Field Service News

Are Service-Centric Companies Placing Too Much Emphasis on Placement?

Jul 20, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • Workforce Managemnet • Field Workforce • EMEA

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Mark Belenky, CEO Software Outsourcing Solutions and a specialist in workforce management solutions to work through some of the key findings of an exclusive Field Service News Research...

Digitalise job management to Help Your Business Grow

Jul 19, 2021 • News • Artificial intelligence • Digital Transformation • IoT • EMEA

In this article we look at how the adoption of new digital technologies can help your business grow with simPRO, leading field service management solution for service, maintenance and project contractors.

Businesses in the building services sector are increasing efficiency and growing their business faster, by trading outdated manual processes for new digital technologies.

At the top of the list? Cloud-based job management software that streamlines project, service, and maintenance workflows in one end-to-end solution.

Harnessing this technology and its mobile features lets you access the most accurate and up-to-date information pertaining to project progress, billing and invoicing, scheduling and dispatch, inventory and more, all from one central location. This eliminates wasted time spent linking essential data from disparate sources, gives full visibility into your numbers, and streamlines communication from the office to the field. So how does digitising your operations help your business grow? Here are the top benefits of cloud-based job management software.

1. Streamilined Team Management

With all information accessible in the cloud, teams are able to view real-time awareness of job progress and location of field staff, in turn, enhancing job scheduling capabilities. You can make scheduling changes as they happen, closing gaps and keeping your team productive.

2. Improved Productivity

Field staff can access job information, site history and even request inventory without returning to the office. Any updates from the field sync in real-time via a mobile app. By giving your team the information they need, when they need it, you reduce travel time, increase productivity and expand capacity to find new revenue streams or take on new jobs.

3. Clear and Effective Communication

Communication between office and field should not end once a job has been dispatched. It should be ongoing and instant, enabling efficient processes and a seamless experience for the customer. Cloud-based job management software streamlines all communications in one easy-to-access portal.

4. Optimised Business Management

Investing in software to digitise your business leads to reduced overheads through automated workflows, centralised data and integrations with third-party applications. In the office, replacing manual, time consuming tasks such as data entry with automated workflows frees up resources to focus on value adding activities and minimises error.

5. Clearly Identify Where You Are Making and Losing Money

Capture all of your data from each job, in one centralised location, accessible from anywhere. You can also clearly identify where you are making and losing money through job costing and profitability reporting, and use collected data to optimise workflows, analyse the profitability of customers and inform hiring decisions.

Learn more about how simPRO can help grow your business at simprogroup.com.

Contact:

T: 0800 622 6376

W: simprogroup.com

Volta Trucks Calls for Greater Ambition in the UK Government Transport Decarbonisation Plan

Jul 19, 2021 • News • Carbon Emissions • Sustainability • Service Innovation and Design • EMEA • Volta Trucks

Volta Trucks, a leading and disruptive full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider, has issued a guarded welcome to the publication of the UK Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, but has called for a greater level of...

Chief Executive Officer of Volta Trucks, Essa Al-Saleh, said; “The publication of the UK Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan is welcome because it gives British fleet operators and buyers a level of certainty that didn't previously exist. That said, the ban on internal combustion engine trucks by 2040 is nearly 20 years away, and today's climate emergency cannot wait. Trucks account for less than 2% of road vehicles but 22% of CO₂ emissions from road transport, and the relative share of truck emissions is certain to increase as emissions from passenger cars are driven downwards by the surge in the sales of electric cars.

THE VOLTA ZERO IS THE WORLD'S FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT FULL ELECTRIC VEHICLE DESIGNED FOR INNER-CITY LOGISTICS, REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF FREIGHT DELIVERIES IN CITY CENTRES

“It’s therefore disappointing that the UK Government hasn't been as ambitious as the French authorities, for example, who have banned diesel engine trucks from the streets of Paris and other large city centres by the end of 2023. This type of progressive legislation, twinned with incentives, is what's needed to accelerate the migration to zero emission large commercial vehicles. The Volta Zero is the first purpose-built full electric large commercial vehicle designed specifically for logistics within city centres where air quality is at its worst. We will begin customer trials in London and Paris next year ahead of the start of full-scale production by the end of 2022. This will ensure we can meet our customer's demands, and the needs of the wider population, to have full-electric zero emission commercial vehicles available in the market as soon as possible."

About the Volta Zero

The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne vehicle designed for inner-city logistics, reducing the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres. Designed from the ground up with an operating pure-electric range of 150 - 200 kms (95 – 125 miles), the Volta Zero will eliminate an estimated 1.2M tonnes of CO₂ by 2025.

Safety is also at the heart of Volta Trucks, with its ambition of producing the safest trucks for our cities. The Volta Zero was designed for electric from the outset, which facilitates a step-change in vehicle, driver and pedestrian safety. Thanks to the removal of the internal combustion engine, the operator of a Volta Zero sits in a central driving position, with a much lower seat height than a conventional truck. This combination, plus a glass house-style cab design, gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots. The prototype Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, with the first vehicles expected to be operating with customers in late 2021.

About Volta Trucks

Volta Trucks is a start-up full-electric goods vehicle manufacturer and services company. Volta Trucks has offices in Sweden, France and the UK and is partnering with a number of global leaders in the supply chain for the development and production of the Volta Zero.

Overwhelmingly Staff Utilization is the Biggest Issue in Workforce Management

Jul 16, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • Workforce Managemnet • Field Workforce • Managing the Mobile Workforce • EMEA

Proact Named One of the Best Managed Services IT Organisations in the Netherlands

Jul 15, 2021 • News • Artificial intelligence • Digital Transformation • IoT • EMEA

Proact placed fourth among managed services providers within the leading “GIARTE IT Xperience Monitor 2021 (ITX)” assessment, in which the IT outsourcing experiences of customer organisations are measured annually. Amongst mid-sized companies, Proact secured a top score for workspace outsourcing, and obtained the highest scores in the categories of workspace management and support.

“Of course, it's about the whole picture that you offer as an outsourcing partner”, says Proact Service Operations Director of Proact Netherlands Bertus Doppenberg. “Basically, you have to prioritise the total unburdening of the customer when it comes to their workspace. Customer satisfaction starts with a positive user experience. That is one of Proact’s key priorities, which we now also see being rewarded in this benchmark. Still, it's not the only thing we focus on. If you don’t have a firm foundation in terms of your offering, you will notice this immediately in practice. We have managed that well, which is apparent from the wonderful scores we have received.”

THE IT SERVICES PROVIDER SCORES HIGHEST ALSO IN THE TRANSPARENCY CATEGORY FOR ITS WORK WITH CUSTOMERS

The fact that Proact emerged from the survey as one of the highest rated mid-sized organisations in the area of outsourcing — with an average managed services score of 8.4 on a scale of 10 — is in itself a great achievement. Infrastructure management, workplace management and support, system integration and security management are also enthusiastically praised by Proact's 20 largest customers within the survey. Equally impressive, however, is that the IT services provider also scores highest in the transparency category for its work with customers. These results are all the more notable considering that Proact expanded its presence in the Netherlands and in Belgium through the acquisition of PeopleWare in the end of 2019. The company specialised in outsourcing prior to its acquisition, and this has developed into a very strong component of Proact’s offering in this region since.

“We could not have achieved these great results without our customers. As an organisation, we are close to our customers. Our personal approach and our prioritisation of open and honest communication in our relationships are the basis for this. This is only possible if parties work together openly and honestly. The results of GIARTE therefore reflect the extent and intensity of cooperation with our customers. That is a two-way street”, adds Mark van Liempt, Business Unit Director, West. “We do it together, so the credit must go to our customers as well!”

What Types of Solutions are Being Used in Workforce Management amongst Service-Centric Companies?

Jul 13, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • Workforce Managemnet • Field Workforce • EMEA

Digitalisation and Rethinking Field Service Delivery

Jul 02, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • The View from Academia • Servitization and Advanced Services • EMEA • University of Liverpool • Chris Raddats

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Dr Chris Raddats of the University of Liverpool a seasoned expert with experience from both the industry and academic sides of the aisle...

Distilling the Learning of Servitization from Recent Academic Studies

Jun 28, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • The View from Academia • Servitization and Advanced Services • EMEA • University of Liverpool • Chris Raddats

Fortem Improves Efficiency and Compliance Using Totalmobile

Jun 25, 2021 • Software & Apps • News • Cloud services • Digital Transformation • EMEA • totalmobile

Totalmobile, the UK leader in Field Service Management software solutions, has announced it has helped Fortem, the property solutions provider, to digitise its repairs and maintenance service delivery with their Mobilise solution, improving...

For nearly two decades, Fortem has delivered repairs and maintenance for over 40 social housing clients across the UK. The company annually completes 400,000 repairs in occupied homes as well as preparing 10,000 vacant properties for future occupancy. It also carries out repairs nationwide for a wide range of clients and to public sector buildings.

Totalmobile’s cloud-based mobile workforce management solution, Mobilise, helps Fortem to deliver a more efficient service for these customers. It enables offline working for all trades and ensures key information is available at the frontline worker’s fingertips, including questions to ask each customer based on the job at hand and forms to fill in that can be easily created and customised by Fortem.

TOTALMOBILE'S CLOUD-BASED MOBILISE APPLICATION CAPTURES JOB INFORMATION AND IMPROVES COMPLIANCE TO HELP TRANSFORM FORTEM'S NATIONWIDE SERVICE

Vehicle checks are quicker and simpler with a digital checklist that needs to be filled in prior to vehicle use, which is driving compliance as well as efficiency. Specifically, Fortem has seen a significant improvement in meeting its compliance obligations regarding waste notes – the logs staff need to take of every piece of waste produced at a job – as real time note-taking on the Mobilise app can be made mandatory.

Totalmobile’s solution was rolled out across the company over the last year, and as of April 2021 the application is now used by all 450 trade staff across seven contracts including Stonewater, Birmingham, PA Housing and Onward. It will also be the default mobile application for all future contracts. During the global pandemic, with Mobilise, Fortem has been able to update risk assessment forms as the government guidance has changed regularly, ensuring that all staff are kept up to date and are able to meet the current guidelines to keep themselves and their customers safe.

Chris Hone, the Systems Director at Fortem said “The ability for our trades to work reliably offline is key to service delivery. Combining that with the flexibility for our in-house IT team to evolve the forms and processes to meet our clients’ needs means that can are truly able to offer a differentiated service to our clients”.

Mick Williamson, Managing Director at Fortem, said “The introduction of Mobilise is a huge step forward for our trades. Since the solution was rolled out, they are better equipped to carry out repairs resulting in a more efficient service for our customers. As a responsible business, the opportunities offered by the solution in terms of health, safety and compliance are extremely important to us.

Rolling out our Mobilise solution has already helped support Fortem throughout this challenging year. Having a digital solution that provides all of the information mobile workers need and allows them to remain compliant throughout their work benefits the company as well as the customers, who receive a more efficient and comprehensive service every time.”

Looking to the future, Fortem will look at the subcontract supply chain and roll out Mobilise to its subcontractors, to use on their own mobile devices. The company will also move onto applying the solution to permits and void surveying to continue to drive the gains in efficiency and reductions in costs.

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Are Service-Centric Companies Placing Too Much Emphasis on Placement?

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Digitalise job management to Help Your Business Grow

1. Streamilined Team Management

2. Improved Productivity

3. Clear and Effective Communication

4. Optimised Business Management

5. Clearly Identify Where You Are Making and Losing Money

Further Reading:

Volta Trucks Calls for Greater Ambition in the UK Government Transport Decarbonisation Plan

THE VOLTA ZERO IS THE WORLD'S FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT FULL ELECTRIC VEHICLE DESIGNED FOR INNER-CITY LOGISTICS, REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF FREIGHT DELIVERIES IN CITY CENTRES

Further Reading:

Overwhelmingly Staff Utilization is the Biggest Issue in Workforce Management

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Proact Named One of the Best Managed Services IT Organisations in the Netherlands

THE IT SERVICES PROVIDER SCORES HIGHEST ALSO IN THE TRANSPARENCY CATEGORY FOR ITS WORK WITH CUSTOMERS

Further Reading:

What Types of Solutions are Being Used in Workforce Management amongst Service-Centric Companies?

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Digitalisation and Rethinking Field Service Delivery

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Distilling the Learning of Servitization from Recent Academic Studies

Want to know more?

Further Reading:

Fortem Improves Efficiency and Compliance Using Totalmobile

TOTALMOBILE'S CLOUD-BASED MOBILISE APPLICATION CAPTURES JOB INFORMATION AND IMPROVES COMPLIANCE TO HELP TRANSFORM FORTEM'S NATIONWIDE SERVICE

Further Reading:

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