ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘managing-the-mobile-workforce’ CATEGORY

Work-at-height and scaffolding solutions company Turner Access is improving operational management and increasing productivity of its mobile workforce with IFS Applications 9 ERP software. 

Turner Access is a  division of family-owned, Turner & Co (Glasgow) Ltd and was founded over 30 years ago. It  designs, manufactures and supplies access equipment for safe working at height. In response to the current skills shortage facing the UK construction sector, the industry is under constant pressure to ensure employees are as efficient with their time as possible.

As part of this drive for efficiency, Turner Access was looking to refresh its legacy IT infrastructure, which was running a number of disparate systems working together inefficiently. As a result, staff have been spending unnecessary time inputting data into multiple systems and were struggling to access important documents on the move.

In addition, the company wanted to grow net margin and improve factory productivity through increased visibility of employee performance by centralising systems and providing an easy-to-view summary of key business data via the IFS Lobby, a key feature of IFS Applications 9.

Turner Access is also looking to increase turnover through tighter internal control and better cost visibility leading to increased competitiveness. Through the standardisation of processes users will be expected to save time and be more efficient and productive through communication improvements and better visibility of real time information and analysis.

Ian Wilson, Managing Director, said, “The needs of Turner Access are specific to manufacturing, sales, rental, training and contracting across multiple industry sectors and International territories and IFS demonstrated its specialism in this area with IFS Applications 9. The system will ensure we can improve efficiency across the board and we also have the option in the future to scale the solution across a number of specialist areas in both hemispheres.”

Paul Massey, Managing Director of IFS Europe West, said, “It’s always great to see manufacturing and contracting companies taking technology seriously, especially in the current climate where we are facing a serious skills shortage - technology can help. Introducing IFS Applications 9 will ensure that Turner Access stays one step ahead of its competitors and is in an excellent position to improve efficiency throughout its business over the coming years.”

 

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The latest developments in remote workforce management are helping companies to get more from their field service teams, explains Paul Ridden, CEO, SmartTask .

For field service companies that provide contracted, scheduled staff to client sites, workforce costs are a significant overhead, especially when you consider the constant pressure on margins and the need to provide innovative services to win new contracts.

Remote workforce management has been around for some time, helping companies to capture proof of time, attendance and work completed, enabling them to monitor the status of their teams centrally. Now systems are emerging that bring all of these components in to a single package along with the other key back office functions required to effectively manage field service teams. As a result, they can now provide complete peace of mind that personnel are safe while ensuring they are delivering the services agreed.

Such tools can work alongside systems including payroll, invoicing and rostering, using real-time data to verify timesheets, provide accurate proof of work and overcome scheduling challenges. This is helping to maximise profitability of contracts using the most appropriate employees, billing correctly and not overpaying. Meanwhile, it is possible to integrate intelligent rostering and control room to automate and streamline operational processes as well as reduce office-based administration costs.

 

Based on a framework of electronic proof and attendance it is becoming possible for existing staff located at client sites to effectively take on additional tasks such as inspections or audits, enabling organisations to provide areas of differentiation to clients and make best use of resources to boost profitability. There is also an opportunity to provide a tool to register an operational issue or risk, irrespective of the remote worker’s core function, with an effective process included to encourage and simplify such an action.

Using smart forms, via a mobile application, an employee can quickly complete and submit an incident report, which triggers an email escalation process sent to the appropriate department so they can deal with the problem immediately. This means supervisors and managers can have a live-view of any issues, failures or wastage with details electronically captured including photographic evidence where appropriate. A copy of the incident can also be sent to an online portal where it can be monitored and managed through its lifecycle while providing data for trend analysis via the management information generated.

These flexible smart forms can be configured for a wide range of uses including alerts, inspections, audits, requests, job acceptance and job completion. In particular, it is possible to implement an electronic compliance solution for health and safety, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), COSHH hazardous substance procedures. These checks can replace existing manual processes to achieve immediate workplace compliance, while streamlining administration and saving money.

Typically, a paper-based solution is not only time consuming and costly to manage across multiple sites, but is easy to falsely or fraudulently complete. In contrast, a smart form registers the exact time it was completed and with signature capture shows which employee undertook the check. Furthermore, all the data is delivered to the online portal, so it is collected electronically in real-time without having to post hard copies and have someone collate manually.

The latest developments in remote workforce management is evolving beyond simply proof of attendance. It is providing the potential to enhance business performance and help overcome some of the operational challenges faced by companies in the field service marketplace in terms of revenue growth, customer satisfaction and compliance.

 

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Over 300 service companies are now using its paperless 3-in-1 JobWatch field service solution, reports UK mobile workforce management solutions BigChange.

Launched three years ago, JobWatch was developed to give field service businesses of any size everything they need to plan, manage, schedule and track their mobile workforce. The easy to use, simple to implement system combines back-office, mobile app and real-time vehicle and resource tracking in a single cloud based solution.  It provides end-to-end management of the entire service process from quotation all the way through to invoice including intelligent planning and scheduling. A whole mountain of paperwork is replaced with automated workflows on the JobWatch app that guides mobile engineers or drivers through all their tasks.

According to BigChange’s CEO and founder Martin Port, JobWatch aims to bring mobile workforce management technology to the thousands of small, medium and large businesses that still operate using manual paper based processes:

“Historically this technology has been out of reach for SMEs given the cost and perceived complexity. JobWatch is a game-changer for these businesses, giving them the power of a ‘big enterprise’ system but with incredible simplicity, affordability and customisability.”

Among the users are nationwide hire companies Nixon and Elliott Hire who are using JobWatch to streamline the servicing of equipment and portable toilets  across the UK. The Forestry arm of Komatsu uses JobWatch to manage the servicing of huge timber felling and processing machinery.

JobWatch is proving to be a growth catalyst for startups such as waste and recycling specialist Clearabee who adopted the system back in 2013 when they had a single vehicle. Their business has grown rapidly and the company now serves over 30,000 nationwide clients across 15 sites with a team of 50 employees.

The return-on-investment for users is significant, says Port. “A perfect example is dp Doors.  JobWatch has brought their business 25% more revenue each month, thanks to smarter scheduling and greater productivity across their 23 strong field service team. This equates to an extra 4 jobs per engineer per week. Admin in their back office has been reduced by 15% and this time saved is being dedicated to value-adding sales and marketing activities. Failed jobs have been reduced by 50%. Their annual fuel savings from JobWatch are in excess of £5000 and this saving alone is paying for their JobWatch system.”

 

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The very nature of their jobs means that field service employees are lone workers and safety risks are not confined to hazardous workplaces. FSN Editor Sharon Clancy looks at some of the strategies for making ensuring your employees stay safe.

Many service employees are working alone or in environments that make them vulnerable. The potential safety risks are present not just in hazardous workplaces such as oil installations or construction sites; workers can be at risk working unsocial hours in office building or on emergency call outs to domestic properties, too, for example.

Safety policies and guidelines should reflect the specific risks of mobile workers, demonstrate that steps have been taken to minimise those risks and that management systems are in place to monitor compliance with safety rules.

For mobile service technicians, those risks include driving their vehicles between jobs. “If people in your company use vehicles for work, then you have a legal responsibility to ensure their safety, points out Giles Margerison, UK sales director, TomTom Telematics. “The law is really clear if someone is driving for business purposes, regardless of who provides the vehicle – whether it’s their own vehicle, hire, rented, leased, bought, or bought by the company. Once you have given someone an instruction for work, whether it’s just popping down the shops for a pint of milk or to an appointment or a job or a site, you are responsible for their safety and their behaviour.”

Duty of Care: legal obligations
Employer's  legal obligation on Duty-of-Care and Health and Safety will vary from country-to-country. In the UK, for example, the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act introduced in addition to corporate liability the concept of personal liability of directors and board members for any proven negligence, part of an EU-wide initiative to improve worker safety.

Other legislation such as the EU Working Time Directive also impacts on duty-of-care obligations.

 

For service organisations there are two key areas of duty of care: one is lone worker protection; the other is risk management of inappropriate of employee behaviour.

Lone worker monitoring
Any mobile application or device by default offers more protection to the mobile worker than a paper system where there is no contact with the office between jobs or even all day. Mobile workers equipped with telephones can also be tracked using cell ID.

In difficult or hostile environments managers need confirmation at regular intervals that the employee is safe and well. Some lone-worker systems are linked to 24-hour monitoring centres - individuals who find themselves in a dangerous situation simply press a red alert button on their device. This additional protection for lone workers can be a user buy-in when selling a technology switch to mobile workers, especially in heavily-unionised sectors.

In less dangerous situations, the risk assessment may be that compliance can be demonstrated by tracking personnel around a site, setting up pre-set intervals when a response is required. The interval can be set automatically and varied between locations and tasks.

In some systems the worker is sent an SMS message requiring a response confirming everything is OK or arrival. The latest technology even removes the onus on the employee to confirm they are safe. Instead, RFID and NFC technology utilised for proof-of-attendance and compliance with service-level agreements can also be used for duty-of-care monitoring.

 

"It's considered more reliable because the monitoring process starts automatically when the worker arrives on site or at a particular area of the site or building - there's no need for them to send a message to confirm this ," comments Paul Ridden, managing director for Skillweb. "Alarms can be raised if a worker fails to arrive at or leave a customer site or complete a task. Specific safety compliance information for that task or site can be incorporated in the RFID tags. "

Risk management
Service organisations employ engineers and technicians, not drivers. However, that does not mean that you can ignore their behaviour at the wheel when driving between jobs. Potentially unsafe driving behaviour should be part of a risk assessment strategy.

Meeting your Duty of Care does not need to be a burden, points out, Margerison. . “It just requires processes to be in place that monitors aspects of your mobile workforce, giving you the data you need so you can foresee any issues."This is not as hard as it sounds with modern fleet management and telematics systems, and you might also be surprised by the bottom line benefits it could bring to your business, he goes on. “The use of technology really helps because we can manage driver behaviour. Other methods can be used, of course, but technology makes that really very simple, and gives you the right data when you need it.

Telematics captures data on vehicle speeds, distances and driving time, as well as hazardous behaviour such as harsh braking and acceleration. Fed back into the service management software, team leaders can build a picture of each driver's behaviour, trends within a group of workers and persistence offenders, all without increasing administration costs.

 

Basic driver behaviour telematics data such as speed and harsh deceleration can even be captured from a mobile device with a GPS and an accelerometer or with a plug-in device - there's no need for a vehicle installation.
The result is a safer, more efficient workforce and a significantly reduced risk profile. Margerison points out that the ability to demonstrate driver improvements to an insurer could also mean a reversal of the current trend of higher  premium costs.

Keep it simple
Skillweb’s Paul Ridden thinks awareness of risks to mobile workers still has some way to go to penetrate those lower-skilled service jobs typically found in facilities management companies. “With the introduction of the Living Wage, those workers are going to cost more, so ensuring, they are as productive as possible, will be key to maintaining profit levels.”

Technology costs have also been a barrier, but smartphones make deploying mobile apps to these workers affordable. Simple apps can help them complete the tasks in the right order and safely. You can prove where they are but you can also use it to monitor their safety. Are cleaners using hazardous chemicals in a safe manner. Using appropriate safety equipment can mean something as simple as using rubber gloves when using cleaning chemicals.”
Monitoring the safety of these employees can have other benefits, he points out Monitoring that only trained employees are allowed to use equipment such as motorised floor polishers correctly, also helps you keep tabs on asset utilisation, he points point.

Geoff Ball, MD of Matrix Telematics said: “The definition of a lone worker has changed dramatically. From social workers to delivery drivers, postmen to pest control; lone workers make up almost a quarter of the UK’s working population, but the nature of their job leaves them open to a unique set of risks that employers need to be aware of.

“While most lone workers will hopefully never experience any problems, to have the peace of mind that there’s someone just at the other end of the line should they need it is a big reassurance for employees and a sensible precaution for employers to take.”

Lone worker monitoring doesn’t have to be complicated, says Ridden.“Even proactively status checks can be done without it seeming intrusive or Big Brother. You can send a message, and all the worker does is to tap in a pin number to confirm they are OK. Workers do appreciate that it is for their safety. From the manager’s viewpoint, its more reliable than waiting for a remote worker to call in at hourly intervals to confirm they are OK and its documented evidence that health and safety policies have been adhered to.

 

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Field service is one of those sectors most likely to be affected by a European Court of Justice ruling on what constitutes “working time” for mobile employees.

The ECJ has ruled that time spent travelling to and from first and last appointments by workers without a fixed office should be regarded as working time. Previously some organisations, including those engaged in field service, have not regarded this element of travelling time as work.

The court says the ruling, which has caused some controversy among European Union member states, has been enforced to protect the health and safety of mobile workers as set out in the EU's working time directive, which stipulates that they cannot work more than 48 hours in a week unless they opt out. Member states will be required to ensure national legislation on working time complies with the ruling. Workers are required to sign a waiver in order  to opt out.

Mobile workforce management software developer Auto Time is one company advising that service organisations may now find themselves in breach of EU working time regulations unless they review operations. Christian Berenger, Operations Director at Auto Time says: “The new ruling could leave contractors, already under pressure to deliver their services cost-effectively, confronted by increased labour costs and facing a tough battle to operate profitably within tight margins. To minimise compliance risk, employers need to put systems in place that will enable them to gain total transparency of their workforce, track their movements and plan staff workloads to coincide with their daily commute to minimise costs.”

The ruling by the European Court of Justice deeming time spent travelling to and from first and last appointments by workers should be regarded as work means businesses now more than ever should be carefully considering the deployment of their workforce, agrees Marina Stedman, director at ClickSoftware.

“Thousands of employers may be in breach of employment law, requiring them to implement workforce management strategies that take this ruling into account. Businesses not already doing so should be looking at software that manages all time related services with one single platform, to ensure when staff are dispatched to a task, this is being factored in. Having this in place, businesses will be able to proactively design rosters that consider the capacity of staffing shifts days and weeks in advance.”

Christian Berenger adds: “The role of technology in supporting organisations to comply with the new ECJ ruling surrounding mobile workers should not be underestimated. With HR teams under increased pressure to keep up with changing employment regulations, employers must evaluate their business practices or risk falling foul of the law. By gaining instant visibility of their remote workers and streamlining compliance tasks, workforce management systems. can not only meet their legal obligations but optimise their workforce for future bottom line growth.”

 

Real-time data access allows managers to track the whereabouts and task status of their workforce, calculate the ‘actual hours’ worked and respond to operational issues with better informed decisions as they happen, he points out and recommends empowering staff to manage their hours, via a secure web portal using their smartphone or tablet. ”

There’s likely to be an impact on schedule optimization, too, thinks Bereneger. “Scheduling functions provide managers with the ability to optimise staff shifts by allocating job tasks to dovetail with their daily commute, ensuring assignments at the start and end of the day are located near employees' homes to minimise travel time.

 

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Having undertaken a recent research project exploring trends amongst field service companies involving use of the Cloud for Field Service Management Systems as well as the ongoing development of mobile solutions for field service, Field Service News, sponsored by ClickSoftware are pleased to bring you this four part report exploring the research findings written by Field Service News Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland....

 

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FIELD SERVICE, MOBILITY AND THE CLOUD

Cloud computing has been a key topic in field service circles for some time now. In fact it seems every time we read about a company implementing a new service management system it is mentioned that they opted for a Cloud based solution. Indeed the benefits of the Cloud are well documented.

Less reliance on IT, built in disaster recovery, regular and free updates, lower overheads, and so on and so forth. And the Cloud is no longer a particularly new technology. It’s not emerging anymore, it’s emerged. In fact it is now almost twenty years ago that Salesforce, a company born in the Cloud when it was just not more than a whisp of cirrus in the stratosphere, first began evangelising Cloud computing as the way of the future.

Fast forward to today and Salesforce is the leading player in the CRM sector and despite not having a direct presence within the field service sector, is arguably one of the key driving forces for the adoption of the Cloud in our industry. How often do we hear companies stating that ‘integration with Salesforce’ was a big factor for them when deciding to opt for whichever of the numerous modern service management suites are available.

Certainly those service management software providers that were savvy enough to develop field service apps for the Salesforce App exchange such as ClickSoftware’s ‘ClickWorkforce’ have gained something of a competitive edge in recent years by doing so.

Yet despite these seemingly all conquering headlines the reality highlighted by various research appears to be very different at least for the adoption of the Cloud as a platform for field service management solutions. Indeed our own 2014 research project showed that only 23% of companies were running there field service management software in the Cloud. So why this discrepancy?

Is it a case that we in the trade media are over egging the pudding and putting to much hyperbole around the use of Cloud in field service?

Or is it a case that Cloud looks like a more attractive prospect from distance, but when companies begin to explore their options when upgrading to a new solution, in reality staying on premise is the easier and safer option? There is of course the argument that it will take time to see a full migration across to the Cloud.

 

This is of course valid and many companies will eke out every last drop of functionality they can from their existing legacy systems rather than face the turmoil of moving a business critical operational tool from one system to another. But if this is the case surely we should start seeing a growing momentum towards the Cloud year on year? With this in mind Field Service News in partnership with ClickSoftware has decided to the revisit this area of research some 18 months on.

When writing the report for last years research I concluded that the Cloud is set to become an established platform for field service technology, and even ultimately become the most commonplace method of distributing field service software. Is it time I reassessed that statement, or is the momentum of the Cloud slowly gathering pace?

ABOUT THE RESEARCH:

The research was conducted online across July and August this year. The respondents were a mix of Operations, IT and Business Leaders working within organisations that had a field service operation.

Company sizes range from SMB’s with under 10 field workers to the enterprise level companies with over 800 field workers. In total 150 respondents answered the survey with respondents coming from a number of different verticals including Manufacturing, Engineering, IT solutions, construction, fire and security, healthcare and more. As with our 2014 survey after the question ‘Is your current field service solution on premise or in the Cloud?’

The survey split into two in order to give us insight from those currently using the Cloud and those that are still on premise. This enables us to better ascertain the benefits being seen by those using the Cloud alongside the reservations of those who are not.

MID SIZED MOVEMENT

The headline statistic to come out of the research is that indeed there has been a slight shift towards more companies using the Cloud than before. In fact there has been a swing of 3% in favour of those using the cloud with 26% of companies now having their field service management solution in the Cloud versus 74% who are using on-premise.

Whilst a small movement, given the timeframe this increase could indeed help support the argument that the Cloud is slowly becoming more prevalent and that the move to Cloud is very much tied to companies moving from their legacy systems to more modern next-gen equivalents.

 

However, a logical continuation of that thinking is that we would find those companies with larger field worker numbers more likely to remain on premise than those smaller companies for the simple reason that they are more likely to have invested in the expensive infrastructure to run an on premise solution and would therefore potentially be more tied to their existing system - making a switch to a new solution harder work.

Yet when we drill down into the data and separate the companies out into three groups – those with less than 50 engineers, those with between 50 and 500 engineers and those with more than 500 engineers we find that in fact this doesn’t hold true. Actually whilst the trends amongst the largest companies very closely mirror the respondents as a whole (25% Cloud vs. 75% On premise) it is amongst the smaller and mid sized companies that we see the biggest variance. Interestingly smaller companies, who are generally viewed as being the most likely to be attracted to the Cloud due to the more affordable Software as a Service subscription model that most Cloud vendors offer, were the group that were most reluctant to have their field service operations on the Cloud - with just 17% doing so.

Meanwhile the mid tier companies (i.e. those with between 50 and 500 engineers) were the group that had the most Cloud based systems with 37% of these companies using the Cloud.

 

When we look at the same demographic in our previous research this is an increase of 21% of companies, so whilst on premise still remains the way the majority of run their field service management systems, a shift to the Cloud, amongst this demographic at least, is clear. Still the question remains why are we seeing more acceptance towards the Cloud within these mid sized companies than amongst their smaller counterparts? (If we accept the earlier premise that those larger companies may take longer to adapt due to greater change management challenges.)

One possible answer could be found in the make up of the decision-making units of those smaller companies. Of those companies with less than 50 engineers that are not using the Cloud, only 15% of companies had input from their IT director or equivalent whilst of those mid sized companies that have adopted the Cloud 71% involved their IT Director or equivalent in the selection of a field service solution.

Could it be that amongst smaller companies it is a case that without the input of a technology specialist, some of the headline fears around the usage of Cloud persist. Whereas amongst those larger companies, who have a more developed IT department adding their insight, perhaps there is more understanding of both the true benefits and dangers of the Cloud?

One question within the survey that could certainly give us further insight into this assertion was ‘Which of the following sums up your perception of the Cloud in business’ which had the following four options

• I believe it is the future of enterprise computing
• I see it’s benefits but still have some concerns
• I wouldn’t trust placing sensitive data in the Cloud but would use for general applications
• I think we should keep everything on premise, there is too much risk in the Cloud.

[/unordered_list]Given the fact that there was a fairly even balance between the two groups of company sizes, the varying responses certainly indicated a more cautious outlook towards the Cloud from the smaller companies than their mid sized counterparts.

Within the group of companies with between 50 and 500 field service engineers 58% felt that Cloud was” the future of enterprise computing”, with a further 32% stating that they “saw benefits of the Cloud whilst having some concerns.” Interestingly not a single respondent from this group stated “we should be keeping everything on premise, there is too much risk in the Cloud.”

When we compare this to the responses of those companies with less than 50 engineers we see the confidence in the Cloud significantly reduce with only 38% stating they “believe the Cloud is the future of enterprise computing” whilst 20% “wouldn’t trust placing sensitive data in the Cloud but would use it for general applications” and “5% stating they think “we should be keeping everything on premise, there is too much risk in the Cloud.”

 

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Leading mobile workforce management company ServicePower Technologies Plc has launched Nexus FS, an enterprise-class  cloud-based field service management solution for any sized service business that incorporates comprehensive mobile dispatch functionality.

NEXUS FS (Field Service) is designed to provide service businesses of any size an enterprise-quality cloud-based field service management solution with a comprehensive mobile application. It incorporates work order management, mobile dispatching to field based resources, real-time schedule monitoring through an interactive Gantt, timesheet reporting, location monitoring and reporting, asset and parts capabilities, and user configurable maintenance, all in the cloud, with fast and easy data set-up and a modern and easy user interface.

The NEXUS FS mobile dispatch component has new features such as rules-based, user configurable forms delivered on a job-by-job basis, allowing organisations and technicians to quickly adapt to job conditions, improving both efficiency and productivity, while enhancing the customer experience.  It also incorporates the latest release of ServicePower's  ServiceMobility providing job and activity management, scheduling, inventory management, parts information, schematic diagrams, note-taking, timesheets, signature capture, photograph capture, collaboration with office-based resources, navigation, estimates and payments, and customer surveys.

For those requiring real-time optimisation, Nexus FS can be integrated with ServicePower’s ServiceScheduling module, and later this year it will also be available with the company’s patented field service optimisation algorithm Optimisation on Demand.

NEXUS FS also will offer connected global third party contractors the ability to manage their own business while receiving work from our ServiceOperations global client base, aggregating all jobs into one software platform, reducing costs and improving operational efficiencies.

Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower, commented "ServicePower are investing in rapid development of our mobile workforce management platform adding in new features and new products that further connect the service supply chain, provide improved efficiencies and productivity, and enhance the customer experience.  NEXUS FS changes the field service market. It's not simply another disparate mobile dispatching solution. It provides small, medium and even large enterprise organisations with an economical, cloud-based solution to manage their business and fully mobilise their field operations with access to real algorithm-based optimisation, connectivity to multiple job sources and the ability to file claims for work performed, through our connected platform and offerings, providing an unmatched, single vendor solution to any business."

 

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Mobile workforce solutions company Fleetmatics Group has launched Field App, the latest enhancement to its REVEAL web-based mobility platform. The Field App software is designed to keep dispatchers, managers and drivers on the same page by delivering important information directly to the driver’s mobile device and improving the experience of the mobile worker.

The app is available as a free customer download and provides mobile workers with a variety of capabilities. Customers can push routes to the field in real-time, enabling mobile workers to easily access turn-by-turn directions on their mobile device. The application also provides mobile workers with direct access to their performance metrics, allowing them to track their own progress and benchmark against the rest of their team. Using both the location of the worker’s mobile device as well as vehicle location, the Field App intelligently recommends vehicle assignment, an easy means for customers to unlock additional insight into mobile worker performance.

“Having seen the efficiencies our mobile apps have brought to fleet operators for several years now, we felt the time was right to extend these gains to the mobile workers themselves with our new Field App,” said Peter Mitchell, the Company’s Chief Technology Officer. "And because it's specifically tailored for the driver, it effectively puts the power of Fleetmatics in the pockets of those directly operating more than half a million vehicles that are globally utilising our software platform.”

The Fleetmatics REVEAL Field App is a free download from Google Play or Apple App Store.

 

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Real-time monitoring of workflows is driving efficiencies in monitoring and management of street works in Wokingham, Surrey, following the adoption of Mayrise Street Works from Yotta.

Wokingham Borough Council has introduced mobile working for its street works staff  that allows them to check compliance of works, report overstays and recommend fixed penalty notices using Mayrise Street Works.  The software is designed as a complete solution for local and highways authorities managing street work notices and includes mobile working functionality that allows street works officers to access up to date information in order to monitor works in progress and investigate completed works. It is reducing the reliance on paper records and unnecessary trips to the office, thereby maximising officers’ time in the field and productivity.

Graham Barnwell, Traffic Manager at the council commented, “The introduction of mobile working in street works, supported by Yotta’s Mayrise software, is already delivering operational efficiencies. By enabling officers to access the information they need, when they need it, we are allowing staff to focus on the job in hand. By reducing the need for inspectors to return to the office or interrupt colleagues to obtain relevant information we are already seeing an increase in productivity and improvement in the service we provide to the community.”

 

The council is currently using rugged Honeywell Dolphin mobile computers running Mayrise Street Works Mobile software. The devices allow the Council’s street works officers and inspectors to remotely access the Street Works Register in order to research activities in progress and investigate works after they have been completed.

Using their mobile devices staff working in the field can also generate defect inspection reports, recommend fixed penalty notices and check compliance with permit conditions. Inspectors can report overstays to provide evidence of an offence which sends a warning to the promoter that the works are overrunning. Defect notices can be directly sent to the works promoter, mapped and with photographic evidence this ensures the utility has the information to locate and fix the apparatus in the quickest possible time.

Mayrise Street Works is designed to ensure best practice and provide up to date information on the status of all works. It also offers full compliance with the revised EToN 6 specification which aims to further reduce the impact of roadworks, through the better co-ordination and sharing of information between local authorities and utility firms.

 

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