AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Kris Oldland

Ahead of taking part in a live panel discussion on End to End field service management at this years Field Service Europe Conference, Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland, is writing a series of features around the topic…

In this the second feature in the series he looks at whether your company should be selecting consumer grade hardware, semi rugged or rugged for best value. You can also read the first feature in this series here

There is a lot of discussion around whether field service organisations should invest in consumer devices or specialist rugged devices with strong advocates with equally compelling arguments sitting on both sides of the fence. So lets look at some of the more commonly heard arguments shall we…

The Familiarity Argument

Pretty much ever since the iPhone first entered the market back in 2007 Smart Phones have become commonplace and are now reaching saturation point within almost all developed world geographies. Indeed with the news that Indian firm Karbonn has launched a perfectly acceptable smart phone for just £26, it would seem that the developing and third worlds will soon be following suit also.

 The result of such saturation is that almost each and everyone of us is now comfortable and at ease with such devices. This of course includes our mobile workers too. So when rolling out a new piece of hardware if you turn towards one of the big three mobile operating systems in the consumer realm (i.e. Apple’s IoS, Google’s Android or Microsofts Windows 8.1) the likelihood is that you will achieve high adoption rates quickly, as the devices act and respond in the same manner as the employees personal devices – whether they be tablet or smart phone.

 

However, such is the pace of the evolutionary arms race that is mobile computing, even the latest fully rugged devices are becoming sleek looking, lightweight devices which look light-years away from their bulky equivalents of just a few years ago. Take for example the latest device from Getac the T800, which whilst being a powerful device, is also  proven to be fully rugged up to military standards, and could quite easily be mistaken for a standard consumer tablet.

Similarly rugged devices are readily found in both Windows and Android flavours so familiarity with operating systems should also be swift thanks to the proliferation of smart phones. So whilst familiarity may claimed as one benefit of consumer devices the truth is this no longer really the case.

The prestige argument

A little earlier this year I interviewed Dave Hart, VP Global Customer Transformation at ServiceMax for one of our podcasts.  However, for most of the half an hour or so we were talking we focussed on his previous role as European Vice President of Pitney Bowes and he made a very interesting point around the franking giants decision to role out Apple iPad’s to their field service staff.

Hart made the decision to not only issue each of his mobile workforce with an iPad but to give them ownership of their device as well. The result was that his fieldworkers responded by taking greater responsibility and Pitney Bowes saw breakages fall to practically zero.

In his own words Hart explains:

“I went out with an engineer for the day and asked him ‘we really budgeted that we would break more of these things, why do you think they are not breaking?’ the engineer turn round to me and said ‘one of the things you guys did was to allow us to use this device personally as well as for business. If I went home and my iPad is broken my kids would kill me!’”

Given the fact that Pitney Bowes were braking 200 PDAs per anum prior to the shift and Hart defined the breakage rate as ‘absolutely negligible maybe one or two out of thousands’ since moving to iPads it would appear that by giving their mobile workers a desirable consumer device that they cherished and giving them ownership of those devices,  there is indeed a solid tangible benefit.

The TCO argument

Whilst for a company like Pitney Bowes, whose field service engineers are mostly working with in an office environment, iPad’s or similar consumer grade devices may well prove to be ideal, there are many other industry verticals where field engineers mobile devices are put through their paces in a far tougher environments. It is in such scenarios that the often-heard total cost of ownership (TCO) argument rings true.

 The simple premise of the TCO argument is that whilst purchasing a consumer grade device may be the cheaper option in the short term, longer term if we factor in the cost of replacement devices plus of course the downtime whilst waiting for replacement devices etc across a period of three to five years (the general accepted period that a devices will remain current) the cost of purchasing more reliable, rugged devices would have proven much lower.

 

One such proponent of this argument is Getac UK President Peter Molyneux who commented:

“If you’re working in what we term a critical working environment, i.e. if its cold its wet or you can drop the device then that is definitely a rugged space. The discussion really is just whether its what we call semi rugged or fully rugged.”

Molyneux also goes on to point out that as the cost of rugged devices falls, so the TCO argument holds even greater weight. Although he does also admits there is certainly a gap for consumer technology.

“The return on investment on a fully rugged notebook may have cost you £2500 to £3000 not that long ago…” he explains “… today products can be less than £1700 dependent on spec. But if you go forward consumer technology is yet to be proven in the field, there will be applications where it will be fine and applications where it’s not.”

Of course it is the “not’s” where Getac and other specialist rugged manufacturers see their market and where TCO truly comes into play.

Where better to start than with your own field service engineers?

Molyneux’s point about rugged or semi rugged also adds to the conundrum and further emphasises the importance of understanding the workflow of your field engineers, which we touched on in the first article in this series.

Whilst some organisations, like Pitney Bowes will be able to fully realise their needs with consumer grade devices, others such as utilities companies will see far greater benefit in a more rugged solution where despite a larger initial outlay the actual TCO is much lower across a three-year period.

Which is right for your organisation? As with any investment you must take a detailed look at all of the possibilities, where possible look at solutions other companies in your vertical have taken and try to find out the pain points they have felt as much as the successes they have had.

There is no one size fits all option when it comes to field service hardware, what’s right for one company may not be right for another. However, it certainly pays to know that there are a variety of options available to you from off the shelf consumer right through to military standard rugged.

The next step is finding out where on the spectrum your needs are. Almost certainly the best place to start is to take time out to see some of your field engineers in action.

 

Should you wish to attend the event, which is held in Amsterdam on the 20^th to the 22^nd October, then you can register for tickets by clicking this link

 

 

This is page two of this feature. If you arrived here first then click here to go to the beginning of the feature.

There is also a corresponding white paper on this subject, which you can access by clicking this link and completing the brief registration form.  

Process

The next area of consideration is process. What is the level of process change? Once again we look to the above points to be able to begin to what we will need to change in terms of processes in our business, how these changes will impact our business and ultimately how we can best manage these changes.

As with structure the key to managing change in processes is to be able to see the full picture and understand how each interaction within your company may be affected. [quote float="left"]As you assess the impact of your change management program it is essential to look across each and every process that is undertaken to understand if it is subject to change

 

Whether it is between office and field based staff, differing divisions within your company (service operations and sales for example) or even between your company and other third party organisations (either client or provider) you need to understand how your change management program will impact these interactions.

What changes will need to be made to your internal processes in order to accommodate these alterations? As you assess the impact of your change management program it is essential to look across each and every process that is undertaken to understand if it is subject to change and if so what those changes will be.  Then as with structure it is imperative that these changes are identified with all stakeholders informed and where required, new lines of responsibility clearly demarcated.

Tools

Finally we come to the point where perhaps many of us may have thought we should start –the actual tools that we will be bringing in, indeed those very tools that are the driving force of the whole change management project itself. Depending on where you are in the process of selecting your new system you may well have already chosen your new solution/configuration etc.

However, if you are still in the early stages perhaps you should consider bringing in representatives from various divisions of the workforce including managers, as well as field and office based operatives, as part of the selection process.

Not only will they give you great insight into how the tool will be implemented, but also they will form a core of your change agent network – a topic we will look at in further detail later in this series.

Yet if the decision has already been made in terms of selecting the tools you will be using then this may not be an option. You can however certainly turn to your technology provider to ask for their guidance at this point – they should be prepared to be share with you their experience of previous implementations and any good technology provider should be offering their full assistance throughout the implementation process and can be an invaluable partner as you tackle your change management program.

 

It is important to explore each of the above areas, assessing how they will be impacted by your change management program and planning how to best manage each of the steps of change. It is also important to remember that Change Management is not a one hit procedure and you should be continuously reviewing the impact of change on each of the above areas as you continue through to full adoption and beyond.

In the next feature in this series we will look at the importance of engaging both the head and the heart as you go through the Change Management Process.

In the meantime we recommend you download a copy of the white paper “5 principals of change management in field service click here and complete the brief registration form.

Our exclusive series looking at Change Management written by Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland continues with a focus on assessing the change as the first step towards a successful change management program. This series is sponsored by ServiceMax

There is also a corresponding white paper on this subject, which you can access by clicking this link and completing the brief registration form.

In part one of this series we looked at understanding what is change management and what steps should be taken to achieve a successful change management process.

We took a brief look at some of the better-known change management approaches including the Prosci, Kotter and Lewin models. We also referred to the 5-step approach that Sharon Moura applied when global safety and security firm Tycho implemented ServiceMax’s field service management platform.

These five steps were; assessing the change, engaging the head and the heart, creating a change agent network, leading through the resistance and finally leading through the adoption cycle. Today we will examine the first of these steps… assessing the change. First we must understand exactly what will be changing. At first glance this may seem like stating the obvious, however this question runs far deeper than the initial surface change of implementing a new technology. What else will be changing in your organisation as a result?

It is absolutely vital that you take a holistic approach to understanding the level of impact that the Change Management project you are undertaking will have. You must consider how the culture, people, structure, process and tools are all set to change as a result of your project, in order to minimise the disruption on your business and accelerate adoption times. 

Culture:

First up how will the culture in your organisation be affected? This is perhaps the hardest and most complex of the considerations you will have to face as often the impact of change is subtle or even invisible at first. However, it is also perhaps the most important as the culture of a business, i.e. how the employees, management and even the business as a whole pull together, is key to on-going business success.

If there is a negative change in the culture of your organisation, its effect will be deeply felt and will have an adverse effect on company wide performance if left unchecked. Therefore it is imperative that you consider the impact on culture your change management project will have in your organisation. Will there be new behaviours within your workforce? Will these be felt amongst workers based in the office, field based workers or both? Will expectations change – from both employee and management perspectives?

 

Will these expectations be in-line with the actual reality and how will these change the dynamic between senior and middle management, and between middle management and employees? Will the change lead to greater transparency in how field engineers spend their day?

How will they react to that change? Will they feel your trust in them is diminished (big-brother is always watching) or will they feel more valued as you invest in the tools required to make their jobs easier? All of these questions and many more relate to the culture of a business, which is an often-overlooked yet crucial element in Change Management and where you must start, when assessing the impact of change to your business as a whole

People

Leading very much on from cultural change we must next consider the people change also. For example will there be any changes to the way teams are laid out? Will there be new management structures needed to be put in place? Of course one of the flip sides of implementing any technology to improve productivity will be that if the implementation is successful you may need less people to achieve the same workload.

Will staff need to be reallocated to different divisions of your organisation or will you need to explore the possibility of redundancies? Similarly when we look specifically at field service management one of the greatest benefits of implementing modern field service management solutions is that we can open up new streams of revenue directly from the field. Will this change the way we reward our people? Also will it mean that new divisions will be in closer contact? Again a people consideration when we think of how to employ best communication practices.

Structure

Once again structure leads on very much from people. As we can see the considerations for assessing the full impact of a Change Management project are wholly integrated. This is an important fact to comprehend as whilst understanding one facet can lead to greater comprehension of the whole, similarly overlooking one element can equally lead to overlooking other challenges that could rear their heads further down the line.

So how will your structure change? In the point above we looked at the impact on people of potentially creating new teams and adding or removing management layers but what will this mean from a business perspective? New reporting lines may need to be considered for example and new responsibilities may need to be clearly outlined.

It is important to understand how these changes will be shaped and to communicate any new responsibilities early with clear delineation and definition.

Also what about relationships with providers and vendors? Will the change in structure mean that there will be closer ties between field staff and your providers perhaps?

Again a much-vaunted benefit of modern field service systems is the ability for field service staff to see inventory in real time and order relevant parts when needed. Whilst this is of course an excellent benefit it will alter the structure of your business and therefore how your organisation adapts to accommodate this change must also be considered.

Click here to read page two of this feature...

We also suggest you download a copy of the corresponding white paper “5 principals of change management in field service" Click here for the white paper.

 
This series is sponsored by:

 

The next session of the Service Community has been announced and will be held in Manchester on the 1st of October. 

Following on from the fantastic success of the last meeting which was dedicated to the memory of founder Steve Downton this event sees yet another fantastic line up of service specialists from across the a broad spectrum of industries speaking.

Sessions include: 

• Professor  Tim Baines, Aston Business School discussing: ‘Challenges faced by UK Manufacturers as they adopt Servitisation as a Growth Strategy’

• John Pritchard, MAC Solutions, discussing “Remote Servicing & Internet of Things – Principles”

• Martin Gilday, Elekta, discussing “Reactive & Proactive Remote Service – Case Study”

• Martin Hotass, Siemens, discussing “Resource Planning for the Future.  Attracting people to the Service Industry”

Event Details:

Date: 1^st October

Time: 1pm – 5pm

Location: Sir William Siemens House, Princess Road, Manchester, M20 2UR

The event is free to attend for all service professionals but please register your attendance in advance by emailing theservicecommunity@gmail.com.

 

Part Two of an exclusive Field Service News interview with Dave Gordon, Rolls Royce.

Here Dave speaks about how he approached developing Rolls Royce's service delivery, and the importance of collaboration and trust, particularly when it comes to the proactive use of data to continually improve the service you are delivering to clients...

Missed part one of this excellent series? Find it here

Want to see more? Subscribe to Field Service News by clicking this link and get access to download the full video in full.

From Tesla’s electric cars to Siemens’ MRI machines, high-tech devices gather all kinds of data to indicate equipment health. Is the equipment running out of capacity? Is it low on fuel? Is there a problem with the disk drive? The shift in technology means a shift in skill-set for field service engineers. The team at smartvan.com explore this topic further

All of this data is valuable to the technicians who service the equipment, but only if they know how to interpret the information, which is why the shortage of skilled workers in the field is more pressing than ever.

This year 55 percent of hiring managers say they’re having difficulty filling jobs in installation, maintenance and repair occupations, according to a CareerBuilder study. There’s a race between technology and the skills needed to keep up with it, especially for technicians.

CONNECTED DEVICES’ IMPACT ON FIELD SERVICE

If the recent media obsession with the Internet of Things is any indication, we’ll soon live in a world where every device has the ability to talk to other machines—and to humans.

For technicians, it means their roles are becoming more proactive and less reactive. Instead of waiting until a part breaks to fix it, they’ll know well in advance that a screw is loose, for example, and catch an impending failure before it occurs.

New technology also is shifting more field service work from physical to mental labour. “Computers and other digital advances are doing for mental power—the ability to use our brains to understand and shape our environments—what the steam engine and its descendants did for muscle power,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee write in their book “The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Machines.”

FUTURE AUTO MECHANICS

BMW’s vision for how its engineers will service cars offers a look at how connected devices are changing work. Jack Stewart, presenter of the BBC’s Science in Action series, paints a picture: “Instead of reaching for any of the shiny silver tools on his cart, the mechanic picks up a pair of what looks like sunglasses with connected buds for his ears. He glances back over to the engine, and this time he sees each component highlighted in bright colors, and is given computer-generated instructions on what to disassemble, in what order.”

In this scenario, the engineer needs an understanding of the technology at play, including how to execute the augmented reality system and interpret the computer-generated information.

EFFORTS TO BRING SKILLS UP TO PAR

As technology advances, some companies are backing efforts to retrain their workforces and help the next generation of workers acquire the science, technology, engineering and math skills that roles in the field will require.

MasTec, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based infrastructure engineering and construction company, helps veterans transfer skills to become wireless technicians. The company works with Warriors 4 Wireless, which provides training and advanced certification for veterans to build new careers in the telecommunications industry.

Cisco, purveyor of Internet of Everything ideas, runs a “Networking Academy,” which offers certificate courses to help people across industries build and maintain computer networks. “These programs ensure Cisco, its customers and partners have the talent they need to transform their business through the Internet of Everything,” according to the CareerBuilder study press release.

In April, Siemens donated nearly $660 million in software to a dozen technical schools and colleges in Massachusetts to help train a new generation of workers in advanced manufacturing.

As field service organizations look for and develop future talent, they’ll benefit from having employees whose skills complement those of the cutting edge technology the company uses. In other words, as Wired editorKevin Kelly put it, “You’ll be paid in the future based on how well you work with robots.”

It’s a brave new world for service technicians and field service engineers (FSE) these days — they’ve got iPhones and tablets to manage their work, some are driving cool hybrid vans, and even the equipment they fix can talk to them and tell them what’s wrong.

Beyond all that, the service-tech demographic is changing rapidly: service technicians from yesteryear (the days of clipboards, parts manuals and pagers) are getting sunsetted. A younger, more tech-savvy BYOD-generation service tech is beginning to fill the void. The next-gen service tech is also learning a bunch of critical new skills.

“The ability to accurately forecast what customers want and need is one of the more valuable aspects of field service today,” says Denis Pombriant of Beagle Research. Client knowledge and intuition comes not only from new tools that collect and analyze data, it also comes from a set of interpersonal skills each new technician in the field should be versed in.

Here are 3 skills areas that matter most:

PROACTIVE SALESMANSHIP

Service strategist Alex Alexander put it plainly: “There’s nobody that has more impact on future purchases of service or products than field service engineers.”

Alexander and others aren’t championing technicians in hopes they will put salespeople out of business, in fact, quite the contrary — now salespeople actually have their own workforce in the field, as well. And, as opposed to door-to-door salesmen, service techs are actually being invited into customer homes and places of business. Instead of being turned away by clients and dismissed for a cold-call — technicians are there for a purpose. If they perform their other duties efficiently and successfully, a client is certainly more apt to be open to learning about new products and practices from the company.

Engagement goes a long way. If you can provide your field workers with pertinent client information before they arrive on-site, they can use this information to personalize their service and create a more meaningful relationship with the client. Plus, if you already know what they’ve bought — you’re less likely to try to sell something they already have or don’t need. Attention to detail when it comes to clients is important and shouldn’t fall solely on your company’s sales team.

SOCIAL SKILLS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

Customers must feel comfortable with the people they allow into their space. Conversation is key to customer service and client comfort. Of course, speed is tantamount — everyone’s busy — but small talk can create a level of trust between your worker and the client.

People are more inclined to raise an issue in person and when they are feeling more comfortable, so arm your field workers with the appropriate customer service tools and information. Clients may raise an issue totally unrelated to the service call, but if your service technician brushes the query aside because they don’t know how to respond, trust (and maybe even the client) will be lost.

MASTERY OF MOBILE TECH

Next-generation field service is powered by the cloud — no longer by file folders, clipboards and your teams in the field need to reflect that.

Not just in the new toolset they carry around (rugged tablets, GPS devices, smartphones), but in how those tools change their behaviour and productivity — being able to pull up a parts diagram on a smartphone display, tapping into parts inventories, filling out job orders on the fly.

Not only is new technology helping FSEs learn more about their clients, it is also helping them complete tasks more proficiently. Because technology is constantly evolving, being able to adapt and learn how these new tools work is a must for today’s field tech.

People with a vested interest in the happenings of the technology world will be more enthusiastic to try new gadgets or implement a new system. Be wary of the technicians that are set to sticking to the “old ways” — this will only slow down the inevitable and can cause fissures between the tech and the customers as well as the techs themselves

 

 

The team at Telogis have certainly been busy over the summer with major partnerships with Volvo, Hino and Ford all announced…

Telogis & Hino Trucks

Hino Trucks have recently announced a partnership with Telogis to exclusively release Hino INSIGHT. The platform is a next-generation solution hailed to be a fully comprehensive, web-based location and telematics solution built specifically for the medium-duty commercial truck market.

Hino INSIGHT 2.0 has been developed as part of Hino’s ongoing strategy of building an offering that gives their customers a much improved total cost of ownership (TCO), including better vehicle uptime and user experiences.

Launched within the last few months Hino INSIGHT 2.0 will be standard fit on 2015MY Hino 195h and 195h-DC hybrid models, and as an option on the 195 and 195-DC models and the full conventional truck product lineup.

Commenting on the collaboration Glenn Ellis, Vice President, Marketing, Dealer Operations and Product Planning for Hino Trucks said:

“This next-generation technology brings new functionality, a refined user interface and a robust platform to support the needs of our largest fleet customer or an individual owner-operator,” said Glenn Ellis, Vice President, Marketing, Dealer Operations and Product Planning for Hino Trucks. “Telogis’ significant investments in R&D and product innovation plus its experience in the OEM environment make them the standard for excellence in the connected services industry.”

Telogis & Volvo Trucks

Indeed Telogis are fast becoming a part of the furniture in the road haulage industry, with Telogis now also bringing built-in compliance, telematics and navigation services to Volvo Trucks customers in North America.

Volvo customers are able to access Telogis’ services via smartphones and tablets by leveraging Volvo’s integrated connected vehicle hardware, standard on new Volvo-powered Volvo trucks.

It is also available for the existing 60,000 Volvo trucks already equipped with the connected vehicle hardware, making the Telogis platform ideal for all-Volvo or mixed fleets.

In commercial trucking’s evolving legislative and regulatory landscape, Telogis’ offerings for Volvo Trucks help drivers and back office teams manage FMCSA compliance and keep drivers safer by delivering electronic log tools and routing information that is specifically designed commercial drivers.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with Telogis to deliver tremendous value to motor carriers seeking flexibility and the robust information needed to fine-tune their operations,” said Göran Nyberg, president, Volvo Trucks North American Sales & Marketing.

“Leveraging the connectivity of our vehicles to facilitate fleet management services represents a breakthrough for fleet managers, who are no longer captive to hardware. As part of our long-term strategic focus, we’ll look toward further integration of our vehicles with best-in-class fleet management solutions.”

“With increasingly complex compliance regulations and the need to more effectively manage safety, productivity and costs – telematics, compliance and navigation software are no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s now a ‘have to have,’” said Susan Heystee, executive vice president, worldwide sales at Telogis.

“The ability to easily access mission-critical tools and information from the Telogis platform will transform the way Volvo Trucks’ customers do business.”

Telogis & Ford Crew Cheif

Moving from trucks to vans we also find Telogis once again appearing in one of the largest launches of the year.

This time its in partnership with Ford Motor Company and their launch of the all-new 2015 Ford Transit line of vans – perhaps one of the the company’s largest, most significant commercial vehicle launch in their history.

Telogis is the exclusive technology provider behind Ford Crew Chief, the market-leading, light-duty commercial telematics solution that comes factory-fit in Ford’s lineup of 2015 Transit vans as well as its complete line of commercial light-duty trucks. Ford Crew Chief powered by Telogis again aims to home in on the growing awareness that telematics solutions can help fleet managers and commercial vehicle owners reduce costs, improve driver safety and optimise operations.

“The 2015 Ford Transit, America’s newest Built Ford Tough van, will no doubt become an essential part of any commercial fleet, and with Ford Crew Chief powered by Telogis added in, customers receive a whole new level of visibility into their daily operations,” said Bill Frykman, manager, business and product development at Ford Motor Company.

“Ford Crew Chief, another example of Transit’s smart features, complements the Transit line by helping customers save money through fuel management, and more effective route and work planning; keep their drivers safer by understanding and coaching driver behavior; and improving overall operations by getting a big-picture view of maintenance, location and productivity.” 

Welcome to the latest edition of the Field Service News podcast. This month we are featuring a guest podcast recorded by field service management specialist, Aubrey Fox of Trimble Field Service Management.

In this podcast, which is supported by a series of slides Aubrey looks at just what type of companies can benefit from field service management systems before looking at the challenges field service companies can face. Basing his discussion on research undertaken and collated by Trimble FSM, Fox delivers an excellent and authoritative commentary, exploring how field service companies can transform the way they work  through the use of technology.

 

 

Please note that that promotion of this download is a joint venture between Field Service News and Trimble FSM and by downloading the podcast you agree to the fascinating terms and conditions which are available right here.

You can also find out more about Trimble in the Field Service News Directory by clicking here

Ahead of taking part in a live panel discussion on End to End field service management at this years Field Service Europe Conference, Field Service News Editor Kris Oldland, will be writing a series of features around the topic…

End-to-end field service management is a topic that we keep hearing about. Indeed our own recent podcast featuring Paul Sparkes, Product Director at Advanced Field Services focussed on the big question – just what is end-to-end field service management?

Paul gave both a detailed and candid response to this question, looking at the broader picture rather than from just his own organisations standpoint and if you haven’t yet listened to this podcast you can find it on the link above.

However, whilst we talked in depth about the end-to-end concept from a software point of view, from field service specific point of view as well as the wider viewpoint of having a number of systems (such as ERP and CRM) fully integrated as well, the conversation remained focussed on software and software alone.

All well and good but if we are to explore a fully end-to-end field service solution then we must consider other elements as well.

What type of hardware do our field service engineers require? What about in-vehicle computing? Telematics? Will our field service engineers be creating orders in the field? In which case what about mobile payment options? What about printing options for providing invoices and receipts?

Understanding the needs of both your customers and your field service engineers is crucial to ensuring that you’re investing in the right technology.

Understanding your customers lifecycle

The first place to focus, as with almost anything in business, is on your customers.

Whilst the benefits of implementing the right technology will of course improve your field service operation, the underlying reason for investment in technology should be "how can my customers benefit from this."

Of course the two are not mutually exclusive, indeed if you bring anything into your business that benefits your customer then it will almost certainly bring benefits to your company as well.

For example if your field engineers are given devices that are capable of video calls and 4G data transfer; the likelihood is that your field service engineers will be far more likely to improve first time fix rates as they will be able to access a wider pool of engineer knowledge whilst on premise than they would have had previously.

Your customer is happy as the disruption to his business is minimal.

 

The benefits to your company are that your field service engineers are working more effectively, so they are achieving more with less, all while maintaining great service standards.

This example, whilst highlighting the point of working to a customer centric model, is fairly obvious. However, if you keep your customers at the heart of your focus other less obvious but equally important points may arise.

For example, I mentioned in my introduction mobile printers. Do you know how your clients deal with receipts or invoices for example? Many companies including ourselves here at 1927 Media try to minimise the use of hardcopies in an effort to be more environmentally focussed.

What a waste it would be to invest in a mobile printer for each van in your fleet only to find out that 90% of your customers throw the hardcopy away after they have scanned it and would have preferred being sent documents by email anyway!

This information is almost certainly already held in your company somewhere; probably the easiest way of finding out is by asking your accounts team. I’m sure they could easily put together an overview of which of your clients require paper invoicing pretty quickly as they are dealing with your customers invoicing on a regular basis.

Lets say 50% of your clients need printed documents, maybe you could allocate printers based on the daily workload each field service engineer rather than fitting all your vehicles with them?

Would this be a more cost effective route? Of course you would have to look at the options. However, by taking a greater interest in your customers needs then you are able to seek out smarter ways of implementing your own technology

This of course can free up funds for other areas of investment too.

Understanding your field engineers working environment

Another important factor when considering purchasing hardware for your mobile workforce is the environment they will be operating in.

For some companies such as couriers or delivery organisations often a simple consumer device can be sufficient. If your mobile worker simply needs an interface that allows him to see his updated schedule and collect a signature then a low cost tablet could very well be the solution.

However, what if your engineer works in a more demanding environment where the device is likely to get wet, or is required to operate in temperatures beyond normal operating thresholds? Is the device likely to be knocked about a bit as part of its general day to day use?

As Ian Davies of Motion Computing noted in his excellent article on this subject

“A recent survey from VDC highlights the causes of this expense in using consumer grade units.  As part of a research project among IT decision makers at 215 companies managing a mobile device deployment, VDC discovered that the leading cause of device failure was that the tablet had been dropped.

The second cause was software issues but this was only marginally ahead of exposure to water and liquid (and just over 1 in 4 tablet PCs will face such exposure). Other leading causes of failure include excessive heat / cold, dust exposure and vibration.”

Understanding Total Cost of Ownership is a massive factor in deciding whether you should be perhaps taking the more expensive option, if in the long term you will see a greater lifespan per unit. It is essential you take into account your field service operatives working environment as well as their general workflow when considering which type of mobile hardware is right for your organisation.

We have barely scratched the surface of another area in the great end-to-end field service management question by looking at just some of the many considerations around hardware.

However, we will be continuing this series of features across the coming weeks to help you build a wider picture of all of the factors you should be considering when looking to build a fully end-to-end service management solution including revisiting some of the questions around software, a closer look at hardware and of course telematics, yet another crucial piece of the puzzle.

I am also particularly looking forward to participating in a panel debate on this topic at the Field Service Europe Conference which is shaping up to be a fantastic event.