The post Webinar – Top Reports for Growing Companies appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Join us for our next webinar on Wednesday 22nd September about Top Reports for Growing Companies.
More information coming soon…
Join us (and the Okappy community) on Wednesday 22nd September at 2pm for an exciting and very informative webinar. Remember to follow us on Eventbrite to ensure you don’t miss out on all our events.
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]]>The post Webinar – Using Tracking to Grow Your Business appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Our webinar Using Tracking To Grow Your Business was held on the 21st July 2021.
Tracking with Okappy’s Portal+ is all about supporting, accompanying and protecting your employees or subcontractors to help you grow your business.
During this webinar we discussed
- the benefits of tracking
- the various options available for tracking
- what to look out to ensure locations are sent
The event was sold out, follow us on Eventbrite and be the first to hear about any future events.
Following is the text of what was discussed.
But first, for those of you who don’t know who Okappy is
Okappy is a business 2 business connected workforce management platform which applies social and market networking technology to a real business need. The need to communicate and collaborate with your employees who are often at different locations (and now more than ever). With your subcontractors and with your customers.
By connecting on Okappy, we’re helping the most forward looking and dynamic companies increase transparency, reduce duplication, costs and errors and increase efficiency. Ultimately making a significant contribution to bottom line profits.
With Okappy,
- you can connect to your employees, customers and subcontractors.
- Send and receive jobs
- See the status of those jobs as they’re updated by your engineers and subcontractors
- Raise your invoices at the touch of a button
You can also monitor and protect your employees and better schedule your jobs using GPS tracking. This is what I’ll be covering in detail today.
Okappy was born out of a vehicle tracking company a few years ago. I’ve got a story share which really highlighted to me how tracking can be beneficial to all employees rather than a big brother surveillance to be feared.
It was when I first started work, I used to go along with the installers and take the opportunity to see our customers.
I remember on one such visit a long time ago I was sat high up in the cab of an articulated lorry while the installer was wiring the tracking unit. As I looked out across the yard I saw one of the truckers come steaming over to his cab. He was a big meaty guy with tatoos all up his arm. I was dreading what he was going to say.
Anyway the next minute, the cab door swings open and he gets in. As he was extending his arm he I was expecting an earfull.
So I was taken by surprise when he said
Hey mate, I want to shake your hand. Since we started installing the trackers our lives have improved no end. Before we’d have the boss ringing up all the time asking where we were and why we weren’t at the next dropoff. Now it’s peace and quiet all the way. He knows where we are so he’s not constantly calling, we can just get on with the job. It’s bliss.
One of the key benefits of GPS tracking is that everyone can see the location of your engineers. This means less stress and hassle for the office trying to figure out where you are or whether you’re stuck in traffic. And it means your engineers can get on with their work without having to field lots of calls from the office.
Knowing where you’re guys are also means you can assign jobs to those guys who are the closest or near to where they live. This can dramatically save fuel and time if they’re not having to come into the office.
Depending on your tracking device you can also further save fuel through better monitoring of routes and idling times. One of the big costs, particular with large vehicles is the amount of fuel which is used when the vehicle is idling. They have big batteries so there is not need for them to idle, the driver can still use the power but often they just forget to turn the ignition off.
The other benefit we hear a lot about is the improvements to customer service. I’m sure some of you have had the experience of an irate customer ringing up because you’re engineer has not turned up. Without tracking this would often mean having to call the customer back whilst you tried to figure out where you’re guy is. With tracking you can see straight way his last know location, and depending on settings even whether he is stuck in traffic.
This means you can provide proactive response to your customer rather than fobbing them off and having to call back later
Lone worker protection is also important for many roles, it’s a legal requirement. Particularly if you’re guys are on their own, or if they’re in remote or difficult locations. They can set tracking whilst they are on site and send message back to base if there is a problem.
Having an audit log of when engineers get on site or leave site is also often critical. Some customers demand it, even where they don’t its often useful if weeks later there’s a dispute about an invoice and by that time what happened is long forgotten.
With Okappy you have control over how and when location information is sent.
The spectrum goes from the left with no tracking to having tracking on all the time. Depending on the tracking device or settings, that could be updated as often as every 15 seconds although every couple of minutes is generally enough.
If you don’t need the location all the time then you can leave tracking off by default but turn it on for a specific time i.e., when you’re guys are at a particular site.
Alternatively, you can store the location and time stamp every time a job is updated. This may be required by your own customer or it might be useful as an audit trail to answer questions or protect against disputes down the line.
So how do you set when locations are sent.
You have control over various settings from within the app and also from the web portal.
From within the app, to get to the settings screen, click the Okappy icon, More and then Tracking Settings.
The device name is what shows on the radar screen on the app and from the web. Please note that if the app is deleted and re-installed then this could result in you seeing the app twice. You can show, hide or delete apps and I’ll show you that in a sec.
You can also see the unique key which can help debug issues with the device and is also how the system determines whether it is a new device. Unfortunately with both Apple and Google really focusing on privacy nowadays the unique can change from time to time and that is why you may see multiple devices set up even though your only expecting one device to be set up.
If the device doesn’t have a network connection, then the device will store locations in memory and send them (from oldest to newest) once it has a connection. You can determine how many locations are saved before the app will start overwriting the oldest locations.
You can set whether the application sends its location based on time or distance. One thing to note, to converse power and reduce data, even if you choose to send based on time, if the device has not moved, then it the app won’t be allowed to send another location. This is determined by the operating system and is outside of the control of the app.
A couple of options which are not shown in the screenshot is to always track and to keep the application open so it doesn’t turn off when you’re not using it. This is useful if you’re using your hands but want to keep the display on so you can read job information or look out for updates.
From all the mobile apps you can see whether the device is trying to send its location or not by the colour of the Okappy icon.
On the left the app is trying to send its location, on the right its switched off.
To turn tracking on or off, click the Okappy icon then click Start or stop sending locations.
If the app is set to track by default, you can turn the tracking off say at the weekend. It will stop tracking but will start again one you turn the app back on.
From all the mobile apps you can see whether the device is trying to send its location or not by the colour of the Okappy icon.
On the left the app is trying to send its location, on the right its switched off.
To turn tracking on or off, click the Okappy icon then click Start or stop sending locations.
If the app is set to track by default, you can turn the tracking off say at the weekend. It will stop tracking but will start again one you turn the app back on.
See the location on the radar screen – just to note, the radar screen shows the latest location. If the device hasn’t transmitted for whatever reason, and we’ll talk about some of those reasons in a bit then it will be the last known location of the device.
You can click on any of the devices to zoom in or out and you can also change tracking settings from there as well as delete or hide the device.
On the left you’ve got three icons. The top one in particular is useful. If you click on that you can see all your devices, hover over each of them to see when they last transmitted and click on the name to zoom into that devices location.
You can see the time and location where the job was updated.
Clicking on the location will open the location in Google maps.
To turn the setting on or off.
- Click the connections icon at the top of the screen and then
- choose the Employee tab.
- Select your employee, and
- click Employee settings.
In the employee settings window, scroll down to where you see Save locations with timestamp when jobs are updated and check that on or off.
You’ve also got various reports on the web. Some of them are more relevant if you’ve got an installed device. The vehicles /device details report is useful if you want to know which devices are on your account and what their status is.
The device report shows all the devices on your account.
You can see the device type and version (and whether the software version it out of date)
You can see whether the device is visible on the map, you can check the box to show or hide it.
Depending on device type, you can also change the device settings from the report.
You can delete the device.
Note: Devices get created automatically by the system. So if you have deleted the device and it then sends its location, the system will add it back on to your account. This is also why you sometimes get multiple devices for the same person. If they are logging onto the app on different devices or if the devices unique identifier changes (which it can do for various reasons and more and more given the privacy updates that Apple in particular is pushing)
Privacy is a increasing important and is becoming increasing important and is one that both Apple and Google take seriously.
Our app will try and get the location and send the location but it is ultimately down to the phone. If you’re engineer has turned off permissions, if there is no network or if the battery is low then our app won’t be able to send its location.
We do have a handy troubleshooting guide which you can use, I’ll include a link to that at the end.
It’s also important to note that subcontractors aren’t tracked in Okappy. A subcontractor is a company and so could have multiple engineers working. However, if the option to store the location and timestamp is enable then this will get captured in the audit log.
On iOS the easiest way to get to the app settings is from within Okappy.
- Click the Okappy icon,
- Select More and then,
- click Device Settings for App.
Android is a bit more convoluted and depends on your particular phone or version.
But if you open the settings apps, click on Apps and then find Okappy. Then you go into the all the settings from there. In particular ensure the permissions are all set as Ok.
Allowing all permissions makes is easier to see whats going on with your app.
To recap, we talked about some of the benefits of tracking i..e, reducing mileage and fuel costs, providing proactive customer service, increasing productivity of engineers through less interruption and also for lone worker protection
We talked about the different tracking options from no tracking to always tracking and a couple of options in between i.e., sending tracking locations for a period of time or when a job is updated
Finally we talked about some of the issues which may mean devices don’t transmit. Including low power, no gps, no network or a user turning off permissions which is becoming more and more prevalent with the changes that both Apple and Google have been introducing.
There’s lots of information on our help and support pages including help articles, questions and answers and videos.
Here’s some links to articles which we have covered today.
Thanks once again for attending our webinar. I hope you found it useful.
Our next topic is going to be about Advanced reporting on the 22nd September 2021.
Thank you!
View the webinar
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]]>The post Webinar – Using the Network to Grow Your Business appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Our webinar – Using The Network To Grow Your Business was held on the 23rd June 2021.
We were joined by Alexander Low of Lately.ai and Richard Harris of okappy.com.
Alex has over 15 years experience in sales & marketing at Michael Page, PwC and JLL across business services, accountancy, legal and commercial real estate. Alex applies his experiences to the 21st Century and advises Professional service firms on their Social strategy, Personal brand, value of networks and content creation.
Richard is the CEO and Co-founder of Okappy which was founded to transform industry through better collaboration and more connected processes. Richard previously worked for an award winning start up in fleet management sector and prior to that was a Management Consultant and Investment Banker. He has an Executive MBA from Cranfield School of Management.
Who is Okappy?
Okappy is a business 2 business connected workforce management platform which applies social and market networking technology to a real business need. Think Linkedin, Uber and Workforce Management merged into one communications and collaboration platform. Our aim is to help transform your industry through better communications and collaborate with your employees who are often at different locations (and now more than ever). With your subcontractors and with your customers.
By connecting on Okappy, the most forward looking and dynamic companies are increasing transparency and trust, reduce duplication, costs and errors and dramatically increasing efficiency. Ultimately we’re seeing companies being able to increase profits through extra capacity, reduced costs and being able to spend more time growing your business.
So we’ll talk about the network side of Okappy in a bit and how you can build your network on it. But you can also build your business using social media. Linkedin is currently one of the best networks to use in order to gain company insight and start conversations.
Introducing Alex Low
So without further ad do, I’d like to introduce you to Alex Low. He’s head of Enterprise Strategy and Operations at Lately.ai. Previously Alex worked in sales and marketing across various industries and now applies his experience to social strategy, personal branding and the value of networks.
So im delighted to have Alex join us today.
Nurturing your network on Okappy Portal+
First, why is software moving away from systems that work just work in house, forcing you to rely on clunky portals, emails or whatsapp to work with other companies. In the industries that we operate in, 50% or more of work is done by subcontractors. You all have customers, and more and more they’re demanding real-time information. That is why we’re seeing a shift to a more connected approach and is the reason we developed the Okappy network.
The benefits of using a more connected approach including.
- Increase transparency
With a connected approach, everyone can see what is happening in real –time. This means you don’t need to chase your subcontractor. They don’t need to chase their employee (or subcontractor).
Everyone knows what is happening as it happens.
- 2) Streamline processes / Reduce duplication
No more copying information between your customers system and your system. No more resorting to email or whatsappto get a subcontractor to do work.
With a connected network, information flows seamlessly from order maker right down to the end engineer. Whether he works for your company, for your subcontractor or for your subcontractors subcontractor.
In the old way, jobs would get missed, invoices would be displayed and customer service would be negatively impacted.
- Increase trust
All too often in the trades, in construction, in facilities management trust is no where to be seen. Beggar they neighbour approach leads to late payments, costs being passed down the chain and ultimately increased solvency.
Many businesses that we work with find that disputes over the amount invoiced can frequently cause delays. One common reason for this is when a worker and their client disagree over the amount of time a worker spent on site, or when the worker incurred a lateness penalty.
By having a computerised system that helps to record job details, view job status and automatically raise an invoice when the job is complete, this problem can be easily eliminated without you noticing it.
Okappy Job Management System gets rid of your excessive admin, ensures your jobs are updated as they happen and allows you to raise your invoice at the click of a button. Helping you get your invoice paid faster, ensuring no invoices are forgotten and reducing the risk of dispute.
- Eliminate the potential for disputes
Many businesses that we work with find that disputes over the amount invoiced can frequently cause delays. One common reason for this is when a worker and their client disagree over the amount of time a worker spent on site, or when the worker incurred a lateness penalty.
By having a computerised system that helps to record job details, view job status and automatically raise an invoice when the job is complete, this problem can be easily eliminated without you noticing it.
Okappy Job Management System gets rid of your excessive admin, ensures your jobs are updated as they happen and allows you to raise your invoice at the click of a button. Helping you get your invoice paid faster, ensuring no invoices are forgotten and reducing the risk of dispute.
Benefits of the Network
So how do you build your network.
To send a connection request, simply click the connection icon towards the top right of the screen.
Enter your customer’s details and send the invite.
They’ll be notified that you want to connect. If they accept your invitation, they can log in and view their own account which is completely independent from yours.
They can add jobs and assign them to you, or you can add jobs on their behalf which they can see. However, they can’t see any of your other jobs. They also can’t see which employees or subcontractors is doing the work. This ensure privacy and leaves you in control of the work.
Connecting To Your Customers
So how do you build your network.
To send a connection request, simply click the connection icon towards the top right of the screen.
Enter your customer’s details and send the invite.
They’ll be notified that you want to connect. If they accept your invitation, they can log in and view their own account which is completely independent from yours.
They can add jobs and assign them to you, or you can add jobs on their behalf which they can see. However, they can’t see any of your other jobs. They also can’t see which employees or subcontractors is doing the work. This ensure privacy and leaves you in control of the work.
Why connect to your customers?
To summarise, these are just some of the benefits of connecting to your customers.
- Reduced duplication
- No more missed jobs
- Reduce chasing of emails and calls
- See the latest contact details
- Provide the best customer service
Additional benefits of connecting to your customers
You can also save documents for your customers which will talk more about later.
You can add notes for your customer, get your invoices seen and paid quicker including taking payment.
Management gurus often talk about looking at your customers base to see which companies add to your profit and which add to your costs. Consultants will often tell you that 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers. With Okappy you can run various reports on how to see which work you did for which companies.
You can also search for other companies on the Okappy network so you can actually find new customers or subcontractors when you’re ready to grow.
Connecting to your subcontractors
You can connect to subcontractors in the same way that you connect to customers.
To send a connect request, simply click the connection icon towards the top right of the screen.
Enter your subcontractors’ details and send the invite.
They’ll be notified that you want to connect.
Like customers they can only see the jobs that have been assigned to you. The information they see is also restricted, they cannot see who your customer is so you don’t need to worry that they’ll try and cut you out of the loop.
One important difference between customers and subcontractors is that subcontractors have to accept your invite before you can assign jobs to them. This is an important distinction as you want to know that your subcontractor has receive your work and is going to act on it.
Why connect to your subcontractors?
To summaries, these are just some of the benefits of connecting to your customers.
- Reduced duplication
- No more missed jobs
- Reduce chasing of emails and calls
- See the latest contact details
- Bring your subcontractors into the loop
Additional benefits of connecting to your subcontractors
You can also save documents for your subcontractors which will talk more about later.
You can add notes for your subcontractor, get your invoices seen and paid quicker including taking payment.
You can also analyze how your subcontractors are working and compare them to your employees.
You can also search for other companies on the Okappy network so you can find new customers or subcontractors when you’re ready to grow.
Further information
There’s lots of information on our help and support pages including the following help articles. There’s also lots of previously asked questions and answers in our forums and short explanatory videos.
https://www.okappy.com/support
https://www.okappy.com/support-article/information-visibility/
https://www.okappy.com/support-article/employees-or-subcontractors-what-is-the-difference
Thanks for attending our webinar
Thanks once again for attending our webinar. I hope you found it useful.
Please connect with Okappy on twitter at @ok_appy or follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/okappy-ltd-
You can also follow Alex Low on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlow/
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]]>The post 3 Steps to Recession Proof Your Organisation appeared first on Okappy.
]]>It’s official. We’re in a recession. UK economic growth has been in the negative, dropping by 20.4% between April and June 2020. It’s worth remembering that most of the damage was done in April, during peak lockdown. GDP growth has been creeping up since May and if you have a look at the Okappy business activity index page it shows that work has been bouncing back.
But, in these uncertain times, there are things you can do to help your workplace get in the best possible position to ride it through. Here are our 3 steps:
1. Revise your plan
Chances are, the plan you had at the start of 2020 for your company or department has gone out of the window. In the chaos of lockdown, you may not have had a chance to properly revisit it. Have a look at some of the key targets you set at the beginning of the year and see how they can fit in now. If they’re no longer applicable, scrap them and work out what they should be for the rest of Q3 and Q4, moving into 2021.
The most important things to consider are the key risks to your area of the business. Work out whether the risk is too high for certain aspects and respond by spreading the risk. This could include taking steps to reducing debt or moving some of your business operations to a different location.
Following on from assessing risk, scenario analysis can be a helpful way to test different models to help mitigate future loss. Start by defining the objective and gathering data. Identify the key factors, trends, and uncertainties that may affect your plan when it comes to operations and finances.
It might be helpful to do a PEST analysis to help you analyse the political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological changes in your business environment. You can develop potential scenarios by separating certainties from uncertainties to understand the risks to your workplace in the short, medium and long term.
2. Finesse your finances
Having a large volume of jobs doesn’t necessarily mean your workplace will come out top – the real defining factor is cash. A review of your business finances will be a big part of recession-proofing your organisation. Take a long hard look at the state of your cash flow within your department. What you have coming in and out – and when – will have a knock on effect on whether your workplace is in a fit state to ride this out.
Work out if there are any unnecessary expenditures that your team can permanently or temporarily cut. Have a look at what sorts of clientele are bringing in cash and paying invoices on time. Can you focus efforts on helping to secure more of the same?
If you’ve done all of this, but capital is holding your department back or you’re not able to cover the costs to pay the suppliers and team – a business loan could be a backup option. For businesses affected by Covid-19, many banks are offering special rates and application criteria, so it’s worth looking around at what is on offer for your organisation. Have a look at what government support is on offer too, as there may be a particular grant or scheme that you’re eligible for that will give your workplace the boost it needs.
3. Keep connected
Staying connected with industry stakeholders is paramount for business longevity. This relies on healthy channels of communication between departments, employees, managers, customers and subcontractors.
Having one platform where communication takes place and is documented means that key details involving all aspects of the work are readily available and can be tracked if required. If your current channels of communication are fragmented and broken, it’s worth considering changing your methods. This way you will have all your information at your fingertips and your business will be ready to jump into action, instead of being caught up trying to trace what happened in the past.
Okappy can help. It saves you time, minimises mistakes, streamlines jobs and invoicing, and by integrating with Xero and other accounting packages, it offers tidy balance sheets you can show to your bank when you need a loan.
Ready to make your life easier with Okappy? Check out our free trial or request a demo to see Okappy in action!
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]]>The post How to Rebuild Trust In the FM Industry appeared first on Okappy.
]]>The construction and FM industry is crying out for change. Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, productivity in the UK has flatlined – and the construction industry has been one of the worst affected sectors. With the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 and the UK in recession once more, the industry will have to adapt or face the consequences.
The problem with trust
Trust is paramount if companies are going to work together successfully. Construction projects are the backbone of economic growth for many countries. Each year a magnitude of funds is funnelled into infrastructure projects – think HS2 and Crossrail in the UK.
But often because of the sheer scale and complexity of these construction projects (the number of phases and contractual links, and the government involvement), scope for corruption in the industry is high.
According to data from the Insolvency Service, the construction sector remains the second-highest ranking sector for insolvencies in 2017. This lack of trust and transparency, is not only detrimental to the future of the industry, but it is costing lives.
It comes as no surprise that the investigation into the Grenfell fire found out that the main contractor behind the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower offered cheaper, more combustible cladding while misrepresenting the savings the switch would lead to in a bid to “pocket the difference.”
Dealing with large contractors like Rydon, in particular construction, facilities management or housing association organisations can pose big challenges for industry stakeholders. Often, it becomes all about pushing the costs down to the next person in the chain.
Feedback from an anonymous stakeholder working in construction reported how “there’s just no trust there, we have to hide our costs and add in extra costs because we know they’ll come up with any excuse to discount, delay or not pay our invoice.”
Now, with the unprecedented impact of Covid-19 and the UK in recession, having a solid foundation of trust is more critical than ever – not only for the survival of the industry, but for the health and safety of ordinary people living in the UK.
A new way forward with Market Networks
Market Networks connect businesses with their customers and subcontractors. In this respect, they are similar to on-demand smartphone apps such as Uber and Deliveroo that connect their gig workers with customers – except that the users of Market Networks are not anonymous, nor are they particularly disposable to one another either. In fact, Market Networks are used to improve transparency and build long-term relationships.
Market Networks are typically created within a specific industry or around a particular area of expertise. Examples of Market Networks already operating within the UK include Houzz for home designers, Eventerprise for event planners, and for those in the trade industries – Okappy.
While the use of Market Networks is not yet widespread within the Construction industry, there are nevertheless several success stories of companies and individuals implementing Market Network systems already.
Convert Water Ltd offer an all-round service to their customers, providing all elements of treatment and pumping of wastewater and sewage. They provide services as installers, subcontractors or main contractors, offering a total service package. They started using the Okappy Market Network to manage their workforce.
Following implementation, Convert Water Ltd and their customers have a lot more visibility and control over the work they do. Information is updated in real-time and instantly available to all stakeholders, resulting in fewer calls from customers wondering about the status of a job and less chasing for information from their technicians. This extra time enabled Convert Water Ltd to focus on the areas of the business that really needed attention; resulting in growing the company approximately 40% year-on-year.
“It frees up our time and allows me to spend more of it visiting sites and bringing in more work. This wouldn’t have been possible without Okappy! My engineers can add jobs for themselves so, if additional work needs to be done while on site, they can quickly add it on. Alternatively, if they need to go back to do further work, they can schedule it straight away without having to chase me.” – Anthony, Director of Convert Water.
Time for change
“Covid-19 was the tipping point for us going fully digital. If Covid-19 hadn’t happened, we would have eventually gone down this route, but probably would have introduced it on a smaller scale with one contract at a time.” – Ewen Maclean, Facilities Maintenance Manager at Lewis Builders Ltd.
Covid-19 is causing us to rethink how we work and restructure industries across the board. If the FM and Construction sectors don’t make changes now, it could be too late.
How Okappy can help
Okappy is designed to streamline your communications and workforce management processes, and is one solution that could help reduce disruption to your business. With Okappy you can communicate with your network, send and receive jobs, manage your workforce remotely, run reports, and raise invoices – all on one platform. You can receive updates to job details as they happen and view all important documents needed for the work in one secure place. To learn more, request a call here.
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]]>The post Case Study: Lewis Builders Ltd appeared first on Okappy.
]]>Lewis Builders Ltd are located in the Western Isles of Scotland and provide Building services, Civils, Plumbing ( gas and oil services) for both commercial and domestic contexts as well as Electrical and Refrigeration.
We interviewed Ewen Maclean, Facilities Maintenance Manager at Lewis Builders Ltd, about how they’ve adapted to Covid-19 and how Okappy is working for them! Read on for more…
Tell us a bit more about Lewis Builders Limited and what you guys do.
We started as a construction company in 1989. Since then we’ve progressed into being a multi-trade organisation. We are involved with plumbing, gas and oil, for both commercial and domestic contexts. We also work in areas of electrical and refrigeration.
Within the building sector we pretty much cover all trades, ranging from scaffolding and joinery, to painting and decorating. We’ve grown quite substantially over the last 10 years or so, and it’s much easier to have everything underneath the one roof! We cover the whole of the Western Isles from the Isle of Barra all the way up to the Isle of Lewis. There are about 70-80 people in the company with about 15 office and management staff, and around 60 engineers.
We use Okappy for managing smaller jobs that we used to use job cards for. Now we’ve got about 20 different people using tablets to manage these types of jobs.
What made you get Okappy?
I started with the company just over 7 years ago and I have always been involved with looking after reactive/facilities maintenance. We started getting quite a lot of work from FM companies looking after the supermarkets up here. That then went to looking after the post and sorting office and various other commercial properties. Then about 2 years ago, we got a substantial size contact with the local council looking after all the council properties on the island.
Often the islands can be slower to uptake to technology, but we knew that on the mainland most of the management was being done digitally with handheld devices. A lot of the FM companies now want to have access to a system that gives them reference points for information around job timings and location, e.g. for when you’re going on-site and sign onto the job etc.
We knew that digital was the way things were going, but we were a bit hesitant to start with because of what the cost may be. In order to keep all the operatives working on facilities maintenance jobs, going fully digital would require us to buy an individual tablet or iPad for each person, on top of buying the software and training program. So we thought it was going to be quite a costly thing.
Then obviously with everything that’s happened with Covid-19, we felt that now was the time to go as paperless as possible. Covid-19 pushed us to make the jump to digital a bit sooner, but it seems to be working pretty well for us so far!
Before Okappy, were you paper-based, or did you have another kind of digital management software that you used?
We essentially used paper job cards with an excel-spreadsheet-based system. We logged all the job information that way and did monthly reviews on the system to see what jobs went out, what ones we hadn’t billed for yet, and what ones were on hold etc. It was straightforward, but very time-consuming and there was a lot of paper involved!
A job card would be sent out and when it came back, it would come back with other bits of paper from the different companies who had their own job sheets they wanted signed as well. You were coming back with four sheets of paper! Then there was the invoice to go on top of that! A paperless system seemed to be the best way to avoid this kind of excess movement of paperwork between people. It’s worked out really well for us so far!
How much time has it saved?
We’re still in the very early stages, as we’ve only had the system for 5 or 6 weeks so far [July 2020]. During the first couple of weeks, we were still running a skeleton crew back from reopening after COVID. I’d say we’ve been using it in full swing now for about 4 weeks.
In terms of raising a job, and sending job information out – it’s been a massive time saver. We’re still learning different things and we’ve been really lucky that any question we’ve posed has been answered by the Okappy team pretty quickly as well! I can’t say that there’s anything I’ve asked that we haven’t been able to come to some sort of agreeable solution with. It’s worked very well for us.
We do have some people who are not so used to technology that are slower on the uptake, but even they’ve noticed that there’s a massive difference in the time it takes to set up a job and send them out. It’s definitely for the greater benefit long-term for us – without a doubt! I can only see it getting better and better for us, as soon as we get used to it.
Are you planning on using it to collaborate with subcontractors and other people in your industry?
Every different company we work for uses their own system for monitoring jobs, but it’s something that we’re going to possibly think about later. I think getting it working for us first, before we start introducing any of our subcontractors is the best way forward.
How has Covid-19 impacted your business? Could you talk more about how it was a tipping point for thinking about going digital?
Covid-19 was the tipping point for us going fully digital. If Covid-19 hadn’t happened, we would have eventually gone down this route, but probably would have introduced it on a smaller scale with one contract at a time.
We cover pretty much all the trades for the local council. That’s around 200 different sites between all the schools, care homes and places like that. We would have possibly been using it on those contracts first and reviewed how it would’ve worked, before introducing it across more and more of the stakeholders that we work for. When Covid-19 came along it pushed us down the line of going as paperless as possible.
We’ve introduced it across the whole company for every minor contract that we have. It’s probably been a good thing in a way because we’re pushing ourselves into just bringing it across the board, which I think is quite important.
Has the experience of Covid-19 and having to adapt, and then implementing Okappy, made you think about any other ways of growing the business?
We were at that crossroads as a company anyway. The company was set up by 2 people and one of them actually just retired a few weeks ago. Our company structure was changing and 2 new management people have come in. We had to change quite a lot of the systems and policies that we had. It’s definitely a growth stage for us.
We’re putting money into having new vans and new machinery that’s required. We’ve upgraded a lot of our welfare facilities.
But we have to remember – it’s one step at a time. We’ve got operatives that are not so used to this kind of technology and it takes time to adapt. We’re changing a system that’s been in place for more than a decade and we’ve got to be careful. But, we’re definitely adapting and looking to grow in any way that we can!
What’s the best thing about Okappy?
I would say the best thing about Okappy is just being able to get instant updates on jobs. I used to get upwards of 15 calls a day asking me for an update on a job and what’s required, so being able to go in and just have all the information there, when they signed on, whenever the job’s complete, photos of any parts that are required and what was done on the job – it’s just brilliant! It’s such a massive, massive time-saver on my side of things.
Is there anything else that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
I would just say that everyone we’ve dealt with within Okappy has been extremely helpful. It’s maybe a cliched thing to say, but we’ve dealt with Joe and there’ve been a couple of different people that have helped us with technical issues. Joe was especially fantastic, and did a lot at the start. I think it’s a great system. Like I said, we’re still learning and adapting to it, but I see it being very beneficial for us in the future.
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The post Case Study: Lewis Builders Ltd appeared first on Okappy.
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]]>Discovery Fire Sprinklers Ltd are located in Dundee and provide commercial fire protection services and domestic fire protection services in Dundee and throughout Scotland. They travel the UK fitting fire suppression systems to schools, care homes, houses and flats. They’ve been trading for 20 years, but only in the last year did they change their name to Discovery Fire Sprinklers – a move that has brought in more business!
We interviewed James Bryceland about how they’ve adapted to Covid-19 and how Okappy is working for them! Read on for more…
How big is the company?
We currently have 14 engineers, and 5 in the office.
What made you start looking at digital workforce management?
The amount of work that we had on and the amount of contracts we were juggling was becoming a struggle to manage properly. Right now, we’ve got over 1000 jobs that we’re pricing for and nearly 70 or 80 contracts. Trying to keep on track of all that was becoming a big challenge for me and the people in the office.
We were missing out on loads of work because of it. There were some times that we were forgetting to bill people. There was so much going on that we were forgetting to raise invoices! I needed something that was going to be a bit more user friendly for me, but at the same time, run all the jobs in real-time.
Before Okappy were you using a digital system or was it just emails, or paperwork?
Before, we had a quality management system in place that we used alongside emails and job files. Emails and job files were just saved onto the company server. We had to keep going in and out to get information. This meant duplicating information between systems, which was off-putting and tedious.
With Okappy it’s all in one place, including the client’s paperwork, so it’s much easier to find documents to send off! I tested out three softwares previous to Okappy, but I didn’t get on with them. I thought they were too hard to understand. Okappy is so simple and easy, and that was the decision maker.
How much time has it saved you?
Obviously with COVID-19, it’s quite hard to say exactly because I’m working from home. Once we get back properly working on building sites, I’ll have a better idea then.
It has already 100% saved me time on the paperwork side. Before, the guys would come back with the paperwork, then I would then go and type it all out on the computer and then send it to the client. Now, the guys are closing the job off while they’re on the job, so I’ve already saved some time.
Before it could have taken a couple of days, or sometimes up to a week, for me to get that paperwork back. I’m actually doing it the same day that they’re closing the job off. Raising an invoice on Okappy takes 2 seconds. Before, it would sometimes take a week depending on when we got the paperwork, because our guys are all subcontractors. Our clients are now getting that invoice a week earlier, so in the long run we’re going to be getting paid quicker.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
We’ve been lucky enough to still be working – concentrating on securing maintenance contracts through this time. We’ve spent quite a bit of money on our PPE, including some branded masks. We’ve got new equipment, and got all our policies in check to make sure that the guys all know what they’re doing when they fully come back, so there’s no issues.
It’s affecting everybody, isn’t it? Even over the next few months it’s probably still going to be affecting people. I think it’s going to be hard for a lot of guys coming back to work because they’ll have to adapt to a whole new way of working. This is a change, isn’t it? Nobody likes change and this is exactly what it is – you’ve got to change the way that you’re doing stuff.
Now that we have Okappy, I feel more equipped to adapt to future changes because of our improved efficiency, but for many businesses – some of them will struggle. Okappy has helped us adapt and it’s probably put us ahead of the curve.
How do you use the Okappy network?
We’ve got a couple of subcontractors that do work for us, and they’ve also got Okappy. I invited them onto it and told them that this was the way. There’s going to be twelve of them altogether, by the time we are done. These are subcontractors that we’ll be working with quite regularly. The networked element to Okappy helps to streamline what we all do along the chain of work. It basically means we don’t have to duplicate job information between different systems!
Do you use other social media networks to get work?
Yes, we’re on Linkedin and Instagram. I initially set it up on Instagram about three or four year ago, but it’s grown to over 600 followers now. People have actually messaged me for jobs on Instagram. We get messages from individuals and businesses, but normally businesses. Linkedin has probably got me a lot more work.
What’s been the main difference before and after using Okappy?
Efficiency. It’s a lot easier to manage. I’m actually out working again, instead of sitting at a desk just going through all the files. It’s got me back doing the parts of the job that I enjoy! We’re actually keeping on track of everything just now.
With Okappy, when all the guys are on site – I know that they’re on site. When all the guys complete a job – the information comes back to me. I can then easily raise an invoice. It’s so much more efficient now even though it’s early days! I put a lot of work on the system within the first two weeks and I’m really happy with the way it runs. It’s brilliant, I absolutely love it. It’s made my life a lot easier, anyway.
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