Best SME Led Innovation 2024

WINNER

Hauling the sector into the 21st century, DMA Group & BiO®

Sponsored by: Waste to Wonder

BiO® – Building Information Online – is DMA Group’s cloud-based service management platform, developed by the company to streamline its processes, improve efficiency and enhance its customer experience.

It’s the result of DMA looking inwards on its sector and recognising persistent challenges within the maintenance industry such as a lack of differentiation, low profitability, and outdated service practices.

“Having been around for over 200-years, we recognised that we were part of the problem too. We developed BiO® to revolutionise maintenance operations, to streamline processes, and enhance service delivery.”

Results achieved

Prior to the implementation of BiO® there was a reliance on intuition or guess work, with emerging problems needing the customer to contact the company and work with office staff to schedule a suitable time for an engineer visit. BiO® has put live, self-help information into the hands of the customer who can visibly see when a service attendance is approaching, what needs to be done, and the expected time it will take.

The cloud-based service management platform manages planned and reactive maintenance for DMA Group’s client base of building owners, occupiers, and managers.

End-to-end automation has allowed BiO® to simplify complex processes, offer intuitive usability across all devices, and integrate SFG20 standards. Live dashboards, alerts and real-time collaboration among stakeholders allows DMA Group engineers to benefit from real-time asset management and service tracking, while service partners get faster response times and payments. 

Developed with an open API to allow seamless integration, BiO® allows DMA to achieve more with less. Automating engineers’ daily work record sheet information within BiO® has saved DMA around 14 man-days per week – nearly 6,000 hours per year.

Introducing BiO® into DMA Group’s ecosystem led to immediate and positive feedback from customers and internal users.

Lessons in best practice

Build in continuous improvement from day one: BiO® enables the firm to manage live dashboards and insights to drive continuous improvement in service delivery. It provides real-time operational, financial, and performance data to all stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment of objectives.

Making maintenance more attractive: DMA says it aims to make maintenance a more attractive career option for young talent, with BiO® contributing this by streamlining operations, identifying skills gaps, and offering more responsibility to employees, thus fostering a positive work environment.

Key quotes

“BiO® has improved the efficiency of my whole team, not only from a time management perspective, but it has also improved decision making when it comes to purchasing parts and planning the correct response, due to the ability to view job and asset history with ease.”

Dean Freed, principal engineer, DMA Group

“The ability to raise our own purchase orders is just one example of where BiO® has saved the company hours and hours, as opposed to the original set up which involved a lot more administration and communication with the back-office team.”

Deve Shokar, maintenance engineer, DMA Group 

“Seizing the initiative…”

BiO® has helped address engineering skills gaps. In 2023, 20% of DMA Group’s new recruits were aged between 18 and 24. Compare that to data from 2023 by the Society of Operations Engineers that found Gen Z the most reluctant to consider a career in engineering, with 30% saying they would not choose it.

The judges say:

“Good overviews provided by key members of DMA leadership and a clear thread that the Bio system was being used to transform their business and enhance their service offering.”