WorkWaves's Route Manager made free for six weeks in UK and Ireland.

A collaboration between Leadent Digital and WorkWave means suppliers of critical goods and services in the UK and Ireland can access the fleet-management's route-planning software free of charge.

Swift Implementation

For six weeks essential industries will be able to utilise WorkWave's Route Manager platform which can be implemented in hours, the two companies say.

Firms on the front line are having to expand swiftly to meet demand for home deliveries and other services and it is hoped use of the software can help companies optimise their resources and support new and inexperienced drivers.

Leadent Digital's CEO Alastair Clifford-Jones said seeing the growth of essential industries during the Covid-19 outbreak influenced the collaboration. "When we saw so many organisations working so hard in these unprecedented times, we needed to help and this seemed the best way of using our skills and resources to support the national effort. We have seen companies growing very rapidly to meet demand and this could really help them cope."

For more details about the offer click here.

Anglian Water is the largest water and waste water company in England and Wales by geographic area, operating 1,257 water and waste water treatment works, with over 112,000km of pipework across 27,500km.  Anglian Water services more than 6 million domestic and business customers in the East of England and Hartlepool.

Anglian Water had an established ClickSoftware Scheduling system in place. With more than 15,000 jobs per day being deployed to 1,300 Field Engineers, it was essential that the schedules were as optimised as possible. To ensure they were getting the most out of the system they turned to Leadent Solutions a management consulting company specialising in mobile workforce management.

Anglian Water’s senior managers were aware that they were not optimising their schedules, often seeing ‘white space’ on the Gantt – effectively idle time for Field Engineers.  System changes introduced over a seven year period had added complexity to the system to the point that it really didn’t appear to be working well.

 

With the benefit of hindsight it was clear that necessary change management rigour had not always been applied. Perceived poor performance led the scheduling staff to mistrust the automated scheduling functionality. Analytics showed that this had led to 70% of jobs being manually scheduled, which accounted for approximately 300 hours per week.

Previous investigations had highlighted issues with data, processes, and Scheduler behaviours.  The Operations Management Team took this feedback on board but also wanted to understand the level of integrity of the system set-up and configuration. As a long-standing partner of Anglian Water we were asked to draw on our niche expertise, and asked to undertake an independent review of the system.

Leadent undertook a 6 week programme of work to review the scheduling system.  Before focusing on technical issues they:

• Worked with the Operations Management Team to understand business needs and goals
• Spent time with the Scheduling Team to better understand their viewpoint and working practices

Their Technical Consultants then completed a detailed review of the system set-up and configuration.  Issues were shared with Scheduling Team to validate initial findings.

The full technical review showed that over time the system set up and configuration had become:

• misaligned to business goals and processes
• overly complex, often with conflicting elements

It was clear why the system was not performing optimally, explaining in part why confidence levels in the Scheduling Tool had reached rock bottom.

Emma Newman, Managing Consultant at Leadent Solutions who led the review said “taking time to understand the current position at Anglian Water opened up a series of questions that prompted the team to really start to re-focus and re-address what good looked like ‘today’. Not what was, or what has been, but what is needed now in order to ensure their system continued to support the organisation as effectively as possible, and was properly aligned to future business initiatives and objectives.

Best practice and process adoption is born out of confidence and trust in the solutions that are in place, which was something that was starting to diminish at Anglian Water.

 

We were able to clearly identify the current position, and have understood where the Anglian team want and need to be. Recommendations on how to get there meant that we could help to re-focus their minds on best practice and make sure that the system configuration became relevant to their day to day workforce planning operations.”

Richard Cartwright, Technical Consultant at Leadent Solutions said “Conducting an overall assessment of configuration and technical set up will always unearth the opportunity to make an improvement of some kind. Taking a proper look under the bonnet and making sure workforce management configuration is working to drive the correct business objectives is vital in making sure you are getting the most out of the tool you have invested so heavily in.

If your business changes, the technology has to be re-assessed to make sure it is still working for you and not against you, and in some cases with Anglian, configuration had ended up in a position where it was definitely going against the grain in some areas of the business.”

During our time on site at Anglian Water, we were able to take time to ensure that employees involved in scheduling activities were trained in best practice techniques, as well as up-skilling the third party IT service provider to ensure on-going support was in place.

At the end of the six weeks, a comprehensive report was compiled and presented back to Anglian Water.  The report enabled the business to understand the systems and business processes that were in place, how this compared against others in their sector and industry best practice.  The report also gave clear and specific advice on the remedial action required to maximise their investment and support their on-going strategic goals.

The recommendations made in the report were completely endorsed by the Operations Management Team.   Working with the Scheduling Team and broader business, we were asked to make all necessary changes to the system set-up and configuration.

Ian Rule, Head of Anglian Water’s Operational Management Centre said of the review: “Leadent Solutions have demonstrated their extensive expertise in both scheduling systems and workforce management.  The in-depth review and improvement plan has shown us that they not only understand the complex technical aspects, but also the business – its needs and goals.  Their no-nonsense approach has ensured that we have been given the right information to make essential decisions.  They have delivered where others have failed.”

 

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Workforce optimisation specialists Leadent Solutions have recently launched a new health-check service for companies operating a mobile workforce to ensure they are getting the most out of their existing systems and processes.

To find out more about what this service entails Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland spoke exclusively with Emma Newman, Managing Consultant at Leadent Solutions and we will be bringing you this interview across the next four weeks.

In this first part of this new series the discussion focussed on perhaps the most important part of any organisation, the people.

In part two we discussed why processes are such a key ingredient in the successful mix of a field service organisation and how we can get these right and in part three we looked at assessing the systems you have in place

There is also an accompanying series of articles to this interview which add further insight into the health-check. The first of these of which is available here.  The second feature written by Mark Thompson, Managing Consultant with Leadent Solutions is available here and looks at processes, the third feature written by Kevin Anderson looks at systems is available here and finally the feature which accompanies this instalment is available here

 

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If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Emma and the team directly by clicking this link

 

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As our exclusive series looking at Leadent Solutions new Healthcheck service draws to an end we Dave Kemp, Managing consultant takes a look at what outcomes can be anticipated when companies go through the process which is designed to help them get the most out of their existing service management systems.... 

If you missed the introduction to this series you can revisit part one here and the second feature, which focussed on the processes in a field service organisation is available here and the third part which focusses on the systems in place is available here

If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Dave and the team directly by clicking this link

Planning for the journey

In Parts 1,2, and 3 of this series of articles we have explained that to understand the health of field-based operations, and to identify areas for improvement, a holistic view covering People, Process and Systems is required. The initial output of Leadent Solutions Workforce Health Check detailing issues and recommended remedial actions really only represents the start of a journey. This article discusses how to take the next steps in delivering improvements.

Deciding What You Need To Do?

Put in a new scheduling system, re-engineer the mobile application, adopt a new work priority schema, upgrade the contractors’ portal, focus on office / field collaboration in planning decisions, re-train the call agents….

A review or health check will detail issues and recommend remedial actions. What now? Of course there will be budgetary limitations, and a keen expectation regards delivery timeframes, but question around ’what should be done?’, ‘in what order?’, and ‘what can be deferred?’ will remain. To make these decisions we need to understand the business value associated with each of the remedial actions, the costs, and the ease or difficulty of implementation. Other methods are available, but mapping potential changes by business value and implementation difficulty (and cost) usually works well.

This is a start point in deciding what needs to be done, and what is a priority to the business. Input from across the business, including field operations is required, early buy-in being absolutely essential.

Understanding the Bigger Picture

The health check will have focused on looking at issues and opportunities related to field operations. However, before proceeding with remedial actions, an understanding of broader considerations is required.

• Does the company plan to make any structural or organisation changes?
• What IT or change programmes are planned or ‘in flight’?
• Regarding technology, are there planned upgrades?

These questions are examples only, but it is clear that the bigger picture needs to be understood. It will impact what remedial action is done, if there are any dependencies, and when it can be done.

Staying with the car analogy adopted in this series, you may have decided to replace your old Toyota, but now know the new model is due out early next year. Do you buy now, and maybe pick up a bargain, or wait for the very latest model, one of the very few on the road?

By categorising and prioritising remedial actions, by understanding the bigger picture and dependencies, and of course working to money and time constraints, it should be possible to group actions into work packages and establish an order to those work packages.

Giving Your Project Some Shape

A project focused on making some minor, short term configuration changes to a forecasting system being delivered to a small central planning team probably needs a different approach to a transformation programme introducing a brand new mobile solution to 8,000 field engineers based across the region. It’s very much horses for courses! Focusing on the transformation end of the scale, the programme will have to consider:

• Requirements confirmation
• Detailed design (process and IT)
• Build and testing (IT)
• Stakeholder management
• Business readiness
• Communications
• Training
• Proof of concept / pilot
• Implementation and support approach
• Benefits realisation and tracking

Of course, this all needs to be underpinned by programme and project management activities, and an appropriate governance approach. Again, horse for courses!

Putting the Team Together

It’s vital that changes made impacting field -based operations involve subject matter experts from support functions and from the operational business. At Leadent Solutions, working with our clients, we have seen this work well when:

• The Project Board has full functional representation
• When team members are seconded from Business As Usual roles on to project positions
• A business network, with representatives from all appropriate functions, is used to inform or validate design or implementation decisions

Business representation on the project team in part ensures the integrity of the final solution, and, to some degree, removes the ‘not designed here’ risk.

Keeping the Business Informed: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

In the first article we focused on ‘People’, their prime role in business performance, and the importance of change management in any improvement activities. It’s not my intention to revisit change management generally in this article, but it is worth re-iterating the importance of communication.

It’s important from the very outset that the business understands:

• What the project / programme will deliver
• How they will deliver it
• What the project expects from the business
• The anticipated timeframes
• What the feedback channels are

And that those messages are:

• Tailored to the audience (a field engineer will not want to see a detailed project plan)
• Repeated on a frequent basis

With the disparate nature of field-based operations, communications are not always straightforward. Team meetings may be infrequent, access to systems or the internet is not always assured. Some creative thinking may be required to make sure the messages are heard!

As an output of the Healthcheck, we work with clients to shape, plan and set-up remedial actions – this can range from simplistic but focused action plans to large transformation projects. This article has highlighted some key considerations in that process.

Next time, the last part of this series covers a Case Study at Anglian Water.   A Leadent Solutions Health Check on the quality of work schedules led to a number of changes in the set-up and configuration of the ClickSchedule application. These changes have driven immediate improvements in field engineer productivity.

There is also a video interview that accompanies this feature with Emma Newman, Managing Consultant Leadent Solutions which is available here

 

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If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Dave and the team directly by clicking this link

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be social and share this story

Workforce optimisation specialists Leadent Solutions have recently launched a new health-check service for companies operating a mobile workforce to ensure they are getting the most out of their existing systems and processes.

To find out more about what this service entails Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland spoke exclusively with Emma Newman, Managing Consultant at Leadent Solutions and we will be bringing you this interview across the next four weeks.

In this first part of this new series the discussion focussed on perhaps the most important part of any organisation, the people.

In part two we discussed why processes are such a key ingredient in the successful mix of a field service organisation and how we can get these right.

There is also an accompanying series of articles to this interview which add further insight into the health-check. The first of these of which is available here.  The second feature written by Mark Thompson, Managing Consultant with Leadent Solutions is available here and looks at processes and finally the third feature written by Kevin Anderson and like this video looks at systems is available here 

If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Emma and the team directly by clicking this link

As we continue our series looking at Leadent Solutions new Healthcheck service designed to help organisations get the most out of their systems and processes for optimising their field-based workforce Kevin Anderson takes up the mantle as he focusses on systems. 

If you missed the introduction to this series you can revisit part one here and the second feature, which focussed on the processes in a field service organisation is available here.

Focus on Systems

In parts 1 and 2 of this series we’ve talked about the importance of people and process to running you field-based operations, but without the right technology or systems it’s unlikely that your business is running optimally. A technology review is a key component of the Leadent Solutions Workforce Health Check.

The Promise of IT

Over recent years, technology has transformed field-based operations.  At the Field Engineer’s end of the process communication, hardware, and applications continue to advance at pace, with many companies now beyond their first mobile solution.

Similarly, automated scheduling and deployment systems have provided a paradigm shift in the way supporting back office functions work in the last ten years.  Industry leading organisations have recognised the importance of forecasting and planning in field-based operations, and we are therefore seeing an increased focus on technology solutions in this area.

The core enterprise applications covering job and asset management, customer management, supply chain, and reporting functions typically make up the IT landscape for field-based operations.

It may be that your IT is set-up well, is integrated, has appropriate functionality, enables your processes and employees, and supports the delivery of optimal business outcomes.

Most likely not all those boxes are ticked!  We often see our clients sitting in one of two camps.  Some clients have systems that are past their sell buy date in terms of ease of use, functionality or outcomes, and this is where replacement would probably be the best option.  Other clients have adopted new technology solutions, but have failed to realise expected benefits.

Staying with the motoring analogy adopted in this series of articles, maybe it’s really time to change that much loved, but old and problematic car.

Perhaps now’s the time for a change, a shiny new car with all the latest gizmos!  Or, perhaps the car you bought only last year simply needs a service to make it feel like new?

Taking a System View

The Leadent Solutions Workforce Health Check will take a view on your systems.  The health check may be part of a broader review of operations, alongside consideration of processes and people, for example.  It may cover the full suite of technology solutions enabling your field-based operations, or it may be limited to a specific application.   Review components include:

• Business objectives
• IT strategy (as required)
• Operational performance (targets and actual)
• System functionality, including alignment to process
• System configuration (as required)
• System enhancements (as required)
• Known issues
• Employee viewpoint (IT Department and End User)
• Current projects / programmes

As experts in understanding workforce optimisation for field-based operations, we know what good looks like.  We will highlight key issues and gaps, and recommend remedial actions.  Depending on the scope of the review and findings, this may be a prioritised action list, or maybe something more akin to a longer term technology adoption road map.

On The Way Out

The outcome of a review may show that a system, or suite of systems, are past their sell buy date in terms of ease of use, functionality or outcomes, and replacement would be the best option.

Finding yourself in this situation can be daunting.  You can see that a new system is a must, and the risk you are placing on your operations by continuing to make do with the existing technology is one you should look to mitigate as soon as possible. But the options available to you are, to some extent, incomprehensible, so where on earth do you start?

Leadent Solutions know and understand the leading technologies that enable field based operations.

Whether it’s large ERP level software, or SME targeted solutions, it is our business to understand this market so we are able to help our clients make informed choices about technology.  Even so, there’s a mind-boggling array of products and technologies out there and it’s hard to know where to look, or more importantly, what to focus on when making that product selection.

After conducting in-depth research into field-based workforce management software capabilities, we’ve found that the market is pretty mature, with lots of different products catering to different, specific requirements.  Important things to consider in this evaluation are:

• Involving the right people,  from the business, from the IT Department, and potentially third parties subject matter experts
• Understanding the functionality you require, detailing functional and non-functional requirements
• Understanding any constraints (IT strategy, budget, timelines, e.g.)
• Being aware of any complexities in implementation, including potential integration issues
• Establishing the criteria against which you are going to evaluate
• Having a defined evaluation selection process that includes demonstrations, proof of concepts, reference site visits, for example

It’s a process that, if managed effectively, can really lead to a step change in the performance of your field-based operations.  Product selection is one thing, implementation another.  Implementation is a subject that we will return to in the fourth article in this series.

Fine Tuning

You have invested time and money in new technology, but it’s simply not delivering the expected business performance.   There many reasons why that may be case, for example:

• The original implementation fell short in terms of functionality and ease of use
• Business adoption isn’t as planned
• Subsequent system changes have focused on specific issues, not the broader performance
• The business and its processes have moved on, leaving the technology behind[/unordered_list]

A health check may conclude that exploiting the technology you have, rather than replacing systems, is the best option. Exploitation may include software re-configuration and / or system enhancements.

System upgrades potentially also fall into this category.  By involving the right people, understanding the functionality you require and any known constraints, and being aware of any complexities in implementation, this will drive the detail of the improvements required.

The last part of this series covers a case study at Anglian Water, where a health check on the quality of work schedules led to a number of changes in the set-up and configuration of the ClickSchedule application.

This article has focused on technology, but business solutions depend on technology, process and people.  It may not be technology where remedial action is required.  Particularly where there are issues of business adoption, understanding and rectifying the people issues may be of greater importance.  That system issue may just get fixed by re-briefing or re-training your employees.

So, in this series, we’ve now talked about optimising the three cornerstones of your field-based operations namely people, process, and technology.  Hopefully, we’ve shown how looking closely at what you are already doing, and considering the options for improvement, this can lead to real change in your business.

Next time, we’ll consider how you can plan to make the required changes.

There is also a video interview that accompanies this feature with Emma Newman, Managing Consultant Leadent Solutions which is available here

If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Emma and the team directly by clicking this link

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After last week’s focus on People, this week we’re turning our attention to the importance of checking your processes for field-based operations are in good shape. They may not be as enticing as people or technology, but processes are the backbone of business operations that any organisation ignores at its peril. Mark Thompson, Managing Consultant at Leadent Solutions explains further...

Our car analogy, introduced in Part 1, extends to illustrate the importance of process. You might take your car in for a service at the local garage, but think of the range of processes involved to complete it successfully: facilities management, human resources, logistics, call management and customer service, and scheduling and operations, for example.

This also rings true for your field-based workforce: effective processes are the core of successful operations - of course enabled by technology, and executed by engaged and skilled employees. But without process, operations will be compromised.

Taking a Process View

Operational reviews can often only focus on the technology, forgetting the supporting processes and looking only at one part of the whole. However, processes are fundamental to achieve mobile workforce excellence – after all, this is the part that defines execution, exerts control, monitors performance and provides essential management information, so that you know your operations are providing value to the organisation. Processes are wide ranging and cover customer, assets, and jobs, alongside managing the mobile workforce.

Processes operate over different timeframes, some more planned and long term, some reactive, more here and now. Without clear and relevant processes to define how you manage your customers, your work, and your mobile workforce, an awful lot of effort and cost can be wasted. This is perhaps obvious – all organisations have processes, right? Well, yes, but are they the right ones and are they producing the right results?

 

Seeking Optimal Performance

With our clients, at Leadent Solutions we use a Workforce Optimisation Heath Check to review current state business processes, most typically covering the core functions listed below:

• Long and medium term planning
• Tactical planning
• Customer management
• Scheduling
• Work deployment
• Job execution
• Exception management (Work and Resources)

It is about the end to end process, but also ensuring that the individual processes have integrity in their own right, and that the processes are integrated and work as a whole. It’s important to recognise that the process for forward ordering car engine components is as critical as the process for fitting the components.

Checks are also required to understand that the processes are measured, managed, and controlled.

Through a process mapping exercise, the current state review will highlight ineffective processes and ineffective process integration.   Performance metrics analytics will confirm or add to findings.   We will also listen to stakeholders to understand and document their issues. Once we have this information an additional step of root cause analysis will unearth the actual problems requiring rectification.

 

Alongside reviewing the effectiveness of business and system processes, it’s essential to consider how processes are aligned to the overall business objectives. There’s little point in coming up with near-perfect, gold standard processes if they are geared up to provide a completely different value to that which your organisation needs to meet its aims.

Getting Back on Track

Issue identification, root cause analytics, and business alignment checks will highlight areas for improvement. In understanding the issues and any shortfalls that may have evolved, a picture of ‘what good looks like’ starts to come together. With this knowledge, the review can determine recommendations and future remedial work with much more clarity and purpose.

Remedial actions will vary depending upon the nature of the workforce management processes and current state, but may include, for example:

• Process corrections and improvements
• Process automation
• Role and responsibility changes
• New or modified Key Performance Indicators
• System changes (potentially in planning, scheduling, deployment, mobile applications, but also other supporting systems, e.g. customer management, procurement / supply chain)

Aligned to business needs, remedial actions will be prioritised and recommendations made on how these should be approached. Regards approach, consideration will most likely cover issues of IT deployment, business readiness, organisational change, training and communications.

Taking the Organisation with You

Process health checks are completed using a mix of review workshops, data and information gathering, and stakeholder interviews. It is critical that the right people are involved, with representatives from all functions, and that they are properly engaged in appropriate review activities. Their knowledge and viewpoint are integral to the success of the exercise. Business sign-off of the priority issues and remedial actions is also of paramount importance. Staying with the car analogy, the review will definitely be a journey, maybe an uncomfortable one at times, but at all times stakeholders must feel like they are driving.

Taking a Holistic Approach

Effective processes are aligned to business objectives, work effectively and drive value in terms of service and cost. To achieve this it’s important that they are set-up optimally: are yours?

In reality, effective business solutions need process, systems and people working together. Set-up and managed correctly, the enabling function of technology, and the behaviours and actions of people make business processes operate effectively (or otherwise!). In any review activity is it difficult to separate process, people and system, so a holistic approach is best.

In part dependent upon known issues, in part dependent upon planned or ‘in flight’ programmes or projects, it may be possible to review all three components in tandem, or at least draw on other sources to provide that holistic approach. However this is managed, the crucial part is to take that over-arching view.

Next time we’ll be looking at the role of Systems in assessing the health of your field-based operations…

If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Emma and the team directly by clicking this link

Also check out our exclusive interview with Leadent Solutions Emma Newman that accompanies this feature

Be social and share this feature

Workforce optimisation specialists Leadent Solutions have recently launched a new health-check service for companies operating a mobile workforce to ensure they are getting the most out of their existing systems and processes.

To find out more about what this service entails Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland spoke exclusively with Emma Newman, Managing Consultant at Leadent Solutions and we will be bringing you this interview across the next four weeks.

In this first part of this new series the discussion focussed on perhaps the most important part of any organisation, the people.

Now here we look at why processes are such a key ingredient in the successful mix of a field service organisation and how we can get these right.

There is also an accompanying series of articles to this interview which add further insight into the health-check. The first of these of which is available here.  

To find out more about the importance of processes in workforce optimisation then the second feature written by Mark Thompson, Managing Consultant with Leadent Solutions is available here

If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Emma and the team directly by clicking this link

Workforce optimisation specialists Leadent Solutions have recently launched a new health-check service for companies operating a mobile workforce to ensure they are getting the most out of their existing systems and processes.

To find out more about what this service entails Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland spoke exclusively with Emma Newman, Managing Consultant at Leadent Solutions and we will be bringing you this interview across the next four weeks.

In this first part of this new series the discussion focusses on perhaps the most important part of any organisation, the people.

There is also an accompanying series of articles to this interview which add further insight into the healthcheck. The first of these of which is available here. 

If you think your company could benefit from the Healthcheck you can contact Emma and the team directly by clicking this link