Novex FM Eyes Nationwide Expansion with BigChange

Posted on 10 May 2022 by Martin Port

Facilities management start-up, Novex FM, has turned to field service management software from BigChange to underpin major expansion plans. The Manchester-based FM company launched last year providing project management, repairs and preventative maintenance services to residential and student properties, and private landlords. Using the all-in-one job management platform from BigChange, Novex is now launching a full range of FM services, nationwide, confident its automated, streamlined workflows and reporting will future-proof the business as it continues to grow.

“As an experienced project manager, every contractor I have ever worked with that has shown up on time, did the work they said they would and invoiced correctly, had one thing in common, and that was BigChange,” said Ben Ousey, Operations Manager at Novex FM. “So, when we started Novex it was a no brainer – we had to have BigChange.”

Using 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, Novex has complete visibility of the business, at any time, from any web-enabled device. With just a couple of clicks, the Novex management team can get reports on outstanding quotes, missed opportunities and unpaid invoices, as well as a complete breakdown of costs per job.

“With BigChange, everything is in one place,” Ousey added.

“I have all the information I need, at my fingertips, so I know that as we expand, we have the workflows and management processes in place. I am also confident that the BigChange community, including the Collaboration Network, will play a significant role in our continued growth.”
Ben Ousey, Operations Manager, Novex FM

Novex FM is a facilities management company run by property managers. From project planning through to delivery of landscaping, cleaning, redecoration, repair and refurbishment services, Novex prides itself on exceptional customer experience. Novex has access to a nationwide network of specialist staff and skilled contractors it can call on to expand its service offering and geographical coverage.

“With BigChange there is no such thing as can’t,” he continued. “Not only do the tools they provide mean ‘we can’, they also provide unrivalled support. Between the BigChange University tutorials, the extensive YouTube content and the 24/7 RoadCrew support team, BigChange has given us the skills and the confidence to take our business to the next level.”

Capital Launches Nationwide Facilities Support Service using BigChange Platform

Posted on 13 April 2022 by Martin Port

Capital, a specialist cleaning and facilities management company, has deployed BigChange field service management software to launch a new nationwide outsource service. Providing support to other facilities management companies that need to boost their field service capacity or businesses that require additional resources or skills, Capital’s Service Team will help with a range of tasks including office moves, regular cleaning, site inspections, equipment installations and audits. Using the integrated job management platform from BigChange, Capital can take online bookings, schedule work, report on completed tasks and issue invoices.

“We like to think of our Service Team as the business equivalent of the A-Team – if you have a problem, if no-one else can help, you can hire the Capital Team,” commented Eddie Tomlins, owner of Capital. “But Service Team was inspired not by a TV programme but by BigChange. Without BigChange we wouldn’t have thought of the idea and we certainly couldn’t have delivered it.”

Capital was originally established as Capital Computer Care in the 1980’s offering equipment installation, maintenance, cleaning, testing and decommission of PCs, data centres and server rooms. To aid service delivery Capital used a multitude of different processes including a standalone CRM, multiple Excel spreadsheets, a vehicle tracking system, paper field reports and a manual invoicing system.

“Before discovering BigChange we used a hotchpotch of different systems which meant everything took longer, was harder to control and was susceptible to human error”
Dave Usher, Director of Capital

“Also, it was a challenging time for the business. We had been growing organically for around 30 years, but we had not invested in our business’s processes or the future evolution of the business. We needed a complete rethink as to how we ran the business and the type of services we offered,” added Dave.

Capital selected the BigChange job management solution, 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, following an independent review of available systems. Initially attracted by a cloud-only solution, Capital was also impressed with the range of functionality, competitive pricing and evolving application lifecycle.

Since implementing BigChange, Capital has transformed its business by identifying and launching new revenue streams and expanding the operation in terms of service offering and geographical coverage. The integrated CRM and scheduling are saving hours of admin resource every month whilst digital worksheets, complete with photographs, are improving customer satisfaction.

Capital also uses BigChange to manage UK wide stock levels, moving essential supplies between operatives at a time when supply chains faced unprecedented difficulties. The BigChange report and alert functionality is saving management time with automated reminders and notifications of a host of event or date driven actions including MOTs, contract renewals or vehicles using toll roads or entering charging zones.

“BigChange has already saved us literally hundreds and hundreds of hours in management and admin time and continues to do so”
Dave Usher, Director of Capital

“We have streamlined our business in terms of expenditure and productivity but have still maintained the highest levels of customer service and satisfaction,” continued Usher.

“I am convinced that had we not invested in BigChange we would not have been able to make the changes required to our systems, processes and personnel, to continue trading. So, we would not be around today, especially if you factor in the additional impact on the business of COVID,” Tomlins concluded. “We also know that BigChange will continue to evolve with new features offered on a regular basis so will be around to support us for many years to come!”

Capital Launches Nationwide Facilities Support Service using BigChange Platform

BigChange sets FM entrepreneur apart from competition

Posted on 6 April 2022 by Martin Port

BigChange field service management software is helping facilities management start-up Urban Maintenance achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Out-performing larger competitors in customer service reviews, Urban Maintenance adopted the BigChange platform to automate workflows across its operation from job allocation to completion reporting. Working for individual householders up to FTSE 250 professional landlords, BigChange gives Urban Maintenance 24/7 visibility of the mobile operation allowing for prompt resolution of customer queries, efficient response to emergency call-outs and improved workforce health and safety.

“I established Urban Maintenance mid-pandemic when I was unable to take up a job offer abroad and opportunities in the domestic FM market were limited,” commented Nathan Yates, Managing Director of Urban Maintenance. “With nearly a decade’s experience in property management, I understood the complexities of running a lettings agency, the legalities of block management and the pitfalls of insurance claims. I also knew the importance of making sure that Doris at number 9 is happy and that her landlord knows it!

“That’s where BigChange has had a huge impact on the business,” he continued. “From a one-man-band start-up, Urban Maintenance is well en route to becoming a successful scale-up and BigChange has played an integral part.”

“Using BigChange we have automated our reporting, so our customers, and their tenants, know what is going to happen when it’s going to happen and if it doesn’t happen why! It’s this efficient and timely communication that sets us apart from other service providers.”
Nathan Yates, Managing Director of Urban Maintenance

Urban Management provides a range of domestic and commercial property management services including plumbing, joinery, decorating and cleaning. Following a recommendation from an established FM operator and existing user of BigChange, Urban Management implemented the job management solution, 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, to support its ambitious growth plans. By demonstrating its commitment to customer service using BigChange, Urban Management has secured several high-value contracts and is continuously hiring to ensure it has the capacity to meet growing demand.

“We are still at the early stages of our BigChange journey, and I know there is so much more the platform can do,” continued Yates. “I am keen to customise elements of the system to meet our exacting requirements and implement additional reporting and financial management and, with the support of the BigChange team, we will achieve it.”

BigChange Facilitates Business Transformation for Pinnacle Group

Posted on 13 January 2022 by Martin Port

Pinnacle Group has transformed its customer experience and increased operational efficiency following the implementation of the latest field service management software from BigChange.

Supporting over 300,000 homes, 200 schools and 100 public and private buildings, Pinnacle is one of the UK’s largest facilities management providers. Using BigChange, Pinnacle has achieved a significant improvement in transparency and communication with clients by delivering live operational information and has overcome challenges resulting from the pandemic which saw a reduced workforce facing an increased workload.

Raaj Bharania, Pinnacle Group Business Manager commented:

“Since implementing BigChange we have seen real time savings and productivity gains resulting in better quality of service, reduced resources and costs, and increased client and customer satisfaction. This can be directly translated into contract extensions and new contract awards.”

Pinnacle is a community-facing, people-first business that delivers, manages and maintains communities and places – including multi-tenure housing, schools, open spaces, public and private buildings, retail schemes, distribution centres, manufacturing plants, utilities and broadband networks – as well as a range of complementary employment and wellbeing outcomes. Formed in 1994, Pinnacle operates nationwide with major hubs in London, Chelmsford, Slough, Birmingham, Leeds, Morecambe, Stoke and Carlisle. Pinnacle provides integrated Facilities Management across all sectors and the frontline operation makes around 1,400 call outs per day with an 80/20 split between scheduled and reactive.

Since implementing the complete job management solution, which incorporates customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, field resource management, financial management and business intelligence in one simple to use and easy to integrate platform, Pinnacle can record, monitor and control every task in real-time. Details of site inspections and service delivery visits are captured, recorded and reported, complete with before and after photos, using a traffic light system allowing operatives to self-certify works.

Area Manager Marcin Rosiak said:

“By giving clients access to the BigChange platform we have been able to reduce the time spent monitoring and reporting as they can access the information they need when they need it.”

Whilst Business Manager Seundouss Laroussi added:

BigChange has been transformational for us, and our clients, and we cannot imagine our operation without it!”

BigChange has already been deployed on over 90 percent of Pinnacles soft FM contracts where it has been tailored to meet specific KPIs, SLAs and reporting requirements and roll out on the remaining 10 percent is ongoing. Further planned work includes the transition to a completely paperless operation and the use of BigChange to improve workforce engagement and health and safety management.

National Maintenance Fixes Job Management with BigChange

Posted on 20 October 2021 by Martin Port

National Maintenance, the Nottingham-based national facilities management company, has successfully rolled out a new field service management system from BigChange. With BigChange software, field operatives using rugged tablets are connected in real time to the office as part of a complete job management platform.

National Maintenance provides repair, refurbishment and maintenance services for the private and public sector. Clients include Barratt Homes, St Andrews Healthcare, nursery group Busy Bees, and Nottingham City Council. The company, which has seen a 40 per cent year on year growth since formation in 2009, implemented BigChange early in 2021 to provide a platform for further expansion nationally.

National Maintenance embraced technology right from the start with paperless working in the office. However, with ambitious plans to expand and a need to meet more stringent reporting requirement of clients operating nationally, the company needed to overhaul its systems.

“We looked at a number of systems, shortlisting two. We initially made the wrong decision and after 6 months of frustration we realised it was a mistake and we switched to BigChange,” says Jon Johnson, MD, National Maintenance Ltd. “That has proved to be the right decision; BigChange has proven to be much easier to use and implement and crucially, support has been exceptional.”

BigChange is a complete job management platform bringing together customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, field resource management, financial management, and online portal into one simple to use and easy to integrate platform. National Maintenance has now been able to consolidate all of their business automation needs into one system and BigChange also integrates with their Xero accounts software.

Johnson explains:

“We’ve only really just become aware of the power of BigChange; it really is an all-in-one business solution. It provides a seamless flow of real-time information from initial job booking, to field operations, to finance and management and onto our customers. It’s already reduced office and accounts administration by 50 per cent.”

National Maintenance undertakes scheduled and reactive work with field operatives receiving and managing jobs on their tablets. The job management software automates every conceivable task in the field, replacing paperwork with real-time electronic reporting synchronised with the central BigChange platform. Uses includes daily van checks, risk assessments, job sheets supported with time and location tracking logs and before and after photographs.

Johnson comments:

“The industry has become a lot more demanding and providing real-time, evidence-supported, digital reports is becoming the norm. The platform does literally everything and creating job sheets for different tasks has been really easy; it gives us a true future-proof solution to meet any client need and freely expand the business”

National Maintenance particularly like the way BigChange boosts the quality and consistency of reporting through the use of workflows. It guides the operator step-by-step and disallows anything to be skipped; something that’s also very useful for training new recruits.

Johnson adds:

“From a business perspective BigChange is a game-changer. Being cloud-based and mobile we’ve been able to set up a new office literally in a day and get new field operatives up and running in a few hours. I can also use the management app on my phone to keep a watch on everything going on, 24/7 from anywhere.”

BigChange Helps Clearground Clean up on Workforce Health and Safety

Posted on 22 June 2021 by Martin Port

Facilities maintenance service company Clearground is using workforce management technology from BigChange to improve health and safety across its nationwide operation. Specialising in waste management, commercial window cleaning and drainage services, Clearground is using the cloud-based, 5-in-1 solution to ensure the safety of operatives with automated, dynamic risk assessments.

BigChange is also helping Clearground identify potential issues at customer sites with intelligent incident analysis, comparing callout rates between similar sites and reviewing historical and current activity.

“Safety and compliance are key to the welfare of our staff and customers and also to the success of our company, in fact, it’s one of the reasons we selected BigChange. The ability to create customised, dynamic risk assessments and make their completion on-site mandatory goes beyond other systems we looked at. It is more than just a box ticking exercise; it means our operatives really must consider the environment in which they are working and understand what risks that may pose.”
Claire Piercy, General Manager at Wirral-based Clearground.

She continued:

“BigChange also helps us look after our staff and customers in other ways, the driver behaviour alerts allow us to identify driving styles that may lead to problems which, when combined with the scoring system, allows us to performance manage drivers to ensure safe working practices. From a customer care perspective, we can monitor the number and type of incidents in relation to agreed KPIs and work with clients to prevent future occurrences.”

From its inception in 2003, Clearground has expanded its operation and now works with organisations such as global student accommodation provider Campus Living Villages, residential rent developers Watkins Jones Plc and premium bar operators Revolution Bars Group. Working across the UK, Clearground provides facilities maintenance services including high-level access window cleaning, industry compliant kitchen extractor fan cleaning as well as industrial and high-pressure cleaning.

Clearground selected BigChange to replace disconnected systems used for timesheet logging, purchase order tracking and basic workforce management. A single-platform CRM, Job Scheduling, Mobile App, Vehicle Tracking and Online Portal, BigChange has already eliminated repetition of data entry between systems, reducing back-office resource and minimising the potential for errors, and has eliminated virtually all paperwork used in the management of the mobile workforce.

Clearground is also using the BigChange platform to schedule routine maintenance jobs and ad-hoc callouts, manage staff holidays, absences and sickness and provide automatic alerts for out-of-hours vehicle use or toll-road driving. Available from any internet-connected device, BigChange gives total visibility of the sales process, from initial enquiry, through quotation to invoicing, something Clearground plans to build on with pipeline analysis and automated marketing campaigns.

Piercy concluded:

“One of the major differences between BigChange and other suppliers is they listen and then they respond, and, like us, BigChange is a progressive company, so I am confident that as we continue to grow, they will grow with us.”