BigChange Mobile Tech Gives Europump’s Commercial Transport Business a £100k Boost

Posted on 9 July 2020 by Martin Port

Europump has turned to mobile and cloud technology to expand its fuel pump maintenance services within the commercial fleet sector.

Using the latest mobile workforce management technology from Leeds-based BigChange, Europump has developed what it believes is an industry first level of service in the design, supply, installation, service and maintenance of commercial fuelling solutions.

The cloud-based and mobile system provides real time synchronisation between Europump’s office and field service engineers using the JobWatch 5 in 1 mobile app. Providing a complete end to end business system replacing all paperwork, it has already been deployed by parent company Eurotank and across Europump’s existing services to fuel filling stations.

Jack Aplin, Director, Eurotank commented:

“Fleet operators work in a demanding industry where schedules are critical and reliable equipment is crucial; a fleet of buses or trucks could well depend on one or two pumps to fuel up.”

“There is clearly a demand for a service company that can maintain all types of pumps and that is exactly what Europump do.”

“Speed, communication and professionalism of our response is as important as our engineering capability and BigChange has been absolutely vital to our approach to the market and the winning of new business. It underpins the whole service offering and gives us a distinct competitive edge.”

Europump’s engineers are equipped with tablets running the JobWatch linked to vehicle trackers as part of a real-time system that gives customer service staff and management complete 24/7 visibility of the field operations. The office uses BigChange cloud-based CRM, scheduling and business software all seamlessly linked together with operations as a complete end-to end solution.

Aplin explained:

“Being fully digital, cloud based and completely free of paperwork proved critical during the COVID-19 lockdown. “We literally flicked a switch and were all instantly up and running from home. Coupled with video conferencing we just carried on working as normal.”

Since the initial implementation of BigChange last year, Europump has been focusing on enhancing services to the commercial sector. One development, managing stock, has in particular provided very significant service and financial benefits.

Traditionally engineers would identify faults on a first visit and if required order parts for collection at the depot before returning to site. With commercial fleet fuel services, pump uptime is paramount and Europump knew first time repair would be a crucial measure of their performance and reputation. Now the company has used BigChange to completely automate stock ordering and replenishment to keep vans fully stocked to minimise return visits to site.

Aplin concluded:

“With this automated stock management capability on BigChange we have completely transformed our business. By virtually eliminating return to sites and improving our first time fix performance literally 10-fold we are saving all that unnecessary engineer time and cost. We anticipate this development will bring a £100,000 a year boost to the business through improved productivity and service.”

Europump Transforms Forecourt Services with BigChange Mobile Technology

Posted on 9 July 2019 by Martin Port

Europump, the provider of fuel pump maintenance services, has deployed the latest cloud and mobile technology as part of a real-time system for managing field engineering operations.

Supplied by Leeds-based BigChange, the system combines a 5 in 1 mobile app called JobWatch that connects seamlessly to central software including CRM, scheduling, invoicing and management reporting.

Europump Maintenance Ltd provides fuel retailers with pump and tank gauge maintenance services and is part of the Eurotank Service Group, who provide fuel tank cleaning, maintenance and installation services.

Europump provide a fast response service with a 40-strong network of engineers based out of three operating centres in Stoke-on-Trent, Southampton and Bellhills, Scotland; with a helpdesk centre in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. Although most of the work is reactive Europump also undertakes planned maintenance work and provides other services such as Vapour Recovery Tests (VAR).

As a group Eurotank has long been at the forefront of technology and innovation having developed their own mobile workforce system a decade earlier. This bespoke system comprised rugged laptops with separate signature pads and dongles.

Jack Aplin, Director, Eurotank says:

“Although we led the field with our system it was based on old technology that was expensive and cumbersome to use,”

“We began a lengthy process of trying to find a replacement but we failed to find anything that would meet all of our needs. Then we discovered BigChange and the company had just the solution we wanted; something that could do everything we wanted in a single web-based system.”

The Europump help desk in Hebden Bridge is the hub of the national operations. Incoming service requests are logged into the BigChange scheduler which assigns the job to the most appropriate engineer. Engineers receive jobs on their tablets with the JobWatch app completely replacing all types of paperwork with digital workflows, reports, certificates and customer sign-off signatures.

Aplin says:

“The thing about the BigChange software is it is so easy to configure. We can build a system to do exactly what we want. We can literally create a new worksheet or workflow in an evening; something that previously would have taken our IT supplier 2 months to do,”

The mobile devices also provide navigation and are used to capture photographs to show site set up, equipment and work completed. BigChange trackers fitted to the fleet of vans give the help desk an instant view of the whereabouts of all the engineers and allow accurate ETA’s to be provided to customers. Engineers use JobWatch for their timesheets and expenses with tracking data providing mileages as well as arrival and departure times.

Michelle Brocklehurst, Group Helpdesk Manager, Europump says:

“BigChange was introduced initially to improve job scheduling, which was crucial as the demand for our reactive maintenance services increased,”

“The job scheduling is very easy to use and has made a big difference – we can work much quicker and more efficiently. However the main benefit of JobWatch is the visibility it gives us so we know exactly what is going on 24/7. With job status on screen we can immediately see what’s not been done.”

JobWatch is also used for managing the 2000 individual parts that are kept by central stores and in the vans. Engineers record parts used or request new parts in their job sheets. All data is then synchronised with central stores as part of a comprehensive stock control system that automatically replenishes stocks.

Stuart Tomkinson, Operations Manager, Europump comments:

“JobWatch has made it much easier to properly manage our stock levels and make sure the parts needed are always available. The system also stores historic data on work done previously which is very useful for engineers when they arrive on site,”

Aplin adds:

“Safety and compliance are key issues for Europump as the work is undertaken in a high-risk environment. The primary benefits of BigChange are in the visibility and transparency that the system provides –- compliance is very important and with JobWatch nothing can be fudged,”

Edward Wheeler, Group Managing Director of Eurotank Service Group says:

“It’s clear that fuel retailers are looking for people who can maintain any type of pump and are not tied to any manufacturer; we can maintain any equipment that retailers already have or are planning to purchase,”

“We have ambitious plans to expand the Europump business and the easy accessibility, flexibility and affordability of the BigChange system make it an ideal platform to support growth.”

FSH Builds a Smarter Future with BigChange Mobile Workforce Technology

Posted on 18 October 2018 by Martin Port

FSH, the one-stop construction company servicing the north of England, has transformed its business with a 5 in 1 management system from BigChange.

Operating as a cloud service linked to mobile apps used by workers onsite, the solution provides FSH with real time operational information for improving efficiency, productivity and service.

Employing 132 mobile tradesmen and 65 office staff, the Castleford headquartered company has regional offices in Hull, Liverpool and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. FSH specialises in insurance-related work, typically repairing flood or fire damaged properties. A new construction arm handing reactive maintenance work is also driving expansion in sectors such as social housing and education.

With a fleet of 132 BigChange equipped vehicles providing live data for managing operations, tradesmen are being equipped with rugged Samsung tablets running JobWatch. Mobile apps completely replace paperwork with live data reporting and the devices capture useful time and location stamped photographs, as well as customer signatures.

Matthew Cappleman, Managing Director of FSH, comments:

“We work mainly for the UK’s biggest insurance firms and providing a consistent high quality rebuild and refurbishment service is absolutely vital,”

“The monitoring and reporting of our work on site is however just as important and that’s where BigChange comes in. It gives real-time visibility of every job and provides an audit trail of all work. That means we can not only manage work better and improve customer service, but we can also provide insurers with immediate job updates and evidence of work done.”

Operationally JobWatch is used from job start to completion with tradesmen receiving jobs scheduled by BigChange. The devices are used for daily vehicle checks and on departure the tablets are clipped in dashboard cradles to provide navigation to the job location. On arrival, JobWatch ensures the tradesman completes a risk assessment and captures photographs showing the current state of the work site – with photographs repeated at the end of the day.

Cappleman added:

“BigChange really does expedite everything as our tradesman can go straight to the job and put in a full, productive 8 hour day. The system also ensures good work discipline and good practice as the tradesmen are in effect self-managing their work, backed up with their reports and photographs. With JobWatch there is no more sitting around and managers no longer need to go onsite to check the work. Everyone wins.”

With the entire fleet tracked, FSH has an instant view of all vehicle locations. This allows tradesmen working on reactive maintenance to be dynamically re-scheduled to urgent jobs, gives customer services valuable insight into any delays arriving onsite and also helps in the quick retrieval of stolen vans. However according to FSH, it’s the logged data that is of particular value.

Matthew Cappleman continued:

“BigChange logs vehicle movements so we’ve always got evidence of arrival and departure times should queries arise. The data helps us check timesheets, monitor unauthorised mileage and spot poor driving. With weekly driver performance reports we have seen an all-around improvement in driving and not only is that good for staff safety on the road but ultimately it means less vehicle wear and tear and better fuel consumption.”

Stuart Welburn, Finance Director at FSH agrees that BigChange has had a positive impact, added:

“Certainly BigChange has been good for business and we estimate efficiency gains of 2 or 3 percent. However, we anticipate it will improve our profitability not only through better utilisation of our resources, but by generally improving our services to continually improve our reputation and win more business.”

BigChange drives productivity growth at McDougall Group by 17 percent

Posted on 21 March 2018 by Martin Port

Multi-Trade property service company The McDougall Group has boosted the productivity of its mobile workforce with the introduction of a BigChange service management system.

Providing all trades reactive repair services to social housing and new build sector, McDougall has equipped its tradesmen and engineers with smartphones and tablets running JobWatch, part of the all-in-one solution from BigChange.

McDougall services predominantly social housing landlords across central Scotland with a fleet of 30 vans and 4×4’s operating from offices in Grangemouth and Glasgow. The entire mobile operation is managed using BigChange, with the cloud-based system handling all work planning, CRM, scheduling and reporting via Samsung tablets and phones. Integrated vehicle tracking and navigation provides live information for customer service with recorded data for billing, timesheets and driver duty of care.

David Robbie, Managing Director of The McDougall Group commented:

“The introduction of BigChange has had a fundamental impact on the way we operate.”

David continued:

“By automating job scheduling and routing, and cutting paperwork we have increased the number of jobs we can do with the same resources. Productivity has been boosted by 17 percent and mileage has been cut. It’s a move to real time working which has allowed us to extend the working day. Our tradesmen no longer need to come in to get their jobs and are now on site an hour earlier and Gas Landlord and Electrical Certificates are delivered to clients electronically as soon as the job is complete. Tenants receive an appointment for every repair and text updates at every stage of the process. Customer Satisfaction is completed electronically for every job completed.”

McDougall provide a very wide range of services backed by a team of multi-skilled tradesman and workshop facilities. Jobs can involve anything from kitchen unit repairs to fixed leaking taps and boiler servicing, installation and repair and this adds a lot of complexity to subsequent billing. Records therefore need to be good. With a move away from paper-based systems, BigChange provides more accurate and up to date data which is vital for providing proof of service and dispute-free invoicing.

David commented:

“BigChange provides valuable management information for tighter control over operations.”

“Introducing new technology to manage work is a one-off opportunity to re-engineer the business. It basically puts the onus on our tradesmen to adhere to good working practices and proper procedures and that ultimately means a more professional, more efficient and better-organised business and taking a mandatory photograph of completed works introduces an element of self-auditing ensuring the standard of work left is always high.”

David added:

“We chose BigChange because we were looking for a fully integrated system between vehicle management and job scheduling, with the ability to invoice and ultimately track orders all the way through from start to finish. With previous systems there was always paper involved somewhere so we were looking for one system that was completely paperless, giving us real control and providing a proactive experience for the end customer.”

BigChange provides a paperless way to plan, manage, schedule and track any mobile workforce with a seamless solution for managing the entire operation from quote all the way through to invoice. BigChange is a 5-in-one Mobile Workforce Management platform that combines a customer booking app, cloud based back-office CRM and job scheduling, a rich mobile app for the driver or engineer combined with real-time vehicle tracking. Easy and intuitive to use, customise and implement.

BigChange awarded Mobile Technology contract for Hargreaves’ 500-strong fleet

Posted on 26 January 2017 by Martin Port

BigChange the Mobile Workforce Management technology specialist has won a contract to supply global mining, energy and logistics company Hargreaves Services Plc with its three-in-one JobWatch system, across their 500-strong fleet of specialist aggregates vehicles that includes tractors and trailers. Headquartered in Durham, Hargreaves Logistics transports over 7 million tonnes of bulk materials each year.

The turnkey solution from BigChange is introducing a paperless revolution at Hargreaves Logistics, equipping hundreds of drivers with a Samsung Android tablet that manages receipt of job instruction, electronic proof of collection and delivery, timesheets, electronic start-of-day vehicle walkaround checks, driver behaviour scoring promoting safe eco-driving, tachograph interface and Health and Safety procedures. The system is also a rich vehicle tracking system providing real-time location updates.

A full integration is in place with Hargreaves’ Stirling Solutions back-office Transport Management System meaning that planned collections and deliveries are automatically pushed through to the JobWatch system. On logging on to the JobWatch app at the start of each day, Drivers are guided to start their timesheet, conduct a walkaround check that meets DVSA requirements (recording, photographing and alerting any defects) and have instant access to the day’s run manifest.

The JobWatch system is saving the company hundreds of thousands of pieces of paper annually and has significantly improved back-office administration. Drivers used to amass multiple paper forms for each delivery and collection including delivery notes and weighbridge tickets. On return to the office, these required manual processing including scanning, filing and sending the originals back to the customer. With JobWatch, the workflow is paperless. Drivers receive accurate loading and unloading instructions, site staff complete the ‘sign on glass’ POD, and a time, date and location watermarked photo of the weighbridge ticket is captured by the driver. Proof of service is instantly relayed to the back office allowing for prompt invoicing. In addition, Hargreaves Logistics are benefiting from 24/7 on-demand RoadCrew customer service for all back office users and drivers including remote support and management of all tablets.

Andrew Spence-Wolrich, Managing Director at Hargreaves Logistics Division commented:

“JobWatch is bringing about a digital transformation for our logistics business. The JobWatch mobile App has streamlined workflows and enabled our drivers to be connected in real time with our back office. Flexibility and Integration with Stirling Solutions Transport Management System was what attracted us to JobWatch; for example we’re using the system to manage TASCC jobs and paperwork trails required for audit. This requires careful cleaning of trailers for loading with food for human consumption. JobWatch rigorously manages the workflow and ensures photographic proof of the process is saved.”

Drivers’ use of the timesheet and expense functionality on the app allows the Finance team to efficiently allocate costs to vehicles and drivers and run payroll. A timesheet reconciliation report combines drivers hours, tachograph information and vehicle tracking data. At the end of each journey drivers view their behaviour score allowing them to track their personal driving improvements and ranking.

Martin Port, Founder and CEO at BigChange commented:

“Hargreaves are embracing the JobWatch system across their logistics operation and are reaping the rewards from the technology. They are a truly future focused business and we look forward to further developing our relationship.”

Lynx Maintenance Celebrates with BigChange

Posted on 11 August 2015 by Martin Port

Lynx are a specialist family-owned building, repair and maintenance company based in Uxbridge. They offer a fast response and first-class customer service to their ever-growing list of prestigious landlord and management clients, and maintain over 3,000 properties across the south of England.Lynx are a specialist family-owned building, repair and maintenance company based in Uxbridge. They offer a fast response and first-class customer service to their ever-growing list of prestigious landlord and management clients, and maintain over 3,000 properties across the south of England.

Founder & Managing Director of Lynx Maintenance, Chris Moseley, relates, “Our entire focus is on making service improvements. We recognised that the technology we used was not going to support the level of growth we are experiencing; we had a back office job-management system that was 10 years old, producing so much paper, and a separate vehicle tracking system that we used reactively.”

Lynx decided that they needed a Big Change. They wanted one system that could manage all aspects of their business, and they wanted a fully-developed, proven product that wouldn’t cost them a fortune.

Chris Moseley went on to say, “We were recommended to contact BigChange, who had developed a system that did everything we wanted straight out of the box. BigChange spent time with us ensuring that the implementation process and training of our Head Office and Engineering teams went smoothly.”

The BigChange JobWatch system has everything – built-in service management, customer relationship management, job scheduling, resource time management, health and safety, equipment and stock management, mobile apps, financial features (from quotation to invoicing, with integration to accounting software such as Sage) and vehicle tracking. JobWatch features intuitive reporting, including reporting on customer service and quality, business productivity, driver behaviour and risk management.

Chris recalls how “Implementing the system completely did away with paper in the office and in the field. We invoice instantly when a job is completed, and have seen our productivity and service levels hit new heights. This is just the beginning, as we believe that this technology will enable our company to grow without the cost and risk that goes with expansion. We look forward to celebrating 20 years in business next year, and the BigChange JobWatch system has given us exactly the tools we need to progress and grow our family business.”

Martin Port, CEO of BigChange commented, “We are delighted to have completed another successful implementation of JobWatch with Lynx Maintenance. JobWatch has revolutionised Lynx practices and processes, eliminated all paperwork and time consuming manual tasks.”

Contact Martin Port, CEO of BigChange Apps: Email [email protected] or call +44-(0)7973-671779

featured in March’s PR Newswire: https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lynxs-maintenance-celebrates-with-bigchange-498103241.html