Caterpillar UK

Introduction

In the fast-paced world of logistics, every second counts. Efficient coordination of drivers and resources can make the difference between meeting delivery deadlines and incurring costly delays. For many companies, the technology of pagers interfaced with queuing software has emerged as a surprisingly effective solution to streamline operations and enhance productivity. In this case study article, we will explore how Caterpillar UK successfully implemented pager systems to call drivers to loading bays, resulting in significant improvements in efficiency, communication, and overall operational excellence.

The Challenge

Caterpillar UK’s Leicester production site, faced several challenges in their daily operations. One of the most pressing issues was the inefficient communication process used to call drivers to loading bays. The existing system relied heavily on an outdated message board system, which often led to communication breakdowns and wasted time. Drivers struggled to see the message board system, and valuable minutes were lost trying to reach them. The company realised the need for a more reliable and instant communication method to address these issues.

As can be the case with many companies network & data security is a major consideration when evaluating systems and if possible the company wanted to utilise a system that would not need to connect to the company computer network.

The Solution

After extensive research and evaluation of various communication solutions, Caterpillar UK contacted Pager Call Systems.

Pager Call Systems recommended the Driver Page system with screen based queuing software for operators. The decision was based on several key advantages that Driver Page offered over other methods:

  1. Network & Data Security: Pager Call Systems provided an isolated network for connectivity between the Touch Screens, Paging Transmitters & Pagers. This was a customised solution built by the technical team at Pager Call Systems for the Caterpillar project.
  2. Reliability: Pagers are known for their reliability, even in areas with weak mobile network coverage. This ensured that drivers could be reached consistently, reducing the risk of communication breakdowns.
  3. Instantaneous Communication: Pagers provide an immediate alert to the recipient, allowing drivers to respond promptly to loading bay requests.
  4. Clarity in Noisy Environments: Unlike mobile phones or walkie-talkies, pagers provided clear and audible messages even in noisy loading bay & yard environments.
  5. Speed of Deployment: Driver Page could be implemented at site in days rather than months. Utilising an isolated network system designed by Pager Call Systems would eliminate the need to use the company’s network.
  6. Cost-Effective: Driver Page was a cost-effective solution compared to investing in more complex communication systems.

Implementation

Caterpillar UK introduced Pager Call Systems Driver Page for drivers and loading bay personnel in two separate loading bay areas at the Leicester site. The process involved the following steps:

  1. Procurement: After extensive research Caterpillar arranged a demonstration of the Driver Page System at their site and Pager Call Systems conducted range testing on site to ensure full site coverage would be achieved by the specified equipment.
  2. System implementation: Pager Call Systems worked closely with the technical team at Caterpillar UK to ensure trouble free installation and implementation of the system.
  3. Training: Drivers and loading bay personnel were trained on how to use the Driver Page system effectively. This included receiving and acknowledging messages, understanding different codes for various instructions, operating the touch screen queuing system and producing wait time reports.
  4. Integration: The pager system was seamlessly integrated into the company’s existing communication & vehicle flow processes. Staff were given access to dedicated devices, and transport office personnel were equipped with devices to send messages.
  5. Testing: The pager system underwent rigorous testing to ensure it could effectively replace the existing communication methods without disruption.

Results

The implementation of a Driver Page system yielded impressive results for the Caterpillar UK:

  1. Improved Efficiency: Drivers could be called to loading bays instantly, reducing the waiting time and increasing overall productivity.
  2. Enhanced Communication: Pager messages were clear and easily understood, even in noisy environments, resulting in fewer errors and misunderstandings.
  3. Visibility: With the Driver Page System staff can see at a glance the number of vehicles waiting for loading bays, time waiting along with vehicles on bays.
  4. Reduced Delays: The new system significantly reduced the likelihood of delays caused by communication breakdowns.
  5. Cost Savings: The company experienced cost savings as Driver Page was more affordable than alternative communication solutions.

Conclusion

In an industry where efficient communication is paramount, the adoption of the Driver Page System to call drivers to loading bays has proven to be a game-changer for this Caterpillar UK. By embracing this reliable and cost-effective technology, they were able to streamline operations, reduce delays, and improve overall efficiency. This case study highlights the potential of simple technology to address modern logistical challenges, underscoring the importance of innovation in improving business processes.

Scotney Castle Coach House Tea Rooms

Requirements – Scotney Castle which is part of the National Trust offers dining facilities at its Coach Hose Tea Room, the tea rooms have indoor and outdoor seating in multiple areas. The Coach House Tea Rooms are proud to provide the best customer service possible. For food service orders are placed at the counter and food is delivered to the diners table using a number board to place on the selected table being given to diners when ordering. Using number boards meant staff had to search the multiple dining areas to find customers when delivering food to tables.

Mike Lynch Food & Beverage Manager wanted to improve customer satisfaction, service efficiency and save staff time hunting for tables. Mike contacted the team at Pager Call Systems to discuss a more efficient service centric solution.

Solution – Pager Call Systems recommended installing the Ultra Trac Table Tracking System, with the new Ultra Trac System diners are given a tracker when they order food and once they are seated at their selected table they place the tracker on the table and the order & table is displayed on a screen in the kitchen allowing staff to see at a glance where any order is seated. The system even provides a pop up map that displays exactly where the table is located which can be selected by touching the order on screen.

Mike Lynch (Food & Beverage Manager) comments “during busy periods we can have over 200 people seated at tables both inside & outside at the tea rooms, delivering food orders efficiently & offering a great customer experience is a priority for us and with our tables being spread over a large area operating with number boards was challenging.”

“With the new Ultra Trac system we now have a far more efficient operation, the moment a customer sits at a table and places the tracker on it we can see which table they are seated at and if we tap the order on screen the system displays a map showing where the table is located.”

“Staff love the new system as they can now see where any food order has to be delivered to and the chef can also see how many orders are waiting along with the time elapsed since ordering. For take away orders we can call the customers tracker from the touch screen and the tracker flashes & vibrates alerting the customer that their food order is ready for collection.”

“The Ultra Trac system is a great addition to our operation”.

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Requirements – Great Ormond Street Hospital is world renowned for it’s world firsts in surgery, pioneering research and state of the art facilities. Great Ormond Street wanted to offer waiting parents & patients the ability to move away from waiting areas and relax in the hospitals excellent cafeteria or even the cafes in the surrounding streets. They needed a system which would allow parents & patients to be called back when required.

The hospital also wanted children and their parents to be able to visit the nearby park but still be contactable when required to return for their appointment. The system was to be used by multiple department across the site. The final requirement was that the system would cover all of the hospital site allowing parents and patients to be contacted no matter where they were in the hospital.

Solution – Pager Call Systems installed Quiet Call Ultra patient paging systems in to 16 departments throughout the hospital linked by a network of 12 system repeaters hosted on Great Ormond Street Hospitals Ethernet Network. With a network of 12 repeaters strategically positioned throughout the hospital any department can call back a patient no matter where they are located in the Hospital, cafe’s in surrounding streets or even if they are located in the nearby Coram’s Fields Park.

Kamlesh Tailor (ICT Engineering Great Ormond Street) comments “Great Ormond Street Hospital is very proud of it’s reputation for not only offering patients the best medical care possible but also ensuring that we offer the best experience for patients and parents when visiting the hospital. We had very precise requirements for our patient calling system and Pager Call Systems worked closely with us throughout the process to ensure all of our requirements were met and a smooth system implementation was achieved. The system has been well received by patients, parents and department staff”.

Debenhams

Requirements – Debenhams was looking to enhance it’s customer service for customers visiting their Click & Collect counter to pick up online orders. Debenhams wanted to offer customers a call button on the Click & Collect counter that would instantly alert staff that a customer required attention for an order collection. The system had to be a simple plug & play solution that could be shipped directly to over 240 stores across the country for staff to deploy. The system needed to be able to call staff no matter where they were located in the store.

Solution – Pager Call Systems designed a simple push button system with bespoke perspex housing with Debenhams branding that could be located on the counter top and send alerts to staff pagers as soon as a customer pressed the “Call for Service” button. Pager Call Systems developed a boxed package system with full instructions which could be shipped directly to store for self deployment. The system was shipped simultaneously to over 240 stores across the UK and deployed without a hitch.

Chris Hawkins Managing Director of Pager Call Systems comments “It was a pleasure working with Debenhams on this project, they were very concise with their requirements which made it easy for us to get a sample system developed quickly and it was right first time. We hoped we had got all the information right when we shipped the system packages to stores because you can never be certain, we obviously did though because every store set the system up and we didn’t receive a single support call from any of the stores”.

Kings College Hospital Introduces Quiet Call Patient Pagers

Kings College Hospital London has joined the increasing number of hospitals throughout the UK to introduce Quiet Call  Patient Paging Systems from Pager Call Systems.

The busy pharmacy department at King College Hospital dispense hundreds of patient prescriptions daily and the introduction of Quiet Call Patient Pagers now mean that patients can relax in the nearby cafeteria whilst waiting for their prescription to be dispensed.

Quiet Call Patient Pagers are issued by the pharmacy to patients who wish to wait for their prescription but would like to move away from the busy pharmacy waiting area.

Quiet Call Patient Pager Systems are used in pharmacies & outpatients departments in hospitals throughout the UK to improve patient care and allow patients the freedom to move away from waiting areas safe in the knowledge that staff can contact them at the press of a button.

Chris Hawkins from Pager Call Systems comments “we are seeing a growing number of hospitals using our Quiet Call systems to improve the waiting experience, nobody likes to wait for appointments or prescriptions to be fulfilled but with the increased pressure on busy hospital departments it is often unavoidable. With a Quiet Call system patients are no longer restricted to a departments waiting room, they can relax elsewhere or move outside to call family members and still be contacted when they are required. Since the introduction of our antibacterial pager which is manufactured using microbial additives to help combat the spread of infectious diseases we have seen even more hospitals choosing Quiet Call”.

Indi-Go Expands with Guest Call Ultra Customer Pagers

Successful restaurant operator Indi-Go opened it’s first food court restaurant in Westfield Stratford City in 2012 and has been incredibly popular from day one.

The Indi-Go team are now opening two further locations at the Westfield White City & Bluewater shopping centres.

Indi-Go worked closely with Pager Call Systems when designing their Westfield Stratford operation and chose

Guest Call Ultra customer pagers to help with customer flow and food service at their restaurant.

Managing Director of Indi-Go Pankaj Patel comments “Although we are very experienced restaurant operators with a number of locations across London a food court venture was new to us, we wanted to ensure that we not only gave our diners the best Indian Cuisine possible but also the best possible service and dining experience. Chris & the team at Pager Call worked closely with us and advised us to utilise the Guest Call Ultra system to ensure that customers received their food promptly when it’s at its best and maintain the flow of customers that we would experience in a busy food court”.

Pankaj continues “nobody likes waiting in line and with Guest Call pagers our customers don’t have to, the customer pagers are really popular with our diners and have quickly become an essential component of our operation. We are very excited about our expansion in to the food courts in Westfield White City & Bluewater shopping centres and the Guest Call customer pagers will definitely be part of both of those operations”.

Lakeland Restaurant

We recently decided to update our existing customer pagers system used in our busy restaurant attached to our Lakeland store. We wanted to ensure that we would benefit from the latest technology that was on offer in the market, after considering systems from a number of companies we selected the GuestCall IQ customer paging system from Pager Call Systems. We were impressed with the new digital technology utilised by the GuestCall IQ system, this allows us to renumber the pagers at the press of a button and ensures reliable delivery when we page a customer. The pagers are issued to customers who are waiting for a table in our restaurant and allow them the freedom and flexibility to browse the store whilst waiting for a table to become free. With demand for tables in our restaurant being so high it is imperative that we have a reliable system that efficiently contacts our diners once the table becomes available wherever they are located within our store, the GuestCall IQ system certainly achieves this. We are delighted with the system which was installed quickly and efficiently and would highly recommend the company, its product and service.

Ian Lannin, Lakeland Windermere, Cumbria

Westfield Shopping Centre London

When Westfield opened their latest flagship shopping centre in London’s Shepherd’s Bush they wanted to ensure they could manage the queues of diners in their busy restaurant area known as The Balcony. Westfield chose Pager Call Systems GuestCall IQ customer paging system to enhance the high level of customer service offered by restaurants in Westfield’s top quality Balcony food area.

Utilising GuestCall IQ meant that the restaurants in the Westfield Mall dining area could take diners orders and offer a pager to customers allowing them to find a table and relax in the dining area whilst their food is being prepared.

A total of twelve GuestCall IQ systems are now used in Westfield’s busy restaurants.

Charlotte Christiansen Food and Beverage Manager for Westfield London commented “We are really pleased with the new systems, they are now part of the daily operation of restaurants within the mall and are relied on to communicate efficiently with diners using The Balcony restaurants.

Church & Co Ltd

Church & Co Northampton’s famous footwear brand needed an effective way to communicate with managers throughout their large site with production facilities and offices, although they operated a loud speaker PA system to call staff often this could not be easily heard within their production area and they needed a solution.

Pager Call Systems worked with David Moss IT Manager at Church & Co Ltd to identify the best solution, together we identified Pager Call’s QuietCall staff paging system with CrystalCall pagers, the managers are issued with discrete CrystalCall pagers which are called from the reception area when required, the pagers are then alerted by a vibration which notifies the appropriate manager that they have a message.

David comments “Pager Call Systems worked with us to test the QuietCall system prior to us making a final decision, we found that the system worked efficiently and staff liked the discrete pagers, a spin off from the system is that our reception team can now see at a glance which managers are on site as the pagers are collected and returned to the reception area each day”.

Sheffield Childrens Hospital

Mums and dads visiting The Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, can now go for a coffee or a walk in the park thanks to the introduction of Quiet Call Ultra Patient Pagers.

The pagers, funded by The Children’s Hospital Charity, are now in use in Outpatient Departments, Pharmacy & Theatre Recovery allowing parents to roam up to a mile away instead of being confined to the waiting areas. The hospital is one of the first in the UK to begin using the state-of-the-art Quiet Call patient paging systems supplied by Pager Call Systems Ltd in a bid to help reduce the stress of waiting times.

John Reid, director of nursing and clinical operations at Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The pagers are a great addition to our out-patient department and we’re delighted to be able to give parents the chance to free up some of their time.
“It’s important to us that families get a good balance between excellent medical care and providing a good overall experience at our hospital. Sometimes all mums and dads want is a short walk without the fear of missing their slot.

Marriott Hotel Huntingdon

Marriott Hotels were looking for a solution to improve communication between the kitchen and serving staff at their Huntingdon site, Marriott chose Pager call Systems Server Call waiter paging system. After conducting tests at the large hotel site Marriott found that the powerful Server Call kitchen transmitter with Pager Call’s robust durable Staff Call pagers offered full coverage of not only the hotels dining areas but they had the added benefit that staff could be paged throughout the seven storey hotel.

Papa G’s The Printworks Manchester

Papa G’s in Manchester’s Printworks have embraced the old traditional Greek and Mediterranean cooking taught over generations. When owner Angelo Gabrilatsou was planning his flagship restaurant he wanted to ensure that he offered his waiting diners the very best customer service to compliment the restaurants quality dining experience.

Angelo said “we know that great food and excellent customer service would be part of our winning formula, we also knew that having a successful restaurant would mean that we would have wait times during busy periods. We decided to offer customer pagers to our waiting diners, this would enable them to relax at the bar whilst waiting for their table. After looking at several systems we decided to opt for Pager Call’s Guest Call Ultra digital guest paging system. The Guest Call  system is the most innovative system we looked at, we were particularly impressed with the automatic renumbering and the LED displays showing the pager number. The system has proven to be a hit with our customers and staff”.

Angelo Gabrilasou Managing Director Papa G’s