Nov 11, 2014 -- Hopkins, the UK-based catering equipment supplier to fish and chip restaurants, has implemented the JobWatch system from BigChange across its entire mobile workforce, enabling the company to improve operational processes and boost efficiencies. Each of the company’s 17 vehicles has been fitted with a BigChange rugged mobile computer for satellite navigation and vehicle tracking.

Hopkins engineers also use these mobile computers to communicate with the back office, access up-to-the-minute job schedules and complete job specific electronic worksheets, eliminating mountains of paperwork. Drivers don’t need to return paperwork to the office, which means customers can be invoiced immediately a job is completed.

Founded in 1957, family-owned Hopkins specialises in the manufacture and maintenance of fish and chip shop fryers and other commercial catering equipment. Hopkins’ service team of refrigeration, plumbing, gas fitting and electrical engineers install and service equipment at customers’ premises throughout the UK.

“BigChange saves us a lot of time and hassle,” enthuses Chris Hopkins, Managing Director at Hopkins. “Our engineers get important messages without having to talk while driving or interrupt another job. We can plot the best routes to customers and avoid delays by navigating around traffic hotspots. We can see where our engineers are in real time and what they are working on, so we can allocate the best placed, suitably qualified technician immediately, even if they are en route, and tell customers exactly when he will arrive.”

The JobWatch system has increased productivity, with engineers spending less time on administration and more on delivering value. They arrive with the right information, documentation and work management applications to guide and record progress on each job, and customer service has improved enormously.

“JobWatch is a brilliant management tool,” added Chris Hopkins. “It allows us to pick up trends in service data that we can study to improve operational performance. Timesheet, stock control and turnaround time data can be analysed, and all are getting better. BigChange’s development team has worked tirelessly to make the product work exactly as we need it, taking into account suggestions and requests we’ve made, and solving any problems straight away. That hasn’t always been the case with bigger telematics firms we’ve worked with in the past.”

"BigChange was the first to build a complete job management, mobile communication and vehicle tracking system from scratch as a cloud solution that also incorporates the best in-cab and portable mobile computers," said Martin Port, CEO, BigChange. "The simplicity, accessibility and cost effectiveness of a complete cloud-based solution like this is proving a big hit with customers across the UK."  

Administrators can access JobWatch from their own personal computers, tablets and mobile phones. They do not need to visit the office to schedule emergency jobs, which means that this year, for the first time, Hopkins’ on-call engineers will be able to base themselves at home over Christmas. 

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