Client:
Francis Fire
Location:
Cheshire, UK
Date:
2026
From Paper Records to a Clearer Mobile Asset Workflow
Francis Fire provides, services and maintains fire extinguishers for organisations across Cheshire and the surrounding area. As its customer base grew, its existing pen-and-paper process made it harder to capture consistent service information, keep asset records current and prepare documentation efficiently.
The business needed a practical way to manage customer, site and extinguisher information across multiple locations while giving its engineer a faster way to find, update and complete asset records on site.
The Challenge
Paper records required information to be written down and handled manually. This increased administration and made it more difficult to maintain one clear view of customers, sites, assets and upcoming activity.
Francis Fire wanted a tailored application that could support the whole operational workflow: maintaining customer details, recording extinguisher assets, updating service information on site, generating certificates and reviewing service status.
What Varciti Delivered
Varciti designed and delivered ESMMA, the Extinguisher Service & Maintenance Mobile App. The tailored application suite brought the main customer, site, asset and reporting workflows into one clearer system.
The solution includes:
- Customer and site records: a structured database for maintaining customer information, locations, contacts and associated records.
- Mobile asset workflows: an on-site application for locating, adding and updating extinguisher asset records.
- Barcode scanning: a quicker way to identify assets and populate the relevant information while working on site.
- Certificate generation: an automated process that turns service and asset information into PDF documentation for final quality checking.
- Reporting: a dashboard providing a clearer view of asset status, completed activity, overdue work and upcoming service dates.
The ESMMA mobile application gives the engineer access to site and asset workflows while working away from the office.
Supporting More Than 6,000 Asset Records
The system supports more than 6,000 extinguisher asset records. The engineer can locate and update asset information on site, while the reporting tools provide a clearer view of service status and upcoming activity.
Barcode-assisted lookup reduces repeated data entry, and automated document generation removes several manual steps from preparing service records. The final documentation can then be checked before it is issued.
The Outcome
Replacing the paper-based process with a tailored application has given Francis Fire a more consistent way to manage operational information. Asset details can be updated as work is completed, customer and site records are easier to maintain, and reporting information is available in a more usable form.
The application also supports a more efficient administrative workflow. Rather than rebuilding documentation manually after each visit, information recorded during the service can be used to prepare the relevant PDF certificate for review.
No separate time-saving percentage or financial saving is claimed because those measures have not been independently verified. The practical outcome is a clearer, less paper-dependent workflow that supports the day-to-day management of a growing asset base.
Ongoing Support and Improvement
The core solution was delivered in January 2024. Varciti continues to provide application maintenance, troubleshooting and improvements as Francis Fire's operational needs change.
This ongoing work includes maintaining data structures, addressing issues and refining application functionality where necessary. It allows the system to keep developing alongside the way the business works.
A Tailored Application for a Real Operational Need
This project shows how a tailored application can replace disconnected paper records with a more manageable operational workflow. The value comes from designing the system around the work people actually need to complete: finding information, updating records, preparing documentation and understanding what needs attention next.
Varciti's role in this project is application design, implementation and ongoing support. The case study does not present Varciti as a fire-safety provider and does not make claims about fire-safety compliance or sign-off.
If your organisation relies on paper forms, spreadsheets or disconnected processes to manage customers, sites or assets, Varciti can help you explore whether a tailored application would make the workflow clearer and easier to manage.