Community Impact, Built from the Inside Out

"For me, it's never just been about doing the job and moving on. You're part of a community, so you have a responsibility to show up properly." - Andrea Lovell, co-owner, Heron Plumbing

Community impact isn't something most trades businesses plan for.

Trades work is already demanding. Margins are tight, and keeping up with the pace of the industry is often challenging enough. For many operators, the focus has to stay squarely on jobs, teams, and getting through the week.

Heron Plumbing operates in that same reality. As a small trades business working in a fast-moving industry, expectations are high and pressure is constant. But from Andrea's perspective, running a plumbing business isn't just about completing the work at hand. It also involves work quality, who it supports, and what kind of presence the business has in the communities it operates within

For Andrea and the rest of the team at Heron Plumbing, working in the trades means seeing firsthand the strain the industry can place on people and how closely trades businesses are woven into everyday life.

Think about it: customers invite you into their homes. Teams rely on you for stability. Communities feel the effects of how local businesses choose to show up.

Understanding this created a sense of responsibility, shaping how Heron Plumbing operates, from the systems they rely on to how they manage growth and where they choose to invest their time, energy, and resources.

Building an Operation to Keep Pace

When Andrea and her husband, Dale, took over Heron Plumbing, it became clear early on that the way the business was running wouldn't support where it needed to go. The company relied on outdated, paper-based processes, and even after moving to a smaller system, the limitations showed quickly, especially while balancing maintenance work alongside larger contracting jobs.

"We were doing both maintenance and contracting work, and the system we had just couldn't handle that properly," said Andrea Lovell, co-owner and office manager at Heron Plumbing. "It was very old and very backwards."

About a year into ownership, Heron Plumbing implemented Simpro following a recommendation from their accountant and business coach. For Andrea, the decision centered on finding a system that could handle operational complexity without adding pressure.

"It always felt like information was scattered everywhere," Andrea said. "Now, we aren't chasing information anymore, and everyone has access to all the information they require immediately. That alone reduced a lot of stress across the business."

With Simpro managing complexity behind the scenes, Heron Plumbing tripled job turnover without increasing office staff, even as field technician numbers grew. The platform absorbed work that would otherwise have landed on people, allowing the business to scale without adding administrative burden.

"The field staff adapted really well to the system," Andrea said. "Once they got used to it, they could see how much easier it made things."

Due to supplier integrations reducing manual inputting account-related work to approximately ten hours per week, the team have been able to incorporate the accounts role into existing administration roles. This has significantly reduced the day-to-day impact on time and headspace, freeing up administration capacity that was previously consumed by manual processing

Voice-enabled job notes helped field staff capture accurate information without slowing down. improving consistency across jobs. The time saved didn't disappear. It was reinvested into delivering higher-quality work at scale.

"Accuracy really matters, because if the information isn't right, everything else falls over," Andrea said.

With fewer mistakes, less rework, and less firefighting, the business gained something just as valuable as efficiency: the ability to look beyond the immediate job list.

Your systems should take pressure away, not add to it. That's exactly what Simpro does for us.

• Andrea Lovell

The Pressure People Carry in the Trades

Pressure in the trades shows up in long days, constant problem-solving, and the weight of knowing people are relying on you to fix things quickly. That pressure can follow technicians and office staff home, affecting their stress levels and mental health.

"There's a lot of pressure to keep jobs moving, people paid, and customers happy." Andrea said. "If you don't have good systems, everything feels harder than it needs to be."

Andrea saw the effect of this pressure across the business, from technicians carrying the mental load of jobs that didn't go as planned to office staff juggling schedules, accounts, and customer expectations.

She also noticed how isolating the industry could be, especially for partners and families supporting trades businesses behind the scenes.

Once operational stability improved, the shift was immediate. The business moved from reactive to predictable, giving people confidence in what to expect day to day.

"When the basics are under control, you have more headspace," Andrea said. "Because the business runs smoothly, we can focus on other priorities."

Leveraging Stability to Create Community Impact

One of Heron Plumbing's most meaningful focus areas has been creating connections within the trades, particularly for administration staff and partners who often experience the industry from the sidelines.

"Trades can be really isolating." Andrea said. "Youre on your own a lot, especially when you're in the office, running a business."

That insight led Andrea and her peers to help establish an initiative for women in the trades, creating space for women in trades-adjacent roles to connect, share experiences, and feel less alone.

"Being a woman in the trades, you're very aware that people are watching." Andrea said. "I don't want to be treated differently, but I do feel a responsibility to show there's space for women here."

Her contributions were formally recognized when she received the Jackson Women in Plumbing Award, acknowledging her leadership across operations, apprenticeships, and industry advocacy.

That same responsibility extends into the wider community. Heron Plumbing supports youth programs, apprenticeships, and local initiatives, including Andrea's role as a trustee with the Don Oliver Youth Sports Foundation, and her husband Dale's role on the Auckland Master Plumber committee.

Plumbing is the work we do, but it's not the only impact we can have.

• Andrea Lovell

Recognition That Reflects the Work

Being named the 2025 Simpro Customer Excellence Award winner for Community Impact reflected values Heron Plumbing already lived by.

"As long as we can keep doing good work and supporting the people around us, that's what success looks like." Andrea said.

Recognition doesn't mark an endpoint for the team. The work continues with a focus on quality. long-term decisions, and supporting the people and communities connected to the business.

Being involved in the community isn't a one-off. We do it because it's the right thing to do.

• Andrea Lovell

Building a Business and a Legacy

Having the right foundation changes how decisions are made and how challenges are handled When systems are solid, the business feels steadier, and that confidence carries through to the people doing the work.

"You have to build a business you can live with long term." Andrea said.

For Andrea, community involvement, operational stability, and sustainable growth are inseparable.

"If we didn't have the right systems in place," she said, "none of the other work we do would be possible."