Kier Building Maintenance is the first company in the UK to deploy Motorola Solutions’ new ES400 enterprise digital assistant (EDA) device across its mobile workforce. Replacing Kier’s ageing PDAs but retaining its existing Pervasic MobileOne platform, the ES400 will be used to link field operatives with core business applications. Kier said that the system was expected to increase each operative’s capacity by up to two jobs per week.
Designed as an ‘office-in-a-pocket’, the devices enable users to not only keep abreast of vital job information, but also manage back-office applications including data entry, work order management, signature collection for proof of delivery/services and capture gas and electrical certification regulatory details, which are validated as soon as entered.
The devices also allow job updates to be communicated back to administrative teams in real time through completed forms and picture reports, ensuring details are logged and any additional work ordered instantly and without the need for additional paper work.
Chris Hone, IT projects and process manager, Kier, said, “We first introduced PDAs to our maintenance staff in 2006 and we instantly saw a positive impact, with customer waiting time reduced and satisfaction increased. However, over time it became clear that we needed to reassess the PDAs as their technical ability was no longer cutting edge and the device failure rate was increasing with handsets becoming difficult to replace.
“The ES400 was considered the most suitable for our particular needs and will become the standard for Kier’s field operatives. It is a step forward in enabling our on-the-road employees to interact more effectively with back-office IT systems, not just by phone and text message.”
John Blackwell, senior commercial service technician, Kier Sheffield, added, “The EDAs and the data they return are very important to our team as any down time or device malfunctions affect the service we deliver to the client. We are very pleased to have received these new EDAs – the roll-out has been very smooth with the devices proving very popular.”
The first phase of replacing the old PDAs was completed in December 2010. Kier Building Maintenance plans to migrate all other users to the ES400 during 2011, with Kier Support Services’ users also transferring to the new EDAs during the same period.
