The Ballad Of Big

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy


We can all get stuck in our ways sometimes and get a bit used to some of the same solutions and usual suspects coming out of the woodwork. A change in the Social Housing sector, can be as good as a rest. Software As a Service (SaaS) is becoming less of a danger to ICT infrastructure teams and at last it’s improved security and ‘managed fully in the cloud’ benefits, making it genuinely attractive.

Some of our current software suppliers are on that journey, others nearly there, while challengers from outside of the sector, often always were deployed that way.

During a piece of work looking for a Contractor, scheduling and mobile solution, over the summer, I came across one such challenger, called ‘BigChange’. It’s a solution used by many maintenance contractors, distribution and service companies, which make up a large proportion of their approx. 1000 customers. Most of their customers are based within the British Isles however they also have multiple clients across the world.

I had seen BigChange in use at an independent contractor in the North West, who is involved with multi-Client Housing Associations and their reactive repair work. It was very interesting to see BigChange contrasted with who we might regard as the usual Social Housing sector suspects.

One key difference with BigChange, is that the Contractor Solution comes fully bundled with vehicle tracking capabilities, which they offer free of charge as standard. This overlays into the whole repairs journey and provides capabilities I hear being asked for a lot, but rarely see in the flesh. IE that parcel tracking experience we are all used to. Customisable SMS and/or email updates feed back live ETAs automatically to the resident. This reduces the level of no accesses and associated costs of failed visits.

A great by product of a fully integrated job management and tracking system is that timesheets are easier to reconcile due to the fact that their compilation is automated and therefore accurate.

Of course, the real benefit is in better management KPI & BI data, as tracker vs trade operative discrepancies can be easily highlighted. Most DLO’s I have worked with have third-party van tracking. However, it’s generally the traffic manager, not the schedulers or the depot manager, who regularly gets involved with it.

JobWatch also shares expected forecast weather for future scheduled jobs. A great feature for roofing and external work. 

Checkout the BigChange solutions at HOMES, London Excel - Stand H30

Spookily enough, BigChange staff including Sales, also use the application, to keep customers (and potential prospects as I found out first-hand), aware of visit ETAs and follow-ups. That did not gain them any more points in the evaluation, but I can fully respect any software house, confident enough to run their business, on their own solutions.

How many software suppliers with over 150 directly employed staff reading this, would be confident enough to try that 🤔 ?

The fully browser/Cloud delivered BigChange solution comes with scheduler, device agnostic native apps delivering mobile working, Forms for Risk Assessments and LGSR's etc, finance system integrations, imports, exports and open API capabilities, for connecting to housing solutions.

Materials and Van Stock are supported, plus a few features that set it apart from most of the pack. The extras include a rather snazzy CRM module and neat prospect management, for DLO's looking to work in a more commercial fashion. No wonder that Mid-Wales HA and Thirteen Housing Group (with over 100 users), have recently selected this SaaS solution.

JobWatch - Plan, Manage, Schedule

Apart from their JobWatch Mobile Workforce Management solution, BigChange strike me as a great fit with a sector which is always looking to add social value. Partnerships with Transaid http://www.transaid.org/home/about-us/who-we-are/ and Brake (the road safety charity - http://www.brake.org.uk/ ) ensures this software house gives back on a regular basis. Now that's a  ‘BigChange’ from the usual software suppliers

Kevin Keegan - BigChange Ambassador

They are disrupting the repairs sector, even getting ex England international Kevin Keegan on board as a brand ambassador.  Finally, BigChange is evolving their workplace too. Agile staff are migrating to a standard 4.5 day week, with a 4 day week coming soon, at their HQ in Leeds. With forward thinking like that there really is  the possibility of more than a BigChange in our sector, it could be more a revolution.

Checkout BigChange and JobWatch at HOMES, London Excel, stand H30, November 27th /28th   - https://homesevent.co.uk/exhibitor-directory/big-change-limited

Related Post: 💕 Is Social Housing falling in love again with the DLO 💕?  
 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Genesis - The Ballad Of Big.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
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. . . . . . . . . . .

Peace Of Mind

If you do the Twitter thing, follow me at @HousingITguy
or LinkedIn here https://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy


As anyone who has worked with me knows, I have always done a lot of work around components, socialhousing compliance and cyclical processes.

I remember quite a while ago, coming across some surveyors who seemed stranger than most, in that they seemed to complete a lot of internal surveys, always towards the end of the day.

Fascinating though that was, it indicated that they were not getting into some of the properties at all. The answer was simply to add a little bar code in every door jamb, which had to be photographed as the first question on the mobile survey. For such a small initiative, it increased accuracy in the survey team and made a massive difference to performance too.

It’s a pity there is always a need to constantly follow up contractors or staff, to ensure procedures are being followed. No more crucial, is the area of Landlord Gas Servicing, which as we know can result in CEOs being consigned to the clink, an addition to unlimited fines.

Last week while doing some work at a council housing team in Somerset, I saw a brilliantly updated version of the idea above, providing gas compliance peace of mind.

GasTag is a new mobile app that evidences that the right certified Gas Safe engineer is in the right asset, servicing the right equipment, at the date they were meant to. It is quite a leap from the original basic bar code, although starts with a QR code RFD tag, which identifies all appliances that are found in the target property or communal facility, in the annual LGSR service schedule.

An integral GasTag app, allows the gas engineer to be linked to their certification, before attempting to carry out any work.

Every summer, ‘er indoors & I always organise a service on the Worcester-Bosch. Strangely, until it was pointed out to me, I realised that I had never asked, for our local gas engineers Gas Safe registration number. Clearly, I should be paying much closer attention(!).

With the GasTag app, invalid or expired certification, means no servicing, taking away this issue completely. As seen recently on BBC’s Rogue Traders, this is a big problem, with GasSafe Register estimating that over a million dodgy gas jobs apparently carried out in the UK by un-certified engineers.

The GasTag app allows the qualified Gas Engineer or DLO operative to complete the necessary LGSR form, being guided through each step, based on all the gas appliances in the property. Each is scanned or detected via its QR or RFC tag, as the service progresses. This documents each appliance make, model, serial etc in the secure Gas Tag Cloud. Where tenants have added a second gas fire, cooker or other appliance, this can be added and tagged on the fly, including image & details, including warranty if applicable.

As you would expect, the easy to use mobile app geotags and date stamps the LGSR, so there is no opportunity for fraud or mistakes. No access is a common problem and this is catered for too. A no-access card can be put in the letterbox, photo taken of it hanging out the front door, all geotagged and date/time stamped.

A PDF of the LGSR (Landlords Gas Safety Record) is then available to be emailed to the resident and also able to be accessed by the landlord for adding into EDRMS/Document Management system.

While too many RSL’s seem to still insecurely record and monitor gas service compliance on Excel spreadsheets, GasTag provides a handy portal.

I can see that auditors, as well as socialhousing performance and quality bods, will really love this. It’s certainly having an impact where I encountered it at Taunton Deane Borough Council for compliance, where it’s been working in the field for some time.

If you have sleepless nights about the state of your gas compliance and are like me going to the NHF Conference in Birmingham next week, check them out on stand 47.

Do say hi too, if you spot me down there. Register free now for the event at http://www.eventdata.co.uk/Forms/Default.aspx?FormRef=Hou97Visitor

Read more about GasTag at http://gastag.co.uk  or contact them on 03302 290277

    

Attend NHF

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Related Post: Why time is the key for efficient gas servicing 

Catch the blog monthly archive at https://soundcloud.com/housingitguy/

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I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.

Boston – Peace Of Mind.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009


Access a quick list of our Social Housing ICT blog posts here

Could we help you or your organisation? Our contact details are here , get in touch we will be pleased to chat about your problems and help with your organisation issues.
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