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Mesa Energy Systems, Inc.
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Mesa Energy Systems, Inc. is a commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning service provider in Irvine, California.
The companyís 85 service technicians used only phones to communicate with the Mesa dispatcher to get their next assignments and service call instructions.
Then, every Monday (known as ënightmare Mondayí), the technicians would drop off the prior weekís service tickets and timesheets for processing.
ìThe dispatcher was known as the heart and soul of the company,î says Chuck Feyrer, Mesaís operations manager.
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The Challenge:
Mesa needed to improve their dispatch and field service processes.
Every morning, 85 service technicians needed to get their schedules, directions to work sites and special instructions from the Mesa dispatch.
Using only telephones to communicate meant many stressful hours of phone coverage for the dispatchers.
Then, every Monday, when the technicians dropped off the prior weekís paperwork, the dispatchers were so busy reconciling numbers and deciphering handwritten worksheets that they could not effectively manage the dispatch work on that day.
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The Wireless Solution:
Wireless has turned Mesa into a very different place to work, says Chuck Feyrer, Mesaís operations manager.
Now, the service technicians and dispatchers communicate wirelessly by transmitting over-the-air messages between the technicianís handheld Windows CE-based device and the dispatcherís desktop PC.
The wireless application, created by FieldCentrix Inc., enables the technicians to retrieve a job list every morning (complete with directions and instructions) and then transmit job status, customerís signatures, and service notes immediately upon completion of the job.
The technicians also now send their timesheets over-the-air and the information is processed electronically.
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Improved Morale: Mesa dispatchers are less stressed-out. The new system has reduced telephone ringing, paperwork and improved workflow.
Improved Work Efficiencies: Mesa technicians no longer have to wait on hold for two to 30 minutes several times a day for the dispatcher to answer their call and read them their next assignment. Since timesheet information is now entered electronically into the system, dispatchers spend one-half the time as before reconciling the prior weekís work.
Increased Sales: Prior to wireless, Mesa would take weeks to get a proposal to a customer. Now technicians can send recommended repair information directly from the site to an in-house salesperson that can turn around the proposal within 24 hours. Internal sales have tripled.
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Source: Computerworld September 24th, 2001 ìKicking Backî by Mary Brandel
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