Jack Tooley, Director of Tooley Engineering Ltd., shares his experience of transitioning from manual operations to a digital job management system. His story highlights the challenges he faced and the lessons learned, offering valuable insights for other businesses looking to streamline their operations.
Meet Jack Tooley – Tooley Engineering Ltd.
Jack Tooley started Tooley Engineering Ltd. five years ago after working as a multi-skilled engineer and team leader at a local food manufacturing site. Taking the leap to start his own company, he now leads a team of 16 professionals.
Tooley Engineering Ltd. specializes in the food manufacturing and FMCG sector, delivering high-quality work that exceeds customer expectations. Their team of skilled Electrical, Mechanical, and Control engineers is committed to providing outstanding services and innovative solutions.
"Our manual processes were becoming too cumbersome, and I realized we needed better tools to support our growth." – Jack Tooley
Identifying the Need for a Job Management System
Q: What prompted you to start looking for a job management system in the first place?
Jack Tooley: It was a financial decision. We needed a way to address gaps in our operations—everything from quoting and scheduling engineers to job completion. We also needed to track material usage and, most importantly, monitor financial elements like work in progress and engineer overtime.
"We captured the necessary data, but it came at the cost of long hours spent on paperwork and manual work to consolidate it." – Jack Tooley
Q: Was there a risk in continuing with manual operations?
Jack Tooley: Absolutely. While we captured the necessary data, it came at the cost of long hours spent on paperworkand manual data consolidation. To scale the business, we needed something far more efficient.
Finding the Right Digital Solution
Q: Describe your process of finding a system that would support your needs.
Jack Tooley: I started with a Google search and came across JobLogic, which seemed like a good fit. I booked a demo and also considered SimPro, another well-known software in the industry. After reviewing both, I chose JobLogic. However, once we started using it, limitations became apparent.
"We were spending more time managing the software than actually doing the work." – Jack Tooley
Q: Did you face resistance from your team when moving to digital operations?
Jack Tooley: Yes, especially from the engineers and internal staff. The biggest challenge was trusting the software.
"The biggest challenge was trust. Engineers were hesitant to let go of their manual processes and didn’t fully trust the software." – Jack Tooley
Challenges with JobLogic
Q: Tell us about your experience introducing this software to your company.
Jack Tooley: JobLogic was too complex. It required significant internal effort to maintain, and we didn’t have enough office staff to manage it.
"After a year, we saw that it was too complicated, and we were still missing key data. We knew we had to find something better." – Jack Tooley
Discovering PaperDrop
Q: How did you come across PaperDrop?
Jack Tooley: I was familiar with PaperDrop through LinkedIn. I knew James Taylor, who had been working on the software. Piers from PaperDrop reached out to me before Christmas, and we had a demo.
"The transition to PaperDrop has been much smoother than expected. It’s simple, intuitive, and fits our needs perfectly." – Jack Tooley
Lessons Learned & Advice for Others
Q: If you were to start over, what would you do differently?
Jack Tooley: I would spend more time trialing different software before committing.
"If I were to start over, I’d spend more time trialing different options and involve my team in the decision-making process." – Jack Tooley
Q: What advice would you give to other businesses looking to transition to digital job management?
Jack Tooley:
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Do your research. Trial multiple platforms before making a decision.
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Trust the software and the process. Fully commit to integrating it into your business.
"You can’t expect software to work if you don’t fully commit to it. You have to put in the time, adapt to the system, and trust it to deliver." – Jack Tooley
Transitioning to PaperDrop
Q: How has your experience been with PaperDrop so far?
Jack Tooley: It’s been great. We’ve been operational for two weeks now. We started by setting up the processes and training the engineers.
Q: Any final thoughts on your move to PaperDrop?
Jack Tooley: I’m really happy with the decision.
"The system has given us greater visibility into job management and financial tracking, which is already making a difference." – Jack Tooley
Key Takeaways from Jack’s Journey
Jack’s experience highlights the importance of: ✔ Choosing software that aligns with business needs and team capacity. ✔ Ensuring proper buy-in from the team for a smoother transition. ✔ Committing fully to the process and adapting to the system.
By making the switch to PaperDrop, Tooley Engineering has successfully transitioned to a system that supports their growth, streamlines their operations, and enhances financial tracking.
