Product Profile: April 1998, Communicating The Digital Wireless Way

Jim McCutcheon always realized that instant communications could improve the way Post Landscape Services conducts business. But, he never realized how substantial that impact could be, however, until he discovered a faster, more efficient way to design, install and maintain multi-million dollar landscape projects.

Post Properties, Inc., an Atlanta, Ga.-based developer of upscale apartment communities throughout the Southeast, is recognized for its award-winning landscaping. The lush park-like settings surrounding more than 16,000 Post apartment homes - perennials, seasonal color, turfgrass, shrubs and trees - are a company trademark and its most successful client marketing tool.

After years of receiving requests to provide landscape services to outside business clients and private home-owners, it established Post Landscape Services in 1990, which has grown to more than 150 full-time employees.

Like other companies with employee teams spread across different job sites, Post relied upon traditional analog cellular phones, pagers and dispatch radios to stay in touch with its managers and the crews they supervised. But each of these systems had serious inefficiencies.

"We had major gaps in being able to communicate with each other, especially when it was important to contact someone quickly," said McCutcheon, vice president/director of maintenance for Post Landscape Services.

"Unless managers were in or near their vehicle, they missed calls on the radio. And when we cut back on cell phone usage as costs got more expensive, our managers started carrying around rolls of quarters to use when they had to stop and find a pay phone when they got paged.

"Redeveloping our communications systems to give us faster and more efficient communications was a major strategic goal for our business," he noted.

McCutcheon found that the solution to his communications dilemma was Nextel Communications. The Nextel National Network is the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network, combining digital cellular, text and numeric paging, and Nextel Direct ConnectSM in a single phone.

The key productivity feature for many business users, though, is the Direct Connect, a digital two-way radio feature that lets users instantly talk with coworkers and other Nextel users for a fraction of the cost of cellular. This simple push-to-talk function allows users to talk privately with individuals or talk instantly with an entire group.

"Since we switched to Nextel, we’ve cut our down time on job sites, increased our ability to respond quickly to our clients’ needs, and opened up new opportunities for efficiency," said McCutcheon. "It has helped everybody here feel and work more like a team."

Good communications with its work teams is an important factor in Post Landscape Services’ ability to provide outstanding service to its clients, according to Post’s Director of Installation, Kip Hays. Hays, with primary responsibility for managing more than seven installation teams and coordinating the work of subcontractors, likes the instant conferencing features because he can stay in touch with his crews and subcontractors.

"Pagers were good, but now I can contact the crews, get a quick update anytime, and it’s easier for them to get in touch with me," said Hays. "Our people report directly to the job site, so being able to contact them at any time is important. Nextel Direct Connect works great for us, because we can monitor each team’s progress in the field and move them quickly to the next job site when they finish."