The Drain Surgeon is a franchising group in the maintenance and plumbing industry and is now the largest plumbing repair company in the southern hemisphere. The initial company was established in 1979 in Pretoria, South Africa by Glenn Pratt. Glenn previously served as Vice-President of the Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA). The first Drain Surgeon franchise was launched in 1991, and they have expanded nationwide. The franchises all together cater to about 2,500 customers monthly, with a 24 hour, 7 days a week service. They do residential and commercial work ranging from repairing leaking or burst pipes, toilets and taps, fixing broken radiators, and most other domestic plumbing complications. Whether it's an office building, factory complex, hotel or home, there is always a need for plumbing services, and The Drain Surgeon has the means to provide the best the industry has to offer.

"Surviving in an online world, The Drain Surgeon's use of MobiWork to log, dispatch and manage all aspects of a plumbing job is setting trends in the plumbing industry."
- Ben Booysen, Group Franchise Manager

Key Challenges: Cost Savings, Productivity and Service Consistency

Cost savings and productivity improvements are paramount to Drain Surgeon as the customer base is very sensitive to pricing. People aren't necessarily going after the quality of the workmanship, but for the cheapest price they can find. They also want to go with the option that will resolve their issue immediately, which can also take away from the quality of the work being performed. On the other hand, consumers prefer to hire a well-known company that has established trust and a brand name through many years of hard work.

Challenges for the company also involve consistency to deliver exceptional service across such a large organization. With so many independent franchisees and remote workers, Drain Surgeon struggled with enforcing a consistent service (workflows, data capture... overall customer satisfaction) regardless of the difficulty of the work performed and the experience of the plumber.

Results: Visibility, Productivity, and Manageability

MobiWork's superior technology is being used by every facet of the organization. The national call center receives the requests and then dispatch work orders out to the franchisees. The plumbing team and franchisee has easy access to receive work orders, issue invoices, and manage their available stock. Every level of the franchise has access and visibility into each individual job. With this insight, it eliminates confusion, and everyone is on the same page. "You can't put a price on the amount of visibility that MobiWork has offered for The Drain Surgeon's business." It shows them where everything is from anywhere and at all times. It has been exceptionally beneficial when it comes to stock management, as well as for the plumber's visibility of route which saves on fuel and time. In addition, they now have the power to invoice onsite as soon as the customer issue has been resolved. "This not only is convenient, but it is also gratifying to be paid on the spot and see the income right away."

After a great deal of research and validation trials, they selected MobiWork for their mobile workforce application. The Drain Surgeon didn't have any system before MobiWork; they had a completely paper-based process. Becoming paperless has been the most significant change in management control systems and operations. Once MobiWork was implemented they noticed the benefits instantly. "It was a painless implementation and we absolutely noticed the benefits right away. We have zero concerns with it." says Ben Booysen, group franchise manager. Everything out in the field is now tracked and measured. It has made all the difference in productivity and continuous improvement benefits. "Surviving in an online world, The Drain Surgeon's use of MobiWork to log, dispatch and manage all aspects of a plumbing job is setting trends in the plumbing industry."

The biggest improvement they have seen is the manageability of the work orders in real time and sending the plumbers to their destinations. Crucial information is entered into the system with ease, on a consistent manner (thanks to the action items) and there is constant communication with everyone from the call center down to the customer.

In the following years, The Drain Surgeon has intentions to use MobiWork to grow the amount of franchises that they have. "MobiWork will allow us to establish many more franchisees effectively by providing a fully configured solution to use for their business."