Maintenance and Operations: Customer-Focused Innovations August 15, 2017 Kenneth H. King, P.E. Salem District Administrator

Who are the leaders of the customer service industry? What do we know about those who provide great customer service? They provide efficient response, giving the customer what they need, when they need it. Great companies anticipate the customers’ needs, and provide communication with them via the channel of their choice. They also use data and systems to make their work more efficient. They work their systems instead of letting their systems work them.

What does today’s customer look like? 2002 2017 Steve Jobs said, “You have to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.” The customer experience has changed tremendously over the last 15 years. 15 years ago we had three essential ways of communicating with our customers: telephone, letter, and email. The feedback loop to communicate back to customers could be lengthy and labor intensive. Today, the customer has a wealth of choices for communication. One of the keys to customer service today is meeting the customer where they are – via the channel of their choice, and communicating with them proactively regarding their needs. 2007 iphone was released. 1999 Blackberry was released.

VDOT’s Customer VDOT utilizes customer-centric processes and systems to provide the public with the most accurate, up to date information available. Channels: Phone Email - Limited Online Self Service Webchat Text Messaging VDOT has launched several systems and processes that are focused on using data to improve program efficiency and provide customers with the most accurate, up to date information available, and communicating with the customer via the channel of their choice. We have a website, 511 mobile app, and a self-service page dedicate to customer service and service requests. In 2010 we created a Customer Service Center to allow us to handle customer requests more efficiently. We started with the telephone. Today, customers can reach us 24/7 via five communication channels. Our online customer contacts is our fastest growing channel, increasing 54% in just two years. CSC started 2010. ITD-50

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Microsoft Dynamics came online June 2015. Microsoft Dynamics helps us be more customer centric, by helping us know the area. Once the customer contacts us, VDOT has a Customer Relationship Management System that provides a single database for all customer interactions. When a customer contacts us, our Customer Service Center, or any of our customer-facing offices can see the customer’s contact history, as well as any service requests that they’ve entered. This makes for a better, customer-centric experience. Instead of starting over each time the customer calls, the customer can speak to someone who has a base knowledge about what the customer has called about before, and what was done about it. Name number email.

CRM: Internal Efficiency The CRM data layers provide the user with information on nearby requests that have already been submitted, and roadway maintenance responsibility. This prevents users from entering service requests for roadways that are outside of VDOT’s jurisdiction, and can also prevent users from entering multiple service requests for the same issue. In this way, we’re making the customer journey better, as well as making our internal processes more efficient. One of the greatest efficiency gains with the new CRM system included the creation of an rules matrix that was built to guide the automated assignment of 36 problem types to over 400 work units statewide based on location, roadway type, and problem type. The elimination of the manual assignment of these requests is estimated to save the agency about $253,000 per year. The user interface helps ensure the user provides all the details that are needed for the request. ITD-50

CRM Data There are over 50 GIS layers on the agent map that can be turned on and off per agent need or preference Not only are we harnessing our customer data, but we are also empowering our people with all the agency data we have available. The CRM system has over 50 data layers that can be turned on or off based on the subject matter of the request. By doing so, our employees can quickly tell roadway maintenance responsibility, or if other service requests have been entered in the area the customer is inquiring about. We also pull in traffic data layers to be able to provide traffic information. ITD-50

Emergency Operations: Customer Data We also use the CRM system to harness the data that customers provide to us. Requests, questions and concerns from customers help VDOT remain situationally aware, particularly during inclement weather events. During snow storms when it begins to snow in a particular area you can see the calls begin to come in, which is represented by dots on our map. You can see the storm as it sweeps across the state. ITD-50

Service Request Data ITD-50 We can also take the data from the CRM System and look at service request trends monthly, quarterly, and annually. This helps us identify areas of our program where we can perhaps be more proactive. It also helps identify areas that need to be better defined, for example, for FY 14-16, “Other” was the fourth largest request category. By looking at the data, maintenance and customer service partners worked together to add request categories that would better define the issues customers were reporting, and you can see in FY 17, the number of requests in the “Other” category dropped significantly. ITD-50

Streamlining Service Request Data ITD-50

Highway Maintenance Management System (HMMS) HMMS RFP Goals Replace old, obsolete in-house developed system (aka AMS). Mapping: Ability to have GIS map-based inventory and maintenance work. Mobility: Field functionality with or without connectivity. Better and easier reporting. ITD-50

COTS product selected Received five vendor proposals Selected Data Transfer Solutions (DTS) makers of VUEWorks® and MobileVUE® Asset inventory and Maintenance that will be tracked within the system. The new system will work with VDOT’s existing systems WebIMS – Materials Inventory M5 – Fleet equipment inventory ITD-50

CRM and HMMS Integration Service Requests Customer Recognition Customer Communication Work Orders Maintenance Planning Asset inventory Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile App HMMS Avaya Elite Multi-Channel System VDOT Data VDOT Data ITDmo-50

Highway Maintenance Management System Benefits: Geospatial mapping Mobile App will allow better real-time updates More efficient work order management Generate proactive work plans Receive service request pictures The CRM System will be integrated tightly with our new the Highway Maintenance Management System. We’re taking the information that customers give us and using it to be more efficient, more situationally aware, and to help us plan the cycle of our proactive maintenance. Issued an RFP in August 2015 ITD-50

How will service improve? Efficiency gains Real-time information exchange ITD-50

What Does the Future Hold? Smart Phones: Obsolete by 2027? The Business Insider says that smart phones will be obsolete by 2025, they will be replaced by a tiny piece of jewelry, making it unnecessary to carry around a smart phone. Space Travel could be possible by 2050. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/ian-pearson-predictions-about-the-world-in-2050-2016-7/#we-could-rely-entirely-on-renewable-energy-by-the-year-2050-16 ITD-50

Interstate 77 at Fancy Gap Mountain 1,000 feet of elevation drop over 11 horizontal curves. Foggy conditions reported on the mountain about a third of the year. No existing communications and power infrastructure. No viable alternative route for interstate traffic. Many drivers from out of state are not familiar with terrain and the weather patterns. Significant crash in March 2013 involved 95 vehicles. Foggy conditions reported on the mountain about a third of the year which makes closing the interstate not an option.

How does the system work? Weather Station Fog on the road. When sight distance falls to 650 feet or less. Drivers slow down. Speed limit reduced.

Future Customer Connections?

VDOT Salem District Administrator Kenneth H. King, P.E. Ken.King@VDOT.Virginia.Gov VDOT Salem District Administrator