that we want followed and to check that every ‘i’ has been dotted and ‘t’ crossed. We are expanding both through proprietary sales and through resellers and distributors, so without checks in place it would be easy to lose control.

These are the things I think about when I can’t sleep, and I’m far from home. At least it stops me thinking about the Election tomorrow.

Got any unusual tips on expanding overseas? I’d love to hear them. Please share them in the comments below.

BigChange Transforms Utopia Sales, Service and Delivery platform

Posted on 5 December 2019 by Martin Port

Utopia Furniture Group has rolled out a 5 in 1 cloud-based system from BigChange that combines mobile apps including electronic POD and vehicle tracking, with customer relationship management system (CRM).

After the successful implementation of BigChange as a real-time transport management system, Utopia has now begun extending BigChange to improve back office and sales force automation.

Utopia is the UK’s biggest manufacturer of made-to-order bathrooms. Established for over 25 years and employing 190 people, Utopia designs and builds high quality bathroom suites, bathroom furniture and accessories, supplying through an extensive network of over 600 specially selected retailers across the UK and Ireland.

David Conn, MD of Utopia Furniture Group, comments:

“At Utopia, we found a niche in the market with fitted bathrooms and we have always strived to be the Master of what we do,”

“We have developed a unique build-to-order manufacture and logistics business and that requires us to innovate and invest when it comes to technology. It’s that technology that ensures we retain a competitive advantage.”

Utopia has developed a bespoke enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to underpin its growing business but needed to further automate logistics and especially the transport operation. BigChange was introduced initially to provide electronic Proof of Delivery (POD), having replaced their existing system.

Conn explains:

“When we discovered BigChange we realised that their technology was way ahead of anything else. What particularly appealed to us was the fact that they had an end-to-end solution that would provide seamless integration of our delivery services with our sales, manufacturing and business functions. Previously we suffered from having disconnected silos of data and that was frustrating. BigChange was also much more affordable so we did not hesitate to switch.”

Utopia drivers are equipped with Zebra ultra-rugged enterprise touch computers that run the BigChange JobWatch App that includes delivery and collection reporting, with line item fast scanning and electronic proof of delivery ePOD, timesheets, expenses and vehicle inspections. With a 28-strong fleet including drawer bar trailers and drop bodies, deliveries are made to retailers and trade customers across the UK from Utopia’s purpose-built manufacturing plant and HQ in Wolverhampton.

Conn adds:

“We really like the fact that BigChange is easy to customise,”

“It means you can get exactly what you want and that’s important in view of our fairly unique business process that involves literally thousands of different, often bespoke, items being loaded on each vehicle for delivery. BigChange offers a complete delivery consignment solution.”

BigChange has already been implemented to manage all transport related activities, provide real time tracking and electronic PODs, with vehicle inspections, driver performance monitoring and a link to route optimisation through comparing actual with planned journeys. With integration between Utopia’s delivery planning and Oracle ERP, BigChange CRM is now being implemented to manage the sales function.

Carl Darby, IT and CRM Controller at Utopia, says:

“BigChange CRM is perfect for us providing exactly the functionality we need. It’s a lot easier to use and less costly than other solutions,”

“Of course, it is also part of the wider BigChange management and mobile solution so has the added benefit of being seamlessly integrated with everything we do.”

With the adaptability and wide scope of the BigChange system, Utopia took advantage of help offered by BigChange for implementation and embedding.

Darby who also praised the ongoing support, continues:

“This suddenly made implementation much easier,”

Darby adds:

“The support provided by the BigChange ‘RoadCrew’ team has been exemplary, with someone always available to pick up the phone 24/7 and that support is available to anyone including our drivers. Getting that level of personal support is a rare thing these days.”

Conn explains:

“We set a high bar when it comes to our suppliers and for us it is very much about a working partnership. BigChange demonstrated that they wanted to be part of our business and from the start it was clear they were receptive to working with us. In fact, we were behind the development of their POD solution and were the first adopters of it.”

CEO’s Blog – Why I would always rather promote from within

Posted on 2 December 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

When you need to fill a role at your company, it may be tempting to bring in an outsider. You may think that newcomers bring skills you haven’t seen yet, insight from competitors, or new ways of tackling problems.

Over the years, I’ve learned that, while hiring from outside the company can be beneficial, it’s often a much better idea to look closer to home.

Here’s why:

At BigChange, our people know the business and our customers inside out. They know my priorities, as a leader. For me, customer experience is paramount. It takes time for new arrivals to understand our culture, and time is something fast-growth technology companies don’t have a lot of.

When you bring in big names from outside the business to fill senior roles, it demotivates the team. When you promote from within, everyone sees the potential to grow and pursue a long-term career at your organisation.

There are people here who started in Roadcrew and have then gone on to take senior roles. They are inspirational figures, helping junior members of the team to dream big!

Hiring through recruiters is expensive and I feel that money is better spent incentivising our people to keep growing and learning new skills in bigger, better roles.

The big promotion

We recently filled a senior position with an internal candidate, and it’s been a major coup for BigChange.

Last January, I bought a company called Labyrinth, creator of an award-winning cloud-based logistics compliance tool (now the BigChange Audit feature).

The company was co-founded by Jo Godsmark and Ruth Waring , a logistics and supply chain specialist. I’m delighted to announce that I have now appointed Jo the Chief Operations Officer of BigChange and Ruth will become Managing Director of BigChange Advisory Plus the former Labyrinth business.

I’ve known of Jo for a while. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) and the chair of the board of trustees for Transaid, a charity I am passionate about. She comes from a big business background – she’s held roles at Mars and Ford.

Seeing the impact she had within Labyrinth, I knew she would be the ideal COO of BigChange. She’s entrepreneurial, empathic, and is highly technical – she’s a chartered engineer.

She is already driving efficiencies here at BigChange, helping our hard-working teams to get the resources they need to keep improving service. She is also as passionate about corporate social responsibility as I am.

It’s been a real joy to bring Jo up through the ranks of BigChange this year. When we bought Labyrinth, we did it because of its brilliant product and people but also because of the cultural fit between our two companies. When looking for a new COO, we could have tried to poach someone from a rival but Jo ‘gets’ BigChange: she gets our mission, she gets the company dynamic, and she gets me.

The next time a senior position opens up in your company, don’t automatically call your recruiter. There may be someone in your organisation that would be perfect for the role.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

Subscan Transforms Field Operations with BigChange Mobile Technology

Posted on 27 November 2019 by Martin Port

Subscan UDS, the nationwide utility, drainage, and survey company, has implemented a high tech mobile workforce system from Leeds technology company BigChange.

The system, which provides a paperless means of planning, managing, scheduling, and tracking mobile operations, has provided Subscan with a 30 percent saving in time and a million-pound growth boost to its business.

Subscan provides a wide range of services aimed at the detection and avoidance of underground utilities, as well as drainage maintenance and repairs. A team of specialist technicians operate across the UK undertaking everything from topographical surveys to underground utility tracing, drainage, CCTV surveying and the lining of drains.

Kirk Mason, Operations Director, Subscan says:

“We go and map areas identifying all structures and utilities above and below ground and then sort out any issues – we deal with all major infrastructure. We offer a full service package from initial survey to remedial work and when needed, new works including design and planning,”

Subscan has been a success story since formation only 7 years ago with steady year on year growth. However the previous IT system was proving to be a barrier to growth and with the move to BigChange the company has been able to expand and turnover is expected to increase from £6 million last year to £9 million in 2020.

Mason says:

“Our previous system only offered partial automation and we wasted a lot of time double touching to keep different systems up to date,”

“What we needed was a seamless flow of data from start to finish with an audit trail of activity. In the end there wasn’t anything that matched BigChange for functionality; it gives us that seamless connectivity and it has replaced 5 separate systems – saving us time and money.”

Subscan has equipped 50 of its field operatives with rugged tablets running JobWatch, the BigChange app for paperless working. Jobs are scheduled and sent to the assigned operative who can proceed straight to the job and with trackers on the fleet, the office has real time visibility of their locations.

Mason explains:

“With BigChange we are now very much paperless; it has been a complete digital transformation and the savings are significant. For time alone we are achieving savings of 30 percent and that’s before we even begin to look at the improved job scheduling and productivity,”

Subscan has a particularly strong commitment to quality and the company is ISO accredited for their management of quality, environmental, and health and safety.

Mason says:

“Our pursuit of quality drives the business – the quality of equipment, quality of people, quality of work and quality of service. BigChange is proving to be an invaluable tool in managing our ISO accreditations as the system ensures best practice procedures are followed at all times. Crucially it also provides an audit of activities and all the information we need to meet the required standards,”

he adds:

“One thing is very clear, since implementing BigChange we simply don’t get KPI failures as we are right on top of the workload and that’s meant we meet out SLA commitments and deliver a level of service we simply could not provide before,”

On site the JobWatch app takes operatives through workflow to ensure the correct procedures are followed and data is collected. The system ensures there is a complete record of every job which is including time and location referenced photographs; this is important for minimising invoice queries and also for supporting ISO accreditations.

Mason explains:

“BigChange has been crucial to allowing us to grow freely and being cloud-based we can add more operatives and services at the touch of a button and when we open up a new office down south next year, we’ll have a ready-made and instantly accessible IT solution already in place; its magic!”

BigChange vehicle tracking is not only useful for providing visibility to operations and customer services back in the office but it is also helping improve the quality of driving. Driver performance based on factors such as speed, braking, cornering and idling is graded automatically and those operatives with high ratings are rewarded with extra holiday vouchers.

Subscan has made a multi-million pound investment in the most advanced fleet of specialist vehicles in the UK. The 60 vehicle fleet includes JHL 312 and 414 recyclers and Mercedes Atego 204 Cityflex units. The JHL SuperRECycler 414, built on a Scania chassis, is the markets most powerful and productive recycling unit and both JHL models have fully automatic water filtration systems that continuously separate water from sludge to subsequently use the cleaned water to clean the sewer. Subscan has also invested in a JCB Fastrac 7230 tractor for rugged terrain operations.

CEO’s Blog – France needs a big change

Posted on 24 November 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

I was in France last week, meeting the BigChange French team out there. We discussed our progress so far and made plans for the future and then the conversation moved on to the differences between the UK and France.

They have wine with lunch over there, and the break lasts almost two hours so it was a lively debate!

I am a Francophile. I love the food and the culture. But when it comes to working practices, the gulf between the French and us is really striking.

No one can rival the UK for health and safety. We are number one for compliance in Europe, if not the world. We set the standard. My French team told me that France is the opposite: there is simply no understanding of best practice, and compliance is an afterthought rather than a priority.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, the UK has the lowest rate of fatal injury in the European Union at 0.5 per 100,000 employees. In France, that number rises to 3.3. If you look at the number of employees with long-term, work-related heath problems, again, the UK is the best performer, compared to France where more than 5pc of its workforce is affected.

It is clear that France is ready for a big change. We are going to help French companies to build compliance, health and safety, and best practice into their business models in an easy and pain-free way, while becoming more efficient. It’s a no brainer for them.

My team in France also said that customer service levels are nowhere near the high standards we have grown used to in the UK. They told me that when someone comes along with “wow!” customer service, it is really noticeable – new business floods in. We pride ourselves on always putting the customer first.

Of course, there is a lot that we can learn from the French: they are brilliant at complex infrastructure projects and some of the biggest construction firms in the world are based in France. It is also a nation full of highly-skilled workers, especially in areas such as software engineering. Britain is crying out for that kind of talent.

But it fills me with confidence, amidst all the uncertainty around Brexit, that we still clearly have so much to offer. Even after Britain leaves the European Union (if it happens), we have skills and abilities that countries like France desperately need and vice-versa.

It’s only 27 miles between Dover and Calais but France and the UK are worlds apart. I look forward to learning from our French cousins, and bringing all our experience to bear to help French companies thrive.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

BigChange Mobile Technology Helps Vianet Keep the Beer Flowing

Posted on 18 November 2019 by Martin Port

Vianet, the international provider of actionable data and business insight through devices connected to its Internet of Things (“IOT”) platform, has rolled out a 5-in-1 Mobile Workforce Management Platform from Leeds-based BigChange.

The cloud-based system provides intelligent job scheduling, real time-vehicle tracking and a mobile app for engineers – giving Vianet a paperless end-to-end solution for the business. Through the optimisation of the field service operation, Vianet has achieved a 10 percent improvement in Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance.

Vianet was first established 23 years ago and is the UK’s specialist in the monitoring of draught beer dispensing equipment. The Stockton-on-Tees based company collects data from 12,500 sites which dispense over 570 million pints of draught beer every year. The company also provides contactless payment and ERP solutions for some of the biggest names in the vending industry, combined Vianet monitor data from more than 230,000 connected devices providing detailed insight via its smart platform.

Craig Brocklehurst, Commercial Operations Director, Vianet says:

“BigChange has completely transformed Vianet’s field service operations.”

“We now have complete visibility on the whereabouts and status of each engineer so we can provide a faster, more dynamic response. And we’ve eliminated paperwork and with automated job scheduling the whole field service operation is optimised. That’s boosting productivity and allowed us to improve our SLA performance by 10 percent.”

Vianet’s iDraught system intelligently monitors all aspects of the draught beer operations. This helps to ensure quality and product yield is maintained also ensuring equipment is working properly so that the pub operator gets the best return from their draught products.

“The equipment monitoring is automated to the extent that the landlord may not actually be aware of any issues until they get a call from us saying we believe we may have identified an issue”

Brocklehurst explains.

In pubs and bars, Vianet’s systems monitor dispensing equipment with automated alerts if there is a drop in performance or a fault. Within BigChange jobs are then created and the closest engineer is immediately assigned and scheduled. Equipped with rugged tablets, engineers use the BigChange JobWatch app for their job inspections and reports, including photographs of the site on arrival and on completion of the job.

With around 2000 calls a month, Vianet’s 24 engineers install and maintain their monitoring equipment for both draught drinks dispensing and vending across the UK. With real-time tracking, the office has full visibility of the location of each engineer allowing jobs to be dynamically scheduled. BigChange also monitors driver performance which is displayed on the engineers’ login screen to maintain awareness and encourage good, safe driving. The tablets are also used for daily vehicle checks in place of paper reports.

Brocklehurst says:

“Using JobWatch gives us a complete, real-time view of all jobs, backed up with time and location data linked to comprehensive and accurate reports. So, we are much better informed and we can closely monitor work performance from afar and increase the knowledge we have which in turn helps us in the training of our engineers. All this has significantly reduced the need for on site inspections by team leaders and again this allows us to be more productive as a company,”

With BigChange ensuring more reliable and comprehensive information from the field – in real time – Vianet can provide much better proof of service. For work that falls outside the usual contract, such as damaged equipment, invoices can be raised much more quickly.

Vianet particularly like the flexibility and scalability of BigChange according to Brocklehurst:

“BigChange has been a revelation when it comes to sales and customer relations. Just about anything we are asked to do we can now do as the system can be configured accordingly. We can create our own workflows and job sheets and adapt the system to the specific needs of different customers; that gives us an invaluable competitive edge.”

CEO’s Blog – A good receptionist is worth their weight in gold

Posted on 17 November 201916 June 2022 by Martin Port

I think it’s important to recognise the people that have helped BigChange become a truly great company.

Those who are making this a great place to work, great at customer service; and great with suppliers. Our new receptionist has had a profound impact on BigChange. So, this blog is about Georgia.

I first met Georgia last year, when we had our Christmas party at Thorpe Park, just down the road from our offices. She was working there in a sales role, and helped to manage our booking. She said that she was on the lookout for a big change in her career, so we stayed in touch. When a front of house role opened up, she applied.

Georgia has been with us just three months but she’s made some incredible changes that are making life better for all of us.

We have six customer meeting rooms here and, every day, most are full. Georgia sends an email link from our JobWatch system to everyone at the company each day, letting us know which prospects and customers are coming in, when, and in what room. I can just pop in and greet our customer or prospective client. Someone from customer service can go say hello too. It makes people feel really welcome and valued.

She has brought in afternoon “pick-me-ups”, and always keeps the office well stocked with healthy snacks (as well as a drawer of Mars bars) to give us all a little boost if we are starting to flag after lunch.

Regarding managing our facilities we try to use our customers for all the work we can, from security services to electrical jobs and plumbing. All of these jobs are managed by Georgia, using our JobWatch system. She knows everyone, and the whole thing runs like clockwork.

Georgia has taken on the role of events coordinator, organising a Macmillan coffee morning at the office, and taking charge of the Christmas party, as well as our Secret Santa and Christmas jumper competition. Having someone who wants to take ownership of the social calendar, and is talented at organising fun and inclusive events, has been amazing for morale.

I never want to force my team to do things like Secret Santa or charity bake-offs. It’s important that these initiatives are decided by the team and organised by them too. Georgia knows the things that her colleagues love to do, and takes the time to make them happen.

I can’t tell you how important the receptionist role is at a growing company. But I shouldn’t call Georgia a receptionist, really. She’s much more than that. She’s a facilities manager, an events organiser, the face of the company, and the first point of contact many customers have with BigChange. She is invaluable.

I know that I employ a first-rate team here. But when people visit the office or call in, their first interaction is usually with Georgia. The fact that she makes everyone feel welcome, greeting everyone in that brilliant Scouse accent, is the icing on the cake.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

BigChange Gives Fireward Complete Control Over Mobile Workforce

Posted on 6 November 2019 by Martin Port

Automatic fire suppression specialist, Fireward Ltd, has rolled out high-tech mobile workforce management software, providing real-time visibility to field operations within the business.

The App-based software, JobWatch sees field-based engineers equipped with rugged tablets, replacing all need for physical paperwork, delivering a 5-in-1 business solution incorporating a CRM, job scheduling, tracking, invoicing and management reporting.

Formed in 2009, Fireward is regarded as the UK’s leading specialist in fire suppression systems for mobile and heavy plant machinery and equipment. The Chelmsford-based company installs, maintains and services systems manufactured by Reacton Fire Suppression Ltd, which detects and suppresses fires in a matter of seconds. Requiring no electricity to operate and with exceptional reliability, Fireward’s fire suppression systems protect a wide range of high-value assets from plant machinery & equipment to electrical control panels, buses & coaches to airport ground support equipment.

Edward Barnes, CEO of Fireward commented:

“Fire is often overlooked as a cause of disruption and as a serious risk to the business itself. The immediate physical damage is only part of the problem caused by a fire; the costs of operational disruption and reputational damage often far exceed the cost of the original damage. Without adequate protection, it can take just a matter of minutes to bring a company to its knees.”

Fireward’s certified engineers install, maintain and service fire suppression systems across the UK. Providing a rapid response service, engineers use their tablets, for everything from risk assessment and post-fire reports to job checklists and vehicle inspections.

Barnes, comments:

“We were pleased to discover BigChange at a show back in 2016. We had been through a long and unsuccessful process trying to get three different systems working for our business and all had failed. Due to the ease of set-up, we were able to implement the system ourselves in just two weeks,”

“With BigChange we now have a system that supports our business model providing many benefits in terms of efficiency, productivity and customer service.”

Fireward’s fleet of nationwide vehicles is fitted with BigChange trackers, providing the customer service team with full visibility of engineer locations and a record of arrival and departure times from site. The location and condition of plant and other assets are key factors in assessing the risk of fire and the tablets are used to record ‘time and location’ linked photographs. With the ability to capture a customer’s signature ‘on-screen’ via the app, there is immediate proof of every job completed, allowing for a streamlined invoicing process resulting in fewer billing queries.

Barnes adds:

“BigChange supports our company ethos, which we achieve with a modest team in place. JobWatch has not only allowed us to do five times more services a month but has allowed us to freely expand our business where we are now installing well in excess of 1200 new systems a year,”

Some of the favoured features by the Fireward team include the job allocation and scheduling features of the system, which sees ‘jobs’ added to an ‘unscheduled’ list, allowing for all outstanding jobs to be reviewed in one place before allocation, depending on engineer location and availability.

The CRM software meanwhile has become a useful tool for the Fireward sales team. As well as allowing customer locations to be pinpointed to aid streamlining customer visits, the team has utilised the BigChange software to connect a comprehensive list of plant machinery and equipment to a correctly specified fire suppression system, allowing for fast and accurate quotations.

With the Fireward engineers working remotely across the UK, they need to have the ability to effectively manage their stock levels without causing downtime and potential loss of business. With the help of the JobWatch tablet, engineers are now able to track and replenish their van stocks with ease, as well as the ability to record and review all stock movements, parts and equipment used during the process of installation, maintenance and servicing of Fireward’s fire suppression systems.

CEO’s Blog – Save us all from the “comfort zoners”

Posted on 3 November 201917 June 2022 by Martin Port

Around this time last year, I posted about “blockers”. These are the people in an organisation who resist change and stand in the way of progress https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dont-let-blockers-hold-you-back-martin-port/.

Blockers are a nightmare. They can be hard to spot and may drag the whole team down with them. But they are not the only threat to your business. I’m talking about: the “comfort zoner”.

This is someone who wants to change but refuses to take action to make it happen. They just keep doing things the way they have always been done. I have met a few of these in my time and it drives me mad.

We recently released a new feature called the BigChange Scheduling Assistant. It’s amazing – I know, I would say that. It looks at all your jobs over the next seven days and arranges the job to be scheduled in the best way to maximise the efficiency of all your resources. It’s a bit like Uber, finding the nearest driver to take you on your journey, except more sophisticated. The platform takes into account things like the skill level of each member of the team, vehicle type, even the Service Level Agreement that has been promised to the client. It will find the lowest cost engineer to do the job.

Around 85% of the people using BigChange’s software are engineers. These people can be driving over 100 hours a month. Every hour they aren’t stuck behind the wheel – and are on the tools – means more revenue for their company. Building more efficiency into the way jobs are scheduled can save businesses an absolute fortune. For example, companies think they need to hire another engineer to complete the workload when all they need is to schedule the jobs more efficiently. Not to mention that cutting time on the road does lots of good for the environment and reduces carbon footprint.

And yet, over the past few weeks I have been encountering a lot of comfort zoners that won’t even give it a go. They will find any reason under the sun not to press that button.

I don’t get it. Surely you can enable the functionality, see if it works, and then make your mind up if you want it? Even if you let the computer make the decision, and you check it, it would only take you a few minutes, compared to the money it will cost the company if engineers are spending unnecessary time driving. But comfort zoners always say the same thing: ‘What if X?’ Or ‘I’m worried about Y.’

How do you get a comfort zoner to see that they are a comfort zoner? The only way to prove our system works is to sit beside them and say: “You do it your way and I’ll use BigChange at the same time. Let’s see who improves efficiency?” I would do it, too.

Just think what it would do for your business if you could improve output by even 10%. Just one extra job a day? That could boost revenues, profit, and let you grow your business that much faster. Don’t be a comfort zoner. Push the button.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO