“Having visibility of the entire fleet is a huge advantage. We know when our trades people arrive at a job, when they leave and how they travel between jobs."
Why Navman Wireless
For more than 80 years, HL Mullane & Son has been providing the highest quality plumbing, drainage and gas services to the Hunter Region. Mullane Maintenance, one of five of Mullane's separate companies, has 20 trades people available 24/7 for plumbing, electrical and roofing repair, maintenance and emergency services.
With increasing growth, Mullane Maintenance experienced the challenge of keeping track of and scheduling jobs for each trade vehicle. They looked at employing one person full time for the job, but that wasn't a cost effective or successful solution. So they turned to Navman Wireless and haven't looked back.
Mullane Maintenance chose Navman Wireless' GPS system to track their vehicles based on the strength and reputation of the brand, affordability of the system, local support and reporting capability.
Better control and management of the entire fleet
Mullane Maintenance has Navman Wireless tracking in all 20 vehicles and anyone in the office can see where any tradesperson is at all times. Ms Smith says that the system is so easy to use that any member of the team can take a job call and dispatch it to the closest vehicle.
She comments, "Having visibility of the entire fleet is a huge advantage. We know when our trades people arrive at a job, when they leave and how they travel between jobs."
Navman Wireless features and reports further increase this control. "Navman Wireless' reports are very helpful. If a tradesperson can't remember how much time he spent on a site, we simply look it up. And if a customer calls disputing our time at a job, we pull up the details while they're on the phone. Having that back up is beneficial in all situations," says Ms Smith.
A 20% Improvement in Scheduling and a Significant Increase in Billable Time
Before Navman Wireless, Mullane's management discussed scheduling issues with their trades people and explained how a tracking system would make it easier for them to do their jobs more efficiently. This transparent approach helped staff understand that Navman Wireless was for their benefit and not a ‘big brother' tactic on the part of the company.
Today, the tracking system is accepted as a normal part of doing the job. Staff are more open regarding their whereabouts and they're completing more jobs in a day.
In fact, Mullane Maintenance has seen a 20% improvement in scheduling, a 14% average increase in billable time each month and a decrease in fuel consumption since installing Navman Wireless.
A Confident Outlook
In addition to providing monetary benefits, Navman Wireless has helped Mullane Maintenance offer improved customer service. "If a customer calls with a real emergency, we can tell them exactly when we'll have a tradesperson to their premises," says Ms Smith. "It's instant, accurate knowledge, not gut instinct, and it's a huge breakthrough for us."
Ms Smith concludes, "During a crucial growth period, Navman Wireless gave us the control we needed. And now that we're expanding further, we know we can move forward confidently, using Navman Wireless.
