Severn Trent Water invests in Panasonic rugged detachable notebooks to improve operational efficiency and customer service

A long-term investment in Panasonic Toughbook notebooks for future use with more intuitive mobile applications

BRACKNELL, UK. 26th October 2016 - Severn Trent Water is equipping its infrastructure field workforce with 1000 fully rugged Panasonic detachable notebooks to help improve operational efficiency and customer service. The water company has invested in the Panasonic Toughbook CF-20 detachable notebooks for the long-term and as the ideal device for use alongside its development programme for more intuitive mobile applications.

The fully rugged Panasonic Toughbook CF-20 detachable notebook, which can also be used as a standalone tablet, is being rolled out to Severn Trent Water’s infrastructure field workforce. The device will be the primary information, reporting and communication tool for the teams as they carry out maintenance and emergency repairs to their network.

The Panasonic Toughbook notebook will be used for receiving work instructions, reviewing utility and infrastructure maps and reporting, including photographic evidence to accompany electronic work records. The device can also be used for Skype communications with the operations centre to help improve efficiency and customer service by providing live updates from site.

Device for the future
“As soon as we saw the new Panasonic detachable notebook, we knew that it was the future,” said John Vaughan, Technical Service Manager for Severn Trent Water. “The ability to use the device as a tablet or a traditional notebook allows us to achieve operational efficiencies and customer service improvements today whilst ensuring we have a future-proof device for the long-term that will be ideal for our plans to develop more intuitive mobile applications for the workforce.”

John explained that although today some of Severn Trent Water’s mobile applications require a keyboard for data input, moving forward the company was keen to develop more intuitive applications and that a device that could deliver both tablet and notebook functionality was ideal.

“This benefit, combined with improved connectivity when in the field and Panasonic Toughbook’s renowned reputation for reliability, ergonomic and rugged design and long battery life, convinced us that this was the mobile device to justify a long-term commitment and investment,” added John.

Alongside the Toughbook, Panasonic recommended the use of NetMotion Wireless software to improve connectivity and productivity for the workforce when in the field. With the old devices the Field Teams were frustrated by a lack of connectivity via 3G and 4G mobile signals in rural areas and regular connection drop-outs meant that data often had to be re-inputted and more importantly the delays in updates and receiving new jobs often had a negative impact upon customer service.

“With the new Panasonic devices and NetMotion Wireless we are seeing connectivity rise in testing from 68% to 80% plus in our region, which includes some of the most rural parts of the country. This has been an instant benefit,” explained John. The rollout of the new devices will start in September.

Paul Davidson, Utilities Sales Manager for Panasonic Toughbook, added: “We are dedicated to providing mobile workforces with technology to help them deliver more efficiently than ever before. With developments in intuitive mobile applications progressing so quickly, the Panasonic Toughbook CF-20 notebook is the ideal future-proof device for businesses that need the flexibility of a tablet and notebook in a single device alongside the peace of mind of Panasonic Toughbook’s reputation for great reliability and design.”

Two Parts, One Story
The Panasonic Toughbook CF-20 delivers a new level of unrivalled versatility for mobile business computing as the first fully rugged detachable notebook. Offering the best of all worlds for mobile workers, the Toughbook can be used in 6 different modes to meet every business need. With its glove enabled touchscreen, up to 20-hour hot swappable battery life and purpose-built Vehicle Mount and Desktop Port Replicator, the Panasonic Toughbook CF-20 is an unrivalled rugged mobile business tool.

For further information, visit: www.toughbook.eu