AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Sharon Clancy

Got a Toughbook or Toughpad? Panasonic wants to hear from all those people who use these devices for very difficult tasks - jobs that would make the average worker's knees tremble.

In celebration of tough job heroes and recognition that while the Toughbook and Toughpad rugged devices are tough, their users are often even tougher, Panasonic is running a Toughest Job competition. The jobs show rugged devices in action in the UK's National Health Service, by Royal Air Force helicopter crews and by crane inspectors for Zurich Insurance.

To enter, you view three videos showing the devices in action and cast their vote as to watch three videos and cast your vote as to which of the three jobs is toughest: you click on "tough as Old Boots" if you agree the job is tough or on "My Nana's Tougher" is you think there are tougher jobs out there. The winner receives a rugged Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1.

You don't think those jobs are as tough as yours? Panasonic wants to hear from you, too. In a second competition those people view the videos and think their job is tougher can upload a photo or video of themselves or their colleagues in action and enter a prize draw to win a Panasonic rugged Lumix camera as well.

The competition runs until 31 August 2015.

 

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Businesses that ignore health and safety laws risk serious repercussions, warns  health and safety consultants Arinite.

In the UK compliance with Health and Safety laws are mandatory for every company and could result in huge fines, or even prison sentences, if ignored.

Despite this,  a common consensus is that health and safety checks are not a priority for many companies: they are expensive and offer no immediate profit. However, having appropriate systems to improve working conditions will make a company more trustworthy and respected in the industry and are a huge benefit in the long run.

The government doesn't take health and safety violations lightly, and you shouldn't either - 94% of all prosecutions resulted in convictions. Prosecution cases instituted by HSE and local authorities can result in fines, imprisonment and even immediate prohibition of the business.

When deciding on prosecution and penalties, the authorities take in the following into account:[unordered_list style="bullet"]

• The severity of offence
• The attitude and documentation of health safety management by the company
• What effect prosecution would have on the company financially
• If there is substantial evidence for a conviction
• If there will be a deterrent effect on other offenders[/unordered_list]

When fining companies after a prosecution, judges and the courts refer to sentencing and fine guidance, together with preceding similar cases (case law). Legal proceedings can be started by either the HSE or a local authority. Between 2009 to 2014, the average number of convictions by the HSE were 471 with the fines  being approximately £28,929. This   Infographic from Arinite reveals the  number of prosecutions in various sectors and the penalties incurred.

 

The services industry received the lowest number of convictions between 2009/14, but had  the second highest costs of fines, at £37,944 per claim. In the Utilities and Waste sector there were 22  convictions and an average fine of  £56,629. In Construction there were 166 convictions with fines averaging £18,602.

The services industry covered so many different forms of work there is a huge range of hazards that need to be considered – anything from dangerous electricity outlets to harmful substances, making the services industry safety one of the most critical areas to take care of.

Benefits of Health and Safety

Providing a safe environment for employees can be a challenge, especially when they are work involves being on other companies' premises and sites. Keeping up with standards and constant changes is not an activity to be taken lightly. A health and safely breach within the service industry could lead to serious harm or even a fatality.

Creating a good working environment doesn’t just benefit you in the long run, it can also work short term. Allowing staff to have more faith in the company boosts their happiness and productiveness, increasing profit. Having good health and safety also limits the number of sick days taken by employees.

 

Putting regulations in place has serious financial benefits; information from HSE shows that having the correct procedures in place results in average savings of £300 for minor injuries, £20,500 for serious injuries, and £200,000 for any permanent or life changing injuries.

How to avoid fines

It should be every company’s aim to reduce the health and safety risk as much as possible, though it is not possible to eliminate every hazard. Conducting a risk assessment is a great way to see what improvements your business needs: judging where the most life-threatening hazards are allows for extra precautions to be put in place.

Key methods to improve safety at work:

1. Always work to your risk assessment and report any accidents – keep detailed reports of any injuries (no matter how small) as this will allow you to minimise all potential risks.
2. Personal protective gear is essential - in the services industry, protective items should be provided by the employer as it helps limit the likelihood of injury.
3. Minimise any fire risk.
4. Electricity –if there is often a high chance of electrocution with the over use of power sockets and water hazards, aim to cut down on overcrowding sockets and reduce overheating.
5. Take time to be safe – it is important to be thorough with your inspections, to talk to your employees to find out if they have any health issues in the work environment.Place your list items here

Health and safety should be at the heart of your business and influence every decision about the work place that you make. Having a stable and reliable safety system is essential; the cost of putting these in place massively outweighs the uninsured expenses that occur in dealing with a work place incident.

 

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The UK Government has launched a £20 million competitive fund for collaborative research and development into driverless vehicles, along with a code of practice for testing the technologies. 

The Government says the measures will put the UK at the forefront of the intelligent mobility market, expected to be worth £900 billion by 2025.  It aims to make the UK the best place for testing driverless technology and is inviting bidders to put forward proposals in areas such as safety, reliability, how vehicles can communicate with each other and the environment around them and how driverless vehicles can help give an ageing population greater independence.

The fund is part of the £100 million funding for research into intelligent mobility announced by the Government earlier this year.  Successful bidders will match fund money with their own.

 

A new joint policy unit, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C-CAV) has been established to co-ordinate work by the Department for Transport (DfT) and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and formulate future government policy on driverless cars and connected technology.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: "To boost productivity Britain will need to capitalise on new technologies like driverless vehicles, securing high skilled jobs for those who want to work hard and get on, and contributing to a more prosperous future for the whole of the country. Our world beating automotive industry, strengths in innovation and light touch regulatory approach to testing driverless technology combine to make the UK market competitive and an attractive destination for investors."

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: Driverless cars will bring great benefits to our society and economy and I want the UK to lead the way in developing this exciting technology. Our code of practice clearly shows that the UK is in the best position when it comes to testing driverless cars and embracing the motoring of the future. We now look forward to working with industry to make this a reality." A decade ago Britain’s car industry was in decline, but it is now the most productive amongst the major European producers," commented Jones. "New technology can help it improve its productivity and competitiveness in the future."

A code of practice was published to accompany the announcement to provide the industry with the framework they need to safely trial cars in real-life scenarios, and to create more sophisticated versions of the models that already exist. C-CAV is currently working on a range of new technological developments, including plans to test new roadside communication technology to improve traffic flow and safety through ‘connected corridors’. This would pilot technology that will provide drivers with useful journey and safety information.

 

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UK telecoms company O2 is expanding its Fleet Telematics portfolio with the addition of fleet management and vehicle tracking from Canadian company Geotab.

O2 Track and Go and O2 Smart Tracking uses Geotab’s GO7  telematics data capture device and the MyGeotab platform. The device can be quickly and easily installed into the on-board OBD-II diagnostics port in vans and cars, either overtly or covertly. It  simply plugs in: there is no need for any wiring, so it can be easily removed when a vehicle is de-fleeted and instantly becomes ready to install in a new vehicle. The devices have been deployed in more than 450,000 vehicles, says Geotab.

The solution offers real time fleet management and the ability to develop a number of alerts, notifications and review vehicle trip and activity reports. Advanced features also include on-board diagnostics through engine indicators to provide feedback, such as engine failures, or an in-depth engine fault code diagnosis; detect accidents and retrace potential cause of the accident; and allow add-ons such as a navigational device, NFC driver ID key, sensors and more.

 

The technology will serve verticals such as car rental, leasing, courier, beverages and utility fleets to improve their on-road productivity, on-road safety, and ecological efficiency, in addition to optimizing fleet performance to reduce fuel costs, says O2.  Fleet managers will gain more intelligence across multiple vehicles giving them the data and insights needed to make more informed business decisions in real-time. Furthermore, drivers will have more insight over their individual vehicles.

“Telematics is now a must-have for all organisations looking for the most accurate data about their business vehicles. O2 Track and Go and O2 Smart Tracking can help fleet decision makers achieve significant operating efficiencies,” said David Taylor, managing director of Machine to Machine for O2 in the UK. “Through our partnership with Geotab we’re looking forward to expanding our existing relationships with fleets, leasing and rental companies to embrace fleet management.”

“Fleet, rental and leasing companies need reliable and secure fleet management solutions that are easy to install, manage and switch out as the fleet is changing rapidly,” said CEO Neil Cawse, Geotab. “We are excited and honoured to be selected to support O2’s telematics offering in the UK and look forward to help serve O2’s fleet customers with our end-to-end fleet management solution,” Cawse continued.

 

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Xplore Technologies Corporation, the rugged tablet computer manufacturer, has expanded its presence in the UK with the acquisition of Motion Computing Inc. and its subsidiaries. The acquisition broadens Xplore's product portfolio to encompass rugged as well as ultra-rugged tablet computers. 

By bringing together two industry leaders, organisations in the United Kingdom now have access to the most robust product portfolio of rugged tablets in the industry that are purpose-built for the unique workflow demands of critical industries. Both Xpore and Motion by Xplore  products will continue to be available through local channel partners in UK

"We are excited to now offer the UK the broadest portfolio of purpose built rugged tablet computers and accessories,” said Ian Davies, country manager, Northern Europe, Xplore Technologies. “With more than 30 years of combined industry experience focused solely on the rugged tablet market, we are confident the strength of the collective companies will address a broader range of customer needs and provide a one-stop shop for rugged tablets.”

 

The portfolio of Xplore and Motion by Xplore tablet computers use powerful and modern processors and components and are tested more vigorously for shock, thermal, vibration, impact, ingress and emissions than any other in the industry.  In May, Xplore won the prestigious Mobile Platform Partner of the Year award at the 2015 Intel Solutions Summit in North America.

Xplore’s products enable the extension of traditional computing systems to a range of field and on-site personnel, regardless of location or environment, providing  an ecosystem that turns the tablet PC into a solution for their specific workflow.The company’s industrial grade rugged tablets meet the demands of customers in the energy, healthcare, utilities, manufacturing and distribution, public safety, field services, transportation, and military sectors.

 

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ServicePower and Qton Solutions have formed a strategic partnership to provide optimised workforce management solution for the metering industry which will expedite services and reduce costs.

ServicePower Technologies Plc market leader in field service management technology, today announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with Qton Solutions, the field service management software specialist in the UK metering industry.

Qton’s platform, hosted and managed in the cloud, provides drag-and-drop scheduling of jobs, mobile dispatch with real-time status updates, and fully customisable industry compliant workflows which facilitate on-site data capture.  By including ServicePower’s ServiceScheduling incorporating the latest optimisation algorithms, Qton’s work order management and mobile dispatch technology now includes intelligent, intra-day, schedule optimisation. Work orders will be created in Qton, optimised, and continuously re-optimised in ServiceScheduling, and dispatched to the metering field technicians.

Adam Bowen, Head of Operations, Qton Solutions, stated “The Qton field service management platform provides robust mobile workforce management functionality for metering services within the utilities industry. Integration of the ServiceScheduling optimisation technologies enables us to offer true route optimisation in addition to the drag-and-drop scheduling our platform was designed to support. ServiceScheduling integrated to our platform enables Qton to bring higher levels of efficiency and productivity to the industry, while maintaining the same level of customisable mobile workflow so necessary within the utilities sector.”

 

Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower, stated “This is yet another partnership for ServicePower which broadens its reach into new verticals. ServiceScheduling will provide the advanced optimisation technology which Qton’s utility customers require to ensure the lowest cost maintenance schedules and highest levels of customer service, through offering real time, accurate appointments to the industry. The partnership gives customers a choice and also offers the product as a service which broadens our larger cloud-based offering. By working with Qton, ServicePower is able to grow its utilities customer base in the UK. This partnership further demonstrates our commitment to ServicePower’s partner ecosystem. We will achieve growth through integrating our technology with innovative partners whom extend our functional, geographical and execution reach, in addition to generating our own organic sales.”

 

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TomTom Telematics has been awarded the Best Commercial Vehicle Systems Integrator for 2015 by TU-Automotive.

The award recognises the impact of TomTom’s cloud-based SaaS platform, WEBFLEET, and was announced at the TU-Automotive Awards Ceremony in Novi, Michigan. According to the judges, TomTom Telematics was selected because of “their progressive attitude, multi-faceted solution and ability to innovate”.

TomTom Telematics has cultivated a growing eco-system of more than 300 software and hardware partners unique in the fleet management industry, with all applications published in its App Centre.

The WEBFLEET.connect API allows third party software partners access to all field data generated by drivers and vehicles, in the same way they have access to all processed and aggregated data provided by WEBFLEET.

The company also provides additional .connect APIs for all of its in-vehicle equipment, allowing third party hardware to connect smoothly to its telematics black box by using it as in-vehicle communications hub. By taking advantage of OBDII based data sets on smartphone applications or accessing instant in-vehicle and office-based data streams on TomTom Telematics driver terminals, partners can provide customised applications easily.

 

“As the connected car space continues to grow and gain momentum, staying ahead of the curve and continually innovating is no mean feat,” said Krystyna Grant, director, TU-Automotive.

TomTom Telematics open platform approach is integral to the company's strategy and has resulted in the creation of an end-to-end fleet management system, which allows seamless data flow between drivers, vehicle and office. New applications have been produced to help customers digitise business processes and benefit from even greater efficiencies.

“It is extremely gratifying to have TU-Automotive validate our approach, especially as we continue to invest in our APIs, SDKs and partner ecosystem,” said Thomas Schmidt, managing director, TomTom Telematics.

“We are committed to delivering value to our fleet customers across industries. The best way to do that is to make integration with industry-specific solutions easy and efficient. Through our partner ecosystem, App Center and WEBFLEET platform, we are able to deliver value and improve the bottom line for more than 35,000 organisations worldwide.”

 

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Real-time monitoring of workflows is driving efficiencies in monitoring and management of street works in Wokingham, Surrey, following the adoption of Mayrise Street Works from Yotta.

Wokingham Borough Council has introduced mobile working for its street works staff  that allows them to check compliance of works, report overstays and recommend fixed penalty notices using Mayrise Street Works.  The software is designed as a complete solution for local and highways authorities managing street work notices and includes mobile working functionality that allows street works officers to access up to date information in order to monitor works in progress and investigate completed works. It is reducing the reliance on paper records and unnecessary trips to the office, thereby maximising officers’ time in the field and productivity.

Graham Barnwell, Traffic Manager at the council commented, “The introduction of mobile working in street works, supported by Yotta’s Mayrise software, is already delivering operational efficiencies. By enabling officers to access the information they need, when they need it, we are allowing staff to focus on the job in hand. By reducing the need for inspectors to return to the office or interrupt colleagues to obtain relevant information we are already seeing an increase in productivity and improvement in the service we provide to the community.”

 

The council is currently using rugged Honeywell Dolphin mobile computers running Mayrise Street Works Mobile software. The devices allow the Council’s street works officers and inspectors to remotely access the Street Works Register in order to research activities in progress and investigate works after they have been completed.

Using their mobile devices staff working in the field can also generate defect inspection reports, recommend fixed penalty notices and check compliance with permit conditions. Inspectors can report overstays to provide evidence of an offence which sends a warning to the promoter that the works are overrunning. Defect notices can be directly sent to the works promoter, mapped and with photographic evidence this ensures the utility has the information to locate and fix the apparatus in the quickest possible time.

Mayrise Street Works is designed to ensure best practice and provide up to date information on the status of all works. It also offers full compliance with the revised EToN 6 specification which aims to further reduce the impact of roadworks, through the better co-ordination and sharing of information between local authorities and utility firms.

 

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Resource Type: White Paper
Published by: Astea
Title: Forging a service and sales partnership
Download: Click here to download the white paper
By downloading you agree to the T&Cs listed available here

Synopsis:

The wall between sales and service activities is crumbling within many companies. Once largely viewed as a cost centre, the role of the service organisation has steadily evolved as companies recognize its potential as a source of new revenues and a valuable tool in strengthening customer loyalty.

However, there is often a disconnect between the service and sales organisations. Service technicians often serve as the face of the company, spending much of their time directly interacting with customers. They are potentially a valuable source of new sales leads, able to spot opportunities for new product sales or competitive product replacements, offer service contracts to clients, and even cross-sell/up-sell products or services. Most companies are not fully taking advantage of this potential sales leads stream

This white paper outlines the potential sources of new revenue enabled by better integrating service and sales activities, discuss the challenges of realising this revenue, and provides information on the tools, software,
and strategies that top-performing companies utilise to grow that revenue.

Overview:

The ability to leverage information coming from the field service organisation to drive sales opportunities with new and existing customers will be a critical competitive differentiator moving forward. Companies that leave their sales and service organisations technologically or operationally separated could be leaving substantial revenue on the table.

 

However, according to The Service Council, of the 55% of companies that are not utilising their service teams for sales, most report that this is because the technicians lack training, lack the skill set or incentives to sell, or the companies prefer that they don’t sell at all.  Service organisations also may lack the tools to turn those leads into revenue. The Service Council reports that 17% of service organisations still rely on paper, while another 19% don’t have any tools with which to capture leads.

Two types of service revenue

There are two ways that service creates new revenue. One is through direct sales of service offerings  from existing service contracts, non-contract service, new contract sales, and parts sales. The second is by generating direct revenue via warranty sales and other value-added services.

Breaking down barriers

Many of the chief obstacles to meeting new service revenue objectives are both structural and technological. Many companies are not currently structured properly to foster better collaboration between service and sales.

Technology can also play a role. The Service Council says 53% of companies lack real-time visibility into service performance and potential revenue opportunities: traditional paper-based service management processes make it very difficult to communicate potential sales leads and new opportunities back to the sales teams.[quote float="right"]Many companies are not currently structured properly to foster better collaboration between service and sales.

Service technicians often lack the tools to identify and document these opportunities, or to act on them while they are in front of the customers.

 

Keys to better service/sales collaboration

Linking sales and service requires a mix of operational changes and technology.[ordered_list style="decimal"]

1. The ability to accept payment in the field greatly expands the sales potential for the service force.
2. Companies that do leverage the service teams to generate new sales leads typically have dedicated teams focused on service sales, and create sales quotas for the service organisations.
3. Top performers also train service agents on lead identification and sales management
4. The profile of service technicians is changing: technicians are hired also on their sales skills and experience. Some companies are hiring agents with more sales experience, and then investing their training budget on service/technical skills rather than the other way around.
5.  Should the service team should be selling directly or simply gathering leads? The decision will depend your company’s business, culture, and the type of service agents you currently employ.
6. How do your customers view your service team?  If the service technicians are simply seen as people who arrive, fix problems, and leave, then introducing a sales function may not yield the best results. If the agents are already serving as trusted advisors to the customers, however, they may receive more positive reception to sales activities.
7. Evaluating the skill sets of the service force is also important. Can your technicians sell? Are they interested in doing so? What tools, technology, and infrastructure need to be in place that will help them sell effectively? Asking your technicians to sell without giving them the tools to do the job correctly will not yield new revenues.
8. Don’t let the sales strategy compromise the work your service team is performing. It may still be more appropriate to send leads to a dedicated sales team for follow-up.

In order to leverage the service organisation to increase revenue effectively, companies will need to foster collaborative environments that will encourage the service teams to generate leads for the existing sales forces. That can be done by providing technicians with mobile technology that allows them to quickly and easily capture and communicate those leads, developing incentive programs that reward lead generation, and creating business process flows that ensure the leads will be followed up on quickly.

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Click here to download the white paper

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