|
By
KATHLEEN LYONS
When NJR Home Services spun off in
2000 from its affiliate company, New
Jersey Natural Gas, Roy Churchman
knew one of the new company’s biggest
challenges would be competing in an
already crowded market.
Competition for appliance repair and
installation included giants Sears
Roebuck and Co. and Home Depot. But
that wasn’t all.
"In New Jersey, if you look in the phone
book, under "furnace" [repair], you’ll
find 100 people doing it, and not with
the same overhead as we had," said
Churchman, Home Services, Director.
As a result, Home Services managers
formed a committee, including
representatives of the technicians’ union,
to make a significant reduction in
expenses and at the same time improve
efficiency. One of the committee’s
recommendations was to get a better
handle on technicians’ performance.
While the company had general data, it
lacked detail on individual technicians’
work, including which repairs required
follow-up attention.
That’s when Doug Beeman, President of
3-Point Technologies, contacted Home
Services management and pitched his
company’s TechInsight software, which
would work with the computers Home
Services technicians already carried in
their trucks. Beeman promised
TechInsight would crunch raw data
Home Services was already collecting
and turn it into detailed information on
each technician and job.
"It was serendipitous," Churchman said.
"The software fell right into this
committee’s lap. We took it and ran with
it."
Home Services signed a contract with 3-
Point in November of 2002. Within two
months, TechInsight was up and
providing scorecards on every job done
by every technician.
"What it’s done is it’s brought
accountability." Churchman said.
TechInsight reports how each technician
is performing and allows supervisors to
"drill down" to look at an individual job
and find out how long it took the
technician to get to the address, handle
the assignment, and - of critical interest
to managers - whether a repeat visit was
needed because the work was not
satisfactory. TechInsight also shows how
long it should have taken the technician
to get to the address and complete the
job.
"The data we’re getting back is
accurate," Churchman said. "And the
union feels it can trust the data. It’s not
manipulated."
By and large, technicians have accepted
TechInsight. It’s helped that they haven’t
been required to learn any new reporting
or computer skills.
Ryan Ballagh, 3-Point Vice President of
Implementation, said many technicians
actually like the scorecards because they
factor in circumstances affecting the
duration and difficulty of a job.
|
For example, Ballagh said jobs in an old
neighborhood often take longer because
the appliances maybe old and tricky to
repair. And technicians working in zones
where travel times are longer know the
system’s sophisticated mapping software
will provide realistic arrival times.
Jerry DeToro, Manager of Service
Operations, said TechInsight lets
managers know who’s doing a "bang-up
job" and who might need more training.
DeToro rotates his five supervisors
through "3-Point meetings" every two
weeks. At the meetings they review the
latest scorecard and determine whether
adjustments need to be made.
Home Services managers say they use
TechInsight for training purposes, not
for policing.
Churchman said Home Services met its
goal of reducing costs thanks partly to
TechInsight.
The company had set a goal of reducing
its staff of 67 service technicians by
eight, but has been able to cut it by 10
even while doing more work, he said.
With the improved efficiency,
Churchman said, technicians are
handling at least 15 percent more jobs
than two years ago, and with fewer
repeat calls and improved customer
satisfaction.
"This past winter ... we went through the
coldest January in some years in New
Jersey, and we’ve gotten through with
less technicians than in other years,"
DeToro said.
Churchman said he’s been surprised by
how smooth the process has been
because changes involving data
processing can often produce kinks,
unforeseen problems, and end up
becoming more expensive.
"It continues to go very well," he said. "I
applaud the whole process."
NJR Home Services is a subsidiary of New Jersey
Resources (NYSE:NJR), a Fortune 1000 company and
a member of the Forbes Platinum 400.
NJR Home Services provides home-appliance service,
sales and installations to customers in Ocean,
Monmouth, Morris and Middlesex counties, New
Jersey. Our technicians have been serving your
neighborhood for over 50 years. Turn to us for
responsive service seven days a week with 2-hour
scheduling windows and a 100 percent guarantee on
all services. www.njliving.com
|
Home
|
Careers
|
Contact Us
|
Support
Highlights
Press Releases
PDF Version of this story
