Dec 06/Jan 07

TomTom Work, the tracking and job management application launched not long ago by TomTom to add a business dimension to its navigation systems, has proved a ideal for a new transport operation started by Mersey Care NHS Trust for the people of Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby.

The operation was launched last summer by its facilities directorate in order to transport mental health patients to and from day hospitals for treatment. The trust took on five vehicles and drivers, who spend early mornings picking up people from their homes, and the afternoons returning them.

Between about 11am and 2pm the vehicles are available for ad hoc jobs, but this poses a challenge for the transport coordinator, who needs to direct the drivers to any job requests received. Before the telematics solution was adopted, the coordinator would have to fax job orders to the day hospitals and then ring the drivers to let them know the details. Allocating them efficiently was difficult.

With TomTom Work installed, the supplier's WebFleet Web-based application tracks and traces the vehicles and shows the coordinator exactly where they are at all times.

The transport co-ordinator and the drivers can also communicate easily with each other without having to wait for the drivers to pull on to the roadside to use their mobile phones. Text messages are sent between the drivers' TomTom GO and the WebFleet system in the office. Once job orders are received, drivers can easily check the best route to that destination using the TomTom GO.

Interestingly, the transport team tested several similar systems before choosing the TomTom solution, and say this best fitted their needs and was extremely easy to use.