Collaboration aimed at Industrial Firms targeting swift and large-scale digital transformation.

The software solutions provider Parsable have announced a partnership with Boston Management Consultancy Group (BCG).

Industrial Sector

Although not an exclusive arrangement, the collaboration will focus on the industrial sector and at firms looking to accelerate their digital transformation journey.

The two firms hope BCG's approach of impact driven strategies combined with Parsable's ability to deliver bespoke digital solutions will help industrial companies increase productivity through the use of digital tools.

Ben Cheng, Parsable's VP of Global Customer Operations explained how the collaboration would benefit those in the industrial sector. "This partnership brings together two game-changing competitive advantages for industrial companies: Parsable's deep industry knowledge and proven ability to quickly scale at a global level, and BCG's ability to drive large digital transformations for impact," he said.

Organisation create online interactive safety courses for remote workers.

The British Safety Council have developed and launched a series of interactive online courses for remote workers looking to continue their health, safety and environmental learning during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Same Tutors

'Live-Online' allows students to connect remotely to the courses using a PC, laptop or tablet and interact with the same tutors who deliver the British Safety Council's face-to-face teaching.

The enhanced modules were developed following student feedback to an original suite of learning delivered at the start of the pandemic. Mike Robinson, the British Safety Council's Chief Executive explained how the comments influenced their decision to make the modules interactive with real-time tutor assistance.

“At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis the British Safety Council launched a series of free online resources to help employers and employees adapt to new ways of working and the feedback we received has been very positive." he said. "Live Online now takes that one step further, for people that want structured support from a tutor without having to be in a classroom."

WorkWaves's Route Manager made free for six weeks in UK and Ireland.

A collaboration between Leadent Digital and WorkWave means suppliers of critical goods and services in the UK and Ireland can access the fleet-management's route-planning software free of charge.

Swift Implementation

For six weeks essential industries will be able to utilise WorkWave's Route Manager platform which can be implemented in hours, the two companies say.

Firms on the front line are having to expand swiftly to meet demand for home deliveries and other services and it is hoped use of the software can help companies optimise their resources and support new and inexperienced drivers.

Leadent Digital's CEO Alastair Clifford-Jones said seeing the growth of essential industries during the Covid-19 outbreak influenced the collaboration. "When we saw so many organisations working so hard in these unprecedented times, we needed to help and this seemed the best way of using our skills and resources to support the national effort. We have seen companies growing very rapidly to meet demand and this could really help them cope."

For more details about the offer click here.

Firm says solution is first of its kind and can optimise work for 2.7 billion deskless workers.

The technology company Skedulo who create deskless product software says they have created the "industry's first deskless productivity cloud".

Overlooked

Deskless productivity software, the firms says, has been overlooked by other technology vendors whose digital transformation solutions will cover entire workforces but fail to recognise those in deskless occupations.

Eighty per cent of the global workforce, approximately 2.7 billion people work deskless which can be split into three categories: mobile deskless workers which includes service technicians; hybrid deskless workers - caregivers and facility service staff; and fixed-location deskless workers - retail employees and hospitality staff.

“Organizations are paying more attention to their frontline workforce – i.e., those who deal directly with customers or are closely involved in the production process." said Raul Castanon-Martinez, senior analyst, workforce productivity and collaboration at 451 Research. "These workers have traditionally remained outside the scope of IT and business communications, but increasingly organizations are prioritizing their role to improve business agility. We expect digital transformation initiatives to expand in 2020 where frontline workers will more directly drive business outcomes.”

The platform is underpinned with Dell's Boomi programme enabling flexible configuration with existing workflows and the software is currently experimenting with a dynamic messaging real-time communication tool.

Tim Haines, Senior Product Manager at Sunrun, a solar equipment company, has been able to upscale their operation after using the platform to supercede its manual, ad-hoc scheduling methods. "We can now dial into a specific solar advisor at a specific store ad compare their hours worked and performance against the rest of the time," he said.

 

Thai firm Eko offers TELCOs free use of its workplace platform during outbreak.

In an effort to support TELCOs during the Covid-19 pandemic, employee software provider Eko are offering free use of its virtual workplace platform.

Suite of Tools

Users who sign-up for the subscription-based platform will only be charged when the current situation stabilises and will have access to the virtual workstation's suite of tools including: Banner, a tool for creating visual banner announcements for staff; Broadcast, a way of communicating clear, company wide announcements; a library of documentation covering, health and safety, health insurance and travel polices for example; a real-time catalogue of checklists and attachments; and a real-time chat facility for accurate and instant communication.

As the impact of the virus takes a firmer hold globally, the need for remote technology in enabling business continuity is growing. Companies are requiring solutions that can at the very least offer a semblance of 'business as usual' and assist in continuity strategies.

Korawad Chearavanont, CEO at Eko, hopes the offer can help negate some of the anxiety that businesses are feeling. "The virus outbreak has been a big concern for businesses that are frantically preparing contingency plans," he said. "If our platform can give peace of mind to businesses and help to keep employees informed and feeling calmer during this unprecedented time, then it just seems like the right thing to do." 

Bunzl Catering Supplies sign enhanced contract with fleet solution provider.

Bunzl Catering Supplies have extended their contract with fleet solution provider Microlise and supplemented its existing Proof of Delivery (POD) transport management solution with extra modules.

Modules

The firm, part of international B2B distributor Bunzl plc., have added Fleet Performance, Remote Tacho Download, Journey Management and Health and Safety modules to their current package.

Focused on the catering and hospitality sector where it sources, consolidates and distributes food packaging and hygiene products, the UK-based company conducts seven operating branches and a distribution centre.

In renewing and enhancing the partnership Bunzl hope they will make further improvements in efficiency, customer service and safety around its operational output.

"Extending the solution for us is a natural progression," said Phil Haskew, National Transport Manager at Bunzl Catering Supplies. "We have identified further workflow and customer service improvements we can make by introducing fleet utilisation, planning and health, safety and compliance management solutions."

Commenting on the deal, Nadeem Raza, Microlise's CEO said: "We are delighted to continue to partner with Bunzl Catering Supplies as they deliver a strengthened end-to-end cutsomer experience."

UK-based CAE firm will form part of Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence Division.

Precision measuring specialists Hexagon AB has acquired CAEFatigue, a provider of mechanical fatigue simulation solutions.

Consolidate

CAEFatigue, founded in 2012 and based in the United Kingdom, will be consolidated into MSC Software, Hexagon’s own Computer-aided Engineering (CAE) simulation software arm, part of Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence Division.

The implementation of CAE simulation during the design phase of manufacturing can replicate and identify potential stresses and fatigue issues of a product. CAEfatigue Vibration, a component of CAEfatigue’s software suite uses frequency-domain response rather than a time-domain alternative which increases accuracy during the simulation. At the moment It is being used in a range of sectors including the automotive and aerospace industries, both key demographics for Hexagon. Currently, MSC provide simulation software for NASA, Boeing and Genera Motors and with the addition of CAEFatigue, Hexagon expect to bring an enhanced CAE offering to existing and new customers.

Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén said Hexagon's portfolio of smart factory and smart industrial facility solutions will feel the benefit of the acquisition beyond its manufacturing processes. "CAEFatigue offers solutions for validating design and manufacturing methods - from choice of material to fabrication - enabling decisions during the design phase that improve quality and product life, while saving time, reducing costs and eliminating waste." 

Webinar will offer advice on how remote service can be achieved through Microsoft's field service solution...

B2B IT firm DXC.technology will host a webinar in April to help firms work remotely by using Microsoft's Field Service Platform Microsoft Dynamics 365.

Reduce Site Visits with Connected Service, takes place on Thursday 16 April at 1230-1300 GMT and will be presented by Tricia Sinclair, a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Pre-Sales Architect with over 10 years experience in implementing CRM solutions

Attendees will learn how the Microsoft platform can detect and resolve issues remotely and how data can be leveraged from connected devices to establish when a technician visit is necessary.

As Covid-19 impacts service delivery, attendees can expect plenty of value from the webinar. 

Full details of the event are below:

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Reduce site visits with Connected Field Service

Thursday 16 April 2020 12:30PM - 13:00PM BST

 

What it is and how it works

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service is a complete Field Service Management solution that includes the detection of a field service need, technician scheduling, parts information delivery, and support of field technician interactions including knowledge management and service portals for end-to-end customer service.

Connected Field Service harnesses data from an IoT platform into Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service to help organisations proactively detect, troubleshoot, and resolve issues remotely, dispatching a technician only when necessary.

Learn more in our webinar

Join our 30-minute webinar to find out how you can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Field Service along with Connected Field Service to drastically reduce your service costs and improve customer satisfaction.

The webinar will cover how you can:

• Detect and resolve issues remotely, before the customer knows of an issue
• Leverage data from connected devices to send technicians only when necessary
• Improve customer satisfaction with reliable and predictable service delivery
• Service more customers by increasing first-time fix rates
• Meet and exceed SLAs with a 360-degree view of your customer assets.

This webinar is suitable for Operations Managers, Business Analysts, those in Service Delivery, Field Service and Health and Safety roles, IT decision makers and Financial decision makers.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT.

As the most powerful 7-inch rugged mobile data terminal available on the market today, the compact VIKING is ready for the future of fleet management.

RuggON Corporation, a leading provider of rugged mobile computing solutions, has announced VIKING, its next-generation Android-based vehicle-mount mobile data terminal.

Compact

The compact 7-inch VIKING is designed to bring class-leading performance, comprehensive connectivity, industry-specific functionality and modern applications to a wide range of fleet and transportation deployments.

Class-leading Performance

As digitization and automation continue to transform the fleet management industry, high-performance vehicle-based computing devices will play a pivotal role. The VIKING, running Android 9 with Google Mobile Services on a fast, state-of-the-art Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor, brings unparalleled system performance in a reliable and productive daily workhorse that fits anywhere.

Designed for Fleets

Built to the highest ruggedness standards, the compact VIKING is designed for use in vehicles ranging from forklifts all the way up to large trucks and heavy-duty machinery. Featuring IP65 ingress protection and having passed pertaining MIL-STD-810H testing procedures, the VIKING can operate in a wide -20⁰ C to 60⁰ C temperature range and withstand the harshest environments. With a wide 9-36V input voltage range, smart power management, ISO7637-2 power protection and CANbus or SAE J1939 support, the VIKING is a flexible tool for implementing a wealth of fleet and vehicle-based tasks such as diagnostics, data collection, route and safety management, navigational tasks, and onboard operations recording.

Ready for Use on the Road and in the Field  

With a high-bright 7-inch PCT touch-display, the VIKING remains viewable in bright sunlight, while the auto-dimming function automatically adjusts to any change in ambient lighting condition. In addition to the comprehensive onboard I/O with legacy support of its MT70x0 Series predecessors, the new VIKING adds convenient reversible USB Type-C functionality with DisplayPort Alt mode support, enabling an extra display where required. Reliable, Comprehensive Connectivity

Staying reliably connected is crucially important to effective fleet management in today’s digital and data-driven transportation era. The VIKING comes with a range of integrated connectivity technologies including 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE mobile broadband, GNSS with support for all the major satellite systems, as well as NFC/RFID reading for identification and similar tasks.

For More Information on the RuggON VIKING click here