Outmoded, inflexible and server-based service management software can make it difficult for companies to grow. However, thanks to the fully automated, integrated and optimised cloud-based workflows facilitated by Tesseract, SCS Technologies Ltd has...
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.
Dec 19, 2017 • Features • Mark Kenyon • Carol Newall • case study • SCS Technologies • Software and Apps • Asolvi
Outmoded, inflexible and server-based service management software can make it difficult for companies to grow. However, thanks to the fully automated, integrated and optimised cloud-based workflows facilitated by Tesseract, SCS Technologies Ltd has found scaling up a piece of cake.
SCS is a leading UK-based provider of technological solutions to hospitality, retail, utilities and telecommunications companies, along with local authorities and social housing organisations. Its solutions include TV systems from Samsung, Philips and LG, Wi-Fi, satellite services, TV distribution systems, digital signage, and security systems such as CCTV and access control. High-profile clients include BT, Next and Vodafone. It also provides and maintains the TV systems for every Travelodge in the UK, which amounts to approximately 40,000 rooms in over 540 hotels.
SCS has been using Tesseract’s field service management software for the past 18 years. At first it was used for call handling only, but has since grown into a cradle-to-grave system covering everything from contracts to scheduling to logistics and stock management.
Clearing space for a new meeting room
Tesseract has allowed SCS to go completely paperless. Job sheets no longer exist. Engineers use their smartphones to access job, site and contract information, input service reports, and get electronic signatures from customers to close down jobs. Parts are requested and tracked through the system, and invoices are sent automatically from the database to the customer, rather than being printed out and posted via Royal Mail. This saves time as well as paper. The days of looking after everything with six whiteboards on the office walls are a fading memory.
“Not only have we been able to drastically reduce paper, printing and postage costs,” says Mark Kenyon, Managing Director for SCS, “but we’ve also saved massive amounts of space. One of the rooms in our office used to be wall to wall with paperwork and filing cabinets. Now we use it as a meeting room.”
Scaling up with SaaS
For many years, SCS used an on-premise version of Tesseract’s software that the company purchased outright and hosted on its own server. A few years ago, SCS upgraded to Tesseract’s Service Centre 5.1 (SC5.1). This is a cloud-based version, hosted in-house by Tesseract and licensed on a subscription basis — better known as software as a service or SaaS.
SCS moved to SaaS for a number of reasons. First was the heavy IT burden that comes with on-premise software. Maintenance, fixes and updates aren’t instant. You either have to handle them yourself, or call your provider to assist you. It meant that SCS’s system didn’t move forwards at the same pace as Tesseract, because time and money sometimes inhibited the company from integrating the latest improvements.
SCS moved to SaaS for a number of reasons. First was the heavy IT burden that comes with on-premise software. Maintenance, fixes and updates aren’t instant. You either have to handle them yourself, or call your provider to assist you
There’s also less risk with SaaS. Using on-premise software meant that if SCS’s server was damaged somehow, e.g. by fire, then the company wouldn’t be able to operate. Using Tesseract’s SaaS means that if something were to happen now, SCS’s teams could still access the system and work from home.
These benefits combined have allowed SCS to grow much faster than on-premise software allows. Mark Kenyon explains, “Tesseract has been key to our ability to expand our teams and acquire other companies. We purchased a local company in 2015, absorbed another in 2016, and took on staff from a company that had gone into liquidation later that same year — all made simpler and easier by the flexibility and scalability of Tesseract’s SaaS. Things are definitely better in the cloud.”
More visibility, more accuracy
SCS enjoys far greater visibility with Tesseract. The elimination of paper and centralisation of all its field service data means that everybody can see what’s happened or happening on a job. Service reports, invoices, purchase orders, parts requests and stock movements are all on the system for everyone to access in real time. This makes reporting and responding to customer queries faster, easier and more accurate, and eradicates any data gaps caused by the loss of paperwork.
It’s improved the accuracy of SCS’s invoices, too. Carol Newall, HR and Finance Manager for SCS, says, “In the past, the odd extra 10 minutes might not have been billed, and certain small replacement parts were sometimes missed. Now that the system automatically calculates timings and tracks every part, every opportunity for revenue is captured. Thanks to Tesseract, nothing gets missed.”
A roadmap for the future
SCS hasn’t managed to eliminate all manual processes from its service operation just yet. Quotes are still done manually, and there’s currently no way of checking which quote was accepted, apart from going back into emails and comparing figures. This makes it difficult for SCS to track its margins. As a result, Tesseract’s Quote Centre and Prospect Centre are part of SCS’s roadmap for the future.
Another module SCS will soon seek to implement is Tesseract’s Repair Centre. At first, SCS didn’t think it was needed. But since repairs are managed manually, the lack of visibility is fast becoming an area for improvement in SCS’s otherwise very efficient service chain. SCS is keen to implement Repair Centre so that everyone in the company can track the movements of faulty or damaged parts without having to trawl through the minutiae of a spreadsheet.
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Dec 15, 2017 • Features • Kotter • Research • resources • White Paper • White Papers & eBooks • CHange Management • Cialdini • Asolvi
Resource Type: White Paper Published by: Field Service News (commissioned by Tesseract) Title: The Wind of Change: When and How to Implement your FSM System - A Guide to Change Management Best Practices
Resource Type: White Paper
Published by: Field Service News (commissioned by Tesseract)
Title: The Wind of Change: When and How to Implement your FSM System - A Guide to Change Management Best Practices
Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!
Synopsis:
Within the last decade we have seen field service shift from being a necessary evil, to a core differentiator and even in some instances, to ultimately becoming the primary revenue stream.
Whilst this shift may not be as dramatic for all companies, you can be sure that almost every company with a field service operation – including you and your peers, will be at least some way along this path. What is also certain is that as you make your way along this path, at some point you will need to take a look at your current field service processes and the technology you are using to support them. Indeed, technology continues to play an increasingly important role in field service.
Your existing field service management (FSM) solution is likely to be well embedded within your workflow already - but as tools like the Internet of Things and Augmented Reality drive concepts such as ‘connected field service’ from futuristic vision to genuine process, an upgrade of your FSM system is going to be unavoidable. The problem is that a FSM solution is of course mission critical and therefore any disruption caused when changing such an important system must be managed and minimised.
With this in mind this white paper explores how to identify key signs that it is time to upgrade your FSM system as well as examining some best-practice thinking on implementation and change management methodologies.
Overview:
The key topics discussed in this white paper include:
Knowing when to upgrade your FSM system:
Whilst knowing when it’s time to replace your FSM system is based on multiple factors unique to each organisation, there are a number of strong indicators you can monitor to help you make that call at the right time.
A selection of these include...
- Your Own Efficiency
- How does your tech investment compare to industry trends?
- Know your enemy
- Listen to your end-users
- Listen To Your Customers
- Regular reporting nightmares
Change Management Best Practice:
Let’s make no bones about it, a FSM system is mission critical. Whether you are implementing a system for the first time or switching from an older system to a modern equivalent, doing so is a significant change management project. If you are to minimise the negative impact of this program and reap the efficiency and productivity improvements (and see return on investment) as swiftly as possible, then getting that change management process right is very simply a must.
There will of course be different dynamics at play within every organisation, so a comprehensive and detailed plan, put together in a methodical and structured manner is imperative. However, there are certain factors that remain true in almost every change management scenario. Equally, there are widely adopted best practices that can be applied.
Also included in the white paper is a look some key considerations that sit at the heart of good change management:
Understand the task ahead
Change is hard, and without proper understanding of your goals and the challenges you face, successfully managing it can be at best a complicated and drawn out process and at worst an abject failure.
In fact, according to change management guru John Kotter, 70% of change management efforts fail and this is largely due to a lack of preparation, a lack of understanding of best practices or more often than not a combination of both. However, at the heart of every successful change management exercise there is one maxim that holds absolutely true. Change Management is always about people.
Engaging the Head and the Heart
For a change management program to be successful it is absolutely vital we acknowledge that change is about individuals, not organisations. Yes, change will be driven by organisational needs and requirements, but individuals will implement it - individuals will determine its success.
Given this notion, we must next consider how individuals will react to change. Successful change management is as much about feeling as it is about thinking. This is one of the key principals in the Kotter Change Management philosophy and is one that is widely accepted to be an important step on the change management journey.
Principals of Influence
Robert Cialdini’s six principals of influence are certainly also worth considering when planning your change management program and the white paper looks at each of these and how they relate to change management within a field service context. The Six Principals include:
- Reciprocity
- Commitment and consistency
- Social Proof
- Liking
- Authority
- Scarcity
The importance of the change agent:
The white paper explores what a ‘Change Agent’ is and why they are key to successful change management, is another important piece of the puzzle.
Gartner’s Elise Olding neatly sums up this approach stating, “Change resistance is a myth. Employees support enterprise goals when they understand what needs to be done. Change Agents put a face on change and leverage trusted informal leaders to create understanding among employees and influence organisational change”
Breaking down the barriers of resistance:
The goal of a successful change management program should not be to completely eradicate resistance to change - this is an impossible task that will take too much energy. Instead, focus on reducing the impact of resistance, and overcoming it as quickly as possible to move the change management project from concept to full adoption as swiftly as possible.
The true key to successful change management is minimising the impact of resistance in your workforce - and to achieve this we must understand the types of resistance we are likely to encounter.
Generally, these will come in three broad categories which hare explained within the white paper:
- I don’t get it
- I don’t trust you
- I don’t like it
Progressing through the adoption cycle:
Finally, the white paper explains why it is important to have an understanding of the various stages of adoption. In almost any organisation there are generally four groups of adopters that can be plotted on a standard Bell Curve.
Broadly speaking they should be categorised as follows:
- Early Adopters
- The Majority
- Laggards
- Naysayers
Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!
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Dec 12, 2017 • video • Features • Mobility • Xplore • Bob Ashebrenner • hardware • rugged • Sandy McCaskie
In the latest of our Field Service News webinars, FSN Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland was joined by Sandy MCaskie, Sales Director EMAC for Xplore and Bob Ashenbrenner,President Durable Mobility Technologies as they gave an excellent session as they...
In the latest of our Field Service News webinars, FSN Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland was joined by Sandy MCaskie, Sales Director EMAC for Xplore and Bob Ashenbrenner,President Durable Mobility Technologies as they gave an excellent session as they gave us the benefit of the insight they've gained from years of experience and hundreds of mobility implementations - to help field service organisations get the most from their mobility projects.
The full Webinar PLUS an accompanying eBook are available to Field Service News subscribers - if you are a field service professional you may well qualify for our complimentary industry practitioner subscription. Click the following link to apply for your subscription and we will send you links to the webinar and the eBook instantly whilst we process your application!
The webinar itself covered a range of important topics within the strategy development and planning process for delivering a successful mobility project including:
- How to get the green light for your mobility project
- Why buying for the enterprise differs from buying consumer devices
- Exploring the common drivers for mobility projects
- The importance of form factors amongst rugged mobile options
- Understanding how to get your mobility projects approved
- Getting the right stakeholders invested in your mobility project
- Why and how you should build a strong project team across operations and IT for your mobility project
- Putting together the RFP for your mobility project
- Testing and piloting your RFP
- The importance of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for your enterprise mobility solution[/unordered_list]
In this excerpt taken from Oldland's Q&A session at the three discuss the importance of approaching enterprise mobility in a holistic and integrated manner that taes into account both your hardware and software requirements simultaneously.
"For those companies out there - and there are an awful lot of them still, that are approaching this process [developing a mobility strategy for their field service operation] for the first time, how much should the decision in what tools to use in an ecosystem be intertwined - or should the decisions around software an hardware be treated separately?" Oldland asked.
"From my perspective I think companies tend to look at the software applications way before they look at the hardware question and I think that's a big mistake" McCaskie replied.
You want to be picking devices that are the easiest to use relative to software - because the software is your process.
"If it's the first time around they've implemented an IT mobile solution, they tend to look to port over their old paper based processes onto the new system. What that results is that whatever software they go for, there tends to be a certain amount of rewriting and bespoke development for themselves. When that happens all of a sudden you've got costs down the road when it comes to updating the software."
'This is why working with a hardware supplier such as Xplore can mitigate that because when the later phases of implementation are rolled out some eighteen or twenty four months later, the device is going to be the same - they don't have to think about getting their bespoke software rewritten - you can't say that about consumer grade devices."
"You really don't want to let the tail wag the dog, you don't want to let your device limit your software options" added Ashenbrenner.
"When you look at both of these together, you want to be picking devices that are the easiest to use relative to software - because the software is your process. The software really controls your order of work and you don't want to pick a device that becomes a straight jacket."
"And there is then the other piece to this which you mentioned earlier in the session Kris and Sandy has picked up here as well which is by getting a device that has been designed to operate for the next three to five years you save yourself an awful lot of churn and change. Xplore has tablets that work in vehicle docks that haven't changed in five or seven or even more years and that is by design."
"If you'd been buying consumer devices, and you were buying over a period of two or three years you'd have to be buying different devices at the time you deployed, you'd be buying different cases that aren't interchageable, different vehicle docks and so on."
"So you absolutely need to look at the whole solution, and make sure neither hardware nor software is pinning you into a corner."
The full Webinar PLUS an accompanying eBook are available to Field Service News subscribers - if you are a field service professional you may well qualify for our complimentary industry practitioner subscription. Click the following link to apply for your subscription and we will send you links to the webinar and the eBook instantly whilst we process your application!
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Dec 11, 2017 • Management • News • Jan Van Veen • management • moreMomentum • Events
moreMomentum organises several Momentum Impulse Sessions in Europe and the USA. Executive peers from various manufacturing industries exchange practices, challenges and ideas how to accelerate the business innovation and change and drive success...
moreMomentum organises several Momentum Impulse Sessions in Europe and the USA. Executive peers from various manufacturing industries exchange practices, challenges and ideas how to accelerate the business innovation and change and drive success into the digital service economy...
Rapid changes
It has never been a better time to be in the manufacturing industry than nowadays. New technology like big data, algorithms, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and many more are rapidly being adopted by people and organisations.
How to thrive in such a disruptive world
No doubt there exciting opportunities for manufacturing companies. With the new intelligence from the massive amount of data from connected devices and equipment they can create new value for their customers. They can enhance their value propositions and adopt new business models.
However, it’s not only the manufacturing companies that pursue these opportunities. New business are entering the into the market. These new entrants do not have metal, electronics and mechanics in their DNA, but data, algorithms and turning this into value. Besides the well-known companies like Amazon and Google there are many smaller companies moving rapidly. This is changing the competitive arena big time.
When we look at how manufacturers innovate their business and drive change, we see that many encounter 3 key problems which cause them to fall behind competition.
- Change is slow, whether it is small change or more radical changes, there seems to be a lot of energy getting lost in resistance and fighting resistance
- They are stuck in “business-as-usual”. Most innovations are about incremental improvement of current products, services and capabilities.
- Leaders and employees who see the opportunities, threats and lack of progress in their company experience they have no influence to accelerate change.
4 winning habits for momentum
It is mission-critical for manufacturing companies to accelerate business innovation and change for future success. Our research in 89 companies in 2016 identified 4 winning habits for momentum.
- Direction: Everyone shares a clear and succinct picture of changes in the industry, where the company is heading and what needs to change over the coming years. They all understand how they can contribute to the change, and ultimately, fit in.
- Dialogue: Across all teams and levels there is a constructive and forward-looking dialogue on performance, progress, priorities and aligned actions. Everyone feels secure and confident to adapt and try new approaches.
- Decision-making: Everyone has the power to make decisions within their role, to adjust, perform and improve. There are adequate guiding principles to ensure coherence and alignment of all decisions.
- Discovery: Everyone is aware of (potential) trends, opportunities and threats and the best practices available. They spend time in exploring, testing and learning. There is more focus on new things which go beyond the current core business, which is imperative for future success.
Interactive Momentum Impulse Session
moreMomentum organises a series of Momentum Impulse Sessions throughout Europe and USA. During these full day sessions, executives will discuss the 4 winning habits for momentum, their practices and challenges with business innovation and change and will identify opportunities how to accelerate change in their business.
Key-topics:
- Winning habits and strategies which make a (continuous) business innovation easy and quick
- Key obstacles and typical pitfalls for rapid business innovation and change
- Strategic priorities to accelerate business innovation and change and maximise chances for success
You will get valuable input for further developing the right innovation and change strategy and boosting your service innovation!
Upcoming sessions are:
- January 24 in Birmingham (UK) - £375
- March 21 in Munich (Germany) - €425
- May 14 in New York (USA) - $595
- May 23 in Eindhoven (The Netherlands - €425
Field Service News readers receive 30% discount. Enter FSN as promotional code to secure your discount.
Book your seat for your preferred session now.
About moreMomentum:
moreMomentum is an international consulting, training and coaching company which works with manufacturing companies to get more momentum into their ongoing business innovation and change. They exists to accelerate the transition of industrial manufacturing into the digital service economy.
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Dec 05, 2017 • Features • Management • Keith Wilkinson • Waters • Waters Corporation • Wilhelm Nehring • ClickSoftware • Darren Thomas • JCB • Robin Bryant • Schlumberger • Scot JCB • thysenkrupp • Vasu Guruswamy
In September this year Field Service News and ClickSoftware teamed up to launch the FSN Think Tank Sessions. The idea was simple to bring together a selection of senior field service professionals from different industries and and different company...
In September this year Field Service News and ClickSoftware teamed up to launch the FSN Think Tank Sessions. The idea was simple to bring together a selection of senior field service professionals from different industries and and different company sizes and give them the opportunity to discuss the pain points, the challenges and their vision of the future of service and see where the similarities lay.
Across the following few months there will be a series of articles that will help share the insights discussed at this inaugural Think Tank Session and in the first part of our opening series we explored the discussion points that focused on the importance of the Field Service Engineer's role asking whether it is growing or diminishing in importance in a world of automation and digitisation. In the concluding part of this feature we continue the discussion and explore the importance of ownership when following up on customer issues...
There is also an exclusive Briefing Report from this session entitled Disruption, Development and Diversity in Field Service which is available for Field Service News subscribers.
If you are a field service professional you can apply for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription and we will send you a copy of this white paper along instantly.Click here to apply for your subscription now! (by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here)
In the part one of this feature we concluded with an excellent point being made by Keith Wilkinson, VP of Sales for ClickSoftware who commented that in today's field service environment the 'field service engineer, from a digitisation perspective, needs to have all the tools, all the knowledge and information possible at his disposal so he can be empowered - so he can become that brand ambassador.'
Wilkinson’s point is a hugely important one and indeed is one that is becoming a serious consideration for many service organisations.
Whether you are offering outcome based solutions and service is crucial to your primary revenue stream or whether you are still running your service operation as a cost centre within a product-centric business, the fact remains that good service can go along way to retaining business, whilst poor service will drive your customers into your competitors arms.
There is nothing more powerful when it comes to engendering brand loyalty than facing a real customer service challenge and bringing the client with you through that issue and into resolution.” - Kris Oldland, Field Service News
“What about the follow up as well though?” Thomas asked the group.
“Constantly informing them [the customer] about the progress that is being made? For me it is very much about how you bring that customer with you through the resolution journey - how you outline to the customer how you will solve their problem – and that can come down to communicating across the management chain as well just the field engineer.”
“It’s an information train isn’t it – and that is dependent upon transparency and honesty,” concurs Kris Oldland, Editor-in Chief, Field Service News.
“Personally, I think more companies need to perhaps embrace that notion. More companies need to say to their clients ‘this is the process we are going down to resolve your issue, we can’t get this fixed right away but we are moving heaven and earth to get it fixed and here is what is being done.’ Because there is nothing more powerful when it comes to engendering brand loyalty than facing a real customer service challenge and bringing the client with you through that issue and into resolution.”
“Turning around a bad experience and transforming it into a good experience is something that can make that customer become a customer for life – mainly because it is making them feel valued and understood,” he adds.
“I think we need to remember the old maxim about quality over quantity,” comments Vasu Guruswarmy, the recent former VP of Global Service for Schlumberger.
“Whether it’s people or automation each one brings its own power.” He adds.
“Definitely the bar on automation is rising; and there is no getting away from the fact that knowledge systems are critical. But we had the problem before we went worldwide [with their own knowledge bank] that everybody believed in reinventing the wheel because that was the value that they sought for themselves - and so the idea of putting knowledge in a system was an anathema for most people and it took us a long time to turn this culture around.”
“In fact, I had to take a slightly provocative approach.”
“We had people that were facing challenges asking ‘what do I have to do in this condition?’ And some guru in the world would answer their problem - which was great because the first time around as it adds enormous value, but then there was a slightly negative impact on the business because there was little checking to see if what was being added was repetition, had it already been covered before?”
Indeed, this is often the problem with implementing knowledge bases, as Thomas had previously alluded to - it can become a challenge to stop the tail wagging the dog if left unchecked with multiple articles covering the same ground. However, for Guruswamy and Schlumberger the issue went deeper than just one of inefficiency.
As the bar keeps rising with automation it is even more important that the quality of people remains high – because when the automated solutions fail that is when the engineer must bring resolution" - Vasu Guruswamy, Former VP Global Service, Schlumberger
“For us the quality of people that we engage who are facing the customer is absolutely vital. And so as the bar keeps rising with automation it is even more important that the quality of people remains high – because when the automated solutions fail that is when the engineer must bring resolution. They need to know the customer and they need to know what the problem is – and then find the resolution.”
“There is no point in having 200 field service engineers running around with 180 of them being inefficient – and that is the biggest challenge that many companies face,” he concluded.
Again it was an excellent point for consideration.
“It is a fair assumption to say that for most companies when an engineer is ultimately sent out, when the truck rolls, that this is the end result in a chain of events that have led to diagnostics and remote or self-repair having failed?” Oldland asked the group.
“Is the engineer is now expected to have an additional level of knowledge and experience to provide the expert resolution that couldn’t be delivered via any other means?” He added.
“For us we are looking at automation to get better efficiency for the engineers that we’ve got,” replied Robin Bryant, Service Director of JCB Scot.
“But in our industry we are dealing with companies that may have one machine or they may have ten machines and when they have an issue they may be doubting if they buy any more. So when the engineer comes out and makes a good impression, turns it around, fixes it and is positive about the product it can have a huge impact on whether that next purchase is our equipment or a competitors.”
“We’ve always had some guys around the depot that are really good at that stuff and they are great guys, but then there are those that aren’t so good in that part of the role and so we are looking at how we get training out to the team to bring everyone up to that upper level. Ultimately, the engineer can have a hugely positive impact with the customer but they can also potentially have an equally negative impact as well, so for us automation is as much as about brining service standards to a consistently high level as it is about the efficiency gains we see from it.” He added.
“For us also, we have a very prominent parent brand in JCB and they set high standards in our service delivery expectations that are a reflection of the importance of their brand. They set us targets in terms of where they want us to be in terms of service level, the quality of our engineers and the amount of training that we have to do, but they are also incredibly supportive at the same time.”
Again Bryant’s comments were echoed across the group, reflecting the general acceptance of the importance of the role the field service engineer plays within an organisations ability to retain business from their clients.
Dr Wilhelm Nehring, CEO thyssenkrupp Elevator, UK and Eire summarised the group’s discussions so far neatly saying “Of course, one of the nice thing about this group is that we are all from different industries and from companies of different sizes, but one thing for us in our industry is that we cannot allow our clients to maintain or repair a lift – it is a matter of health and safety.”
“For us we have constant contact with our clients through our engineers, and I very much like the phrase Darren [Thomas] used earlier of ‘brand ambassadors’. This is exactly what our engineers are for us. To a certain degree I think the role of the service engineer has become more important, I would also agree with Steve’s [Smith] point that it has always been an important role, but the competitive market out there has made the role of the service engineer more visible and so things like training and teaching your staff to be that brand ambassador have become vital.”
“It’s a different thing to do, to engage with the client. You need to be able to have the technical skills to actually fix the lift - but you also need to interact with the client. What else does the client want? What else does the client need?”
“For us at thyssenkrupp, our engineers are the most important asset that we have – so when we get feedback from clients about how brilliant or impressive our engineers are, this is our lifeblood. This is what we do – so it is incredibly important to us.”
“Coming back to how we enable that, we invested heavily in what we call ‘International Technical Service Centres’ because we also undertake third party maintenance on other companies assets. We have 1.2 million units under maintenance – and about a third of them are other makes and brands so we need to enable our people to maintain these other units as well.”
For us Automation, IoT - all this digitalisation that we’re talking about is not something to replace engineers, or even to have less engineers - it is for us to enable our engineers to do the job better than they could before" - Wilhelm Nehring, CEO, thysenkrupp Elevators
“If you then come into the client experience, so lifts as a commodity, a lot of people don’t care toomuch about the lift as long as it goes up and down, most people don’t think about a lift until it breaks down,” he adds
“So one thing that we have done is to invest heavily in IoT. In part, this is to be ahead of the game, but it’s fiercely competitive because the developments in IoT are so fast. For example, twelve months ago I thought wow; we are so far ahead of the game, then this year I feel already that the world is changing so fast that we really need to be on our toes to stay ahead.”
“For us Automation, IoT - all this digitalisation that we’re talking about is not something to replace engineers, or even to have less engineers - it is for us to enable our engineers to do the job better than they could before. Today our engineers, before they arrive on site know already why the lift is not working so they can make sure they have the knowledge and parts to hand to drive that first time fix.”
“Then as we move to the second phase and we talk about the IoT and Machine learning, and we now have over 110,000 units connected to the system, which allows us to enter this predictive phase which means that with all the data we have from these installations, we can define patterns, build clusters with similar installations, similar components, similar locations, like a hospital for example – so we can then go to our clients and say ‘this part is likely to fail within between seven and seven and a half years.’”
“It’s no longer a conversation based around a gut feeling from our engineers on site, we are now able to have that conversation backed up with solid data and insight that allows us to fix it before if fails. In theory we want to move to completley pre-emptive maintenance.”
What is interesting across the discussion is that whilst the reasons may be varied as are the industries represented in our small but highly knowledgeable group, the central theme remains the same.
What is interesting across the discussion is that whilst the reasons may be varied as are the industries represented in our small but highly knowledgeable group, the central theme remains the same.
For some like Scot JCB it is a tool to ensure the highest standards delivered by their engineers become a consistent norm across their workforce, for others like thyssenkrupp it is at the heart of revolutionary change both within their organisation and indeed in their wider industry.
For Waters, automation offers an opportunity to reduce costly truck rolls whilst improving mean-time- to-repair through knowledge bases and remote diagnostics, something Schlumberger have also embraced in the past.
However, as Nehring expressed automation doesn’t necessarily mean fewer field service engineers, it means field service engineers better placed to do their job.
So as we move into a world of outcome based contracts and a world of remote diagnostics - the field service call becomes increasingly important.
As Guruswamy alluded to - what is the point of having a large field service workforce if only 10% of them are truly experts?
Perhaps somewhat counter-intuitively, automation and digital transformation have raised the stakes even further for the field service engineer.
By the time a truck roll is scheduled, the issue should be either fully diagnosed so a first time fix is now expected by the client or the issue has proven to be more complex in which case the field service engineer is now being seen as your organisations leading expert, the top guy sent to not only save the day, but also to potentially save your organisations reputation and retain your customer’s business.
Today’s engineer it seems not only needs to be a ‘true expert’ as Guruswamy discussed, but also a friendly face, your ‘brand ambassador’ with softer people-skills in his locker as well.
Has the importance of the role of the field service engineer grown in an age of digital transformation and automation?
The consensus from our Think Tank is absolutely, the field service engineer has become one of the most critical roles within an organisation - and recruiting and retaining good field service talent has become more important than ever before.
There is also an exclusive Briefing Report from this session entitled Disruption, Development and Diversity in Field Service which is available for Field Service News subscribers.
If you are a field service professional you can apply for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription and we will send you a copy of this white paper along instantly.Click here to apply for your subscription now! (by applying for your subscription via this link you accept the terms and conditions here and a plain english version is available from our main subscriptions page here)
This inaugural session of the FSN Think Tank was sponsored by:
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Dec 01, 2017 • Features • Research • Benchmarking • Bill Pollock • europe • Strategies for GrowthSM • UK
Bill Pollock reveals some of the key findings of this year's Strategies for GrowthSM benchmark survey with a specific lens on the Uk and European market...
Bill Pollock reveals some of the key findings of this year's Strategies for GrowthSM benchmark survey with a specific lens on the Uk and European market...
Want to know more? Bill will be presenting the results in a webinar hosted by CSDP on Wednesday, 6 December, 2017; to register visit or to download a copy of SFG℠’s companion Analysts Take report, please visit the registration Webpage at: http://bit.ly/2zt4eu0.
Each year, Strategies For GrowthSM (SFGSM) conducts a series of Benchmark Surveys administered among its global outreach community.
The results of SFGSM’s 2017 Field Service Management (FSM) Benchmark Survey, as they pertain specifically to the UK/Europe FSM market base, identify the following as the top factors, or challenges, currently driving Field Service Organisations (FSOs) to optimise field service performance (compared to the overall global results) – basically, they have been mandated by their respective managements to “meet customer demands” and “drive increased service revenues”, as summarised below:
- 50% Customer demand for quicker response time (less than 55% Global)
- 46% Internal mandate to drive increased service revenues (more than f30% Global)
- 38% Need to improve workforce utilisation & productivity (less than f50% Global)
- 38% Need to improve service process efficiencies (less than 39% Global)
- 23% Customer demand for improved asset availability (less than f29% Global)
- 23% Customer demand for more accurate service call scheduling (same as 23% Global)[/unordered_list]
However, while some of the key UK/Europe market drivers, such as customer demand for quicker response time and focusing on customer demand and workforce utilisation may be lower than their global respondent counterparts, the recognition that there is a need to improve service process efficiencies is pretty much at par with the rest of the world.
As such, it should come as no surprise that, similar to the 2017 global survey results, UK/Europe FSOs are still planning to invest more in new technologies in support of their respective field forces than other global geographies represented in the overall survey universe.
However, in order to effectively address these key challenges – and strive to attain Best Practices status – UK/Europe respondents then cite the following as the top strategic actions they are currently taking:
- 65% Develop / improve metrics, or KPIs, used to measure field service performance (more than 48% Global)
- 38% Automate existing manual field service processes and activities (more than 36% Global)
- 35% Integrate new technologies into existing field service operations (i.e., iPads, Tablets or other devices, etc.) (more than 31% Global)
These data strongly suggest that there is a pattern of synergy among the top three cited strategic actions that builds a foundation for all of the other actions that will ultimately be taken by the organisation; that is, that nearly two-thirds of the FSOs comprising the UK/Europe services community already recognise the need to build and/or improve their KPI measurement program.
In fact, the percentage of UK/Europe FSOs currently developing/improving their respective KPIs, at 65%, remains higher than even the 62% cited by the survey’s historical Best Practices respondents (i.e., those attaining at least 90% Customer Satisfaction and 30% Services Profitability).
Based on the current SFG℠ survey data, Jerry Edinger, President, CEO and Chairman of CSDP Corporation, a leading Service Relationship Management software developer, explains, “This is why we start every one of our client engagements with consulting.
We ensure that your business processes are designed correctly before automating them. Software alone cannot improve KPIs. We design the exact Field Service Management solution based on the needs and requirements of the organisation.
We detail how a solution automates the entire service delivery and customer service processes into a fully integrated field service management system and maps it into the overall enterprise workflow. Once the consultative effort is completed, we then have a detailed roadmap of how to build the most effective solution to meet the organisation’s field service goals and objectives.”
The 2017 SFG℠ survey results identify the following as the main factors that characterise the UK/Europe FSM market:
- The top future challenges for UK/Europe FSOs with respect to the acquisition and implementation of new technologies are essentially cost-related (i.e., ROI and TCO)
- The top future opportunity/benefit anticipated by UK/Europe FSOs through the acquisition/implementation of new technologies is improved customer satisfaction, primarily through the ability to eliminate internal silos, and provide customers with an end-to-end engagement relationship
- UK/Europe Field Services Organisations (FSOs) are largely driven to meet customer demands for quicker response time, and internal mandates for driving increased service revenues
- A nearly two-thirds majority of UK/Europe FSOs are adding, expanding and/or refining the metrics, or KPIs, they use to measure service performance
- Over the next 12 months, more than two-thirds (70%) of UK/Europe FSOs will have integrated new technologies into existing field service operations, and automated existing manual fields service processes or activities (70%)UK/Europe Field Technicians are increasingly being provided with enhanced access to real-time data and information to support them in the field
- UK/Europe FSOs are providing customers with expanded Web-enabled self-help capabilities (i.e., to order parts, track the status of open calls, and create service tickets, etc.)[/unordered_list]
Want to know more? Bill will be presenting the results in a webinar hosted by CSDP on Wednesday, 6 December, 2017; to register visit or to download a copy of SFG℠’s companion Analysts Take report, please visit the registration Webpage at: http://bit.ly/2zt4eu0.
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Nov 29, 2017 • Features • Cognito • Cognito iQ • Productivity • resources • White Paper • White Papers & eBooks • Employee Engagement • Software and Apps • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
Resource Type: Written Guide Published by: Cognito iQ Title: Your Guide to Flawless Field Service - Perfecting Productivity
Resource Type: Written Guide
Published by: Cognito iQ
Title: Your Guide to Flawless Field Service - Perfecting Productivity
Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!
Synopsis:
Outside of the field service industry, the growth of big data and analytics is old news. The most advanced organisations have already gone beyond the hype and have developed strategies that are delivering exciting performance-enhancing results. For example, Leicester City’s surprise Premier League win was based on the club’s expert use of football data analytics. Stories such as this are why Gartner say “Data and analytics are taking centre stage as the single most powerful catalyst for change in the enterprise”.
However, field service companies have been slower to achieve similar levels of success from the use of advanced analytics. Whilst in many organisations there is plenty of data available, it can be hard to use effectively: the data may not be sufficiently accurate or timely, and service professionals may lack the skills and tools they need. But this is changing. Field service organisations are getting smarter with both the data they collect and how they use it.
Over this series of three special guides, Cognito iQ demonstrate how simple analytics can make a significant difference to three key components of field service excellence:
- Customer Satisfaction
- Employee Engagement
- Productivity (the subject of this first instalment)
Overview:
Topics covered and addressed in this white paper include:
Expectations of field service have never been higher
Customers are used to the speed of delivery and quality of service that they get from consumer companies such as Amazon; this has raised the bar for all service companies. Customers want a service appointment quickly, they want smaller appointment windows and they expect your field worker to have the right information as well as the skills, knowledge and parts to resolve their issue first time.
So how do field service organisations provide a better service to their customers, with fewer resources?
So how do you improve productivity?
To answer that question, you have to know what productivity means to your business. All businesses will have a different definition and an individual approach. For example, would you be happy to drive up the number of visits per day your field workers attend if that meant fewer first time fixes, or reduced customer satisfaction scores?
The old adage is that you can’t manage what you can’t measure but, these days, companies know that it is a bit more complicated than that – measurement for its own sake or using the wrong metrics to set targets can be counter-productive.
It is vital to know how to measure success: which metrics are useful and which aren’t, which can be accurately determined and which can’t, how metrics interact and how setting goals and targets will affect how employees go about their jobs.
Perfecting productivity
Continual improvement is a well-established practice that seeks to increase customer value, reduce waste and optimise resources via incremental change, feedback and analysis. These techniques originated in manufacturing; on a production line, it is relatively simple to measure variables such as number of defects, as you can easily see how the work is being done and you can observe the impact when you make changes to the process.
But as continual improvement methodologies have developed, they have been profitably applied in many other industries, so why not field service operations?
With the right data, it is possible to adopt a proactive, systematic approach, breaking down the processes within the operation.
Want to know more? Access to this resource is available to Field Service News subscribers only - but if you are a Field Service Professional you may qualify for a complimentary industry practitioner subscription!
Please note that by applying for subscription via the above links you consent to our Terms and Conditions as listed here.
Not one for a load of legalese? Neither are we - that's why we put together a jargon-free version of our T&Cs on our subscription page which you'll find here
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Nov 29, 2017 • News • Artificial INtelleingence • servicepower • Software and Apps • software and apps • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
ServicePower Inc. a market leader in field service management solutions, has recently released a new Customer Experience service solution that combines its patented Artificial Intelligence engine with its new Gantt, maps, dashboards, improved...
ServicePower Inc. a market leader in field service management solutions, has recently released a new Customer Experience service solution that combines its patented Artificial Intelligence engine with its new Gantt, maps, dashboards, improved technician mobile enablement features, and a new integrated registration, diagnostic, self-scheduling and point-of-sale enabled Customer Portal.
This integrated solution is new to the industry, being the first solution to help field service organisations drive a faster, smarter end-customer experience, while also improving the effectiveness of field technicians and operations teams.
“Customer experience is key. This product release uses the latest in artificial intelligence, real-time engagement and mobility tools to deliver a better, and more digitised experience,” said Marne Martin, CEO of ServicePower. “Customers and technicians care about great service, which ServicePower now can deliver it in a differentiated way. Our suite of solutions eliminate many of the frustrations customers experience when requesting installations, maintenance or service.”
ServicePower drives faster service for the end customer.
The Customer Experience release empowers end-customer users to instantly book appointments through an integrated self-service portal, on any device, utilizing the patented AI technology. Relying on ServicePower to seamlessly book employed and credentialed contracted field technicians using its smart brokering technology, field service organisations can delight customers with faster response times and a consistent, branded service experience, while providing greater call center efficiencies at the same time. The new release also improves visibility for customers through real-time job status notifications and technician location information, enables customers to upload diagnostic and triage information, and engage with their technician as a trusted advisor. Customers gain improved control over their own experience, uploading and viewing job related information and configuring notifications from the platform.
ServicePower drives a smarter service experience for the mobile field technician.
With the Customer Experience release the field service team gains a market leading set of capabilities, enabling predictive maintenance, higher repair success rates, and delivery of a more personalised service experience to end-customers. Technicians have access to a more complete customer data set, including all relevant job, customer, asset and part information to deliver higher first time fix rates, while being able to push data downstream, improving manufacturing and long-term product viability for customers. Extensive product catalogs and pricing capabilities enable technicians to deliver parts, accessories and service offers in person, adding value to each customer interaction.
ServicePower drives a unified experience for service operations.
The Customer Experience release enables field service operators to streamline field service operations, from entitlement and claims management to scheduling, labor and parts forecasting, reporting and analytics. ServicePower’s modern interfaces and patented AI-scheduling algorithm improves customer processes such as appointment booking, with employed or contracted field personnel, while driving productivity up and costs down. Responsive, collaborative dashboards improve visibility of operations, driving improvements for both the customer and the technician.
Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower said “This latest Fall 2017 product release is all about changing the service paradigm to incorporate the latest in AI technology, digitisation, and a great user experience to empower the technician to deliver great service and the end-customer to manage their own engagement with service organisations, when and where they want, with clear visibility of technicians’ visits, so they know what’s going on. Technicians enjoy providing faster, smarter service, so they can delight the customer and provide more value. Our focus is about streamlining operations on a unified platform to provide a better experience for all, continuing to innovate with new features targeted across the entire service ecosystem.”
ServicePower recently hosted an excellent webinar the discussed the Customer Experience release on which you can access here
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Nov 23, 2017 • Features • Management • management • Nick Frank • Recruitment • Richard Cowley • Dag Gronevik • Si2 partners • Talent Acquisition
Nick Frank, Managing partner at Si2 Partners, looks at the trials and tribulations of sourcing the talent to drive your field service organisation forward and asks why are we not doing this better?
Nick Frank, Managing partner at Si2 Partners, looks at the trials and tribulations of sourcing the talent to drive your field service organisation forward and asks why are we not doing this better?
Delivering on business objectives demands that we really understand and acquire those capabilities that help us differentiate from competition. Indeed, the same is true for us as professionals as we look for own next steps in our career. Yet matching needs with people is still recognised as one of the biggest challenges for employers and employees alike.
The reality is that for business in general and in the area of service business specifically, finding people who can deliver (experience, knowledge, qualifications & competencies), are highly motivated (right career move, location, salary, benefits & company) and fit (industry, company values, team they will be working with) is a major management headache. The impact of getting this process wrong can be a costly, time consuming, an emotionally draining exercise and frankly devastating on objectives.
Why is it like this?
Successful companies ideally manage their talent acquisition through a balance of succession planning, external hiring, or interim positions. This journey is complex and fraught with organisational, political and external challenges to deliver a robust and effective talent management framework. In this age when data, analytics and connectivity technologies threaten to disrupt many industries, the pressure to introduce new capabilities has never been stronger. Increasingly, service leaders are frustrated that to find talent whether it’d be sourced internally or externally is taking too long and with minimal choice.
If you have ever tried to search for service people using these types of recruitment tools you will discover that it is very difficult to pinpoint the type of positions and qualifications you require to fill your vacancies.
Interestingly though, if you have ever tried to search for service people using these types of recruitment tools you will discover that it is very difficult to pinpoint the type of positions and qualifications you require to fill your vacancies.
One of the main stumbling blocks is that service is such a wide generic term that it identifies 1000’s of unsuitable candidates.
Using company job titles seems a good idea, but often although these might make sense to people within the business, they bear little relevance to the outside world. The result is that recruiters are forced to search for candidates with vague, irrelevant job titles which are difficult to match on the main social media platforms available today.
Alternative approaches such as on-line job boards have other challenges. Frequently job descriptions are not clear and easily understood. Recruiters do not know which talent match the ‘Service’ brief and are often overwhelmed with the volume of response, because many candidates apply based on their belief they work in the ‘Service’ industry, yet often are completely unsuitable for the job.
In summary, companies often end up waiting up from 9- 12 months to successfully fill Service Leadership positions!
What can we do about it?
With above in mind, it is possible to reduce the time it takes to hire good service people by more than 50%, through following three very simple rules:
1.Job descriptions:
Organisations are good at producing job descriptions that suit their internal HR processes, but these are often not easy to translate into the terminology used in the wider world. Don’t fall into this trap! Make sure the job description you develop meets both the internal company needs and for the recruiter is geared to the language of social networks.
2.Work with people who know Service:
Working with professionals who deeply understand your business environment and needs, will be far more effective in terms of time and quality.
Working with professionals who deeply understand your business environment and needs, will be far more effective in terms of time and quality.
3.Be involved:
Make sure that you are fully aware of the type of people being searched, so that you can ensure it is focused on the right experiences. Close teamwork between client and recruiter has been shown to significantly reduce the time it takes to identify great candidates.
By following these three simple guidelines, you will not only find people faster, you will find better qualified talent that will enrich your organisation as well as significantly reducing your recruitment costs. They also can be applied to those professionals looking to develop their career paths.
These guidelines have been developed over many years participating in the hiring process of service professionals across many parts of the world.
Whilst conceptually, fairly straightforward, they are not so easy to follow and execute. With technical and service business talent at a premium and the adoption of on-line search through social networks is transforming the recruitment process.
Good definition thorough understanding the service “space” and feedback throughout the recruitment process have become critical to successfully finding the nuggets of gold in the ocean of working humanity.
For more information on recruiting Great Service People, contact Dag Gronevik, Richard Cowley or Nick Frank on how to ‘Build your Service Capability’ at info@si2partners.com or call +44 208 144 6452.
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