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Category: Building Maintenance

BigChange lifts the weight of job management for Upholstery2u

Upholstery2U engineer in front of van holding BigChange tablet
Posted on by Martin Port

Gym equipment repair specialist Upholstery2u is using the latest BigChange technology to streamline workflows and boost customer service levels.

Supplied by BigChange, the complete job management platform dynamically schedules work for a nationwide team of upholsterers which is shared, via an app, to mobile phones that synchronise in real-time with the back-office solution.

Since implementing BigChange, Upholstery2u has seen a marked improvement in its SLA reporting and customer feedback and has also reduced the administrative resource required to manage the mobile operation.

“We chose BigChange as it was relevant to our industry with many features that suit our specific needs,” commented Daniel Boyle, Managing Director of Upholstery2u. “Having said that, it is also extremely user-friendly and flexible which means we can make changes and tweaks if we need to.

“Since implementing BigChange we have noticed a difference in every aspect of the business,” he continued. “BigChange takes care of the routine, time-consuming tasks, which allows us to focus on what we do best – getting the job done and keeping our customers happy.

“Using BigChange we can automatically schedule and track our team. In turn, they have more control over their workload with job completion reporting, photo sharing and stock requests, all available through the app on their phone. Our SLA monitoring and customer service is better, and customers can self-serve with live tracking and completion reports.”

Daniel Boyle, Managing Director of Upholstery2u

Upholstery2u provides on-site upholstery repair services for gyms across the UK. With a fleet of mobile workshops in customised MWB vans, U2U repairs and replaces damaged pads on gym equipment minimising downtime and disruption for gyms and their users.

U2U also offers annual maintenance contracts and in-house repair services.

Working with names such as Energie, JD Gyms and Total Fitness, Upholstery2u makes around 10,000 site visits a year looking after hundreds of pieces of gym equipment.

Since implementing the BigChange job management platform, which incorporates customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, field resource management, job finance and business intelligence, in one simple to use and easy-to-integrate platform, Upholstery2u has streamlined workflows throughout the business.

Customer quotations, completion reports and invoices are all automatically produced and customers can monitor progress in real-time and provide feedback through the platform.

Accessible 24/7, from any internet-enabled device, BigChange has also enabled managers at Upholstery2u to take back control of the business rather than focus on day-to-day administration.

Performance reports, business metrics and forecasting are all available at the click of a button which it hopes will fuel future growth.

Upholstery2U Engineer in vehicle holding their BigChange tablet
An engineer for Upholstery2u uses a BigChange tablet to manage their jobs for the day.

Quora Group Grows with BigChange

Quora Group are a BigChange customer
Posted on by Martin Port

A leading provider of mechanical and electrical building services says a new job management system is helping it to win more business. Founded in 2005, Quora Group works nationwide with a range of clients across the public and private sector. The £10 million turnover company operates a fleet of more than 20 Ford Transit Custom vans for its mobile engineers. Quora uses the BigChange field service management software which it says is enabling it to win new public sector tenders.

Craig Firth, director and co-founder of Quora Group, said, “BigChange is definitely a sales tool for us and has helped us to grow the business. We work primarily in the public sector, with contracts predominantly in healthcare and education. In these environments, there is a high level of compliance and documentation required. BigChange enables us to offer a far higher level of service in terms of digitised, evidence-based compliance and reporting than a company that still uses a paper-based system. It has been a big advantage for us in terms of winning and delivering these public sector contracts.”

The North Tyneside company started out in 2005 servicing and installing gas boilers but has grown from a father and son operation into a thriving business with more than 50 direct employees. “Part of that growth has been down to BigChange,” added Craig. “We use it across three of our four divisions, and it has helped us scale quickly. It is a simple product to use but it has so many functions and our clients love it.”

Quora uses BigChange in its electrical, service and maintenance, and water treatment divisions. A complete, simple to use and easy to integrate platform bringing together customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, field resource management, job finance and business intelligence, BigChange allows for all job scheduling and reporting to be done digitally, eliminating the need for mobile engineers to visit the office to pick up or drop off job cards. Rugged PDAs are also used to record job completion, including photographic evidence.

“The ability to adapt the worksheets is a great feature of the software,” said Craig. “We have just won a big contract for a local authority, and that includes specific documentation that they want us to use. I can create a worksheet in BigChange and provide them with a document that is exactly what they want.”

Quora also uses live tracking for its emergency call-out service. “We have service level agreements that require us to respond to emergencies within a certain time frame,” said Craig.

“With BigChange we can see the locations of the engineers in real-time, identify the person who is closest and has the right skill set to respond to the call-out, then inform the client with an accurate ETA.”

Craig Firth, director and co-founder of Quora Group

Quora Group has three ISO accreditations: 9001 (quality management), 14001 (environmental management), and 45001 (health and safety). BigChange has helped it achieve all three. “As part of our ISO management system we use BigChange to monitor and measure the greenhouse gas emissions from our vehicles,” added Craig. “It also helps with our health and safety management, because we can easily provide evidence that we have done what we said we were going to do.”

Quora Group using BigChange mobile app

Magicman Takes a Shine to Paperless Working with BigChange

Magicman deploying BigChange
Posted on by Martin Port

Magicman, the company that repairs almost any hard surface ‘back to new’, has transformed its nationwide repairs services with a 5-in-1 system from BigChange. 

Providing a single cloud-platform for CRM, job scheduling, mobile app, vehicle tracking and management reporting, BigChange provides Magicman with real-time 24/7 visibility of operations, improved control, customer service and productivity.

Established for over 25 years, Magicman has built a reputation as the go-to company for hard surface repairs having developed techniques for the complete repair/restoration of anything from ceramics to wood, stone and acrylic surfaces. Magicman’s innovations and craftsmanship have led to a resurgence in ‘repair don’t replace’. Enabling domestic customers, insurers, construction companies and cruise ship operators to save up to 80 percent against the cost of replacement.

Over the years Magicman has used various CRM and booking systems. It has been a struggle to find a system that integrates with other systems and fully meets their needs. However, after a number of years the company became frustrated with progress and took a fresh look at commercial offerings.

Discovering BigChange was a complete revelation according to Niall Pollard, Head of Magicman Insurance Services:

“With BigChange we had at last found a system that could be adapted to meet our needs and with worksheets and reports that we could easily customise ourselves. The fact that it was easy to use was also a big bonus as we knew there would be resistance to change from the previous system that had been used for many years”.

BigChange is used as a complete end-to-end solution for the business, integrating with Sage for accounts. Magicman services both business and domestic customers and there is a growing insurance division; an area where BigChange has been particularly useful due to stringent operational and reporting requirements. 

Magicman has a large fleet with multi skilled technicians working remotely across the UK delivering a fast-response service. Work can include almost anything from cracked sanitary ware, chipped or burnt worktops, damaged UPVC window frames, damaged stonework to high quality refurbishment within international cruise ships all around the world. In addition to indistinguishable repairs, there are savings on cost, customer disruption and of course landfill when avoiding the replacement of damaged items.

Jobs are booked into the BigChange CRM and then scheduled to the nearest available technician who receive the worksheets on their mobile phones. Using the BigChange app, technicians have a handy tool that replaces all previous paperwork, providing navigation to site, risk assessments and job sheets supported with before and after photographs to show work completion. 

The biggest benefits for Magicman come from the visibility that BigChange provides, allowing management and customer service teams to see where technicians are, the real-time status of each job and the ability to easily book in new work from a well categorised outstanding work system.

Niall Pollard commented:

“With BigChange we are much more efficient.  In the office we have been able to re-deploy 2 or 3 staff by eliminating paperwork and the insurance team is saving several days’ work a month providing monthly reports and real time data to insurers with a single click, it’s still early days and there are many more useful features we have yet to use. BigChange is however a key to productivity and our efficiency has certainly improved, wasting a lot less time now.”

Repair service magicman deploys bigchange

A&S Contractors Boost New House After-Care Services with BigChange Mobile Technology

A&S Newbuild Aftercare
Posted on by Martin Port

After-care specialist A&S Contractors has turned to the latest technology to improve the management of its nationwide workforce operation. 

The roll out of a 5 in 1 BigChange mobile resource management system, which sees 65 technicians equipped with rugged tablets, is boosting customer service and efficiencies on site with productivity gains of 20 percent.         

Established just 7 years A&S Contractors has become a leading player in the fast-growing market for new build after-care.  The company works with the major house builders, such as Taylor Wimpey, Countryside, Bellway, Vistry and McCarthy & Stone.  A&S employ multi-skilled and specialist trade teams to work alongside the customer service and construction departments, carrying out NHBC remedial claims, assisting with high volume build programmes, remedial repairs and providing a technical report facility.

Providing a single cloud-platform for CRM, job scheduling, mobile app, vehicle tracking and customer portal, BigChange provides A&S with real-time 24/7 visibility of operations, improved control, customer service and productivity. BigChange, which replaces a previous workforce management system, also links seamlessly with Sage accounts.

Sean Coldrick, Managing Director at A&S Contractors stated:

“Delivering an exceptional service and best value is our mission and we need a system that would support that.”

“More than anything we chose BigChange because the system was clearly backed up by real people; a team of professionals that have since proven to be invaluable in the roll-out of the system.”

A&S employs 65 mobile technicians able to deal with mechanical, electrical, gas, assisting their technicians covering all other building trades. The company sets itself apart in the market by being able to provide a turnkey operation.

With a head office near Chester, the company has expanded from the North West to the North East and to the Midlands, recently opening a new office and national training centre in Market Drayton.  BigChange is having most impact on the mobile workforce and fleet operations, improving job scheduling, resource allocation, health and safety and productivity, as well as reducing mileage.

Using the BigChange mobile app, engineers manage all work on-site aided by on-screen workflows to ensure all the correct procedures are followed and information recorded.  It is completely paperless and job cards are completed with accompanying on-site photographs, generating contra-charge reports at the click of a button. BigChange also has fully integrated vehicle tracking, providing time and location data, routing, customer ETA alerts and driver performance reporting.

A&S is very enthusiastic about the BigChange customer portal facility, that will allow its customers to book jobs and access all information on their jobs.  The system is also being used to overhaul stock management, with real-time stock control and replenishment enabling increased stock on vans and the ordering of parts and materials by engineers via their tablets, again increasing on-site productivity.  

Coldrick continued:

“BigChange has allowed us to really streamline our mobile operations.  Technicians are now much more self-sufficient; journeys to the depot are rare, first fix rates are improved and there are fewer wasted hours.  We are already seeing workforce productivity up by around 20 percent.”

“We know we are at the forefront of the new build after-care industry and we see BigChange as an important partner.  Like us they have a forward vision and ambition to grow; that fits very much with our own ambitions.”

Working alongside their customer base, A&S has developed technical innovations such as special glue bond procedures to resolve microcracking, and the bespoke on-site fabrication of retrofit cavity trays.  The innovations not only improve remedial work but also provide long-term solutions to provide best value for clients and their customers. The implementation of the new mobile technology has been the obvious next step.

A&S Newbuild Aftercare employee driving a branded van

BigChange Technology Helps Millane Contract Services Keep on Top of Workforce Health and Safety

Millane Contract Service employee holding a BigChange mobile device
Posted on by Martin Port

Millane Contract Services is using BigChange mobile workforce technology to bolster workforce health and safety. The cloud-based, 5-in-1-system BigChange is being used to monitor driver behaviour, complete on-site risk assessments and ensure the company’s maintenance engineers are free from COVID symptoms and ready for work.

The BigChange system is also helping the multi-discipline building, roofing and maintenance company automate communications between staff, management and customers, which in turn is boosting job completion rates, speeding invoicing and improving cashflow across the Essex-based business.

Stephen Rickwood, Maintenance Manager at Millane Contract Services commented:

“Driven by the Board, we initially looked at BigChange last year.”

“At the time trade was impacted by the lockdown, as many of our customers are in the retail and hospitality sectors, so in a way that gave us breathing space to look at better ways of working and what’s important to our business.”

Rickwood continued:

“The main drivers for implementing BigChange were workforce wellbeing and business preparedness.”

“BigChange will help us ensure our workforce is happy, safe and well, and that our business is as ready as it can be for whatever the future throws at us as we return to the new normal.”

A family run business headquartered in Basildon, Essex, Millane offers a national service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The maintenance division, comprising a nationwide team of field-based service engineers supported by contract managers and a dedicated helpdesk team, provides both planned and reactive maintenance for brands such as Pizza Express, The Range, Cosy Club and The Entertainer.  

BigChange provides a single platform CRM, Job Scheduling, Mobile App, Vehicle Tracking and Online Portal. Using the system, Millane has introduced a range of ‘start of shift’ checks for each remote worker ensuring they are ready to work and free of COVID symptoms. Vehicle and equipment checks are also in place and BigChange is being used by management to improve driver behaviour with alerts for idling, speeding and harsh braking, for example. The BigChange mobile app, can also be used to prompt engineers to complete on-site risk assessments and access previously completed method statements.

Rickwood concluded:

“Although our initial focus was our workforce and ensuring the business was ready to bounce back after lockdown, we know BigChange has so much more to offer.”

“We are excited to explore the full potential of BigChange and build on the processes and benefits already in place.”

https://www.martinport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/millane-main-blog-top-sml.jpg

BigChange Paperless Working Gives Rapid Maintenance Solutions a Competitive Edge

BigChange RMS paperless employee holding tablet
Posted on by Martin Port

Rapid Maintenance Solutions (RMS), the Manchester-based provider of property maintenance services, has implemented the latest mobile working technology from BigChange.

The cloud-based system provides end-to-end paperless working with tradesmen and engineers equipped with rugged tablets running JobWatch, the 5 in 1 app from BigChange.

RMS are specialists in residential property maintenance, providing everything from plumbing, heating and electrical services through to repair, renovation and construction supervision. Formed in 2017, the company has seen a four-fold expansion since introducing BigChange.

Meir Halter, Director, RMS says:

“Having worked in the property market ourselves we were very aware that property landlords and agents continually struggled to get professional, reliable services for emergency work and small jobs. We realised there was an opportunity in the market to offer a better service and our mission from the outset was to make trades reliable,”

Previously RMS relied on paper to manage the business with mobile phones for communication. With JobWatch everything is now automated as part of a real-time digital system that has eliminated paperwork both in and out the office. The tablets are used for everything from job sheets and photographs on site, to health and safety procedure workflows and certifications.

Meir says:

“Our market is still served mainly by the independent handyman and plumber who still rely on their phones and paper records to run their businesses. This is the way we started but we were acutely aware of the shortcomings of our paper-based way of working. Just the fact that we had to call and disrupt our tradesmen to find out where they were and how they were getting on was frustrating enough,”

“BigChange is a game changer; from having very limited communication and desks piled high in paper we now have a seamless digital system. We now know where everyone is, how they are doing and when they’ll get to the next job. It’s all live and allows us to provide really professional customer service; way beyond the scope of our competitors. It’s also easy to use so we don’t really need to worry about training; it is largely apps based.”

The majority of RMS work involves plumbing and gas work. However, the team of multi-skilled staff – all with over ten years of experience – enable the company to deal with any property-related work for their clients that include property owners, letting agents and estate agents.

JobWatch handles all job scheduling and links to BigChange satellite trackers allowing customer services to see where tradesmen are and provide ETA’s to customers. With live reports and customer sign-off on job completion, the office can immediately deal with any issues on site and quotes for any additional work can be raised and agreed quickly.

Meir explains:

“With the system we have real time visibility and everything can be done much more quickly and efficiently. Invoices are raised within 24 hours and customers are kept up to date on the status of work – they are all very impressed with the reliability and professionalism of the service we provide and that is ultimately down to BigChange,”

RMS cover the Greater Manchester area and RMS has started picking up business from Manchester property owners and agents spread as far as London and Dubai.

Meir comments:

“One the biggest benefits of JobWatch is that it allows us to expand freely. We reckon we can run an operation with 40 to 50 vans with just 3 office staff. Our business – and certainly our ambitions business growth plan – is only viable because we have JobWatch,”

BigChange Provides a Fire-Proof Digital Solution for Target Maintenance

BigChange Target employee
Posted on by Martin Port

Target Maintenance has rolled out a new generation mobile workforce system using tablets linked in real time to a central management software as part of a 5 in 1 cloud-based solution from BigChange.

Target Maintenance is a fast-expanding UK company that specialises – through its Target Fire team – in ensuring buildings are fire safe with retrospective building modifications involving fire compartmentation and the assessment and replacement/repairs of fire doors, alarms, smoke vent systems and emergency lighting. The company has recently expanded its operation into new build fire compartmentalisation works and expects rapid growth in this area.

BigChange has provided Target Maintenance with a completely paperless system that integrates the field operations with their central office IT system, which is all part of JobWatch, the cloud-based solution from BigChange. The system handles everything, from call logging to job scheduling, job management and invoicing, with live vehicle tracking to give Target Maintenance complete visibility of all jobs in progress and once completed.
Target Maintenance switched to BigChange from another service management system and a separate tracking system.

Dean Rochester, Managing Director of Target, says:

“We wanted to modernise our IT and invest in a solution for the future – something that could assist in what is proving rapid growth in the business,”

“BigChange was particularly appealing as it is a true end-to-end solution and we knew that would make things much easier; a single system with the seamless flow of data from start to finish, which will also aid our clients.”

Rochester adds:

“The fact that it is cloud based – and therefore accessible anywhere, anytime – was appealing and we like the fact that it is continually evolving. Every new feature is an improvement, adding functionality that helps us save time and reduce costs,”

“This ensures our clients are continually seeing improvement in our service.”

Target Maintenance provide both fast, reactive maintenance services as well as planned longer term contract services. As well as the FIRAS accredited fire safety work, Target provides facilities and maintenance services to the property sector including commercial, retail and leisure, social housing, insurance and lettings. From its headquarters in Bedfordshire and its field based operatives, Target Maintenance cover a wide geographical area from London and the South East, to the Midlands, East Anglia and west as far as Swindon.

Rochester explains:

“Previously we were getting overwhelmed with paper processes as the business grew. Paperwork was simply delaying invoicing for completed works and impacting on our customers and their budgets. We identified it as an area we needed to focus on and have through BigChange improved and reduced our processes. BigChange was the solution,”

“We feel we are quicker and more organised having eliminated much of the paper with digital records and now all the information our clients need is at our fingertips and readily available.”

The system is helping improve customer service as well by improving communication. Customers now get instant auto-alert emails when job requests are received, and work is scheduled. In addition, the electronic job sheets and progress photographs from site allow customers to be kept fully informed on work progress.

Rochester adds:

“Larger projects can take some months and therefore a digital record of progress, completed and to complete tasks ensure a smoother flowing project. From a quote through to invoicing and providing certification, each process and task has been adjusted to allow for automatic updating and reporting. The digital reporting process also ensures better checks are in place. That means there are less queries from our clients and transparency is improved.”

First established in 2005 the company re-formed in 2014 (under the group brand Target Maintenance) and Target Fire set up as a specialised team in 2017. Since 2014 Target has expanded from 30 staff to the current 80 staff and turnover of £3.5million. Target’s 35 field service engineers operate the JobWatch mobile app – which is coupled with BigChange vehicle tracking – to manage their work and report progress accordingly.

Daniel Rochester, Target Fires Operations Director, adds:

“BigChange allows us to capture the data we need and make it available when we need it. The bespoke reporting is very good and we now get daily reports so management and customer services have up to date visibility of all work in progress.”

BigChange Target lady using software on computer