Implementing OPTI-TIME is less about software than it is about cultural change. Redefining roles, responsibilities and business processes is an integral part of the project, however is something most of our customers now complete over relatively short timescales.

The business processes that underpin a successful OPTI-TIME implementation are simplified to the greatest extent logically possible. The call is logged and appointed at source, and the next time anyone views the job is likely to be when the details arrive on the operative's handheld as his or her next job. Status updates flow between the handheld and OPTI-TIME and then the full completion data is processed from the handheld to the back-office system.

A key to this view of service delivery is that everyone focuses on their main responsibility; an operative's job is to undertake the required work effectively, deliver quality work and ensure the customer is happy, the operative shouldn't have to worry about whether to complete the current job or leave to get to the next one on time, he should just focus on the job in hand. Supervisors similarly shouldn't be spending time on job related admin, they are there to manage the operatives, ensure quality and make sure the service is delivered within the commercial framework required. Planners - often a new role - are charged with ensuring that all appointments are kept and that operatives are fully utilised. The planner is the taxi co-ordinator, the thought that a fleet of 100 taxi drivers would arrange their own days on the fly is as implausible as thinking that a service as inherently unpredictable as housing repairs can be delivered without a co-ordinating function.

In summary, we believe that the notion of a planned day in housing repairs is untenable, it is clear that the key to outstanding customer service lies not in planning but in reacting and we help our customers align their processes around this goal. The resulting processes are simplified to the maximum logical extent and are all based on common sense.