Want to see eLocker in action?
Book a short call to discuss your use case, this is no-obligation for quote and is
just a quick chat to see how we can help with your locker management system
eLocker Delivers Device Management Solution To a UK Public Service.
Public Sector
Asset management locker
On-going Contract
Company
The company is a UK public service with 100 sites around England that maintain and upgrade parts of the UK infrastructure.
Problem
The problem that this customer has is that they have very old and outdated lockers, they have a locker system from a competitor that was reaching 13 years old. They are upgrading from an old motor airwave radio network to a new ESN, which is the emergency services network run over 4G with EE.
As part of this transition, the customer is going to go from having one device per member of staff to two devices and the lockers that they have in place don’t support two devices per box. So they are looking at upgrading to a new solution so they can handle their new device load.
Solution
The solution is a radio management locker that allows two devices per box. It also needs to include another specialist part in the system, multi factor authentication which will be implemented through a kiosk.
The way that it works is a user comes up to a bank of lockers, enters a pin code and then touches their badge on the locker, this will allow for the multifactor authentication to track who is accessing the locker and dictate whether they have permission to do so. We then allow them to open a locker with their badge and inside the locker, there will be two devices that sit on a little cradle with RFID built-in.
The core feature here is that two devices are inside the locker and with the system, they can know which of those devices have been taken out. They can know that both devices have been removed and also returned.
It gives full accountability as they will know exactly which devices have been taken and that they have left the locker.
Outcome
The outcome was a fully automated self-service radio management solution, which allows the customer to transition from motor airwave to the ESN network.
The system’s also built with future-proofing in mind, meaning the way that we have designed is completely modular. This allows them to add or remove lockers and move them around to different sites if they need to, and also allows them to change the devices in the future.
We built a special cradle for each device. And at the moment we know the devices that are going to be used, but the customer doesn’t have full visibility of the new ESN devices, which are going to be released, because it’s a new system.
To solve this we’ve built the lockers in a way that allows them to replace the cradles. And if they want to move over to tablets or to a different handheld that’s bigger or change the devices that they want in the future, they can do that because the system’s built to be flexible and modular.
Frequently Asked Question
How long did the implementation take?
The implementation for this is four months, which is the full implementation across a hundred sites.
What challenges did the client have in implementing this from end to end?
The main challenges are the fact that it’s a multi-site rollout across the whole of the country. And so to deliver it, eLocker has partnered with an external outsourcing company that has a lot of experience delivering mass rollouts of locker systems.
They work with a large parcel delivery company and have delivered thousands of lockers across the UK. So to counter that challenge, we partnered with experts to make sure the project is delivered smoothly.
Who is responsible for being the point of contact?
We have a joint point of contact. There’s a project manager on the eLocker side who is an expert in the technology and works with the customer to run the onboarding in the training and a general setup of the account.
And then there’s a logistic contract, which is with the outsource company who manage all of the delivery and implementation. We will also deliver the stock to them. They then build the units and create systems for each location that go on-site and deliver it.
And as part of it, we’re also removing the old infrastructure. As part of the service, we will remove the existing lockers and dispose of them according to the regulation.
Were you the only company involved in the process or were there more stakeholders?
The customer is a UK organisation, it’s a public service, but that’s split down into different service delivery partners. One of the things that are important in the delivery of the contract is having good communication with each region and each area.
The project is broken down into many different milestones. There’s an important management piece around making sure that there’s a lot of communication between us, the delivery partner and the receivers of the goods to make sure that they know what’s going on and we know what’s going on and that it’ll run smoothly.
Will this company be using analytics to be able to validate the investment?
The main analytics that the customer is looking for is to know that devices are in and out of the lockers, but the eLocker analytics platform also gives them great insight into how the devices are being used. As part of their commitment to the UK government’s 2050 net-zero pledge. They can use locker analytics to know if devices are not being used and then redeploy them.
This allows them to have a much better understanding of how their fleet devices are being used and reduce the risk of repurchasing devices.
It also means that they will get full optimisation out of the devices because they actually know if they’re being used whereas before that type of analytical data wasn’t available.
If somebody else was looking to implement this into their business on a similar scale. How long should they expect that to take?
It really depends on the customer’s requirement, if we need to scale up our delivery teams to be able to implement things quickly then we can. 100 sites in four months is possible, but it really comes down to the requirements of the end customer.
We are proud to say thateLocker systems are very future-proof. We are able to upgrade everything in the system remotely. This means the online platform, the gateways that control the locks, and the locks themselves can be updated over the air.
This means we can make updates continuously and update our online system to meet the evolving needs of our customers. For instance, we can add new technologies or update locks if the customer changes their access badges. It’s a system built with the future in mind.
Smart Lockers: Why Are They So Popular?
In a culture where everything from toasters to flip-flops have rebranded as ‘smart’ devices, it’s easy to forget how brilliant and effective some IoT …
Six Benefits of Smart Lockers in the Warehouse
Six Benefits of Smart Lockers in the Warehouse | eLocker Warehouses are seriously busy places. Where space often comes at a minimum and time …