Case studies by Meantime IT

The Reservist system, named after the non-operational staff who step in during periods of high passenger volumes, manages shift booking and role allocation for around 800 colleagues who leave their usual roles in other areas of the airport, such as IT or business administration.

Call in the reserves

Meantime’s software combines online functionality with SMS communication. When extra help is needed, the Reservists log onto the online shift-booking system and the software’s intelligence identifies and displays suitable roles for each individual to choose from. When the roles have been allocated, the software continuously analyses requirements and responds to changes in staffing levels, contacting staff via SMS to give vital updates.

Heathrow had previously used a separate SMS system to keep in touch with reservist staff during their shifts, but it was labour intensive and prone to failure, not least due to the facility’s poor handling of numbers that were not formatted correctly.

SMS is A-OK

It was clear, however, that this method of communication was vital to ensure smooth running of the reservist system, so Meantime developed and integrated a bespoke SMS feature into Heathrow’s communications suite of software. The new SMS system takes the mobile phone number that the Reservists enter themselves, validates it as a suitable mobile number to ensure data quality and then enables the Reservist administrator to communicate either as a broadcast (to everyone) or to run reports and select sub-sets of people to send SMS messages to.

The SMS feature can be used to target reservist help where it is urgently required, selecting up to several hundred people instantaneously and deploying them to specific areas.

Where people are already in place, the software can provide vital real-time SMS updates, as well as assessing availability of colleagues yet to book shifts and contacting them directly. When shifts are completed, colleagues are automatically contacted directly by SMS to thank them for their continued support in the smooth running of the airport.

Smooth operator

The combined online booking and SMS software is an efficient method of contacting a large group of people; SMS sending takes around 45 seconds for 800 messages. Meantime’s inbuilt tracking and reporting functionality means the airport can see and act on the delivery status of each message, quickly identifying who has received their text message and when.

Meantime’s ability to fully integrate SMS into a piece of software has proved to be an essential solution for Heathrow’s needs during very busy periods. The Reservist system takes care of all the administration, ensuring effective and accurate deployment of staff and leaving them free to take care of passengers.