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| Pointers - Information, Efficiency and Empowerment • Northgate drives ahead with Opera II | ||
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Sandy Rowan, managing director of integrated security systems specialists Pointer, explains how pooling intelligence on customers within an advanced IT and communications system can contribute to more efficient delivery of customer service, retention, and improve cash flow and profitability. | ||
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The Service Challenge Security is a service driven business. Access control, intruder alarms, control rooms and CCTV are just the tangible elements of a security system - it is how the system performs that is important to the customer. Downtime is a crucial issue as any kind of fault means the client could be under protected and vulnerable. The speed and effectiveness of the security company response to a service call are vital. For this reason, many companies insist on service level agreements. These guarantee a response within a given time and may also impose penalties on the security contractor for failure to meet the obligation. Meeting service level responsibilities is a challenge. The service organisation has regular maintenance and service duties. Call outs, whether due to mis-set alarms, vandalism or genuine technical faults are an additional responsibility. An engineer’s day will therefore include a mix of scheduled service visits and call outs. What’s Wrong with Traditional Ways of Working There was a time when the mobile phone was the pinnacle of technology. It did improve field contact, boost productivity and give faster response to customer demands. But that was then. To understand the issue, first look at the traditional way service calls are administered. Engineers on routine calls will probably have paperwork to tell them address, contact details and schedule of work needed. On completion they will report to base, may report findings to a supervisor and will then be given the next job. If it is an emergency, the engineer would be given verbally the who, where, what and how. Each day the engineer will complete a worksheet that details the time spent travelling, time on site, parts that were used, any problems encountered and so on. Usually, they post the worksheet off to base for manual input to the computer and some weeks later the client is invoiced. In parallel with this, the dispatcher will have on computer information about the customer, reported fault, who attended, when, and when the call was completed. The problem with traditional service scheduling systems is that communication is slow and impoverished. There is information at base that could be really useful in the field, but which cannot be accessed. Equally, the engineer cannot easily relay information back to base. Add to this the time delays, scope for mis-recording and errors on re-keying and it is clear that traditional service systems do not deliver an adequate level of service in a critical field such as security. Also, they do not produce sufficient timely information for management action. Information, Information, Information Pointer recognised the importance of information in the early 90’s with the installation of a bespoke customer management system. This captured client data at the time of initial enquiry and built on this through subsequent sales, installation, maintenance, service and account history. This database was accessible to all internal sales, service and finance functions and provided a valuable resource both in managing client accounts and analysis of operations to improve effectiveness. There were 18,000 client records. By the late 90’s this system was starting to show its age and we recognised a need for a quicker, more accessible and information-rich system. An extensive search for a software supplier eventually led to Advatech a company with an established product, Siclops. This was tailored to the needs of service management, and was used by other companies in related fields such as air-conditioning and facility management. Advatech were willing to work with us to customise their product to meet our special needs. The system is windows based and therefore for has a familiar feel. At the core it has a fully integrated relational database. This knowledge base can be fed and accessed from multiple sources. The system links directly to Pegasus Opera so that financial information flows are unimpeded. Many routine reports can be generated automatically so that anomalies are highlighted for further investigation and management action. |
Installation began during 2000, and full implementation was planned in three phases. The first phase was the creation of the information core, including porting over old records, restructuring data, adding new fields and development of macros for standard reports. Phase two, from late 2000 into 2002 involved rolling out of the system to field engineers and equipping them with hand held PDA’s (Compaq IPAQ’s with a standard GSM mobile phone interface). The next phase will include intranet communication. This will bring clients into the system, enabling them to book calls directly. Engineers and will also receive a daily e-mail update on current technical and personnel matters. This will be a two way process so that they can feed information back from the field, file time sheets, and interact with colleagues so that they become a more integrated part of the team. The Information Advantage Better communication with engineers in the field has brought advantages for customers and Pointer. At the point of dispatch, the controller now knows not just the location, but also the experience and capability of each engineer. Time to site can therefore be minimised and we can direct someone to each job with relevant competence to handle the equipment involved. Engineers visiting a location have more information at their fingertips: multiple site contacts, details of previous call history and details of next scheduled service visit. They are able to liaise with their supervisor and technical experts for guidance and can order up parts required and reschedule their next visit to fit the parts whilst still on site. Consider the advantages of seeing previous site history and being able to call up the previous engineer’s notes before visiting. The engineer can deal intelligently with the call, learning from past experience so that common mode failures are immediately dealt with and any deeper seated problems identified more quickly and resolved to the satisfaction of the client. Call planning is now more efficient. A full days routine service calls, with a schedule of work, parts lists, and relevant technical tips and information can be called off on the PDA. Engineers can therefore plan their calls more effectively, spending less time travelling and with more productive time on site. There is more to this. Every visit is fully documented - but without the need for great bundles of paper. There is more effective data capture on time to site, time in attendance, fault type, equipment involved, parts fitted and job completion. This data flows into the core database, enabling inventory to be adjusted and stock replenished where necessary. This allows the job to be quickly and accurately invoiced. Shortening this cycle not only improves cash flow but also lessens the possibility of disputes with the client about what was done and when. Importantly, the system generates a whole raft of data for management purposes and to support service level agreements. Excessive visits to site, for example, could be due to defective kit - a random fault that may not have been identified by the previous service management system. We can now take the issue up with the manufacturer, substitute the suspect item and eliminate a potential weakness. Similarly, where external factors, such as vandalism or staff failing to set or reset systems correctly, give rise to excessive site visits we can notify the client so they can alert local police to the nuisance or provide staff security training to overcome the problem at source. The latter point is particularly relevant as recent codes of practice have been introduced to reduce the number of false alarm visits by emergency services. Siclops allows us to view call records and help the customer identify and action problem areas. The Future The prospect of adding intranet communication is exciting. This will bring us closer to clients and create more effective partnerships. In the short term we will be equipping field staff with better traffic monitoring systems to get then to site faster and with greater safety. The need for security will not diminish. In five years, possibly less, we may look back at the present system and wonder at its simplicity. Certainly front line security systems are becoming more complex and the back office systems that support them must also increase in sophistication and power. |
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| Pointers - Information, Efficiency and Empowerment • Northgate drives ahead with Opera II | ||
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About Northgate plc About Advatech About Pegasus |
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Forty Northgate Group Companies to use Opera II. In the largest ever deal of its kind, Opera II licences and support services have been sold through Pegasus Accredited Reseller, Advatech Computer Systems Ltd, to Northgate Vehicle Hire Ltd of Darlington. | ||
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Opera II - the
accounting and business management software solution for small & medium-sized
enterprises from Pegasus Software Limited - will be used at forty of Northgate's
Group Companies, the organisation behind one of the UK and Ireland's premier
commercial vehicle rental networks. On average, each system will have
five-users with the modules purchased including Sales Ledger, Purchase
Ledger, Nominal Ledger, Payroll, Reporter, Cashbook and the Plus Pack.
Graham Hewitt, Advatech Computer Systems managing director, said: "Northgate
chose Opera II because of its range of functionality and ease-of-use.
Having consistent financial controls across a network of independently
run operations is important to the financial strength of the group."
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Established in the early eighties, Northgate Vehicle Hire is based in the North East of England. It rents commercial vehicles and cars to businesses from a network of hire companies and a fleet of over 40,000 vehicles. Pegasus chief operating officer, Andy West, said: "This is the biggest order we've had for Opera II. Northgate purchased five site licences earlier this year. They were evidently impressed with the functionality provided as they have now purchased a further thirty-five site licences, making a total of over 200 system users. This is a strong endorsement of the capabilities of Opera II." | |||
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