Melbourne & Olympic Parks Operations Management

Melbourne & Olympic Parks gains greater visibility across their operations using 24/7 Software

The Melbourne & Olympic Parks operates to provide world-class sport, events, and entertainment facilities for the people of the State of Victoria and has implemented 24/7 Software’s operations management software to enhance their real-time communications, maximise experience, and reduce risk.

The Melbourne & Olympic Parks (M&OP) precinct includes four of Victoria’s most well-known venues (AAMI Park, John Cain Arena, Margaret Court Arena, and Rod Laver Arena) that welcomes over 2.6 million visitors annually and is the home of the Australian Open Grand Slam Tournament.

M&OP continues to grow and evolve. The final stages of the AUS$972 million Melbourne Park Redevelopment are due for completion in 2021, further reinforcing Melbourne and Olympic Parks as Australia's premier sport, event, and entertainment precinct.

Before 24/7 Software

Katrina Haby is Director of Event Resourcing, and Ben Goodwin is Manager of Strategic Insights & Delivery, for M&OP Before using 24/7 software, M&OP was experiencing growth in the size and scale of events, along with the redevelopment of the precinct (including the opening of new venues) that led to the need for an improved job and management system solution. M&OP recognised the need to move away from their existing system that lacked useability and did not provide a mechanism to capture important live event and incident information.

They needed software that was less labour-intensive but also matched all of their strategic objectives. These requirements led to M&OP implementing 24/7 Software’s solution, consisting of the incident Management System, Lost & Found, and Task Manager.

Now

After deployment of 24/7 Software’s platform, M&OP has an industry-focused solution. 24/7 Software provides control centre management of incidents, jobs, and tasks with the customisation and useability M&OP requires to maximise their performance and deliver exceptional service during world-class events, including sports, international concerts, and the Australian Open.

Statistics

● 9,000 jobs and incidents recorded in the first month of use ● 71% increase in incidents and jobs recorded using 24/7 Software ● 400 staff using 24/7 Software during events

“The size, complexity, and scale of events, along with the redevelopment of the precinct, was growing each year,” shared Haby.

M&OP is Australia’s heart of sports and entertainment. While they do boast this statement on their website, the fact is, it’s true. The precinct welcomes around 600 events and attracts more than 2.5 million people annually. It’s also home to an array of the most iconic and world-class experiences.

The precinct is notably acclaimed for hosting the city's most celebrated national and international sports and entertainment events.

M&OP hosts the Australian Open Grand Slam, rugby union, football, rugby league, netball, basketball, cycling, and gymnastics; while also staging the highest calibre of artists and shows, such as Elton John, Lady Gaga, P!NK, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Disney on Ice.

“Our former tools did not offer the level of sophistication, communication options, or flexibility that was required to operate the precinct at this activity level and with all our operational needs” – Katrina Haby, Director of Event Resourcing – Melbourne & Olympic Parks.

Users were disengaged with the former system, and with a focus on enhancing safety processes, real-time communication, and customer service, a new solution was required. "There was a lack of useability, such as search functions and customisation

"We needed a system that provided a solution for job and incident allocation, updates, and completion that could be automated to ensure jobs and incidents were resolved as quickly as possible."

to tailor what information we needed to capture at events. This was leading to event and incident information not being captured promptly," explained Haby.

Haby shared that it was important to find a solution that understood the complex and varied nature of the precinct. "The fact that other solutions were not designed for our needs meant that many systems needed to be customised or a number of different types of solutions were required to be integrated to achieve a seamless end-to-end incident management."

The Need for a Less Labour-Intensive Solution

In the past, incident management and reporting were labour-intensive for M&OP, with communications, reporting, and data capture occurring through the use of many different systems and tools. "The previous tool that had been used for incident management and reporting could not provide clear priorities and situational awareness to both control room operators and teams on the ground," said Haby.

Human intervention was needed to ensure jobs (such as requests for cleaning and building services) were recorded, actioned, and completed. Improved and automated reporting was also a priority. "We needed a system that provided a solution for job and incident allocation, updates, and completion that could be automated to ensure jobs and incidents were resolved as quickly as possible. The ability to capture images and timestamped information was also important to us." - Katrina Haby, Director of Event Resourcing | Melbourne & Olympic Parks

A Seamless Deployment to Proactive Operations

"The support, advice, technical knowledge, and real-life examples of how to apply different functions across the 24/7 Software solution has been invaluable," shared Goodwin. "We had felt supported across the journey and felt that the platform was excellent when we first started. But now, we're operating at a different level of performance with the continued evolution of the platform. It is very exciting as it opens up a lot of customisation that we would like to do related to the way the system operates for us," continued Goodwin.

M&OP heavily uses 24/7 Software's Incident Management System the most, followed by 24/7 Software's Lost & Found and 24/7 Software's Task Manager Australia and New Zealand.

Goodwin was quick to prove these statements with data on how 24/7 Software helped M&OP achieve its strategic objectives and more. M&OP went from only 50 unique users to 270 after the first three months of deployment and currently have approximately 400 users working with the 24/7 Software solution. "In our first three months of deployment, we saw a 37% increase in jobs and incidents logged and managed in 24/7 Software," shared Goodwin.

An increase of safety reporting was seen across the precinct after the first three months of deployment, including a 68% increase of hazard (i.e., the potential for something to arise, such as a trip hazard) reporting and resolution.

According to Goodwin, "During the first month of deployment, we logged over 9,000 jobs and incidents – the most we've ever done."

When asked what business processes does, 24/7 Software enhance in total for M&OP, Goodwin articulated a powerful conclusion. "We ensure a consistent and timely approach to job and incident management – ensuring teams have the information they need to deliver exceptional operations and service. We prioritise proactive operations, with a focus on safety, and we have 24/7 Software's help to ensure we stay that way." - Ben Goodwin, Manager of Strategic Insights & Delivery at Melbourne & Olympic Parks. ◆

For more information, visit www.247software.com