Declan Murphy is the managing director of Ashgrove Heating in Warrington. Ashgrove fits heat pumps and boilers in people’s homes, and heating on new-build housing sites. Of its 75 people, 40 are engineers who are out on jobs all week. Declan and his leadership team use Headwater to plan the move from boilers to heat pumps.
By 2029, Ashgrove fits more heat pumps than anyone in the North West, with 1,500 installs a year.
42%- Fit a heat pump in three daysCBHomesLead on heat pumps
- Cut return visits to one in twenty jobsLBHomesRight first time
- Fit two heat pumps with each of the first sixSPIndividualGrow our own engineers
- Commission heat pumps on plots 1 to 24 at Moss LanePFNew BuildLead on heat pumps
- Hand over every Moss Lane plot with no heating snagsRNNew BuildRight first time
Pick a pillar to see the work on each side that counts towards it.
Ashgrove’s engineers spend the week in their vans, in people’s homes, and on new-build sites. Their jobs, diaries, and van stock are kept in Ashgrove’s job system, with the quotes and the certificates. Each new-build site also has its own programme and contract paperwork.
Headwater holds the plan for the business. The leadership team and the two supervisors use it every week to check in on their climbs, hold their huddles, and solve issues. An engineer only needs Headwater when they own a climb. Shaun Pickering owns one this quarter, so he checks in for five minutes on Monday before he loads his van. Kyle Hesketh owns none, so his week stays in the job system.
Pick any part of Monday 16 November to see where it’s kept.
- DMDeclanManaging Director
- CBCraigSupervisor, Homes
- PFPaigeContracts Manager
- SPShaunLead engineer
- KHKyleEngineer
Day 1 of 3, with Shaun.
Kept in Ashgrove’s job system.
Pick any part of the day to see where it’s kept.
Most of Ashgrove’s work is still boiler replacements. The vision is to fit 1,500 heat pumps a year by 2029, so Lead on heat pumps is the first of its three pillars. Quoting a boiler with no heat pump option is on the not to do list.
A pillar is one of the plan’s few goals, and initiatives are the projects that work towards it. Each initiative runs from the start of one quarter to the end of another. This quarter, Rhiannon, Declan, Paige, and Craig each own a climb on one of the three initiatives that have started. The other two start in 2027.
Progress is the share of milestones ticked. An initiative counts the milestones on all of its climbs, and the pillar is the average of its initiatives. Choose an initiative, then tick a milestone to see the pillar move.
By 2029, Ashgrove fits more heat pumps than anyone in the North West, with 1,500 installs a year.
- 1,500 heat pumps a year
- 19 in 20 jobs right first time
- Every engineer can fit a heat pump
- Quote a boiler with no heat pump option
- Fit new oil boilers
- Commercial plant rooms
- Open a depot in ChesterDMApr 2027
- Offer heat pump servicing plansREOct 2027
- On trackQuote a heat pump with every boiler replacementCompanyRERhiannon·Due December
Done when Every boiler quote we send has a heat pump option priced next to it.
Ashgrove has two sides. Homes fits heat pumps and boilers in people’s homes, and most jobs take one to three days. New Build fits heating on housing sites for developers, plot by plot, to the developer’s programme.
Each side is a team in Headwater, with its own climbs, its own issues list, and a weekly huddle. Craig Bell leads Homes, and its huddle is at the depot on Monday at 16:00, once the vans are back. Paige Fletcher leads New Build, and holds its huddle on Wednesday at 7:30 on the screen in the Moss Lane site cabin.
The plot programme stays in the site paperwork. Paige’s climb has a milestone for each group of four plots, so its progress shows how many plots have working heat pumps. Switch teams, or tick a group of plots to see the climb move.
- CBCraig Installations Supervisor
- STSophie Operations Manager
- LBLeanne Homes Planner
- SPShaun Lead Heat Pump Engineer
- 1Return visit in Lymm for cold radiators upstairsLB16 days
- 2Return visit in Culcheth for an iced-up outdoor unitLB9 days
- 3Return visit in Penketh for a heat pump left switched offLB3 days
- Pipework kits run short on ThursdaysCB5 days
Right first time is Ashgrove’s second pillar. A return visit is a trip back to a job that should have been finished the first time. Engineers used to put the fault right on the day, and the same fault came up again on another job a few weeks later.
Leanne Baxter plans the Homes diaries. She raises every return visit as an issue on the Homes list, and Craig adds what the engineer found. In the Monday huddle, the team agrees what engineers will do from now on, and records it as a standing rule in the Rulebook.
The rules under Commissioning are Ashgrove’s commissioning checklist. Adam Kowalski adds each new rule to the commissioning sheet that engineers fill in on the job, which is kept in the job system. Open an issue, choose how to record it, and solve it.
- Craig Weather compensation was still on the factory setting.
- Craig The unit sat on the ground, and the defrost water froze under it.
- Craig The customer thought it should go off like a boiler.
- 1Flush the system and fit a magnetic filter before filling.Homes huddle, 8 June
- 2Check the flow temperature at every radiator before you leave.Homes huddle, 10 August
Grow our own engineers is Ashgrove’s third pillar. It covers the path from apprentice to qualified engineer, and from engineer to heat pump installer.
This quarter, Sophie Turner’s climb is to take on four apprentices for January, and Adam Kowalski’s climb is to get 12 engineers certified to fit heat pumps. Shaun’s climb supports Adam’s. He fits two heat pumps with each of the first six engineers to pass the course, and his milestones count towards Adam’s climb.
Adam holds a 1:1 with Shaun every other Friday, and Declan holds one with Sophie. Each 1:1 starts with the notes from last time and what the person has finished since. Pick a climb on the path, then tick a milestone to see it in the next 1:1.
- 1Last time6 November
Book each of the six onto a second install before Christmas. Craig to keep a van free on those days.
- 2Done since1
- First install with each of the six13 Nov
- 3Climbs1Fit two heat pumps with each of the first sixOn trackSupports Get 12 engineers certified to fit heat pumps
Declan prices every new-build tender and most of the bigger home jobs himself, so he spends his mornings on quotes. Quarterly planning happens in the two weeks either side of the start of the quarter, and Ashgrove is closed from 24 December to 3 January.
Each planning session closes last quarter’s climbs and sets the next ones. The company session comes first, because a climb can only support one that’s already confirmed. Ashgrove holds it on Friday 18 December at 13:00, after Declan’s pricing. Homes and New Build plan on the Monday and Tuesday after, and the individual sessions are in the first week back.
Declan proposes one company climb for himself, which is to hand the pricing of home jobs to Rhiannon by March. After that, he only prices new-build tenders. Choose a session to see what it covers.
- 1Pillars
- 2Initiatives
- 3Structure
- 4Close climbs
- 5Set climbs
- 6Confirm
- Quote a heat pump with every boiler replacementRE
- Win the heat pump contract at Hollin FieldsDM
- Write the heat pump commissioning checklistAK
- Get 12 engineers certified to fit heat pumpsAK
- Take on four apprentices for JanuaryST
- Hand the pricing of home jobs to RhiannonDMCompanyDeclan
Done when Rhiannon prices every home job, and Declan prices only new-build tenders.
- Start on site at Hollin FieldsPFCompanyPaige
- Certify ten more engineers to fit heat pumpsAKCompanyAdam
- Settle the four apprentices into their first termSTCompanySophie
Choose a session to see what it covers.
Book a demo and we’ll show you how Headwater would run your week, from the vision down to Monday morning.