Voice Recording:
Wygant Encore at a Public Utility

Bonneville Power Authority
Wygant's Encore in a public utility application…

Background
Established in 1937, BPA is responsible for providing 46% of the electric power in the Northwestern United States. BPA, a self-financed federal power marketing agency headquartered in Portland, Oregon, sells the electricity generated from the Bonneville Dam and three other federal power-generating projects. The power is distributed wholesale through a transgrid covering 300,000 square miles.

Problem
BPA managers needed to record the telephone conversations of BPA power schedulers and dispatchers when entering into multi-million dollar contracts, to confirm power trades and resolve discrepancies.

They had previously logged conversations in an analog format on multi-channel tapes using reel-to-reel equipment, which did not meet BPA's needs for many reasons. Reel-to-reel tape media required large amounts of expensive office space for physical storage. Locating and retrieving specific conversations from such media was inconvenient and time-consuming. Playback had to be performed at the recorder location, which was less accessible to most users. Conversations could not be played back from the on-line reel until it could be removed from the tape deck and re-mounted on a playback unit, taking as long as 24 hours to accomplish.

BPA needed some way to keep these conversations on file for longer and to make them more accessible.

Solution
In 1997, BPA installed ENCORE™, Wygant's call recording, service observance, and transaction verification system. Encore now enables BPA to digitally record and store calls and offers networked playback access.

As calls are recorded, a database entry is created for each call. This central database enables BPA staff to archive what they couldn't save before.

BPA uses Encore to log conversations in digital format for temporary storage on a conventional hard drive, and for permanent (archive) storage on 20Gb digital tapes. These tapes, a fraction of the size of reel-to-reel tapes, each store 2,000 hours of calls. A powerful search engine locates calls, making playback convenient and easy.

Completed conversations are immediately available on line for retrieval and playback from anywhere on the LAN. Up to 200 Gb of archived storage (calls up to12 months old) are available from a tape library deck which can be accessed at the system administration console. Each tape holds more than a month's worth of recordings. A single shelf can store years' worth of critical information.

For extra convenience, the database browser and playback programs can be copied to the removable media, creating a fully-contained archive unit that can be used by any Windows 95 PC. Playback can be done from the administration console at the logging equipment location, or at any authorized user's PC workstation over the corporate LAN.

Benefits
The system meets all of BPA's recording needs, and then some. Ken Westby, BPA's MIS manager, relates that "Users are comfortable with the look and feel of this system because it operates in a familiar (Windows-NT) environment. LAN connectivity brings the Encore system to the user's desktop. We have ordered several upgrades to our three Encore systems to enhance their functionality and storage capacity."

By installing Encore, BPA became more efficient ... Encore saves time and money. Convenient, accessible playback allows many different people access to the files necessary to their job. Storage is easy and takes less space. Most importantly, review is less arduous and time-consuming.

Public utility applications are just one way that Wygant Encore solves call center problems. If you would like to learn more about Encore and how it can help your business, please call us at 800-688-6423.

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