Monthly Archive for June, 2010

iPhones and ice-creams

Published on June 6, 2010 in Bridges & Structures, Grounds, Highways, Local Government, Pavement Management, Property Maintenance, Refuse & Waste, Street Cleansing, Street Lighting, Street Works and Trees. 0 Comments

In a recession, people still buy iPhones and ice-creams, it is said.What is essential, nice enough that you feel it essential or that is so outstandingly better than its predecessors that you would spend money on it when money is really tight?

People buy ice creams because it is hot, they love ice creams and they decide they are happy to spend that amount of money because it will cool them down or just because they deserve it.

iPhones are really expensive, but people with very little money buy them.  Why did my son buy one when he left university and walked straight into a job…because the package allowed him to spend less than he did with pay as you go, because it has lots of extra stuff that he would use (often) and, frankly, it is as essential for a young Doctor as a Morgan Sports Car was in the 1970’s.

So, value, added value and desirability are reasons to purchase high value items.

I think of our Confirm system like the iPhone – somewhat ahead of its time when it was released, with loads of “added value” over its competition and adding loads of extra features and functionality that our users will value and use – often.

The relentless march forward of Confirm, adding more and more value each year means that we cannot take a break for ice-creamsWe are soon to release the Street Works Events and Diversions module and are working on other new modules (steered by our developers talking directly with our users in small groups) and the work being done to add value to our Confirm Mobile software is too good to mention on the Blog…bit like a new flavour of ice-cream…we will announce it when it is released so that the competition does not copy it!

As relentless as Nadal at the French open, Confirm continues to add value to ensure that it stays in the “iPhones and ice-creams” bracket of tomorrow. 

We look forward to a Hot Summer with hot stuff coming out from PBBI.

Spy in the … or Control Room?

Published on June 1, 2010 in Local Government. 0 Comments
Spy or ally?

Spy or ally? Knowing where you are, all of the time, can improve the performance of your organisation

Spending Friday in London has its bad points, and some even worse points.

This Friday, I had the pleasure of sitting in with our Customer Advisory Panel (CAP) who were talking (Developers talking directly with Customers) about GPS tracking of field workers using technology already present on their hand held computers.

Some users knew that there may be a degree of reticence from older and more staid colleagues in implementing such technology: “You mean they know where I am all of the time?” and “What if I stop for my lunch?”.  “I thought this was only possible for vehicles – spy in the cab and that…”
The truth is often simpler and less dramatic, as it is with this new idea.  Knowing where workers are enables you to assign urgent jobs and inspections to the nearest person with the appropriate skills.  Urgent things crop up every day and that is, after all, the business of many Councils.
And drawing lines at the end of a day showing where you walked during the day…that only allows me to optimise the standard workload between colleagues.
Reasons to be fearful?  Mainly that the organisation was so inefficient in the past, perhaps?  However, balanced against efficiency improvements, accelerated response times and a measurable ROI, it seems that most people’s problems will centre around what hat to wear and whether or not dark glasses are needed.  This chap could do with some advice!