LOCATION-BASED MOBILE WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20110112943A1
• Filed: 11/09/2009
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Inventors: Gipple, Stephen L., Dietz, Jay B., Bilenko, Eugene, Simmons, Patrick J., Cox, Gerald A.
• Application Number:
  US12/614,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20110112943A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1091 Recording time for administrative or management purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/125 Finance or payroll

Abstract

A location-based mobile workforce management system includes a branch reporting tool (BRT) module, a maintenance and acquisition planning (MAP) module and a safety locator module operatively coupled together and delivered via a web server for access by a plurality of wireless hand-held devices respectively associated with a plurality of service technicians in a maintenance and repair organization. The hand-held devices are configured to supply time-based location readings to a locator service, which in turn supplies those readings to the safety locator module. The central system implements an automated method for collecting travel time to a work site, time spent on-site and travel time from the work site to the next work site and calculating paid time for the technicians as well as generating portal-to-portal billed time invoices for billing customers. Among other features, the safety locator verifies technician travel time.

Claims

1. A method for determining chargeable time relating to services performed by a service technician at a current work site, comprising the steps of:

(A) associating a hand-held wireless communication device with the service technician wherein the wireless device includes at least a display and an input interface;

(B) determining a travel-to time indicative of the time spent by the technician travelling from a previous work site to the current work site using a previous-site departure time and a current-site arrival time captured by the wireless device;

(C) determining an on-site time indicative of the time spent by the technician at the current work site using at least the current-site arrival time and a current-site departure time captured by the wireless device;

(D) selectively determining a travel-from time for the technician to travel from the current work site to a successor work site selected using the wireless device and based on at least the respective locations of the current and successor work sites; and

(E) determining chargeable time based on at least the travel-to time, the on-site time and the travel-from time.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said associating step includes the sub-step of:

registering the association of the wireless device with the service technician on a central server using the wireless device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining the travel-to time includes the sub-steps of:

confirming through the wireless device the previous-site departure time and the current-site arrival time; and

defining the travel-to time as the difference between the confirmed current-site arrival time and confirmed previous-site departure time.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said confirming sub-step includes:

accepting, through interaction with the input interface of the wireless device, default values for the previous-site departure time and the current-site arrival time.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said confirming sub-step includes:

adjusting at least one default value for the previous-site departure time and the current-site arrival time; and

accepting, through interaction with the wireless device, the at least one adjusted default value.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining the travel-to time is performed only when the current work site is associated with a service order that is other than the first service order of a calendar day.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining the on-site time includes the sub-steps of:

confirming through the wireless device the current-site arrival time and the current-site departure time; and

determining the on-site time using at least the confirmed current-site arrival and departure times.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said confirming sub-step includes:

accepting, through interaction with the input interface of the wireless device, default values for the current-site arrival time and the current-site departure time.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said confirming sub-step includes:

adjusting at least one default value for the current-site arrival time and the current-site departure time; and

accepting, through interaction with the wireless device, the at least one adjusted default value.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of selectively determining a travel-from time includes the sub-steps of:

providing a mapping database configured to provide at least a travel time between first and second locations;

defining the first and second locations using the respective locations of the current and successor work sites; and

obtaining an estimated travel-from time using the mapping database.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the current work site is associated with a service order, said step of selectively determining a travel-from time being selectively performed when at least one of a plurality of conditions is satisfied wherein the conditions include the service order being a 100% billable service order and the service order being an overtime service order which is the last service order of a calendar day.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the current work site is associated with a service order, said method further including the steps of:

displaying components of the paid time for the service order on the display of the hand-held device in a recap fashion wherein the components include at least the current-site arrival time, the current-site departure time, an off-duty time, an on-duty time, and the on-site time; and

configuring the interface of the device to allow alteration of the on-site time only through adjustment by the technician of one or more of the current site arrival time, the current site departure time, the off-duty time and the on-duty time.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the on-site time comprises a straight-time component and an overtime component, wherein said configuring step further includes allowing alteration of the straight-time component only through adjustment by the technician of one or more of the current site arrival time, the current site departure time, the off-duty time and the on-duty time.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the services performed by the technician at the current work site are associated with a service order, the method further comprising the step of:

setting a billing parameter when the service order constitutes a 100% billable order;

displaying, when the billing parameter is set, a message on the wireless device requesting the technician to enter mileage or mileage expense associated with the service order;

providing an mileage input field on the device configured to receive a mileage or mileage expense input; and

generating an invoice for the service order using at least the on-site time and the mileage input.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining paid time includes the sub-steps of:

entering, using the wireless device, an off-duty time and an on-duty time where the off-duty time indicates the time when the technician went off-duty and the on-duty time indicates the time the technician resumed duty; and

adjusting the on-site time in accordance with the entered off-duty and on-duty times.

16. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

recording time-based location readings associated with and obtained using the wireless hand-held device after the technician arrives at the current work site;

receiving an off-duty indication through the device interface representative of the technician going off-duty and recording an off-duty time;

receiving an on-duty indication through the device interface representative of the technician resuming duty and recording an on-duty time;

suppressing the recording of the time-based location readings between the off-duty time and the on-duty time; and

validating the on-site time using at least (1) the current site arrival and departure times;

(2) the off-duty and on-duty times, (3) the recorded time-based location readings, and (4) a work-site location associated with the current work site.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said validating step includes the sub-steps of:

determining whether the recorded location readings correspond to the work-site location within a predetermined range.

18. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

selecting, through the device interface, a primary work site where the primary work site is associated with a service order;

after said selecting step, specifying, through the device interface, a secondary work site where the technician is to perform services associated with the service order;

recording time-based location readings associated with and obtained using the wireless hand-held device; and

determining a variance between the location readings and a secondary work-site location.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said specifying step includes the sub-step of choosing a shop location.

20. The method of claim 18 further including the step of:

validating the on-site time at the secondary work site using at least (1) the arrival and work-site departure times for the secondary work site;

(2) the determined variance.

21. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

recording time-based location readings associated with and obtained using the wireless hand-held device;

validating the travel-to time to the current work site using at least (1) the previous-site departure time and the current site arrival time;

(2) the recorded time-based location readings, and (3) respective locations associated with the previous work site and the current work site.

22. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

recording time-based location readings associated with and obtained using the wireless hand-held device;

validating the travel-from time to the successor work site using at least (1) the current-site departure time and a successor-site arrival time;

(2) the recorded time-based location readings, and (3) respective locations associated with the current work site and the successor work site.

23. A method for operating a service organization for rendering service at a work site, comprising the steps of:

(A) associating a first hand-held wireless communication device with a first service technician wherein the device includes a display and an input interface;

(B) accepting a callout to the work site by the first technician using the first device;

(C) after arriving at the work site, interrupting the callout through interaction with the input interface of the first wireless device;

(D) resuming the callout; and

(E) closing out the callout.

24. The method of claim 23 further including the step of associating a second hand-held wireless device with a second technician, wherein the step of resuming the callout includes the sub-step of accepting the callout by the second technician using the second wireless device.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said step of closing out is performed through interaction with the input interface of the second wireless device.