Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds digitizes and standardizes workflows for field workers, leading to increased productivity, improved accuracy and reduced unplanned downtime.
AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Mark Glover
About the Author:
Mark is an experienced B2B editor and journalist having worked across an array of magazines and websites covering health and safety, sustainable energy and airports.
Aug 05, 2019 • News • job scheduling • Manual processes • Honeywell • Software and Apps • Lean Processes • digital processes
Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds digitizes and standardizes workflows for field workers, leading to increased productivity, improved accuracy and reduced unplanned downtime.
Honeywell has unveiled new software to help field workers in the oil and gas, mining, and aerospace industries digitize equipment inspection programs, which can increase productivity, improve accuracy and minimize unplanned asset downtime.
Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds is a mobile solution for field operations that improves technician operator rounds by enabling users to make informed, data-driven decisions. The cloud-based software allows plant supervisors and field technicians to replace manual and paper-based processes with standardized digital processes.
“Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds is designed to digitize the deskless worker, eliminating the need for field inspectors to maintain tedious paperwork and minimizing the reliance on error-prone work processes,” said Jason Merszei, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, Workers. “This software is easy to deploy and enables industrial companies to seamlessly connect to their workers in the field.”
Technicians inspecting equipment in the field can access the software on a mobile device to review and input data with greater detail and accuracy, which can help detect potential problems and prevent costly unplanned downtime. In addition, supervisors can create, schedule, maintain and analyze their operators’ rounds. This allows facility managers to quickly locate operators in the field, validate who is performing a specific task and determine whether that task has been completed properly.
Traditional, paper-based inspections can be inefficient, leading to missed equipment checks and other errors. Workers using Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds have centralized data at their fingertips, accessible in real time. They are guided through the solution to follow approved, standardized work processes. Automating and streamlining processes can create additional benefits, including greater operational efficiency, increased productivity, improved safety for workers, enhanced compliance, reduced costs and better worker satisfaction.
Honeywell has unveiled new software to help field workers in the oil and gas, mining, and aerospace industries digitize equipment inspection programs, which can increase productivity, improve accuracy and minimize unplanned asset downtime.
Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds is a mobile solution for field operations that improves technician operator rounds by enabling users to make informed, data-driven decisions. The cloud-based software allows plant supervisors and field technicians to replace manual and paper-based processes with standardized digital processes.
“Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds is designed to digitize the deskless worker, eliminating the need for field inspectors to maintain tedious paperwork and minimizing the reliance on error-prone work processes,” said Jason Merszei, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, Workers. “This software is easy to deploy and enables industrial companies to seamlessly connect to their workers in the field.”
Technicians inspecting equipment in the field can access the software on a mobile device to review and input data with greater detail and accuracy, which can help detect potential problems and prevent costly unplanned downtime. In addition, supervisors can create, schedule, maintain and analyze their operators’ rounds. This allows facility managers to quickly locate operators in the field, validate who is performing a specific task and determine whether that task has been completed properly.
Traditional, paper-based inspections can be inefficient, leading to missed equipment checks and other errors. Workers using Honeywell Forge Inspection Rounds have centralized data at their fingertips, accessible in real time. They are guided through the solution to follow approved, standardized work processes. Automating and streamlining processes can create additional benefits, including greater operational efficiency, increased productivity, improved safety for workers, enhanced compliance, reduced costs and better worker satisfaction.
Aug 05, 2019 • Features • Software & Apps • future of field service • Digital Transformation • IFS
At the Field Service USA conference in Palm Springs, California this year, digital transformation continued to dominate discussions. Marne Martin of IFS and our own Kris Oldland were both on the speaking roster so they caught up over a coffee to...
At the Field Service USA conference in Palm Springs, California this year, digital transformation continued to dominate discussions. Marne Martin of IFS and our own Kris Oldland were both on the speaking roster so they caught up over a coffee to compare notes…
As someone who attends many field service conferences across the globe, there are some speakers within our industry whom I know will give a presentation that always gives me a spark of an idea for a new article or feature and as such, I always make a beeline for their sessions when my schedule allows.
One such speaker is Marne Martin, President of Service Management for IFS and CEO of Work Wave. Martin has an uncanny knack of talking about subjects that are right on the pulse of the audience. She always manages to address the concerns and present solutions that resonate with the room, but is also able to bring a light sense of levity and fun to her sessions as well – and she usually has at least one brilliantly memorable line that gets stuck in your mind for a long time.
This time around it was the fantastic throw away one liner: “You don’t want to bring a Volkswagen to a Formula 1 race.”
It was a pithy reminder that the stakes in field service have been raised in recent times. The competition is greater than ever as industry after industry adapts to the disruptive influences of innovative companies like Uber, Deliveroo and AirBnB who are not just revolutionising their sectors but those far beyond their remits by raising expectations of what seamless customer experience looks like in the age of the app.
Martin’s discussion weaved through both the digital transformation and also the cultural transformation that many field service organisations are going through, with the majority of those yet to do so now seeing such change looming on their horizons also. She touched on crucial issues being widely felt, such as talent shortages and how service organisations can get value from the technology that the pressure of increasing customer demand insists they implement.
However, the critical point she touched on was the importance of understanding and clearly defining service strategy. It is a point that I have made both in recent presentations of my own as well as in these pages. Without a properly defined service strategy, without knowing ‘who’ your organisation ‘wants’ to be, any such programs that seek to implement digital transformation will be at best ill formed and at worst an expensive failure that could really set a service organisation back.
I’ve expressed the opinion that digital transformation, has to be an ongoing process, not a one-off project. A journey, not a destination. As such, a clearly defined service strategy needs to be in place if you want to stay on the right path.
So when I sat down with Marne to grab a quick coffee away from the melee of what was a jam-packed conference, with hundreds of delegates and vendors buzzing around – this was the first area I wanted to touch base on and swap notes about.
“Think about how you empower the field, the mobile workflow enhancements, how you enable the technician to cross-sell, upsell, to close out tickets, all of these items that drive higher customer satisfaction. These are all fundamental to what makes service matter.
They all drive profitability for the service organisation, growth in revenue and customer satisfaction,” she mused as I outlined my thinking to her. “It is just that today we have more tools with which we’re able to achieve this and that allows us to achieve it at a faster more efficient pace - which is, of course, what customers want. I think it all fits together in a way that we, as a sector, are able to bring these fundamentals into the new digital era.
“It only becomes a problem when companies begin thinking about digitalisation as something disconnected from these fundamentals.” This line of thought echoes my thinking on the topic as well. However, there is an additional layer of complexity to the discussion that I have also been considering of late.
Perhaps the biggest of all shifts in the field service sector over the last decade has been the move firstly from cost centre to profit centre and now what many see as a natural extension of that into a world of servitization. In one sense, it feels as though the field service sector has never witnessed such a significant paradigm shift as we are seeing today as companies move away from the traditional break-fix approach to one of outcome-based services.
"Digital transformation, has to be an ongoing process, not a one-off project..."
In that sense, we’re going through a complete revolution across the sector. However, I’m also of a firm belief (and have spoken to many service directors around the world who agree) that the essential thing in terms of delivering service excellence is not to lose sight of the core tenets of what good service looks and feels like, and at the heart of that remains some long-established foundational positions around ensuring an ‘Outside-In’ perspective on the service business.
Making sure you understand the customer and how they want to interact with your organisation, and then making sure processes are designed around that understanding is not a particularly radical position, but rather a well established best-practice.
The result is a dichotomy in service strategy between embracing the new while holding on to the historical precedents that underpin service excellence. It is not an impossible equation to balance, but it is one that should be considered deeply when approaching the current mega-trend of digital transformation.
This balance between yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s worlds was another area that Martin touched upon in her presentation where she used the phrase ‘Challenge the Present, Lead the Future’ and it was something I wanted to dig deeper into when we spoke. “By challenge the present I mean that field service organisations need to assess where their basics are weak, flawed or broken, and to assess how these can be improved to drive a future in which they are not,” she explained.
“If you look at all the key technology trends that are out there, we’re bringing every single one into service. Of course, some are coming faster than others as you would expect, but they all have applicability in service. However, on the other hand, the building blocks of what great service is, whom you deliver service to, and what you deliver service with remain the same.
“It’s the interplay of the fundamentals of service, the brand, the asset, the technician, and so on and how we drive the efficiencies and delivery of these forwards, with these new technology trends, into a new paradigm.
“To get to servitization or outcome based service, you still need to understand maintenance and break-fix and up times and asset performance. It’s not as if our understanding of all these core things goes away; it just has to be heightened and put together into an outcomes-based proposition. But rather than just deciding what is going to be our approach to reducing technician travel time or what is going to be our overtime strategy, companies are now looking at everything holistically to be able to asses the outcome they are delivering to the customer, how they are pricing that outcome and what is the margin on that outcome.”
Again I agree with Martin’s take on things here. The phrase that comes to mind is evolution, not revolution. I feel this is an apt mantra for many service organisations to adopt in these times of rapid technological and societal change. While talk of impending industry revolution may grab headlines, the truth is effective change is always iterative – and that very much holds true for field service organisations today.
Whether your organisation is on a journey to digitalisation or to servitization, remember it remains a journey, not a destination. Please drive carefully.
As someone who attends many field service conferences across the globe, there are some speakers within our industry whom I know will give a presentation that always gives me a spark of an idea for a new article or feature and as such, I always make a beeline for their sessions when my schedule allows.
One such speaker is Marne Martin, President of Service Management for IFS and CEO of Work Wave. Martin has an uncanny knack of talking about subjects that are right on the pulse of the audience. She always manages to address the concerns and present solutions that resonate with the room, but is also able to bring a light sense of levity and fun to her sessions as well – and she usually has at least one brilliantly memorable line that gets stuck in your mind for a long time.
This time around it was the fantastic throw away one liner: “You don’t want to bring a Volkswagen to a Formula 1 race.”
It was a pithy reminder that the stakes in field service have been raised in recent times. The competition is greater than ever as industry after industry adapts to the disruptive influences of innovative companies like Uber, Deliveroo and AirBnB who are not just revolutionising their sectors but those far beyond their remits by raising expectations of what seamless customer experience looks like in the age of the app.
Martin’s discussion weaved through both the digital transformation and also the cultural transformation that many field service organisations are going through, with the majority of those yet to do so now seeing such change looming on their horizons also. She touched on crucial issues being widely felt, such as talent shortages and how service organisations can get value from the technology that the pressure of increasing customer demand insists they implement.
However, the critical point she touched on was the importance of understanding and clearly defining service strategy. It is a point that I have made both in recent presentations of my own as well as in these pages. Without a properly defined service strategy, without knowing ‘who’ your organisation ‘wants’ to be, any such programs that seek to implement digital transformation will be at best ill formed and at worst an expensive failure that could really set a service organisation back.
I’ve expressed the opinion that digital transformation, has to be an ongoing process, not a one-off project. A journey, not a destination. As such, a clearly defined service strategy needs to be in place if you want to stay on the right path.
So when I sat down with Marne to grab a quick coffee away from the melee of what was a jam-packed conference, with hundreds of delegates and vendors buzzing around – this was the first area I wanted to touch base on and swap notes about.
“Think about how you empower the field, the mobile workflow enhancements, how you enable the technician to cross-sell, upsell, to close out tickets, all of these items that drive higher customer satisfaction. These are all fundamental to what makes service matter.
They all drive profitability for the service organisation, growth in revenue and customer satisfaction,” she mused as I outlined my thinking to her. “It is just that today we have more tools with which we’re able to achieve this and that allows us to achieve it at a faster more efficient pace - which is, of course, what customers want. I think it all fits together in a way that we, as a sector, are able to bring these fundamentals into the new digital era.
“It only becomes a problem when companies begin thinking about digitalisation as something disconnected from these fundamentals.” This line of thought echoes my thinking on the topic as well. However, there is an additional layer of complexity to the discussion that I have also been considering of late.
Perhaps the biggest of all shifts in the field service sector over the last decade has been the move firstly from cost centre to profit centre and now what many see as a natural extension of that into a world of servitization. In one sense, it feels as though the field service sector has never witnessed such a significant paradigm shift as we are seeing today as companies move away from the traditional break-fix approach to one of outcome-based services.
"Digital transformation, has to be an ongoing process, not a one-off project..."
In that sense, we’re going through a complete revolution across the sector. However, I’m also of a firm belief (and have spoken to many service directors around the world who agree) that the essential thing in terms of delivering service excellence is not to lose sight of the core tenets of what good service looks and feels like, and at the heart of that remains some long-established foundational positions around ensuring an ‘Outside-In’ perspective on the service business.
Making sure you understand the customer and how they want to interact with your organisation, and then making sure processes are designed around that understanding is not a particularly radical position, but rather a well established best-practice.
The result is a dichotomy in service strategy between embracing the new while holding on to the historical precedents that underpin service excellence. It is not an impossible equation to balance, but it is one that should be considered deeply when approaching the current mega-trend of digital transformation.
This balance between yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s worlds was another area that Martin touched upon in her presentation where she used the phrase ‘Challenge the Present, Lead the Future’ and it was something I wanted to dig deeper into when we spoke. “By challenge the present I mean that field service organisations need to assess where their basics are weak, flawed or broken, and to assess how these can be improved to drive a future in which they are not,” she explained.
“If you look at all the key technology trends that are out there, we’re bringing every single one into service. Of course, some are coming faster than others as you would expect, but they all have applicability in service. However, on the other hand, the building blocks of what great service is, whom you deliver service to, and what you deliver service with remain the same.
“It’s the interplay of the fundamentals of service, the brand, the asset, the technician, and so on and how we drive the efficiencies and delivery of these forwards, with these new technology trends, into a new paradigm.
“To get to servitization or outcome based service, you still need to understand maintenance and break-fix and up times and asset performance. It’s not as if our understanding of all these core things goes away; it just has to be heightened and put together into an outcomes-based proposition. But rather than just deciding what is going to be our approach to reducing technician travel time or what is going to be our overtime strategy, companies are now looking at everything holistically to be able to asses the outcome they are delivering to the customer, how they are pricing that outcome and what is the margin on that outcome.”
Again I agree with Martin’s take on things here. The phrase that comes to mind is evolution, not revolution. I feel this is an apt mantra for many service organisations to adopt in these times of rapid technological and societal change. While talk of impending industry revolution may grab headlines, the truth is effective change is always iterative – and that very much holds true for field service organisations today.
Whether your organisation is on a journey to digitalisation or to servitization, remember it remains a journey, not a destination. Please drive carefully.
Aug 02, 2019 • News • Artificial intelligence • Software and Apps • Augmentir • Finance
Augmented Software provider garners funds for its AI-based augmented worker platform.
Augmented Software provider garners funds for its AI-based augmented worker platform.
Augmentir has announced the closure of an oversubscribed funding round. The round was led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital, with participation from Lerer Hippeau, current investors, and HOLT Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of HOLT CAT.
"The closing of this round with the participation of these leading venture capital firms further validates our unique AI-first approach to improving the productivity of frontline workforces," said Russ Fadel, Co-founder and CEO of Augmentir. "This funding will enable us to expand our global footprint, further increase the functionality of the platform, and make it even more accessible to companies across the small, mid-sized and large spectrum, and we look forward to reaching even more companies while defining the future of work."
Ty Findley, Vice President at Pritzker Group Venture Capital, added, "With our thematic focus on Industry4.0, we are excited to be working with a company that is accelerating the industrial sector evolution using AI and AR to support frontline workers. From founding efforts at Wonderware, Lighthammer, and ThingWorx, the Augmentir team has a proven track record and domain experience delivering software innovation to the manufacturing and industrial market, and we are eager to participate as Augmentir continues to shape the frontline workforce of the future."
"We are excited to be working with Augmentir and believe that the platform provides our Caterpillar dealership with the opportunity to standardize our workflow across multiple operations in order to deliver improved consistency to our customers," added Meg Paulus, Partner at HOLT Ventures. "Augmentir's AI engine will help us gain better real-time and global insights to our operations to drive increased efficiency and technician training and enablement throughout our territory which spans from the Red River to the Rio Grande."
This latest round of funding will allow Augmentir to further expand its reach in the industrial sector, including oil and gas, mining, field service, and manufacturing industries, and continue to provide solutions that will shape the future of the industrial workforce. The company is the first to deliver an "AI-first" enterprise platform for the industrial sector that combines augmented reality (AR) with artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). Augmentir's Augmented Operations™ platform allows industrial companies to support their frontline workforce with augmented procedures and step-by-step work instructions, remote assistance capabilities, and drive continuous improvement through AI-driven insights.
Augmentir has announced the closure of an oversubscribed funding round. The round was led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital, with participation from Lerer Hippeau, current investors, and HOLT Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of HOLT CAT.
"The closing of this round with the participation of these leading venture capital firms further validates our unique AI-first approach to improving the productivity of frontline workforces," said Russ Fadel, Co-founder and CEO of Augmentir. "This funding will enable us to expand our global footprint, further increase the functionality of the platform, and make it even more accessible to companies across the small, mid-sized and large spectrum, and we look forward to reaching even more companies while defining the future of work."
Ty Findley, Vice President at Pritzker Group Venture Capital, added, "With our thematic focus on Industry4.0, we are excited to be working with a company that is accelerating the industrial sector evolution using AI and AR to support frontline workers. From founding efforts at Wonderware, Lighthammer, and ThingWorx, the Augmentir team has a proven track record and domain experience delivering software innovation to the manufacturing and industrial market, and we are eager to participate as Augmentir continues to shape the frontline workforce of the future."
"We are excited to be working with Augmentir and believe that the platform provides our Caterpillar dealership with the opportunity to standardize our workflow across multiple operations in order to deliver improved consistency to our customers," added Meg Paulus, Partner at HOLT Ventures. "Augmentir's AI engine will help us gain better real-time and global insights to our operations to drive increased efficiency and technician training and enablement throughout our territory which spans from the Red River to the Rio Grande."
This latest round of funding will allow Augmentir to further expand its reach in the industrial sector, including oil and gas, mining, field service, and manufacturing industries, and continue to provide solutions that will shape the future of the industrial workforce. The company is the first to deliver an "AI-first" enterprise platform for the industrial sector that combines augmented reality (AR) with artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). Augmentir's Augmented Operations™ platform allows industrial companies to support their frontline workforce with augmented procedures and step-by-step work instructions, remote assistance capabilities, and drive continuous improvement through AI-driven insights.
Aug 01, 2019 • News • future of field service • Bill Pollock • Strategies for GrowthSM • Survey
Sector insight required for Strategies For Growth℠'s 2019 Servitization Journey Benchmark Survey.
Sector insight required for Strategies For Growth℠'s 2019 Servitization Journey Benchmark Survey.
Research analyst and consulting firm, Strategies For Growth℠, has launched its inaugural 2019 Servitization Journey Benchmark Survey and is seeking responses from the service industry.
The campaign represents the first of what will become a series of annual tracking surveys that provide drill-down insight into the Servitization Journey as defined by survey respondents.
The campaign represents the first of what will become a series of annual tracking surveys that provide drill-down insight into the Servitization Journey as defined by survey respondents.
Similar to SFG℠’ s past surveys, this questionnaire is designed as a targeted, multiple choice questionnaire. All responses will remain strictly confidential, and will only be tabulated and reported in the aggregate. However, if respondents provide their name, title, company and e-mail address, SFG℠ will forward a copy of the top line survey results in a complimentary executive-level analysts take/summary report to be published following the data collection and analysis.
Field Service News' contributor and SFG℠'s President and Principal Consulting Analyst, Bill Pollock, will be contributing an exclusive article to Field Service News outlining the survey's findings later this year.
You can take the survey by clicking here.
You can take the survey by clicking here.
Aug 01, 2019 • News • 5G • smartphones • Software and Apps
Research shows 5G uptake and unlimited data plans key to market's future growth.
Research shows 5G uptake and unlimited data plans key to market's future growth.
The rising adoption of smartphones and emerging 5G technology is expected to drive the US mobile market to reach $224bn by 2024, says analytics and data firm GlobalData.
Ivan Maldonado, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Market penetration and traffic data consumption are set to increase with 97% of the US population expected to own a smartphone by the end of 2024.”
The recent launch of commercial 5G services will also help to accelerate this data usage, as operators expand their network coverage and 5G-enabled smartphones become more commercially available. Average smartphone monthly data usage in the US is set to grow from 12GB in 2019 to 37GB/month by 2024.
Maldonado continued: “By 2024, 38% of the total mobile subscriptions in the US will be supported by 5G technology, most of which will be on unlimited smartphone plans.”
Carriers will continue to develop their 5G ecosystems by collaborating with other IoT service providers in order to offer solutions such as 4K live streaming, remote drones, autonomous cars and live immersive experiences that will further grow average revenue per user (ARPU).
The rising adoption of smartphones and emerging 5G technology is expected to drive the US mobile market to reach $224bn by 2024, says analytics and data firm GlobalData.
Ivan Maldonado, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Market penetration and traffic data consumption are set to increase with 97% of the US population expected to own a smartphone by the end of 2024.”
The recent launch of commercial 5G services will also help to accelerate this data usage, as operators expand their network coverage and 5G-enabled smartphones become more commercially available. Average smartphone monthly data usage in the US is set to grow from 12GB in 2019 to 37GB/month by 2024.
Maldonado continued: “By 2024, 38% of the total mobile subscriptions in the US will be supported by 5G technology, most of which will be on unlimited smartphone plans.”
Carriers will continue to develop their 5G ecosystems by collaborating with other IoT service providers in order to offer solutions such as 4K live streaming, remote drones, autonomous cars and live immersive experiences that will further grow average revenue per user (ARPU).
“The US mobile market has been experiencing rapid acceleration in data consumption due to the increasing demand for video and multimedia, as well as operators’ commercial emphasis on the promotion of unlimited data plans,” Maldonado concluded.
Jul 31, 2019 • Management • Software & Apps • News • servicemax • Service Execution Management
Report Highlights Improvements Beyond Traditional Service Efficiency
Report Highlights Improvements Beyond Traditional Service Efficiency
ServiceMax has revealed the results of its new survey of customers to better understand how real-world organizations benefit from service execution management technology – and areas where even the most advanced organizations can improve, including measurable impact on key performance indicators such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and employee engagement.
Partnering with market research consultancy Wakefield Research, the ServiceMax Impact Report analyzes the impact that service organizations track by leveraging ServiceMax’s field service management and asset service management solutions. Further, the report shares insights for service leaders to help them go beyond productivity and efficiency gains and rethink approaches to workforce management, asset service strategies and customer experience that drive service transformation.
Partnering with market research consultancy Wakefield Research, the ServiceMax Impact Report analyzes the impact that service organizations track by leveraging ServiceMax’s field service management and asset service management solutions. Further, the report shares insights for service leaders to help them go beyond productivity and efficiency gains and rethink approaches to workforce management, asset service strategies and customer experience that drive service transformation.
Today’s service leaders and their technicians in the field need the right tools and knowledge to keep critical equipment running – and to exceed customers’ ever-changing expectations for uptime and support. Service jobs take many forms – a field service technician drives three hours to a remote hospital to perform preventive maintenance on an MRI machine; the head of security at an office building calls their maintenance team to fix a broken surveillance camera; an aviation MRO crew waits in a hangar to perform planned maintenance on a 787 jet engine – and these service calls all require specialized skills, effective logistical coordination and varying levels of planning to ensure the job is executed effectively and efficiently.
Service is not a one-size fits-all industry. This year, survey results reveal companies that have started their digital service transformation journey are seeing impact across their service business and bottom line. By providing digital tools that engage the service workforce, provide visibility into the install base as maintained in the field and address increasing demands for a seamless customer experience, ServiceMax customers are able to provide insight and impact to board level initiatives.
Highlights from the survey, which showcase average business impact for customers using the ServiceMax platform, include:
- 25% increase in service revenue;
- 17% reduction in service costs;
- 20% increase in Net Promoter Score;
- 21% increase in contract renewals;
- 12% increase in equipment uptime;
- 29% increase in employee satisfaction;
- 23% improvement in technician productivity;
- 22% increase in workforce utilization.
"With ServiceMax, we've been able to capture lead generation in the tool and they can pass leads straight over to the sales organization in real time. Lead generation has increased dramatically,” said Stephen McPhee, Head of Americas – Lab Water, MilliporeSigma. “Engineers feel more satisfied on a day in and day out basis because they are making a difference when they're passing a lead to the sales organization. Revenues have been increasing as a result."
“At ServiceMax, our mission is to help all service organizations run profitable, productive and competitive service operations,” said Neil Barua, CEO of ServiceMax. “We’re honored to work with our customers every day to make this mission a reality and we’re incredibly happy to hear how the ServiceMax platform is instrumental in improving our customers’ service execution management strategies and abilities to support their own clients.”
A comprehensive service execution management solution, such as ServiceMax, helps organizations across industries improve the productivity of complex, equipment-centric service and achieve quantifiable results, including dramatic service revenue growth, increased customer satisfaction and a reduction in compliance incidents.
Jul 31, 2019 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Workforce • IFS • skills • The Big Discussion • OverIT • Librestream
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector. In the third of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor...
In the Big Discussion we bring together a panel of industry experts and focus on one key topic within the field service sector.
In the third of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream ponder AR's future role in service. Will it be ubiquitous as a rugged device?
Do you think AR will become a mainstream/commonplace part of field service operations within the near future?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
This question is an interesting one. AR is a large bucket. If you look at proven capabilities such as remote expert guidance and digital work instructions, AR is already a mainstream capability for market leaders.
Other AR capabilities such as 3D modeling and cognitive services, while important parts of the digital transformation journey, are further out in maturity. For these proven AR tools, we’ve experienced a shift from Operations to IT led sourcing to deploy at scale across an enterprise.
At scale, these enterprises report strong operational results such as:
• 30% Productivity gain from ‘just in time’ mentoring of field techs;
• 5-10% Increase in asset up-time;
• 50% Reduction in support call duration;
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
Most consulting firms agree that by 2022 over 50% of field service providers will offer a specialized digital customer experience enabling both two-way interaction and workflow initiation through multiple human and non-human channels.
The prediction is confirmed by the fact that OverIT, as an AR product supplier, is no longer reaching out to potential customers to make them aware of the power of such technology, but instead is proactively contacted by prospects who have already developed a well-defined AR strategy for their business. OverIT with more than 85K active users on field have the expertise to guide them in this process.
We are facing the ROI era and Augmented Reality is no longer a proof-of concept.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
The current technology inflection point, where technologies like AR, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will become pervasive, makes it one of the most exciting times to be working with service companies.
Many use-cases that, only a couple of years ago, seemed aspirational at best, are becoming more real and accessible every day.
We are certainly seeing more interest in this area from the industry as cost and complexity reduce – making the technology more accessible to a wider range of organisations.
The Feasibility of AR in Service report produced by the Service Council in 2017 found that 33% of respondents were already using AR, with 43% evaluating it. From what we see in the market, this upwards trajectory has continued and momentum is continuing to build.
The final part of the big discussion will be published next week. You can read the first instalment here and the second here.
In the third of a four part series on Augmented Reality, our panel including Stephen Jeffs-Watts, Senior Advisor Service Management, IFS, Francesco Benvenuto Product Marketing Manager, SPACE1 by OverIT and John Bishop, President, Librestream ponder AR's future role in service. Will it be ubiquitous as a rugged device?
Do you think AR will become a mainstream/commonplace part of field service operations within the near future?
JOHN BISHOP, PRESIDENT, LIBRESTREAM
This question is an interesting one. AR is a large bucket. If you look at proven capabilities such as remote expert guidance and digital work instructions, AR is already a mainstream capability for market leaders.
Other AR capabilities such as 3D modeling and cognitive services, while important parts of the digital transformation journey, are further out in maturity. For these proven AR tools, we’ve experienced a shift from Operations to IT led sourcing to deploy at scale across an enterprise.
At scale, these enterprises report strong operational results such as:
• 30% Productivity gain from ‘just in time’ mentoring of field techs;
• 5-10% Increase in asset up-time;
• 50% Reduction in support call duration;
• 20% Acceleration in time to resolution.
In addition to these tangible results, our customers describe how AR also provides them with competitive differentiation, worker safety, premium service offers, and worker retention opportunities.
In addition to these tangible results, our customers describe how AR also provides them with competitive differentiation, worker safety, premium service offers, and worker retention opportunities.
FRANCESCO BENVENUTO, PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, SPACE1 BY OVERIT
Most consulting firms agree that by 2022 over 50% of field service providers will offer a specialized digital customer experience enabling both two-way interaction and workflow initiation through multiple human and non-human channels.
The prediction is confirmed by the fact that OverIT, as an AR product supplier, is no longer reaching out to potential customers to make them aware of the power of such technology, but instead is proactively contacted by prospects who have already developed a well-defined AR strategy for their business. OverIT with more than 85K active users on field have the expertise to guide them in this process.
We are facing the ROI era and Augmented Reality is no longer a proof-of concept.
STEPHEN JEFFS-WATTS, PRODUCT MANAGER, SERVICE MANAGEMENT, IFS
The current technology inflection point, where technologies like AR, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning will become pervasive, makes it one of the most exciting times to be working with service companies.
Many use-cases that, only a couple of years ago, seemed aspirational at best, are becoming more real and accessible every day.
We are certainly seeing more interest in this area from the industry as cost and complexity reduce – making the technology more accessible to a wider range of organisations.
The Feasibility of AR in Service report produced by the Service Council in 2017 found that 33% of respondents were already using AR, with 43% evaluating it. From what we see in the market, this upwards trajectory has continued and momentum is continuing to build.
The final part of the big discussion will be published next week. You can read the first instalment here and the second here.
Jul 30, 2019 • Software & Apps • News • IFS • report • Finance
2019 figures shows revenue guidance increase equivalent to $711 million, representing 20% year-on-year growth.
2019 figures shows revenue guidance increase equivalent to $711 million, representing 20% year-on-year growth.
IFS has announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2019 that ended June 30, boasting a 20% YOY growth and a revenue guidance increase of 6.35 billion SEK (equivalent to US $711 million).
The upturn can in part be attributed to a number of significant deals in the first half of 2019 which have been chalked up as some of the biggest in the firm's history.
IFS Chief Executive Officer, Darren Roos suggested the firm are now looking beyond these results, commenting: “IFS is the only vendor of scale in our sector that stands on a principle of choice, providing an experience free from ultimatums. Now that we see what this IFS is truly capable of, expectations for the second half of the year remain high and I am pleased to have increased our guidance for the remainder of the year to deliver 2019 revenues of $711 million, or 6.35 billion SEK, an increase that represents a 21% increase year-on-year.”
IFS has announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2019 that ended June 30, boasting a 20% YOY growth and a revenue guidance increase of 6.35 billion SEK (equivalent to US $711 million).
The upturn can in part be attributed to a number of significant deals in the first half of 2019 which have been chalked up as some of the biggest in the firm's history.
IFS Chief Executive Officer, Darren Roos suggested the firm are now looking beyond these results, commenting: “IFS is the only vendor of scale in our sector that stands on a principle of choice, providing an experience free from ultimatums. Now that we see what this IFS is truly capable of, expectations for the second half of the year remain high and I am pleased to have increased our guidance for the remainder of the year to deliver 2019 revenues of $711 million, or 6.35 billion SEK, an increase that represents a 21% increase year-on-year.”
Jul 29, 2019 • News • Software and Apps • Telecommunications • VOIP
A rapid increase in the number of VoIP providers in the UK has given businesses around the country a wealth of extra choice – but this isn’t necessarily a good thing, according to one telecoms outfit.
A rapid increase in the number of VoIP providers in the UK has given businesses around the country a wealth of extra choice – but this isn’t necessarily a good thing, according to one telecoms outfit.
Voice and data services provider Amvia says that while it is beneficial for businesses to have access to more options, the overwhelming choice can make it more challenging to identify the most suitable solution. The organisation warns that increased opportunities can mean some businesses may select a suboptimal deal, leaving them unable to fully take advantage of this top technology.
Amvia has noted a marked rise in the use of its online, real-time comparison tool for voice and data services; a change which the firm attributes directly to the growing number of VoIP providers across the UK. The tool, which aims to match customers with the most suitable local providers based on location, service availability, features and pricing, offers a unique overview of the current market. It highlights a selection of solutions all in one place, minimising the need for businesses to undertake lengthy research.
While use of the tool is rising, Amvia warns that there are still many businesses who may not be using comparison services, meaning that they are likely not getting the most compatible or cost-effective voice service for their needs as a result.
“The fact that there are now more VoIP providers than ever before shows that demand for voice services is on the rise and that UK businesses are really starting to fully utilise this essential technology,” says Amvia Managing Director Nathan Hill-Haimes. “But more VoIP providers is not always a good thing, especially for businesses that are struggling to find the best service for them.
“To put it bluntly, more choice means more opportunities to get it wrong. That’s why we believe it’s more important than ever for businesses to work to identify their own needs and really take a thorough look at the market, finding a solution that not only works for them now, but will continue to bring benefits in the future, without settling for second best.
VoIP, or voice over internet protocol, is one of the most disruptive communications technologies to have been introduced to UK businesses over the past few years. VoIP brings multiple benefits, including the cost saving advantages of IP-based telephony, as well as stronger communications through real-time conversations. It is a technology that has aided the development of successful remote and flexible working policies, facilitated better client/business relationships, and worked to streamline business processes.
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
Leave a Reply