RAC

RAC Auto Windscreens improves the stability and efficiency of its IT infrastructure

With more than 7 million members, RAC is one of the UK's most progressive motoring organisations and a provider for both private and business motorists. With the purchase of Auto Windscreens in 2001 it added windscreen repair and replacement to its already extensive list of automotive services.

RAC Auto Windscreens provides a wholly owned and operated complete automotive glazing repair and replacement service (windscreens, rear windows and side windows) through the largest fitting centre network in the UK. The network is also supported a fleet of 1000 fully equipped mobile fitting units and provides a true 24/7 national service for more than 750,000 private and corporate customers every year.

It is also the only replacement windscreen specialist with its own manufacturing operation, producing 250,000 windscreens a year in a dedicated factory in Chesterfield.

RAC Auto Windscreens chooses Oxygen

The expansion of RAC Auto Windscreens over the past 5 years meant it could no longer sustain its impressive service levels with the helpdesk function that was in place. Its system of managing or prioritising calls and reporting on helpdesk performance was experiencing limitations.

After considering the users' needs and reviewing both existing and new solutions, it was agreed that starting afresh would be the most cost-effective course of action.

To resolve the current IT constraints, RAC Auto Windscreens wanted an application that was simple to use, yet would provide sufficient functionality to facilitate management of the departments' workload. The ability to generate Key Performance Indicator reports to analyse factors such as first time fix rates and total calls received and resolved was also very important. The fact that Oxygen could provide ad hoc reporting capabilities was an added advantage.

Of all the options considered, it was felt that Oxygen responded to the majority of the company's needs and could easily be adapted to match any additional demands.

Phill Jones, IT Services Manager at RAC Auto Windscreens explains:

"We found Oxygen provided a full feature-set that matched our requirements. Unlike many other manufacturers' software, our IT Services Engineers have all found the system easy to use given that it follows a logical format for collecting relevant call information."

Oxygen had one other feature that was of major attraction to RAC Auto Windscreens. Being web-based, they realised that engineers would be able to close a job and take ownership of a new one, without ever having to return to their desk. It was felt that this would save engineers a considerable amount of time given their 500 user site.

Overall, the deployment process was straightforward. Oxygen integrated easily with the company's IIS, SQL and AD systems, which meant changes to the existing network were minimal.

Due to the wealth of capabilities the new system offered compared to the old one, it was felt that there would be fewer teething problems if the software were introduced in 3 stages. Call management was most urgently required therefore introduced first. SLA set-up and monitoring followed, while the full reporting function was last to be deployed.

Oxygen made this plan incredibly easy to implement with the creation of user profiles, an existing feature that restricts the user's access to specific areas of the application. 13 IT Services engineers, 2 Unix engineers and 5 application developers now use Oxygen to manage and record their workload.

Time-savings carry many advantages

The success of the project has delivered a wealth of business benefits. Prior to its implementation, employees called the helpdesk expecting fast action. Functionality in the old system however was too limited to address these needs. With Oxygen automatically prioritising helpdesk calls, it is now much easier for the service engineers at RAC Auto Windscreens to manage their workload.

Users now have a better understanding of when they can expect a call to be actioned, something that has vastly improved the perception of the IT department throughout the company. It has also meant that engineers can proactively schedule in work on back-end systems, which has produced many positive effects. There has been a decrease in calls to the helpdesk and faster call-to-fix rates. The time saved can now be better spent identifying and preventing potential problems.

"Time savings are evident in both the reduction in the number of calls made to the helpdesk and the reduction in the number of ongoing calls held on the helpdesk system," says Jones. "This gives the department more time to put preventative measures in place, which in turn saves even more time as potential problems are avoided."

Through Oxygen, RAC Auto Windscreens now provides IT and communications support to over 2000 employees across 150 sites.

RAC Auto Windscreens also opted to install Pathway, a feature-packed asset management application developed by e-Warehouse as well. This was necessary for handling the increasingly difficult task of resource management across their 150 sites.

Oxygen and Pathway combine to meet ITIL (IT infrastructure Library) standards for best practice in IT Service Management. Together they present a unified system that provides helpdesk management, incident management, problem management, service level management and configuration management.

A strong relationship is formed

Phill Jones comments on his relationship with e-Warehouse:

"e-Warehouse's relatively small size means the contacts remain the same, which makes them very easy to deal with." He continues, "This is also reflected in their support department, where any call logged will be dealt with by someone that understands the solution implemented at RAC Auto Windscreens."

About RAC

With around seven million members, RAC is one of the UK's most progressive motoring organizations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Whether it's roadside assistance, windscreen repair and replacement, learning to drive, vehicle inspections and checks, legal and financial services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information - RAC is able to meet motorists' needs. RAC incorporates BSM, RAC Auto Windscreens, RAC Direct Insurance and HPI.

Aviva bought RAC last year. The acquisition brings together RAC's powerful brand and customer base with the expertise and leading position in motor insurance of Norwich Union Insurance (part of Aviva). Norwich Union is the UK's largest insurer, insuring one in seven motor vehicles and with a market share of around 14 per cent.

About RAC Auto Windscreens

RAC Auto Windscreens provides a wholly owned and operated complete automotive glazing repair and replacement service (windscreens, rear windows and side windows) through the largest fitting centre network in the UK.

It is the only replacement windscreen specialist with its own manufacturing operation, producing 250,000 windscreens a year in a dedicated factory in Chesterfield.

Backed by a fleet of 1000 fully equipped mobile fitting units, RAC Auto Windscreens provides a true 24/7 national service for more than 750,000 private and corporate customers every year.