| Aspire Housing aims high for customer service |
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Aspire Housing, the largest registered social landlord in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire, is making radical improvements to customer service, compliance and environmental performance with the introduction of an enterprise mobility solution from Derby-based TBS to communicate with its team of maintenance field workers. Aspire Housing, the largest registered social landlord in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire, is making radical improvements to customer service, compliance and environmental performance with the introduction of an enterprise mobility solution from Derby-based TBS to communicate with its team of maintenance field workers. Aspire Housing chose TBS’s award-winning TaskMaster enterprise mobility software to communicate with their skilled trade operatives out in the field via handheld PDA’s powered by Windows Mobile connected to a secure private network provided by Vodafone. Each working day, their mobile workers receive their daily schedule of customer appointments and a range of tasks including gas and electricity services and general property maintenance direct to their handheld PDA. As Aspire Housing’s workers reach each customer location and begin work, they log progress via standardised forms presented to them on the PDA. This information is transmitted via the Vodafone mobile network back to the company’s systems where the data automatically records the value of the work completed and the trade operatives productive hours. In addition the data entered by the operative on his PDA automatically creates electronic versions of formal safety certificates, such as the Gas Landlord’s Safety Certificate (CP12) and Gas Safety Inspection, which are ultimately posted to each customer as a record of the work carried out. The solution replaces a paper-based process where field workers needed to physically receive and complete numerous forms for each job undertaken and return them to Aspire Housing’s headquarters for data entry and administrative processing. This duplication of effort, where the operative completes the detail of the work and then the administrative staff again enter the same details on to the company’s Management Systems was time consuming, obviously inefficient, and sometimes prone to errors and loss of essential information. Benefits for Aspire Housing and its tenants “The benefits of using TBS TaskMaster are very clearly apparent and the flexibility and development potential for further expansion of the mobile working solution is extremely promising,” explained Chris Chadwick. “With in excess of 1,000 pieces of paper requiring to be processed on a weekly basis, the speed, cost and efficiency benefits to be gained by moving to this form of capturing our business data and information, is tremendous.” Aspire Housing has also been able to provide a more responsive service for customers, with field workers able to deliver greater productivity, with less time spent in the collection, completion and return of paper based work instructions. Through the use of the TBS Taskmaster solution the field worker no longer has to waste time and fuel in travelling into a central depot each morning, but can now receive his daily/weekly work schedules on his handheld PDA and travel straight to his first appointment without delay. In addition, Aspire Housing is also able to monitor, safeguard and plan it’s workforce resources due to the use of a series of automated events that advise the administrative staff that an operative has arrived or is located at a particular customer’s address. “Aspire Housing offer a great example to other organisations of the varied benefits to be gained through the use of enterprise mobility technology,” said Steve Reynolds, Managing Director of TBS. “From the very practical day-to-day organisational plus points to the longer term environmental considerations, there’s convincing evidence here as to the RoI on offer.” About Aspire Housing The Aspire Housing Group provides more than 20,000 customers with quality affordable homes and services across North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. Our diverse range of properties and services reflect the individual needs of our customers. We aim to provide real lifestyle choices. We are passionate about improving the environment in which people live, using our regeneration expertise to improve communities. We are proud to be North Staffordshire’s largest Social Enterprise. Project Management, our training division, delivers training and employment opportunities for young disenfranchised people living in the local area.
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