AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Field Service News

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to Jo Cherriman, Director Surefire about how having implemented a new field service management solution they have been able to better align their service and sales operations...

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to Jo Cherriman, Director, Surefire about the benefits to Customer Satisfaction they have discovered since implementing a dedicated Field Service Management Solution...

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Find out more about Surefire @ www.surefire.com  

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to Jo Cherriman, Director, Surefire about how they approached selecting a Field Service Management system that met their business needs...

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Technology buyers are in favour of spreading the cost of equipping their mobile workforces with notebooks, tablets and handheld devices, the latest research reveals.

78% of UK technology buyers said they would be interested in a subscription-based solution to equip mobile workforces.

Currently, buyers say their top considerations when purchasing mobile devices for their workforce are cost (72%) and life expectancy of the product (54%). Yet the majority of buyers still expect to replace their mobile workforces’ devices every 2-3 years.

Buyers said an “As a Service” approach for mobile hardware, as opposed to paying out in advance with a large, one-off capital expenditure, would help them to purchase up to date technology more quickly (54%), manage costs better (49%) and free up budget to purchase more accessories (34%).

"53% said it would help them to maintain and dispose of devices more effectively and 33% agreed it would be a more secure way of disposing of mobile technology..."

The new approach of payments for hardware spread over three years at 0% interest, with helpdesk support and secure, end of life disposal was also attractive to buyers for reasons beyond cash flow. 53% said it would help them to maintain and dispose of devices more effectively and 33% agreed it would be a more secure way of disposing of mobile technology.

The service elements buyers most wanted to be included in the subscription model were a three-year warranty (65%), a payment plan with 0% interest (46%), and delivery of devices straight to the workplace (46%). Optional extras they were keen to see offered included Insurance (45%), extended standard warranty (43%), accidental damage warranty (43%), accessories (39%), specialist software applications (34%) and a trade-in programme (34%).

Despite the enthusiasm for the service, 69% of buyers were unaware of companies offering the service-based solution with 0% interest.

The independent research, carried out by Opinion Matters on behalf of Panasonic Toughbook, questioned 250 UK technology buyers of notebooks, tablets and handheld devices for mobile workforces.

“With the rapid advances in design and functionality of mobile devices and the resulting productivity gains for mobile workforces, businesses are keen to keep up to date with the latest developments,” said Kevin Jones, Managing Director for the Panasonic Mobile Solution Business in Europe. “This is resulting in an expensive capital expenditure every two-three years. But buyers are telling us that they would much rather move to a new subscription-based model, similar to the growing popularity of software as a service. Panasonic’s new Toughbook as a Service Solution helps our current and future customers overcome this challenge.”

Toughbook as a Service

Panasonic launched its new Toughbook-as-a-Service (TaaS) earlier this year. It’s a unique, interest-free, monthly payment model for rugged devices. Businesses can now equip their mobile workforces with any rugged Panasonic Toughbook notebook, tablet or handheld device without having to worry about large upfront costs in capital expenditure.

Toughbook-as-a-Service is an end-to-end subscription, powered by European digital services provider, Econocom. It allows companies to pay for their Toughbook devices monthly, over a three-year period. Uniquely TaaS subscribers pay the same as a cash purchase, even though payments are spread over a longer term - eliminating the need for large upfront costs and allowing organisations to benefit from an OPEX-based solution rather than CAPEX.

"Toughbook-as-a-Service is an end-to-end subscription, powered by European digital services provider, Econocom..."

TaaS solutions include access to Panasonic Toughbook devices, delivery, 3-year warranty, helpdesk support, and end-of-life services such as collection, recycling and data wiping. As well as the rugged hardware, customers can choose to add into the monthly payment, on the same 0% interest terms*, options for their solution including vehicle mounts, docking stations, specialist software applications and other device accessories, as well as extended and accidental damage warranties.

Customers can also choose to personalise their TaaS subscription with a number of optional extras, including a trade-in programme, which allows businesses to upgrade their technology without losing the value of their existing estate. TaaS also provides the ability to bundle in airtime, MDM and data analytics, for example. 

* TaaS is a 0% finance OPEX solution, including up to 20% soft costs. If the transaction requires more than 20% soft costs/software, the interest rate over 3 years will be higher.

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International automotive technology provider ERM Advanced Telematics whose products have been installed in more than 5 million vehicles worldwide, is accelerating its penetration into the Latin American market with its offering for fleet management and solutions for Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR).

ERM plans to take advantage of its network of business partnerships throughout the region. In parallel, the company is planning to strengthen its reach and to increase the penetration of its telematics and fleet management solutions, including the StarLink modular telematics product line as well as products like eSafe for driving behaviour monitoring and eFuel, which is designed to provide alerts on fuel theft.

ERM is already active in a number of Latin American countries and is expected to utilize its teams, technology and know-how to customize the company’s products to meet the specific demands of the Latin American markets. This will enable ERM to offer dedicated and customized solutions to its local partners’ needs and allow the provision of various additional options such as white labelling products with the branding of the partner incorporated into the product.

“The demand for telematics solutions in Latin America stems from the need for vehicle security and tracking systems, which provide immediate support in emergency cases - such as panic buttons for vehicle hijacks, tracking for recovery of stolen vehicles and voice options for further assistance,” says Eitan Kirshenboim, CMO at ERM Telematics. “Many of the fleets in the region use basic fleet management tools, which limit their ability to monitor and improve the fleet performance in order to reduce costs."

"ERM is introducing to the Latin American market a line of unique solutions, that are backed up by patents and are flexible in design and customization abilities..."

Kirshenboim continued: "We believe that ERM’s advanced solutions and business strategy can help these fleets to improve their fleet performance, lower their operational costs and maximize their ROI.” He adds that ERM is introducing to the Latin American market a line of unique solutions, that are backed up by patents and are flexible in design and customization abilities, to support a wide range of scenarios and a variety of needs.

Kirshenboim notes that the company welcomes cooperation with leading players in the automotive and fleet management sector in Latin America. ERM’s business model is based on its customers being long-term partners, with whom the company is in close and ongoing relations, enabling them to define their demands and for ERM to supply a customized technological and service solution, backed up by a Spanish website, salespeople and customer support.

ERM offers different solutions for fleet management and Stolen Vehicle Recovery operations. The solutions vary from basic implementation to more comprehensive solutions, in order to better control and manage the fleets and to assist in the retrieving of vehicles and to enable each of ERM's partners to adopt a solution that is best suited for them.

ERM’s SVR basic implementation consists of vehicle location tracking and added accessories such as immobilization system, which requires drivers to identify themselves by using a code or other identification methods. Additional accessories include an alarm system, break in sensors, tow detection, remote door and windows control. Some of the more sophisticated technological solutions include CANbus integration for advanced diagnostics of the vehicles' mechanical and computerized environment. The diagnostics helps evaluate in real time the use made of the vehicle and helps to remotely identify in advance events which might affect the vehicle’s performance.

"The add-on features are based on the wide range of ERM sensors and hardware applications, as well as applications from third-party vendors..."

Some of the more comprehensive solutions offered by ERM include tracking devices equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, and a variety of add-ons to enable safety and fuel monitoring, voice capabilities and other alerts. The add-on features are based on the wide range of ERM sensors and hardware applications, as well as applications from third-party vendors.

Some other possible solutions for assisting ERM’s partners in SVR operations include a patented solution for jamming mitigation that enables the tracking of jammed vehicles by transmitting a distress message that is being picked-up by nearby vehicles. Another patented solution is designed to locate leased vehicles whose owner stopped its payments – “Parking Habits”.

The need for SVR solutions in Latin America is backed up by a market study by Berg Insights, which found the level of car theft in Brazil is four times that of the U.S. and that the situation in other Latin American markets like Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela is about the same.

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The rapid proliferation of service-based models, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and asset management, is attracting new market participants to the analytical instrumentation space. In just a few years, analytical SaaS instrumentation and cloud-based alternatives to legacy solutions will dominate the industrial sector due to the shift in customer focus from instrumentation features to the ways in which the technology can help enhance business outcomes.

"As the data collected from instruments can potentially deliver more value than the hardware, there is high demand for analytical instruments that mine data and convert it into actionable insights,” said Mariano Kimbara, Senior Industry Analyst, Industrial Group at Frost & Sullivan.

"Consequently, service providers are delivering software solutions that help digitize lab operations by intelligently connecting people, processes, data, and instruments. These solutions will allow users to target services more strategically, better utilize assets, reduce downtime, and plan program schedules."

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Advanced Services in the Analytical Instrumentation Market, Forecast to 2022, identifies new areas of advanced services, including asset management services, radio frequency identification (RFID) inventory control services, laboratory intelligence services, consulting services, and compliance services. It also offers a deep dive into new data-driven business models.

For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/2ze

"In the current connected era of continual business transformation, there is an intense need to consolidate all work order management activity into a unified, automated data platform to optimize costs," noted Kimbara. "System vendors are, therefore, offering new, unified platforms that remove organizational silos and ensure connections among cross-functional divisions, linking sales, procurement, finance, logistics, suppliers, and scientists."

In addition to developing integrated service capabilities, market vendors could explore the growth opportunities present in:

• Delivering an OPEX model. Create an asset management service that increases visibility into the condition of existing assets.
• Shifting from a reactive business model to a proactive business model. A central data platform with automated allocation of instruments and inventory based on project demand and timelines can help anticipate events and lower costs.
• Tapping opportunities to cross-sell. The growth of asset management services could lead to revenue opportunities from rental services.
• Delivering offline and online measurement services. They can expand service lines through partnerships with software analytics providers.
• Making available expert, multi-vendor instruments service support for instruments in the entire laboratory.

Advanced Services in the Analytical Instrumentation Market, Forecast to 2022 is part of Frost & Sullivan’s global Test & Measurement Growth Partnership Service program.

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In the third from our series of articles looking at the key speakers at this year's Aftermarket business conference, Copperberg's Mark McCord reflects on an exciting presentation given by Mika Karaila, Valmet on the potential of Augmented Reality in field service delivery...

The schedule for Aftermarket 2019 is already being put together and it promises to be a key date in the calendar once again. This is an event that almost always sells out so head over to aftermarketeurope.com now and secure your place at this important industry event...

Maintenance technicians are busy feeling their way around a new power station in northern Finland – even though the plant hasn’t been built yet.

They’re part of a team that’s breaking new ground with augmented reality (AR) technology, working within a virtual model of the facility, even “walking” its rooms and machinery two years before it’s completed.

In this digital environment the technicians are familiarising themselves with the Oulu Energy Co power station’s layout and using the platform to make alterations to its design before construction begins next year.

"It means there are no delays and there is no downtime when the plant eventually opens, the engineers will know every centimetre of it when it’s open..."

 

“It means there are no delays and there is no downtime when the plant eventually opens, the engineers will know every centimetre of it when it’s open,” explained Mika Karaila, research director at Valmet, the Finnish services and automation firm that’s developing the power station and which created the software for them. “They are designing everything there.”

Karaila is a leading expert in the application of AR, and its cousins virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) to maintenance and support services, a subject he elaborated on in detail at Aftermarket 2018. He foresees a future in which crucial training and maintenance will be carried out remotely and virtually.

“The technology is there already and we are using it,” he said.

For more than 30 years, Karaila has been developing and putting into operation distributed control systems and integrated controls systems, and has more recently turned to artificial intelligence and visual technologies.

In his presentation, Karaila donned a pair of high-tech digital glasses and headset to demonstrate how the Valmet software can add virtual elements to a real-life environment. Via a giant video screen linked to Karaila’s headset, assembled delegates watched a huge paper processing machine materialise in the room. As Karaila walked around, his view of the digitally visualised machine adjusted accordingly.

Still, in its infancy, the technology is being driven mostly by the gaming industry, where players demand increasingly immersive and life-like experiences. But Karaila says AR, MR and VR’s application in industry will grow in sophistication as it becomes more widely adopted.

Its potential for field services and aftermarket services are enormous, he said.

“Facilities that are located many miles away can be monitored remotely,” he explained. “That, we can do now, but in the not too distant future it could be used so that an engineer can be at a facility as a telepresence, guiding the actions of a technician at the facility in repairs and maintenance.”

"Eventually, of course, we will be able to use this software in conjunction with robots to perform repair and maintenance tasks remotely..."

 

Lasse Laanikari, head of area customer service management at Liebherr, said the technology would be suitable for his company.

“I see training benefits in this,” Laanikari said. “We have earth movers 3,000 kilometres from our base, which we may see once a year and when we send a technician they may never have seen it before. They may travel there and realise they do not have what they need for the job. So you stay there, wait for someone to ship it over and start again. This could offer expert help in the field when they operators don’t know what to do.”

The Valmet technology enables collaboration between multiple engineers in the same virtual space. In a demonstration, Karaila showed how other team members are represented as simple plain head-and-shoulders avatars. But he said soon the software will be able to project images of those individuals’ faces onto their digital forms.

“Eventually, of course, we will be able to use this software in conjunction with robots to perform repair and maintenance tasks remotely,” Karaila said. “The possibilities are endless.”

Interview Conducted by Mark McCord at Aftermarket Business Platform 2018

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Ericsson has been selected by Swisscom, the largest telecommunications service provider in Switzerland, to enhance the consumer experience for its subscribers through deployment and integration of the Ericsson Expert Analytics solution into its existing big data ecosystem.

Ericsson’s solution will deliver data analysis and actionable insights for the service provider’s 5.3 million 4G mobile broadband subscribers using video and other OTT applications on the nationwide mobile network.

Daniel Staub, Swisscom, says: “Delivering a superior experience to our customers is at the very centre of Swisscom’s strategy, and Ericsson Expert Analytics will help us to pursue this vision even further by providing us with end-to-end visibility of our services across our 4G mobile broadband network. With this solution, we will now be able to monitor and proactively optimize our service level performance, as well as take action on any issues we see."

Arun Bansal, President and Head of Ericsson Europe and Latin America, says: “Satisfied customers are loyal customers. Not only will Ericsson Expert Analytics enhance the customer experience and improve network quality for Swisscom, but it also paves the way for smoother entry to 5G, IoT and cloud services with the solution’s advanced capabilities. We will continue to provide Swisscom with the most advanced network technologies and support as they move rapidly toward commercial availability of the next generation of connectivity.”

Swisscom is a pioneer for 5G services with Ericsson as its strategic partner. The two companies have already achieved a number of significant milestones in making 5G a commercial reality, highlighted recently by Europe’s first end-to-end, multivendor 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) data call on 3.5 GHz band. Swisscom was also the first announced customer for Ericsson’s strengthened end-to-end mobile transport solutions.

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