 Visitors to this year’s Service Management Expo are being invited to take a fresh look at mobile workforce planning and field service automation by MapMechanics, a company that has emerged in recent years as an increasingly significant player in this market.
The full range of MapMechanics’ field service solutions, which extends from initial territory optimisation and strategic analysis to detailed skill-set matching, journey planning and mobile communications, is reflected in the presentations on the company’s stand (no. 740) at this year’s event, which is running at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham from 22 to 23 September.
Unlike many traditional suppliers, MapMechanics approaches the task of field force automation from a top-to-bottom perspective, taking advantage of its long-standing background in geographic analysis to help users get the “big picture” right first, and then home in on the day-to-day detail of workforce allocation and management.
With MapMechanics’ range of analytical tools such as GeoConcept and OptiSite, users can start by establishing an optimal real-world geographical framework for the activities of mobile workforces such as engineers and sales teams. The task may include defining logical territories, balancing work loads between them in the most cost-effective way, and optimising resource allocation among them.
Having established effective territories, users can then harness the power of solutions such as MapMechanics’ PeopleSuite, a real-time, centralised planning system that optimises the allocation of individual mobile personnel to each job, taking full account of their availability and suitability for the work, along with the location of the call.
Among the benefits, more highly-paid or skilled staff can be allocated where they will provide the most benefit. The system can even plan operating cycles in which the number of staff visiting a given location might vary from one occasion to the next. For instance, a two-man team might be needed for heavy lifting on alternate visits.
MapMechanics’ PeopleSuite also represents an invaluable tool for tracking and monitoring staff deployment over time, and includes an inherent modelling capability that offers potential for “what if” analysis.
Among the first users of PeopleSuite is BSI, the global business services organisation, which is using it to plan the movements of its roving client managers. It has introduced the system to save costs, reduce travel time, ensure staff with special skills are deployed to best effect, improve their work-life balance and reduce the time and work involved in the planning process itself.
MapMechanics’ ability to create bespoke applications is reflected in another recent development – a simple but powerful new web-based job booking system developed initially for Alliance Healthcare. Users at branch locations can log on to the service using a standard web browser and book calls, entering details of call points or selecting them from pre-entered lists. Details are fed back to a central location, where journeys for locally-based vehicles or staff are optimised with TruckStops.
The system has been built using the latest .Net technology, and uses AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) to make the system fast, intuitive and responsive for users.
For scheduling the movements of individuals and vehicles, MapMechanics offers its well-established TruckStops application, and the latest version (due for launch this autumn) includes a new feature, RouteRefresher, which will provide users with a very quick way to amend fixed schedules without having to re-optimise the whole pattern of movements every time. This should prove particularly useful on operations where there is no longer a need to visit certain call points, or where the frequency of some visits needs to be changed.
TruckStops comes into its own on field service operations when linked with the MapMechanics Mobile suite. This delivers schedules wireless to handheld or portable computers carried by mobile staff, and guides them through their day’s deliveries – integrating with satnav if required to help direct them to each call point in turn.
Solaglas, one of Britain’s largest specialists in glass and glass systems, is currently rolling out a system using TruckStops and MapMechanics Mobile components to streamline deliveries, and has experienced significant savings during trials. This system incorporates Automated Loading System, an application specially developed by MapMechanics to optimise the way vehicle loading is planned for the wide variety of glass sizes, shapes and methods of packing and loading.
Also on show at SME 2009 will be MapMechanics’ Frequency Scheduler, which is designed for planning staff visits that arise at varying frequencies over a given period, and StreetServicer, which has been developed for organising visits within a tight geographical area into the optimum sequence, working at street segment level.
MapMechanics’ latest field service solutions are backed by an extensive range of geographical and demographic data, which can be configured to suit individual users’ requirements. Data products are listed in the company’s recently-released Data Catalogue 2009, which is available in print and online at www.mapmechanics.com.
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