Appear and Logica to Implement a Context-Aware Mobile Workforce Solution in the Stockholm Subway

Roving teams from MTR Stockholm AB now using smart handheld devices in order to provide the best possible service to travellers

Stockholm, Sweden – October 20, 2010 – MTR Stockholm AB announced today that Appear and Logica have successfully deployed a mobile workforce solution to be used in the Stockholm subway. Under the franchise agreement granted by the Stockholm Local Transport Authority (SL) in November 2009, MTR Stockholm AB has pledged to increase customer satisfaction and attract a larger travelling public on the system, with the new assignment calling for increased staffing, better punctuality, fewer cancelled departures and a cleaner rail system. A key success factor to achieving these goals is to provide better information to staff in real-time, using advanced mobile technology.

Kimmo Piri, Stations Director of MTR Stockholm AB, explains: “Our idea from the outset was to deploy more mobile personnel, in order to increase the number of interactions with travellers. These frontline workers are appointed to locations based on traffic patterns and have to carry with them all the information they need to perform their customer duties well. Hence, we proposed wireless handheld devices that would send and receive the latest information on their rosters, tasks, traffic disruption or inspection check-lists on demand.”

MTR Stockholm AB launched a formal consultation to supply a mobile application platform at the end of 2009 and ranked the alternatives based on cost, flexibility and time to deploy.

Viktor Nordahl Bäcklund, System Project Manager of MTR Stockholm AB, comments on their selection of Appear and Logica: “We found the long term partners that we needed in Appear and Logica, in particular, considering their experience from large implementations like Dutch Rail.”

The core technology behind MTR Stockholm’s deployment is the Appear IQ mobile platform, a powerful software infrastructure used to efficiently develop and manage context-aware workforce services. With Appear IQ, applications are able to understand the context of their user, providing field workers with accurate, relevant information on the go.

Peter Melander, Business Development Director, Appear, comments: “Our challenge is to provide personnel with a highly service-minded mobile technology that offers usability and robustness”.

Martin Lundqvist, Manager Mobility, Logica Sweden, adds: “This is where context-aware technology is so critical: with easy to use mobile applications at their fingertips, MTR Stockholm employees can in turn provide a great service to the passengers.”

Appear is the 2009 winner of Logica’s Global Innovation Venture Partner Programme, Appear and Logica collaborate on mobile solutions for several industries in Europe and Asia Pacific.

About Appear:
Appear is the leading provider of context-aware software infrastructure designed to power the next generation of mobile applications and services. Using situational information (context), the AppearIQ suite of products transforms ordinary wireless data networks into rich multimedia channels that deliver information, voice, video and messages to mobile computer users. By collecting and sharing context, Appear’s solutions eliminate information overload and ensure users have exactly the information they need, when and where they need it. Industry leaders in transportation, retail, telecommunications and government use AppearIQ. Appear has an extensive partner network including industry leaders Motorola, Cisco, SITA, Orange Business Services, Thales and Logica in order to deliver innovative, end-to-end wireless and mobile solutions. The company is privately held and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and with offices across Europe. More information is available at www.appearnetworks.com

About Logica:
Logica is a leading IT and business services company, employing 40,000 people. It provides business consulting, systems integration, and IT and business process outsourcing services. Logica works closely with its customers to release their potential - enabling change that increases their efficiency, accelerates growth and manages risk. It applies its deep industry knowledge, technical excellence and global delivery expertise to help its customers build leadership positions in their markets. Logica is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext (Amsterdam) (LSE: LOG; Euronext: LOG). More information is available at www.logica.com

About MTR:
MTR Stockholm is responsible for the running, planning and maintenance of the Stockholm underground train system for a minimum of eight years, under contract from SL. MTR Stockholm, which employs approx. 3,000 members of staff, is a subsidiary of MTR Europe in London and is part of the MTR Corporation, based in Hong Kong. MTR Corporation is a leading public transport company, which also runs consulting operations in Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Europe. MTR Stockholm took over the operations of the Stockholm underground train system on 2 November 2009. More information available at www.mtrstockholm.se

Appear Networks
Kista Science Tower
SE-16451 Kista
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Press contact:
Mia Falgard
mia.falgard@appearnetworks.com
+46 (0)854591378

This release was published on openPR.