Essex-based Technical Drain Solutions has increased revenue and boosted productivity following the implementation of the BigChange fleet and job management system.
By live-linking the back-office to vehicle tracking and engineers’ mobiles, communication and efficiencies have been improved, resulting in a 25 percent increase in income and a 50 percent boost in productivity.
Technical Drain Solutions uses BigChange to manage its growing fleet of specialist vehicles, which ranges from a 40-tonne artic, through different sized vacuum tankers, to service vans. At the start of each day, engineers are guided through a range of daily vehicle checks and alerts for regular maintenance. Other events, such as insurance renewal and MOT reminders are automatically generated by the system and sent through to the back-office. In addition, driver behaviour alerts, including flags for harsh braking, speeding and idling, are also improving the company’s environmental impact and health and safety, as well as minimising vehicle wear and tear.
With digital job cards and completion reports, integrated with the company’s accounting package, the new system has also allowed Technical Drain Solutions to manage a doubling in workload with just 40 per cent of the previous admin resource.
“We are a family run business which has grown from 4 employees, based out of a barn, to a nationwide operation with over 60 employees and an extensive fleet of specialist vehicles, but it hasn’t always been easy,” commented Jake Murphy, Operations Director at Technical Drain Solutions. “The first few years were very tough, the journey has been a case of blood, sweat and tears but rugged determination, a couple of large contract wins and our relationship with BigChange has really turned this around.
“I would happily say that BigChange has revolutionised the way we operate,” he continued. “Everything goes through BigChange from initial enquiry to final invoice, from daily vehicle checks to customer ETA messages; using BigChange has made our lives a million per cent easier.”
Using the BigChange app, which runs on any mobile phone or tablet, engineers can access relevant site histories or equipment specifications and record job details, including date / time stamped photographs, videos and signatures, as well as any parts used. These details are automatically shared with the back-office system and communicated to the customer as proof of completed work and are then used to produce accurate invoices.
“The visibility that BigChange gives us is incredible,” Murphy continued. “Engineers know in advance what their day, and even their week, looks like and management and back-office staff can see where an engineer is at any given point. We can compare planned versus actual and respond accordingly and even compare productivity levels offering incentives or interventions as appropriate.”
With its headquarters in Rainham Essex, Technical Drain Solutions has been offering a professional quality service to facilities management companies, commercial property owners and domestic customers since 2007. Technical Drain Solutions specialises in CCTV surveys, waste removal, drain cleaning through to excavations, repairs, replacements and new builds, with both Planned Preventative Maintenance programmes and reactive emergency response call-outs.
