• Agency to deploy workforce scheduling and mobility as part of a broader change program designed to enable multiple departments to work more closely and efficiently
BURLINGTON, MA, Sept. 24, 2008 -- ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd., a leading provider of mobile workforce management and service optimization solutions, today announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership with the Environment Agency, a public body protecting the environment in England and Wales. The Environment Agency will use ClickSoftware's ServiceOptimization Suite to manage their mobile workforce who are responsible for monitoring water quality and levels throughout the region. The initial order will support a few hundred people out of a workforce of several thousand that operate in the field.
The Environment Agency chose ClickSchedule to replace a manual scheduling system. The previous system allowed technicians scattered across multiple territories to make their own schedules for conducting a variety of samples in rivers, streams, lakes, tidal estuaries and beaches during the day.
"As an organization that aims to live up to the highest possible standards in our dealings with all our customers, we are continuously looking at ways in which we can improve our processes," said Jeremy Frost, Operations Development Executive at Environment Agency. "We are confident that our partnership with ClickSoftware will enable us to improve our mobile workforce management process through automation and consistent decision making. The combination of optimized scheduling and mobility will help us to increase the volume of environmental testing being performed each year as well as reducing our carbon footprint through the elimination of unnecessary travel."
The Environment Agency will integrate ClickSchedule, ClickMobile and ClickAnalyze into its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system enabling real-time decision support and optimization. ClickSchedule will automatically schedule technicians days in advance, playing a part in reducing the carbon foot print by reducing unnecessary journeys.
ClickMobile will deliver updated scheduling information and instructions, including the type of samples to take at each site. Technicians will use it to record the bar code for each sample they take to ensure accuracy. That information will go back to ClickSchedule and then to the Environment Agency's sample management systems, which give lab technicians the information they need when testing the samples. Any necessary repeat samples can be targeted and conducted at the best time within a broader schedule of activity rather than repeating unnecessary batch sampling. The tight integration between ClickMobile and ClickSchedule will ensure that when information is communicated from the field, such as tests taking longer than expected, ClickSchedule can automatically act upon this data to ensure that the schedule remains optimized.
ClickAnalyze will allow staff at the Environment Agency to create real time operational performance reports, monitor field force performance in real time, control service operations, including service level, sampling trends and times, associated costs and revenues. These reports can be produced by each stakeholder easily within minutes.
"We are proud to be partnering with the leading public body focused on protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales, said Professor Moshe BenBassat, CEO of ClickSoftware. "The Environment Agency processes thousands of samples a day to ensure high standards of water quality. Deploying workforce optimization technology will increase sampling efficiency and help play a part in reducing the carbon footprint of the organization."
The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales.
ClickSoftware is a leading provider of mobile workforce management and service optimization solutions that create business value for service operations through higher levels of productivity, customer satisfaction and cost effectiveness.
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