As we head full steam into 2015 predictions of industry trends that will shape the field service industries come thick and fast. Here we look at what our regular columnist's John Cameron of Trimble Field Service Management's will be important in the...
AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Kris Oldland
About the Author:
Kris Oldland has been working in Business to Business Publishing for almost a decade. As a journalist he has covered a diverse range of industries from Fire Juggling through to Terrorism Insurance. Prior to this he was a Quality Services Manager with a globally recognised hospitality brand. An intimate understanding of what is important when it comes to Service and a passion for emerging technology means that in Field Service he has found an industry that excites him everyday.
Jan 14, 2015 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • Mobility • Internet of Things • Security • Trimble
As we head full steam into 2015 predictions of industry trends that will shape the field service industries come thick and fast. Here we look at what our regular columnist's John Cameron of Trimble Field Service Management's will be important in the following twelve months...
With so many advanced tools now available to fine-tune operations, field service organisations have reached an unprecedented transformative stage. By leveraging technology trends such as the Internet of Things, advanced analytics and smartphone and tablet integration, leading field service businesses are reinventing themselves as predictive, rather than reactive, operations. This may mean better-equipping technicians with intelligent apps that deliver real-time data and deploy analytics capabilities to make strategic decisions, or enhancing security and IT infrastructure.
Here are eight trends that may impact how you make those changes:
1. Robust and Flexible Platforms
Companies are looking to solution providers to deliver platforms globally as the foundation for innovation. Providers have to be ready to add, extend and integrate technologies as needed, giving them the agility to adapt and innovate. These platforms need to be cloud-based and flexible, allowing them to configure and manipulate modules and functionality as they see fit. Customers want a single provider to deliver all the functionality and modularity they require. They want to focus on empowering field workers and driving service excellence. To achieve that, they need robust, flexible platforms backed by a reliable provider.
2. Increased Focus on Security
The increase in cybercrime, such as the recent breach against Sony Pictures, is a critical reminder of how important it is to secure company data. As more organisations add everything from switches to entire power grids to the Internet of Things, we’ll see a greater demand for
As more organisations add everything from switches to entire power grids to the Internet of Things, we’ll see a greater demand for advanced security applications and a corresponding increase in financial commitment to protect against future attacks
3. Embedded Analytics
The ability to analyse and act on the vast amount of data collected from the field continues to trend in the evolution of field services technology. Deploying workforce management solutions with sophisticated analytics tools will enable managers to improve operations with real-time visibility into their operations. Data gathered from smarter mobile apps and equipment sensors will provide insights on performance, tasks, service quality, and new products that will enable field service managers to not only keep up with the competition but to step ahead.
4. Greater Integration
As telematics and workforce management solutions become more integrated with mobile devices, the opportunities to increase efficiency and productivity are growing exponentially. Field service managers can make real-time decisions remotely by accessing vehicle tracking, scheduling and routing on their mobile devices, allowing them to mitigate reckless driving incidents, control vehicle wear and tear and
Mobile apps will continue to provide critical information such as daily tasks, customer histories, billing, and the locations of nearby teammates on demand for field service technicians.
5. The Internet of Everything
By 2020, Gartner, Inc. predicts 26-billion devices other than smartphones, tablets and computers to be connected via the Internet of Things. For field service organisations, connecting equipment with technicians’ mobile devices and the back office in real time is a necessity. Information captured in the field provides diagnostics and performance metrics that mitigate certain issues as well as tracks patterns and trends for long-range planning. The goal is to ensure an intelligent and preventive—not reactive—approach.
6. Enhanced Network Reliability
The daily accumulation of data from internal files, mobile solutions, cloud-based apps and email can strain networks and storage systems. As organisations invest in mobile and management solutions to optimise operations, they no longer can ignore the underlying infrastructure. Hybrid clouds, virtualised servers and scalable, high-capacity storage give e networks the agility they need to stay flexible, efficient and productive. Neglecting these areas can impact performance, impede productivity and escalate IT costs.
7. An Evolving Workforce
As the field service industry evolves a major trend has been the emergence of young, tech-savvy and collaborative workers. According to Aberdeen Group, approximately one-fifth of the current workforce is under 30. This new pool of workers has grown up fully connected and will enable service
According to Aberdeen Group, approximately one-fifth of the current workforce is under 30
8) Mobility as a Game-changer
Mobility will continue as a key enabler in addressing the competitive issues faced by field service organisations today. The right mobile architecture can solve many of the tactical challenges of these organisations: latent customer needs, increased competition, unmitigated churn and worker productivity. However, simply investing in mobile technology does not ensure improvement in key performance. To be successful with any deployment, organisations must choose the best field service solution and adopt the implementation best suited for their operation.
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Jan 12, 2015 • Features • Building Services • Case Studies • case study • Software and Apps • Asolvi
More than eight years ago, Artic Building Services decided to incorporate Tesseract’s service management software into their core services and company operations. It’s a partnership that’s gone from strength to strength ever since.
More than eight years ago, Artic Building Services decided to incorporate Tesseract’s service management software into their core services and company operations. It’s a partnership that’s gone from strength to strength ever since.
Founded in 1998, Artic Building Services specialise in providing engineering solutions for building services within the public and private sectors. They provide heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing and security systems, major refurbishment works and even gardening services. Their broad base of customers ranges from large, multiple site hospitals and universities with residential engineers to small, single sites serviced by mobile teams.
Artic utilise the expertise of a vast workforce, including more than 50 field engineers, engineering managers, help desk operatives, accountants and secretaries. While they pride themselves in their diverse human skill set, what makes the whole operation run smoothly and efficiently is their computerised service management system – courtesy of Tesseract Service Centre.
Looking back - the old system!
Artic are responsible for looking after a full range of mechanical and electrical assets in the buildings of more than two hundred clients nationally. They deal with problems and breakdowns in air conditioning units, boilers, chillers and electrical, water and sanitation systems, and perform regular maintenance.
Eight years ago, before Tesseract came on board, Artic arranged and organised the attendance of their engineers manually.
“We wanted to be more efficient and develop with the ISO 9001 standards,” says Donna Peacock, Operations Manager of Artic Building Services. “We were seeking new clients, and certain companies wanted to know why we were better. They wanted to see it. Tesseract gave us the edge we needed to rise above our competitors.”
The Tesseract integration – the early days!
Clients would notify Artic of problems by phoning or emailing their office. Artic would then look at paper maps and telephone their engineers, deploying them on the basis of who was closest and their skill level.
Artic would log on to Tesseract’s browser-based web portal and record the call out. Numbers and timings generated by Tesseract Service Centre would allow Artic to track and monitor the status of the job. But manual operations and copious paperwork were still big features of the way Artic managed their functions.
We needed to completely streamline our processes for the benefit of both our clients and our engineers.
“At that stage, Tesseract helped us track what was going on with a job and created purchase orders,” says Donna Peacock. “We required more from the database. We needed to completely streamline our processes for the benefit of both our clients and our engineers. Tesseract have accommodated that need. Over the years they have moulded their services to fit our requirements.”
Next Steps - Remote Engineer Access!
A revolutionary overhaul of Artic’s field processes came with the introduction of Tesseract’s Remote Engineer Access. Artic phased out the use of Field Service Report Pads and rolled out Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to their engineers instead. PDAs allow the engineers to log in remotely, view calls for dispatch, enter their service reports, raise parts requests and close completed jobs, amongst other functions. Engineers can also access Artic’s task list, namely the serialised products they are required to maintain.
This is where Artic encountered their first hurdle with the initial PDA models that were supplied.
“Our engineers do have problems with signal whilst working on their allocated jobs,” says Peacock. “This means they had trouble getting online to record the data they needed to on the old devices. We needed them to be able to work offline.”
So Tesseract developed a system that allowed Artic’s engineers to work offline, and a new, more advanced line of devices was rolled out. Now their engineers can work in completely signal-less areas and still log all their information, which is then recorded onto the system as soon as signal is restored.
“Some of our engineers loved the PDAs,” says Peacock. “Some took a bit longer to adjust. But now 98% of our engineers use the devices, and they’ve been really successful. Engineers can now have a job completed, invoiced and closed down in the same day, when before, using the paper system, it used to take a week. Sometimes a week and a half. The PDAs have made life at Artic so much easier and more efficient, which in turn means we’re able to better serve our clients.”
In addition, the ability to attach core Artic health, safety and industry compliance paperwork to a given job has reduced bureaucracy within the helpdesk. The process has given clients compliant, fluid and real-time data capture for their sites.
Other Benefits!
Clients can log onto the Tesseract system and enter the fault – be it a broken tap, a malfunctioning air conditioning unit or a toilet that won’t flush
Further integration of Tesseract’s service management software now allows Artic to use satellite navigation to deploy their engineers. It means they are able to identify any traffic issues and warn their engineers accordingly, which was impossible when they relied on paper maps.
Artic also use Tesseract’s Customer Asset Management tools and Parts Centre to monitor and maintain their client’s assets and generate purchase orders for parts. They use Tesseract’s Quote Centre to log quotes for potential new clients, enter client data and convert accepted quotes into new contracts, which are also managed through Tesseract.
Finally, Artic have developed a number of different reports within Tesseract. These help them with auditing and reporting to the Board on key commercial orders such as invoicing, sales, quoted further works, budgets, outstanding calls, profit and loss, outstanding calls and new sales prospects.
Ongoing Development!
As Artic are a service company, their driving force – and the key to their success – is to keep improving the way they operate. Currently they are looking into several features they would like to incorporate into their operations. These include automated email reports to clients when jobs are complete, and to managers so they know which jobs are outstanding.
They are also looking to make some tweaks to their task or asset list, and introduce a system for tracking and monitoring their fleet of vehicles.
“At present we are maintaining our vehicles by looking at a spreadsheet,” says Peacock. “We’d like to streamline this. We’d like to make sure all our vehicles are serviced, safe and up to spec through a live system instead. It’s one of the many things we’re looking into to make our processes even better than they are.”
A System That Works!
Over the past eight years, Artic have come to rely quite heavily on Tesseract, and their processes, output and customer service have continued to develop and improve as a result.
“The Tesseract system is not the only computerised service management system we have in place,” says Peacock. “But it is the hub of all our systems. We call it the ‘Alpha’.”
Tesseract’s service management software has now been a part of Artic for so long that Tesseract refer their new clients to Artic so they can see the entire system at work. Peacock says, “We will happily give them a demonstration. Show them why Tesseract are such an invaluable aid to any service company’s operations.”
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Jan 12, 2015 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • End to end field service • solarvista
End to end field service was one of the biggest buzz phrases heard across the past year. At trade shows, in the industry press and not least from a considerable number of field service technology providers themselves we kept hearing that...
End to end field service was one of the biggest buzz phrases heard across the past year. At trade shows, in the industry press and not least from a considerable number of field service technology providers themselves we kept hearing that ‘end-to-end’ was a core consideration that field service organisations should be factoring on when exploring how they can modernise their current service management systems.
However, there was and still remains a number of inconsistencies around exactly what is end-to-end field service management. Is it a case of having all existing systems under one platform? Or perhaps just the need to have each of our various components within the field service chain talking to each other? Is it a software or hardware solution – or is it both?
As with any emerging concept it will take time to substantiate into clearly defined parameters (if ever). However, one thing is certain, taking in a comprehensive overview of each step in the lifecycle of a service call within your organisation is certainly an advisable route to take before even contemplating moving to a next generation solution be it hardware, software or both.
Whilst the service journey may differ from organisation to organisation, as in reality, no two companies are identical, yet there are key points within the service cycle that will likely exist within most organisations.
In this new series we will look across some of these points and explore some of the technology solutions that could help both you and your company in achieving higher first time fix rates and better field service productivity.
There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here
Incoming – taking the service request
Of course in most instances the first part of the service call lifecycle starts with the initial call for a service request itself. However, in today’s age of apps and internet is that first communication necessarily over the telephone? Well according to research undertaken by Field Service News earlier this year the telephone certainly remains the dominant means of communication between service companies and their clients with over 80% of companies operating a call centre.
If your call centre performs under par for any given reason it can reflect incredibly poorly on your brand as a whole.
Be honest… how many times have you been sat at the end of the phone listening to muzak and being told your call is important for the umpteenth time and you’ve thought less than positive thoughts about the provider your trying to reach.
And if your trying to reach someone, just so you can the product you paid good money for back up and running as it is impacting on your ability to do business… well you can crank that frustration all the way up to 11.
Of course, in many cases especially in a business to business environment, Service Level Agreement’s can include quicker call response times etc, but the fact remains that phoning a call centre can potentially be both time consuming and frustrating. In today’s technologically rich environment a call centre should be one option you offer your customers not the only option.
So how else could we accept and log a service call?
Well a case could be made for email. Indeed the same research as above identified email as the second most common means of service companies accepting service request with 63% of companies also offering an email option. On the plus side, like the phone it is something that we all know and are familiar with. However, there are also a number of potential pitfalls that could cause problems with email.
With email communication it can be hard to get a clear grasp of the exact issue your customer is facing – they may not know the correct terminology for example
Not particularly helpful if you want to offer consistency in your response times, yet ensuring a service request email account is monitored could be both complex to manage and poor use of available resources. Also with email communication it can be hard to get a clear grasp of the exact issue your customer is facing – they may not know the correct terminology for example.
Going through a series of preliminary questions during a phone conversation may take just a few minutes and can greatly help in identifying the issue, resulting in better diagnosis and higher likelihood of a first time fix.
Over email this could easily become a laborious, long winded process over a number of emails that could span days rather than minutes. Again not good if your product is business critical to your customer.
Why hasn’t web taken firmer foothold?
Given the potential limitations of both phone and email it is surprising that so few companies have explored alternatives such as self-help portals, web-chat and mobile apps, yet only 29% of companies had the functionality of booking appointments online, and only 5% had this functionality via an app.
One obvious issue around giving your customers the power to schedule appointments is of course once again the lack of opportunity to understand the issue which would likely result in a higher proportion of service visits being ‘diagnosis’ rather than fix. One solution around this is to build in some form of diagnosis ahead of the form submission.
This could take a number of formats. One that telecoms provider Sky use well for example is to guide the customer through a series of questions that either lead to the customer achieving a fix themselves or a diagnosis of the problem that is a lot more fine tuned. The process for example could be as follows. Your customer logs in to request call.
The web portal asks the customer a series of questions the answers to each prompt a suggested fix, if this is unsuccessful further questions, further refining the diagnosis and so on. Of course you don’t want the process to be too drawn out but the customer could quite easily try two or three common fixes before being granted access to a service request form. The information gleaned from the form could then be easily included within the pre-dispatch data.
We found that web chat is considered to be an equivalent and often superior method of working compared to calls…. our research identifies a double bonus: both advisors and customers like using it and it leads to cost savings for contact centre operators - Nicola Millard
Therefore your dispatch knows to send an engineer who is capable of dealing with and has the right tools to fix D or E. Another means of getting this insight is web-chat systems.
Web chat basically combines the benefits of phone in that it is possible to question the customer in real time to improve the diagnosis, yet is cheaper to operate and can offer a more convenient means of contact for the customer.
UK Blue Chip British Telecoms are one company that have heavily explored the potential of web-chat portals. Nicola Millard, Customer Experience Futurologist at BT Global Services commented:
“We found that web chat is considered to be an equivalent and often superior method of working compared to calls…. our research identifies a double bonus: both advisors and customers like using it and it leads to cost savings for contact centre operators. For these reasons, we expect web chat to continue to grow as a channel.”
With smart phones now pretty much ubiquitous across most developed nations it is also worth considering your customers journey in reaching you also.
Studies have indicated that 50% of smart phone users prefer to use apps for contact than phone and many of the web tools mentioned (plus the option to move to a phone call if desired) can all be integrated into an app seamlessly.
Whilst each of the above may have their plusses and minuses what is important is to remember that logging a service request is the first step in an incredibly important process in terms of how your customers perceive your levels of service. Get it right and you can likely expect this customer to remain loyal, get it wrong and it is your competition that will benefit.
Therefore it is important to ensure you are providing your customer with the options that he prefers (some may prefer the phone, others online for example) but that also allows you to collect the right information to ensure you can correctly diagnose as many issues as possible to feed into the service request which will ultimately help keep your field service engineers productivity at a maximum.
There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here
This series is sponsored by:
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Jan 08, 2015 • Fleet Technology • News • fleetmatics • biomass • fleet • Uncategorized
Teesdale Renewables, a fast-growing provider of renewable energy services to homes and businesses in the North East of England, has reported an improvement in its customer service capabilities following the introduction of Fleetmatics’ mobile...
Teesdale Renewables, a fast-growing provider of renewable energy services to homes and businesses in the North East of England, has reported an improvement in its customer service capabilities following the introduction of Fleetmatics’ mobile workforce solution known as Fleetmatics REVEAL™.
The system has been installed throughout the company’s fleet of six vehicles to ensure that the location of engineers can be pinpointed in real-time via the Live Map functionality. This has assisted with efficient scheduling of customer visits and faster response times when emergency call-outs are received.
This means they get to the customer much faster than they would if we were still having to manually check the location of each engineer.
“As a company, we are dedicated to energy efficiency so it’s important we adhere to these principles in the way we operate.”
Teesdale Renewables, based in Barnard Castle, County Durham, specialises in biomass fuel installations but also offers conventional heating, plumbing and electrical services via its AG Bainbridge and CMJ Electrical divisions. The company has been using the Fleetmatics system since September, when the decision was made to invest in a fleet management solution for a number of reasons. One of these was security, with the management keen to ensure staff were not using their vehicles after designated working hours. Additionally, there was a desire to improve route optimisation and emergency response times.
“The engineers have embraced the technology very well,” said Kevin. “It is fair to expect a little resistance to this change in working practices but we were pleasantly surprised by how well it has been taken on board by the staff.”
We are expecting to grow our workforce in 2015 and the Fleetmatics system will be very helpful in managing that team efficiently and effectively
Having made an immediate impact in its first few weeks, the importance of the Fleetmatics system is likely to grow as Teesdale Renewables continues to expand.
“The demand for biomass fuel in this area has been massive,” said Kevin. “The price of fossil fuels keeps going up and people are recognising the long-term benefits of a more efficient and sustainable option. We are expecting to grow our workforce in 2015 and the Fleetmatics system will be very helpful in managing that team efficiently and effectively so that our customers receive the best possible levels of service.”
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Jan 08, 2015 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • NFC • wearables • cloud
The field service industries are often leading the way in terms of technology being used within enterprise.
The field service industries are often leading the way in terms of technology being used within enterprise.
For example the wider world of Enterprise Mobility Management is still something of an infantile stage compared to the percentage of field service companies that have embraced mobile solutions. Yet in field service the message has become clear and it is now a case of how and when companies move to an automated mobile led solution, rather than if and why.
So with this in mind Field Service News has taken a look at some of the key technological trends that we believe will impact the field service industries in the next 12 months.
In this the first of three features in this series we look at The Cloud, Wearables and NFC
1. The Cloud will finally come of age in field service management...
It has been debated for a long time and worries around security of the cloud have been continuously refreshed by the occasional high profile breaches of consumer cloud technology such as last years breach of Apple’s iCloud, which due to the celebrities involved, made headline news across the globe.
However, in the world of industry Cloud security is far more sophisticated, with companies such as Axeda and Amazon Web Services being names regularly thrown out in discussions around the Cloud as they have built a reputation for being leaders in developing robust cloud security within their product offerings.
The benefits of the Cloud are well documented and well suited to field service organisations
The benefits of the Cloud are well documented and well suited to field service organisations. Scalable, low IT costs, quick roll out, easy mobile access, and built in disaster recovery plus an affordable pricing structure for smaller and medium sized companies via the SaaS model. With almost all Field Service management software vendors now providing a cloud offering it seems just a matter of time before Cloud becomes the dominant distribution model of field service software and we think that 2015 will be the year that we really see the pendulum swing in favour of the Cloud.
2. We will start getting smart about wearables…
Given that last year was supposed to have been ‘The Year of The Wearables’ it has to be said that the appetite for wearable computing both amongst consumers and businesses alike has been rather stunted. In fact a recent report from Juniper Research predicted that sales of Smart Glasses, perhaps the most exciting of the current wearable options, are unlikely to reach more than 10 million per anum globally by 2018.
Yet are we victims of falling for the hyperbole a touch too much when it comes to our expectations of wearables, almost certainly. In too many corners wearables were being heralded as the next wave of technology that would be all conquering, much along the lines of tablets and smartphones before them.
Are we victims of falling for the hyperbole a touch too much when it comes to our expectations of wearables, almost certainly.
We all can see for example how Smart watches offer a great means for a field engineer to receive alerts and messages without having to interrupt their workflow. However, a more specific use for the field service engineer could be if he were to use the camera on his smart watch in combination with the screen of his phone to view otherwise inaccessible area - such as the back of a machine.
With Smart Glasses the opportunities in field service are even more apparent. For example a less experienced field service engineer could put a video call into a more experienced colleague. Whilst this is of course possible with most modern smart phones, when such a call is made via smart glasses the more senior engineer can see exactly what the onsite engineer is looking at, whilst of course the onsite engineer has their hands free.
As the hyperbole dies down and real-life practical uses of wearables such as the above become better developed then we will see wearables take their place within the field service engineers tool-kit.
3. NFC will finally take it’s rightful place amongst field service must haves…
Near Field Communication (NFC) has been kicking around for some time now and the term is fairly well known amongst those with just a modicum of technological understanding, yet it hasn’t yet truly emerged to meet it’s potential as yet. And that potential could be massive in terms of further automating and streamlining multiple steps across a field service technicians working day.
However, as with smartphones themselves, it may just be that now computing giant Apple has stepped into the NFC fray (albeit somewhat tentatively it must be said) that we see NFC achieving true mass market penetration.
In very basic terms NFC acts in a wi-fi lite type where an NFC tag can be written to convey a set of rules which can be actioned by an NFC enabled device (many smart phones are now NFC enabled) when the device is brought in close proximity (typically within 10cm or more).
An NFC tag within the field service engineers vehicle dashboard could be programmed to open up a routing/mapping application and log the start of a journey in a field service app simply by pressing the field engineers smart phone against the tag.
If your field service operatives visit a company regularly then you could ship out NFC tags to your clients for them to put on reception so when a field service engineer comes in he can log his arrival at your clients premises – important when providing SLA reports for example.
As well as being able to provide actionable instructions, some NFC tags can also be written to contain data as well. So one other particularly useful application of a NFC in field service could be to leave an NFC tag on the device being repaired with notes on the maintenance carried out. That way the next time that device is repaired the field service engineer can read his colleagues notes to see if there are recurring problems etc. Similarly an NFC tag on the device could also open up a web-based knowledge base for that particular model etc.
Whilst all of the above options could of course simply be actioned by manually accessing apps what NFC offers is a means to further speed up and improve a field service engineer’s workflow. Indeed, the potential for NFC is vast and what makes it a particularly attractive proposition is that it is a relatively inexpensive addition (appx 30/40p per tag) that simply takes advantage of the functionality of the existing tools being used by the the field service engineer (i.e. smart phone or tablet)
With NFC now becoming an expected feature in most smartphones and tablets field service news believes that NFC will see much wider adoption in 2015.
Look out for the second part of this feature where we will be revealing three more of the big technology trends we believe will appear in 2015…
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Jan 07, 2015 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • resources • White Papers & eBooks
Resource Type: White Paper
Resource Type: White Paper
Published by: Field Service News (sponsored by Solarvista)
Title: End to end field service: a look at the technologies available in each step of the service lifecycle
About: Written by Field Service News Editor, Kris Oldland this white paper explores the technologies available and what considerations to make when selecting the tools for your own organisation at each point within the service lifecycle. Topics include; taking the service call, preventative vs. predictive maintenance, employee management and scheduling, stock management and parts offering, contract management, field based hardware, field based software and transparent communications.
Download: Download the white paper by clicking here
Overview:
End to end field service was one of the biggest buzz phrases heard across the past year. At trade shows, in the industry press and not least from a considerable number of field service technology providers themselves we kept hearing that ‘end-to-end’ was a core consideration that field service organisations should be factoring on when exploring how they can modernise their current service management systems.
Taking in a comprehensive overview of each step in the lifecycle of a service call within your organisation is certainly an advisable route to take before even contemplating moving to a next generation solution
Is it a case of having all existing systems under one platform? Or perhaps just the need to have each of our various components within the field service chain talking to each other? Is it a software or hardware solution – or is it both? As with any emerging concept it will take time to substantiate into clearly defined parameters (if ever).
However, one thing is certain, taking in a comprehensive overview of each step in the lifecycle of a service call within your organisation is certainly an advisable route to take before even contemplating moving to a next generation solution be it hardware, software or both. Whilst the service journey may differ from organisation to organisation, as in reality, no two companies are identical, yet there are key points within the service cycle that will likely exist within most organisations.
In this white paper we will look across some of these points and explore some of the technology solutions that could help both you and your company in achieving higher first time fix rates and better field service productivity.
Topics include:
Incoming – Taking the service request - Of course in most instances the first part of the service call lifecycle starts with the initial call for a service request itself. However, in today’s age of apps and Internet is that first communication necessarily over the telephone?
Preventative and Predictive Maintenance - Another point to explore in the first steps of the service lifecycle is the benefit of predictive and preventative maintenance, both of which can dramatically reduce the need for customers to put in service requests in the first place.
Getting the right engineer to the right place with the right tools at the right time - Whether it be via machine to machine sensors and predictive maintenance, call centre agent notes or customer provided information via a self-help portal the one key focus of all of the options discussed above should be to collect enough information to allow the effective dispatch of a field service engineer (or engineers depending on the task) with the correct qualifications to the job whilst simultaneously ordering any required parts so the engineer has everything at his disposal required to resolve the issue on the first call out.
Scheduling - The most important aspect of your field service operation is of course your field engineers. They are almost certainly one of your biggest costs as well so managing them effectively is vital if you are going to operate a service division as a profit centre rather than a cost drain on the wider business.
Asset Management/Parts Ordering - Of course getting the right engineer to the right job is all well and good but it becomes a moot exercise if he doesn’t have the parts required to complete his task. The next vital element within a service management solution is being able to both track your existing assets and also to easily order parts not in your existing inventory.
Tools to do the job – hardware - Not only is there the very simple business case that moving to a digital first medium will almost certainly pay for itself when you factor in the saved man hours in needless administration (not to mention sheer paper costs!) but also the perception. Here we look at what you should consider when choosing hardware for your field engineers.
Is BYOD the answer? - Perhaps the biggest of these questions of field service technology of late has centred on BYOD. The BYOD trend has been much vaunted for many years but has yet to truly take off in the UK and Europe as it has done in the United States. Whilst the benefits are clear – less cost, quicker adoption and happier staff using the device of their choice, a counter argument surrounding security, insurance and the murky hidden costs of such a set up is easily made.
Tools to do the job - Software Having selected the device to empower your field engineers the next step is to select the right mobile software to make the most of that hardware. Whilst there has been great strides forward with cross platform HTML5 applications a strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS). We look at what you should expect from your field service apps.
Communicating back to HQ - Important data is everywhere and there are few better equipped to collect it than a field service engineer. Giving them the right tools to transmit that data to the place it has most value is a crucial part of the field service mobile app.
Download your copy of this white paper now
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Jan 07, 2015 • Features • Management
So as we say goodbye to 2014 and head into 2015 we are another year older and perhaps another year wiser. However, as we face the increasingly worrying issue of an ageing workforce, across a number of industries including field service, that are key...
So as we say goodbye to 2014 and head into 2015 we are another year older and perhaps another year wiser. However, as we face the increasingly worrying issue of an ageing workforce, across a number of industries including field service, that are key to the wider economy, is another year older just another nail in the coffin for some companies – or even industry in general?
It is well documented that many of the UK’s engineering employers are suffering from skills gaps, shortages and an aging workforce. However, the impact of the problem is likely to have much wider repercussions than just those companies who are directly in the line of the crisis.
All the research is saying the same thing...
The gravity of the situation was highlighted just a month ago when Matchtec, a specialist recruitment agency focussed on the engineering sector, published the findings of the annual Matchtech Confidence Index. The research, which was based on the responses of over 3,500 engineers, outlined that for the second year running the ageing workforce was the greatest issue facing the UK engineering industry.
Commenting on the research Keith Lewis, Matchtech Managing Director said:
“As the research shows, the engineering skills shortage is very apparent, and the infrastructure, power and water/utilities sectors in particular are seeing strong demand for staff as more experienced engineers retire.”
[quote float="left"] Long-term this imbalance between supply and demand for engineers has to be addressed
“While many existing engineers are reaping the benefits of a buoyant job market and good salaries, long-term this imbalance between supply and demand for engineers has to be addressed if the UK engineering sector is to maintain its global position and drive growth in the UK economy.”These research findings are also backed up by a study from fellow recruitment organisation Randstad who identified that the UK workforce as a whole will be facing a deficit of 3.1 million by 2050.
Whilst the analysis predicted issues across all industry sectors, the outlook for engineering and construction verticals were particularly bleak. Qualified engineers represent 1.2 per cent of the UK workforce while construction staff represent two per cent, assuming this proportion remains constant, by 2050, the UK will have a deficit of 36,800 engineers and 66,800 construction workers.
The impact of the ageing workforce
But would an employment shortage be as catastrophic as is being predicted?
In short, quite possibly.
Manufacturing, construction and engineering are three major verticals that are both important for wider economic growth and sustainability and are also inherently dependent on field based workers, engineers and technicians.
A bold statement? Perhaps, but one that is certainly achievable given the rate of advancement we are seeing in all levels of technology today.
A bold statement? Perhaps, but one that is certainly achievable given the rate of advancement we are seeing in all levels of technology today.
However, the utopian future that such technology promises could well be stillborn unless we address the issue of an ageing workforce.
To do so we need to collectively focus on developing an on-going pipeline of bright, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) graduates that allow those in industry to help further develop, refine and implement such emerging technologies.
Finding the next generation of field service engineers
So just what is stopping the bright young members of generation Y (and soon generation Z) from developing a career within manufacturing or engineering?
One of the biggest stumbling blocks may well be the false belief that the study of STEM subjects won’t lead to an interesting or lucrative career.
According to research undertaken by Engineering UK this perception appears to be developed at a young age with nearly half of 7-11 year olds believing that being an ‘engineer’ would be ‘boring’ compared to careers more obvious to them such as Doctors, Teachers or of course Footballers.
To change this perception there are numerous approaches that can be taken and there is indeed a growing focus from education boards, the government and industry on overcoming this issue.
The issue of STEM students being lured away by more ‘glamorous’ industry sectors such as banking or consultancy remains.
However, getting students to opt for STEM based degrees is one thing, keeping them within the sector is another. The issue of STEM students being lured away by more ‘glamorous’ industry sectors such as banking or consultancy remains.
Some companies such as Siemens and Fujitsu for example are already being proactive in preventing this ‘brain drain’ by making big efforts to both work with and support students throughout their education in order to not only attract but also retain the brightest and best to their organisations.
Yet, despite such programs being undertaken the fact remains that we are still facing a shortage of resource and further such activities need to be developed. It is also important that the triumvirate of Government, Industry and Academia become even more closely aligned in their efforts.
2050 may seem some time away but with numerous sets of research all pointing to the same issue it is clear that we must not only continue but also increase our efforts on tackling this problem head on and if we don’t do this today we may just be too late.
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Jan 06, 2015 • Features • research • software advice • Software and Apps • software and apps
Research conducted by US based technology consultancy Software Advice has revealed that many field service companies—especially small to midsize residential service providers, such as cleaning services, pest control and plumbers are falling behind...
Research conducted by US based technology consultancy Software Advice has revealed that many field service companies—especially small to midsize residential service providers, such as cleaning services, pest control and plumbers are falling behind other business when it comes to the technology they deploy to run their operations on a day to day basis.
The research, which had well over 8,000 responses from random adults who have used residential services within the United States, identified that despite a wide range of software solutions designed specifically for field service being available, many companies have yet to adopt such modern systems.
Indeed a 2014 Software Advice field service BuyerView report indicated that 54 per cent of field service companies, that could be potential software buyers, are still using manual methods for managing their business. Similarly a Field Service News research report identified 48 per cent of companies were using manual tools.
The benefits of moving towards a digital workflow for field service companies are well documented (not least amongst these pages) however, the benefits for the customers of field service are also great and it is in this area that the Software Advice research focussed.
Here we explore some of the key findings of the research...
1. Customers are more likely to select a provider that can track their field service technicians.
The first area the survey addressed was how much more likely customers were to select a field service company based on the types of technology they use. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between the technology being implemented and the likelihood of gaining new business.
Well over half (58 per cent) of the respondents stated the use of technician tracking technology would “somewhat increase likelihood” to hire a field service company whilst over a quarter (28 per cent) stated it would “greatly increase likelihood” to hire that company.
Of course one of the main benefits of implementing this type of technology is that field service companies are able to provide far more accurate timeframes for the arrival of their field service operatives. In today’s busy world the difference between an accurate time slot or the traditional ‘some point between 8am and 6pm’ can be a huge benefit for customers.
Fig 1. Software effects on hiring residential service providersAccording to Sam Pillar, CEO and co-founder at Jobber, one beneficial technician-tracking capability field service software may offer is geofencing. This technology acts quite literally like a digital “fence,” enabling businesses to set boundaries for service, create alerts upon entry and exit to and from these boundaries and automatically notify customers when their technician is nearby.
As Pillar explains, “If you're scheduled to do a job at 2 p.m., but at five minutes to 2 p.m., you’re still 10 miles away, you’d be able to automatically send a text message to a customer saying you’re going to be a little late."
In addition to improving customer experience and satisfaction, there are organizational benefits of integrating this tracking technology. “If [the technician says] that they were at a job and the customer says they weren’t, you can verify this; or, if they get in an accident, you can see exactly where they were,” Pillar explains.
2. Customer portals in field service are something we must get right
One of the most polarising sections of the research was the responses around customer portals.
Whilst access to an online portal for self-service tasks such as scheduling and bill paying had the second-strongest positive impact on respondents’ likelihood to hire a field service company the data also indicated that an online portal could have the most negative impact in customers eyes.
Access to an online portal for self-service tasks such as scheduling and bill paying had the second-strongest positive impact on respondents’ likelihood to hire a field service company
Of those respondents who indicated a preference for customer portals, 55 per cent stated that they would use “online bill pay” more than any of the other functions listed. Another popular function was ‘online scheduling’ which exactly half of respondents indicated they would use.
3. Customer perception of technology in field service
The next section of the research focussed on consumers’ perception of how well field service companies were deploying technology and how this impacted on the customer experience.
41 per cent of respondents indicated that the companies they have hired previously had done an “average” job of using technology to improve the customer experience they deliver. 39 per cent stated their provider uses technology to improve their service offering either “somewhat” or “very well”. Leaving a minority who say in their experience field service providers leverages technology “poorly” to some degree.
Fig 2. Customer perception of residential services softwareIt's clear that more customers have a positive experience with a field service provider's software than a negative one. Pillar elaborates on what a positive experience with field service software should look like.
The end consumer shouldn’t really notice. There shouldn’t be a situation where a field service technician is fumbling with an iPad or an Smart phone to try and get a bit of information recorded
If the proper use of software is invisible, it’s probably very apparent when a provider is not using software properly: Processes tend to be slower and more inconvenient for customers. As Pillar says, the right software offers real, operational improvements that benefit the business owner. And the end result of these improvements is better customer service.
“The end consumer sees the benefits in more efficient work; an industry that is, overall, faster and more competitive; and, ultimately, they should start seeing greater price competitiveness as a result, because [providers] are able to do more with less,” he adds.
You can read the full report from Software Advice for free by clicking here.
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Dec 30, 2014 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • Uncategorized
Sunrise Software survey reveals Gamification could need a makeover despite increases in productivity and customer satisfaction...
Sunrise Software survey reveals Gamification could need a makeover despite increases in productivity and customer satisfaction...
It's a business strategy that has created both a buzz and a backlash but the findings of a new survey indicate that gamification is a growing trend delivering the right results.
86% of managers said gamification had benefited their organisation with increased productivity and 43% cited an increase in customer satisfaction.
End Game for Gamification?
However there has been something of a backlash against the term gamification with some staff complaining that the "fun" element of the software actually trivialises important tasks. The survey showed that only 25% of workers felt more engaged, motivated and productive since gamification was introduced. The results also highlight that most employees favour tangible rewards for their hard work although they did acknowledge that recognition of a job well done increased their motivation.
There has been something of a backlash against the term gamification with some staff complaining that the "fun" element of the software actually trivialises important tasks.
Can gamification evolve?
The future of gamification has been questioned by many industry leaders with some suggesting that the technology is overhyped and the terminology needs to change. Neil Penny, Product Director at Sunrise Software which has deployed gamification within its own Service Desk operation, commented: “The survey highlighted that anything that increases motivation and reduces employee turnover will improve productivity, leading to the twin benefits of raising customer service and cutting the cost of recruitment.”
He added: "We have seen from our own experience that by introducing gamification successfully, companies can look forward to increased employee motivation that boosts productivity and impacts positively on customer service, and ultimately the organisation’s bottom line."
A copy of the Sunrise Software Gamification Survey Findings can be downloaded at
https://www.sunrisesoftware.com/2014/12/white-paper-gamification-survey-results-2014/
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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