Challenges
Located in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Island Pumping provides concrete pumping services to the entire Vancouver Island area. Facing the challenge of tracking pump hours, job statuses, and vehicle locations, as well as accurately billing jobs, Island Pumping saw the need to add mobile workforce management technologies.

Rick Mayer, Owner and President of Island Pumping, explains the decision to add technology to his operations: "Before this system was in place we relied on drivers to keep track of their hours, to write down when they arrived or left a job site, and we billed by the hour. With our equipment costing $125 to $230 per hour, the minutes can add up. We were losing an average of 15 minutes per job, which translates to about $100,000 a year."

Solution
The solution consists of Mentor Ranger® mobile computers in the vehicles, and a web-based software application created by eNET Dispatch in the office. Ranger provides Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data to the office, and in-vehicle maps with turn-by-turn driving prompts for the driver. Using eNET Dispatch software, dispatchers can send jobs directly to Ranger, eliminating the need for phone calls, paging, or radio communication with drivers.

Running on Ranger is a mobile application also developed by eNET Dispatch. "Ranger's integration with eNET Dispatch's software means that the driver clocks in and starts the job with a push of a button," says Rick. "The system tracks when he gets to the site as well as provides information about which stage of the job is being completed."

Results
For Island Pumping, the result of using mobile workforce management technology has been time and revenue savings through better billing, driver/dispatcher communication, and data entry. After using the system for a year and a half, Rick can see how his business has gained an advantage over the competition:

"Now we are able to very accurately predict how much time it will take to complete a job. Customers then know what to expect. There is an industry standard to charge a minimum number of hours per job, but we have been able to eliminate this as we are much more efficient now. If everything was status quo with the economy, I expect we would be saving between $50,000 and $100,000 per year." The improved billing cycle has lead to a reduction in customer complaints.

There has also been an improvement in the ease with which drivers and office personnel can communicate with each other. Says Rick: "We used to have two people working to dispatch job assignments. Now there is hardly enough work for one person."

With the introduction of electronic data entry versus manual paper processes, Island Pumping has been able to save thirty minutes to one hour of driver time per day. "Ranger makes our drivers' jobs a lot less stressful as the hassle of filing paperwork is eliminated," explains Rick.

Equipped with this technology, Island Pumping feels well positioned to expand their business into promising new areas in the future.

"WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY WE ARE ABLE TO VERY ACCURATELY PREDICT HOW MUCH TIME IT WILL TAKE TO COMPLETE A JOB. THERE IS AN INDUSTRY STANDARD TO CHARGE A MINIMUM NUMBER OF HOURS PER JOB, BUT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ELIMINATE THIS AS WE ARE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT NOW"

- Rick Mayer, Owner and President of Island Pumping

ROI

Accurate and fast billing and invoicing Faster dispatching processes Reduce data entry time by up to one hour per day Potential savings of $100,000 per year Better resource and personnel management Fewer customer complaints