Government Case Study: Streets and Sanitation

Government Case Study: Streets and Sanitation Department

Customer Challenge

 

Business Need

The Streets and Sanitation Department is responsible for garbage collection, snow removal and tree maintenance and removal. Maintenance crews are frequently called in at all hours of the day and night. The pagers used for all crew communications were unreliable and response reports were slow to come in, if they were even received at all, which means Streets and Sanitation had to begin calling drivers two hours before they were actually needed. Due to this, operations had limited visibility to which crews were fully staffed and which routes still needed help. Faxes were also being sent to all related departments and work crews. However, in many cases, fax machines were inoperable and information was missed with so many people in and out of the multiple locations. The heavy call volume and massive staffing efforts were costing the Streets and Sanitation Department big money. With snow plow crews alone costing $65,000 per hour of work time, the Streets and Sanitation Department knew they had to fix this problem and fix it fast.

IT Issue

The biggest logistical challenge for the department was that all of their methods of communication were independent of one another. Pages were also being sent manually through a costly and outdated system, which meant that staff was spending a large amount of time sending messages and the manual process created opportunity for errors. Sixty-two fax machines at remote locations were breaking down and were costly to maintain because of phone lines, equipment and supplies. In some cases, locations were unaware that their fax machines weren’t working and faxes simply were not going through. Copiers were problematic and required maintenance and supplies regularly. All of this was happening on different contracts, with inconsistent renewal dates and through numerous vendors. Maintenance alone was a logistical nightmare.

 

Cleo Solution

Streem Alert was the first solution put in place. Streem Alert’s Express Launch is now the only solution the Operations Center uses to call workers based on seniority and logistical needs for each issue, further improving the efficiency and eliminating the need for troublesome pagers. Immediate improvements in the ability to manage crews were realized, resulting in tremendous cost savings and operational savings for the department. Alerts now need to be sent to crews only one hour prior to an event, which saves the city $65,000 each time crews are sent to clear snow or the like. Once the Department of Streets and Sanitation realized how easily Streem would integrate with Xerox equipment, they made a move to consolidate and optimize their equipment infrastructure. The Streem system, with Xerox integration for network fax and alert capabilities, allowed Streets and Sanitation to turn their multifunction devices into fully functional work stations. This removes all of the costs associated with fax machines, supplies and fax lines, which saved the department over $80,000 in the first year alone. Consolidating fax, phone and alerting capabilities into a streamlined application saves time, which means money, getting jobs done faster and more efficiently than ever before. Streem provides users in the operations center an easy solution that consolidates formerly fragmented tasks – easing their workload while better managing all of the time-sensitive communications behind the scenes, right from desktops and multifunction devices. Installing the complete Streem solution allowed the Streets and Sanitation Department to realize ROI in just one year – automating processes, streamlining workflows and improving efficiency.

 

Success Snapshot

Size: Handles One Million Service Requests Per Year
Profile: Department Responsible for Garbage Collection, Snow Removal, Tree Maintenance & Removal
Software and Services: Streem Fax, Alert & Connect
Vertical Industries: Government: Streets & Sanitation
Country/Region: United States
Business Need: Improve Efficiency, Faster Response Time &
Proper Scheduling
IT Issue: Inefficient Communications, Problematic Devices & Disconnected Systems
Solution Results: Improved Efficiencies, Saved Time & Money, Expanded Functionality of Existing Investments, Centralized Communications & Consolidated Solution