“Our dispatchers and tradesmen readily accepted the system and we're very pleased with the time and cost savings so far.”
Salmon Plumbing has been in business for 17 years and has a fleet of 15 vehicles. They carry out a full range of plumbing services, including rainwater tank, hot water tank and water filters installation, restaurant fit outs and building refurbishments. They became Brisbane's first fully accredited green plumber.
John Salmon, Salmon Plumbing's proprietor, installed Navman Wireless Tracking and M-Nav's in all 15 of his vehicles about mid-2007 and says he's been looked after very well by Navman Wireless' people on the ground.
Easy and Efficient Dispatching and Navigation
Mr Salmon wanted a GPS tracking and navigation system because his company is growing and he's recruiting plumbers from outside Brisbane. He says, "We've got guys from around Australia and from other countries working with us now. They're finding the M-Nav to navigate around the Brisbane streets really beneficial for getting to their jobs quickly and efficiently. And now that the crew is larger and the city is expanding, it pays for everyone in the office to know where the vehicles and plumbers are."
Four people in Salmon Plumbing's office use the OnlineAVL application to dispatch jobs. "It's great to have the visual prompt - a job comes in, we pinpoint who's closest and we send them the message with the job details and address." The M-Nav's voice navigation saves tradesmen from having to stop and look at maps or make phone calls back to the office. For quick reference, they've also created a Geofence for a yard in which they hold equipment to instantly see in real-time who enters and exits the yard.
Mr Salmon states that, "We're definitely completing more jobs in a day because it's so easy to see who's nearest to a job and to navigate them there accurately."
Cost Savings Across the Board
Salmon Plumbing has already seen cost savings with the Navman Wireless system in a short few months. Fewer phone calls results in a lower mobile phone bill. Sending the closest vehicles means a reduced fuel bill and less wear and tear. Mr Salmon uses Navman Wireless' mileage report to ensure that his vehicles aren't being used for personal use in the weekend. And in one instance when a van was stolen, the Navman Wireless system helped him locate and retrieve it within an hour.
Improved Customer Service
Mr Salmon says that Navman Wireless is helping them manage billing disputes better as well. "If a customer questions any time spent on a site, we can run a job report to show arrival and departure time," he comments. Mr Salmon is sure that, over time, Navman Wireless will further increase the level of service that Salmon Plumbing can provide its customers.
