BigChange for Lothian Vulcanising Services

Conveyor belt services business replaces paper-based processes with automated digital workflows

LOTHIAN Vulcanising Services, a family-run firm offering conveyor belt services across Scotland and the UK, have transformed their business using a workforce-management system from BigChange. The cloud-based six-in-one solution has replaced manual paper-based processes with automated digital workflows.

From order sheets to triplicate job cards, health and safety assessments to equipment certificates, Lothian have gone from 100% paper to 90% paper-free the space of just nine months. The time taken for routine management tasks has also been slashed by three-quarters and engineers’ efficiency in the field boosted by 20%.

‘The difference between our offices now and at the start of the year is unbelievable,’ commented Stuart Strawhorn, operations manager at Lothian Vulcanising Services. ‘Before, when you walked in, you were greeted with rows of filing cabinets and piles of folders, each crammed with reams of paper, a large printer that took up half the office, and even a franking machine. Now, it’s all gone!

‘I had used BigChange before so knew the impact it could have on a business, but even I am surprised how far we have travelled and how much we have changed in just a short space of time,’ he continued. ‘We are by no means at the end of our BigChange journey; in fact, we are just getting started, but by focusing on one thing at a time, doing it well, and then moving on to the next, we are transforming our business.’

Using the BigChange job-management system, which incorporates a mobile workforce app, customer relationship management (CRM), job scheduling, live tracking, financial management, and business intelligence tools in one system, Lothian have virtually eliminated paper from their installation and service operation.

Customer details are now entered into and maintained using the CRM function, ensuring the correct point of contact for correspondence and communication, and routine jobs are automatically allocated and planned, in advance, using intelligent scheduling algorithms.

All paperwork previously associated with and required to undertake a job is now produced, completed, and shared through BigChange, including method statements, risk assessments, equipment certificates, service histories, and work cards. This has dramatically reduced Lothian’s reliance on paper, saving time, money, and the environment. Lothian have also seen a reduction in the time and resources required to complete routine tasks such as pricing and parts ordering.

‘Before BigChange my ‘Monday tasks’ as I called them, by which I mean routine weekly jobs such as timesheets etc, used to take all of Monday and pretty much all of Tuesday,’ Mr Strawhorn continued. ‘Now, most weeks, I’m done by lunchtime on Monday. And I am not the only person to notice change; across the business, people are spending less time churning out and moving paperwork around, so they have more time to focus on getting other jobs done and making sure our customers are happy.’

Lothian also use other aspects of the BigChange system including the live monitoring interface, which shows the location of engineers and status, allowing management to respond intelligently and in a timely way for emergency call outs, and fleet-management tools including live tracking, vehicle checks, and driver behaviour reports.

As the company moves forward with its BigChange journey, plans are in place to integrate with the company’s Zero accounting software and introduce digital timesheets.

Lothian Vulcanising Services, the trading name of Rublane Ltd, were established in 1991 and offer a range of conveyor belt services, including the manufacture and installation of systems and components such as custom-built conveyors, drums, rollers, and scrappers, as well as a routine service and maintenance and a 24h call-out service.

Operating five teams of engineers, Lothian complete around 30 jobs a week, servicing clients such as Breedon, Tarmac, and Biffa in the quarrying and waste-processing sectors.