Got it in hand
June 1st 2007

As workplace regulation continues to increase, stringent procedures and audits are becoming an essential part of day to day operations, resulting in increasing paperwork, resource requirements and spiralling costs. David Crook, of Expolink Software examines how mobile technology is helping to meet these challenges

GPRS hand-held technology represents a cost-effective computerised option to mobile workers with low operation and set-up costs. Already put to extensive use in the public sector underpinned with Government efficiency targets, the advantages of deployment are significant providing us with all the management statistics and audit trails with the focus being channelled into proactive, rather than reactive methods.

Government initiative The Government has an active project onboard, 'project nomad,' a Government technology supplement in the deployment of mobile technology as a way of enabling local authorities to spend more time away from the office doing their real job, contributing directly to their effectiveness. The private sector is realising the costbenefits of PDA software for remote workers too.

Euronext.liffe, a client of Expolink is a leading exchange for Euro, short-term interest rate derivatives and equity options. The company's engineering team wanted a software solution that could help automate its site power checks, which are undertaken every day in order to prevent a catastrophic power failure and ensure a safe working environment. A mobile communication solution was employed using a software programme customised to its exact application on GPRS handheld technology. This software automates the physical plant rounds including visual checks and readings of equipment such as chillers, boilers, lighting and battery conditions to alert any potential danger. Through the application of this software, Euronext.liffe has been able to increase productivity by reducing the time taken to complete each plant round, which were otherwise taking half a man-day to complete.

Increased efficiency Increasing workplace efficiency and productivity is one of the overwhelming factors in favour of employing mobile technology in the workplace. According to the Gartner Group, the adoption of mobile communication solutions can increase efficiency by up to 40% – that's equivalent to as much as two man days per week.

Few companies have employed mobile technology without realising the considerable benefits. Data transmission through such software on a windows mobile 5 based PDA is immediate via a wireless connection, ensuring that data to and from the handheld is in real-time and flexible enough to cope with just about any application – asset management, property maintenance, vehicle management, construction and audits of any kind. This data availability improves workflow, communication through immediate decision-making and in-turn customer service. In applications such as maintenance and repair, job requests can be received live via the handheld, allowing the automation of the job-sheet process. Integration with backend SQL databases for analysis and back-end helpdesk facilities provide even more advantages, with the processing of simultaneous job allocation to the right person – making such solutions even more advantageous.

The Catering and Cleaning services division at North Ayrshire Council have saved up to 150 hours a month through the automation of its compulsory risk assessments, comprising all aspects of the quality and safety of catering establishments, the majority of which are in schools. The service standards are a prerequisite of the BSI, ensuring compliance with all the latest legislation and the need to meet regular performance targets. The data normally captured using pen and paper on a routine basis is simplified using mobile technology with analysis being automated, rather than the need to re-key data into an Excel spreadsheet for manipulation. This automated process of computerised auditing is saving on average 3 hours and 40 minutes on administration time per assessment and the actual assessment time itself has been reduced from 10 hours to 2.5 hours thanks to the simplicity of the software on the hand-held PDA. John Burt comments, "If we do 20 risk assessments per month, we save 150 hours which is the equivalent to the resource of a full-time position. Not only have we seen considerable increases in productivity, we have also provided considerable cost savings for the council since the introduction of mobile technology".

PDA technology is easy to use and with the ability to customise to each and every organisation, jobs are simplified without the need for manual entry. They also give the additional satisfaction of staff empowerment through data accessibility while on the move. In the case of an audit, attached cameras provide the additional functionality of images being able to be taken to support failure or identify any areas of risk.