How we support your school
VeriCool for Schools is a suite of software designed to offer schools the most cost-effective and beneficial way of moving from a manual or card-based registration and cashless catering process. VeriCool is based upon an efficient biometric solution that uses fingertip verification as the key identifier.
We consider VeriCool to be unique because it was developed specially for the education sector.
It was not a solution that was originally developed for businesses and then re-worked for schools and
this is why our technology is very school-driven.
In fact, as we like to say, VeriCool is the UK's biometric market leader developed for schools, by
schools.
Project Management
As the market leader in the provision of biometric lesson registration and cashless catering software, we pride ourselves on the level of support, both pre and post installation, that we provide to our clients. We manage every stage of the implementation, ensuring that our technology is installed with the least disruption and inconvenience to school staff and pupils.
To ensure that the implementation is successful, we have identified several key steps involved in delivering a working solution to a school. Understanding specific requirements and ensuring that all objectives are met is the key to a successful implementation. We are keen to emphasise that the entire process, from start to finish, is managed by our dedicated team of professionals. Once an order is placed with us we ask nothing of the school, other than making the relevant staff available for enrolment and training.
Site Survey
On receipt of a purchase order from a school we appoint a customer liaison person who will agree a date and time to visit and meet the relevant team (ICT, Administration, Management) from the school to discuss the installation process. This person will also carry out a detailed site survey, ensuring that both parties are aware of what will happen and that any school-supplied hardware is of a standard sufficient to run the software.
Networking and Cabling
Most schools have their own preferred suppliers for networking and cabling. However, we have many years experience of installing Cat5e and fibre optic networks and should you require we can work alongside your ICT team to provide a logical and cost-effective solution.
Installation and Commissioning
Once the site survey is complete and a date has been agreed for installation, our technical team will arrive on site to commence installation and configure all hardware dependant on what has been ordered. A typical installation takes 3-4 days with all hardware being installed in 1-2 days and is conducted with little disruption to the school.
Based on a typical secondary school of 1000 students, we have listed below an outline installation of a cashless catering solution.
Hardware Installation and Configuration
Day 1: AM - Commence installation of the VeriCool server unit, EPOS machines and wall mounted revaluation units.
Enrolment
Day 2: AM - Normally a team of 4-5 people will set up in a room large enough to process an entire
year group at a time. Enrolment would start at 8.30 - 9.00am, with a year group being presented
every 30-40 minutes to the enrolment team.
An example is laid out below.
9.00am - Year 7
9.40am - Year 8
10.20am - Year 9
11.20am - Year 10
12.00am - Year 11
12.40am - Year 12 and 13 (if applicable)
We ask that s enior staff are on hand at all times during the enrolment process to ensure that students are processed in an orderly fashion as quickly as possible.
Training (Cashless Catering)
Day 2 and 3 - Once enrolment is complete training can begin. Our staff will be on hand to offer as much training as required and normally commence with the catering staff who will be using the EPOS (Till) equipment on a daily basis.
This normally takes about 20-30 minutes and will ensure that all staff are fully proficient in running the tills. However, our staff will offer repeat training whilst on site. Once this is complete a more detailed training session will begin for administration staff and the schools catering manager, if applicable.
This normally takes 0.5 day as they will require a more detailed level of training on the cashless catering administration software. Again, additional training can be offered whilst our staff are on site and any technical issues can be resolved with our staff.
Going Live
Day 4 - Key to the success of any new technology is ease of use. Having the confidence to use the EPOS equipment will ensure that the technology will quickly be adopted by your catering staff. To ensure that your catering staff become proficient in the use of VeriCool we insist that a member of our team is on hand during the first days service to offer 'hand holding' if required. In most instances our team will operate at least one of the EPOS to instil confidence in the school catering team and to demonstrate how easy the system is to use.
Post Installation
What good is the latest technology if the company behind it can't support you and your school on a day to day basis? The simple answer is none at all. This is where the VeriCool team come into their own. We are aware of how a company can promise to deliver and how often they can fail. At VeriCool we have a dedicated team who ensure your queries and questions are answered in the most timely way.
We create a two way electronic link for your administration and ICT staff to electronically contact and log any issues on a day-to-day basis. These issues are then received by our team, logged and actioned in under 60 minutes. Obviously we have telephone support as well, but, busy catering and administration staff seldom have the time to make calls for support. Being able to click an icon, fill out an electronic form and send an email in less than 30 seconds has proven to be far more beneficial to a school staff than using up time making telephone calls.
