TC Harrison JCB builds on mobile foundations

T.C. Harrison JCB builds on
mobile foundations
Award-winning contract hire and fleet management
company T.C. Harrison JCB switches from semi-rugged
PDAs to Nokia Lumia 625 smartphones for service
engineers
• Significant increase in device usage by engineers
• Reduction in downtime and costs caused by necessary PDA repairs
• Decrease in device cost by over a third per unit
• Enhanced customer service delivery and first time fix rate
• Improved consistency in data capture
• Achieved rapid time to invoice, improving cashflow
case study
T.C. Harrison JCB
T.C. Harrison JCB specialises
in selling, maintaining and
repairing new and used JCB
machines, as well as supplying
JCB parts and attachments
including a range of petrol,
diesel and power generators.
As an award-winning UK dealer,
it has over 80 combined years’
experience selling JCB plant
machinery in agricultural,
construction and industrial
markets.
Five regional depots cover
Yorkshire, Derbyshire,
Nottinghamshire, Hull,
Lincolnshire and the North
East, while the export of
used equipment and new
machinery parts mean that T.C.
Harrison JCB’s services extend
throughout the rest of the
world.
The selection and speedy
deployment of mobile
workforce platform TaskMaster,
from TBS Enterprise Mobility,
has helped the business to
streamline the workflow of its
service engineers and further
enhance service capability
through real-time progress
updates.
Background
Prior to rolling out the Nokia Lumia 625 to its mobile workforce, T.C. Harrison
JCB took the pioneering step to introduce semi-rugged PDAs to its field service
engineers and move to a paperless system using the TaskMaster enterprise
mobility platform.
Before this implementation, paper job cards were used for the administration
of service engineer tasks. Job cards had to be printed out and faxed to different
locations for engineers to collect, complete and return by fax. This process was
labour intensive, and sometimes led to error and lost documents.
Wendy Griffiths, Head of Commercial and Aftermarket, T.C. Harrison JCB,
explained: “During the first two years of deployment, we have achieved
considerable operational efficiency gains, using TaskMaster to eliminate fieldbased paperwork, reduce round mileage and enhance customer service.”
However, the semi-rugged PDAs were slow-running, expensive to replace and
caused considerable downtime due to necessary repairs. Wendy continued:
“With the increasing availability of sophisticated smartphones at low-cost, and
growing uptake in other sectors, we reviewed our business case and found we
could quickly realise ROI by switching to smartphones.”
TaskMaster’s seamless transition
After trialling a range of Nokia Lumias over the course of a month, T.C. Harrison
JCB opted for the 625. “The Nokia Lumia 625s provided the level of robustness
we required with the toughened Gorilla Glass screen, and could be quickly
replaced at low cost if any breakages were to occur,” added Wendy.
T.C. Harrison JCB’s existing TaskMaster solution ran on Win 6.5 and Windows
Phone 8, so offered a seamless and quick transition onto the new devices. In
addition to all the existing functionality, TaskMaster also enabled T.C. Harrison
JCB to take advantage of a richer environment; harnessing features such as
Nokia Here Drive+ satellite navigation to further add value.
Wendy said: “The Nokia Lumias have been received well by our staff, who are
happy to have them whilst on call. We find our engineers treat the smartphones
as they would their own, so damage is rare. The speed of the new smartphones
compared to the slower PDAs has also helped increase user engagement,
ultimately leading to more consistent data capture.”
Looking ahead
The much lower cost of the Nokia Lumia 625 compared with the previous
devices has enabled T.C. Harrison JCB to extend deployment from service
engineers to workshop-based PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) engineers and even
some apprentices. “We are now in the valuable position to be able to increase
deployment as our team grows, without an in-depth consideration of the
upfront investment needed. TaskMaster is easily scalable so the whole solution
supports our business as it grows,” added Wendy.
T.C. Harrison JCB is continually exploring the
potential for TaskMaster to be employed in
new ways throughout the business, earning
similar benefits. The adoption of smartphones has strengthened the business case
for wider deployment, and the company
is considering equipping its machine sales
reps with Nokia Lumia 625s next.
Solution benefits
Since streamlining processes using TaskMaster, T.C. Harrison JCB has seen
significant improvements in its already excellent customer services, including a
rise of first time fix rates and a reduction in response times.
Wendy commented: “Our engineers are now equipped with all the relevant
details concerning each call-out through the TaskMaster platform, so that they
are able to accurately identify the repair work needed upfront, meaning that
most jobs are fixed first time around. Our regular customers have given us high
praise for our enhanced service levels, and this has directly impacted our ability
to increase sales.”
Wendy concluded: “The success of our first
implementation gave us the confidence to
transition to smartphones, knowing that
we would quickly realise ROI. We have now
embraced mobile technology within our
business culture and will always look at
how we can harness it to our competitive
advantage.”
Using the previous system, numerous calls were required to check site
progress. TaskMaster is integrated with T.C. Harrison JCB’s back office systems,
giving service supervisors instant visibility of job progress, empowering them
to take a proactive approach, quickly react to any sudden issues and keep
customers informed as soon as their call comes in.
Capturing data in real-time using TaskMaster mobile apps has also enabled
T.C. Harrison JCB to minimise the time lapse between last labour and invoice,
resulting in a greater level of cost transparency for the customer and improved
cash flow.
As many T.C. Harrison JCB customers work in rural or new development areas,
TaskMaster’s offline capability is especially important. Engineers are able to
continue using their role-specific mobile apps to input data, which is reliably
stored and updated when a signal becomes available.
“We pride ourselves in exceeding customer expectations with the best back-up support in the industry,”
said Wendy. “TaskMaster definitely enables us to do that. Everyone from TBS Enterprise Mobility was
accommodating, flexible, and able to understand our business.”
case study
About TBS
TBS Enterprise Mobility is a leading provider of integrated mobile
workforce management solutions which enable organisations to
wirelessly communicate real-time information with their fieldworkers.
Its award-winning TaskMaster platform supports tens of thousands of
fieldworkers around the world; driving process adherence and greater
efficiency with role-specific mobile apps.
TaskMaster harnesses the latest mobile technology to dramatically
enhance processes, eliminating unnecessary paperwork, minimising
fixed costs, optimising fieldworker productivity and significantly
improving customer experience.
Contact TBS
TBS Enterprise Mobility,
Ironstone House,
Kedleston Close,
Belper,
Derbyshire,
DE56 1TZ
United Kingdom.
+44(0)1773 596900
info@tbsmobility.com
www.tbsmobility.com