How Depher is supported by Klipboard to help those in need

James Anderson is passionate, motivated and dedicated to improving the lives of those who are unable to help themselves. He is also the founder, owner, and spokesperson for Depher (Disabled, Elderly, Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response).

Since launching Depher, James has been a busy man. He has helped hundreds of people in multiple communities and continues to campaign for funding while installing, repairing and even taking time to buy the groceries of those in need.

Klipboard is proud to support James with our Job Management Software, helping him and his team better organize their workload. We interviewed James to ask him about what motivated him to set up Depher and what he thinks can be done to improve the lives of countless people he believes are being left behind.

What is Depher?

Depher stands for Disabled, Elderly, Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response. Depher was founded in 2017, its initial creation was to help the Elderly against rogue traders and high prices. To provide plumbing and heating during the cold months when the cost of repairs was beyond them. It relies on public donations to provide all the labour costs, cover materials and vital pieces of heating and plumbing equipment during the winter months.

They provide continuous support with the elderly community which in most cases is life saving.

About James Anderson

James is a fully qualified Plumbing and Heating Engineer who still fixes breakdowns, surveys, water leaks and gas leaks. He is still heavily involved in the community, as James says “I can’t just sit back and say, somebody else should do this, that’s how you lose touch with the people you are serving”.

He spoke quite openly about being selfish during a career that has spanned over 25 years. Caring solely about money, having a good job, a nice van, clothes and a flash car. In 2013, his life changed when his son passed away. William passing away at 16 weeks old changed his life forever. James made a promise to William that he will be the man that he knows his son would have grown up to be and the memory of William is driving James to make other people’s lives better.

Who is Depher helping?

Fuel Poverty, the cost of living crisis and rising energy prices have pushed people to their limits and they are the people at the most risk of falling through the cracks in society. These are the people that James and his team are helping everyday. James explains that in 2018 around 18,000 people died due to the cold weather and as the UK prepares itself for another rise in gas and electricity prices towards the end of 2022, James is bracing himself for many more people to suffer.

Depher relies on charitable donations so they can purchase and install working boilers, cookers and even food parcels for those in need. They also complete private jobs for those who can afford to pay for the work and those profits are then distributed back into the community.

How Klipboard is supporting Depher

James and his team manage their busy schedule of boiler and cooker installations and repairs through Klipboard.

Previously, Depher used paper worksheets and diaries. James jokingly describes it as being a “Caveman operation”. Lost paperwork, inefficient collection of details and billing errors were costing them time and money.

James says “We needed to do something about it. We downloaded Klipboard and quickly got set up. Anne-Marie in our team showed me one morning and I fell in love”. James was impressed by how quickly you can get the information for each job you have, instant visibility of directions and all the photos, notes and previous job history you will need.

James comments “Klipboard has saved us downtime of at least 12 hours a week”.

All the money that is saved on books, paper, pens and lost hours is now being used to help those in need. You can read more on Klipboard and the features that Field Service engineers, technicians and installers benefit from by clicking here.

How you can support Depher

If you’re keen to support James and his team with their mission to provide vital heating and plumbing services to communities across the UK then visit https://www.depher.com/donate/