Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower talks us through a variety of different scheduling solutions and how they can turbo charge service delivery...
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Dec 20, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • optimisation • cloud • scheduling • servicepower • Software and Apps
Marne Martin, CEO, ServicePower talks us through a variety of different scheduling solutions and how they can turbo charge service delivery...
When I think of a ‘turbo boost’, a few images pop into my head. From Superman to a luxury car that eats up the track, a turbo boost ‘supercharges’ an action, with apparent ease, whether that’s saving the innocents or posting the fastest lap times.
In relation to mobile workforce management, a turbo boost to scheduling operations can be just what’s required to achieve the next level performance to drive customer satisfaction, retention and future sales and that turbo boost can only be found in true optimisation that places the power of cognitive computing and big data at your fingertips.
There are generally 3 kinds of scheduling solutions available which offer varying degrees of benefits
Despite stories from the industry about prolonged deployments, platforms which require heavy development and customisation, engines which can’t process large volumes of work without failing or batching unprocessed job, real AI based schedule optimisation can boost your operation, and it does so with ease.
What does Scheduling Mean?
Mobile workforce management solutions (MWFM), have at their core typically ‘scheduling’, functionality which is used to manage mobile workers and at its most basic includes job scheduling, job dispatch and mobility software.
There are generally 3 kinds of scheduling solutions available which offer varying degrees of benefits, from white board / no optimisation solutions to the real, intra-day AI optimisation that enable your business to be much more productive and scalable.
Types of Scheduling
Basic Scheduling
Basic scheduling software requires building and managing a schedule manually. It’s labourintensive, doesn’t consider travel time, and doesn’t apply any computer logic to scheduling decisions, exception handling or schedule changes.
Most of these vendors offer something similar to Microsoft Outlook with drag-and-schedule functionality. Basic scheduling isn’t scalable, and doesn’t support any kind of complexity or manage large volumes of work well.
There is no turbo boost in this option; it’s more like a bicycle.
Automated, Rules-Based Scheduling
Larger volumes and complexity can’t be handled by basic scheduling. It’s too much and too hard for manual processes. It’s inefficient, costly and inaccurate.
Software which offers simple computer logic is the next option. Vendors often call these rules based computer programs ‘optimised scheduling’, but they aren’t.
Some of them do automatically build a schedule using technician skills, availability, and service level agreements, so these are a better option than basic manual scheduling. However, if these packages can’t use a simple rule based on the skill, availability, and SLA, they can’t schedule the jobs.
These really only fill white spaces. Filling a white spot on a schedule is not optimisation.
There’s no real turbo boost here either. This is like a scooter; there’s some power, but you’re not going very far or very fast.
Artificial Intelligence based Intelligent Scheduling
True route and schedule optimisation, such as ServiceScheduling from ServicePower, uses artificial intelligence algorithms, like Simulated Annealing, and our latest algorithm, Quantum Annealing, to intelligently schedule jobs using hard and soft rules in conjunction with configurable parameters to minimise overall costs, maximise service delivery margins, and reduce response times.
Real schedule optimisation packages select the best mobile worker for each job based on skills, geography, and existing jobs
Scheduling optimisation isn’t about manually scheduling jobs, or filling white space based on some basic, hard rules. Real-time or intraday schedule optimisation is about intelligent automation and is absolutely necessary for complex field service operations.
ServiceScheduling, and our Optimisation on DemandTM product, have been proven by our customers to yield:
[unordered_list style="bullet"]
- 15-50% productivity improvement of mobile workers based on intelligently, continuously optimising the schedule for decreased response times to customers
- Up to 45% increase in SLA compliance because the optimisation algorithms can account for required response time in the scheduling decision in real time
- Between 25-50% increase in mobile worker efficiency, including decreased cycle time and reduced travel time yielding improved customer satisfaction and service delivery margins
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Ability to process IoT alerts without manual intervention [/unordered_list]
What’s more important to understand about real algorithm based schedule optimisation?
It’s intelligent!
The algorithms give your team the power of ‘big data analytics’. It’s using your data, creating schedules and learning throughout the process, continuously re-crunching the data, continuously re-optimising, continuously improving the schedules, productivity and efficiency, without your team spending hours manually analysing and manually decided how the data impacts your operations.
Artificial intelligence based schedule optimisation is the turbo boost that your organisation needs to get around that curve fastest, at the least cost, to win, for your customer!
See Through the Smoke Though
Given the obvious benefits to artificial intelligence based schedule optimisation, like ServiceScheduling, why aren’t all organisations, no matter the size or complexity, using the technology?
Good question...
There are several misconceptions worth addressing. Schedule Optimisation is hard to implement. No, schedule optimisation is not hard to implement. It can absolutely be deployed on time and on budget and maintain a long term return on investment.
What’s critical is working with a vendor that understands your operations, as well as what it takes to manage a mobile workforce themselves.
Development is required to support you unique business requirements.
Development is expensive and take a long time. The software should be configurable; it shouldn’t require development to deploy and it absolutely shouldn’t require IT resources to maintain basic changes in the business going forward.
Cloud first.
The software should be available in the cloud, to reduce costs and streamline security, or on premise if your security and privacy policies dictate an on premise deployment.
No software is future proof.
Software should support the evolution of your business
It should integrate the latest technologies like the Internet of Things (IOT) and M2M, to support new business opportunities such as proactive or outcomes based service offerings. ServicePower combined out entire platform in one easy to deploy, easy to pay for model, ServicePower Unity, for exactly this reason. It enables your team to use functionality as and when it’s needed by the business.
It’s hard to change vendors.
It doesn’t matter if you already use software to manage your mobile workforce. Safe passage programs exist, and schedule optimisation should be capable of being used in a plug and play model, to provide that turbo boost missing from existing software systems such as ServiceMax, Salesforce, MS Dynamics or SAP.
ServiceScheduling and Optimisation on DemandTM can be used in conjunction with these software packages to improve the schedule optimisation (or lack thereof) of what your team has already deployed.
A complete change out isn’t required.
ServicePower has architected its platform so that it can be deployed alongside industry standard CRM and ERP packages, improving the schedules generated such that you, too, can supercharge your field operations.
As an example, one of our clients, already on another FSM platform, was able to generate a 24% increase in productivity and a 29% return on investment by implementing ServiceScheduling. Our team at ServicePower has worked tirelessly to create a mobile workforce management software platform which ‘turbo boosts’ our client’s mobile workforce operations- maximising productivity and customer satisfaction, and achieving real ROI, easily, and quickly. It produces real results regardless of what other software our product must work in conjunction with to achieve those ]results.
We guarantee it.
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Dec 19, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service
Field Service News hosted a series of Chatham House rules roundtables in Amsterdam earlier this year to get a feel for attitudes towards Augmented Reality amongst service executives.
Field Service News hosted a series of Chatham House rules roundtables in Amsterdam earlier this year to get a feel for attitudes towards Augmented Reality amongst service executives.
This is what the people had to say...
On Augmented Reality as a threat to the labour force:
“That’s kind of the nature of technology in general - for example the big concern with robotics was you build robots and now humans on the assembly line are losing their jobs. But that’s the nature of technology - it does displace people but then it opens up other avenues -now technicians are fixing and programming the robots.”
On AR as a means of delivering remote guided self maintenance and repair:
“We’re chasing vessels all over the world, oil tankers, luxury yachts etc but very often we have to send very skilled people to do very basic manoeuvres of our mechanical systems so I see a big, big advantage for us if we were able to get that installed. The problem I’m seeing is getting the camera there is as hard as getting a skilled technician there, so the question I have is what can we do with the vessels own employees and a smart phone?”
On the transition to utilising Augmented Reality in our workflow:
“I remember when the automotive industry started putting computers in cars and everybody was saying that there would be no more mechanics, you just plug in a computer and it tells you what’s wrong - well all the mechanics are still here. I think this will be the same - it will be an adaptation, a transition and an improvement.”
On Augmented Reality as a training tool:
“We spend a lot of money flying our top guys all over the world to give training to technicians but it would be nice to reverse it where you could do demonstrations where people are dialling in remotely.”
On the power of Augmented Reality being magnified by other technologies:
“I really think we should be using all of these new emerging technologies such as Big Data, IoT, Augmented Reality in harmony”
On the big barriers to Augmented Reality:
“My biggest problem is the connectivity side of things. Connectivity is probably the number one barrier”
On Augmented Reality as a practical tool for hitting one of the most common KPIs in field service:
“I really look at the big advantage of Augmented Reality as improving the first time fixed rates. We’re still going to need really skilled technicians because our equipment has been designed in a way where it is extremely complicated to grasp, but it would help us to be able to fix it the first time and that would be worth it by itself.”
On Augmented Reality entering into R&D thoughts already:
“ I’m starting to think ‘how do we build it into our product?’”
On how Augmented Reality can completely change our approach to service delivery:
“What I’m tasked with is trying to improve efficiency in the field and I’m very keen [on AR] - in fact over ten years ago I had the vision of the engineer going to the site with some sort of camera, projecting that back to the network operations centre and then having all of the competency housed in that hub, de-skilling the field and allowing them to be able to just fix anything but by having the competence built into the remote assistance.”
On the challenge of raising awareness of Augmented Reality at board level:
“We started some trials with Google Glass but it was a waste of time, but everybody thought something was going to happen and it didn’t and now the problem is getting the buy-in again and separating this out from those failed trials.”
On Augmented Reality becoming a mainstream field service tool:
“Ease of use and implementations - look at the iPhone - it’s really easy to use, it’s not cheap but it is really easy to use. So for me it’s going to be who can deliver an AR product to the market with the simplest ease of use proposition.”
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Nov 11, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • ClickSoftware • scheduling • Software and Apps • software and apps
Field Service Management (FSM) Software stalwarts ClickSoftware held their annual users conference in the leafy town of Richmond, Greater London earlier this month. Field Service News’, Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland was there to find out what the...
Field Service Management (FSM) Software stalwarts ClickSoftware held their annual users conference in the leafy town of Richmond, Greater London earlier this month. Field Service News’, Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland was there to find out what the latest updates were and what the Roadmap for innovation looks like for the FSM software providers...
The location for this year’s ClickConnect users conference, the Richmond Hill Hotel, sitting at the top of the picturesque and historic town of Richmond, nestled on the Greater London border with Surrey, was in some ways a perfect metaphor for our hosts ClickSoftware, and their own position in the Field Service Management (FSM) software provider sector.
Richmond itself is in striking distance away (just 30 minutes by train) from the bright lights of the City of London, itself at the heart of European technology investment and innovation. Yet at the same time, it retains a slightly more refined, more distinguished reputation than other boroughs in Greater London. It’s certainly not cheap either (the average semi detached house price in Richmond is over £1 million) but then cheaper doesn’t always equate to better value. You know what you are getting in Richmond, you know the type of company you will keep. You’re hedging a bet by backing a market leader - and for many years the same could be said of ClickSoftware.
Indeed, ClickSoftware’s position as the leading player within the FSM market for many years was almost unquestionable, especially amongst the enterprise and those clients who had large, complicated scheduling challenges within their field workforce.
You’re hedging a bet by backing a market leader - and for many years the same could be said of ClickSoftware.
Add to this that there had been a recent change of ownership, with Tom Heiser taking the reins as CEO, following on from a private equity takeover, and there is an extra level of attention and a need to impress their core user base that would perhaps be less evident in some of their previous user conferences.
How ClickSoftware approached their own development plans and how it was portrayed at this event, was potentially a huge fork in the road.
Get it right, and they could continue to build on their rock solid reputation as an industry leader, get it wrong however, and it could leave them exposed just when the competition is hotting up.
After an engaging opening keynote by Heiser (which set the tone for an upbeat performance by the ClickSoftware team across the two days) it was straight into the nitty gritty - what developments had been added to the newly launched Field Service Edge, ClickSoftware’s Cloud only offering, as well as what was available for the older generations of ClickSoftware.
And it was in this session that they needed to genuinely impress. They did.
Across the next hour and a half Sassi Idan, SVP Products and Solutions gave us the overview of the latest developments that were either already available or would be available within the next two months.
Of course there were some obligatory discussions around integration but then we would expect any new release to feature easy integration and dedicated APIs.
The new solution ClickSoftware have brought to the table does appear to be pretty damn slick - offering clear visibility into work orders across the whole of the service supply chain
The new solution ClickSoftware have brought to the table does appear to be pretty damn slick - offering clear visibility into work orders across the whole of the service supply chain - something that can be a real frustration in particular for OEMs and their customers when service calls fall down between the cracks.
The set up of new contractors was also not only very fluid and simple, but the pricing on this solution is job based rather than licence based which could very well avoid tension between OEM and third party contractors as to who should have to pay for the licence. Smart thinking.
Another strong introduction was the announcement of an improved crew management solution, which allows for optimisation of work groups bringing together the right skills and location mix. This optimisation tool of course sits right at the heart of ClickSoftware’s traditional strength as a scheduling tool, but still the clean interface and intuitive UI that allows for manual control whilst still benefiting from AI provided suggestions for either fixed or dynamic crews was impressive.
However, it was when attention turned to the mobile app that a gentle shift in ClickSoftware’s approach to development was most visibly brought to the fore.
The new ClickMobile solution appears to have been clearly designed with the engineer’s workflow always in mind. Simple, yet intelligent additions such as camera integration and signature capture combined into a slick solution that includes the ability to send a PDF of the job details with full documentation of the work completed, directly to the customer straight from the app. It is little details like this that can really help the engineer to shine whilst on site.
Staying with mobility, ClickSoftware have also formed an interesting partnership with fleet management provider GreenRoad. The upshot is an integrated driver behaviour tool much in the vein of Telogis’ Coach or Microlise’s Clear, which provides in car guidance on how the vehicle is being driven via a mobile app. Whilst the app itself doesn’t break any particularly new ground, it offers good functionality and it’s inclusion in the wider ClickSoftware suite is a welcome addition that brings the focus of driver behaviour firmly into the FSM category.
The most impressive introduction of the day was still to come in the shape of a new Augmented Reality (AR) solution.
The solution, which is provided by FieldBit, again isn’t perhaps the slickest field service AR app we’ve seen - certainly similar tools from the likes of Scope AR, Help Lightning, and XM Reality all have greater depth of functionality than what was displayed during the live demonstration, but the fact that ClickSoftware’s AR tool is directly accessible from the job page in the ClickMobile app, which of course integrates seamlessly with the other elements of ClickSoftware’s suite of tools is a huge, huge benefit.
In fact, on reflection I think this is what left me walking out of that first session so impressed.
ClickSoftware have clearly been paying attention to the emerging industry trends, and whilst the various new elements introduced may not be best-of-breed, they’ve been brought together in an intelligently thought out system that can improve service delivery in a number of different areas. The product really is a lot, lot more than the sum of it’s parts.
Of course, all of this information was delivered within the first few hours, and across the next two days there were a number of interesting sessions including a series of round-tables and some interesting and diverse case studies including an excellent presentation from Garry Nash, of Costain CH2M which demonstrated some quite frankly incredible project management.
Other highlights included a great overview of Cloud infrastructure from Ian Massingham, Chief Evangelist, AWS and also Marina Stedman, Global Field Marketing Director, ClickSoftware gave an excellent if all too brief round up of a variety of research projects they had partnered on (including our own recent research into the use of Cloud as a FSM platform), which was both well delivered and genuinely insightful.
However, at a user conference such as this, whilst presentations, round-tables and even gala dinners and cocktail making classes, are an enjoyable side-show, really it’s all about the main event - which will always be what is new in the product.
And here they’ve done well. There will be competitors hot on their heels - it’s an incredibly competitive market right now, but here in Richmond, ClickSoftware showed they aren’t going to just step aside and let someone else take over the leaders baton anytime soon.
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Nov 01, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Bill Pollock
Bill Pollock, President and Principal Consulting Analyst with Strategies for GrowthSM states the case for Augmented Reality being the next transformational technology in field service...
Bill Pollock, President and Principal Consulting Analyst with Strategies for GrowthSM states the case for Augmented Reality being the next transformational technology in field service...
At a UK Field Services Summit earlier this year, I was asked to cite what I believe would be the “next big thing” in field service. I suggested “Augmented Reality”, or AR. Why? Because we, as an industry, really cannot do things any quicker than in real time; and we can’t make repair tutorials any smaller, more compact and/or transportable than they already are.
What we can do, however, is make it easier for the field technician to “see” what needs to be done, in real time, and with an “augmented” view of what reality alone cannot, and does not, necessarily provide.
Companies like PTC, a global leader in Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) through its strategic partnership with ServiceMax believe that by leveraging the combination of “two transformational technology trends – Internet of Things (IoT) and Augmented Reality (AR)”, it can now deliver “a new class of products that merge the digital and physical worlds.”
The company further cites that when coupled with the IoT and analytics platforms, AR “unlocks a world of possibilities for creating new ways to design products, to monitor and control products, and to instruct operators and technicians in the appropriate methods of use and service.”
AR had largely focused in applications for the gaming industry; that is, for recreational and entertainment use, rather than for use in a more traditional B2B environment.
However, as more and more Millennials begin to enter the global field technician workforce, they bring along with them not only the skills required to take full advantage of the “new” technology, but also a full appreciation – and affinity for – the technology that has been powering their gaming activities for the last several years.
Even for the existing field technician workforce, the technology is eminently easy to learn, easy to use and fairly intuitive, as well.
According to Jim Heppelmann, CEO at PTC, AR is “a technology that superimposes computer-generated images on top of real world objects, ranging from video game characters to data fields” and, as such, a technology that “can extend a variety of experiences into new arenas as well as provide useful information to consumers” – and customers. Heppelmann further stated that “I think a lot of companies who make and service [products] want to be able to pass information downstream to consumers. [But] rather than a big PDF file, they [now] can say let me augment everything you need to know and nothing more” – and only through AR, is there a means for both explaining the need for service, as well as the actual procedures for performing the “fix”.
There is presently a great deal of “untapped potential for AR in B2B,” and Heppelmann believes that by “using an AR-assisted tool, users of a medical equipment device, for example, would be able to do a routine service inspection themselves, saving the time and cost of sending a service person out on a call (which can run thousands of dollars).”
Because of what IoT is enabling, more and more products are now a mixture of digital and part physical content.
But, isn’t this the same foundation upon which the gaming industry has built itself on over the last generation (i.e., Generation X) and beyond? The concept is really nothing very new – and the technology has already been available for a quite a while.
So, why not apply the same technology to a practical business application as well? In other words, why should the technology be restricted primarily to gamers primarily for recreational purposes?
Basically, AR works in conjunction with the digital twin concept “to enable a new generation of predictive and prescriptive analytics that bring about new business models where the equipment OEMs will retain ownership of its equipment and provide continuous and optimised service on a subscription-based model”.
Once in place, these capabilities can then be used to support the next generations of Augmented Reality applications as they emerge over time.
There is no question that AR will be able to assist in an SLM environment; that is, to provide the field technician (who may not ever have been called upon to service a particular piece of equipment) to still be able to perform the repair by “overlaying” an enhanced (again, augmented) reality – in 3D motion – over and above what he or she would otherwise be able to visualise, in order to make a quick, clean and complete fix. In fact, AR is already being used for these and myriad other purposes in the field.
Major global brands, including Band-Aid, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Mattel and Pepsi have already been using AR for some time. Other major users include Bumble Bee tuna, Guinness Book of World Records, Hyundai, John Deere, KTM Bike, Schneider Electric and Sysmex, etc.
For many field services organisations, AR is now routinely being used to assist field technicians in their ability to perform repairs on equipment they may not have been exposed to previously; have not had any formal, or individual, training or instruction on how to repair; and/or do not readily have access to product specs, schematics, repair manuals or service histories.
Augmented Reality has already made it easier to follow – and understand – otherwise complicated gaming scenarios and sports events for the millions of individuals that have been using the technology for years.
Isn’t time that it was also used to make it easier to perform field service activities? Based on what I have already seen (i.e., and you really do have to see it to believe it!) the answer is resoundingly, “Yes” – and the view from the bridge (i.e., between real-time and Augmented Reality) appears to be breathtaking
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Oct 16, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Jonathan Massoud • Podcast • field service europe • IoT
In this the latest edition of the Field Service podcast Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief of Field Service News talks to Jonathan Massoud, Divisional Director with WBR - the conference producers that deliver some of the world's leading field service...
In this the latest edition of the Field Service podcast Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief of Field Service News talks to Jonathan Massoud, Divisional Director with WBR - the conference producers that deliver some of the world's leading field service conferences including Field Service USA, Field Service Fall, Field Service Medical, Field Service Medical Europe and the forthcoming Field Service Europe.
In this podcast recorded live at Field Service Fall in Fort Lauderdale last month we discuss how field service companies are begining to embrace new technology such as IoT and Augmented Reality.
Enjoyed the sample of this podcast? Download the full podcast here
Want to know more about IoT and Servitization - join Field Service News and ServiceMax for a webinar revealing exclusive findings from our latest research into the topic - click here for more information and registration details
Join Kris Oldland, Jonathan Massoud and over 150 senior field service practitioners at Field Service Europe in Amsterdam on the 28th November - Field Service News readers can access a 25% discount (up to €700 discount!) with the code FSE16FSN! Click here to register now
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Sep 30, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Magazine (digital editions) • resources • cloud • Digital Magazine • IoT
In his leader for this issue, Kris Oldland looks at whether we are entering a storm of new technologies that could have a truly disruptive influence on Field Service as well as welcoming a number of new columnists to our fold...
In his leader for this issue, Kris Oldland looks at whether we are entering a storm of new technologies that could have a truly disruptive influence on Field Service as well as welcoming a number of new columnists to our fold...
Click here to download a digital version of Field Service News issue 13 now
It’s a phrase I’ve used a few times in this editorial leader, but I think in this issue of Field Service News we are seeing ever greater evidence of a perfect storm of technologies coming together to push forward field service evolution faster and further than ever before...
Download issuer 13 now by clicking one of the links within this feature and registering...The obvious starting point of this storm is the Cloud and it is the Cloud where we turn our attention for this quarter’s research. This is the third year running that we have explored the question of whether field service companies are adopting the Cloud as a platform for FSM solutions so we have the opportunity to really define some emerging trends.
Indeed there were some interesting statistics turned up in the research this time around with the key headline findings being that adoption of the Cloud is definitely picking up speed, whilst one of the big barriers to Cloud adoption, namely concerns around security, seems to be gradually abating.
You can read the full report based on the findings starting from page 29.
Another technology that I believe will certainly push the frontiers of how we approach field service operations is Augmented Reality, an assertion that leading industry analyst and regular Field Service News contributor Bill Pollock agrees with in his latest expert view column on page 22.
Of course it is almost impossible to talk about Augmented Reality without at least touching briefly on the topic of Pokemon Go! The mobile phone craze that has turned people of all ages, in all corners of the world, into hunters of small digital creatures that seem to live in Augmented Reality.
However, I am pleased to report that this was just a minor side note in our exclusive interview with Scott Montgomerie, CEO of Scope AR, a specialist Augmented Reality provider that have their eyes firmly set on field service as an industry ready to embrace AR. You can find this interview on page 36.
Then we have the Internet of Things - perhaps the poster boy of technology that is driving change in modern field service.
One company working heavily in this area, with a plethora of high street brands, is Verisae and in our exclusive interview with Jerry Dolinsky their CEO, he explains not only how IoT can improve field service operations, or why it is apparently on the wish list of OEMs and third party service providers alike, but also why it is important to have certain baseline technologies in place before you can approach an IoT implementation. This interview is on page 18.
All of this technology gives us the opportunity to push the way we approach service thinking,
It is testament to the ever-growing stature of Field Service News within the global field service community, that we are able to welcome four new contributors, form four different countries, bringing four different perspectives to join our collection of highly talented and highly informative guest columnists.
And the growth of our stature is truly as much to do with the fantastic support we have received from our readers and sponsors from day one as it is to do with the great team I’m fortunate enough to head up here, so thanks to you all!
It is our role to be a central touch point for the field service community and right now that is an incredibly exciting place to be!
Click here to download a digital version of Field Service News issue 13 now
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Sep 29, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Scope AR
Augmented Reality has the potential to transform the way we approach field service but is the technology ready to go mainstream? Kris Oldland talks exclusively to Scott Montgomerie, CEO of Scope AR...
Augmented Reality has the potential to transform the way we approach field service but is the technology ready to go mainstream? Kris Oldland talks exclusively to Scott Montgomerie, CEO of Scope AR...
Any regular readers of Field Service News will know that we’ve been fans of the potential use of Augmented Reality (AR) for some time here at Field Service News towers.
However, in the past it has sometimes felt that we were something of a lone voice in championing the potential of AR to possibly change the way that a number of companies operate their field service operations, with AR seemingly get far less attention than other emerging technologies like Cloud Computing, Internet of Things or even Wearables.
Yet there is a definite sense that things are beginning to change.
In the past it has sometimes felt that we were something of a lone voice in championing the potential of AR to possibly change the way that a number of companies operate their field service operations, with AR seemingly get far less attention than other emerging technologies like Cloud Computing, Internet of Things or even Wearables.
Indeed, the busiest booth in the exhibitor zone at the conference was that of Swedish AR provider XM Reality who had a constant group of Service Directors around them as they demonstrated their approach to the tech.
Similarly at both Field Service Medical and Field Service USA earlier this year Help Lightning, whose own AR solution evolved from an emergency healthcare solution, were the darlings of both events.
And another AR provider that has seen the potential of AR in field service is Scope AR, a Californian based company that have been putting together an impressive list of clients and partners across the last five years which includes the likes of Phillips, Toyota and Boeing.
They’ve certainly built up a decent pedigree within the fledgling sector - much of which can be attributed to the bold view they hold that AR not just about enhancing existing communications channels but in fact a completely new form of user interface that can transform the way we utilise the ever growing computing power available to us on the move.
As CEO Scott Montgomerie explains “We’ve been doing augmented reality for quite a while, we started in the space about five years ago and when we started looking at use cases we realised that AR wasn’t just a new fun technology but a user interface that could allow people to interact with the real world in a way that had never been done before.”
When we started looking at use cases we realised that AR wasn’t just a new fun technology but a user interface that could allow people to interact with the real world in a way that had never been done before
Scott and his team were able to take this thinking and hone in very quickly on the areas of industry that could benefit from AR, including of course field service.
“We realised there is a whole segment of industry that hasn’t really had the ability to take advantage of the amazing power of the computers they use,” he continues.
“And that’s really where we see Augmented Reality providing huge benefits - by bringing massive computing power in a brand new user interface and allowing guys that use their eyes and their hands out in the field to take advantage of this new technology..”
In fact, the Scope AR story essentially begins with a piece of work they did for a client working within the mining and aggregates sector.
Having been approached to put together a step-by-step training solution that harnessed the power of AR, the project evolved quickly to a proof of concept that their client liked so much they decided to showcase it at MineExpo in Las Vegas.
What was supposed to be relatively low key three demonstrations a day across three days snowballed into being one of the event’s main highlights, with Montgomerie and his colleagues eventually giving 110 presentations with crowds of up to a 100 people at each.
What was supposed to be relatively low key three demonstrations a day across three days snowballed into being one of the event’s main highlights, with Montgomerie and his colleagues eventually giving 110 presentations with crowds of up to a 100 people at each.
“From there on we were like wow - I think we’ve found something!” He admits
Soon Scope AR were working with the likes of Boeing and Toyota building out more step-by -step training and maintenance procedures. A period which Montgomerie explains as “just being a service company trying to work out how best to use Augmented Reality.”
The work that was undertaken at this point was what ultimately led to the development of the WorkLink platform that Scope AR have recently launched.
And whilst the primary purpose for WorkLink is as a training tool, having watched the demonstration I immediately could also see an application for health and safety compliance also.
Many field service management solutions currently offer a check-list functionality in order to ensure workers are not only meeting compliance standards but working in a safe manner. Things like switch off the mains, then remove the cover plate, then remove screw ‘a’ for example - with each step only being revealed once the current one is completed.
Augmented Reality - how big an impact can it have in Field Service?Through the WorkLink platform, each of these steps can be both visually demonstrated and also confirmed as completed via built-in analytics that capture checklist verifications and metadata such as how long it took to perform each step.
In short the content creation platform allows the rapid development of AR work instructions, allowing you to use converted 3D models, add animations, text, images, videos, check-lists, etc. in a branched workflow, to give intuitive, visual instructions.
Another useful benefit is that once ‘smart’ instructions are deployed into the field, the digital instructions automatically start collecting valuable data such as time per step, user and usage information, geo location, etc which can lead to greater insight to how your engineers are performing.
Part of the problem, which is faced by many AR providers not just Scope AR, is that computer vision right now is still fairly rudimentary and in the field you ideally want a system to recognise parts automatically.
Part of the problem, which is faced by many AR providers not just Scope AR, is that computer vision right now is still fairly rudimentary and in the field you ideally want a system to recognise parts automatically.
Scope AR like many similar tools relies primarily on fiducial markers and in the field these can get ripped or damage fairly easily.
So whilst Scope AR do offer their customers durable ‘beer coaster’ sized markers to help over come this issue, their alternative offering ‘Remote AR’ is a simpler use of AR technology that whilst still making use of markers, is more focussed on the use of annotations and drawings that can be added by the both users and which once added will stay fixed to relevant device section regardless of whether or not the video angle changes.
The solution also has a low band-width option which reduces the video feed to every 5 frames which again is a simple but highly effective and practical way of dealing with one of the other biggest challenges of AR - connectivity.
And as with WorkLink, Remote AR was also a solution that was born out of a real life working scenario.
“We were working with a client in Brazil who were facing a major problem where they were manufacturing equipment in Brazil and distributing it in Africa and they were having a lot of communications problems - the local Africans didn’t understand Portuguese and the Brazilians didn’t understand the African dialect, so they had to send people from Brazil over to Africa to fix the equipment at enormous cost,” explains Montgomerie.
“They told us was ‘what we really want to be able to do is get on a video call with these guys and be able to draw and annotate and show what they are doing an create instructions in real time.’ So that was the idea behind Remote AR - that the technician in the field could transmit by video what he is seeing to an expert and that expert can draw annotations in Augmented Reality and as the technician moves around those annotations can stick to what he is looking at”
“It is really a fairly basic use of Augmented Reality but it’s very useful, it’s very practical and it’s usable now.” He adds.
In fact to add further weight to this assertion Montgomerie is able to cite another of their clients, with a field force of 10,000 engineers who have been able to use Remote AR to reduce the amount of time spent on support calls within a contact centre by over half.
Despite case studies such as these coming to the fore, there still remains in many corners the perception that whilst AR is undoubtedly a technology with huge potential within field service, is still has some way to go in terms of maturity before it becomes pervasive.
Yet, Montgomerie believes that this is now starting to change.
“We were definitely around in the early days when AR was just starting to get accepted as a tool for the enterprise, but I think this year we have started to see an inflection point. We have now reached the point where people are aware of Augmented Reality and they want to use it, they now know it’s viable,” he comments.
Indeed, the technology has developed at a rapid pace across the last half a decade - although as further developments in hardware appear on the horizon there is a lot of potential for further refinement.
“As far as where the technology is, just within the last couple of years we’ve started to see cameras that are good enough to pick up those markers in challenging conditions and 3D cameras and Google’s Tango is really exciting for us . We are really looking forward to that getting into wider circulation”
“We really like the partnership that they did with Lenovo we expect to buy a whole load of those Lenovo phones (the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro which features depth sensing camera technology) for our customers. I actually expect that depth sensing technology to be in our all of our phones in the next few years - there is just too many cool things you can do with it to pass it up.”
“Apple acquired a company a while ago called PrimeSense, and then they acquired a software company last year called Metaio and with the two of those they are in an extremely good position to bring out a depth camera as well.”
“So I think that the hardware manufacturers are really going to solve that problem for us a. With depth tracking cameras a) we will be able to do marker tracking so much better and b) the level of interaction you can have between the two users is much, much better.”
Arguably the introduction of depth sensitive cameras as a commonplace inclusion in smartphones and tablets could just be the final breakthrough that AR needs to cement itself as a regular tool amongst field service organisations.
And Montgomerie thinks this will happen sooner rather than later.
“I think that we will see this in about two years,” he states.
“I believe the Lenovo phone is set to launch in September and there are a couple of other OEMs lining up there announcements as well. Then what we typically see with phone manufacturers is when a very advanced technology comes out within the next year many other manufacturers pick it up and then within the following year it becomes lower cost and quite pervasive. So within the next couple of years I think we will see this technology being on all phones.”
So does Montgomerie see his client base as early adopters?
“Its a little bit of both,” he explains. “We’ve definitely got a lot of companies that are forward thinking - they are actively looking for the latest and greatest technologies and they want to be on the leading edge, but we’ve also got some of our companies, and actually they are some of our best customers, that are not exactly forward thinking.”
“Some of them weren’t even sure what Augmented Reality was, they just contacted us after seeing our videos, and seeing the utility of Remote AR and they saw that they could communicate much better than they were capable of doing currently.”
“In that sense they weren’t looking for the technology but they actually saw that it solved a real problem for them and they were ready to adopt it. I’m not really sure that they even fully understood what Augmented Reality is - they just know this is a product that works.”
This is perhaps the greatest selling point for both Scope AR and Augmented Reality in general. As with any technology that eventually takes root and becomes part of our day-to-day operations it is the actual benefit, and the methodology of improving business processes that companies want to buy - rather than the technology itself.
Of course it is impossible to have any conversation about Augmented Reality today without inevitably touching on Pokemon Go.
For those that have just returned from Mars, Pokemon Go is a mobile gaming phenomenon that uses Augmented Reality to bring one of Nintendo’s best loved franchises into the Twenty First century. In fact it’s hard not to bump into someone that hasn’t at least heard of Pokemon Go such is the phenomenon - and it is putting AR directly into the hands of the man on the street.
But is that a good thing for AR in the enterprise? It certainly does give a clear, if somewhat simplistic understanding of what AR is to the average person.
But is there a danger that the power of AR as a genuine productivity tool within field service and wider enterprise could be dismissed as a gimmick if it is too heavily associated with a mobile game?
Given Montgomerie’s position as a leader within the sector I felt he was the perfect man to address this question.
“I think it’s good for AR in general in that it’s bringing awareness of the technology to people - at the very least I won’t have to explain what augmented reality is anymore!” He quips.
“I think its proving that AR is viable as a technology. Even though it is very simplistic use of it - I was playing with that type of use of AR five years ago - maybe longer. We do much more sophisticated applications of AR in the sense that aligning content precisely on top of equipment is much harder than putting a fuzzy animal at some unspecified location in front of you. But still I think it’s great for the industry and that can only be good for us.”
So whether it be depth sensitive camera’s, Google Tango or the ability to catch a Charmander while out doing your shopping, it seems it is just a matter of time before Augmented Reality seeps into the mainstream consciousness.
And given it’s potential to have a profoundly transformational effect on how we undertake field service operations, the likelihood is it will become a pervasive part of our industry soon enough as well.
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May 25, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Coresystems • Future of FIeld Service
Both virtual reality and augmented reality could have an important place to play in the future of field service writes Manuel Grenacher, CEO of Coresystems...
Both virtual reality and augmented reality could have an important place to play in the future of field service writes Manuel Grenacher, CEO of Coresystems...
At this year’s Mobile World Congress, the world’s largest mobile device conference and show, virtual reality and augmented reality were everywhere.
Aside from a photo of Mark Zuckerberg walking amidst a sea of oblivious audience members strapped into VR headsets, companies like Samsung, LG, and HTC were all keen to show off their latest VR gear.
Virtual reality isn’t just for video games. There’s been growing interest in the field service industry on how companies might take advantage of it.
Virtual vs. Augmented Reality
First, however, it’s important to step back and clarify the distinction between virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
As their names suggest, virtual reality immerses the user in a completely virtual environment, while augmented reality keeps users in their existing world and simply enhances it.
Deloitte Consulting expects to see VR technologies rapidly adopted by enterprises in the next 18-22 months. And the company specifically cited field service as an industry that stands to benefit from them.
ABI Research makes the case for AR, noting that while virtual reality tends to grab the headlines, AR has one foot that remains in the “real world” and will allow more practical enterprise applications.
The research firm sees 2016 as a turning point for AR smart glasses, predicting that 21 million units of AR smart glasses will be shipped in 2020, with sales expected to reach $100 billion.
Both technologies could have serious benefits for the industry by improving the two key metrics that are important to all field service managers: first time fix rates and average repair time.
They can also benefit staff training and skills shortages.
The Case for VR and AR in Field Service
Field service engineers, wearing a special headset, for example, could be dispatched to a job where they could see the instructions or information about the product directly overlaid on it.
There would be no fumbling for a laptop or tablet; the information they need would be accessible with a flick of their head.
"With such detailed information available, this could even mean that field service companies could dispatch less skilled technicians into the field, while the more experienced engineers could stay at the main headquarters supervising and troubleshooting more difficult issues"
In a pilot project with KSP Steel, a steel mill that produces steel pipelines in Kazakhstan, workers used a smart hardhat to safely access information when they needed it, without having to leave the production line and go back to the control room.
The control room data was projected onto the helmet’s visor, leading to a 40% increase in worker productivity and 50% reduction in factory downtime.
Managing Brain Drain
In an interview first published in Field Service News, Professor Howard Lightfoot of Cranfield University School of Management outlined what he saw as the biggest benefits to augmented and virtual reality tools in field service:
Said Lightfoot, “It could de-skill field service activity. There [are] parts of the world where you can’t get the right people. With augmented reality you can link them to a skilled technician back at the base who can take them through the process. Not with a manual and not on the phone, but he can actually see what they are doing."
"He can overlay information for them and digitally point at things, like: That’s the nut, this is the one you turn. Don’t torque that one anymore than this."
"Torque that one to this level. Undo that cabinet first, and make sure you disconnect this before you do that.”
Moreover, that skilled technician could be “back at base” thousands of kilometers away, reducing the cost of flying specialists out to every complex job.
NTT DATA, the Japan-headquartered telecommunications and IT services company, now uses the Vusix M100 smart glasses to allow continuous, remote monitoring of technicians in the field.
Senior engineers can share the point of view of a technician wearing the M100 Smart Glasses working on-site and can provide immediate instruction in real-time using an overlaid augmented reality marker.
Before using the smart glasses, NTT DATA needed at least two engineers at the work site to ensure quality control, resulting in higher operating costs, a heavier burden for senior engineer staff, and reduced productivity.
Training Techs
"The other benefit of augmented or virtual reality is its potential as a highly detailed, highly visual training tool"
Automobile maker, Ford, has recently added the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to its virtual reality platforms. It’s used with a shell of a car, where the parts such as the steering wheel and seats can be repositioned to match those of a prototype car. Other field service uses are for training technicians.
By giving engineers the tools to fix problems thoroughly and quickly, you can increase first-time fix rates and lower the average time it takes to fix a product.
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May 24, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • Medical • Help Lightning
One of the most exciting developments in technology currently emerging the field service sector is the potential of Augmented Reality and at the vanguard driving the technology forward is US based company Help Lightning, with their own take on the...
One of the most exciting developments in technology currently emerging the field service sector is the potential of Augmented Reality and at the vanguard driving the technology forward is US based company Help Lightning, with their own take on the tech ‘Mobile Merged Reality’. Kris Oldland spoke to founder Bart Guthrie to find out more about the origins of the technology and just how big it could potentially become...
Help Lightning has been a technology that has been causing conversations for some time now amongst field service organisations in the USA, fuelled primarily by a number of appearances by their charismatic founder Dr. Bart Guthrie on the US conference circuit alongside some slick booth demonstrations.
"Help Lightning has been a technology that has been causing conversations for some time now amongst field service organisations in the USA, fuelled primarily by a number of appearances by their charismatic founder Dr. Bart Guthrie on the US conference circuit alongside some slick booth demonstrations"
“Early on when I started practicing, even during my training I it became apparent to me that there were opportunities for both technology and certain relationships to improve processes that could sustain or improve health.” Guthrie begins
“The earliest thing I became involved in was image-guided surgery. That is where you take a CT or CAT scan and you use the device to register to the patient’s head in surgery and then as you do the surgery you can see what you are doing on the MRI cast.”
“So I think what that did for me was to open my eyes to the capability of technology to bring information to bear and then after that I became pretty heavily involved in medical image distribution. In my field medical imaging is our currency. It is information dense and we will use it to make most of our decisions to get outcomes in terms of certain things that we do so we developed a system to acquire and manage medical imaging and formed a company around that which did very well.”
“Then right about that time when visualisation in the operating room was becoming usable – endoscopes, microscopes, video cameras and then this notion of connectivity... It’s one thing to have an operating microscope that is high res. but if you can’t connect it to anything you’re only as good as you.”
"Surgical robots are remarkable. They are in the field, they work and they do what they are supposed to do which is take your movements, then gear it down and they’ll effectively make the same movement. They are going to be tremendously valuable.”
“We approached the Department of Energy about a call for technology development they issued around surgical robots and we got funding for around $1M for a pilot scheme. Needless to say the funds were completely insufficient but surgical robots are remarkable.”
“They are in the field, they work and they do what they are supposed to do which is take your movements, then gear it down and they’ll effectively make the same movement. They are going to be tremendously valuable.”
“For us though there were some limitations to the robot. One you can’t teach it very well, there is a time delay, there were all these technical issues that separate you from what is going on. And the other thing in my job is that I am constantly getting requests about remote calls with patients that have a problem. And those patients end up in healthcare systems that have the skills but not the experience.”
We have been speaking for barely a few minutes yet it is clear that Guthrie has a clear passion for technology and its ability to enhance the world we live in. As you would expect, he has the gentle tones of a experienced medical consultant, enhanced further by his soft Alabama accent.
However, he also clearly has a mind built for problem solving and out of the box thinking and it is this skill that led him to the concept of what was to become Help Lightning, the development of which was a direct response to a major problem Guthrie saw in his day to day working life.
Namely getting expertise where it is needed in an emergency situation.
As Guthrie explains “Any of the surgeons in a small hospital where someone has been in an automobile accident for example will know how to make an incision, how to sow, how to support a patient. But any surgeon may not know how to do that in the brain, or in the heart etc."
“Yet the movements and the principals are very similar, you just need the experience. So we started thinking about the idea of somehow capturing the experience of someone who has that skill set and transmitting it real time to a local task-force.”
"We came up with this idea of bi-directional video and if we could capture the remote task field view, look at it, insert instruments, hands, whatever, interact with it and then combine the two and distribute it back that may solve the problem”
“It would allow us to impart a little bit more expertise remotely. It wouldn’t solve everything but it would be advancement over what we could do for example over a telephone, which is the standard conveyor of medical information remotely right now.”
And so Help Lightning was born (albeit originally under a different moniker of VIPAR) and with the support of his mechanical engineering and computer science departments at UAB the concept soon became a reality with pilots in operating rooms in both UAB and the Veterans Hospital.
In its initial configuration VIPAR (an acronym of Virtual Interactive Presence and Augmented Reality) was a high-end manifestation that worked superbly but simply wasn’t scalable.
So after the patents were written Guthrie took the concept and founded Help Lightning and sought to develop a lighter-weight version of the concept.
Modestly he states: “I procured enough funding to get it going and I sort of stepped back out of the way and hired a bunch of just excellent people to get it going and they’ve reduced the concept to a similar functionality on just a mobile device.”
What is certain however, is that the team Guthrie has put in place, headed up by CEO Drew Deaton, have done a quite remarkable job of scaling the technology down to an app - which of course makes the business incredibly scalable itself.
"What is certain however, is that the team Guthrie has put in place, headed up by CEO Drew Deaton, have done a quite remarkable job of scaling the technology down to an app - which of course makes the business incredibly scalable itself"
“It gets this team out of the hardware business and it makes it available ubiquitously.”
So with the team and technology in place the challenge now is identifying the markets that Help lightning is best suited for. Given the origins of the product clinical care is of course one of those, and Guthrie is directly involved with the pilot program.
“That presentation I gave here where I presented those pilots was the very first step in trying to understand will the patients accept it? Will the providers accept is it? Will we find things at the physical visit that we didn’t find at the virtual visit. Or vice versa – is it safe or is it unsafe?”
Of course these same questions will apply to the initial projects within the field service space as well.
However, the potential for cost savings of using a tool such a Help Lightning could be truly remarkable. Particularly for those companies whose engineers have to travel long distances.
Indeed Help Lightning or other similar tools could have a huge impact on the way companies structure their field services workforce.
"With the ability to dial experience in from a remote location to provide the key knowledge and expertise required for a complicated maintenance or repair job, it could make sense for companies to have their most experienced engineers in one office centrally and utilise cheaper, local technicians when it comes to remote locations?"
Or simply it could be a tool to improve engineers work life-balance, whilst reducing the costs of travel and accommodation.
Another alternative could be to implement a new tier of service offering based around remote assistance whereby the engineer guides the customer themselves through maintenance?
Certainly the applications in field service are wide reaching.
“The way I see it is its all about the relationship you have,” Guthrie explains.
“If you just take two people as a construct and their relationship is remote and some kind of expertise or procedural expertise has to be conveyed from one to the other it’s a natural fit.”
“So any market where there is an existing relationship that is benefited by the transmission of expertise to a remote site in a manner that facilitates the relationship, that engages both people, I think is a natural market.”
“I feel patient care is a natural fit, field service is a natural fit. I think maybe the space shuttle even, wherever there is that kind of dynamic in the relationship, I think this concept could fit.”
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.
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