Issue Date: 8 November 2017
Ref: DIV17/17
A Smarter View of Cleaning Operations For Bouygues Energies & Services
Innovative Internet of Clean service improves tracking and audits
Facilities management and energy business Bouygues Energies & Services has a strong track record in innovating. It has recently introduced the SmartView service from Diversey to give better oversight across its cleaning operations in the UK. The detailed information available through the system is helping the business to meet and exceed stringent targets, improve performance and secure new contracts.
“Contracts are about working to achieve and demonstrate results and SmartView helps us do this,” says Derek Neeve, General Manager of Facilities Management at Bouygues Energies & Services. “It is particularly useful for contracts that define standards or stipulate performance criteria. We can demonstrate to our clients that not only are we meeting their standards but we are also raising them. When we have talked to clients about it they have all liked what they have seen.”
Bouygues Energies & Services offers a full range of services to clients throughout the education, healthcare, government, industrial and commercial sectors. Cleaning is one of its core services and for each contract the business has to meet various service level agreements (SLAs) with key performance indicators (KPIs). Penalties for missing these targets can be severe and providing evidence that tasks have been completed is extremely useful. Activities are traditionally recorded on paper forms kept in the location being cleaned. While this works in theory there is no way of verifying when someone visited, how long they stayed, or that they completed specific tasks at the right time.
Having assessed other computerised systems available in the market designed to monitor and audit its operations, the company was immediately struck by SmartView during a visit to Diversey.
“The initial attraction was that SmartView was simple to install, operate and maintain,” says Derek Neeve.
SmartView is a unique mobile communication platform that incorporates a range of real-time management, quality control and reporting features. These are accessible anywhere, at any time, from any computer, tablet or smartphone. The system is completely configurable so that users can choose what they want to audit and focus on critical tasks. By simplifying daily communication, documentation and management of cleaning teams it helps managers and supervisors to proactively monitor, evaluate and improve results.
Steve Leonard, Senior Operations Manager at Bouygues Energies & Services and Tony Shillcock, Application Specialist at Diversey, have worked together to prepare the implementations across the new contracts. This included visiting each site to determine the best position for the RFID equipment (which is usually by the door) and discuss detailed expectations with each customer so that the results obtained matched their KPI and business requirements. In one case, for example, this resulted in the number of questions required to provide a full audit being reduced from over ten to just five. This greatly simplified the way the system is used which in turn helped increase compliance levels. Steve and Tony have also carried out extensive tests at each site to ensure the system is robust in each specific environment.
“This level of planning and preparation helps make the introduction of the system seamless and meaningful for the customer,” says Steve Leonard. “Using RFID evidences that an area or room has been visited and the number of times this has occurred during a day. There is no magical knowledge needed to make it work; they just wave the RFID reader and move on.”
Once the installation was complete individual rooms were checked against the specific standard, based on the relevant KPIs and SLA. Rooms can then be brought up to the standard required, monitored on a regular basis and the standards maintained.
Cleaning operatives scan the RFID tag using an RFID reader as they enter and leave a room. This shows the time and date they were at the room, and the time and date they left after completing their tasks.
Managers and supervisors are using the system to carry out quality audits on their smart devices by scanning the RFID tag which confirms their location and room type. The system automatically presents them with the audit questions they must complete and prompts them for simple yes/no responses to verify their actions. There is also an option to allocate a room for “rework” within a predetermined timeframe.
The system quickly accumulates a large amount of data about the cleaning operation, including areas visited, time spent cleaning, tasks completed, and room status. All this information is available in reports that managers can use to identify performance and share with clients on any device with a suitable app or browser.
“We have seen the benefits from day one,” says Derek Neeve. “We didn’t need large amounts of training and our staff could see it was working immediately. We don’t want staff to spend all their time auditing.
“Our clients like to see that we have done a job, are being fair in the way we assess it and are making improvements. The system provides an independent assessment that removes the subjectivity.”
After this initial success, the company used a similar process to roll SmartView out quickly to another contract covering six buildings at a different higher education customer. The system’s adaptability and flexibility make it very easy to deploy in new settings. Diversey trained Steve Leonard and a colleague from Bouygues Energies & Services as super-users with the ability to configure the application and train new teams for additional contracts. Most employees use smart technology for other aspects of work and are familiar with the basic interactions required, which simplifies new implementations.
“Traditional audits can take weeks or months to set up and can still not meet requirements,” says Derek Neeve. “With SmartView this is easy and if we want changes we don’t need to spend thousands with a specialist.”
The information and insight provided by SmartView goes much further than simply recording performance. With the majority of customers requiring monthly reports, the system’s ability to show performance in real-time allows managers to identify on a day-by-day, week-by-week basis if any targets might be missed. They can respond proactively to ensure compliance over the reporting period.
Another area where SmartView adds value is when comparing different teams, locations or contracts. Managers can identify under and over-performance, assess the underlying reasons and review overall service delivery. Although this is extremely useful on any given contract, the information and analysis available from across all contracts where SmartView is used is helping Bouygues Energies & Services to predict likely performance in new contracts.
“When we are aiming for new contract we can predict what percentages we can deliver rather than guessing,” says Derek Neeve. “We have something to show the client which demonstrates we have confidence in our service levels and can deliver what we are selling.”
The simplicity of the system also shortens the time to implement new contracts. At one Bouygues Energies & Services customer, for example, the company introduced the system into one or two sites before rolling it out to the rest in small groups. On another contract it implemented 14 sites in less than a month.
The company has already been looking at other ways of using the flexibility of SmartView to track and record activities across other aspects of its business. This has included using the system to record security patrol activities. Diversey is working with the company to develop the system continuously with new functionality and meet challenging demands from clients.
“We can now see two areas of the business with one system but we believe it can be rolled out to many other activities where we need to monitor and audit teams and tasks,” says Derek Neeve.
About Bouygues Energies & Services: Bouygues Energies & Services is a customer-centric facilities management and energy performance partner. The company specialises in the diverse services and support needed to create and maintain efficient, comfortable and safe places to work or visit. Its dedicated and professional teams quietly ensure that offices, schools, public buildings, industrial facilities and healthcare environments are all operating as they should.
In the UK, Bouygues Energies & Services is a leading provider of integrated Energy Services, Facilities Management, Infrastructure and Contracting solutions across the public and private sectors. Bouygues Energies & Services operates in over 25 countries worldwide and is part of the Bouygues Group – a global brand employing over 127,000 people in over 100 countries within the construction, civil works, energy services, telecommunications and media sectors.
To view all Bouygues Energies & Services news stories visit www.bouygues-es.co.uk or follow @BouyguesESUK
For further information, contact:
Alexandra Dunley, Marketing Manager
E: alexandra.dunley@bouygues-es.co.uk
T: 0207 401 0046