The digitalisation of facilities management services is one of the hottest topics in the industry right now.
The changing attitudes and requirements of those looking after buildings and services means that we are all constantly on the hunt for the next new innovation that will help us to work better, faster and more effectively. In facilities management, ensuring these innovations help everything work together and last for years to come to reduce on ongoing maintenance costs is also essential.
Electrical compliance is a vital component of that and, a non-compliant element of any facility could result in significant problem for the site manager. Staying on top of electrical installations, portable appliances, emergency lighting, and fire alarms, are critical to ensuring sites are safe, compliant, and working for users. The problem is amplified when you consider the multiple sites that some may have to look after – each with their own set of contractors, challenges, and timeframes.
Richard Carr, an electrician with more than 20 years of experience in the FM industry, set out to transform how site managers maintain their electrical compliance. He developed Volta Compliance to address those challenges and support the industry with a comprehensive solution.
“I’ve worked with site managers for years and have really understood the problems that they face,” Richard said. “While they were fantastic at their jobs, it is such a challenge to ensure that everything is in check. Being able to use and analyse data is absolutely essential in our line of work and Volta Compliance was set up in 2016 to address these very challenges.
“The purpose of this was two-fold. One – to work in a smarter way that used technology to stay on top of such a safety-critical issue such as electrical compliance. Two – was to employ and train a group of highly-skilled electricians that aimed to set the standard in the industry and help take the effort out of managing electrical compliance. We wanted to help facilities managers be able to optimise how they are working and provide a solution that essentially ensures a consistently safe environment.”
Key to being able to use and analyse data was the creation of a compliance dashboard – creating a central repository for all compliance certificates, as well as real-time notifications of renewals and compliance – accessible from any device.
Keeping this in a cloud-based system allows for multiple users to access information and know that is in date.
Richard said: “The dashboard has been essential for our clients. It has helped them optimise electrical compliance on all their sites and it has also increased their access to this type of service. Our dashboard has included a chat function to improve how we communicate with our customers – and 100% of them have said we are extremely responsive.
“The dashboard has been a true example of how digitalisation of compliance has optimised how facilities managers work and saved them time and money.
“Most importantly, it allows those businesses to stay compliant. That means keeping sites safe and fully functional, as well as sidestepping the cost, disruption and distress of harm, damage or legal proceedings.”
The impact of the compliance dashboard is clear. In a customer survey, 94% of Volta Compliance customers said they were extremely satisfied, 95% had their needs met extremely well and 96% rated the quality of their services as “very high.” It has led to longer-term partnerships being developed by the team.
To find out more about Volta Compliance, visit: voltacompliance.com
Image credit: Volta Compliance
