BSI, the global testing and certification business, is introducing a brand new system from MapMechanics on its UK operations for planning the movements of its roving client managers, and says it expects this to bring a whole series of benefits.

The organisation says the PeopleSuite system is likely to enhance customer service, reduce travel time, ensure staff with special skills are deployed to best effect, improve their work life balance, and reduce the time and work involved in the planning process itself. Many of these gains will also produce cost savings.

In the past, client managers would conclude each visit by making an appointment for the next one, usually planning six months ahead. However, this arrangement could sometimes be thwarted later by illness or unavailability of the client manager in question.

The new system automates the appointment-making on the basis of the 'best fit' option at the time, and appointments are then re-optimised on a monthly basis during the months leading up to each planned visit.

 

The system also makes it possible to program exceptions – for instance, when it is essential to allocate a specific manager with highly specialised skills or security clearance to a particularly sensitive operation.