Document Tracking Case Story: TDS Telecommunications Corp.

TDS Telecommunications Corp.

Madison, WI

Telecom Industry

About TDS Telecommunications Corp.

TDS Telecommunications Corp. (TDS®) delivers broadband voice, internet and entertainment and business solutions across 31 states.  With over 1.1 million data lines in service and 2,700 employees TDS is now the 7th largest telecom provider in the United States. In 2012, Forbes identified TDS as one of the most transparent and trustworthy companies that trade on American exchanges.

The Challenge

TDS® records buried cable locations in engineered schematics both digitally and as hard copies.  It’s important that they are able to locate and access schematic hard copies quickly – especially in the case of a broken or failed line. Managing these hard copies was more than challenging due to the expanse of the TDS® network and the sheer size of the company. Lastly, the company lacked an easy process that would allow engineers to make a connection between the hard copy schematic and it’s digital counterpart.

The Solution

Working with TDS®, Dynamic Systems solutions engineers documented their processes and implemented CheckMate Document Tracking Software within existing processes. The software is a robust, powerful and affordable document tracking system ideal for managing drawings, schematics, work orders, files, and documents.  The feature TDS® especially liked was the ability to hyperlink from a CheckMate record to the digital copy of the schematic.

TDS® drawings are often multi-tiered, meaning that one  blueprint links to several more detailed schematics, similar to the zoom feature on Google Maps. CheckMate allows all related records to be linked together in a “kit”. The “kitting” feature allows repair personnel viewing the top-level schematic to pull up the more detailed views of the exact area they need to repair.  This capability reduces repair time and increases customer satisfaction.

Contact:  Rob Freeman, V.P. Business Development

               800-342-3999; www.a-barcode.com [email protected]