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www.binfo.co.uk
Digital Solutions
The RSPCA relies on calls from the
public to inform them of instances of
cruelty to animals. Typically someone
calls the charity’s 24-hour helpline
every 30 seconds and in 2010 alone
the RSPCA received more than 1.1
million calls. Gathering information
from those calls and getting it into
How a new data
management solution is
helping RSPCA inspectors
and animal welfare
officers in England and
Wales respond more
quickly to calls from
the public
the field so that it can be acted upon
quickly is critical to the success of the
RSPCA’s operations.
Recognising that the process used for
distributing jobs to remote workers could
be streamlined, the RSPCA called in data
management software developer AMT-
SYBEX to create, deliver and manage
a new system to improve reporting
systems between head office and remote
staff and to create a central repository
for data.
Under the RSPCA’s old system, calls
from the public were recorded in its
central command and control system,
TAILS. Jobs would then be allocated via
a phone call from the scheduling team
in the National Control Centre to one
of the RSPCA’s 400 plus remote officers
including 278 inspectors, 57 trainee
inspectors, 82 animal welfare officers
(AWOs) and 58 animal collection officers
(ACOs).
As well as being slow, this system was
unproductive, as field-based staff had to
wait for work to be phoned through and
then complete all administrative tasks on
paper. It also required them to carry three
mobile devices and separate SatNav
equipment.
AMT-SYBEX overcame these
drawbacks with a new system, MICE
(Mobile Integrated Communications
Equipment), that enables officers to
receive, review and update information
on jobs assigned to them electronically
using a single Motorola device.
With relevant information about
each job at their fingertips, officers are
better prepared when they arrive at a
destination. In addition, they can update
reports on the mobile devices, which
minimises the need for paper-based
reporting, and view any outstanding jobs
against their name, helping to ensure that
jobs are closed out effectively.
Another benefit of MICE is that it
integrates mobile devices with SatNav
software, removing the need for a
separate device.
Since implementing MICE, the RSPCA
has enjoyed faster and more accurate
incident awareness and seen a big
improvement in the speed of updates to
TAILS information, with 43% of updates
now entered within 15 minutes. The
system has also reduced the cost of
administrative tasks by replacing laborious
paper-based reporting.
RSPCA Chief Superintendent Richard
Harding commented: “We have been
working closely with AMT-SYBEX on the
new systems and are delighted with the
end result. Our workforce is now more
mobilised in the field, making officers
even more efficient in their roles and
helping us to save more animals from
cruelty and neglect. Other benefits include
less paperwork; a common information
platform for all our officers; improved
‘lone worker monitoring’; as well as a
better way of allocating work to our staff
working on the front line.”
www.amt-sybex.com
14
magazine
On the front line
software converts the handwritten
form into a pdf and sends it on to the
service desk where an administrator can
immediately see all the job details and
update the customer’s online portal.
Return on investment
TonyWortley estimates that the time
saved by engineers in the first month
alone has more than covered the cost
of the digital pens.With an additional
capacity across the team of 20-40 jobs
per day, productivity has improved by
as much as 20% and Gunnebo has been
able to take on the new banking contract
without compromising service to other
clients.
Engineers no longer have to wait
in car parks to talk to the service desk;
and service desk agents have gained
valuable extra time and are now able
to concentrate far more on customers
and forward plan and schedule more
intelligently.
Instead of having to wait at least
a week for a job sheet to be sent in
(or invoice without it and run the risk
of errors), Gunnebo can now carry
out accurate same day invoicing for
emergency service requests. As well as
the obvious improvement to cash flow,
the management of jobs with open,
wait or despatch status is now far more
efficient.
The addition of daily diary sheets to
the digital reporting process has brought
further benefits. It’s quicker and simpler
for engineers (who are paid according to
the information on this form) and there’s
now little or no need to spend time
chasing at the end of each month.
www.destinywireless.com
www.anoto.com
...continued