News

At Re-flow, our goal is to give businesses the tools to digitally revolutionise operational processes and evolve. For M.V. Kelly, that meant optimising legacy systems and eliminating the small, compounding inconveniences preventing further gains in efficiency. We knew they could achieve that with Re-flow.

Context

• M.V. Kelly is an award-winning construction and civil engineering company specialising in infrastructure, groundworks, and associated building services.
• With head offices situated in Solihull, the firm serves a vast geographical area through a network of regional offices located in Stafford, Bromsgrove, Northampton, Oxford, and Coalville.
• Established in 1995, M.V. Kelly has distinguished itself as a leader in their industry during over two decades of operation. Amassing overwhelming success and cultivating a strong core dedication to consistency, high standards and maintaining an elite workforce, the company holds a near unrivalled reputation in its field.

Challenge

With thousands of personnel across the country undertaking various works on a mass scale, the business was facing a true whirlwind of work. With operations built on a legacy system, paper and manual processes, works could proceed, but there was certainly potential for evolution. With less bottlenecks in data and streamlined communication, M.V. Kelly could improve the data flow and efficiency of their site and operative records.

Information between sites and offices, from job sheets to safety forms, were completed on paper and relayed physically. Aside from the bottlenecks that come with transporting documents, paper is at the mercy of many factors beyond our control - human error, poor weather, damage and so on. Compounding that, once back at the office, information would require manual transcription. This diverted valuable time of back-office teams into completing repetitive administrative tasks.

SHE Inspections and audits were also completed through paper forms, meaning non-conformance and defects had to be tracked manually and transported back to the office where they were transcribed and logged using spreadsheet software. Defects and non-conformances would then be communicated through various methods to individual SHE advisors, including texts, phone calls and e-mails. Although information was being returned to site and passed information onto the foreman and site supervisor, compiling audit trials became difficult due to the disjointed communication methods being used.

These processes weren’t solely to blame, however. Without a reliable solution for data transfer, contact between site and office could at times be affected by delays. With over 2,000 operatives, keeping track of changing phone numbers meant text messaging tended to be unreliable, while e-mails could fade into the background of busy on-site operations. Forms had to be physically transported or sent as photographs, and quality could greatly vary. Breakdowns in communication also meant that there was a risk of work not proceeding as smoothly as it could, and office staff weren’t always working with the latest information - meaning small issues could develop into serious problems.

Solution

What M.V. Kelly needed was a comprehensive and powerful system that can consolidate all their processes, workflows, and records in one place while enabling the collection of quality, live data and streamlining cross-team communication. A system resilient enough to support the needs of over 2,000 operatives and 200 back-office staff across multiple sites and offices. That system was Re-flow.

Re-flow’s centralised store of information meant M.V. Kelly could do away with both the paper and fragmented legacy systems they had previously used to keep records. With a scalable, cloud-based system, the vast quantities of data the company would be storing and processing on a daily basis could be reliably handled. Accessible through the app and dashboard, filters and search functions mean specific forms can be found within seconds, and staff can rest easy knowing the information they’re looking for will always be there. Being built on a sophisticated digital infrastructure, duplicate entries would also become a thing of the past. Staff can now view all relevant information including qualifications, training records, forms, job history, location and much more with the peace of mind that they have the exact data they’re looking for - all while keeping personal data secure through customisable permissions.

Lengthy manual processes could now take minutes. SHE inspections and audits can all be completed through the Re-flow app, where they’re instantly fed back to the office. Necessary information is then passed on directly to relevant parties such as foremen and site supervisors, making sure everyone stays current on incidents and non-conformities as they happen. Not only can important information now be communicated instantly, but it can also be tracked, meaning back-office staff know exactly when a task has been completed, who it’s been completed by and where. That’s the power of real-time data – when everyone’s in the know, work becomes safer, more efficient, and more focused.

With the click of a button, all relevant parties can receive the information they need, accessible through their mobile device. When scheduling and creating jobs - drawings, PDFs, photographs, and any site-related information can be attached or placed in the app’s knowledge base – accessible whenever operatives need it, without scrambling through folders in the middle of a busy worksite. When everyone has access to the exactly the information they need, they can fully focus on doing the work that matters, all controlled from Re-flow’s desktop dashboard.

Outcome

Having implemented Re-flow, M.V. Kelly took the efficiency of their operational processes to the next level. Tasks such as completing and sending information now became instant, while searching for specific records could now take mere seconds. The business has seen hundreds of hours saved across all areas and roles – operatives, foremen, site supervisors, SHE inspectors and back-office staff – giving them more time to focus on the work that matters.

Manual processes have been stripped away in favour of workflows streamlined by instant communication, live data, and automation. M.V. Kelly now sends 15,000 forms, 18,000 images and captures 10,500 signatures on average, every month through Re-flow, without worrying about storage or printing costs. Masses of data stored on a secure, reliable system that operates around the clock with no downtime.

With a hassle-free system, operatives no longer see health and safety enforcement as the burdensome process it can be when wading through paperwork. Forms are completed quickly and automatically uploaded back to the office. SHE inspections are carried out more efficiently through the Re-flow app, with foremen and site supervisors being instantly notified of non-conformance and defects, meaning risks can be addressed in a timely manner, fostering a safer working environment.

Now, with Re-flow, M.V. Kelly has gained a new mastery of their productivity in all aspects – from a newfound sense of efficiency and organisation in their processes, records, and workflows to seeing positive culture shifts on-site. A piece of software on its own just can’t offer this. That’s why Re-flow doesn’t offer just a piece of software - it offers a collaborative process that transforms, supports, and adapts to businesses and their changing needs.

Master your productivity. Demo and qualify for a free trial or call 01392574002.