Into the Clouds:
Founded in the early 1980s by Beatty and Rowan McLean, Station Earth is a field service organization that has excelled in the electronics industry for over 35 years. Specializing in the design, engineering, and installation of high-performance home theaters, distributed audio-video, lighting control, automation, climate control, and security systems, Station Earth strives to provide its clients with world-class solutions tailored to their specific needs. Their mission is to make ‘customers for life’ by providing an exceptional customer experience that includes having the right technicians and equipment on the job at the right time.
Prior to using CloudHawk, Station Earth’s Product Manager, Rod Dykstra, found that there wasn’t an easy way to help technicians with their schedule or to get support from other technicians in the area without interrupting them with multiple phone calls. In 2015, Station Earth decided to deploy CloudHawk’s asset tracking solution, as it offered a simple and cost-effective way to better manage their resources. The benefits of the solution were apparent almost immediately. As Rod explained, "the deployment went well as the install was quick and easy. The app worked well, and it wasn’t long until the technicians also realized the advantage of having it as a helpful tool for them as well as dispatch”. Shawn Roberts, Station Earth’s Project Manager, believes CloudHawk enables “effective and efficient management of resources.” In fact, it has become such a critical part of daily operations that Shawn stated, “honestly, I couldn’t do my job without it, it just wouldn’t make sense for me”.
Since deploying CloudHawk’s GPS tracking devices, Station Earth has been monitoring the real-time location of company resources in the CloudHawk cloud-based portal. For Shawn Roberts, having the ability to monitor the location of technicians and assets together on one screen and in real-time has proved to be, “instrumental in terms of being able to manage and move resources where you need to”. With technicians often having three to four jobs scheduled throughout the day, CloudHawk is used to keep track of whether they have moved on to their next job in the expected time frame. If a technician is running late at one job, Station Earth is able to reach out to see if there's something that they need help with and how their next job might be impacted. The solution is also used to identify jobs that are finished faster than expected, which is important for a field service business to know, as the time gained can be used elsewhere.
One feature that Shawn Roberts uses frequently is CloudHawk’s trip replay to help understand how long jobs take, if technicians have worked late, and what their course was throughout the day. This information helps managers understand the time needed for different jobs and make better scheduling decisions, ensuring that enough time is allocated for each assignment. Without CloudHawk, Shawn believes, “it would be exponentially more challenging for the kind of work we do to not have the ability to understand where our techs are deployed. In the absence of having CloudHawk, we would have no feedback on what's going on with our technicians, where they are and what help they may or may not need”. By using CloudHawk, Station Earth has full visibility into their technicians’ location and job status, helping to ensure jobs and resources are being utilized in an efficient manner.
For Shawn Roberts, CloudHawk’s fleet and asset tracking solution has helped, “improve communication with customers across the board”. Knowing where technicians are located and whether or not their day is staying on track enables Station Earth to not only provide accurate ETAs and updates to customers but also react quickly to any setbacks and mitigate the potential damage. As Shawn explained, “CloudHawk gives us the opportunity to react to situations as they happen by being able to mobilize the troops where we need them”. When an issue arises, CloudHawk can be used to locate whoever is closest to lend support, whether it's through labour assistance or by providing a part that the technician needs to get the job done. Additionally, if a technician hasn’t left their first job on schedule then their ability to complete a second job is challenged. Station Earth can stay ahead of delays by locating and sending a different person to the next job, so the customer isn’t left waiting for long periods.
By delivering real-time visibility and accurate data, CloudHawk is helping Station Earth provide superior service and gain customers for life.