Virgin Media expects big savings from workforce management system

Dave Bailey, Computing, Thursday 22 April 2010 at 13:45:00

The SaaS system looks at skill sets and job history to estimate the time an
engineer will take on a job

Virgin
Media has rolled out
TOA Technologies'
SaaS-based Mobile Workforce Management system to more than 1,000 field
engineers who are responsible for fixing and installing cable broadband
connections.

Virgin said the service should improve customer satisfaction by narrowing
engineer appointment windows.

The system analyses learned historical performance patterns, overlays skill
sets, job history and customer proximity to enable accurate prediction of the
amount of time an engineer will take on each job - it then personalises the
schedule accordingly.

Staff can compile field workforce schedules at the start of the workday and
relay normal day-to-day changes during the workday by sending pre-set 'I've
arrived', 'I've finished', 'I'm leaving' statements.

Virgin Media chief customer and networks officer, Paul Buttery, said: "The
system will improve customer experience and give us the scope to improve the
working day of our technicians by giving them tighter routes with less travel
time."

TOA Technologies Europe president Richard Alden said the system will drive up
efficiency. "A lot of the things TOA does automatically Virgin Media was doing
manually," he said.

"The system is set up to optimise installer use ? but always with the
customer in mind," Alden added.

Although TOA's system is set up to minimise customer problems, it can also be
set up to crunch other parameters such as installer drive time, cost, overtime
and other criterion.

The system also gives customers the opportunity to press a button and
re-schedule the appointment if necessary.

Virgin Media anticipates cost savings as a result of the system to be in the
"tens of millions" annually.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2261834/virgin-media-woos-customers