Firms says it is offering its employee safety software to any company looking to track the potential exposure of their workers to the coronavirus.

Today, any company, organization, or authority can get free access to the Safeture software platform to have their employees’ travel matched with those hot spot locations most impacted by the virus. Safeture can import trip data from travel agencies plus get real-time location data from mobile phones to be analyzed against with real-time updates of the virus’s location. This is especially important for large international companies, which carry an extra high exposure risk. All employees will get access to Safeture’s app to get real-time alerts and notifications.

“Right now we are at a critical stage for the coronavirus, and it is crucial companies identify employees who have been in high-risk areas so they can contain the infection and prevent it from spreading into the organization,” said Magnus Hultman, CEO of Safeture. “The situation is changing rapidly. From today Iran and areas in Italy, suddenly completely different places in other countries can be affected.

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Register for your free trial @ https://www.safeture.com/

 

AR firm says service firms affected by virus can use tool free of charge during trial-period.

Augmented reality company XMreality is offering firms impacted by Covid-19 free use of its Remote Guidance Service tool for an extended trial period.

 

Remote Technical Suppport

As the knock-on effect of the virus hits travel logistics - an essential strand of service delivery - experts who take up the offer can effectively provide technical support remotely without having to leave the office or home.

"Being able to provide swift and efficient technical support to customers or colleagues is crucial to the competitiveness of businesses and, in some cases, even for keeping vital infrastructure working," a press release accompanying the announcement read. "XMReality has now decided to help those companies whose operations have been affected by travel restrictions. The solution is already used in over 40 countries, including China. Accessibility is maximized because the recipient does not need any special hardware or software to receive instructions. All you need on site is a mobile phone with internet connection."

Commenting, Johan Castevall, CEO at XMReality said the company were happy to offer assistance during these difficult times for the service industry: “We are pleased to be able to help in a crisis. “We can see that a large number of companies are being hit hard by the effects of the Coronavirus, so we want to support them and facilitate their operations.” 

XMReality's announcement joins others in the service sector who are offering free use of their tools during the pandemic including Augmentir and ServiceMax. The software outfit are allowing new customers to access their real-time communication platform Zinc free of change for three months.

 

More information about XMReality's offer can be found here.

Communication Platform offered free of charge to new customers for three months as CEO says real-time communications can play key role in current situation.
ServiceMax's Neil Barua believes real-time communication will be the key to firms tackling the effect of Corona Virus and has made Zinc, their real-time communication platform available free, for three months to new users.

Travel

Speaking to Field Service News, the firm's CEO said the current situation is affecting how their end-users get to jobs, a key strand of service delivery and challenging their traditional service delivery model. "Our customers are dependent on being able to travel and visit customer sites," he says, "They are having to be flexible on how to accommodate service requests with their teams, creating opportunities for virtual trouble shooting and training of end users."

For end-users trying to satisfy pressurised service requests while adhering to constantly changing guidance from authorities and government, means now more than ever, firms need to be flexible and dynamic. Neil believes if firms are to prosper then clear communication channels will play a significant role. "As it is a constantly evolving situation, it is imperative that field teams have direct lines of communication across the service delivery chain to best serve customers in real time." 

In an effort to enhance connectivity during this time ServiceMax have announced the use of their own real-time communication platform, Zinc, which will be made available free of charge for three months for new users. "We know that our customers have important information to share," Barua said of the decision. "Employees need answers, reassurance and connectedness. We all need to work together and support each other in getting through these unique times safely."

SeviceMax's Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer, Stacy Epstein, will be part of our panel at Field Service News' Covid-19 Emergency Symposium which takes place online this Friday (20 March GMT), which you can sign-up for here.

Jan van Veen says firms need to protect themselves first and then accept and adapt to the inevitable long-term affect of the virus.

We all need to take our responsibility to keep our colleagues, our clients’ staff and the public safe. The Coronavirus will be with us for a long time, probably years. We should anticipate a scenario that will have to continue carrying out measures to control the virus.  This could have a substantial impact on our society, economy businesses and our clients' businesses. If we stay close to our clients, we have the best chances to mitigate the impact and reinforce the loyalty of our clients.

Three Phases

In the next six months we should all walk through the next three phases:

Response: Right now we have to control the crisis and mitigate the direct impact on the short term.

Review: Assess what we can learn from the impact of the current outbreak on our business and clients business. What are the vulnerabilities and weaknesses? What are our strengths and what are our opportunities? Which other trends are being triggered? Often, an economic crises and new disruptive technologies can accelerate market disruptions. This could be a chance for significant and innovative change. 

Redesign: How can we make our business more agile and less vulnerable to these kind of outbreaks? Think about safety, capacity, supply chain, remote capabilities. How can we enhance our value propositions to better support our clients? How should we evolve our operating model and business model? Stay flexible and be prepared to adapt.

 

Jan van Veen was part of our panel at Field Service News' Covid-19 Emergency Symposium which you can listen to here.

Augmentir have announced free use of its Remote Assistance Tool for front line workers to help companies address travel and social distancing issues around pandemic.

Augmentir have announced the free use of its Remote Assist support and collaboration tool for the remainder of 2020 to help industrial companies address the growing workforce and supply chain disruption created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Employee Health a Priority

As Covid-19 continues to spread across North America, the CDC has suggested that businesses implement remote work policies and travel restrictions to help slow the spread of the virus. The situation has become more troublesome over the past few weeks, and many companies are looking for ways to help limit business disruptions while keeping the health of employees a top priority, influencing Augmentir's decision.

Russ Fadel, Co-Founder and CEO of Augmentir, said, "COVID-19 is impacting the lives of people all around the world, and is forcing a change to the way we work. At Augmentir, the health and safety of our employees, as well as the employees of our customers and partners is the Company's top priority. Therefore, in a response to COVID-19, Augmentir will be offering its Remote Assist tool at no cost through the end of 2020 in an effort to help the many businesses affected by the sudden increase in work-from-home policies and travel restrictions resulting from the global outbreak of the virus. We hope to curb the predicted impact this virus will have on industrial companies and will remain steadfast in our commitment to serving the industry we call home." 

During this challenging time, video-conferencing, chat, and remote support and collaboration will be more important than ever in maintaining the wellbeing of employees while also enabling people to continue to work and businesses to operate. Augmentir's Remote Assist tool helps to minimize the negative impact that COVID-19 is having on businesses by providing a remote collaboration and support solution that can be adopted in less than 60 minutes, so that workers, technicians, and customers can get the support they need to do their jobs without compromising health, safety, or productivity.

Companies that sign up will have free use of the tool for the remainder of 2020, will be able to: stream live video and audio to remote experts to improve issue resolution and remote knowledge sharing; guide field technicians and customers with live annotations for enhanced collaboration and support remote users on their existing devices as well as AR-enabled smart glasses.

Commenting on the company's decision, Russ Fadel, Co-Founder and CEO of Augmentir, said, "COVID-19 is impacting the lives of people all around the world, and is forcing a change to the way we work. At Augmentir, the health and safety of our employees, as well as the employees of our customers and partners is the Company's top priority. Therefore, in a response to COVID-19, Augmentir will be offering its Remote Assist tool at no cost through the end of 2020 in an effort to help the many businesses affected by the sudden increase in work-from-home policies and travel restrictions resulting from the global outbreak of the virus. We hope to curb the predicted impact this virus will have on industrial companies and will remain steadfast in our commitment to serving the industry we call home."

As the impact of Corona Virus grows in the service sector, key voices from the industry offer comment and advice on the current situation.

The last 72 hours have seen significant changes across the globe as the effect of Corona Virus (Covid-19) begins to take hold. Restrictions at borders, regional lock downs and a decrease in product demand are affecting the service sector.

EXTRAORDINARY TIMES 

We are operating in extraordinary times and as well as acting in the now we should also look to the future, Bill Pollock explains. "Today, we are all experiencing a global medical 9/11," he says. "However, as in the past, life goes on, business goes on, and service must go on, as well. Yet, the brunt of this need will first be manifested in the immediacy, as businesses of all types struggle to follow the pandemic recommendations - either mandatory, or voluntarily but once the pandemic becomes contained and controlled, the post-pandemic aftermath will likely require an even greater response from services organizations of all types."

The current situation will inevitably be a challenging one for all service directors, most of whom will never have experienced a period like this and it does provide the opportunity to thrive in the most testing of environments. Yet, first and foremost the wellbeing of staff, remains the key focus. “The safety and health is your first priority," urges Nick Frank from Si2 Partners and Head of the UK Service Community. "Then be positive and use the situation to find new ways of solving customer problems.” It's a sentiment echoed by Pollock. "The thing to remember is that service will always be required; and service organizations will always need to be innovative, responsive and cooperative in all they do moving forward."

As the situation develops service professionals will have to draw on theses values to succeed in what will be one of the most challenging periods of their careers.

Kris Oldland, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News announces the publishers's response to Corona Virus... In an open letter to Field Service News subscribers Kris Oldland has announced two key initiatives to bring the global field service community together during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Firstly, Field Service News will be hosting an 'Emergency Symposium' this Friday (20 March) at 16:00 hours GMT. There will be a panel of senior industry leaders brought together to discuss the potential impact of the pandemic as well as best-practices for field service companies at this time. 

Register to attend @ https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7852140705125027853

 

Fostering Ongoing Communication within the Field Service Sector

In addition to this, Oldland announced the launch of an ongoing 'Digital Symposium' to host industry presentations that have had to be either postponed or cancelled. Thus facilitating the continued sharing of industry knowledge and learning during this period of wide-scale isolation. Any industry practitioners who have presentations they wish to give to the wider audience at this time will be able to utilise the platform free of charge, whilst commercial solution providers to the field service industry will be able to claim significant discounts from the standard FSN Webinar rate throughout the duration of the pandemic.

Commenting Oldland said: "One of the things that I have always found quite incredible within the field service sector is the commitment to knowledge sharing at large within our community, on a global basis. As the leading voice for field service professionals within the world, I feel it is is simply the right thing to do for Field Service News to help facilitate this communication at a time of crisis and I am happy to bear the brunt of the costs in doing so. Field Service is the community we serve and this is just another we can do in that endeavour. 

"I am hugely proud that we are able to offer this facility to not only our subscriber community but also with those within the sector who have yet to become part of the FSN family. Together, I am sure that we will all be able to cope, adapt and then thrive in the face of adversity." 

Oldland's full email to the Field Service News subscriber base is below: 

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In light of the current situation we are all facing with the global pandemic of Covid-19, I would like to announce that Field Service News will be hosting an 'Emergency Symposium: Coronavirus and its potential impact on field service delivery' this Friday at 16.00 hours GMT.

I have already spoken with a number of key industry leaders who are prepared to give their time for free to join a panel for this session to discuss the potential challenges of the situation, as well as looking at best practice at this current time and also how we can utilise technology to help ensure any disruption to field service delivery is minimised.  

The session will be open and there will be opportunity for wider discussion with all attendees. For those of you who cannot make the live date, a recording of the session will automatically be sent out to all registrants - so please do register to attend on the link below. 

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7852140705125027853

In addition to this session on Friday we are also creating an ongoing 'Digital Symposium" which will be hosted on Field Service News. The thinking behind this is that as movement is becoming increasingly restricted whilst the virus is contained, we are acutely aware that many industry events, including customer days, conferences and seminars are unfortunately at risk of being postponed or cancelled entirely.

Whilst, this is the sensible route to follow, I appreciate just how much work and effort will have been put into many, many excellent presentations that can help drive our industry forwards together. Having worked with so many of you myself personally, I know just how valuable your insights can be to the industry at large and in times of crisis like this, it is through a continued sense of global community and support that we will be to help drive our sector forward.

Equally, I feel it is essential that we as an industry remain focused on the journey of continuous improvement that will allow us to achieve our common objective of delivering service excellence.

With this in mind I am pleased to offer completely free access to our 'Digital Symposium' to any field service management practitioners who have presentations that were scheduled to take place at any cancelled industry event, that may now not reach their full intended audience. 

If this could be of use to you, email me directly on kris@fieldservicenews.com

Additionally, I am also pleased to offer considerable discounts to any commercial solution providers who can also benefit from presenting on our 'Digital Symposium' and these discounted rates will be in place for the duration of the current pandemic related travel restrictions. 

If you are a commercial solutions provider looking to access the platform please contact Steve White onsteve@fieldservicenews.com

With regards to our own event, The Field Service Expo 2020...

As it is a Q4 event we currently do not anticipate any disruption to this going ahead, but we will of course be monitoring the situation and will keep both sponsors and attendees updated in an honest and transparent manner, as soon as possible should we see any potential issues. 

Finally, I would just draw your attention to the recent additions to our digital portfolio which include research.fieldservicenews.com, thinktanks.fieldservicenews.com and www.fieldservicenews.com/fsn20

These bring together some of the very best insight and intelligence from the global field service community and in addition to our industry leading news and analysis at fieldservicenews.com can provide a wealth of information for the field service manager and director alike, particularly if you are unable to make it to any industry events currently. 

As always, it is with great pride that we at Field Service News serve this excellent global industry and community and I thank you all for your continued support. 

Regards, 

Kris Oldland, 

Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News