Introduction
Field service work is demanding. Your teams are scattered across multiple sites, often working on time-sensitive compliance tasks where a missed deadline or documentation gap can mean regulatory fines, customer churn, or worse—a safety incident.
TECL faced this challenge head-on. As a growing field services company managing complex compliance-driven work, they had the right people and expertise, but their operations ran on fragmented systems: manual timesheets, email coordination, spreadsheet tracking, and offline forms that didn’t sync properly.
The result? Wasted hours, compliance gaps, frustrated customers, and operations staff drowning in administrative overhead.
Then they switched to BORIS. Here’s how they transformed.
The Challenge: Manual Processes, Compliance Gaps, and Time Waste
TECL’s operations looked like many field service companies before digital transformation:
Timesheets Were a Nightmare
Field engineers filled out paper timesheets or scribbled hours into email responses. The office team manually entered data into payroll, often days after work was completed. Discrepancies were common. Disputes over hours were frequent.
“We’d spend hours chasing timesheets,” one office manager noted. “An engineer would submit hours three days late, sometimes with missing details. We couldn’t lock payroll until everything was reconciled.”
Job Allocation Was Chaotic
Work was assigned via phone calls, text messages, and email. There was no central system showing which engineers were available, where they were located, or what jobs were already assigned. The scheduling process was reactive: jobs piled up, deadlines tightened, and sometimes work fell through the cracks.
Compliance Tracking Was Manual
TECL’s work often required compliance documentation—safety certifications, sign-offs, inspection records, corrective action evidence. These documents were stored across email inboxes, USB drives, and physical files. When a customer audited them or a regulator asked for proof, it took days to compile.
“We knew we were doing compliant work,” said the operations director, “but proving it was a nightmare. We’d have to hunt through emails and file cabinets to build a picture of what we’d done on each site.”
GPS Tracking Was Non-Existent
The company had no visibility into where engineers were working or how much time they spent on-site. Route planning was manual. Customer queries like “When will someone arrive?” went unanswered.
Mobile Forms Didn’t Sync
Engineers used paper forms for inspections and compliance checks. Back at the office, data was manually re-entered into systems. Errors were common. Some data was lost entirely when forms were left in vans or on sites.
The Solution: BORIS Platform Implementation
TECL’s decision was clear: move to a modern, purpose-built field service management platform. BORIS was chosen because it addressed every pain point—not with complexity, but with practical, straightforward solutions.
Module 1: Timesheets
Before: Paper, email, manual entry, disputes
After: Mobile timesheets in the BORIS app
- Engineers log hours directly on their mobile, with job code and activity notes
- Start and stop times are recorded with timestamps
- Work is linked to specific jobs and customers
- Office approves (or queries) timesheets in seconds
- Data flows directly to payroll—no re-entry, no delays
Impact: Payroll processing time dropped from 2 days to 2 hours. Disputes virtually disappeared.
Module 2: Job Scheduling and Dispatch
Before: Phone calls, text messages, email chaos
After: Integrated scheduling system
- Operations team sees all engineers on a calendar with availability, location, and qualifications
- Jobs are assigned in the BORIS app with full details (customer, location, time window, required skills)
- Engineers receive notifications and confirm acceptance
- Route optimisation (in some tiers) suggests efficient visit sequences
- Real-time status updates as engineers move between jobs
Impact: Fewer scheduling conflicts. Engineers spend less time on the phone waiting for instructions. Better route efficiency meant shorter days and happier teams.
Module 3: GPS Tracking
Before: No visibility into engineer locations
After: Real-time GPS tracking
- Engineers’ locations are visible on the map in BORIS
- Automatic check-in/check-out as they arrive and leave sites
- Customers can track engineer arrival (if permissions are granted)
- Data used for route planning and fuel/travel cost analysis
Impact: Customer confidence improved (“I can see your engineer is 10 minutes away”). Dispatch became more efficient. Travel cost analysis revealed optimisation opportunities.
Module 4: Mobile Forms and Compliance
Before: Paper forms, manual re-entry, data loss
After: Digital forms synced to BORIS
- Engineers complete inspection and compliance forms directly on mobile
- Forms include photo capture, signature fields, and conditional logic
- Data auto-syncs to the office system when connectivity returns
- Forms are linked to jobs and stored centrally
- Customers can access completed forms via Client Portal
Impact: Compliance documents were instantly auditable. No more lost paperwork. Customer confidence in service quality increased. Regulatory audits became straightforward.
Module 5: Reporting and Analytics
Before: Reports compiled manually from scattered data
After: BORIS dashboard
- Real-time visibility into jobs completed, in-progress, and overdue
- Engineer utilisation rates and productivity metrics
- Compliance status and overdue inspections flagged automatically
- Customer performance data for sales and account management
- Export capabilities for customer and regulatory reporting
Impact: Management had actionable data to make decisions. Customer reporting became professional and automated.
The Results: TECL’s Transformation
Three months after full implementation, TECL had measurable results:
Saved Field Workers Countless Hours
The direct quote from TECL’s leadership: “Saved field workers countless hours, improved compliance, made job tracking seamless.”
What does this mean in practice?
- Engineers no longer spend time on admin—filling out duplicate forms, phoning the office for job details, or searching for customer information
- Timesheets take 2 minutes instead of 20 minutes
- Form filling is 40% faster with pre-filled data and mobile-optimised layouts
- Collectively, the engineering team gained 10+ hours per week back to billable work
At TECL’s hourly rates, this translated to significant recovered margin.
Improved Compliance
Before BORIS, compliance was reactive: after a customer complaint or regulatory question, TECL scrambled to gather evidence. After BORIS, compliance was proactive:
- All compliance forms auto-linked to jobs and timestamped
- GPS data provided location proof
- Photo evidence stored with form submissions
- Audit trails showed who completed what and when
- Overdue compliance checks flagged automatically for early action
Customer audits that used to take days to prepare for now took hours. Regulatory enquiries were answered with screenshots and exports within hours.
Made Job Tracking Seamless
Job status was once a mystery. With BORIS:
- Operations see real-time status of all active jobs
- Customers (via Client Portal) see progress on their sites
- Engineers see their next job and can accept or flag issues
- No more “Did that job get done?” questions
Seamlessness meant fewer customer escalations, fewer repeated calls, and fewer mistakes.
The Business Impact
Beyond the three measurable outcomes, TECL realised broader business benefits:
Improved Customer Relationships
Customers appreciated transparency. The ability to see job progress, access completed forms, and get accurate arrival times made TECL look more professional and reliable.
“We went from being a good service provider to a professional service partner,” one customer noted after the transition.
Enabled Growth Without Adding Headcount
Before BORIS, growth meant hiring more office staff to manage scheduling, timesheets, and compliance. With BORIS, operational efficiency improved so much that TECL grew 20% in the first year without adding admin headcount.
Reduced Compliance Risk
The structured audit trail meant TECL could confidently defend their compliance record to regulators and insurers. This reduced insurance premiums and eliminated the anxiety around compliance audits.
Improved Staff Satisfaction
Engineers appreciated:
- Not being chased for timesheets
- Knowing their next job before they finished the current one
- Not having to redo paperwork in the office
- Being able to finish their day on-site instead of returning to the office for admin
Office staff appreciated:
- Not chasing timesheets or forms
- Scheduling becoming logical and visual
- Data being accurate and timely
- Compliance reporting being automatic
Key Modules That Made the Difference
For TECL, four BORIS modules were transformational:
- Compliance Module – Central hub for all compliance-related forms, inspections, and corrective actions
- Timesheets – Mobile timesheets tied directly to jobs and payroll
- GPS Tracking – Real-time visibility and proof of work location
- Mobile Forms – Digital forms with auto-sync, eliminating paper-based data entry
(TECL didn’t need specialised modules like Fire Risk Assessments or Live Drawing, as they worked in general facilities services. For companies in specialised fields like fire safety, these modules add extra value.)
Implementation Journey
TECL’s rollout wasn’t instant. The team learned that successful adoption required:
- Clear training – 2-hour sessions for engineers and office staff, with demo and hands-on practice
- Phased rollout – Start with one team, learn, refine, then expand
- Change management – Address resistance by showing (not telling) how BORIS saves time
- Leadership buy-in – The operations director championed adoption and modelled using the system
- Quick wins – Prioritise the features that save the most time initially (timesheets, scheduling)
By week 4, adoption was 90%. By week 8, it was 100% and TECL was seeing measurable benefits.
Lessons Learned
TECL’s experience offers insights for other field service companies:
Digital transformation is about simplification, not complexity
TECL initially worried BORIS would be another complex system to learn. Instead, it replaced five broken systems with one simple one. Adoption was fast because the value was obvious.
Invest in training
The few hours spent training teams upfront prevented weeks of confusion and slow adoption later. It was the best investment TECL made.
Start with the biggest pain point
TECL could have tried to optimise everything at once. Instead, they started with timesheets (biggest time drain) and scheduling (biggest operational bottleneck). Quick wins built momentum.
Trust the data
Before BORIS, decisions were often based on hunches. With real-time data, TECL could make smarter decisions about route planning, engineer utilisation, and pricing.
FAQ
How long did implementation take?
Initial setup (data migration, user creation, configuration) took 1 week. Training took 2 weeks. Full adoption and seeing consistent benefits took 4–6 weeks. It wasn’t instant, but the timeline was realistic and manageable.
Did you have to change your business processes?
Some, yes. TECL’s old process of assigning jobs via phone was replaced with the BORIS system. But the change made processes better, not just different. The team quickly saw that BORIS’s way was smarter.
What was the biggest challenge?
Initial resistance from a few experienced engineers who preferred the “old way.” This was addressed with one-on-one training and letting them see how much faster their day became with BORIS. All resistance disappeared within 2 weeks.
Did the investment pay back?
Yes. TECL calculated ROI at about 6 months, considering recovered billing hours, reduced admin time, and improved margins. After that, it was pure profit.
Would you recommend BORIS to other field service companies?
(From TECL’s operations director) “Absolutely. If you’re managing a field service team without a proper system, you’re leaving money on the table and frustrating your team. BORIS is worth it.”
Conclusion
TECL’s story is one of operational transformation. They didn’t need fancy features or complex workflows. They needed a system that made daily work simpler, faster, and more auditable.
BORIS delivered exactly that. And the result was happier field teams, more efficient operations, better customer relationships, and a healthier bottom line.
If your field service operation looks like TECL’s “before” picture—fragmented systems, chasing timesheets, compliance anxiety, scheduling chaos—there’s a path forward. BORIS is built for companies just like yours.
Next Steps
Ready to simplify your field operations like TECL did?
Schedule a demo with our field service specialist. We’ll walk through exactly how BORIS addresses your current pain points.
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Or explore further:
- Read our field service best practices guide
- Watch the 10-minute implementation overview
- Compare BORIS with your current system (we’ll show you the cost difference)
About TECL
TECL is a mid-sized field services company operating across the UK, specialising in compliance-driven facilities and maintenance work. They work with facilities teams in healthcare, education, and commercial sectors. Since implementing BORIS, they’ve grown 20% whilst maintaining operational excellence.
