FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KorTerra Press Release: A Case Study in Locating Automation
Minneapolis, MN – September 28th, 2004 – Today KorTerra shared information about how one of the largest cable providers in the United States was able to take advantage of the KorTerra software suite to automate their locating operation. This customer has over 6 million customers nationwide. The regional office that implemented the KorTerra solution serves 500,000 customers and has an employee base of nearly 2,000. Their locating operations processes 225,000 locate tickets annually with 30 internal locators.
At the time of our introduction, one portion of its locating operations received all locate requests via fax. The other portion was using an antiquated application that received tickets electronically, but still required printing of all of the tickets. As their business grew, so had the number of locate requests and the amount of paper being pushed through the locating operation.
There was much frustration with all the paper tickets, but they were also concerned about documentation of locate tickets and damage claims. Their previous system did not provide the ability to easily track or bill for 3rd party damages; and finding and creating the necessary reports on damages was time consuming and required shuffling through reams of paper. Often times, claims billing did not occur unless it was a large damage claim.
KorTerra consulted with the company’s representatives to deliver the KorTerra software modules appropriate for their business needs. The software modules installed included: KorTerra Dispatch, KorTerra Mobile, and KorTerra Claims Management.
KorTerra Dispatch has provided them with a new process of receiving and dispatching tickets that has eliminated wasted time and money. Tickets are now received electronically into their dispatch center where they are automatically assigned to locators and dispatched to the field. Having all ticket information electronically in the KorTerra system allows dispatchers to more effectively perform load-leveling, track priority levels, view ticket status, and manage emergency tickets. The KorTerra solution also provides robust reporting capabilities to better manage their operation.
The KorTerra Mobile module is bringing ticket information to the field, eliminating the need for locators to drive back and forth from the dispatch center to retrieve paper tickets each day. Anyone accessing the system has access to real-time information. KorTerra Mobile enables dispatchers to know the location of each person. Through knowing their locators locations, they can manage workloads as emergencies, meets, ticket updates, etc. arise throughout the day.
KorTerra Claims Management enables this customer to electronically track damage information; they have easy and quick access to the source and cause of each damage claim. When liabilities arise as a result of a damage, having easy access to accurate, detailed information helps give organizations a stronger position to protect themselves. KorTerra Claims Management can be fully integrated with KorTerra Dispatch to tie a damage claim to a locate ticket. With the systems working together, all locate and damage information is tied with detailed ticket information, resulting in thorough documentation of the claim which yields a higher probability of collecting damages on the claim.
As a result of the KorTerra implementation this customer is reaping many benefits such as eliminating the reams of paper and the “paper chaos” they experienced prior to the installation. Most impressively, according their, Vice President of Information Technology, they are “getting more done with fewer people.” They are processing more locates and tickets prior to the KorTerra installation, and were able to reduce their locator headcount by 15%.
On the damage recovery side, representatives are pleased with their selection of the Claims Management Module which helps them accurately bill all claims. The easy-to-use tracking system allows reports and claims information to be pulled effortlessly. As a result, their net recovery dollars have increased substantially and the total amount billed is up 20 percent over previous years.
According to the Site Locate Manager, “KorTerra has helped hold down labor costs, this will be our second year without having to use or incur the cost of contract labor. KorTerra has helped me manage workloads, report performance, track activity, productivity and lower plant damage. It is been great to have this product in place.”
Along with the many benefits they have received thus far, the company is proud to report a positive ROI within the first six months of the rollout.
About KorTerra, Inc.
Since 1990, KorTerra, Inc. has developed mobile computing and workforce
management solutions for the utility industry. They have worked with
major utilities, contract locators and municipalities to develop a
variety of Utility Workforce Management systems. The software
effectively manages on-time response, management reporting, positive
response, and keeps track of locating team performance in a real-time,
mobile and paperless environment. KorTerra also provides ASP services;
capabilities that allow KorTerra to host the software on their servers
with customer access to the application via the Internet. KorTerra
software interfaces with every One Call Center and is used by Utilities,
Municipalities and Contract Locators across North America. Today, over
20,000,000 tickets are managed by the KorTerra application annually. To
learn more about KorTerra and see what their customers are saying about
the KorTerra product suite, go to
www.korterra.com, or contact via telephone at 952.368.1911.
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For additional information contact:
Press Contact(s):
Chris Stendal, President
KorTerra, Inc.
18882 Lake Drive East
Chanhassen, MN 55317
Tel: 952.368.1911
Fax: 952.697.3141
Email: sales@korterra.com
