Crucial Engineering is underpinning a UK-wide expansion of its aluminium and automated access business with the BigChange job management system which live links field engineers to back-office support staff using a mobile app. The cloud-based system is used by across the company to provide end-to-end automated workflows from initial enquiry through to job completion reporting, invoicing, and customer care follow ups.
Having seen business growth of 800 per cent since implementing the cloud-based system, Crucial Engineering now plans to increase its geographical coverage using the BigChange Collaboration Network. The Network allows Crucial to connect with sub-contractors nationwide who also use BigChange, ensuring consistent procedures, reporting, performance and service KPIs.
“I knew right from the start how I wanted the business to run so I adopted BigChange after just three months of trading,” commented Paul Van Heeswyk, Managing Director and founder of Crucial Engineering. “I was literally loading jobs onto the system in the morning, doing the work during the day, and completing reports and invoicing while I ate my dinner. Despite being mocked for creating more work for myself, I was adamant, if I wanted the company to succeed and flourish, I needed to put in place the correct working practices, that would allow managed expansion, underpinned by the highest levels of efficiency and service.
“BigChange has given me this and more,” he continued. “Using BigChange we have had the working practices and management structure of a much bigger company from the start. This has mitigated many of the growing pains that companies like ours have to go through.”
Crucial Engineering was established in 2016 specialising in automated access systems including industrial doors, automated gates and barriers and loading bay solutions. Working with blue chip clients such as Audi, Arnold Clark, CBRE, and Travis Perkins, Crucial has added an aluminium fabrication division and a glazing production division, which includes manufacturing and installing aluminium curtain walling, shopfronts, windows, and doors.
Using the BigChange job management system, which incorporates a mobile workforce app, customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, resource management, job finance and business intelligence, has meant that Crucial has been virtually paper free for more than 6 years.
The BigChange Collaboration Network has also allowed Crucial to identify and engage with other BigChange users. With Crucial, its new partners, and existing contractors, all using the same reporting platform, the customer receives a seamless service and management has total visibility of the mobile operation. By sharing existing and proven digital workflows Crucial can also maintain its first-class customer service levels and performance targets, regardless of who is actually delivering the work package.
“Like us BigChange continues to evolve and adapt,” he concluded. “During the last few years, we have had to diversify our product and service offering and BigChange has continued to deliver.
“Using BigChange we have proven, that in spite of difficult or challenging circumstances, we can provide the highest levels of choice, quality and service, and we are confident that we can build on our growth profile and achieve our ambitions for a UK wide operation.”
