AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Field Service News

IX Reach, a leading global provider of carrier services and connectivity solutions, and eStruxture Data Centers, a prominent pan-Canadian provider of network and cloud-neutral data centre solutions are further strengthening their partnership and commitment to providing first-class connectivity, cloud and zero-downtime hosting solutions to major blue-chip networks.

This enhanced partnership with IX Reach complements eStruxture’s strategy to give customers more choice, by offering all the benefits of remote peering to the most popular Internet Exchanges in North America and Europe. Customers can access all major IXPs via a single port and enjoy transit that’s optimised for cost and network routes.

The partnership also demonstrates IX Reach’s dedication to supporting the growth of eStruxture as its market share in advanced network and interconnection services continues to expand in both the Canadian and global business marketplace.

 

"Continuing to set IX Reach apart from other network solution providers is its strong partnerships with major Cloud Service Providers..."

 

Continuing to set IX Reach apart from other network solution providers is its strong partnerships with major Cloud Service Providers: Amazon AWS, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure. The IX Reach platform enhances eStruxture’s Cloud Connect service, a network and cloud-neutral exchange that allows customers to connect securely, easily and directly from the company’s state-of-the-art data centres to an extensive ecosystem of major cloud service providers, network and application providers, bypassing the Internet and taking advantage of a faster and more reliable option for their cloud strategies.

“Our partnership with IX Reach is hugely valuable to us and augments our ever-growing ecosystem of carriers and cloud services. Our customers are able to avoid open networks by connecting directly to hyper-scale cloud providers and benefit from increased speed and security and lower latency,” says Todd Coleman, CEO of eStruxture. “The leading elastic interconnect platform provided by IX Reach enables customers to securely access major peering points and a rich portfolio of products and services such as hyper-scale cloud providers, SaaS providers and partners, via a single connection.”

“We are thrilled to continue working closely with eStruxture Data Centers,” commented Simon Vye, CEO of IX Reach. “IX Reach and eStruxture started their partnership in 2015; since then, both businesses have grown and evolved to provide their customers with world class services and support. We’re looking forward to building on the success of our partnership in the future. “

From eStruxture’s facility in Montreal, IX Reach is well-equipped to support any network with its national and global expansion, regardless of size.

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Our series of excerpts from the exceptional industry guide 'Mobile Resource Management for Dummies', which has been commissioned by Verizon Connect has so far explored Understanding Digital Transformation in a Connected, Mobile World and also Thinking Outside the Silo and Harnessing the Power of Telematics.

Now in this latest excerpt, we turn our attention to how field service organisations can realise the value of mobile resource management...

Is Mobile Resource Management a key Topic for you?! Dive straight into the full eBook by hitting the button below!   

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If you need to catch up on the previous articles in this series you can find part one here and part two here...

The full chapter this excerpt is taken from explores four key areas how field service companies can ensure they are realising the value of mobile resource management which are:

• Driving Productivity and Efficiency
• Reducing Costs
• Improving Safety
• Increasing Customer Satisfaction

Here we will look at the first of these in greater depth.

 

Driving Productivity and Efficiency:

Productivity, a word loved by managers, is conversely often a word that has frightened many an employee. To them, it just sounds like more work and an opportunity for supervisors to be looking over their shoulders.

But increasing productivity isn’t about being a drill sergeant. Rather, it’s about empowering your team, boosting efficiency and helping – not telling – your employees how to better spend their time.

The fact is that an employee who goes home at the end of the day feeling like they’ve been productive and accomplished a lot is happier and more fulfilled than the not-so-productive employee who’s always looking to pass off work in favour of knocking off early.

In addition to improving worker productivity, there are some other positive and far-reaching benefits to using the right tools with your mobile workforce.

These include:

• Less time spent on non-profitable administrative tasks such as data entry, tracking compliance and paperwork
• Faster processing of compliance requirements such as vehicle inspections.
• Less time spent on paper-based compliance logs for technicians and drivers.
• Quicker and more accurate generation of near real-time service reports.
• Improved customer service and capturing of client data for more effective management of support tickets, sales calls and marketing campaigns.
• Lower hardware costs and easier deployment using the mobile devices your team’s already carrying.

Several opportunities for driving productivity and efficiency in a modern mobile workforce include:

• Streamline work order management.
• Make paper forms disappear.
• Automate regulatory compliance.
• Perform required pre- and post-trip vehicle inspections.

 

Streamline work order management

Keeping teams in the field at their most productive is easy with prioritised mobile job management. Scheduled jobs are provided directly to the worker’s device at the start of their shift.

You can prioritise jobs based on:

• Location
• Proximity to the technician
• Service-level agreements (SLAs), such as time window restrictions on when the job can be done
• Manual overrides

Jobs can be signed on the device by customers and automatically marked as completed on departure and transmitted back to base in near real time. Or, conversely, any issues can be immediately reported back to the office for timely review and resolution.

This means less non-productive time for teams outside the office, fewer miles, more productive time on the clock and better customer service. Mobile job management keeps both workers and customers happy.

 

Make paper forms disappear

Getting your teams to keep their paperwork up-to-date is never easy, but it’s crucial to your service operation. Automation of forms on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet, can be a huge time saver for your business.

Paperless forms help you to:

• Log the right information on the right form at the right time
• Keep job history accurate
• Update customer records or government compliance
• Automate the process so that correct invoices are raised automatically (adding to the bottom line)
• Ensure that internal reports and dashboards are current

To improve the accuracy and timing of required paperwork, mobile automated forms are a crucial tool for today’s mobile worker. The impact of reducing the paperwork burden on your drivers and field workers can also improve employee retention.

Electronic forms also save time and reduce errors for your back-office staff who no longer need to decode handwriting from paper forms and manually enter it into the system. All the job information gets saved directly into the database from the driver or field worker’s connected device.

 

Automate regulatory compliance

For any company with a fleet of vehicles, government regulations are a cost of doing business. If you don’t have the right tools in place to comply with these regulations, your company can quickly find itself in hot water.

Automating your compliance processes can help to:

• Reduce workload
• Lessen audit risk
• Ensure that compliance is being met – correctly.
• Minimise fines and violations.

 

The best way to consistently remain compliant is by using a mobile workforce management solution. Not only does it take the guesswork out of deciphering rules and regulations, but it also speeds up roadside inspections due to the device being used for evidence of driver activity without the need to wade through paper logs.

The solution stores your drivers’ activities by recording on-duty, off-duty, sleeping, and driving events, and displays available duty hours.

This helps to streamline operations and eliminate paperwork. With a mobile workforce management solution, each driver is given a Driver ID, which is critical for not only reporting but also serving as a mobile time card.

 

Perform required pre- and post-trip vehicle inspections

Does your company require mobile workers to perform driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs)? Are you looking for ways to automate these reports and make sure that drivers complete them accurately?

DVIRs are commonly overlooked or completed without physically inspecting the vehicle, increasing the chance of fines for non- compliance, breakdowns or even accidents due to missed maintenance and malfunctioning safety features.

With a mobile DVIR solution, you can get immediate confirmation that the report has been completed and the driver did a physical walk-around inspection.

Using their handheld device, drivers scan a two-dimensional Quick Response (QR) code affixed to specific vehicle inspection points. This instantly verifies that the individual checkpoints on the DVIR have been completed. You can also add photos to the report when any damage or maintenance issue is identified.

  

Want to know more? The full eBook is available as premium content to fieldservicenews.com subscribers. Access it now on the button below... 

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Infinis, who generate power from sites across the country, have launched StaySafe as a safety solution to enhance the protection and safety of its staff when working on unmanned sites and out of hours.

StaySafe is an app and cloud-based hub which monitors a lone worker’s safety and location on a real-time map and alerts Infinis’ Logistics Centre front desk operators if they do not check-in within a specified time.

Infinis required a more streamlined and secure solution to help enhance the safety of employees whilst working alone on remote sites.

In light of this, Infinis replaced their previous lone worker system which relied on workers to update their location every hour via text, with the StaySafe app which provides clear and consistent GPS reporting to determine a user’s last known location and their safety status. The switch to this mobile app offers a rich range of bespoke features, relies less on the user and provides a safer solution.

Infinis’ HSQE Manager, Mark Skidmore comments: “Over the last 12 months, we have rolled out smartphones within the company and launched StaySafe as a practical and improved safety solution. We understand the risk to our workers who may be vulnerable when working on sites alone and are able to mitigate risk through the app’s hourly timed check-in sessions.

Additionally, we find the app’s note function really useful, allowing staff to provide us with extra detail about their location in order to narrow down our search if they are based on larger sites and in need of support. Overall, we are very satisfied with StaySafe and confident it meets the company’s standards and expectations, to enhance protection of our lone workers.”

Don Cameron, CEO, StaySafe adds “Employees in Energy and Utility based sectors can be vulnerable as they are frequently required to work and travel to sites alone, often outside of normal working hours. We’re seeing a big trend in the sector of companies moving away from user-driven/company manufactured systems and dedicated safety devices towards apps because of the prevalent use of smartphones in the workplace. StaySafe provides a way for organisations to know exactly where staff are and if they are safe – with the added bonus of using equipment staff already carry”

 

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WorkWave, a provider of cloud-based software solutions for the field service and last mile delivery industries, today announced that Network Products Guide, one of the industry's leading technology research and advisory guides, has named WorkWave as a winner in this year's 2018 IT World Awards.

WorkWave Service™ was recognized as a gold winner for Field Service Management, and WorkWave Route Manager™ was recognized as a gold winner for IT Products and Services for Transportation.

WorkWave Service enables field service companies to grow their businesses, be more productive and deliver exceptional service to customers in a scalable and robust, yet easy-to-use way. In addition to helping customers manage their business, it enables businesses to grow by allowing them to easily capture and track leads, and manage and view all sales opportunities.

WorkWave Service enables field service companies to grow their businesses, be more productive and deliver exceptional service to customers in a scalable and robust, yet easy-to-use wayWorkWave Route Manager is WorkWave's all-in-one route planning and GPS tracking solution that is addressing the daily challenges of logistics professionals. It has been proven to drive over 30 per cent operational efficiency and ROI through its smart route technology, and its powerful, proprietary algorithm combined with ease of use makes saving time and money achievable right from day one. Users can also expect to serve 20 per cent more orders, and reduce fuel by 10-15 per cent.

"It is an honour to have both WorkWave Service and WorkWave Route Manager recognized in this year's IT World Awards," said Mike Profit, Chief Product and Service Officer at WorkWave. "Our teams work hard to develop our products to ensure we are enabling our customers to deliver exceptional service to their own customers, while running their businesses from front to back, seamlessly."

The annual IT World Awards recognition program encompasses the world's best in organizational performance, products and services, hot technologies, executives and management teams, successful deployments, product management and engineering, customer satisfaction, and public relations in every area of information technology. More than 80 judges from a broad spectrum of industry voices from around the world participated and their average scores determined the 2018 award winners.

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Sokkia introduces the new T-18 handheld controller designed to offer a durable ergonomic solution with faster processing, a larger screen, better connectivity and longer battery life than previously available comparable systems.

The controller includes a 3.7-inch sunlight-readable display with a 1GHz processor, 1GB of internal storage, internal GPS, and up to 10 hours of battery life.

“The T-18 controller is extremely versatile and perfect for driving geo-positioning, construction, mapping and vertical construction applications,” said Ray Kerwin, director of global surveying products, Sokkia. 

The field controller features a 3.5G cellular modem that allows users to access the internet for RTK (real-time kinematic) correction services.

“Additionally, the internal GPS option provides a navigational functionality that is capable of accuracies in the three-meter range. With a 72 channel, all-in-view tracking receiver, it can be used for navigation or general positioning,” said Kerwin.

Other key features include standard Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as an IP65 rating for dust and water protection. Visit Sokkia.com for more information.

 

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Approximately one in three companies (32 per cent) believe the business use of artificial intelligence will be commonplace within the next decade, new research from TomTom Telematics has revealed.

The study found that 22 per cent believe virtual reality will be in common usage, while around one in five anticipates the prevalence of in-vehicle working due to the development of autonomous vehicles.

However, almost a third (32 per cent) fear they may struggle to keep pace with the rate of technological change. Furthermore, one in two (49 per cent) believe those that fail to embrace digitalised processes and the Internet of Things are at greater risk of going out of business.

“Complacency can sound the death knell for businesses,” said Beverley Wise, director UK & Ireland at TomTom Telematics.

“Companies should be mindful of the pace of change and keep a close eye on the solutions and processes that will help ensure a competitive future – from smart mobility and connected tech to advanced manufacturing and design systems. Many of today’s new emerging technologies will disrupt and revolutionise commerce, and in the process become the standard for tomorrow.”

Almost half of companies (46 per cent) believe remote working has or will become, the norm within the next 10 years. Remote working is currently proving more prevalent among larger companies (58 per cent) than their SMEs counterparts (37 per cent).

“The onus is on businesses, both large and small, to adapt to this new era of hypermobility and connected working that is being ushered in by advancements in areas ranging from telematics and the connected car to iPaaS and blockchain solutions,” added Wise.

“Such connected technologies and unified communication systems are unshackling workers from traditional working patterns - an empowering development that is set to significantly impact productivity and business efficiency.”

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