Feb/March 2007

A field service application from Impact Applications has taken pressure off a property care business, while at the same time saving money, improving efficiency and paving the way for further gains

How do you fancy boosting your administrative efficiency by 30 per cent, and doubling your turnover as a result?

It sounds like a pretty good deal, but when BMS Property Care BMS Property Care introduced a software suite called Operations Management System from Impact Applications, it did improve efficiency to that extent, and says doubled turnover was in part the result.

BMS Property Care, the maintenance servicing division of Bromford Housing Group, currently has 85 mobile workers who provide maintenance for approximately 14,000 residential homes and six major clients in the public sector. But it found its existing system could not handle the increasing volume of call handling both in and out of hours.

 

Wayne Davies, operations manager, explains: 'Our existing business systems were reaching saturation point, and were starting to hamper the effectiveness and efficiency of the business. We recognised that by automating the previously manual process of getting the information held on job sheets into the back office system, significant savings could be made, and the foundation would be laid for ongoing business growth.';

He adds: 'The solution needed to be simple to use and deploy, and fit in with our field operatives' existing daily routines. It was also very important that the technology fully integrated with our accounting software, Sage Line 50.';

Davies says by opting for a hosted service, the company could concentrate on its core business, confident that updates and other technical functions would be handled by someone with expertise in that area.

OMS, part of Impact Applications' ImpactResponse suite, automates manual business processes. It is a hosted system, and is distinctive for what is termed 'zero-client mobile software'; architecture. In other words, no applications or databases are held on the mobile device; instead, all mobile data traffic is passed to and from devices via a hosted Internet site.

Every field operative is equipped with a PDA which is connected to the back-office system via the Internet. All functions can be carried out with the PDA, including stock management, purchase order creation, customer signature capture and gas and electrical certification.

When comparing potential suppliers, Davies says he was reassured by Impact's ability to demonstrate a working example of the application in action within the housing maintenance sector; and since deployment that confidence appears to have been justified.

He has been impressed with the effect on financial reporting. 'It produces excellent key performance indicator data out of the box, which has enabled us to develop management reports that are helping us and our housing association clients understand how we are meeting and improving on their government targets.';

Davies says being able to tailor reports is helping the company discover and resolve any holes in its business processes. 'It is laying the foundations for a much more efficient, cost-effective business moving forward. Its commercial roots ensure that we remain focused on improving the bottom line while delivering a first class service to tenants and their landlords.';

The appointment system gives contract managers a more accurate view of the work required at each site and a precise account of the time spent on each job. The real-time mobile interface virtually eliminates the need for operatives to visit the office, and any changes made to their appointments to cope with emergency repairs are instantly visible.

Another benefit is that BMS customers can have direct access to their jobs via an extranet. For example, housing association Urban Heart covers 3,500 homes with a contract value of ';2 million per annum, and now has 24-hour online access to monitor and review the status of all BMS jobs.

'Making it possible for clients to access information on their accounts via the I