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Saturday | 22 November, 2008
CIO
Untethered But Not Disconnected
New wireless networks and devices create more productive work environments. They can also generate anxiety. Here's how to cut the wires so that employees still feel connected
Thomas Wailgum 09 October, 2006 11:24:48

Like Capital One, an ever-increasing number of companies are using wireless technology to different degrees to transform how their employees work. Organizations seeing benefits Among them are:

• CSX. Rail operator CSX installed a wireless "black box" in its locomotives that collects information about how engineers are operating the trains. By using the data to coach engineers to drive better, the system has helped CSX save millions in fuel costs.

• The University of Chicago Hospitals (UCH). Its Comer Children's Hospital uses wireless broadband and mobile VoIP phones for communication among employees instead of the traditional public address system, improving productivity, patient care and nurses' job satisfaction.

• UPS. The company reconfigured the handheld devices used by 96,000 drivers, generating greater efficiency from its already mobile workforce. The new devices give the drivers processing directions, as well as more detailed data about their performance.

Along with the benefits, however, the wireless technologies introduced new ways of working that weren't necessarily welcome to employees - or at the very least required extensive training. Success depended on managing changes carefully. Because wireless technology creates physical and social disruption - altering where employees sit, their work processes and who they work with - early adopters recommend a phased approach that minimizes employees' dislocation. Such an approach includes three essential elements: laying the groundwork for changes in technology and the work environment, redefining cultural norms, and making sure IT staff and processes are organized to support new networks and devices.

"Any project of this scope and scale requires a great deal of communication and coordination between the IT development team and the team members that will utilize the technology," says UPS CIO Dave Barnes. "You have to let everyone involved know exactly what's going on, when it's going to happen, and the business reasons for why it's happening in the first place."

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