AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Kris Oldland

The Q&A section of our recent webinar 5 Steps to Delivering Service Excellence. Field Service News Editor-in-Chief talks to Michael Smythe of Advanced Field Service

To download the full webinar including a Michael Smythe's presentation with a live look at how Advanced FIeld Service software functions

 

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In the first part of this series exploring our research into IoT in Field Service sponsored by ServiceMax and PTC we explored the growing number of companies moving away from the traditional break-fix approach towards a preventative approach.

However, our findings indicated that whilst this attitude is widespread, achieving a move away from break fix models is harder to achieve than simply updating policies.In fact responses to our research would certainly strengthen the case for Internet of Things being rapidly accepted and adopted amongst field service companies who can see the benefits of proactive maintenance but are unable to deliver it.

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The tech being used today

So as we begin to form a picture of our respondent companies we can see that on the main they have moved towards a proactive

approach that IoT could quite certainly improve and on the whole they are either regularly investing in technology to improve their field service operations or are open to doing so.

I mentioned in the beginning of this report that technologies such as Big Data, Enterprise Mobility and Cloud Computing have evolved together at a similar time to become highly complimentary and the core of what many modern field service management solutions are today.

 

Our next question was included to see what types of technology our industry has already adopted and once again, as has been seen in previous Field Service News research projects there seems to be two clear and distinct groups within field service - the Haves and Have-Nots.

For while over half of all companies (51%) are now utilising Field Service Management Software, with nearly a third (31%) utilising Dynamic Scheduling tools, and just over a fifth (21%) using telematics to manage their field engineers, still almost two fifths (37%) are using paper based systems.

However, the one clear area where companies have made investments in is within mobile computing devices with over two thirds (67%) of companies already utilising some form of mobile computing device for their engineers whether it is a PDA, Smart Phone, Tablet or Laptop.

 

So returning to a perspective of whether as a whole field service companies are ready to turn to a new technology such as the Internet of Things, then it would seem that for many the bedrock of technology required to allow them to truly capitalise on such an implementation is in place.

However there is still a large section of the industry that could be viewed as technologically immature, so whilst the implementation of IoT isn’t necessarily dependant on other technologies, one would imagine that the likelihood of a company investing in an IoT strategy without having already implemented a field service management solution is probably relatively slim.

Yet as the technology continues to evolve, as partnerships such as that of ServiceMax and PTC working together continue to evolve and as disparate platforms become ever more integrated then we will certainly start to see field service management platforms that are built to incorporate IoT become more prevalent, which may give those companies that are currently viewed as laggards a potential quantum leap forward in the way they are utilising technology to deliver service.

Sensor based monitoring

Of course perhaps the most important question when assessing whether field service companies are ready for undertaking an IoT strategy is whether or not they believe they have a product line and install base that opens themselves to sensor based monitoring.

The majority of respondents which was just over two fifths (42%) believe that they do have a product line which would be suitable for sensor based monitoring. This would suggest that there is indeed already a large potential market for IoT amongst field service companies.

However it is also interesting to note that of those companies that didn’t feel they had products that opened themselves up to sensor based monitoring, there were more companies who were not sure if their install base was suitable (26%) as opposed to those who simply stated their product line didn’t open itself up to sensor based monitoring (23%).

[quote float ="left"]The majority of respondents which was just over two fifths (42%) believe that they do have a product line which would be suitable for sensor based monitoring

This opens up an interesting question as to whether there is still a requirement for further education of what is required for Internet of Things to be successfully implemented. How much is possible via retrofitting for example or is IoT wholly reliant on new product development?

 

Such questions certainly provide opportunities for vendors and consultants to help educate those companies who are uncertain about whether the Internet of Things could be of value to them. However, if we bring together the results of the above questions, the opportunity for IoT to become an integral part in the way many field service companies operate is certainly apparent.

So having established that there are a sizeable number of field service companies that could potentially be suited to implementing an IoT strategy, the next big question is of course what is the general perception of IoT amongst these companies – do they see the potential match themselves or will IoT fail to live up to the significant hype surrounding it today?

To help us understand how big the appetite for IoT was amongst field service companies we asked our respondents “which of the following technologies do you think will have the biggest impact on field service operations within the next five years?”Giving them the options of ‘IoT’, ‘Big Data’, ‘Smart Glasses’, ‘Augmented Reality’, ‘Connected Vehicles’ or ‘Other’.

Here there was a clear winner and it was indeed IoT which 45% of our respondents stated would have the biggest impact. In fact this was more than double the second most popular option which was Big Data (19%) closely followed by Connected Vehicles (cited by 15%). Interestingly Augmented Reality, which like IoT could also have a significant impact on field service beyond simply improving efficiencies was only cited by 10% of our respondents as being the technology most likely to have the largest impact on field service, perhaps due to the relative immaturity of the technology on display to date.

It was also interesting to see that despite some very interesting potential applications being produced that again could lead to huge potential savings for field service companies, that smart glasses registered with only 3% of our respondents. A large factor here being the perceived failure of Google Glass perhaps?

 

Interestingly of those respondents that added additional comments within the ‘other’ section there were a number of respondents who admitted that they remain unsure as to what technology will have the most impact with one respondent commenting “I’m not convinced that the industry yet knows what the next big thing will be. Our industry is still coming to terms with the improvements in smart phones and understanding the tangible benefits that can be gleaned from modern apps and lowering data costs.”

This adds some interesting further insight into the fact that whilst for some field service and technology are becoming increasingly entwined, for many companies in the market there is still a cautious approach to allowing technology to redefine the way we do business.

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As we continue our new series reviewing some of the key rugged hardware we now turn our attention to the Xplore’s rugged tablet the Bobcat…

What the manufacturers say...

The Bobcat tablet is the latest in Xplore's family of fully-rugged tablets. Featuring an array of integrated options, and a sleek, sophisticated design, the Bobcat will change the way you look at tablets. With a MIL-STD-810G rating and Windows® 8.1 Pro, the Bobcat can go from the boardroom to the work site without missing a beat.

First impressions...

With the recent acquisition of Motion Computing by Xplore Technologies the obvious initial comparison to make for the Bobcat is with it’s new sibling range and when compared to the Motion F5M the Bobcat certainly has a much more aesthetically pleasing style.

Whilst the F5M with it’s integrated handle looks like a product that was only ever designed with industry in mind, the Bobcat whilst still having a clear ruggedity about, it could pass far more easily for a consumer device.

Of course one could ask why does this matter? And when we talk about pure functionality, and viewing tablets simply as a tool for doing the job, the answer is of course it doesn’t. However, when we spend just a moment to consider the human, emotional side of getting our engineers buy in the fact remains that a ‘sexier’ more consumer-looking device is more likely to get the approval of a field engineer, which of course could lead to swifter adoption times.

 

And whilst the Bobcat isn’t perhaps as sleek as the Getac T800 or Panaosonic’s Toughpad 4K it is certainly not the ugliest tablet in the Rugged World.

In the hand, it feels sturdy enough without ever feeling cumbersome. In fact weighing in at just over 1 kilogram the Bobcat is a similar weight to the Panasonic FZ-G1 and weighs in a lot third lighter than Getac’s F110 model.

When it comes to buttons and peripherals the Bobcat’s layout makes sense and was easily navigated with placing being intuitive. Also the optional handle that can be attached whilst not offering the solidity of the integrated handle of the F5M does offer the option of easily carrying the device around in such a manner although personally I found the handle slightly uncomfortable when carrying and bit awkward and in the way when using the device. It is however a detachable accessory so this isn’t a significant problem.

Processing power

When it comes to what’s underneath the hood, the Bobcat falls a bit short of many of it’s peers. With Panasonic’s FZ-G1, Getac’s T800 and F110 models the Motion F5m all boasting faster processing power than the Bobcat’s relatively modest 1.91Ghz processer as standard with most offering the option of even better processing speeds if required.

That said the Bobcat should be able a large majority of tasks that it would be expected to deal with in the field however, it perhaps isn’t the choice for mobile workers who will be using a lot of CPU hungry applications.

As for the graphics card, the Bobcat’s Intel Integrated Mobile Gen7 Graphics card is also a little lacking compared to some of it’s competitors but again it should still be sufficient enough for common usage that we would see in field service.

Operating system

As with most tablets in this space The Bobcat is a windows based tablet coming currently in the two flavours of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (with upgrade options to Windows 10).

Whilst this is great for the majority of companies that are using Windows for their office based systems as well as it helps for easier transfer of data from field to office and back. Perhaps an option for an Android OS may appeal to some and would be a welcome inclusion however as mentioned most tablets within this class are Windows based so it would be unfair to single out Xplore for criticism here.

The Ins & Outs

Where the Bobcat does impress is in the number of included ports – something that is often a challenge for rugged tablets. The Bobcat comes with 2 separate USB3.0 ports a feat unmatched by all of the above mentioned competitor devices except for an optional upgraded configuration of the Panasonic FZ-G1.

The Bobcat also has a MicroSD slot which not only gives the option of expanding the 128HB internal memory (upgradable to 256GB) but is also a potentially useful means of transferring files from developed in the field onto a desktop at any point.

 

Should your engineers need to give presentations of the work being undertaken at any point then the micro HDMI out will allow them to easily share directly from the Bobcat.

Other ports on the Bobcat include a RS232 serial Ready Port, headphones/speakers mini-jack stereo port plus DC power input.

Connectivity:

Of course for field engineers to get the most out of any mobile computing device connectivity is absolutely key. The Bobcat has a number of integrated communications solutions embedded within it including an 802.11ac wireless LAN (wi-fi) receiver, which not only allows the device to connect to both 2.5GHz and 5GHz but also delivers enhanced speeds.

The tablet also comes with an optional 4G LTE mobile broadband receiver meaning so even out of Wi-fi range as long as there is mobile coverage the device is capable of connecting at the fastest speeds available in any given area.

There is also integrated GPS with an accuracy of 2.5 metres and Bluetooth 4.0 so the device can be paired with other tools being used by your field engineer such as in cab communications or smart watches etc.

In addition to this there is a both a front facing and rear camera alongside integrated speakers and microphone which allows for video conversations between engineers for knowledge sharing etc.

Finally the Bobcat also has options for including Near Field Communications (NFC) reading capability and Barcode scanning both of which can be useful tools when updating parts inventory.

Ruggedity:

As one would expect the Bobcat meets the standards of a fully rugged tablet. With a MIL-STD 810G certification the tablet is both water and dust resistant and can operate in a range of temperatures ranging from -20°C through to 60°C which should cover all but the absolute extreme of field service environments.

The Bobcat is also capable of surviving a 5 foot drop and thanks to it’s lightweight rugged magnesium midframe the LCD and electronics are particularly well protected should the device be accidentally dropped. In addition to this a the clever design which incorporates raised corners the screen remains protected whilst for further reassurance there is also the option of upgrade of an Armortech Screen Guard.

 

Battery Life:

Finally the battery life of the Bobcat is certainly capable of lasting an engineer throughout their day. The full shift battery life is listed as up to 8 hours however, the Bobcat has a hot swappable battery and with additional external battery options the tablet is comfortably capable of making it through a 20 hour day .

Conclusion:

The Bobcat offers a good combination of being a good-looking tablet that is up to the daily grind of most field service applications. It is well designed with intuitively placed buttons and a good amount of I/O ports and support for peripheries.

The obvious weakness of the Bobcat is in it’s processing power lagging behind it’s closest competitors, however it’s competitive pricing makes it a very good option for those companies whose engineers needs’ are not particularly CPU intensive.

 

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Marne Martin, CEO at ServicePower outlines the key considerations for field service directors exploring technology, people and processes…

The field service industry is exceptionally diverse and surprisingly complex. Providers vary in size, geographical coverage, services offered, parts required to conduct repairs, inspections, installations, and maintenance or facility management. In today’s competitive world, customer satisfaction is considered the number one indicator of success, even as productivity, cost, and parts inventory management remain essential.

Workforce management software (WFM) is the technology cornerstone on which the success of the operations relies. New technologies, like social, mobile, analytics and cloud, IoT and M2M data, also impact the industry, presenting new ways to perform work, improve first time fix rates, and new business opportunities.

Technology

How does a field service business select the best WFM technology? What must service operations consider to ensure measurable success?

WFM solutions differ greatly, as discussed last month, so it is imperative to consider your requirements early to maximize the likelihood that what is deployed delivers the functionality you require, at the costs you expect. This checklist will help you build a foundation strong enough to maximize ROI and improve customer service levels.

Budget:	WFM implementation and maintenance costs vary. Determine if a license or a transactional SaaS model is best for your organization, evaluate the fully loaded costs, and make sure to have a partner that is willing to evolve with your changing needs.
Business Complexity:	The more complex your business, the more important true optimisation software, like ServiceScheduling, is to create the least costly schedules and highest customer satisfaction as the same time.
Business Objectives:	Make sure your business objectives are clear and your business partners are engaged and ready for any change management required.
Security Requirements:	In this age of hackers and identity theft, pick a solution that ensures your customer, employee and business data are safe.
Key Performance Indicators:	Agree on KPIs early and collect baseline data to measure improvements against.
Software Deployment:	To SaaS or not to SaaS? Decide if you want to deploy and manage an on premise solution or rely on vendor expertise.
Back Office Integration:	Increasing first time fix rates requires that technicians arrive with the skills, parts, and collaborative mobile dispatch software to support all tasks onsite. Decide during design what data, software and people access are required to support field work.
Integration Execution:	Decide if your IT team can support a WFM integration or if a system integrator is required to do the heavy lifting.
Training:	Don’t forget training. Staff must be trained to use the software as, how and when intended.
Continuous Improvement:	Stay abreast of new technology and changes in your own business. Ask for advice incorporating latest releases.

Process and People are as Important as Technology

Create processes and people policies as part of the WFM deployment. Technology cannot alone create a successful field service operation. The underlying processes and people create success.

Process

When developing an evolving operation, fundamental processes must be designed and implemented to ensure smooth operations and healthy ROI.

Work Scheduling:	Work scheduling is not routing. It is the process and tools used to create basic staff work schedules: shifts, breaks, lunches, PTO, and non-schedulable time such as training or vehicle maintenance.
Forecasting:	Demand forecasting goes hand in hand with labor supply forecasting. Invest in tools to plot demand, geographical and seasonal. Business intelligence tools are great options for demand forecasting.
Management Plan:	Define roles, responsibilities and tasks. Create performance management plans so adherence and success can be measured, and rewarded or corrected. Managers and employees thrive when expectations are clear. Discipline is less painful when plans are defined, published and applied evenly.
Parts and Equipment Management:	Define processes for procuring, warehousing and allocating parts to jobs. Define accounting process for tracking distributor invoices and returns to ensure credits and charges are correct. Define use policy for company assets, like trucks and tools. Enforce the policy with tracking technology to prevent misuse or fraud.

People

People are the most critical element of any field service operation. Create people, processes and policy to “sustain and maintain” your ROI goals.

Create a Task List:	Define daily tasks. Employees accomplish more and feel more accomplished when they understand what needs to be done each day.
Create a Playbook:	A playbook is critical and often overlooked. It is an operational manual which defines policies that dictate employee interactions and utilization of WFM software and operational processes which support objectives and KPIs, driving operational excellence and productivity.
Plan and execute the ride along:	Once tasks and expectations are defined and understood, ride along or sit with employees to understand reality. Identify what is going on in the field, call center or warehouse, to identify potential opportunities for improvement.
Validation:	Inspect your expectations! Perform customer surveys. Audit work performed. Customer satisfaction cannot be assumed simply because a task list and schedule have been completed. Validate process and policy adherence to ensure employee success and customer satisfaction.
Manage Expansion:	Don’t overlook the ‘fiefdom effect’. Policy, process and technology compliance and utilisation must be consistent and measurable across the entire organization to objectives are met.

 

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In this the final part of our serialisation of The Service Manager Handbook (2015 edition) published by Advanced Field Service we look at four key areas for constant consideration as you push your field service operation, and the wider business to grow and flourish...

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Your business strategy

Do a regular SWOT analysis

Ring-fence time away from day-to-day firefighting to analyse your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This analysis becomes the building block of your business strategy and the foundation for your organisation’s goals.

It’s impossible to be all things to all people. Know what you do well and focus on being the very best in that field.

Challenge the norm and diversify

If you always do things in the same way, you’ll always get the same results. To remain dynamic and resilient to change, ‘think outside the box’ and look for ways to innovate.

 

Diversification, such as selling complementary products or services, could prove an excellent strategy to grow your business, presenting you with multiple income streams that can often fill any gaps during your low season and create opportunities to increase your top-line growth.

Develop your products and services

What do your customers value most? How could you incentivise them to buy more? Gathering regular client feedback will prove crucial in ensuring you invest your time and money in the areas that matter most.

Watch the competition

By keeping a watchful eye on your rivals you can become alert to emerging threats or spot new opportunities for your business. Do you have a strong enough proposition to stand out from the crowd?

Plan for growth

How could you increase your sales to new and existing clients? How will growth impact your business: both now, next year, and five years from now? Are your systems truly scalable and able to handle exponential growth?

Your customers

Model the ideal client

Focus on those jobs, contracts and clients that are most profitable. It’s worth stepping back and analysing your customer base to identify clients who are already profitable and those who could become more profitable – and even consider ‘sacking’ the customers who drain your resources.

 

Ask for referrals

Your customers can be powerful influencers in helping to attract new, like-minded customers. If you’re doing a great job and the customer’s happy, ask if they would be happy to act as a case study or reference site.

Uncover the value you deliver

Encourage major customers to regard you as strategic partners. Make sure they understand the value that you bring to their business. Offering customers a web-based portal gives them the ability to create jobs, view history, access contract agreements and run interactive reports on their KPIs.

Regular communication will keep your customers firmly in the loop a and cement your status as a preferred service partner.

Your team

Build a high performance team

Happy engineers and call-handling staff are more likely to create a good impression with the customer. Employees are more likely to stay with an organisation if there is room for growth and advancement.

Commitment from the top is infectious. Value engineers’ on-the-ground insight into customer needs and openly recognise and reward success to motivate your team.

Help your team to thrive

Your field service team must be allowed to evolve. Look out for opportunities for members to cross-train and expand their skills.

 

This will also build a more resilient, adaptable workforce. Some companies worry that if they develop their employees, this will make them attractive to competitors. However, if you gain a reputation for being genuinely interested in your team, you’re more likely to retain the long-term loyalty of your employees.

Your systems

Consign paperwork to the bin

Automation is absolutely crucial for any growing business that needs to scale up its customer base without increasing headcount. The latest mobile, reporting and document management software will help to eliminate manual intervention, freeing your team to do what they do best.

Mobilise your workforce

Give your field team complete visibility of every job and status change. Field service mobile solutions allow engineers to view account information, download technical documents, record time-sheets and expenses, send proactive alerts, view planned work and close jobs on site.

Turn data into insight

By regularly reviewing your KPIs over a period of time, trends and patterns should become more apparent to identify opportunities and risks. The latest business intelligence tools give organisations the power to identify new opportunities and capitalise on emerging trends.

Make cash control a priority

Employ best practice cash control practices to optimise your cash flow: release cash through better stock management, rather than locking it up in extra spares and parts ‘just in case’. Bill customers promptly and accurately to further shorten the billing cycle and address any late payment issues.

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Field Service News Editor-in-Chief Kris Oldland looks looks at why the Internet of Things will soon evolve into the Industrial Internet and why it will have a huge impact on the way we face field service operations in the very near future... 

 

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Click above to get your digital copy of Field Service News issue seven now!

 

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It was only fairly recently that I first came across the phrase Industrial Internet...

If I’m a hundred percent honest I didn’t really know what it meant and had to have it explained to me. For those who like me hadn’t stumbled across this phrase before it’s basically a new name for the Internet of Things.

Or more specifically the application of IoT in a business driven environment, as opposed to the consumer world of smart home that IoT has now become synonymous with. Given that whilst utilising the same technology the discussions around IoT enabled Smart Homes is going to be very different to those around the application of IoT in industry then I guess it makes sense.

It’s probably also a sign that IoT is growing up. The first examples of IoT I came across were all predominantly novelty stuff. I remember being at a technology and marketing conference a few years ago and a company had a machine called Bubblinho on their stand. Basically it was the worlds first IoT based Bubble Blowing Machine.

I distinctly recall thinking at the time how it was all very clever if a little bit pointless.

Around the same time I remember reading about a man who created a device that could allow him to feed his dog a dog biscuit by tweeting. Again very clever, but if your going to be away from home so much that you need the Internet of Things to feed your poor pooch then your not exactly the world’s best Dog Owner are you?

Yet those who know me, or indeed read my column will know that I am a huge proponent of IoT when it comes to its application in field service. I genuinely think that it will be a game changer. Not only that but I think that IoT (along with Augmented Reality) will be the technology that truly reshapes the way field service companies operate forever.

In the not too distant future companies will look back at pre IoT workflows in wonderment at just how we got along. Much like we look back today and try to remember what we did before mobile phones became prevalent.

So for me if changing the name of IoT to Industrial Internet is a sign that IoT is starting to mature then so be it.

And the fact is that it definitely has matured, and is taking seed within the field service industry.

Without giving too much away the evidence is clear in our research report (page 29) this issue, which just so happens to be assessing the appetite for IoT in field service.

The implementation of IoT is no longer just theory. It is happening and it is happening now. The shift from exciting emerging technology to a standard technology everybody is focussing on has been swift and no where was this more evidence than at the recent Field Service Fall event held in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Throughout the three days of the conference there were vast numbers of presentations, round-tables and just general chat in the breakout sessions all centred on the capability of IoT to change the way we operate our field service divisions.

Yet according to Jonathan Massoud, Divisional Director & Market Analyst, with conference organisers WBR, this time last year folks were still just about getting their heads around the concept. (Read more here)

This year, it seems it is full steam ahead for a large number of companies, and those who aren’t currently implementing a IoT solution are on the whole starting to build their own IoT plans.

Of course one of the most exciting partnerships in this area at the moment is that of ServiceMax and PTC and between them I’m quietly confident that they can produce some fantastic IoT enabled FSM solutions.

In fact reference to IoT is peppered through this issue although not necessarily by design. Regular contributors Nick Frank of Frank Partners and Sumair Dutta of The Service Council both focus on IoT in their expert views this issue. It seems that everywhere we turn in our industry the Internet of Things is at the forefront of peoples minds.

The Age of The Industrial Internet is most definitely upon us and as with any change we must either embrace it or be left behind by those that do.

 

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In this the first part of a new series Kris Oldland, Field Service News Editor-in-Chief explores our exclusive research into IoT and Field Service undertaken by Field Service News and sponsored by ServiceMax and PTC...

 

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We are seemingly blessed to be living in a time of such incredible advancement. Technological trends such as Big Data, Enterprise Mobility and Cloud Computing have all pushed businesses forward and often we see these three coming together in the latest field service management systems, where data is easily collected, interpreted and distributed across a business eco-system.

Such systems give engineers instant access to knowledge bases, managers continuous overviews of the performance of their teams and most importantly of all, customers an ever improving customer experience. However whilst the opportunity for improving business processes these technologies present is clear, when it comes to potential for real, genuine industrial revolution, there is another emergent technology that promises to be king and that is the Internet of Things.

Whilst the massive hype that surrounded Big Data meant that the early projects we are seeing today are perhaps a slight anti-climax, (BI on steroids - which is undeniably useful in business but just not quite the life changing scenarios that were being bandied about back in 2013) with IoT almost the opposite is true.

There seems to be less confusion around IoT, which given it’s much more tangible nature makes sense, but have we grasped the magnitude of how big an impact it could truly have on field service industries? To try and understand a little more about the general attitude to and application of IoT amongst field service companies, Field Service News has partnered with ServiceMax and PTC on this research project looking to ascertain just how ready we are in field service for IoT.

About the research

The research was conducted across a period of 6 weeks during August and September this year. Over 100 field service professionals contributed to the research with respondents from both the operational side of business (field service directors/managers etc) as well as senior IT representatives (CIO/CTO etc.) participating alongside business leaders (MD,CEO etc.)

We had a variety of company sizes ranging from those with less than 10 field workers through to those with over 800 field workers, with a fairly even split across these groups so there was fair representation of opinions from companies of differing sizes.

Also whilst there was a slight UK bias in respondents, there were also respondents from India, Ireland, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany and the USA so there was a mix of nationalities amongst the respondents as well. Before we began looking at the appetite for IoT amongst our respondents we first wanted to see if companies were actually well placed to benefit from adopting an IoT strategy.

 

To do this we needed to assess where the companies in our group were in terms of their approach to technology in general as well as how they approached their own service delivery.

Of course with the introduction of any new technology there will always be laggards and there will always be bleeding edge adopters and if there was a bias amongst our respondent group either way this should be taken into account when exploring other responses and trends identified within the research. Therefore the first question we asked our respondents was “How regularly does your company invest in new technology initiatives to improve field service operations and performance” and we gave our respondents the choices of every year, every two years, every three years, every five years or other.

It would seem our group was on average representing a slightly forward looking set of companies with 35% stating they would invest in new technology an annual basis. Meanwhile 13% stated they did so every two years, 17% every three years and 16% five years. A number of respondents also commented that their company’s investment in technology was slightly less strategic and on more of an ad-hoc basis although members of this group also stated ‘recently the investment in new technology is being increased’

Predictive or reactive?

The next question we asked in this initial section was whether our respondents were working for a company that is either adopting a pro-active or reactive model in terms of their field service planning.

Again this will be a good indicator of how ready field service companies are to adopt IoT as one of the significant factors in why IoT is predicted to be such have such a major impact, particularly in field service, is that it can be the key for companies moving away from the traditional break-fix delivery of service to a more efficient preventative maintenance approach to delivering field service.

 

Indeed it seems that the majority of field service companies do see the benefits of moving towards delivering service in a proactive rather than reactive manner, in theory at least. Whilst the same amount of companies (6%) stated they were either “Fully pro-active with a mix of predictive and preventive maintenance, enabled by remote monitoring and M2M diagnostics” or “We are mostly pro-active using both predictive and preventive maintenance strategies but still have a small percentage of reactive calls.” The largest group of respondents by a long way (44%) stated they “operate a proactive strategy where possible but are still mostly reactive.”

Meanwhile almost a third of companies (31%) state that their “service is half proactive and half reactive” whilst only a small fraction of companies (4%) were operating on a wholly reactive strategy. This would suggest that the perceived wisdom that field service companies should be moving away from the traditional break-fix reactive approach to a more proactive approach, which is better for service providers and their customers alike, is being adopted by the industry at large.

It also indicates that whilst this attitude is widespread, achieving a move away from break-fix models is harder to achieve than simply updating policies. In fact responses to this question would certainly strengthen the case for Internet of Things being rapidly accepted and adopted amongst field service companies who can see the benefits of proactive maintenance but are unable to deliver it.  

 

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Sister show to Field Service USA, Field Service Fall brings three days of industry education to the East Coast of the USA. Field Service News Editor-in-Chief Kris Oldland flew over to see what the latest hot buttons for the US service industry were…

Held in Buckhead, the upmarket business region of Atlanta Field Service Fall lived up to it’s billing as one of the key US events in the field service calendar by bringing together some 200 plus senior members of the field service industry across the three day event.

As always with industry events focussing on field service operations the delegates came from a range of disparate industries including healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications and more, yet despite coming from seemingly different universes, the same pain points were discussed, the same opportunities for improvement of service delivery discovered and the same challenges of implementing such opportunities and overcoming these pain points were at the heart of the conversations.

Kristina Hill, IFS Marketing Manager Enterprise Service Manager commented “As always the WBR field service events bring a great crowd of multiple different verticals together to brainstorm and share thought leadership and discuss pain points”

“It brings all sorts of companies together” Hill added “but as different as they are and as different as they run process wise, they are also very similar in their pain points and the issues they face. It’s great to see people working on new initiatives and adopting new technology”

This sentiment was echoed by John Callen Support Solutions Manager, NCR who was attending for his seventh time at a WBR Field Service Event.

“Every time I come here I get take aways from each presenter or each conversation I have, that makes me just that little bit better in my role” Callen stated, going on to say “I’ve got about twenty things with stars on them so I can’t possibly implement them all but I’m going to review again tonight and go from there.”

 

Indeed there was a real sense of community across the three days in Atlanta. Something that event producers WBR are keen to maintain and build upon.

Jonathan Massoud, Divisional Director & Market Analyst, of conference organiser WBR commented “The feedback that we got was that it is good to bring the community together and here is where they can get help to develop standards that they typically can’t get elsewhere, that they can’t get through benchmarking or through competitors so they can come together here, meet and increase their own community.”

It was this opportunity to discuss challenges amongst his peers that attracted Arnold Benavidez, Field service engineering Manager, Metso Recycling to attend for the first time also.

“One of the reasons I came to this event was to get different perspectives on how other field service organisations are managing their field service activities for their businesses. “ Benavidez commented, “What processes, technologies and strategies are they implementing that have been proven and been successful in the organisations.”

“Quite often I think we try to manage the chaos in our service organisations and we tend to have tunnel vision in just managing our way through that chaos. I wanted to come through this event to broaden my perspective and really get a good observation of what are the other possibilities that could improve my organisation and our overall business.”

 

The conference agenda itself was well balanced with a strong blend of forward looking presentations, case studies detailing how some of the more progressive companies within the industry have made improvements to their own service operations and general insight and opinion from a number of senior figures within the service industry.

One of the topics that dominated a lot of the presentations as well as conversations in the break out sessions was that of IoT.

As Massoud explained “One of the things we are hearing about now is the digitization of service in terms of the Internet of Things – what does that mean? Last year we talked about that and people were unsure of how to move forward, now it seems that each of the verticals now have things in place that are addressing that and we are seeing things move forward.”

“For example some organisations are putting in mobile boxes when the product goes out so they can pull data off it and that is just one example of how IoT is effecting the development of their products and their service and that’s come out this week.“

Callen also highlighted IoT as one of the big topics of the conference saying “I think a lot of the themes that I’ve heard this time around is around the Internet of Things, the way things are pushing forward it makes you think how I can implement this to solve problems of my own?”

 

“You’ve got to worry about the cost but you’ve also got to worry about the cost of fixing the problem,” he added

However, the talk wasn’t all about tech. The continuing drive towards improving customer experience was another frequently heard topic of conversation.

“The real focus still, which is nice to hear, is in delighting the customers” Hill commented “As customer demand grows and increases and the technology that is out there from a customer perspective makes that demand higher, I think that field service organisations are realising that they have to keep up and then they have to deliver in a way that is going to put the customer first. “

“That’s still a big trend and one of the things that was a big conversation topic is that the customer has to come first and then let the processes be driven by that.” She added.

Expanding further on the topic Massoud added “Customer experience has been top of the line for the last couple of years now in the research we are doing.

What we are seeing now is how companies using technology to improve the customer experience.”

“The shift towards having the field tech be more of a consultant in the field, soft skills developing, really jumped out again. I think it is something that the industry has been struggling with for a while but now they are starting to put some things in place and some training in place where they are making headway with technicians. So knowledge bases we’re hearing about all the way up to augmented reality type solutions, which also tie into knowledge management and knowledge sharing in the field.”

 

And in fact the absolute star turn of the three days was provided by Augmented Reality solution Help Lightning.

Developed in part by neurosurgeon Bart Guthrie, Help Lightning uses augmented reality to deliver remote guidance. The impact for field service of augmented reality is massive, potentially slashing a phenomenal amount of outgoing costs by allowing experienced engineers to guide local onsite engineers on how to make a fix themselves, instead of having to get the experienced engineer onsite.

A simple, yet highly effective app, with slick delivery and seemingly robust connectivity (the product is capable of working across 3G networks despite being video based) Help Lightning was certainly the star of the show garnering a lot interest.

 

And with an engaging presentation by Guthrie supported by a constantly busy booth in the demonstration zone of the event, Help Lightning certainly won a number of fans across the three days including Marty Jost, Director of Technical Services, Hach who commented “The biggest thing for me was seeing the Help Lightning application. It’s simple enough that I want to go back and demo it for my people.”

Benavidez was also a fan of the augmented reality app stating “I was really impressed with some of the technology, specifically with Help Lightning, we’re coming currently on a second year of a down market in our industry due to the price of steel and a lot of people are looking at services to bring in revenue to make up for the difference, but selling services is difficult, as our customers tend to want to take care of those type of things on their own, so I think after seeing this technology from Help Lightning this may provide the opportunity to assist our customers who don’t want to pay the premium price of having a highly skilled technician on site but perhaps would be interested in having our technician guide their electrical or mechanical contractors on site to help facilitate some minor repairs.”

Indeed if the general consensus of the attendees of Field Service Fall are a good yardstick to go by then the team at Help Lightning, and Augmented Reality vendors in general could well become the hot ticket in Field Service in the very near future as the technology promises very obvious benefits for customers and field service providers alike.

“I think our customers could really go for that kind of opportunity because we are helping them be more self-sufficient and ultimately that is what they want to do.” Benavidez explained “I felt really confident when I saw that opportunity. I think it is definitely something I’m going to try.” He added.

However whilst IoT, Big Data and Augmented Reality are truly exciting topics quite rightly discussed frequently both in the trade press and at industry events such as this, it is also important not to overlook the fundamental technology such as scheduling and parts management tools that can help us get the right engineer to the right job at the right time, and getting them there with the right tools to do the job first time.

What always fascinates me personally about field service as a topic for conversation is that often whilst we have a natural tendency to focus on how we can harness the latest technology to streamline and improve the productivity of our operations, yet there still remain fundamental basics that we must implement if we are to meet the expectations our customers demand.

Therefore it was interesting to see that the problem of parts and inventory management was a pain point that continued to surface during the breakout sessions across the three days.

 

Whilst many of the conversations would have been driven by a series of roundtables hosted by Aberdeen’s Aly Pinder, the fact that this was an area that resonated with many was a clear indicator of the importance of getting the basics right.

As Deb Geiger, VP Global Marketing Astea commented;

“I think there is always an underlying commonality in terms of everybody is trying to optimise be more efficient and reducing those costs but also not at the risk of sacrificing, customer satisfaction. “

“People talk about speed and quick resolution, but you can show up quickly and not fix it first time. So its always weighing the different factors and ensuring that the piece of equipment is getting fixed first time and that the customer is satisfied. I think everybody is looking to continually optimise, look at their processes – how can they improve how do they optimise their workforce, some are having to do more work with less resources how do they make that happen without overtaxing the technicians.”

Of course what events such as Field Service Fall do is provide an opportunity not only for discovery, and peer networking but also for benchmarking how your organisation is performing in terms of delivering service.

As Callen wryly put it “Every one of us is in the same circus we just have different clowns working for us. My problems are the same things as the guy that has the printing press, as the guy that has the medical devices.”

 

“Operational wise and personal wise this is a great opportunity to benchmark progress. I’ve seen a lot of the same folks year after year. It’s good to see old friends. Here I’ve got friends that I talk to every year, what did you guys do with this, what did you guys do with that? We talk about problems and situations. And it genuinely helps us see where we are in terms of our own development”

This is something that Massoud is equally aware of and very much proud to be part of adding “It’s an opportunity that is unique for this space and you can’t go at it alone.”

‘A lot of guys tell us that when they first come here I’m coming back - it’s good to be part of this community”

In that case I guess I’ll see you all next year then.

 

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Registration for field service fall 2016 is now open click here for more info

 

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Aberdeen's Aly Pinder explores the all pervasive nature of the modern mobile...

When was the last time you woke up from a night’s slumber and didn’t first check your smart phone or tablet for an update on what you missed over night? What’s the weather? Is there traffic? Do I have a 9am meeting I am already late for?

This attachment to mobile technology is not just a trend for millennials and their younger co-hort. From toddlers to grandmas to the field service technicians, mobility is becoming a way of life.

But with this level of ubiquity comes some missteps by service organisations as they look to drive value in these investments. In order to avoid a technology journey which will lack the impact that top performers achieve, service organisations should keep a few best practices in mind:

• Make technology simple for your techs. The fastest way to achieve zero to low ROI on a technology investment is to have technicians who decide to work around the solution because they are not on board for this IT initiative. Technicians should be involved in the identification, selection, and deployment of the tools they will have to use as a part of their daily activities. Being forced to use a tool because the home office said it will drive productivity is not a guarantee of adoption. Technology is no longer a foreign subject for the field, but no one likes to be forced into change.
• Open a window from the customer, to the field, all the way to the back office. Often times the discussion around paper forms and a move to mobile tools surrounds around cost savings, efficiency gains, and the ability to increase turns of the wrench. These are all benefits, but the value of mobility goes well beyond these tangible and low-hanging fruit KPI. Mobility provides a view into the field and each customer interaction. And as organisations continue to jockey with competitors and third party service providers, it is imperative that the service organisation have real time insight into the service experience so adjustments can be made to ensure the customer experience is continuously improved.
• Mobility must be an on-going journey, not a one-time IT investment. Too often, IT roadmaps are not created for the service team but instead are reserved the rest of the enterprise. But as service, assets, and customer relationships become more and more complex, it is important that technology for the service team is an area which receives constant attention, investment, and re-evaluation. This doesn’t mean that this has to be a cost drain, on the contrary if service technology initiatives follow a clear strategic vision it will avoid the pitfalls of long drawn out implementations which show no ROI.
• Find the tools that work for your team. Mobile technology is an aspect of field service which most mirrors the consumer world when it comes to excitement and ‘cool’ factor. Many service organisations are evaluating and investing in the latest technology around tablets, smart phones, and wearables. But much like the consumer space, if you haven’t identified a clear need, business value, and implementation strategy to maximise the technology’s use this will be a waste. I can’t count the number of devices I have hidden away in a closet in my house because after a short period of excitement the tool didn’t actually improve my daily life. Don’t let this happen for your service organisation or your field service technicians.

Mobile technology is rapidly evolving and it is a very exciting time to be involved in field service as organisations are investing in the latest tools to help their technicians.

But organisations must remain focused on a clear strategic vision which maximizes the value of mobility while also ensuring that this is part of an on-going improvement model. If this approach is taken, organisations will find that not only will their field teams have the tools that help them navigate the 21^st century but they will also be able to deliver exceptional service to customers.

 

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