First Call are established specialists in local authority contracts. However, they also have clients such as large corporations and contractors. First Call have over 30 qualified plumbing, heating and electrical engineers and 14 vehicles including 7.5 tonne lorries, and all sizes of vans. The service company is experienced in all aspects of heating, plumbing and air conditioning, with in-house electrical and design departments.

Before the TomTom WORK solution First call needed a way to increase flexibility and response times of their field based engineers. In busy times it is imperative that information flow between office and driver taking the minimum amount of time – this way the company’s service levels can be maintained, and customer service does not suffer as a result.

The new solution should deliver a more efficient despatch of jobs coming in on an ad-hoc basis, and more importantly in urgent and emergency situations the office should be able to pin point the driver in seconds and allocate the job with accurate information on the service destination and provide the fastest route. The nature of the jobs means constant change in location and an easy to use and reliable satellite navigation system would mean the drivers get to their destination first time all the time. In addition the working time directive has meant close scrutiny on driver working times, and consequently insurance companies are refusing to pay out on drivers who have contravened this directive. Therefore monitoring is essential to protect against potentially invalidating driver insurance.

First Call equipped all of their vehicles with Connected Navigation, and has been using it since March 2007. TomTom WORK’s WEBFLEET is able to manage vehicle availability through its search function, which provides a simple way of finding the nearest vehicle for emergency jobs occurring outside of daily planning. Connected Navigation provides reliable two-way-messaging over GPRS, where the driver simply needs to accept orders and report back on current status over a handy touch screen. “You know right away if a job has been received and accepted …“ Peter Hawes, Managing Director

Connected Navigation has made customer service more efficient – detailed reports can be generated at the click of a button if there is a dispute over whether an engineer was at a particular location at a certain time for a job. Particularly useful on council contracts where many parties are involved and engineers are not necessarily closely monitored.

Due to the new tax charged on company vehicles, any company with a fleet could be in for a serious hike in taxes. “Employers now have to prove to the Inland Revenue that vans are not being used for private purposes; if we cannot do so, both employee and employer can be charged. The employer has to pay 13% of the value of the vehicle. Using the solution from TomTom WORK ensures that nobody pays unnecessarily.” states Peter Hawes

TomTom WORK’s Connected Navigation also helps to comply with Health and Safety legislation regarding lone or remote workers - the central office knows exactly where each driver is, and the satellite navigation is extremely useful for addresses in areas unfamiliar to the drivers. “The TomTom WORK solution provided the best value and indeed price for the functionality we required, and we are still finding new ways to use it in the business, so its value is increasing all the time. I was very pleased with the ease of the buying process and the no hassle installation.“ Peter Hawes, Managing Director