The company chose the devices due to their rugged and ergonomic design, along with Panasonic’s commitment to supporting the latest Android operating systems and its service and maintenance offering.
Innserve’s technicians service more than 80,000 licensed and non licensed premises across England, Scotland and Wales. They will receive their daily schedule of 8-10 appointments a day, plan their journeys and record information about each job using the device. The TOUGHBOOK L1 tablet (which has a 7 inch display) will also be used to place orders for and return parts, as well as for email communications, to provide access to HR systems and payment information, and also to show customers the latest information and training videos.
“This is very much a hands-on device for our technicians,” said Drew Wilcox, systems support manager at Innserve. “Technicians have to input a lot of data, often in wet and difficult environments. The TOUGHBOOK L1 tablet is easy to use and read. Technicians appreciate the finer design details like the handstrap and stylus and the device is lightweight and easy to carry in their toolbags. The new micro USB charger is also a good design choice because it means the technicians can charge the device with the same equipment as their Android mobile phones.”
Panasonic’s configuration and service centre in Cardiff holds rapid replacement stock for Innserve and provides it with a 24 hour replacement service for devices that are damaged or stolen. The new devices will be rolled out as current devices fail or are due for service. The company has used Panasonic TOUGHBOOK devices for many years.
“We require rugged Android devices that are functional, reliable and competitively priced,” said Kieran Delaney, Innserve’s director of IT. “But it is not just the device, it’s the service and maintenance that comes with it that is critical to the running of our operation. In addition, because we develop all our own desktop and mobile applications, ongoing support for future versions of Android is incredibly important to us to ensure we can continue to take advantage of future innovations.”
Panasonic can provide specialist support for Android devices in the form of Panasonic COMPASS, a suite of enterprise management tools for Panasonic TOUGHBOOK rugged tablets and handheld devices running the Android operating system.
During a roundtable organised by Panasonic, Innserve's Delaney told members of the press that the app used by the technicians and its integration with the one used by its customer service team was a key point of differentiation for the company. He also stressed the importance of quality assurance during app development, including the need for a “test to break” approach to it. He also noted the benefits of a software-as-a-service model, given that the ease with which it’s possible to move from one SaaS vendor to another creates a strong incentive for the vendors to continue to innovate. Delaney also cited the speed at which devices’ capabilities have been improving and said that due to this a three year life-span for devices in the field is about right for his company.
