Roadmarking contractor DBi Prismo has rolled out an iPhone application strategy to ensure seamless communication between its on-site workforce and office based departments.
The tool was developed by mobile technology strategist Answer and allows real-time reporting and communication, cutting DBi Prismo’s reliance on paperwork and making annual savings of over €344,150 in administration costs.The Cloud-hosted mobile workforce management system is called Yesterday’s Internal Knowledge (YIK) and allows real-time reporting to and from the workforce and to the customer. It provides instant updates for any type of weather, travel or job specification changes and rapid evidential reporting using the device’s camera. Previously documentation would be couriered between sites or information would be transmitted via a vehicle-based system.
At the beginning of each day, mandatory vehicle checks are managed by the system as part of extensive health and safety requirements built into the system’s processes. Once approved, teams are provided with the day’s schedule, dimensions/specifications, location and route by the tool, creating significant time and cost-savings. The system also allows teams to directly report on stock requirements, condition of the location and confirmation of job completion before being sent details of the next task.
In addition to streamlined job workflow, DBi Prismo has seen an improvement in customer invoicing, down from 7-8 weeks to the next day and invoice disputes dropping from over 50% to just 5%. An employee survey also revealed a boost in workforce morale due to the system’s ease-of-use and ability to track wages through an e-timesheet. The smartphones have proven to be robust given the difficult environments the teams work in, but also bring a range of communication options including phone, text, e-mail and intranet access as opposed to the previous vehicle-based units.
DBi Prismo says that using this technology has led to significant cost savings over the previous paper-based system and provides the firm with daily cost and productivity data, while the picture-based dashboard is said to cut errors.
