Having populated the core database tables, as I mentioned in my previous contribution, we began the work of inputting our customer database (names, addresses and telephone numbers).

There are several thousand and the work is too much for one person, so my helpdesk team (and a few others) have begun the data entry.

There have been the expected grumblings from the guys: ‘Can’t we import the data?’, ‘Why do we have to re-key everything’ etc. etc. but as I’ve explained before, the condition and structure of our old database prohibited us from importing the data en masse and there are benefits from manually re-keying as this would enable us to verify each record as we worked (postcodes, telephone numbers etc).

We had considered contracting out this task, but concluded that in the event of a query with the data (and there have been quite a few) our own employees would be better placed to resolve them more promptly.

While this area of data entry is being carried out, my task is to build the databases for products and spares. The plan being that sales and spares stock will be controlled via the new software. This means that both the helpdesk and our field engineers are able to access live stock information from the warehouse and, (in the case of the engineers) their own and colleagues’ vehicles, thereby improving the service we give to our customers.

The engineer hand held terminals (the XDA Iii from O2) will be delivered in the next couple of weeks ready for us to install the mobile version of the software along with our technical documents etc. The engineers will use the XDA not only as a platform for the mobile solution from Solarvista, but also as a mobile telephone and fully functional PDA enabling them to review technical details about the EPOS equipment they are working on including call histories, firmware release notes, cable schematics, programming information, customer training records etc.

Our field engineers seem, for the most part, to be looking forward to using the new system. (There is, of course, the added bonus of a shiny new box of lights for the gadget obsessed amongst them.) There have, however, been the obvious references to “Big Brother” and I am sure that these will increase as we begin to use the system.

I have explained to them that the benefits of the system far outweigh any misgivings they may have about us being able to track their movements and establish how much time they have spent on a particular job. I’ve explained to them that the system does not provide GPS (global positioning system) information in the same way as vehicle tracking solutions do, but it does provide us with live status information for the job they are currently working on and the jobs in their work queue – so completing one job at 10:15am and beginning the next at 10:45 will raise queries as to their activities during the intervening 30 minutes. 

To clarify how the system works in this scenario: When a call is allocated to an engineer, the details are sent to his PDA. When he accepts the job, the time stamped receipt is sent back to the helpdesk solution, (the time on the PDA is synchronised with the helpdesk solution via the digital GPRS network).  The engineer is them prompted to begin the job by entering his opening mileage and ETA (estimated time of arrival) on site. This information is time stamped and sent back to the helpdesk solution and the engineer’s schedule timeline updated accordingly. Therefore any discrepancy between a call ending and a new one beginning can be investigated.

To be continued.