BigChange the Mobile Workforce Management technology specialist has won contracts to supply some of the UK’s biggest equipment rental businesses with its three-in-one JobWatch system for over 5000 mobile technicians, engineers and drivers. A hire-specific version of the JobWatch system has been implemented by leading players including A Bird, Elliott Group, HSS Hire, Nixon Hire, John Deere, Morrison Utilities, Komatsu, Haulotte, Garic, A1 Group, Procomm Site Services, Hawk Group and Fourjays. The turnkey solution from BigChange has introduced a paperless revolution, equipping mobile workers with a Samsung Android tablet that manages receipt of job instruction, electronic proof of collection and delivery, site servicing, timesheets, electronic start-of-day vehicle walkaround checks, driver behaviour scoring promoting safe eco-driving, tachograph interface and Health and Safety procedures. The system is also a rich vehicle tracking system providing real-time location updates. The system is integrated with leading Hire Management systems including MCSrm and InspHire meaning that planned services, repairs, deliveries and collections are automatically pushed through to JobWatch. On logging on to the app at the start of each day, drivers and technicians are guided to start their timesheet, conduct a walkaround check that meets DVSA requirements (recording, photographing and alerting any vehicle defects) and have instant access to their jobs for the day. In the back-office, the system is enabling planners to respond faster to customer needs, intelligently allocating work orders based on real-time engineer availability, skills, live location and parts stock levels. This is significantly increasing productivity, minimising customer wait time and driving first time fix and ensures this can be achieved at the most competitive cost. The JobWatch system is saving Hire operators across Modular Buildings, Portaloos, Construction & Forestry, Plant & Equipment, Lifts, Platforms and Power Generators hundreds of thousands of pieces of paper annually and has significantly improved back-office administration. Engineers and drivers receive their work orders instantly on the JobWatch mobile app with paper job-cards and service repair worksheets replaced by equipment-specific electronic workflows that guide technicians at every step including risk assessments and method statements. Engineers no longer need to return paperwork to the back-office, saving a huge volume of previously manual back-office processing. The workflow also effectively manages damages and chargeable items; photos captured at the point of delivery or collection are automatically relayed to the back office, allowing them to instantly raise an invoice for chargeable work. Photos are time, date and location watermarked, providing robust proof of condition. Graham Wood, Group Logistics Manager at Nixon Hire commented: “With the support of JobWatch, every one of our fitters has boosted their productivity by around 20 percent.  This allows us to further absorb company growth and efficiently deploy the current resources we have before we look at recruiting additional resources. We get to where we need to be, when we need to be there, and we do what we say we are going to. This is also improving our customer service levels – evidenced by an increase in On Time Arrivals by more than 10 percent and a rise in First Attempt Job Completions by more than 5 percent.” The JobWatch system is also providing a detailed work and maintenance history for all rental assets, giving management visibility of productivity and utilisation across their operation as well as a real-world view of how long jobs are taking. This ensures they are able to more intelligently schedule and deploy resources to meet actual requirements. A detailed picture of costs are reported down to the resource level, taking into account travel time, fuel, parts and resource costs. For portable loos, the technology is even automating waste transfer notes. BigChange users benefit from 24/7 on-demand RoadCrew customer service for all back office users and drivers including remote support and management of all tablets.

Passengers and travelers were reminded that there will be several closures along several junctions that might have a significant impact on their journeys and are therefore encouraged to check the road network websites for details, diversions and alternative routes that have been put into place in order to ease the concerns that they might have as much as possible and in order to ensure that they arrive wherever they want to go on time and with as little hassle or disruption to them as possible. Indeed, the Highways England team has announced that there will be several closures during the next following weekends, which will include the closing of junctions 7,8 (M56) as well as junction 19 along the M6. These will take place from February the 17th until the morning of the 20th, meaning that alternative routes will need to be sought by those that might be affected. Whilst this may cause some disruption, it is undoubtedly essential that these be implemented so as to allow the ambitious Knutsford-Bowden installation of an all-new dual carriageway to be built in and set to be up and running as soon as possible for those that will benefit the most from it. Indeed, this is an ambitious building design and construction effort from Highways England, and the project itself is estimated to be worth a rather staggering £192 million. Indeed, Mister Paul Hampson of Highways England has also explained that careful and considered diversion have been put into place for the inconvenience this may cause to some passengers travelling along the A556 around the time of the closures. Furthermore, Paul Hampson suggests that those traveling on the road to Manchester Airport during those weekend periods ought to look carefully at the alternative routes and networks that they can take to get there, since those wanting to catch planes on time will undoubtedly be well advised to consider the impact the disruptions could have on the amount of time that they have to catch their flights.

Sykes Pumps have pumped back some vital enthusiasm into the community of Maidstone, Kent, by contributing to the effort to control water level areas in the vicinity. A special wheel had to be redesigned for location across one of the gateway entrances along the Upper Medway Navigation so that the water levels could be measured and controlled accurately and efficiently by the sliding gate. The team enterprise involved the twinned efforts of Hunton Engineering and Sykes Pumps to work together on different areas of the project in order to ensure its overall success in the watery Kent area. The contributions of Sykes Pumps were vital in the sense they were able to design and make the essential component Super Wispaset 150, a device which was at once very efficient with pumping large levels of water whilst at the same time reducing the noise pollution that would normally ensue from such a bustling and frenetic activity. Able to work on limited amounts of fuel energy, the perfect implementation of this product necessitated as well the protection of the engineers and contractors working on the structure: various amounts of scaffolds had to be constructed in order to ensure that they were kept well out of harm’s way during the potentially hazardous activity and that none were swept into the water. The minute the work was done, the Super Wispaset 150 was taken back to dry land by Sykes Pumps once it had served its time at a fantastic efficiency and a reduced pollution cost to individuals in the local area. Indeed, Mister Sean Trow of Hunton Engineering expressed his satisfaction that such a business like Sykes Pump could be dispatched and prove effective as well as reliable in ensuring that the task was completed to the best of every worker’s ability. Through this collaborative work between the two businesses, it is hoped that the sluice gate in Maidstone will once again prove to be as operational and as effective as ever.

The famed Heating and Hot water Industry Council (otherwise known in abbreviated terms as the HHIC) has  finally opened its annals to a new company known as Infomill Limited. This is as a result of the HHIC’s implemented plans for developing its technological future by welcoming more software companies through its doors. Indeed, Infomill Ltd are a reliable and beneficial service to the company that will be able to provide them with online data and information, as well as process orders for various other manufacturing outlets, such as furnishing them various forms of equipment. Indeed, Mister Stewart Clements of the HHIC has declared that Informill Ltd are absolutely welcome in the council’s Heat Policy initiative. There, it is hoped that the company will diversify the council and ensure their inevitable progression into the information and technological future of the 21st Century. With such a wide range of experience and know-how in many different industries, it is clear that Infomill Ltd are undoubtedly the right choice for enabling the council to go forward on its New Year resolutions to develop and embrace the challenges of the years to come. In addition to this, Mister Jonny White a manager at Infomill Ltd is delighted to be welcomed by a conglomerate like the HHIC, who as he says have had good partnerships with other leading industries in construction management, such as with other companies in the gas and heating sector of Britain. Mister White emphasizes the importance of accuracy and attention to detail when processing huge amounts of data, which a company like Infomill Ltd are committed to doing on a regular and consistently reliable basis. It is hoped that by aligning themselves to a large industry like the HHIC, Infomill Ltd will advance themselves and gain a better understanding of the industry that they are in and expand themselves further as a company.

Passengers and vehicle using commuters using the A556 motorway will receive the Christmas present of their lives when they find out that the dual carriageway linking Knutsford with Bowdon along the much-used A556 will finally be open for use. These ambitious intentions to improving the speed rates and consistency of the roads along this route are seemingly coming to a close. Within the next 31 days, the penultimate processes to get the dual carriageway ready for operational use will be implemented for once and for all. Towards the middle of February however, commuters and travelers will need to be made aware that the A556 will require to be shut down in order that such essential renovations can take place. The road area located in between junctions 19 and 7 will obviously be affected by this and will necessitate the diversions of users so that the repairs can take place in order to ensure that the location is available for commuters to use by the closing days of March 2017. Mister Paul Hampson, one of the leading managers of the Highways England initiative, which dedicates itself every year towards ensuring the safeguarding and maintenance of motorways and roadworks across the country, is pleased that through the collaboration of affiliates in the road safety and help services as well as the airport of Manchester the plans are going ahead and the carriageway will become a success and effective means of transportation and construction planning. On the weekends in mid-February and early March, the A556 itself will not be available for use to the public at all, ensuring that Highways England can fully devote itself to the essential building works to enable the new carriageway to be a pleasure for all to use. Costing a pretty sum of 192 million pounds, the project is no cheap off-the-cuff initiative, and Highways England are set to do what they can to enable the project to work for users all along the A556.