@Road Adds Real-Time GPS Location and Mapping to Taskforce Field Service Optimization Product
Written by @Road
Thursday, 09 August 2007
@Road Taskforce 7.5 Field Service Solution Utilizes Real-Time Location
of Mobile Workers as Well as Their Technical Expertise and Availability
to Automate Work Allocation and Dispatch Decisions
FREMONT, CA--Aug 9, 2007 -- @Road, a Trimble Company (NasdaqGS:TRMB - News) and leading provider of end-to-end solutions for Mobile Resource Management (MRM), today announced that it has integrated @Road GPS location technology and new street-level mapping capabilities into its Taskforce(TM) 7.5 Field Service Management solution. This integration allows automated field service work allocation and dispatch decisions to utilize real-time location of mobile workers as well as their technical expertise and availability. The new GPS and mapping capabilities enable Taskforce users to improve task allocation and exception management, leading to more efficient field operations, improved service delivery and better customer service.
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Ken Colby, @Road president and general manager, said, "With Taskforce 7.5, we have integrated core GPS location-intelligent technology and mapping capabilities of our GeoManager(SM) Field Force Management solution to create a more advanced and functional field service optimization product. Now with Taskforce 7.5, automated allocation decisions can be based on real-time location of mobile workers. This information can also allow field service dispatchers using Taskforce to improve work allocation decisions by taking into account unforeseen changes in daily plans, such as when a mobile worker is in a different location than expected."
Using an @Road-generated GPS feed along with street-level mapping technology, Taskforce 7.5 users can see the real-time location of vehicles, workers, tasks, customer sites and other landmarks on live maps within the Taskforce product. This information can allow dispatchers to quickly find and allocate the nearest resource to an urgent task, evaluate routes to improve efficiency, identify the closest locations for stock replenishment and track traveled paths to identify opportunities for time and fuel savings. Users can also filter mapping displays by resource or task to see only the information needed to make a scheduling decision.
Taskforce 7.5 also provides users the capability to compare estimated arrival times at customer locations with actual arrival times, based on the @Road-generated GPS location information. This information ultimately provides users with the ability to build a picture of their mobile workers' day-to-day tasks, as well as to improve routes and to reduce mileage, fuel use and travel times.
Taskforce is a licensed MRM product for Field Service Management with a successful track record of helping telecommunications and utility companies, including British Telecom, Centrica and E.ON achieve excellence in field service delivery. Taskforce is designed to automate field service delivery processes from appointing, scheduling and dispatching to capacity planning. Taskforce augments human decision-making capabilities, coping with the complexity and changeability of today's field service delivery environment to enable businesses to achieve a more predictable, reliable and repeatable customer experience from commitment to service fulfillment.
The underlying technology in Taskforce makes use of artificial-intelligence algorithms designed to coordinate people, technical expertise, resources and inventory, as it continually seeks to optimize the field service delivery solution at a given time. Because Taskforce is automated and intelligent, it can assist a single operations manager to handle a number of complex service delivery needs and requirements in an unpredictable field service environment.
In addition to Taskforce 7.5, @Road also offers businesses its flagship GeoManager MRM solution for fleet management. GeoManager provides GPS-based location-relevant visibility into the daily activities of mobile workers and their work -- from actual vehicle routes, starts and stops, to customizable maps showing mobile worker location relative to important landmarks like customer locations or work yards. GeoManager also allows businesses to upload customer and/or trip information into a routing engine to generate on-demand, actionable reports such as optimized routes and drive-time, fuel economy, city ordinance compliance and much more.
Rounding off @Road's comprehensive MRM product suite, are solutions for field asset management incorporating vehicle diagnostic/prognostic and sensor technologies for driver safety, inventory management and optimized vehicle performance and maintenance.
About @Road
@Road, a Trimble Company, is a leading global provider of solutions designed to automate the management of mobile resources and to optimize the service delivery process for customers across a variety of industries. @Road delivers Mobile Resource Management solutions in three key areas: Field Force Management, Field Service Management and Field Asset Management. By providing real-time Mobile Resource Management infrastructure integrating wireless communications, location-based technologies, transaction processing and the Internet, @Road solutions are designed to provide a secure, scalable, upgradeable, enterprise-class platform, and are offered in on-demand software delivery, on-premise or hybrid environments that can seamlessly connect mobile workers in the field to real-time corporate data. @Road is headquartered in Fremont, Calif., and has a global presence with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information on @Road solutions, visit www.road.com. For @Road UK sales information, contact @Road, Ltd. (EMEA) at +44 (0) 1473-696-300. For @Road U.S. sales information, contact @Road, Inc. at 1-877-7AtRoad (1-877-728-7623).
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