April/May 2007

Elliott Loohire wanted smarter tracking, signature capture and same-day despatch. Spirit Data Capture helped it create an integrated mobile management system

Whether it's a public event in an open space or a construction project on a greenfield site, these days there's one thing you can be pretty sure of: somewhere there will be some temporary toilets on hand. Such a refinement has come to be expected, and in some cases the hosts couldn't meet their legal or contractual obligations if they didn't provide it.

The same activities might also require temporary fencing to denote who can go where. No wonder that hiring out both these commodities has become big business in recent years.

It has also become a high-tech business. With the latest mobile computing system introduced by leading supplier Elliott Loohire, the company has been able to offer same-day delivery for the first time, as well as reducing administration costs and enhancing its product tracking capability. It also predicts significant fuel savings.

 

Elliott is a long-standing player in this market, having been launched back in 1980; and since then it has seen constant growth. It now offers 15,000 toilet units and 60,000 fencing panels for hire.

Initially the company introduced barcode scanning for use in asset tracking and management. This worked well, but gradually the company realised it wanted more advanced capabilities such as signature capture. It also wanted to integrate its mobile computing functions more comprehensively with its job management and scheduling system.

In the words of systems manager Martin Davies: 'We handle a very large number of transactions, and therefore generate huge amounts of paperwork. To move the company forward, we decided to start looking for a smart device that could be used for signature capture. This would enable us to reduce the amount of administration involved with the paperwork.'

Having researched the market for ruggedised PDAs (personal digital assistants), the company made contact with Spirit Data Capture, an independent Cheshire-based company that specialises in automated data capture technologies.

Spirit's recommendation was the Dolphin 7900, a versatile mobile computer manufactured by Hand Held Products. The Dolphin can read a wide range of barcode symbologies, has OCR (optical character recognition) capabilities, and can also capture digital images and signatures.

The model is well endowed with communication features, having both wireless local-area networking via 802.11b and long-range networking via GPRS. A GPS location-finding capability is also built in. Finally Bluetooth short-range wireless network is also included.

After a successful trial in April 2006, Elliott Loohire ordered 116 Dolphins, which were issued to the company's nine depots between September 2006 and February 2007. The mobile computers are powered by the firm's vehicles and mounted in vehicle cradles.

Spirit provided support during the project whenever it was needed - particularly in relation to the software development kit for the Dolphins - although Elliott Loohire carried out most of the development.

Martin Davies comments: 'We deliver and collect over a thousand toilets each week, and each hired unit has to be cleaned weekly. All of this work is graphically represented on a computerised planning 'board'.'

This board, part of Elliott's in-house system, uses the Paragon routing and scheduling software to achieve optimum efficiency from its vehicle fleet.

The Dolphins integrate directly with the planning system, where jobs are highlighted as they are completed. 'This gives us a visual representation of progress on any given day,' Davies says. 'If a driver falls behind, jobs can be moved to other drivers, and the Dolphins are automatically updated using GPRS.

'Previously, over eight thousand jobs a week had to be checked manually from the paperwork, which was scanned into a paperless office system. The Dolphins now create and file the necessary paperwork automatically, eliminating the time needed for scanning and indexing.'

Same-day deliveries have also become viable, since the company can now check the location of drivers using GPS and allocate jobs within minutes. Details are updated automatically on the Dolphin 7900 units in each cab.

Fuel saving is seen as a further potential benefit. 'One of our major costs is for fuel for our 120 vehicles,' says Davies. 'With the Dolphin's GPS ability, we expect to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the whole tracking process, including finding the location of the portable toilets rapidly. This should in turn reduce our fuel costs.'