Curo Group has completed the implementation of Kirona’s Xmbrace DRS dynamic scheduling software and InfoSuite reporting suite. Having been awarded the project in August 2013, through Curo’s prime contractor Aareon, the project went live in March 2014 for around 75 responsive repairs and gas workers.
Curo’s jobs were previously allocated to operatives manually by its planners using a combination of Microsoft Outlook and spreadsheets, but this was labour intensive and difficult to manage throughout the day.
Paul Ryall-Friend, head of customer experience, Curo Group, said, “We decided to replace this process with dynamic job scheduling in the form of Xmbrace DRS. This not only optimises the allocation of appointments when they are originally created, but also dynamically re-distributes work among our operatives when required.
“For example, if someone takes longer than expected on a job, then their following appointment can be automatically re-allocated to someone else by Xmbrace DRS in order to ensure a customer appointment is met.”
The Kirona software was integrated with Curo’s existing Aareon housing management systems and with its new 1st Touch mobile working software, which went live at the same time as the Kirona software.
Alan Rogers, director of Curo Response within Curo Group, said, “The combination of Kirona’s scheduling software and the InfoSuite dashboard reports means we not only have an easier process for managing operative’s workloads, but also far greater visibility of our workforce. For example, we now have InfoSuite on large-screen TVs in the office to show us the number of no-access visits, appointments completed, jobs with additional materials required, and so on, giving us live information as the day progresses.”
