Northern Gas Networks To Equip Its Field Engineers With More Than 500 Panasonic Toughbooks To Improve Operational Efficiency

The Toughbook CF-19 Mark 5 will be the essential work tool for engineers maintaining the 37,000km gas network

Bracknell, UK. 9 June 2011: Northern Gas Networks is rolling-out 540 of the latest Panasonic Mark 5 Toughbook CF-19 rugged notebooks to its field engineers to further improve operational efficiency. The new CF-19s will be customised to include a GPS system to help locate network pipes and work locations and a 3G wireless connection to receive job allocation information. The devices are being deployed by IT services company, Wipro on behalf of Northern Gas Networks. Half the devices will be installed in the company’s vans and half will stay mobile with the field engineers.

Northern Gas Networks is responsible for distributing gas through a network of 37,000km of pipes to homes and businesses across the north of England, an area covering West, East & North Yorkshire, the North East and northern Cumbria.

Paul Tate, IT Service and Asset Manager at Northern Gas Networks, said: “We carried out extensive product testing as part of our evaluation process and we found the Panasonic Toughbook to be the best device for our field engineers. The overall quality of the device and the service support offered by the Toughbook team was outstanding. Any fault in a device reported by 3pm will ensure a replacement device is delivered to the engineer by 9am the next working day. This type of responsiveness is essential to the efficient operation of our teams in the community.”

The Toughbook CF-19 is part of Panasonic’s Fully Rugged range and, equipped with Intel® Core™ i5 vPro™ processor, is the ultimate in durability and reliability. A magnesium-thickened casing offers maximum protection for the most sensitive components such as the display. Hard drives are secured against impact and shock. A fall from a height of 90cm does not affect functionality in any way, and a special protective coating provides dust and water resistance.

The CF-19 is also the market-leading convertible rugged notebook, which means that the device can be used as a conventional laptop or converted to a tablet PC for easy use when in the field. The lightweight device can easily be held with one hand and the bright touchscreen LCD display is convenient to use both inside and outside in bright light conditions.

Finally, the CF-19 is built for reliable communications when in the field. The Northern Gas Network units contain 3G wireless communications and GPS capability to ensure the engineers are always in touch with headquarters and can quickly find their next work location without having to return to base.

Paul Davidson, Corporate Sales Manager for Utilities at Panasonic Toughbook, commented: “The north of England relies on the engineers from Northern Gas Networks to keep their gas supplies to homes and businesses running. Often working in extreme weather conditions in remote parts of the country means the field engineers need a mobile computing device that can operate effectively in these difficult conditions. We are delighted that Northern Gas Networks has recognized that the Toughbook CF-19 is the best tool for the job.”

For Toughbook CF-19 images visit: http://www.toughbook.eu/service-and-downloads/image-archive?directory=1CF-19&page=1#menu_image_archive