Keystone Mobilizes Field Service With AirClic
NEWTOWN, PA-- May 15, 2006--AirClic helps Keystone by Maax, a leading provider of bathroom fixtures, mobilize field service workers and track status of its 300 daily installations in real-time. Using AirClic MP on an easy-to-use mobile phone, Keystone has replaced its paper-based work/service order system. The AirClic solution has enabled Keystone to stay ahead in a competitive market and propelled it to the vendor of choice for homebuilders.
"When supplying fixtures for construction - one quickly learns that any one of 30 to 40 suppliers/vendors before us can alter the production schedule," said Patrick Shire, business manager at Keystone by Maax. "With AirClic, we are able to get immediate feedback from our service crews - ultimately making our business more efficient and competitive. This helps our customers stay on track to meet their schedule. Equally as important, we can now develop detailed reports on our service business that enables us to identify our most efficient customers and reward them with our best pricing structures."
With more than $14 million in annual installation revenue in the U.S., Keystone is a significant service provider in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Keystone works with some of the largest homebuilders including Toll Brothers, K. Hovnanian, Lennar and Orleans to name a few. With new home construction continuing to soar, Keystone needed a way to track the status of installations and provide its customers, often times the construction manager or superintendent, with real-time access to accurate installation updates. More importantly, the service workers needed a way to document incomplete orders and the reason - either on the developers side (plumbing or tile not complete) or suppliers side (damaged or missing materials).
Keystone chose AirClic to replace its paper-based process to track and record installations in real-time using mobile devices. Keystone's crew of 60 installers uses a mobile phone and an attached bar code scanner developed and exclusively distributed by AirClic. The mobile phones include AirClic MP, a mobile application that enables companies to easily and cost-effectively mobilize any business process and track that process at the precise time it occurs in the field.
With the AirClic solution, installers are able to document the truck used and service route they are to perform each day. The system can capture drive time as well as time spent each job site. Once on site, the field service worker documents if the project was completed or not and why. This information is instantly transmitted to Keystone which can contact builders and reschedule installations if needed. It also allows Keystone to update service schedules for the following day as needed, making the team more productive and responsive to customer needs.
Prior to the AirClic solution, Keystone used to average multiple trips to an installation site before completion and was not able to optimize routes for installers. "We didn't know what we could do to make us more efficient because we did not know what was making us inefficient," said Shire. "With the information we have from the AirClic solution, we've reduced the average number of visits significantly. Our installers are making daily routes that are much more efficient and we're able to be more productive. As a result, we are looking to expand the solutions to other mobile processes."
The AirClic implementation, which took four months from evaluation to completion, has helped Keystone optimize its service business while improving overall time management, responsiveness, service order documenting and strengthening customer relations. Keystone customers receive that added benefit of real-time access through the Keystone Web site into the status of job sites for accurate planning.
"The summer is one of the busiest times for construction," said Tim Bradley, CEO for AirClic. "Using AirClic, Keystone is well-equipped to effectively track any increase in installations while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. Keystone is a great example of how companies can leverage AirClic technology in a matter of a few months to mobilize field service workers, improve customer relations and become more efficient."