In this second feature in a series of excerpts from an exclusive Field Service News white paper published in partnership with Help Lightning, that is exploring the practical questions surrounding Augmented Reality in field service operations we discuss how as we see remote service becoming more sophisticated the role of the engineer is destined to evolve...
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As we touched on in the previous segment, AR’s adoption will not just improve existing workflows as technologies such as mobile and cloud have done in our industry previously. It will completely change the way we think about service delivery entirely.
There are many benefits to moving towards a remote as a default approach, including significant benefits for the customer and service provider. However, there remain many benefits for both parties in the service relationship in having an engineer or technician on-site.
The reality is that the answer will almost certainly lie in a hybrid model that blends the benefits of both service delivery mechanisms, but is there an optimum balance between remote and on-site that is emerging amongst those companies that have pioneered the use of AR in remote service delivery?
Having been directly involved with helping a significant number of these early adopters achieve success through the use of AR, Evans Manolis, Senior Consultant, Help Lightning, is perhaps one of the most experienced people in the field to offer insight into this complex equation.
“We’re seeing the transformation of the traditional field service engineer,” Manolis explained when he appeared on the Field Service News Digital Symposium.
"I think the future of the field service engineer will never go away; they will always be needed at some point to go out and physically fix a piece of equipment that can’t be fixed remotely..."
“When you think of the traditional field service engineer, you think of someone who’s coming in under cover of darkness, going through the piece of equipment, fixing the piece of equipment and getting out under cover of darkness. In a nutshell, that was field service several years ago. However, what we’re seeing now is the transformation where the field service engineer is becoming the trusted adviser and acting in a more consultative manner than ever before.
“With this in mind, I think the future of the field service engineer will never go away; they will always be needed at some point to go out and physically fix a piece of equipment that can’t be fixed remotely. However, I think on top of that, you’re going to see a field service engineer that comes in and talks to the customer about the marketplace that speaks to them about the value of service and the value of the service they’re providing.
“For the customer, having the ear of that subject matter expert is incredibly valuable. For the service provider, of course, that position of trusted advisor allows the engineer or technician to talk to the customer about that potential up-sell and cross-sell opportunities in a manner in which the customer is not threatened and doesn’t feel like they’re being sold to.
“With regards to a hybrid model that brings out the best of remote and on-site service delivery, what we’re seeing amongst many of our customers, is a move to remote service first.
“This means the traditional process of having a call coming into technical support, undertaking some initial triage potentially escalating the call to level two and then automatically dispatching an engineer, that’s now going away.
“We have a number of our customers that have adopted the rule within their service process that they will not dispatch until they have their technicians eyes on the problem. Until they start a remote visual assistance call, they will not dispatch.
“This approach has two key benefits, firstly, it leads to more remote fixes.
“Secondly, if you are going to dispatch you know the nature of the problem clearly, you see what parts may or may not be needed and you have a better understanding for the field engineer that when they get on site. They know exactly what you’re going to see because it has already been seen it in technical support.
“That’s the essence of remote service first, and we’ve seen a big push in the industry going that way.”
If you would like to read this exclusive paper right away Field Service News
subscribers across all our subscription tiers can currently access this paper instantly by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can join our free-forever subscription tier FSN Standard by hitting the button to access a dedicated registration page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soon as you are registered.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Help Lightning who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of our privacy policy available here which is in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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