Featured in Electrical Times Magazine – December 2025
Propeller’s cloud-based software is helping electrical contractors to overcome complex regulatory demands, rising costs and productivity pressures. Our MD, Dave Carr, explains how.
As the demand for electrical contracting increases, the industry still faces significant challenges. Operational pressures such as rising costs and overstretched teams have shown no signs of easing this year. At the same time, contractors must navigate a complex web of evolving regulation, particularly when working for social landlords.
The Social Housing (Regulation) Act, Awaab’s Law and Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) are driving greater responsiveness, transparency and tenant engagement. This has led to several new requirements coming into force, aligning social landlords with the private sector. Inspections of electrical systems every five years and ensuring tenants receive an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) within 28 days of inspection or before moving in, are just some of the changes putting pressure on contractors.
Falling short
Whether working with a private or social landlord, managing large workloads and regulatory requirements can be challenging without the right technology place.
Using manual, paper-based processes to monitor and manage building compliance across potentially hundreds of properties is not only time consuming but prone to error. Similarly, using multiple or outdated IT platforms can be counterproductive, making it more difficult to keep track of compliance and the status of inspections.
When scheduling servicing appointments, ineffective systems can mean engineers are assigned to jobs that don’t align with their skillsets, or they are not fully prepared for, risking delays, repeat visits, or incomplete repairs. In some cases, engineers must travel long distances between appointments, driving up costs and reducing overall productivity. Missed appointments and no-access visits add to the challenges.
The only way is up
In such a challenging operating environment, Propeller’s cloud-based job management software has a critical role to play in driving efficiency and helping contractors to meet regulatory demands.
Delivered via a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, our technology is accessed online rather than installed on a computer or server. This enables the software to be cost-effectively implemented and requires no specialist IT skills to operate. Propeller manages the infrastructure, security and updates, and can easily add new functionality when needed.
A step ahead
In response to industry and regulatory change, we are continually evolving our technology.
Recent advances include the introduction of ‘intelligent’ scheduling enabling thousands of servicing appointments to be booked in bulk, up to three months in advance and within seconds. Visits for both planned maintenance and responsive repairs can also be automated.
Artificial intelligence (AI) enhances engineers’ productivity by continuously analysing the workforce to optimise workloads. Appointments are allocated based on factors such as skillsets, travel time, and the job’s estimated duration. Over time, the system self learns from this data to further enhance efficiency and increase first-time fix rates.
Compared to conventional scheduling methods, this approach can reduce operational costs by up to 40 per cent. It also has the potential to cut travel costs by up to 25 per cent and lower carbon emissions through more efficient routing.
Fulfilling new requirements
To ease compliance management, our software provides a single platform containing all the required documentation for each property, including photographs, materials used and costings.
On site, engineers can instantly access key information such as details of previous repairs and appliance conditions. This data can be viewed via a mobile app and updated in real time. Gas and electrical certificates can also be validated on-site, further improving efficiency.
Following new electrical safety rules for the social housing sector, we’ve recently introduced new functionality to automatically send compliance-related certifications and letters to customers in bulk by post. This fully integrated service also means letters and documents can be tracked and evidenced as required.
Our software helps contractors to improve reporting, communication, and customer satisfaction too.
Appointment details can be automatically sent to customers, and additional functionality added to manage no-access scenarios and automate follow-on visits. Two-way messaging via SMS or WhatsApp keeps customers informed and allows them to easily reschedule, reducing missed appointments and improving engagement.
All data captured in the field is consolidated into a central analytics dashboard. This provides real-time visibility across key metrics including compliance status, engineer performance, no-access reasons, and customer satisfaction scores.
Raising the bar
Rising operational pressures and regulatory demands in electrical contracting are driving the need for more efficiency. Manual processes and outdated technology can no longer keep up with the pace of change, requiring new approaches to job scheduling and compliance.
Propeller’s cloud-based software provides contractors with a single platform that can not only meet new regulatory requirements but drive efficiency, reduce costs, and improve service delivery.
