View
this article as a PDF
Toughbook Delivers Robust Mobile Performance for the New Zealand
Automobile Association’s Roadservice Operation
 As part of a
major program to improve response time, the New Zealand Automobile
Association recently purchased over 170 Panasonic Toughbook units to
outfit all its Road Service vehicles with the latest in mobile service
technology.
The New Zealand Automobile Association Incorporated
(“AA”) embarked on a project to upgrade its roadside mobile data
terminals to a world-class mobile field service solution. As part of
this project to transform AA’s infrastructure, a superior notebook
solution was sought that would stand up to the rigours of field use.
Dramatic Improvements in Efficiency
“Panasonic Toughbooks have
completely streamlined the way in which the AA does business,”
explained Paul Wykes — IT Project Manager for AA Roadservice.
“Previously, we were limited to the dispatching of jobs one at a time,
however with new technology we can now deliver up to twelve jobs
directly to the Patrol resulting in better management of time and
resources at the roadside.” Further efficiencies are gained through
the GPS tracking system as they now know precisely where each vehicle
is, resulting in quicker response times to Members and customers. As
the leading vehicle breakdown service provider in New Zealand, the AA
provides breakdown assistance across the entire country with diverse
temperature and geographical conditions. The association currently
serves over 1 million Members and attends to over 500,000 call outs
per year, many of which are particularly challenging given variable
weather conditions, inferior roads and heavy traffic. With an
operation of such size and scale, continuous and efficient
communications between their call centre and their mobile units is
critical. Tough Requirements
Rough road conditions and variable weather meant that any solution
introduced had to be robust, resilient and reliable in a
vehicle-mounted environment. The equipment would also have to perform
through long periods of use to meet the demands of a 24/7/365 service,
and be easy to navigate in bright daylight or in the dark. The
Panasonic Toughbook met and exceeded these tough requirements.
The AA was particularly sold on the daylight-readable touchscreen. In
addition, the magnesium alloy case and the shockmounted hard disk
drive allowed the units to be locked in a theft-proof metal vehicle
mount and still withstand the constant shock and vibration from a
moving vehicle. The Toughbook is designed to operate in extreme
conditions as cold as -20 degrees Celsius and as such the units are
able to withstand the environments that AA service officers experience
in the southernmost centres like Dunedin and Invercargill.
Exceeding Expectations
The Toughbook simplifies processes across the board saving a lot of
paperwork and making the flow of administrative tasks easier. Reports
can be produced on demand, correspondence is now done by email and is
instantaneous. Motorists wanting to renew their membership, or
subscribe to other AA services can get all the information they
require at the side of the road, without the need to visit an AA
Centre. For the future, the AA is looking to set up on-board vehicle
diagnostics. This will enable them to maintain their world-class
roadside mobilization rate of over 93% of all breakdowns despite the
increasing sophistication of modern cars. “Having an on-board
diagnostic service will enable AA service officers to establish the
reason for the breakdown at the roadside, email details directly to
the dealer network and potentially arrange for the ordering of parts.”
explains Wykes. “All of this is a result of our decision to install
Panasonic Toughbooks. Their functionality has enabled us to work
smarter and more efficiently in providing excellent customer service.
This has in turn given the AA the ability to grow by extending the
range of services we are able to provide.” An Award-Winning
Accomplishment
For the execution and delivery of this project, AA won
Computerworld Excellence Awards in both the categories it was
nominated in. These highly coveted awards are given annually to
recognise excellence in the IT industry in New Zealand. As David Van Kampen — National Manager for AA Road Service states, “The AA is
particularly pleased and proud to receive the top ‘IT’ awards in the
‘Mobile Workforce’ and ‘Customer Service’ categories. While many
people were involved, we could not have delivered what we have without
the great product and service provided by the team at Panasonic [MEC
Distributors].”
•
Go to top |
Download the PDF (130kb) |
Go back to the Case Studies page »
| 
