AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Mark Glover

According to a new research report from the M2M/IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of devices featuring cellular or satellite connectivity deployed in oil and gas applications amounted to 1.3 million at the end of 2018.

 

Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 percent, this number is expected to reach 1.9 million units by 2023. Remote monitoring of tanks and industrial equipment in the midstream and downstream sectors comprise the most common applications for wireless solutions in the oil and gas industry. Berg Insight expects that shipments in the upstream sector will grow faster, although from a much smaller base, as cellular communications become an increasingly viable alternative to proprietary radio due to improved 4G LTE coverage in North America and broader support from the industry.

 
While the market has been affected by the decrease in oil prices in recent years, significant developments have taken place in regard to the industry landscape and technological advances. Major automation vendors such as Emerson, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Yokogawa, Honeywell and ABB are investing heavily in the development of software platforms to support use cases surrounding predictive analytics and digital twins. Recent developments further include Rockwell Automation’s joint venture agreement with the major oilfield service company Schlumberger to create Sensia, an integrated automation solution provider in the oil and gas industry. On the communications side, several initiatives have been launched to promote the adoption of cellular technologies in the utilities industry, primarily in the US. In early 2019, leading cellular device providers, including Sierra Wireless, Cisco, MultiTech Systems, GE and Encore Networks together with spectrum licensees and utilities formed the Utility Broadband Alliance (UBBA) to advance the development of private LTE networks for critical infrastructure industries.

Solutions for remote monitoring of assets such as wellheads, storage tanks and pipeline infrastructure are offered by major industrial automation vendors, as well as a large number of specialised providers. “Key consolidators in the market for remote monitoring solutions are the private equity held companies Quorum Software and DataOnline that have acquired six and three businesses respectively between 2015–2019”, said Fredrik Stalbrand, IoT Analyst, Berg Insight. He mentions recent deals such as Quorum’s acquisitions of the Coastal Flow Measurement family of companies and Flow-Cal in March 2019, as well as DataOnline’s purchase of Sierra Wireless’ iTank business in December 2018. Important vendors that specialise in remote SCADA and tank monitoring further include AIUT, Critical Control, eLynx Technologies, Silicon Controls, SkyBitz, WellAware, Zedi and ZTR Control Systems. “Several players continue to have inorganic growth as a key strategy, so further M&As can be expected among IIoT solution providers targeting the oil and gas industry in 2019–2020”, concluded Mr. Stalbrand.

You can read the full report here.

 

Transaction will provide government and private fleets a broadened selection of services for maximizing productivity, efficiency and safety, firm says.

Geotab has announced that it has signed an arrangement agreement whereby it plans to acquire BSM Technologies.

BSM provides telematics and asset management solutions to more than 165,000 vehicles across government and private fleets in Canada and the United States. The completion of this transaction would add to the over 1.5 million fleet telematics subscribers utilizing Geotab globally.

Over the past 20 years, BSM has developed extensive experience and customer relationships in the government sector, enabling municipalities and States/Provinces to optimize and manage their winter road maintenance fleets.

”BSM had previously standardized on using the Geotab platform as their base and then created a competitive advantage by building new products on top of our technology,” said Neil Cawse, Geotab CEO. “An example of this is winter ops - support for data and the management of snow plows and spreaders. This technology is key for our resellers to be able to win government business.”

By adopting the Geotab platform, BSM’s customers in government as well as other verticals including construction, service and rail, will not only benefit from Geotab’s leading engineering expertise and award-winning focus on security, scalability and reliability but will also gain access to solutions for enhanced visibility into vehicle performance, driver habits, accident detection and more.

Geotab’s leadership is reflected in major account wins including the awarding of the world’s largest single-source telematics contract in history by GSA Fleet, a division of the GSA (General Services Administration), to equip its 217,000 U.S. government vehicles with Geotab technology.

Placing security at the forefront of its innovations, Geotab announced earlier this year that the cryptographic module in the company’s GO vehicle tracking device received FIPS 140-2 validation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Geotab is the first and only telematics company to achieve this standard.

“BSM’s activity in the government space coupled with Geotab’s proven success and commitment to security and scalability will work in tandem to dramatically accelerate Geotab’s presence across North America including in the electric vehicle space, which is an increasingly important emerging market,” added Cawse. "We are excited about what BSM will do to strengthen our ecosystem and believe that the resultant platform enhancements will benefit our customers around the globe."

Geotab has a long-standing history of providing customers with access to an open-platform solution that enables fleets to customize and scale their telematics implementation to meet their business needs. This approach has allowed the company to closely align with strategic partners that provide customizable solutions to help improve productivity, fuel efficiency, driver safety and more.

Through this transaction, BSM customers will also benefit from Geotab’s partner ecosystem. BSM will contribute some of its product and services development in asset tracking, winter ops, third-party integration and off-road equipment tracking to the Geotab Marketplace, Geotab’s extensive online solutions center for managing mobile assets and workers.

“Following the announcement of our expanded partnership with Geotab in late 2018, it became clear that BSM’s growing analytics and optimization capabilities combined with Geotab’s best in class telematics solution results in an enhanced product offering to fleet management customers. As part of the Geotab team we will be able to offer these capabilities across all of Geotab’s partner network,” said Louis De Jong, President and CEO of BSM. “The combination of BSM and Geotab is a great outcome for all of BSM’s stakeholders.”

The world we live and work is changing fast, being pushed forward by rapid technological evolution. Becky Johnson reviews key industry data to see what trends we need to be focusing on...

Customer Service & Brand
There can be no doubt that the traditional interpretation of Field Service is changing: a fundamental shift is being made to focus on service and its incorporation and development into existing, more product-centric, business models.

Where once it was enough to rely on a stellar product, now competition is fierce and margins are being squeezed this is no longer the case. Where excellent service is being provided and taken for granted in everyday life, it makes sense that this is now being expected, if not demanded, within business transactions.

A new age is dawning and customers are continuing to ask how a product and company ‘adds value’. Engineers in the field have access to, and interactions with, potentially hundreds of contacts within a specific customer base. So it’s no surprise that those customers will come to associate a product’s ‘worth’ based on the dealings they have had with these field service representatives.

As the American poet Maya Angelou is attributed to have said ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’. By 2020 customer experience is slated to overtake price and product as a key brand differentiator. (Source: Capterra)

Women in Field Service, Diversity & Mindset
With this shift to customer centricity there must also be a shift in perception. Traditionally seen as male dominated, a career in Field Service has not attracted women. However, with service coming to the fore this situation is starting to change and the skills that women offer are becoming more vital than ever. The ‘soft skills’ required for customer service roles are often attributed to women, but it’s not a question of gender, the focus must be on what skills can be brought to the table as a whole and how these can be used to improve a company’s Field Service offering.

In order to ensure that quality talent is acquired and retained, Field Service must also diversify so that the next generation of bright minds can see themselves working in this sector. If a certain demographic is only ever highlighted and portrayed then it is no wonder that it is presumed that this is all there is.

As you would market a brand, the same must be done throughout Field Service. Why would you choose this career? What is there to offer? What is the long term career outlook? Although diversity may be a difficult and taboo subject for some, this does not make it any less important or integral to the way companies must continue to grow and exist.

The business world has long debated the effect of gender diversity on business outcomes, asking does diversity make a company more productive and in turn increase financial performance? In a Harvard Business Review a study of 1,069 leading firms across 35 countries and 24 industries found that gender diversity relates to more productive companies (as measured by market value and revenue) only in contexts where gender diversity is viewed as “normatively” accepted. In other words, beliefs about gender diversity create a self-fulfilling cycle. Countries and industries that view gender diversity as important capture benefits from it. Those that don’t, don’t. They also found that the most-diverse enterprises were also the most innovative, as measured by the freshness of
their revenue mix, proving that diversity is crucial in so many factors. 

"Service must also diversify so the next generation of bright minds can see themselves working in the sector..."

In order to keep up with rising expectations it will require a massive change in mindset, starting at board level and moving downwards, to truly transform a company ethos. For some this will mean a transformation in culture that has formed over decades but must now be changed rapidly if they are not to be left behind by the competition. This will be easier said than done; as change is happening so fast it’s fundamentally hard to move quickly enough! However, as the old adage goes, ‘just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean it isn’t worth doing’.

Haier, the world’s number one home appliance manufacturer, is a Chinese colossus with 70,000 employees. Since the 1980’s, Haier has reinvented itself several times, most recently breaking the company into >4,000 micro-enterprises effectively creating self-organizing micro businesses acting as separate entities (and in some cases, actually are). At the core of this idea is that employees get ownership, decision-making rights and a customer paid salary. They truly became pioneers. Such a change in mindset comes within the RenDanHeYi model. With “Ren” referring to each employee, “Dan” referring to the needs of each user, and “HeYi” referring to the connection between each employee and the needs of each user. The CEO Zhang Ruimin says: ’With the RenDanHeYi model we truly enter the network age. But the network aspect is not even the most important. 

What is more important is that we no longer try to delegate to, or ‘empower’, employees. It’s now time for every employee to be his or her own boss. So, with the RenDanHeYi model we move away from being like an empire (with a traditional, closed pyramid) to be more like a rain forest (with an open networked platform). Every empire will eventually collapse. A rain forest, on the other hand, can be sustained. 

Digital Transformation
Alongside the cultural shift needed to meet customer expectations, Field Service is also being driven by digitalization, which Gartner defines as ‘the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and valueproducing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a digital business.’

‘Digitalisation’ and ‘digital transformation’ have become such buzz words in recent years that some have lost sight of not only what it means but what they are actually trying to do. Digitalisation is a tool by which to achieve an end goal, but is not the goal itself. Gartner predicts that by 2020 10% of emergency field service work will be both triaged and scheduled by artificial intelligence.

With AI assisting with everything from scheduling to predictive maintenance to using past data to make future plans. The human element within Field Service is still very much relied on and future technologies and solutions will be there to support these interactions - to make life easier and more efficient, not to replace humans altogether.

People still want to do business with people and until the customer becomes more Terminator than terrestrial this will probably always be the case.

Becky Johnson is Content Director at WBR, overseeing the Field Service Connect conference, which takes place on 14 and 15 May at Celtic Manor, South Wales.

 

Now in its seventh year, content at The Spare Parts Business Platform continues to reflect the changing trends in what is for the service sector a strong source of revenue. But with disruptive technologies such as Aritificial Intelligence and blockchain starting to have an impact on the supply chain – along with Brexit - what did delegates take away from this year’s gathering in Stockholm? Mark Glover finds out more...

Skype, the VOIP service released in 2003, the pre-cursor to video-calls over the web is now taken for granted. A true game changer, the application means business meetings can take place in one room with worldwide attendees interacting in real-time; friends and family can keep in touch from both sides of the world. In technological terms, it was disruption on a huge scale. It seemed appropriate then that one of the creators of Skype, Jonas Kjellberg, should present a keynote at this year’s Spare Parts Business Platform.

Delegates packed into the main conference room to hear how the Swedish entrepreneur disrupted and continues to disrupt in pursuit of constant innovation. Billed as part of the event’s Service Mastery Day, Kjellberg’s hour-long presentation urged delegates to bring this culture of disruption to their business framework. Once the cash cow of the service sector, spare parts has perhaps remained stagnant in its outlook and, Kjellberg, suggested disruptive elements such as AI, drones and 3D printing should be welcomed and embraced.

However, political upheaval through Brexit is creating a type of disruption a long way from the technological and business sort that drives innovation. Indeed, as I write this the EU has just agreed an extension to the UK’s departure, pushing the exit day back to 31 October. A major thread of negotiation and debate is the movement of goods in the EU and any tariffs imposed will inevitably have an affect on the supply chain. In a fascinating presentation towards the end of the first day, Lars Karlsson, CEO and Managing Director at KGH Global Consulting and an expert in customs warned delegates about the impact that the UK’s withdrawal could have on logistics. Karlsson, who was commissioned by the European Parliament Constitutional Committee to suggest possible border-solutions post-Brexit shared his thoughts on the impact of import and export between the EU and UK. Of course, while businesses are doing everything they can to prepare for all Brexit outcomes, until politicians come to an agreement we can still only speculate on what sort of mark Brexit will leave.

"Once the cash cow of the service sector, spare parts has perhaps remained stagnant in its outlook..."

One future trend that could impact positively on the supply chain is 3D printing and on day two of the conference, Atanu Chaudhuri from Aalborg University – and recent guest on the Field Service Podcast – presented case studies from two Danish manufacturers to delegates on selecting suitable spare parts for 3D printing (or additive manufacturing to give it its other term). Adopted within the medical, automotive and aerospace sectors additive manufacturing is yet to truly take-off in service, due in-part to the lack of a solid business case being waved in front of a perhaps cynical industry. However, as part of Atanu’s presentation, Mads Blaabjerg Uhre from Nilfisk, a supplier of professional cleaning equipment, and an advocate of 3D printing took part in a far-reaching Q&A on the subject, which may have persuaded some of those in the audience to re-consider their view on the subject.

Elsewhere on day two, sessions straddled warehouse management, digitization and stock optimisation. On the latter, Andrea Capello, Head of Parts BU at Ariston Thermo, a producer of thermic comfort products for commercial and industrial use, was able to share some of the guidelines that he uses to check stock-level by cluster and some of the tools used in this process. He outlined the importance of having a clear understanding of stock-balance, including inventory and location and affirmed that only then can you be fast and responsive to the customer.

Delegates left the two-day event enriched with new ideas, contacts and an accurate overview of where they and their business sit in the spare parts world. Thomas Igou, Editorial Director at Copperberg, the organisers behind the event, said this year’s conference had been a success and he looked forward to the next gathering. “With over 150 participants from all corners of Europe,” he said, “and across the manufacturing sector, 12 partners including the leading solutions providers in the sector, and high profile speakers that included the co-founder of Skype, the event was two intense days of knowledge sharing. I look forward to the next edition in February 2020, this time in Germany.”

A year is a long time in field service and 2020’s Spare Parts Business Platform, I’m sure, will reflect the trends of a dynamic and constantly moving industry.

Claims that 3D printing will disrupt and revolutionise the manufacturing industry of the future, have been made since the early 1990s. For field service, that future is now writes Dr Ahmad Beltagui.

Picture this scenario: a field service engineer is called out to repair a grounded aeroplane at a remote airport. He finds the problem, but realises that repairing it will mean waiting a week for spare parts to arrive, when the client needs the plane airborne, so the contract, and perhaps his job, is on the line. Could 3D printing provide a faster solution to the problem? Today, it very likely could.

What is 3D printing?
3D printing – also known as additive manufacturing, additive layer manufacturing, rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing – is a range of production processes that build parts in layers directly from digital designs, without the need for tooling.




































These processes typically use a heat or light source to solidify plastic or metal powder, liquid polymer or plastic filament. They can produce complex geometries in small batches or even one-offs in a variety of materials, from biodegradable plastic to aerospace grade titanium. A digital, flexible future for manufacturing and service 3D printing allows production to be carried out on-demand, which is useful when spare parts are unexpectedly needed. Production in remote locations becomes possible, as NASA demonstrated by printing a wrench on the International Space Station in four hours, from a design sent digitally from Earth. 3D printing allows production of highly customised parts, from hip replacements, to dental implants to ear-phones

It enables consolidation of multiple components into one part, which delivers huge benefits in weight reduction, but also helps to streamline supply chains. For example, an aerospace part that used to be assembled from components delivered by around 20 suppliers is now designed as a single, much lighter, component. The only feasible way of producing this design is additively, rather than cutting and joining in traditional methods. Since it requires no tooling, economies of scale are less relevant, so that producing one-off parts is feasible, as Formula One teams have demonstrated with track-side 3D printers. For all of these reasons, 3D printing gives us a vision of a digital, flexible future for manufacturing and service.
The first patents for 3D printing processes were granted as early as 1986, but in recent years there has been a shift in focus from prototyping to enduse parts. Companies across the world, including IBM and Sony, had experimented, but the pioneering, and still market leading, companies were started by engineers in their spare time – Chuck Hull who invented stereolithography and founded 3D Systems, and Scott Crump, whose fused deposition modelling is the basis of industrial and desktop 3D printers made by Stratasys. 
Where did it come from? 














For many years 3D printing has been widely used in prototyping and new product development. Indeed, Hull’s invention was based on frustration that prototyping designs took far too long. Research suggests that, while prototyping is still the most common use, more companies are printing components and products for end-use by customers. 
Where did it come from?
The first patents for 3D printing processes were granted as early as 1986, but in recent years there has been a shift in focus from prototyping to enduse parts. Companies across the world, including IBM and Sony, had experimented, but the pioneering, and still market leading, companies were started by engineers in their spare time – Chuck Hull, who invented stereolithography and founded 3D Systems, and Scott Crump, whose fused deposition modelling is the basis of industrial and desktop 3D printers made by Stratasys.

For many years 3D printing has been widely used in prototyping and new product development. Indeed, Hull’s invention was based on frustration that prototyping designs took far too long. Research suggests that, while prototyping is still the most common use, more companies are printing components and products for end-use by customers. Substantial improvements can be seen in cost, quality, speed, reliability and materials.

The industrial and commercial viability of 3D printing for volume production is being tested by companies such as General Electric, whose dedicated factories have produced over 30,000 aero-engine fuel nozzles and over 100,000 hip implants. And in some sectors, such as hearing aid production, reports suggest that every company that has not adopted 3D printing has not survived. This is only the start of a growing industry, whose annual revenues are projected to grow to over $20bn.
A growth industry – in services
Following two decades of steady development, there has been rapid growth in 3D printing revenues since around 2010. This is partly helped by the expiry of the first patents, leading to an open-source “maker” movement at the low end, which sees start-ups receiving multi-million dollar kickstarter investments and 3D printers offered for under £500 by supermarket chains, such as Aldi. Estimated global revenues for 3D printing products and services grew from $1bn in 2009 to $2bn in 2012 to over $5bn in 2015, with compound annual growth over 30% over most of this period. 3D Systems and Stratasys, who account for over a fifth of the total, saw their product revenues soar until 2014. However, the last few years have been more challenging for these companies, because the potential of 3D printing has now been recognised by companies from a variety of sectors. Driven by fear of disruption, manufacturing companies including HP, Ricoh, GE and Polaroid, as well as software companies such as Adobe, have entered the market with their own 3D printers. Meanwhile lower price competition from Asian manufacturers has increased competition in 3D Printing. The answer to the competitive challenges, as is so often the case, lies in service and servitization. 

Servitization and 3D printing
With a large and growing installed base of 3D printers, there is potential for service providers to offer maintenance and operation related services. As UK based manufacturer Renishaw has reported, customers often buy a 3D printer, only to then ask for someone who knows how to use it. This is because setting up, maintaining and post-processing are highly technical tasks that require skilled personnel. Market leading companies increasingly derive their profits from digital manufacturing services, offering a full range of solutions, including design and production. They offer to take customers’ ideas through a whole digital product development and production process, effectively transforming manufacturing into a service.
So, back to our hero, the field service engineer at the remote airport, trying to fix his grounded aeroplane. In the time it took you to read this article, he could have received or downloaded the digital file for the part he needs and perhaps set up the printer to start making the part. A few hours later, he could come back to collect it and perform any post-processing required, before fitting it and letting the customer get back to business.
How far-fetched is this scenario? How far away are we from this vision of reality? Perhaps not too far. Two main barriers remain. The first is that post-processing and other technical tasks take time, effort and skill. There is, therefore, a need for managers to ensure staff are trained and have the required skills for digital production technologies. The second is intellectual property. While digital file standards make it possible to share designs, the fear that anyone can produce (or modify) a design makes companies reluctant to share.
The last few years have seen hype, unrealistic expectations and subsequent disappointment (news just in: not every home has, or is likely to have a 3D printer). However, technologies are maturing as focus shifts to refining and improving, rather than reinventing.
Global revenues for 3D printing passed $9bn last year, a large and growing proportion of which are service revenues. In short, the time to realise the benefits and take advantage of the demand for 3D printing services is now.
Dr Ahmad Beltagui is from the Advanced Services Group at Aston Business School

Machine learning and threat intelligence capabilities in SIEM solutions will augment the productivity of security analysts, finds Frost & Sullivan.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) vendors have begun to inject greater versatility into their platforms as well as incorporate new security functionalities and analyst-friendly dashboards. Also, managed SIEM providers are offering cloud-hosted SIEM solutions to lower the per customer cost-to-serve to penetrate the SMB market.

These advances will drive the $1.98 billion global SIEM market toward $3.23 billion by 2023. "SIEM 3.0, with its high degree of automated response and remediation, can detect malicious threats attempting to penetrate the environment and automatically perform actions to thwart attackers’ advances,” said Mauricio Chede, Senior Industry Analyst, Digital Transformation. "The integration of several functionalities, such as user & entity behavior analytics (UEBA), security operation and automation response (SOAR), and forensic analysis, is essential to effectively compete in the SIEM market."

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)—Global Market Analysis, Forecast to 2023, examines the market drivers, restraints, and market distribution channels of the SIEM market. It presents revenue forecasts and key findings to help participants make the most of the market potential. The study covers the four product types of physical appliance, virtual appliance, software, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

You can read the full report here.

Captec, designer and manufacturer of specialist computing equipment, has launched a new fully rugged in-vehicle solution comprising a tablet and vehicle dock. 


The VT-681 rugged tablet and IVM-681 dock provide a complete IT platform that delivers mobile workforce automation in vehicle fleets with a mounted and dismounted use case.

Mobile workforce automation is a proven advantage that many fleets are now adopting to gain a competitive edge. As these use cases expand into a wider diversity of sectors, mobile phones are commonly used, but they are not sufficiently ruggedised for the operating environment and are also limited in display area. Whilst current offerings from market leaders are highly ruggedised beyond requirements, they are typically priced above the budgets of many fleets. Captec’s tablet and dock solution has been specifically developed to disrupt this market by supplying a suitably ruggedised platform at a cost-effective price.

 

The lightweight, 8-inch VT-681 provides fleets with an affordable Windows-based tablet. It has been ruggedised to achieve IP-67 protection and drop-tested to 1.2 metres, enabling it to withstand stress factors including rough treatment, shocks, and both dust and water ingress.

 

The integrated hand strap delivers maximum on-the-go comfort, while an active stylus pen increases functionality - even in wet conditions. With built-in GPS and an optional barcode scanner, the VT-681 supports mobile workforces across sectors such as construction, environmental services, utility fleets and emergency services.

 

Designed to safely and securely house the new Captec tablet, The IVM-681 vehicle dock is robust, compact and easy to use. With a lockable release for both mounted and dismounted applications, it features USB and power pass-through and offers hassle-free, one-handed docking.

 

To meet the critical safety requirements of in-vehicle applications, the dock has been tested for its ability to endure shock and vibration. This enables the VT-681 tablet to stay securely mounted, even in the event of a collision.

 

Gerard Marlow, Sales Director, Captec, said: “We are excited to introduce this new rugged solution into our range. Our aim is to provide mobile workforces with flexible, powerful and cost-effective mobile computing solutions that make jobs easier and provide peace of mind that they are equipped to withstand all the rigours associated with field work.”

 

Mark Glover explores the health and safety risks associated with lone working including a recent emphasis on wellbeing and mental health and how technology and attitudes at board level can enhance a firm’s approach to implementing a strong safety culture...

In the UK it is estimated there are six million lone workers and approximately 23 million in the US. Workers sent to fix a coffee machine, lorry or an offshore wind turbine, by definition, are lone workers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who oversee the regulation and enforcement of occupational health and safety in the UK define lone workers as “people who work by themselves without close or direct supervision”. Given the spectrum of lone vocations in field service, we can assume that most workers fall into this category.

In the UK, while there is no specific legislation that governs lone working, the act is encompassed by the overarching Health and Safety at Work Act which requires employers to provide a duty of care to their workers and to do all that is “reasonably practicable” to protect them.” Similarly, in America, there exists no defined legal requirements but the framework of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) expects firms - as part of their legal duty of care - to have a lone worker policy in place.

Today, firms across both sides of the Atlantic are now taking health and safety far more seriously. What was once seen as a paperwork-heavy burden, necessary to keep inspectors from the door, is now appearing higher up a firm’s agenda resonating in
the boardroom and becoming integrated within a firm’s business strategy. Directors can see tangible numbers such as lost time
and accident statistics that can visibly affect a company’s bottom line; as well as the impact the effect on a company’s brand if they are found in breach of the regulations. Employers are now also taking a more holistic view of their workers’ health and safety. As well as the obvious risks in lone working such as sudden illness or injury, violence, threats or abuse, employers are now taking more notice of their employee’s wellbeing and the risks associated with mental health. Lone workers have been identified as vulnerable in this regard, susceptible to issues such as depression and anxiety. But why is this?

The very nature of lone working means interaction with others is not as frequent as that between office workers, for example. As social creatures we work best in groups, bouncing ideas around and receiving affirmation from each other on challenges and solutions. And while those who work alone are in touch with colleagues or managers, it is often conducted remotely and task-focused with little opportunity for informal conversation. The desk-based employee can usually find relaxed, pressure releasing conversations at the office kitchen while making a coffee with another colleague.

"Lone workers have been identified as vulnerable, susceptible to depression and anxiety..."

It’s this removal of a lone worker’s relaxed workplace interaction that can have a detrimental affect on their wellbeing. However, communication software such as the consumable cross-platform messaging service WhatsApp is being utilised by working populations to interact and share challenges, becoming a virtual coffee between workers in a virtual office kitchen.

Technology has also played a part in physically protecting lone workers with a sharp advancement in safety devices, particularly in alarms and monitoring systems.

The first wave of tech was very much stand alone, connected to very little. Those in danger would press a button and hope that someone hears it. Now devices have become much smarter with GPS and IoT connectivity, in turn creating tracking and
therefore productivity metrics. This was further ring fenced in the UK by the introduction of the 2016 BS8484 standard, meaning
companies offering technology-based solutions had to comply with. A key requirement of which, is that a lone worker’s alarm once activated, supersedes the 999 British level of emergency response, and be directed immediately to the relevant control unit,
guaranteeing an appropriate action.

This regulation has led to another level of lone worker devices encompassing video, analytics and the use of IoT. Solutions now include personal ID tags that incorporate video technology and small fob alarms, triggered discreetly triggered if an incident occurs
that can also integrate with a mobile workforce management platform. Like service management platforms, analytics software specifically for lone workers exists that covers usage, training and alarm elements and produces graphically-friendly reports
to showcase progress to the CEO or department heads.

Financial, moral and legal: three reasons why firms should take their health and safety management systems seriously. Far from being a burden, it’s about making sure your workers go home unharmed. People are your biggest assets and they deserve to be protected to the highest possible standard. Physically, and also mentally.

Global service platform introduces e-sorting technology to benefit businesses.

Serve has announced the official launch of Serve Sortation, a groundbreaking tool to help businesses simplify and facilitate inventory control, product distribution, and delivery completion processes. As part of the Serve ecosystem, Serve Sortation complements the company’s existing platform by expediting the arrangement and coordination of goods, food, pharmaceuticals, consumer products and beyond.  This enables companies of all sizes to better participate in the ever-expanding on-demand and e-commerce market by improving efficiency in the last-mile delivery processes.

 

“We have taken a complex, chaotic labyrinth and converted it into a profit center for enterprises on our platform,” says Shahan Ohanessian, CEO of Serve. “By developing an advanced system that optimizes delivery performance on every level, Serve cuts costs for logistics companies while opening up opportunities for all vendors and independent service providers.”

 

By enabling access to drivers, restaurants, and just about any product or service with lower costs, greater value and more convenience, Serve Sortation removes barriers that restrict the growth of businesses.