Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
If you work for a multinational, you know that there is no option out there for reliable and universal wireless coverage. So what can you do to keep a mobile, and often remote workforce connected? This Mobile Enterprise Magazine article gives you some insight into managing the challenge of multinational workforce connectivity, and shows you how one company is doing it. Here’s the article.
Friday, August 28th, 2009
You’ve decided to invest in a fleet management solution: you’re securing your funding, developing a deployment strategy, and engaging all the right people in your organization to make it happen. It’s come time to make one of the key decisions for the project: you need to choose a wireless network provider.
More often than not, data plan price and wireless coverage will dictate which provider an agency will choose. In some cases, a pre-existing agreement between a provider and your company or municipal institution may mean the decision has already been made for you. However, if you have the ability to research and choose a provider for yourself, then you’ll want to consider the provider’s availability and quality of customer service. Even if you aren’t able to choose for yourself, you’ll want to be informed about the support that will be available to you and your team, not just during the initial stages of your project, but in the long run as well.
Here are some tips that can help you get the most from your wireless network provider’s support services:
• Request a description of the support from the wireless network provider that is included with the wireless services you’re purchasing. This includes contact numbers, hours of operation, cost, and the level or type of support provided.
• If your account rep gives you a “1-800” number for customer support, ask exactly which department the number connects you to. If it is an automated system, ask whether there is a different number available to connect to a call center where you can talk to a live operator, or whether there is a particular keyword or series of menu options for the automated system that you can use to expedite the support process.
• If the devices you’re using to communicate on the wireless network are not cell phones or Blackberry devices, you want to be sure that the person on the other end of the line understands that. When evaluating the major wireless carriers, ask your account rep. if you will have access to a dedicated support department that works with data solutions, not just voice cell phones. That way, you’ll avoid a scenario where you call the support line and the person helping only has knowledge of consumer cell phones and no idea how to support data solutions.
• Ask your account rep if there are different contacts for different kinds of support. For example, you may need to call a certain department to get assistance with activating a new modem, and a different department to get assistance with a deployed modem that you’re having problems with.
• If you are a government agency you will most likely have access to statewide government negotiated pricing so be sure to talk directly to the wireless carrier and request this pricing.
• If you are unsure or uncomfortable with the information you’re receiving from your wireless network provider, review it with your data solutions vendor. They can verify the information and bring clarity.
The key here is to discuss long-term support with a wireless network provider before you make any agreements or put your money down. You understand your needs—now you need to make sure the support you’re paying for meets those needs. Knowing what level of customer service you can expect, and understanding how to access the support you need, will save you time, money, and headaches down the road.
Monday, August 24th, 2009
Joe Roberts of AAA NCNU
Joe Roberts is the Manager of Technology Support for Performance Management at AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah. AAA NCNU is the nation’s second largest AAA club, dispatching nearly 3 million requests for service each year and utilizing over 1500 vehicles. Joe has been working in the auto club industry for 37 years and has managed major technology implementations. He’s been kind enough to share some of his experiences with us.
The challenge we had was that AAA NCNU call volume was increasing, which resulted in more radio traffic being passed back and forth between our dispatchers and our independent contract station drivers. Dispatchers weren’t always able to acknowledge drivers, and drivers experienced delays getting through to dispatchers. Improving response time to our members was the goal.
First off, you need to have a good business case to invest heavily into the cost of the infrastructure.
Secondly, you need to make sure you’ve taken into account all associated costs. This includes network charges with a wireless carrier, hardware and software technology costs, and all soft costs that are internal to your own organization.
Thirdly, it’s critical that you have a good project team in place to complete the project. They need to have a good understanding about data networks, the technology that will be used and what the application will actually do once it is turned on. They need to be able to understand what the technology engineers and software developers are saying, and then be able to translate it into business sense. They also need to adjust and be prepared for the unexpected during implementation. A good training team is also necessary when it comes time to train the clients.
Well, we’ve improved response times to our members. We’ve been able to reduce our average response time to the member by 5 to 7 minutes per call. That means from the time the call is dispatched, to the time the truck arrives, we are arriving 5 to 7 minutes faster now than we used to be. We’ve also been able to reduce the time it takes to dispatch a call to the truck, going from the 45 to 60-second average using radios, to 3 to 6 seconds with data communication. In addition, our system is a platform for us to implement other AAA NCNU initiatives.
They like it. At the start there was a lot of apprehension. Drivers didn’t want to give up radio communications, and they were afraid the software was going to be hard for them to use. But after 3 or 4 weeks using the system they adapted quite well to it. In fact, if we have to bring our system down for some reason, there are a lot of complaints from the drivers and our dispatchers.
It all ties back into member service. Other initiatives are targeted to improve the member roadside experience, but data communication is a key component in driving member satisfaction. I’ve been in the industry for 37 years, and the key is to keep up with the latest technology with the purpose of improving member satisfaction. Bettering our members’ roadside experience has been, and will continue to be our primary goal.
Converting from an analog radio communication system as a primary dispatch method to a data dispatch network was quite expensive. What we have seen in terms of a return is not a hard dollar amount. We’re seeing improved member satisfaction, improved response times, increased dispatcher capabilities, the platform to implement other initiatives and less stress on both the drivers and the dispatchers. Our return on investment is basically in soft costs.
View Mentor’s AAA/CAA fleet management solution
Friday, August 21st, 2009
There’s more to a Transit ITS implementation than just installing the technology. What should you expect during this critical stage? The better prepared you are, the smoother your experience will be. Here is a free white paper that breaks down the implementation process and describes ways you can prepare for ITS technology changes.
http://www.mentoreng.com/whitepaper/implementation.html
Monday, July 20th, 2009
Ever wondered what a TCP/IP Interface is? Curious about Geofences? From ABS Enclosures to Work Order Management, here’s a quick go-to reference guide for understanding the (sometimes) bewildering world of wireless solution terminology.
