Case study: increasing productivity through remote management

Trinity is responsible for delivering a West Midlands-based works programme for Cadent, the UK’s largest gas distribution network, with Local Delivery Partners (LDPs) reporting directly to Cadent. 

Trinity is replacing the gas distribution mains network over a 10-year period and is set to replace 3,400km of gas mains pipes. The project highlighted several challenges which are typical of managing large programmes and large remote workforces indirectly, including: 

• Difficulty integrating with old third party IT systems and traditional digital and manual processes that could benefit from innovation.
• Lengthy paper-based risk assessments, with point-of-work risk assessment taking on average 15-20 minutes.
• Lack of transparency in field crew start times, impacting on scheduling and productivity.
• Absence of tools to evidence job sites, prove compliance and contest fines.
• Lack of site visibility for remote supervisors which created delays, making it difficult to prioritise sites and spot job blockers in advance.

An initial trial of 20 users was so successful it saw FYLD rolled out to over 130 fieldworkers. This second, larger trial yielded substantial value by facilitating real-time, proactive engagement for remote supervisors and saving fieldworker time.

Benefits included: 

• Average risk assessment taking just three minutes, saving 1,272 fieldworker hours during the six-month trial. 
• Timestamped VRAs which gave remote managers visibility of start/ finish times, leading to a 12.5% productivity gain. 
• Compliance assurance through easy-to-use site evidencing tools, which helped to defend fines and customer complaints (Trinity is now targeting a 50% reduction in fines thanks to FYLD). 
• Flexible, accurate and effective management of field force teams, with FYLD rated 4.8/5 by LDPs for app usability. 
• Establishment of an efficient, sustainable, remote working system.
• Positive impact on culture, with workers rewarded for delivering on contractual obligations based on evidence.