AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Manuel Grenacher

Manuel Grenacher, CEO, Coresystems outlines a clear plan for smooth software implementation...

Software implementations fail across various industries and markets, but mostly for human reasons rather than software catastrophes.

According to research firm, Gartner, 55% to 75% of all ERP projects fail to meet objectives.

Panorama Consulting worked with independent research company Mint Jutras, and found that more companies in 2015, 21% to be exact, are defining software implementations as failures, up from 16% in previous years. Field service businesses bring their own challenges in levels of complexity, remote access, and skills, but these are manageable with the right planning and partners. Here are my five tips for successful implementation of field service software.

1. Setting Objectives Is Key

It’s easy to get fixated on features when choosing a new software solution. However, there’s more to implementing a new system than that. Features and functions are obviously important, but you should choose software and a delivery partner that understands your field service business and what you’re trying to achieve. While choosing a software solution, think of the end-to-end process and the people that will have to use the software to do their jobs and how information will be accessed and used throughout that process.

Data entered by the admin team needs to be in the right format and accessible to technicians remotely.

 

Set objectives before starting to compare systems so you know what you’re trying to achieve. What ROI is the Finance Director looking for? How will you measure the degree of success or failure?

Think holistically about the whole field service business, including the people. Take a baseline measurement before you start for comparison purposes, e.g. average number of site visits per day, time taken per visit, call backs, technician upsells, direct online access by customers, cost per visit.

2. Getting Acceptance and Trust From Your Staff

A new software solution can succeed or fail depending on how your staff reacts to it. They after all are the most important part of the business and the software is only there to make them more productive, so take care of them before everything else. Identify everyone affected by the roll out: sales, admin, technicians, accountants, line management, etc. Plan ahead and maybe even get their input during software selection. Plan in detail how the software will accomplish the business processes, especially the interaction between the new system and humans.

Offering training pre- and post-implementation is vital, plus having ongoing support.

3. Ensure Security of Data 

Just because a new software system is based in the cloud, that doesn’t make it immune to problems. The implementation should be treated the same way as it would be for a traditional IT system. It’s very important to be just as rigorous with project management, objectives, data migration, phased rollout, testing, etc. A cloud implementation will bring many benefits and cost savings, but it also has its own challenges around access, compliance, and security.

The main servers and networking infrastructure will be looked after in a secure data centre, but technicians need remote access on-site. Their tools, such as mobile devices, should be tested and given as many means of data connectivity as possible at fast speeds with significant amounts of storage for downloading manuals, catalogs, video, etc.

 

The new system shouldn’t bypass your company’s compliance rules, or the industry rules in regulated regimes such as some utilities. When it comes to security, it is still your responsibility to ensure personal and confidential data is kept secure so be responsible when specifying requirements for data connectivity, VPN tunneling, encryption (including on mobile devices), rewalls, etc.

4. Pick A Project Management Team

Strong project management skills are vital during this phase, which will mean choosing a supplier and delivery partner that understands your business. Plan out the whole end-to-end field service deployment with them and keep staff and customers in the loop. Still, you should stay flexible enough to take on unexpected changes without risking derailing the whole project.

Don’t expect staff to be able to do their day jobs and run the implementation, too. You’ll need to assign dedicated people to set up the product information, customer site details, report structures, etc. These people may come from the delivery partner, but you’ll still need to assign time for internal experts to pass on information and perform testing.

Don’t be afraid to make carefully considered changes to the plan. For instance, if a big new customer comes on board half way through with new service requirements, decide whether to delay working with the customer or delay the whole project. Either decision can be right, but you should have a process ready to help you make the decision, understand the consequences, and communicate your decision.

 

Getting the features right is one thing, but installing the new system will take time, and it will probably be disruptive to ongoing operations and cause anxiety among a affected staff. All of these disruptions have to be planned for and managed properly so they don’t spin out of control and take the project down.

5. Implement Step by Step

It’s usually much better to adopt a phased approach to implementing a new software system rather than expecting to do it all in one big bang.

Keep the phases manageable by dividing the rollout into controllable chunks. These chunks could be based on regional teams, functional steps, the business model, or all of the above. A good way to start might be to choose a team that performs well and is fairly close to HQ. Spend time getting them up and running smoothly, iron out any wrinkles, and be sure to understand their worries and objections because you’ll see those worries again at every other site.

 

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As the role of the Chief Service Officer begins to gain more prominence the focus for driving service excellence at the executive level must be data driven writes Manuel Grenacher, CEO of coresystems...

Delivering service that meets the satisfaction of ever-demanding customers is helping usher in a new C-Level role at service and manufacturing companies.

Meet the Chief Service Officer (CSO).

It’s a role that isn’t widespread yet, but one that has begun to make inroads into leading service companies as more organizations eye revenue opportunities beyond equipment sales.

As product margins slip, CSOs are tasked with orchestrating and executing the type of service that retains and creates loyal customers. Selling a piece of equipment -- even one with a multimillion- dollar price tag -- is a one-time win. Service, however, can create revenue streams that deliver profits each year until the equipment is replaced.

It’s a model that more companies are adopting.

According to McKinsey, by 2016, nearly half of manufacturing companies expect that service will account for a third of their total revenue. But as companies move from being a commodity supplier to offering an on-going service relationship, a clear strategy is necessary.

Target Areas for CSOs 

Successful service relationships require a number of teams working together within an organization.

Aberdeen Research has found that 8 out of ten Best-in-Class organizations (leading field service companies) have a VP-level or higher executive leading service.

CSOs must prioritize getting accurate insights to the right service people at the right time, so that they can solve problems for customers.

Aberdeen found that Best-in-Class organizations have four main target areas (in order of priority):

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• Improve customer retention and loyalty
• Improve service-related profitability
• Improve quality / relevance of service data
• Improve service information capabilities (i.e. mobility, knowledge sharing)

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But what can companies do to help CSOs reach these goals? Data and its analysis are key. Specifically, here are the three data-driven actions that Best-in-Class companies do to empower their CSOs:

Real-Time Insight Drives Real-Time Performance

CSOs must come to grips with managing and orchestrating the efficient operations of a number of different departments and technicians. Best-in-Class companies empower their CSOs with the right data to help drive real-time performance, the ultimate goal of any service organization.

What data, in particular, do CSOs need to move toward real-time service delivery?

Collecting data isn’t the problem it once was. In fact, some CSOs are experiencing the opposite; they are drowning in a deluge of data. The tool used to solve this is a business intelligence and analysis tool that enables consistent benchmarking of service performance.

 

Other tools are needed that let integrated data flow seamlessly from the field to the back office.

CSOs need real-time monitoring of asset operating conditions, performance, and usage. Finally, the tools CSOs use should enable real-time service visibility for senior management.

Give Your Field Team Tools That Deliver Valuable Service Experiences

The ultimate goal of service is to deliver value to the end customer. Service technicians need to ensure that a work order is completed, preferably during their first visit to the customer. But field visits represent an important opportunity for capturing data from equipment performance to visit details.

Our customer GE Power in Switzerland is using our Field Service Mobile APP to record granular data like temperature, upload or comment on pictures. This customer data can help inform the next visit or additional service needs.

Use Data to Continuously Improve Service

Customer expectations will only continue to grow. Since they are under pressure to perform too, customers are demanding real-time solutions to their service issues.

Customers won’t only compare your organization to competing firms, but also to their own customer experiences elsewhere. CSOs must study best practices across the entire service ecosystem and ensure that they are implementing these offerings.

Data and the analytics gathered on machines, equipment, and customers will help create the baseline. From there, CSOs should be able to evaluate and continue to improve service operations.

Some industries have been transformed already by incorporating data analytics into their standard processes.

To give an example, telecom companies can forecast traffic patterns, peak period bottlenecks, commercial versus domestic split, and thus perform real-time optimization of their voice and data networks. They can route around congestion to improve performance and the whole customer experience.

They take constant readings from their network data switches and build a big database of all their devices and customers to get a holistic view of the complete environment.

 

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Manuel Grenacher, CEO Coresystems provides key points that small and mediums size businesses should consider to help them move towards real-time field service...

Exceeding customer expectations is not just for enterprise-level companies. Customers are demanding the same level of service performance whether their service provider is a large multinational corporation, or a small, local field service company.

But how can SMB service teams compete with their enterprise counterparts in this era of increased competition and empowered customers demanding perfect service?

Recent research from the Aberdeen Group found that trends were emerging among SMBs that have put a roadmap in place to ensure better service.

These are their top strategies for driving service:

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• Increase the availability of service knowledge in order to diagnose and resolve service issues faster (51%).

• Develop real-time visibility into field assets (i.e. people, parts, vehicles) (48%).
• Improve forecasting of and planning for future service demand (41%).
• Invest in mobile tools to provide technicians with better access to information in the field (38%).
• Develop standardised scheduling processes. (35%).
• Increase frequency of training for field technicians (32%).

Diagnose and deliver

One of the most important metrics for customers is how long a repair will take - or “mean time-to-repair.” This metric shows just how effective the service team is at resolving customer issues.

But to fix an issue quickly, engineers must be able to diagnose what’s wrong; determine what they need to fix the problem, including knowledge, the right tools and parts; and figure out the correct procedure to follow. As equipment grows more complex, not every engineer will have the ability to do this “on the fly.” It’s important then to give engineers the tools to quickly identify a problem and understand how to fix it.

Provide real-time visibility of service activities If there is one top driver for sustained revenue growth in service, it’s executive visibility.

Aberdeen’s research has found that having a view into the field helps management, the back office, and the service team react quickly and deliver service at the speed necessary to excel.

Predict demand

No matter how top-notch your engineers, without real-time insights, the field team will still have to scramble to meet fluctuating demands. However, the increase of IoT technology is aiding service teams, by helping them identify problems quickly.

But IoT is not yet a widespread reality. Aberdeen found that even in top organisations, only 53% of machinery is IoT-enabled for asset management, tracking, service, and maintenance.

 

Invest in the right tools and team

As machines and equipment become increasingly complex, service teams need the correct technology to help them solve more difficult issues.

The last piece of the field service puzzle comes down to the engineers themselves. As Aberdeen points out, an SMB can make the leap from paper to mobile, and put the right tech tools in their engineers’ hands, but service teams themselves must be engaged, skilled, and most importantly, incentivised to perform.

What are some concrete steps SMBs can take to ensure a better performing service team?

Put a CSO in charge of your SMB field team

Haven’t heard of the term Chief Service Officer? Most SMBs are not yet familiar with this C-Level title that’s only recently started to infiltrate enterprise-level organisations.

To ensure service excellence spreads throughout the entire firm, large enterprises are hiring CSOs to ensure that a strategic service vision is carried out, with accountability and incentives put in place across the entire organisation.

 

Train your entire company to value service

Typically, most companies focus on equipment sales. But service should not be an afterthought.

At best, customers expect equipment to work flawlessly; at worst, they expect service to know when the machinery or part will fail and solve the issue effortlessly.

Service can be an opportunity to drive new revenue opportunities, but only if every team from marketing to sales to service can communicate the value they deliver to customers.

Make real-time visibility your goal

Small field service organisations are investing in technology because they see the benefit of increasing their efficiency and want to understand where they can add further value.

However, the goal of investing in technology should be to give your entire firm real-time visibility into field service performance and the customer experience.

As customer expectations increase, only companies - both big and small - that provide preemptive service can expect to survive.

 

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Both virtual reality and augmented reality could have an important place to play in the future of field service writes Manuel Grenacher, CEO of Coresystems...

At this year’s Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest mobile device conference and show, virtual reality and augmented reality were everywhere.

Aside from a photo of Mark Zuckerberg walking amidst a sea of oblivious audience members strapped into VR headsets, companies like Samsung, LG, and HTC were all keen to show off their latest VR gear.

Virtual reality isn’t just for video games. There’s been growing interest in the field service industry on how companies might take advantage of it.

Virtual vs. Augmented Reality

First, however, it’s important to step back and clarify the distinction between virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

As their names suggest, virtual reality immerses the user in a completely virtual environment, while augmented reality keeps users in their existing world and simply enhances it.

Deloitte Consulting expects to see VR technologies rapidly adopted by enterprises in the next 18-22 months. And the company specifically cited field service as an industry that stands to benefit from them.

ABI Research makes the case for AR, noting that while virtual reality tends to grab the headlines, AR has one foot that remains in the “real world” and will allow more practical enterprise applications.

The research firm sees 2016 as a turning point for AR smart glasses, predicting that 21 million units of AR smart glasses will be shipped in 2020, with sales expected to reach $100 billion.

Both technologies could have serious benefits for the industry by improving the two key metrics that are important to all field service managers: first time fix rates and average repair time.

They can also benefit staff training and skills shortages.

The Case for VR and AR in Field Service

Field service engineers, wearing a special headset, for example, could be dispatched to a job where they could see the instructions or information about the product directly overlaid on it.

There would be no fumbling for a laptop or tablet; the information they need would be accessible with a flick of their head.

With such detailed information available, this could even mean that field service companies could dispatch less skilled technicians into the field, while the more experienced engineers could stay at the main headquarters supervising and troubleshooting more difficult issues.

 

In a pilot project with KSP Steel, a steel mill that produces steel pipelines in Kazakhstan, workers used a smart hardhat to safely access information when they needed it, without having to leave the production line and go back to the control room.

The control room data was projected onto the helmet’s visor, leading to a 40% increase in worker productivity and 50% reduction in factory downtime.

Managing Brain Drain

In an interview first published in Field Service News, Professor Howard Lightfoot of Cranfield University School of Management outlined what he saw as the biggest benefits to augmented and virtual reality tools in field service:

Said Lightfoot, “It could de-skill field service activity. There [are] parts of the world where you can’t get the right people. With augmented reality you can link them to a skilled technician back at the base who can take them through the process. Not with a manual and not on the phone, but he can actually see what they are doing."

"He can overlay information for them and digitally point at things, like: That’s the nut, this is the one you turn. Don’t torque that one anymore than this."

"Torque that one to this level. Undo that cabinet first, and make sure you disconnect this before you do that.”

Moreover, that skilled technician could be “back at base” thousands of kilometers away, reducing the cost of flying specialists out to every complex job.

NTT DATA, the Japan-headquartered telecommunications and IT services company, now uses the Vusix M100 smart glasses to allow continuous, remote monitoring of technicians in the field.

Senior engineers can share the point of view of a technician wearing the M100 Smart Glasses working on-site and can provide immediate instruction in real-time using an overlaid augmented reality marker.

Before using the smart glasses, NTT DATA needed at least two engineers at the work site to ensure quality control, resulting in higher operating costs, a heavier burden for senior engineer staff, and reduced productivity.

Training Techs

The other benefit of augmented or virtual reality is its potential as a highly detailed, highly visual training tool. Just as children’s educators get excited at the idea of breathing life into history or science lessons that put students right into the environment they are learning about, field service managers are seeing how AR or VR could be used to train technicians or engineers on complex tasks or fixes.

 

Automobile maker, Ford, has recently added the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to its virtual reality platforms. It’s used with a shell of a car, where the parts such as the steering wheel and seats can be repositioned to match those of a prototype car. Other field service uses are for training technicians.

By giving engineers the tools to fix problems thoroughly and quickly, you can increase first-time fix rates and lower the average time it takes to fix a product.

 

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Manuel Grenacher, CEO of Coresystems, reflects on the benefits for mobile in field service...

Selfies. Games. Social media. We’re all familiar with the image; a co-worker’s face buried in a smartphone completely engrossed by what they’re seeing on the screen.

They’re far off in another digital world.

Previously, mobile devices were seen as an on-the-job distraction. Today, mobile devices enhance how field service technicians do their jobs, leaving satisfied customers in their wake.

Although consumers are using apps, smartphones, and tablets on a daily basis, many field service companies see barriers to implementing a mobile solution, such as the cost of technology or low ROI. According to the Aberdeen Group, 48% of field service organisations are resistant to change. (Source: The Mobile Technician: The Evolution of the Connection in 2015, Aberdeen Group, July 2015.)

Here are the reasons why you should overcome those barriers and make your technicians mobile:

Real-Time, Flexible Problem Solving

Today, everything is expected to be immediate.

When a customer’s machine breaks, they don’t want to wait days to schedule a service appointment. Service has to come on-demand and in real-time.

 

The so-called “On-Demand Economy” allows us to order pizza, a taxi, or someone to help us with our groceries with a tap on our smartphones.

Why should it be different for field service organisations?

Mobile devices equipped with field service software allow service techs to ask colleagues questions or seek out information and machine manuals so they can properly diagnose and service a product on the first try.

This becomes especially important when you have new technicians joining your organisation. It allows them to quickly get working and still be able to consult with more experienced employees.

And while many companies have begun to wisely focus on both preventive and predictive maintenance, it is “important that organisations remain vigilant and flexible enough to be able to adjust to unexpected events which could not be forecast,” says Aly Pinder, Jr., Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen Group.

To put it more plainly, sometimes accidents happen and things break suddenly that were not--or could not be--predicted.

With that in mind, field service companies need to have the option to utilise mobile technology to handle these types of situations immediately.

When equipped with mobile devices, technicians are connected to the answers they need to solve problems wherever they may be. According to Aberdeen Research, 69% of Best-in-Class organisations “equip the field team with access to peers and remote experts through mobile devices.”

Better Customer Service

Great customer service is critical in today’s business climate. The tools you invest in for your business must improve service for your customers.

This is another reason why having mobile technicians is valuable. Well-performing companies have used mobile to encourage their techs to perform better, and to differentiate the field service they offer from the competition.

 

Hotelier Sepp Greil, who uses Cald’oro coffee machines in his hotels, was impressed by the company’s implementation of Coresystems' Field Service software.

“For me, seeing all the efforts listed on an iPad was new, but I could understand exactly what had been done,” Greil said. “The service was rendered much faster and more efficiently and I can only congratulate the company on implementing this solution.”

Today, technicians are expected to deliver great customer service on top of completing fixes and service calls.

Technicians are now salespeople and customer service agents, in addition to being engineers.

Now if, for example, a customer cannot be on-site while the field service tech is there fixing a broken machine, a mobile device can be used to confirm with the customer that the SLA has been met.

A Connected Team

Going mobile isn’t just for your technicians, and it doesn’t benefit only them either. Great field service companies work with their IT departments to create a mobility strategy that is inclusive and beneficial across the board, not just for technicians who use mobile in the field.

When implemented correctly, mobility will assist techs in being more productive, give customers better and faster service, and help executives and leaders of the company have a real-time perspective of how the field service company is operating.

 

Still, companies should invest in mobile wisely, not like a teenager looking to get the newest device because it’ll make him the most popular kid in school until every other kid gets one too.

Investing in mobility is an on-going, strategic business element. Aly Pinder Jr. of Aberdeen Research says: “The Best-in-Class leverage mobile to provide the field team with real-time information, the entire team with integrated data, and management with the insight into field performance and location of service resources.”

Happier Technicians

Utilising mobile field service software not only makes your customers happy, but it can also make your technicians happier at work. Now is the time to make the switch from paper-based systems to mobile to give your techs the ability to deliver better service.

 

And the Best-in-Class have a 76% employee satisfaction rate, which is higher than industry standards and laggards. Mobility also takes training out of the office and gets new technicians out in the field sooner. Thanks to mobile devices, new technicians will have all the training tools they need along with direct access to their peers and colleagues who can help them through more difficult fixes.

 

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