ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘augmented-reality’ CATEGORY

In this, the latest edition of the Field Service Podcast, Kris Oldland, Field Service News, Editor-in-Chief, is joined by Marne Martin, CEO of WorkWave and president of Service Management for IFS about her new role with IFS as well as discussing whether the time has come to finally recognised Field Service Management systems as a standalone category such as CRM or ERP [hr]

---

Be social and share

We've been asking for some time now how Augmented Reality will fill its potential as a central fulcrum within the future of field service. For Nick Frank the key is for it AR to become entwined with Knowledge Management... 

The English philosopher Francis Bacon once said: “Knowledge is power,” In earlier times, knowledge was usually kept to oneself for personal gain. Today, it is the sharing of knowledge that leads companies to success, especially in times of increasing digitization.

This ‘sharing’ involves collecting data, transforming it into insight and then getting it to a place where people can use it to make a difference. Benefits are only seen when the ‘knowledge chain’ is completed and any break in the chain nullifies our efforts.

So when industry commentators tell you that a particular technology is the “silver bullet” to success, it really is an oversimplification!

The problem is that knowledge is often “hidden” in the various IT systems and applications, or lost in the heads of employees who leave the business. For field service, this problem is particularly severe as the service portfolio is significantly larger than the current product offers due to longer product lifecycles and ever faster new product introductions.

On the other hand, service knowledge must be immediately available, in a distributed fashion, to achieve quick solutions and to ensure customer satisfaction. For service, we should view the challenge as being to provide customers or field technicians with that extra piece of know how that will help them solve problems more efficiently. A kind of “Augmented Knowledge” for expand it and provide it in a targeted manner. Existing information stored in different systems is merged. This can be structured data such as parts lists and unstructured information such as service tickets or service reports.

 

"Unstructured knowledge – text or prose – is analysed using text mining tools and integrated with the structured data. Large amounts of data can then be digitised and used intelligently..."

 

Unstructured knowledge – text or prose – is analysed using text mining tools and integrated with the structured data. Large amounts of data can then be digitised and used intelligently.

Urgently needed information is provided easily and quickly. Being able to network across databases makes it possible to recognize contexts, to analyze causes of failures and to create transparency. By using the system and verifying or excluding results, users continuously enrich it with expert knowledge. The current problem may already be the solution for the next user.

A classic example is finding similar cases (or problems). If an engineer is looking for the cause of a failure, the system looks for similar case and offers potential solutions.

The source for this could be the targeted evaluation of completed service cases (e.g. service tickets). By analysing which solutions were chosen by the engineer, the associated repair instructions, and confirming them as successful (or not successful, as the case may be) after the repair – the system learns through this interaction.

In fact, this process can go further and develop new insights from existing information. By visualizing and recognizing patterns, correlations can be identified, and appropriate measures initiated. For example, as part of a maintenance action or repair, the system can recommend the maintenance or repair of other elements to avoid subsequent failures that have arisen in similar situations.

But how to get that information to the point of need?

Augmented Reality (AR) technology, with its capability to supplement a real object, such as a machine or a component, with additional digital content is an ideal tool for this. It is not just the traditional approach of an expert communicating with a technician, it is extending it to ‘’smart’ databases supplying answers to questions.

 

"There is much to learn about the ergonomics of Augmented Knowledge and how to integrate it into people’s working lives..."

 

For example, in addition to the live video image on a tablet, smartphone or smart glasses, information and instructions can be augmented to the display to help solve the problem. These may be created by an expert remotely or they may be rendered as step by step instructions by the knowledge management system.

The individual steps necessary to solve the problem are now available in the form of AR annotations and can be subsequently edited and saved. This is another advantage of the AR system: The repair process gets documented and can be used again for similar cases.

So, if the engineer encounters this problem again in the future, they can reuse the annotations of the first repair without having to consult the expert. In addition, the solution is also available to all other engineers.

This saves significant time and effort. The caveat is to be able to present information to users such that they can use it. There is much to learn about the ergonomics of Augmented Knowledge and how to integrate it into people’s working lives.

This is a good example of how by turning information into transportable and analysable data (some call this digitisation of their processes), it is possible to accelerate service delivery, saving time and money for both the service provider and the user of machines.

Our experience is that by breaking down Knowledge Management and Augmented Reality into smaller pilot projects, we learn how to provide Augmented Knowledge to the Technician. Not just the technology, but actually how people brains cope with having access to this additional insight.

This may seem as bit ScFi and daunting at first, but you would be surprised how much of this you already do. Our advice is don’t look to anyone technology being pushed at you as the unique solution to your problems. You must develop your Knowledge Management, Augmented Reality and People capability in parallel.

For more information on how to start this digital journey, you can contact authors at peter.maier@si2partners.com or nick.frank@si2partners.com

---

Nick Frank, Managing Partner at Si2 Partners 

---

 

Be social and share...

The potential for Augmented Reality being utilised in field service delivery can be leveraged just as effectively by smaller and medium-sized businesses as it can by their larger enterprise sized peers. Kris Oldland reports...

The potential of Augmented Reality within field service has been discussed for some time now, but as often happens with emerging technologies we tend to see early adopters come from enterprise rather than SMB sized companies.

Indeed, with the need to invest in expensive additional equipment plus the applications to power these devices surely this is one area where larger organisations can gain a competitive advantage?

Ultimately, the answer here comes down to a matter of perspective.

The intrinsic value of AR is that it can allow an organisation to dial in the expertise within their organisation directly to the customers’ location.

In any service contract, the true inherent value is within this expertise. Let’s take an example of a faulty widget which is stopping an organisation from being able to operate at an optimal level of productivity.

 

"In any service contract, the true inherent value is within this expertise..."

 

Do you think that the customer – who is facing this loss of productivity, cares whether that experience, which will enable them to get back up and running, comes in the form of a well presented, corporately branded field service engineer on site or if that experience comes in the form of a remote expert able to guide either an in-house maintenance engineer or a locally sourced third-party service engineer, step by step on how to get the widget back up and running?

Of course, from the field service provider’s perspective, there are numerous benefits of getting their engineer on site. One of the significant benefits being the all-important face to face interaction with the customer, but if we are talking about reducing the time to get that customer back up and running from days to hours, or even hours to minutes – then what value could that add to the service contract in the future?

Another scenario could be that the fault may be a relatively easy fix.

One which for the experienced engineer with a relatively standard technical skill set could be easily performed – yet as the majority of service directors will attest to the cost of getting that engineer on site is the biggest red line on their P&L.

How much would your company save if you could hire a local contractor, on a day or maybe even hourly rate, with the same broad technical skill set to attend the service call and be able to reduce the time he is onsite to an absolute minimum by allowing an experienced engineer, who can see what the onsite engineer sees, guide him through the repair, using digital annotations, to make it explicitly clear what actions to perform in order to provide the fix?

The key question here is, of course, how many such occasions, in which you avoid that expensive truck roll, would it take to pay for the device and application licence? Remember, the key selling point for AR, as with mobile, is on delivering a tangible return on investment (ROI).

In fact, let’s stay focused on ROI and those dreaded red lines on the P&L.

 

"The transitory life of the field service engineer is one that is hugely appealing but as your engineers grow older, they may be less inclined to travel so frequently, with family commitments taking preference..."

 

Retention of experienced field service staff and the training and development of new entrants into the field workforce are of course two other major areas that field service directors need to pay significant attention to.

Again AR can play a major role in both of these critical areas.

The transitory life of the field service engineer is one that is hugely appealing but as your engineers grow older, they may be less inclined to travel so frequently, with family commitments taking preference.

Traditionally, the only real means for such engineers to find a work-life balance within an organisation that was better suited to their changing needs was often management – but not all engineers, make good managers.

AR can allow a company to provide their more experienced engineers with the opportunity to find that better work-life balance, negating the risk of all that valuable experience and knowledge walking out of their door.

Similarly, it can take many months and in some sectors years for a company to be comfortable sending out a new engineer to client sites.

Whilst such training programs are admirable and often essential in terms of maintaining brand reputation, they can be a huge drain on resources.

AR can allow companies to dramatically cut the time needed for development and send their new recruits out into the field sooner – but with the safety net of being able to dial in an experienced engineer into the site remotely to help them when the going gets tough.

AR can even open up exciting opportunities for SMBs to expand into territories that would absolutely have been cost prohibitive for them to do so in the past.

Again, if your true value is the knowledge, expertise and insight within your field service organisation AR is the perfect tool for transmitting that value in real-time to anywhere in the world.

Ultimately, every field service organisation, big and small, will today empower their service engineers with a mobile phone and many AR solutions will run on such devices so even the need for investment in actual hardware is nonessential, making AR an extremely realistic introduction for even the smallest field service operation.

---

 

Be social and share...

Augmented, Mixed & Virtual Reality is certainly a technology trend that is set to massively impact businesses in their field service processes...

Andrea Bardini, Marketing Product Manager, OverIT explains more...

Companies everywhere are constantly seeking new ways to reduce costs, increase profits and improve customer satisfaction and these goals are exactly the ones that modern field services organizations are being asked to achieve.

Field Service is no longer a simple and basic data collection and reporting function to resolve issues and react to emergency issues with assets, it has now really become the front-end function in which the dialogue and interaction with the customers are happening.

Field Service technicians and engineers are more and more often seen as the trusted advisor who the customer looks to resolve their problems, and for this reason, they need to be equipped with the best technology available to perform their tasks at the best delivering value for the clients.

 

"Collaboration is actually the key for field service transformation..."

 

At OverIT, we continue to innovate and improve our solutions to respond to the market needs and we are firmly convinced that building applications on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality is key to streamlining field processes.

By leveraging the virtual collaboration, knowledge sharing and remote assistance capabilities provided by cutting-edge technologies, companies can arm their technicians with the latest tools to perform field tasks faster, better, and hands-free.

Moreover, companies can dramatically reduce travel costs, training, and increase the first-time fix rate and service delivery, having a big impact on their operational expenses.

Collaboration is actually the key for field service transformation.

The more technicians and engineers are able to collaborate and get real-time information to resolve issues, the more they will be able to complete their tasks in a more efficient, productive and effective way. AR, MR & VR is a watershed technology not only because it frees people from two-dimensional screens and pages to help improve the way they learn, share, understand and act, but it enables remote sharing and interaction in a completely different way.

People in the field are able to share the same asset, even though they are located in different places, they can interact, ask questions, drawn on it, they can take notes, but the most important thing they have at their disposal all the information they need in their “virtual room” with no need to bring any more paper and meanwhile they can visualise instructions or receive guidance from remote colleagues they can operate because they are hands-free.

Moreover, virtual collaboration is reshaping the way companies are running training increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

We want to guide our customers through the digital transformation of the Field Service and the only way to do that is investing in cutting-edge technologies to offer a complete and innovative solution that can respond promptly to customers’ needs and that can adapt easily to the business processes to bring Field Service activities to the next level.

---

 

Be social and share

Mark Brewer looks at how and why the two big technologies that are set to alter our industry forever are likely to converge...

To most people, the idea of a Digital Twin is largely just that - an idea. The concept may make sense, but they can’t be sure they’ve actually seen it demonstrated in the real world. Or at least not in any useful everyday purpose... yet.

It’s different for those working in Field Service.

Digital Twin is on everyone’s lips, an exciting buzzword that’s changing the shape of the sector and opening the door to new possibilities.

Forward-thinking Field Service organisations are already factoring it into their planning and monitoring activities and may even be deploying it where they can.

Why is Digital Twin such a hot ticket in our world?

 

Raising the game

The focus of Field Service centres on improving the reliability of an organisation’s assets. By enabling them to operate efficiently for longer, with less maintenance, you enjoy a greater return on investment while also spending less on upkeep and parts.

Clearly, the ability to accurately predict potential problems in those assets before they happen is a big help in achieving the above. Even more so, if steps can then be taken to not only rectify these issues but also provide a better experience for customers.

 

"A study by The Service Council found that four in ten incomplete service visits to fix equipment would benefit from the use of live video or AR..."

 

AR combined with the Internet of Things (IoT) does all this... which explains why the Field Service sector is so excited about it. The result is known as the Digital Twin – creating a bridge between the physical and the digital.

A study by The Service Council found that four in ten incomplete service visits to fix equipment would benefit from the use of live video or AR

Better connectivity, together with more accessible relevant tools were considered to improve the speed and quality of issue resolution - meaning that less pressure is put on company resources on-site.

 

A remote revolution

Thinking about practical examples, it’s not too difficult to see what a difference a Digital Twin would make, almost immediately.

Imagine you’re maintaining an elevator that’s installed in one of your customer’s offices.

Thanks to AR, your engineers can view a digital representation of that elevator, on their screen in your offices or on the road on their iPad, nowhere near the physical location of the asset. They can monitor operations virtually, from the comfort of their desk and without having to visit the elevator.

The 3D model on their screen is generated using engineering data with the output of the various sensors installed on the physical equipment augmented onto this. Some show power consumption, to see how efficiently things are running. Others might show spikes in voltage or the level of vibration and wear generated by the hoist as it runs up and down the building floors, whilst also indicating the number of trips completed and speed.

 

"On-screen augmentations and animated sequences give those involved an accurate visual indicator of any parts required, and how they may be assembled or disassembled..."

 

In short, it gives your engineer a comprehensive insight into the status and performance of the equipment.

When an issue does arise or a part needs replacing or upgrading, instead of having to drop everything and go directly to the site, they may instead be able to talk to a trained individual who may be based on-site, and direct them through the repair/replace process. Using a connected device such as an iPad or laptop, the on-site employee can share live footage and follow the remote engineer’s lead to perform the required maintenance.

On-screen augmentations and animated sequences give those involved an accurate visual indicator of any parts required, and how they may be assembled or disassembled. What’s more, the engineer can tag other team members who may either have useful knowledge to contribute or might just want to learn how to perform the task for next time around.

 

Sharing knowledge

Given that service parts and equipment are becoming increasingly complex and expensive, this process offers a great alternative for Field Service providers to continue providing excellent service while improving uptime and consequently saving customers time and money.

Moreover, it promotes the idea of ‘democratised knowledge’ - the sharing and passing on of vital skills and expertise from experienced engineers to workers that are onboarding. This way, as the seasoned workforce ages, their insights are therefore not lost but live on in even more tech-savvy younger employees. Which is a huge benefit when it comes to training and upskilling.

As said, the benefits of the Digital Twin in Field Service could be game-changing which is why so many of us in the industry are talking about it. Looking beyond predictive maintenance, the Digital Twin also opens up the opportunity to provide value-add recommendations to your customer in the use and operation of your equipment, as well as giving valuable insights to your own R&D organisation for future engineering changes.

What could the Digital Twin mean to you, your organisation and the service levels you are able to deliver to your customers? 

 

---

Mark Brewer, is Global Industry Director, Service Management, IFS 

---

 

Be social and share

Upskill, a leader in enterprise augmented reality (AR) software, today announced Skylight for Microsoft HoloLens is available for public early access in the U.S. Enterprises can now take advantage of mixed reality experiences on the same Skylight AR software platform that also supports assisted reality and mobile devices, at no additional cost.

Certain use cases for AR call for more immersive digital interaction that provides users with a large canvas to visualize the necessary information to complete their work. Skylight for HoloLens delivers this mixed reality experience, which is particularly relevant for hands-on workers completing complex tasks in manufacturing, maintenance and repair, as well as for on-the-job training.

Using Skylight for HoloLens, hands-on workers gain immediate access to:

 

• Spatial Content Placement: Place, move and resize digital content in the real world and reference while completing work completely hands-free.
• Multi-window Viewing: Simultaneously visualize, resize, interact with and cross-reference numerous sources of content in one, large screen.
• Native Content Integration: Access and display original reference materials, such as work instructions and engineering drawings in PDF format, instantly and without the need to reauthor content—a key advantage for enterprise customers.
• Natural User Interaction: Use simple hand gestures or head gaze to directly navigate applications, interact with content and reposition information within a workspace.

 

All of the features available with Skylight, including enterprise scalability, security and the ability to seamlessly integrate with virtually any system or database, can be leveraged across multiple device types, including smart glasses and mixed reality headsets, such as HoloLens.

“Our customers see augmented reality as the force multiplier that allows them to fully realize the potential of their workforce and digital investments,” said Brian Ballard, Upskill CEO and co-founder. “Skylight for Microsoft HoloLens will serve as the foundation that delivers the latest advances in visualization, cloud computing and artificial intelligence in a mixed reality environment.”

Terry Farrell, Director of Product Marketing, Mixed Reality, Microsoft Corp. said, “As adoption of Microsoft HoloLens continues to rapidly increase in industrial settings, Skylight offers a software platform that is flexible and can scale to meet any number of applications well suited for mixed reality experiences. With Skylight for HoloLens, hands-on workers are provided with the ability to interact with content and information in the most natural ways possible, leading to a safer, more efficient workplace.”

[hr]

Be social and share

Research indicates IoT deployments are set to skyrocket over the next four years, growing 140% to exceed 50 billion connected devices by 2020...

As the cost and complexity of deploying connected devices continue to fall, IoT projects are no longer a far-fetched dream but a deliverable reality, already transforming a huge range of industries from Field Service to Manufacturing. Martin Clothier, Technical Director at Columbus UK, explains how businesses of all sizes can quickly seize advantage of IoT to deliver operational efficiency, provide actionable insights and improve business processes.

The Internet of Things has comfortably moved beyond the ‘hype’ stage of recent years, with IoT devices and projects now cheap enough to be viable for almost any business. Smaller IoT projects are capable of reaching full operational status in as little as a week. Deployments currently range in ambition from a dozen sensors to capture warehouse temperature, to monitoring the output and performance of remote oil fields across Africa.

There are more and more industries now taking advantage of IoT – and their success lies in identifying the right use case and ensuring they successfully harness device data to produce actionable insights.

 

Use Case One: Turning inefficiency into opportunity

The manufacturing industry is set to gain from IoT deployments that focus on using connected devices to provide a detailed, real-time picture of existing business operations and identify bottlenecks inefficiency. With repetitive processes running around the clock, any minor improvements to efficiency in the production cycle can generate major savings for a manufacturer.

 

"Identifying anomalies at an early stage can allow employees to take immediate corrective action to avoid excessive wastage, unnecessary asset strain or increased production cycle times..."

 

IoT sensors connected to machinery generate continuous streams of performance data, which can be analysed on platforms such as the Azure IoT Suite to identify leaks and bottlenecks hindering production. Identifying anomalies at an early stage can allow employees to take immediate corrective action to avoid excessive wastage, unnecessary asset strain or increased production cycle times.

This potential is not limited to minor efficiency improvements but can provide key metrics that drive business success. If we take, for example, the food and beverage sector – product quality is a top priority. Installing connected cameras above a production line enables manufacturers to introduce machine vision – monitoring and analysing the packaging, labelling and quality of products to ensure compliance and consistency.

 

Use Case Two: Space optimisation and the race against time

IoT monitoring is not restricted to simply monitoring and reporting physical asset conditions but can provide valuable insights into the two basic resources manufacturers have to juggle – space and time. At Columbus, we’ve worked to develop SpaceMAX that helps optimise usage of both workspace and time. With physical space at a premium for businesses – particularly in urban areas – optimised space usage can be invaluable in securing a competitive advantage.

Deploying connected beacons throughout a location such as a warehouse will capture the locations of assets, employees and vehicles from a forklift to a tow tractor. Harnessing the Microsoft Azure

platform, this location data can then be analysed to produce heat maps and identify hotspots, bottlenecks and other areas of inefficiency. By eliminating these we can optimise operations, product flow and the use of employee time.

 

Use Case Three: Tackling skills shortages by providing a helping hand to junior technicians

The threat of a skilled workforce shortage is well documented, with the UK cited as being particularly at risk. As the number of skilled engineers and field service technicians shrinks, the burden to complete detailed installation, repair and maintenance tasks falls increasingly on the shoulders of less experienced staff. Technology holds the answer to ensuring speed and quality is not compromised during remote site visits.

 

"The augmented reality aspect of the HoloLens can be harnessed to deliver contextual information such as service history and manuals explaining the maintenance process step-by-step..."

 

Here’s where developments such as the Microsoft ‘mixed reality’ HoloLens headset take centre stage. Using this headset senior workers can provide remote support and supervision for challenging maintenance tasks, tapping into a collaboration platform such as Microsoft Teams to discuss the task at hand. The augmented reality aspect of the HoloLens can be harnessed to deliver contextual information such as service history and manuals explaining the maintenance process step-by-step.

Remote assistance is just the first step for potential HoloLens applications. More advanced applications involve streaming real-time IoT data directly to the headset, such as telemetry of a production asset, assisted picking or put away, or projected life expectancy of individual components.

 

Bringing it all together – the icing on the transformation cake

By introducing connected devices to monitor environmental conditions, asset status and performance levels, we are generating significant volumes of data around the clock. But how can we translate data generated by machinery on the shop floor into actionable insights?

In order to make use of IoT data, businesses need to be able to collect, format and clean IoT data for analysis. Rules can then be set for actions to be taken if data falls outside of acceptable thresholds, such as staff being notified if a sensor detects a sharp rise in temperature. This is where cloud solutions come into play.

Cloud-based platforms such as the Azure IoT Hub introduce advanced machine learning tools to further identify complex patterns, and data visualisation for supervisors to closely monitor operational performance in real-time. By unlocking these previously unseen insights, IoT is enabling business leaders to make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency for the first time.

IoT can be also a significant asset to businesses by introducing increased automation of repetitive workflows – requiring just minor oversight from supervisors. Take field service as an example. Asset performance data from IoT sensors fed into the Azure platform can be analysed to detect anomalies, indicating a particular component is expected to fail shortly. Through a platform such as Dynamics 365 for Field Service, an automated work order can be created, scheduling an engineer to be dispatched with the correct component to complete maintenance before the failure ever occurs. This brings the added benefit of ensuring business processes are never brought to an unexpected halt through asset failure – an action which could cost thousands in lost revenue.

 

Staying ahead of today’s wave of digital disruption

The steady rise in successful enterprise IoT projects is testament to how IoT is today delivering on the promise of connecting people, processes and systems to enhance business operations and efficiency.

[quote float="left"]Businesses that have not yet developed an IoT strategy to enhance their operations are in danger of surrendering any competitive advantages developed through previous innovation.[/quote] Businesses that have not yet developed an IoT strategy to enhance their operations are in danger of surrendering any competitive advantages developed through previous innovation. But they must also be wary of avoiding the temptation of rolling out connected devices piecemeal, and instead opt for a comprehensive, measured IoT strategy that will consistently add value and deliver the in-depth business intelligence to make smarter decisions.

The real opportunities of IoT are often hidden in full view! Many businesses find it difficult to identify the areas from which they will gain maximum benefit and ROI. Partnering with an experienced company such as Columbus can provide a ‘third eye’, helping companies develop an IoT strategy, deploy suitable hardware and software with sufficient scalability, and support the project from planning stage through to go-live – and beyond.

Columbus is hosting an IoT Quick Start Workshop at the Microsoft HoloLounge in London, 2 October, to help organisations develop their own IoT proof of concept, break down existing use cases and identify operations where IoT can add value and provide actionable insights. Business leaders can secure their spot at the workshop by registering here.

---

 

Be social and share

Places for the upcoming Service Community event which is being hosted by GE Power, are now becoming very limited...

The event will be hosted at Ge's state-of-the-art facility at Stafford on the 16th October from 11.00 to 16.00.

As one of the most sophisticated Buyers of Advanced services, Keith Rushton from the MOD will give unprecedented insight in how performance related services are purchased, and why the MOD has been so influential in developing the new BSI standard for Services. We have one of the best presentations on Selling Service Value  I have seen from Leon Sijbers of GE Power and Ross Townsend from Ishida will be sharing their Service Transformation story. Phil Newton from BT will share his experience of rolling out an Augmented Reality Solution to one of the largest Field Service Organisations in the UK. And finally, Mark Homer from GE Digital will share some research on the importance of Service Data in industrial businesses.

The Service Community creates discussions and insights that are far deeper than most conferences, due to the informal and intimate nature of our events.  This is because we are a community in the true sense of the word, run by volunteers, with no sponsors, no exchange of money, no legal entity no hidden agenda's, just real people talking about real things motivated by a desire to learn.

Please feel free to forward this information to colleagues who you think would be interested.  We look forward to seeing you in October and remember to register by sending an email to info@service-community.uk . We will then contact you to confirm registration and will send out the joining instructions nearer to the event.

 

---

Be social and share...

Samir Gulati outlines four key technologies that are forming the bedrock for twenty-first century field service...

Twenty-first-century technological advancement has transformed how businesses everywhere communicate and interact with their customers.

Gone are the days of the occasional customer service call. Mobile technology has forever changed how people connect with product and service providers.

Field-service businesses that have yet to embrace digital customer engagement methods and tools must work quickly to do so. Modern consumers don’t like losing whole days waiting for calls from service personnel. They expect field service companies to use the latest technology to streamline the customer experience, create visibility into appointments and reduce hassle.

But which technological innovations should field service providers focus on? Here are some of the key technological tools gaining steam among the customers of the connected age.

 

Customer portals

Because of the pervasiveness of mobile technology, customer portals are everywhere.

Although the quality of these web-based assets varies from business to business, there are a couple essential components that creators of customer portals will always include:

• Information-rich, personalized dashboards allow users to view critical service data.
• Payment and account management give customers transparency into their past service requests and a place to pay for services rendered.

With tools like these, customers can serve themselves, which 67 percent prefer over speaking directly with a customer service representative. That said, direct communication tools such as instant messaging are still valuable, especially if they connect a customer with their personal technician or central dispatch.

These features not only meet the high standards of connected customers. They also simplify field service operations and reduce the likelihood of miscommunication between the provider and the customer.

 

Internet of things:

The internet of things is perhaps the most powerful innovation transforming business-to-consumer interaction today. At the moment, more than 11 billion IoT assets are active worldwide. By 2020, that figure is expected to jump to around 20.4 billion, a good number of which will likely be part of connected field-service operations.

In the field-service industry, asset-based deployments are common. Sensors embedded in equipment or appliances leverage internet connectivity to notify owners or even field-service providers when maintenance may be required, accelerating the repair process. Technician facing IoT workflows are also common and use geolocation to track service teams and route them to customers in need.

 

 

Smart home technology:

Even though web-enabled smart home technologies have received a lot of buzz in recent years, relatively few homeowners have adopted such solutions: In 2017, only 10 percent of families across the had any connected home solutions.

But smart home adoption isn’t unlikely to remain this low for long. Consumers are beginning to understand how much time and money smart home tech can save.

Field-service companies in the utility sector are catching on to the building momentum behind these innovative hardware and software solutions. Smart thermostats, for example, give customers greater visibility into—and control over—their electricity and gas usage. They also give technicians a better way to leverage data in order to provide personalised service and communicate effectively with the customer and the manufacturer.

 

Augmented reality:

Reality, augmented by real-time data, delivers benefits to connected customers by giving their technicians all the resources they need to perform perfect maintenance.

Field-service companies of all sizes are leveraging these tools to revolutionise on-site operations. Many are equipping technicians with augmented reality headsets that allow them to view updated product operating instructions or best practices while performing maintenance or repairs. Others are using these tools in training exercises so new technicians can ramp up quickly.

 

Summary: Embracing Innovation:

Field-service providers without these technologies may still be tempted to hold off on adoption. Perhaps they find these solutions too expensive or too complicated to deploy at the moment. It’s up to the decision-makers at these companies to decide what’s viable and what isn’t.

But these leaders should not underestimate the power of creating a bold new strategy for technology. It can lay the groundwork for excellent service effective operations in the age of the connected customer. As technology moves forward, so do consumers.

Field-service enterprises would be wise to recognize this reality and put into place up-to-date hardware and software that meets the needs of those driving the modern marketplace.

---

Samir Gulati, is Chief Marketing Officer, ServicePower 

 

Be social and share...