Using Mobile Workforce Management Software to Modernise the Facilities Management Industry
How Menzies Facility Services is Using Technology to Proactively Prepare for the Future
It wasn’t long ago that Australia-based Menzies Facility Services implemented Lighthouse, TEAM Software’s mobile workforce management system. One of the largest privately-owned providers of cleaning and related property services in Australia had been looking towards a technology solution that would be able to flex up and meet future industry demands, as well as current needs. In less than six months post initial rollout, they’ve already gained value that is helping modernise the approach to their facilities management.
Often, companies retroactively look towards technology as a means of solving a business challenge. Menzies chose to take a proactive approach, leveraging technology to invest in their future.
“The reality of our industry is that the focus of cleaning is shifting, especially since the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Greg Springall, Menzies’ Chief Executive Officer. “Clients are looking for more than just traditional cleaning services. They’re looking at what technology you can provide, and how it can deliver and substantiate provable service against high contract standards.”
Menzies’ long-term business strategy includes technology integration as a pillar – integrating services and systems in a way that streamlines all business operations, uses data and business intelligence to build efficiencies, and manages all aspects of a contract from within a single software platform. It’s no small undertaking with operations across all major Australian cities and regional centres. Lighthouse is currently servicing over 600 Menzies sites nationally, which is only the first step in this long-term strategy.
Lighthouse operates as a web-based and mobile application, with quick and easy-to-use forms to record tasks, submit data and supply reports across multiple and dispersed properties in real-time. In short, Lighthouse provides an accurate picture of the “who, the what and where” of every contract. Menzies’ workforce of over 2,500 employees can easily access and use the app from their mobile devices to update and submit daily tasks, report incidents and provide contextual information about what is happening onsite through rich media capture and digital signature certifications. And, contract management staff can easily communicate with field-based cleaners directly.
“Lighthouse has the capability to liaise directly with our employees in real time,” said Greg. “Work orders, safety issues or updates – whatever we need to communicate to our employees, we can do through the mobile app. It eliminates the need for contract managers to manually track down a cleaner onsite. That’s especially important in the instance where an emergency clean is warranted, for example. The knowledge that we’re doing everything we can to shorten the time it takes to resolve an issue makes all the difference for our customers, and that’s a mentality we know will remain of high importance to our clients post-pandemic.”
Nearing the end of their rollout plan for the workforce management solution, Menzies has already fully implemented Lighthouse into the workflows of all 50 contract managers across the company, who now solely use Lighthouse as a way to complete trainings and perform quality and safety audits. The company has also selected key contracts within their customer portfolio and moved them into the Lighthouse system, gaining real-time visibility of their workforces in some of the largest educational institutions across the nation through Lighthouse’s location tracking features.
One of the immediate administrative advantages of this technology-driven strategy is the ability to access data and deliver it in meaningful ways to clients. Within seconds,
Lighthouse can provide reports certifying cleaners have been in a particular site, including when and where tasks were completed and to what standard – without having to invest manual resources into the reporting process. In fact, enhanced data and reporting capabilities enables Menzies’ contract managers to more closely manage their portfolios, focus on client interaction and improve satisfaction simply by freeing up the time they’d previously spent manually pulling together detailed reports. In the same vein of client support, Menzies is leveraging Lighthouse as a client dashboard, where data like quality assessments, GEO fencing information and key performance indicators are housed and directly accessible to clients. Plus, Menzies uses this platform to seamlessly funnel one-off or emergent work requests, query submissions, corrective action, safety and hazard reporting directly from clients.
Perhaps the best thing about Lighthouse from Greg’s perspective is that its flexibility extends to integrations outside of the platform.
“TEAM Software has gone above and beyond making sure that Lighthouse works for us, not the other way around.” Greg said. “Rather than us having to bend to the rigidity of a technology solution, they’ve ensured that Lighthouse can flex to meet our needs. Today, that involves integrations with our time and attendance solutions, so whenever we recruit an individual and add their information into Lighthouse, that data is automatically integrated with our systems, reducing manual work while championing data integrity.”
It’s this flexibility of technology that Menzies recognises of value as they look to modernise the facilities management industry.
“The cleaning industry is moving towards more of a technology based mentality,” said Greg. “It’s not necessarily just about how well you can clean anymore, it’s about how you’re able to certify and substantiate the work that you do. What cleaning has occurred, who completed the work and where they were in a facility down to the minute – that is the new benchmark standard. The technology Menzies is using with Lighthouse to surpass that standard and provide even more visibility and transparency to our clients is what will set us apart moving into the future.”