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Computer support a click away with new site

  • Published
  • By Nicole Turner
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  If you like searching YouTube, then the new TierZero, a website created and launched by the 72nd Air Base Wing Communications Directorate will be even better and more helpful to you.

As a dynamic self-help website, TierZero has been designed for more than 25,000 customers and employees at Tinker to utilize and troubleshoot their own network problems more quickly and efficiently, without having to ever pick up the phone.

Robert Cuthbertson, site manager for the CNIIT contract in SC, said the new site allows people to get quick support without actually speaking to someone at the help desk.

"This is truly a huge transformational step and exemplifies Lean/out-of-the-box thinking. Why call the help desk and wait on hold for two minutes, when you can do it yourself in one minute?" Mr. Cuthbertson said. "Now you can do it all here on the website."

TierZero was set up with a similar design to YouTube, a popular video searching website. One of the site designers, Jeff Foltz, Web application developer in SC, said he wanted to create a self-help site that would be easy to nagivate, as well as familiar to most people.

"Everybody knows how YouTube works," Mr. Foltz said, "so that learning curve was cut in half."

TierZero has more than 100 links, videos and information tools providing immediate assistance to customers in their own offices and on their own computers. The website has several graphic icons on the top of the page for people to click on, a search engine to look for topics and key words, as well as numerous videos showing step-by-step processes on troubleshooting a variety of network and computer topics.

"If we have a video on it, it's going to be there," Mr. Cuthbertson said.

Mr. Cuthbertson said one of the most crucial details of TeirZero is the "Fix It Now" feature, which has seven different tools allowing customers to fix common network issues immediately. These tools include setting up e-mail and printers, two of the tasks most often fielded by the help desk.

The website has many other key elements as well. On the right side of the page is a chart informing customers of phone statistics, the number of calls waiting for the help desk, the current wait time and the number of technicians available to speak to customers. People can even track existing help desk tickets on TierZero as well.

"Once our customers check out TierZero, I think they'll want to go there first rather than start off on hold on the phone," Mr. Cuthbertson said. "Unless, of course, the problem is they can't get on the Internet. There are numerous things our customers can do to fix some of their computer issues that don't require an administrator."

SC hopes TierZero enables customers to own a part of their computer fix through troubleshooting as well as reduce help desk call traffic.

"This will help people feel empowered because they are being proactive and doing it by themselves," Mr. Foltz said. "Customers are capable of going out and taking control of the issues they have, but if they want help we are always here to help as well."

The current URL for TierZero is https://remedy-web.tinker.afmc.ds .af.mil/tierzero/default.aspx. Currently, this is the only way to access it. However, Mr. Cuthbertson said, there will be a link to TierZero added to the Tinker homepage by the end of the year.