Off-mains drainage expert UKDP Solutions, is pinning ambitious expansion plans on its use of a BigChange job management system.
The specialist drainage company has already transformed the management of its field operation using BigChange, with engineer’s mobile devices and vehicle trackers live-linked to a central management system. This has meant a 30 percent gain in operational efficiencies, as engineers spend less time completing paperwork, and boosted customer service with real-time access to service updates and automatically generated ETAs. UKDP is also saving tens of thousands of pounds per year in office rent as the cloud-based system has allowed remote working, introduced during the pandemic to be continued.
“We have ambitious expansion plans and BigChange will play a big part in them, as it allows scalability at any pace, due to the continuity it provides and the transparency it offers,” commented James Warren, Technical Director at UKDP Solutions. “We have proven that BigChange works and I have no doubt that regardless of the challenges we face, it always will.”
It is estimated that around 5 percent of UK properties are not connected to mains drainage relying instead on systems such as septic tanks, sewage treatment plants or cesspits. Located in mainly rural areas, UKDP offers a range of services to these properties, including new installations, inspections, surveys, repairs, and routine maintenance and emptying. A team of directly employed Field Operations Managers (FOM), armed with tablets running the BigChange mobile app, cover the whole of Britain using a mixed fleet of Ford and Peugeot vans.
UKDP selected the BigChange job management platform system, which incorporates customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, resource management, job finance and business intelligence, to replace a number of disconnected systems including a standalone office suite, online calendar and email server. Using BigChange, UKDP has digitised all previous systems and processes and created a library of over 40 customised worksheets covering every job type which engineers complete onsite leading to an increase in productivity of 30 percent.
Real-time tracking allows UKDP to issue accurate arrival times and update customers of any delays. This visibility and accessibility of information also means any member of the office team can answer queries, at any time, it also provides a valuable input for time / cost analysis by providing ‘time on site’ transparency. This transparency is extended to other areas of the business including financial reporting. With all job costs and invoices on the system UKDP can assess the profitability of individual jobs and produce detailed reports in a matter of minutes.
“We have fully immersed our entire operation in BigChange and, as cheesy as it may sound, the more we have put in the more we have got out,” Warren continued. “It took some time to get all our documents and workflows on the system but it was the best thing we have ever done. We are now exactly where we need to be to start the next stage of our development and BigChange has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of our journey.”
