Utility Week

23 ISSUE 01 OCT/2018 Vehicle Check-Out from Lanes Group is new app is being used by drivers to carry out and digitally record daily vehicle safety checks, and is designed to improve the effectiveness of wastewater fleet management. e Vehicle Check-Out app allows drivers to complete the mandatory checks quickly and effectively, and report defects in a way that is fully compliant with latest vehicle inspection legislation. Lanes Utilities, part of Lanes Group plc, is using the app to manage 350 specialist vehicles operated to fulfil its role as ames Water's wastewater network services maintenance partner. Andy Brierley, Lanes Utilities' director, says: " e Vehicle Check-Out app has been transformational for us as an organisation that operates a fleet of vehicles, many of them HGVs." Crew Tracker from iRestore is is a tracking and location forecasting solution that estimates times of arrival to tasks in the field, and then tracks and manages outside contractor crews and mutual aid crews, so that everyone knows where the whole team is all the time. Responding crews or crew foremen download the app, pick the utility they are responding to, and then touch a single button (Start Job). is turns on location tracking and enables utility users to view colour-coded crews and/or crew foremen as they make their way to their assigned work centre. Field Squared from Field Squared is app claims to take the guesswork out of scheduling by enabling effective work order management and asset visibility. It allows technicians to capture field data via digital smart forms, and ensures everyone has the most up-to-date information, all in real time. Its field data capture elements include space to upload photos, as well as mark-up and barcode scanning functions. Key IVR from Key IVR Key IVR allows customers to view their gas and electricity balance, top up their accounts and create automatic top-ups in one easy-to-use interface. is gives them continuous access to manage their gas and electric smart meters, ensuring they always have sufficient credit and their energy supply remains uninterrupted. Using the smart meter's GSM functionality, top-ups can also be done on the go, wherever the consumer happens to be. Commusoft from Commusoft is app keeps customers up to date with the progress of each job, and lets them know when an engineer is on the way, which is particularly important for vulnerable customers. It also collects customer feedback when a job is completed. Designed to connect your workforce to one another and your customers, it allows businesses to manage their operations from any location. Planning and Scheduling Optimisation from IFS Being successful in field service means sending the right technician to the right job with the right parts – and doing it at the lowest total cost possible. At the heart of this app is the Dynamic Scheduling Engine. is automates scheduling decisions based on configurable and reconfigurable business requirements. It also offers 'what-if' analyses of how business, volume and staffing changes could affect the ability to deliver on customer requirements. Electrical Certificates, Inspection & Testing from iCertifi is is a range of apps rather than a single one, because electrical certificates come in many shapes and forms, and one app cannot fit all, but they each make the job of testing, inspection and certification faster and easier, with less room for error. Once subscribed, electrical contractors are free to send unlimited electrical certificates, with no pay-and-go pricing or paying for certificate references. e company recently developed a version of iCertifi for Network Rail, which is now used across the UK for electrical certification of the UK's railway infrastructure.

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