Challenge: High-Volume Requests, Route Inefficiency, Paper-Based Workflows
Manchester City Council’s pest control team manages one of England’s largest municipal pest control services. The team responds to hundreds of service requests each month—residential infestations, commercial rat problems, council property preventative treatment, and public health emergencies.
The Operational Problem
The challenge wasn’t lack of expertise. The team included experienced pest control technicians trained across survey, treatment, and removal. The problem was operational efficiency and data management.
Route inefficiency was the biggest constraint. Technicians worked from printed job lists and maps. When new urgent calls came in, dispatchers had limited visibility into who was where and which jobs could be rerouted efficiently. A technician might complete three jobs clustered in South Manchester, then drive 90 minutes north for a single treatment. Fuel costs mounted. Response times to new calls suffered.
Paper-based reporting created compliance gaps. Technicians completed jobs using handwritten risk assessments and treatment notes. Back at the office, these notes were transcribed into digital records. Information was lost or misinterpreted in the transition. When pest infestations recurred, there was no clear record of what treatment had been applied or why.
Risk assessment documentation was inconsistent. The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 and Environmental Protection Act 1990 require councils to assess risk and document treatment decisions. Manchester’s paper system made it difficult to prove that risk assessments had been conducted consistently or documented fully.
Service continuity was weak. When a technician was ill or on holiday, there was no clear handover of ongoing cases. Customers with recurring treatments might be missed. Follow-up surveys weren’t scheduled reliably.
These operational gaps created customer frustration, inconsistent service quality, and regulatory vulnerability.
The Strategic Driver
Manchester City Council needed visibility into its pest control operation in real time. Dispatchers needed to see where technicians were and reoptimise routes dynamically. The council needed digital compliance records to prove consistent service delivery and regulatory compliance.
The council evaluated several field service management platforms. Most were either too expensive to deploy at scale or tailored to different industries (facilities management, utilities) and didn’t fit pest control workflows.
BORIS was evaluated because of its purpose-built Pest Control module, its route optimisation capabilities, and its Resource Planner for team scheduling. It was also independently operated—no private equity pressure to cut corners or increase costs unexpectedly.
Solution: BORIS Pest Control Module with Route Optimisation and Resource Planning
End-to-End Pest Control Workflow
BORIS Pest Control module provided Manchester with an end-to-end platform for survey, risk assessment, treatment, and follow-up.
Survey workflow: When a new infestation report arrived, a technician was dispatched with the BORIS mobile app. On arrival, he recorded the property details, photographic evidence of pest activity, and site conditions. The app collected GPS location automatically. The technician didn’t fill out forms—the app guided him through a structured questionnaire ensuring all required information was captured.
Risk assessment and treatment templates: BORIS includes pre-configured templates for common pest control scenarios—rodent infestation, cockroach treatment, bird control, sewer baiting. Templates included risk assessment criteria aligned with Environmental Protection Act requirements: proximity to food preparation areas, presence of vulnerable residents (children, elderly), environmental sensitivity, and seasonal factors.
Templates weren’t rigid forms. Technicians could customise assessments based on site conditions. But the template ensured nothing critical was missed. When a pest control professional submitted a treatment, the risk assessment was complete and documented.
Removal and treatment planning: Once a survey was complete, the system prompted scheduling of follow-up treatments. For rodent problems, the system might schedule initial treatment, then 7-day and 14-day follow-ups. For cockroach infestations in council housing, it might schedule fortnightly treatments for 6 weeks. Treatment schedules were customer-specific; the system prevented missed follow-ups.
Sewer baiting template: For sewer rat infestations, BORIS includes a specialised sewer baiting workflow. Technicians record bait placement, quantity, date, and inspection results. Follow-up inspections are scheduled automatically. This compliance documentation proved invaluable when environmental health colleagues asked about pest activity patterns in specific areas.
Route Optimisation
The Resource Planner’s route optimisation was the operational game-changer.
Dispatchers could now see each technician’s current location (via GPS check-ins in the BORIS mobile app). When new jobs arrived, the system calculated which technician could reach the property in the shortest time, considering their current location and existing schedule.
But more importantly, dispatchers could reoptimise routes dynamically. If three pest control jobs clustered in Stockport arrived in the morning, the system could reorder a technician’s schedule, routing him to all three efficiently in sequence, rather than completing his planned route then making a long drive back south.
Over time, routes became more efficient. Technicians spent less time driving and more time on billable work. Fuel costs dropped approximately 12% in the first six months.
Response times to new pest reports improved. Instead of asking customers to wait 3-4 days, Manchester could often accommodate new requests within 24-48 hours because technicians weren’t locked into long, inefficient routes.
Resource Planning and Team Scheduling
The Resource Planner helped Manchester manage its team schedule strategically.
The council could see across a week or month:
- How many technicians were available for each geographic area
- Which technicians were overbooked
- Where seasonal demand (summer infestations, winter rodent problems) created capacity gaps
- Whether additional training or hiring was needed in specific areas
Pest control is often cyclical. Summer brings call-outs for wasps, flies, and mosquitoes. Winter brings rodent activity indoors. Spring brings bird nesting and control requests. The Resource Planner made these seasonal patterns visible, allowing the council to plan staffing and scheduling around predictable demand fluctuations.
The system also tracked certifications and training. Certain pesticides require specific qualifications. The Resource Planner ensured only trained and certified technicians were assigned to regulated treatments.
Results and Impact
Route Optimisation Delivered
Within three months of deployment, route efficiency improvements were measurable:
- Fuel costs: Reduced by approximately 12% through more efficient routing and reduced unproductive driving
- Technician capacity: Each technician could handle approximately 15-20% more jobs per week, due to reduced travel time
- Response times: New pest reports could be scheduled within 24-48 hours instead of 3-4 days, for most requests
- Technician satisfaction: Working more efficient routes reduced driving fatigue and improved job satisfaction
Improved Service Response Times
Manchester’s customer-facing service improved noticeably:
- Pest infestation calls were triaged and scheduled faster
- Follow-up treatments were never missed (the system scheduled and reminded)
- Customers received digital reports within hours of treatment completion
- Problem areas could be identified quickly (the system flagged addresses with recurring issues)
Public health and environmental health colleagues gained better visibility into pest distribution across the council’s property portfolio. They could see whether certain areas had endemic problems requiring structural intervention (repairs, blocked drains, etc.).
Digital Compliance Records
From a compliance and governance perspective, the impact was significant:
- Every pest control job now had a complete audit trail: survey date, risk assessment, treatment rationale, application method, follow-up schedule
- Photographs and GPS data proved jobs were completed at the right location
- Risk assessments aligned with regulatory requirements (Environmental Protection Act, pesticide regulations)
- When environmental health inspectors requested records, Manchester could provide comprehensive digital documentation
The shift from paper to digital records also improved internal communication. When a technician was absent, another team member could immediately see what work had been done at a property, what treatment had been applied, and what follow-ups were scheduled.
Scalability and Future-Proofing
BORIS’s modular architecture meant Manchester could add other council services to the platform later:
- Grounds maintenance and grass cutting schedules
- Tree surgery and arboricultural work
- Street cleaning and environmental health patrols
- Building maintenance and responsive repairs
The council didn’t need to invest in separate systems for each service. One platform could eventually manage multiple field operations.
Key Learnings
Visible Data Drives Efficiency
Manchester didn’t need to change work practices dramatically. What changed was visibility. Dispatchers could now see where technicians were, which jobs were clustered, and which routes were inefficient. Insight led to better decisions.
Templates Matter
Pest control professionals understood pest control—but they weren’t experienced form-fillers. BORIS’s pre-configured templates for risk assessment, treatment, and sewer baiting reduced administration burden whilst ensuring compliance. The templates were a tool that served technicians, not a bureaucratic burden.
Route Optimisation Compounds
Small reductions in travel time (15 minutes here, 20 minutes there) aggregated to meaningful fuel and capacity gains. A 12% fuel reduction might sound modest, but applied to a team of 30+ technicians working year-round, it justified the entire software investment within months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How long did the deployment take?
Manchester deployed BORIS Pest Control module over 6 weeks: 2 weeks for system configuration and integration with council systems, 2 weeks for technician training, and 2 weeks for pilot testing with 5 technicians before full rollout.
Q2: Did technicians resist the change from paper to mobile app?
Initially, some resistance was expected—technicians were comfortable with the old way. But BORIS mobile app was intuitive and made their work easier by reducing paperwork and eliminating the need to remember job details. After the first two weeks, adoption was enthusiastic.
Q3: How much did it cost?
Manchester benefited from volume pricing: above 250 users, BORIS drops to £14.99/user/month. The cost was offset by fuel savings within 6 months.
Q4: What if technicians lose signal in the field?
BORIS mobile app works offline. Jobs are synced to the app in advance. Technicians complete work offline. When signal returns, data syncs automatically. No work is lost, even in areas with poor mobile coverage.
Conclusion
Manchester City Council’s pest control operation is more efficient, more responsive, and more compliant thanks to BORIS. Route optimisation reduced fuel costs and increased technician capacity. Digital documentation created audit trails and regulatory certainty. Resource planning provided visibility into team capacity and seasonal demand.
The transformation wasn’t revolutionary—it was pragmatic. Technicians still used their expertise; the platform amplified their effectiveness. Dispatchers still made decisions; better data made decisions faster and smarter.
If you manage pest control, grounds maintenance, or field service operations for a council, local authority, or large contractor, route optimisation and resource planning deliver measurable benefits: lower costs, faster response times, and complete compliance documentation.
Ready to Optimise Your Pest Control Operations?
BORIS Pest Control module includes end-to-end survey and treatment workflows, Risk Assessment templates, Sewer Baiting templates, route optimisation, and resource planning. Manage your team smarter.
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