Keeping track of calls.

[cobiray]

Our company uses the OMD software for keeping track of service histories and parts. We've started to roll out a program where the technicians dispatch and close there own calls from the field using a wireless card and a VPN.

Anyone else clearing calls from the field? How are you doing it?

[fixthecopier]

Wow I wish. I still have to use paper tickets and a hand written schedule. Shop uses OMD.

[northerntech]

just before i quit that company they were going to closen live. the techs in our area talked about it and because you need to scan the bar code, we start collecting a book of the bar codes from each machine and then you can dispatch and close as you have been. your just i a more covenient location??

[rthonpm]

Paper tickets??? I hadn't seen anyone use those since I was still a civilian back in the early to mid nineties... We use NexGen accessed in the field online via smartphone. The only issue is makig sure you have a signal as through a good chunk of my territory cell service is questionable.

[copytech22]

Our company uses the OMD software for keeping track of service histories and parts. We've started to roll out a program where the technicians dispatch and close there own calls from the field using a wireless card and a VPN.

Anyone else clearing calls from the field? How are you doing it?

I am RECEIVING AND CLEARING VIA wireless internet. I get my files in PDF FORM to my web email, if the subject line contains "Service Call For" my cell get a text msg notifiying my for every new call, when I am done I fill in all required info used Acrobat 9 on my laptop and email them back wirelessly

[cobiray]

Probably should have given our starting point...

We were getting service calls from OMD to our cell phones via text message. After the call was complete we used Nextel (UGH!) Nextmail feature which allows you to use the direct connect feature to record a message and it sends it as an email attachment to the dispatcher so she can input the data into OMD.

Now we're doing it oursleves, which isn't bad but some of the techs are dragging their feet on it. I come from the old school of paper tickets and two part forms, so I don't mind not having to carry a stack of paper in my tool box.

The bean counters didn't want to lay out any money for smart phones and we have parts and service manuals on the laptops already, so all they had to lay out was the wireless cards, monthly data plans and OMD licenses.

Seems to be going pretty smoothly for the first month. I think in the next few weeks we go live across the department.