United Maintenance

How United Maintenance Improved Cash Flow, Achieved Better Communication and Enhanced Customer Service

United Maintenance, an Atlanta-based HVAC contractor, needed to automate operations to manage its 60 employees, control a service fleet of 24 trucks, and deliver service to a number of high-profile clients that rely heavily on their services. Service Manager Kent Montgomery and his team of dispatchers manually handled more than 100 calls per day.

Challenges

• Automate the company’s dispatch process and efficiently manage employees, service fleet and services provided in a highvolume, fast-paced environment.
• Incorporate robust mobile technology that’s integrated with the company’s business management software solution.

Solution

Selected Maxwell Systems MaxService, a fully integrated dispatch and field management solution that streamlines processes, improves communication, and increases profitability.

Results

• Organized and efficient dispatch management
• Automated processes for tracking employees and an equipment fleet
• Ability to manage cash flow, expenses, and profit with integrated Management Suite components
• Enhanced customer service and improved communications

“It was somewhat of a circus,” recalls Montgomery, a United Maintenance employee of 25 years. “We had stacks of handwritten service calls and arranged them on a board with push pins.” Those calls had to be constantly re-prioritized throughout the day as important issues arose. “When you are responsible for the Georgia Power control room in Atlanta and they are about to black out, you have got to be there,” he said. “It was quite a juggling act, and it was very labor intensive.” So they began looking for a better way.

United Maintenance has always made technology a priority. Adopting a technology-centric approach for their own operations was the natural path for this service company that often works with high-tech equipment for high-tech clients in the electronics, manufacturing and medical fields.

MaxService: The Next Generation of Wireless Service

United Maintenance started looking at dispatching systems that would allow wireless transmission of service ticket information to and from the field. “We liked the idea of going paperless so we could speed up our system and better serve our customers,” says Montgomery.

To complement its accounting system, United Maintenance considered MaxService, Maxwell Systems’ wireless service and dispatch software for Maxwell Systems™ Management Suite™.

“Betty Hardy, our controller, had used Management Suite for 12 years and loved it. She was excited to learn that we were looking into MaxService,” Montgomery says. Since it was clear that United Maintenance needed a fullyintegrated system, they gave serious consideration to the product. And they liked what they saw.

“We evaluated a dozen different systems, but we really didn’t want a hybrid system. We compared all of the features and found that MaxService met our dispatch needs. We had been so satisfied with Maxwell Systems’ accounting software and support, that MaxService was the obvious choice,” Montgomery explains.

“We wanted single-source responsibility and MaxService delivered,” Montgomery states, “With Maxwell Systems, we could now have a seamless system for both accounting and service.”

After researching hardware options and wireless carriers, United Maintenance selected tablet PCs equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology, Cingular service and Motorola camera phones.

A Smooth Implementation

United Maintenance proceeded with cautious, well-planned steps. To make sure they’d be able to reach all of their service area, they set up a test server and sent calls to five areas of town that they’d never been able to reach with their previous system. “All of the calls made it to the field, and all of the data made it back,” says Montgomery. “That was very reassuring.”

The implementation was smoother and speedier than expected. A Maxwell Systems consultant helped United Maintenance plan for the transition and the consultant was on-site for installation and training. “We were prepared for a lot of problems and traumatic days, but didn’t have them,” Montgomery recalls. “Maxwell Systems spent only three days setting us up and training our technicians.”

ROI, says Montgomery, has been easily achieved.

Multiple Benefits to the Bottom Line

MaxService has significantly streamlined United Maintenance’s operations by increasing utilization in the field, allowing for quicker billing, more controlled cash flow, and improved customer service. With 700+ contract customers and a workload that averages nearly 50,000 hours of service work, those efficiencies make a big impact on the bottom line.

With MaxService in place, United Maintenance has “almost instant data access.” History is sent out with the ticket so that technicians don’t have to call each other or the dispatcher when they have a question. “With all of that time on the phone asking questions and waiting on hold, we had a lot of unapplied labor,” explains Montgomery. “Now, if a technician has a question, he can get an instant e-mail with all the data he needs. It saves each tech at least an hour of time every day,” he said.