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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks exclusively to Dan Sewell, COO of Espresso Service about how the implementation of dedicated FSM system has improved their service engineers workflows.

In this instalment of the interview, we look at the importance Espresso Service have placed on their engineers and the impact that implementing a dedicated Field Service Management solution, in this instance Tesseract Service Centre, an Asolvi product, has had on improving their workflows.

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Will self-service for customers be the answer to the dwindling number of available field service technicians? Prudence Kolong, Editorial Director, Copperberg, joins the ranks of Field Service News associate columnists and in her first feature tackles this important topic.

Join Copperberg and Field Service News in Warwick, UK for the Field Service Summit in April and in Amsterdam, Netherlands in May for the Field Service Forum.

A recent survey by the Service Council showed that 70% of global manufacturing companies with small to large service operations are increasingly concerned with the lack of prospects to replace their retiring workforce.

However, less than half have implemented human capital management strategies capable of addressing talent shortage and competence development. It does not help either that scores of new STEM graduates and millennials, who in a perfect world should be lining up to join the ranks of highly skilled service teams within seemingly economically stable firms, see manufacturing jobs as old fashioned and dated and therefore not appealing.

On the technology front, deep shifts in customer demands drive innovation at a riveting speed. Many service organisations now look into technology as a potential avenue to circumvent the lack of prospects to renew their existing human resources.

On the technology front, deep shifts in customer demands drive innovation at a riveting speed. Since Industrial IoT and digitalisation have stopped being buzzwords meant for technologists, they have quietly slipped into the day-to-day dealings of service directors. The future landscape of field service operations for traditional or advanced manufacturing products will integrate a wide range of technological advancements.

The use of robots, artificial intelligence or automated supports on the production line is not new. However, their utilisation to enhance service lifecycle performance constitutes a new set of challenges for which very few are equipped.

Market leaders are now prototyping innovative solutions, with pilot projects, to engage clients and benefit from value-added technologies ranging from Industrial artificial intelligence, automation, machine learning, robotics processes and big data.

An abundance of opportunities opens with IoT, including hyper-personalised data mining solutions that enable targeted customer response with mission-critical predictive maintenance, optimised time management and strategic deployment of multi-skilled fleets.

The question that remains open is how can an industry slated to generate up to 4,45 billion dollars by 2020, thrive without sufficient manpower? Can it rely solely on progress in technology?To ensure that the right people maintain the effectiveness of their enhanced service ecosystems, smart service directors engage in constant skillset assessment, retraining, reallocation and reassignment. However, the question that remains open is how can an industry slated to generate up to 4,45 billion dollars by 2020, thrive without sufficient manpower? Can it rely solely on progress in technology?

The race for market share has service directors drastically redefining their KPIs, readjusting their resource strategies and the means to achieve them.

Furthermore, a new trend is sweeping the industry: crowdsourced field service. In this instance, the very concept of field service management is revolutionised. Fleet ownership, task scheduling, work order management and SLA’s compliance are no longer the sole prerogative of the product manufacturer and its service department.

In layman terms, the “Uber” business model has come and conquered the field service arena; now anyone can order and/or deliver turnkey maintenance operations and end-to-end field service.  At the onset, uberized field service seems like a palliative solution to workforce shortage, a momentary placebo that may serve its short-term purpose. So how about a realistic solution that identifies the root cause, and just like preventative maintenance addresses issues before they occur.

Gartner predicts that within the coming 5 years, 10% of emergency field service work will be managed by artificial intelligence, implying less use or need of manpower on the horizons.  Nonetheless, service organisations need to invest in out of the box approaches to talent acquisition with hybrid skillsets and become more proactive in handling their single most important asset: people.

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News and Kieran Notter, Director, Global Customer Transformation, ServiceMax from GE Digital explore the findings of an exclusive independent research conducted by Field Service News and sponsored by ServiceMAx from GE Digital.

In this second excerpt from the full one-hour long webcast, Oldland and Notter discuss both what the must-have skills of the field service engineer are likely to be in the not too distant future taking into account the impact of industry mega-trends such as servitization, digitalisation and an incoming army of millennials.

Want to know more? The full webcast PLUS an exclusive report based on the findings of this research is available for Field Service News subscribers.

If you are a field service practitioner you may qualify for a complimentary 'industry practitioner' subscription. Click here to apply now!

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks exclusively to Dan Sewell, COO of Espresso Service about preventative maintenance.

Dan and the team at Espresso Service have embraced the Internet of Things and preventative maintenance with open arms and have already seen some fantastic benefits from doing so.

We look at what those benefits and improvements were as well as getting Dan's advice for any organisation looking to follow in their footsteps exploring what the best initial steps are for adopting such an approach.

This video series is sponsored by:

 

 

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In the Big Discussion, we will take one topic, bring together three leading experts on that topic and put three key questions to them to help us better understand its potential impact on the field service sector...

This issue our topic is the what to expect in 2018 and our experts are Michael Blumberg, Blumberg Advisory, Bill Pollock, Strategies for GrowthSM and Jan Van Veen, moreMomentum

So let's tackle the first question...

What is the biggest challenge facing field service companies in the next 12 months?

Bill Pollock: The biggest challenge facing field service companies in the next 12 months will be keeping up with customer expectations for service delivery as they continually raise the bar with respect to performance. This is not necessarily a “new” challenge – it actually has been one of the main challenges for field service companies year-after-year. However, the current environment of constantly improving technology and its availability through both the traditional, “tried-and-true” FSM solution providers plus the introduction of several new technology-based solution vendors makes this challenge particularly daunting for many field service managers.

Selecting which technology to implement is not the only challenge, however; field service companies must also be able to choose the right solution vendor to help them design, implement and support their newly acquired technology. Some of the most challenging questions may be, “If we’re already using Microsoft Dynamics 365 for our CRM solution, should we also use Microsoft Field Service?”; similarly, “If we’re already using Salesforce for our sales and marketing management, should we also use their Field Service Lightning solution?” Other questions may include, “Should we use one of the traditional FSM solution providers, such as Astea, ClickSoftware, IFS/Metrix, ServicePower, etc., or one of the newer providers?”; or “Should we use a UK-based solution provider, such as Fast Lean Smart, or Kirona, etc., rather than an off-shore-based provider?”

The choices are many – and no less challenging than they have been in the past!

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Jan Van Veen:  Most manufacturing companies and their service units struggle to innovate and change quick enough.

Technology is developing at an increasing pace; adoption of new technology has never been so rapid. In the digital era, we can expect competition from new entrants like innovative data- and algorithm-driven businesses.

So, the name of the game now is ‘Adapt and Thrive’ (or ‘Stagnate and Die’). The winners of the next decades will be those who can maintain a high speed of business innovation and change, and can cope with a high level of uncertainty and unpredictability.

What is holding most manufacturing companies back is;

• Slow change, whether it’s small change or bigger change
• Stuck in business-as-usual: innovations are predominantly incremental improvements of the status quo
• Lack of influence: individuals at all levels and in various departments see the threats, opportunities and the lack of progress, which frustrates them

I believe that one of the biggest challenges right now is to increase momentum for rapid and fluent change from the inside, and empowering employees at all levels to take ownership.

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Michael Blumberg:  In the short term, field service companies must also find ways to balance service quality and productivity with their financial goals and objectives (think costs and profits), all while striving to maintain exceptional levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.

This objective holds true for any 12-month period under consideration whether the year is 2018, 2008, or 2028.

The challenge lies in developing and implementing a winning strategy based on current financial and operating constraints that each company faces.

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News and Kieran Notter, Director, Global Customer Transformation, ServiceMax from GE Digital explore the findings of an exclusive independent research conducted by Field Service News and sponsored by ServiceMax from GE Digital.

In this excerpt from the full one-hour long webcast, Oldland and Notter discuss both the challenges and opportunities of an ageing workforce within the field service sector and assess whether there is any substance to fears that we are facing an ageing workforce crisis.

 

Want to know more? The full webcast PLUS an exclusive report based on the findings of this research is available for Field Service News subscribers.

If you are a field service practitioner you may qualify for a complimentary 'industry practitioner' subscription. Click here to apply now!

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Annick Perry, Senior Project Manager, Noventum gives us some insight into the findings of a recent research project that Noventum and Aston Universities Advanced Services Group have undertaken to look at Advanced Services Trend within Manufacturing...

In a joint research study with the Advanced Services Group, a centre of excellence at Aston Business School, Noventum explored how five societal ‘Megatrends' bring opportunities for business growth for manufacturing companies through advanced IoT enabled services.

The five societal megatrends we explored in this research are:

1. Value change: The increasing importance of transparency, diversity, individualisation and freedom of choice, as well as demand for meaning and connectedness.
2. Green and resource scarcity: The increasing consciousness of manufacturers when providing products and services to fulfil human development and at the same time take care of the natural system.
3. Health and Aging: An ageing society and the increasing importance of healthy living and lifestyle.
4. Globalisation and the need for community: The increasing emphasis on communities, localities, etc. to foster identity in light of a globalised world.
5. Inequality and Social Exclusion: The increasing market share of poor customers, means reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production. Designing products for emerging countries may also call for an increase in durability and when selling the products, reliance on unconventional distribution channels. Globalisation and rising incomes in emerging countries may also drive frugal innovation, which implies that services and products need not be of inferior quality but must be provided cheaply[/ordered_list]

In this article, the focus is on just one of the Mega Trends ‘Value Change’ which provided some interesting insights on how this will impact the manufacturing industry.

Customers’ perceptions of value are changing

Consumer habits are changing, we are becoming more tech-savvy, and less connected to ownership of products and, in favour of experiences delivered by service providers operating new business models, like Airbnb. Expectations of a personalized experience are higher, which means companies must respond to customers’ needs faster and in a unique way. This change is passed on by B2C customers towards their B2B suppliers and partners. For manufacturers, this means staying alert and being proactive. As Anders Mossberg of Scania Trucks stated in our study, “Talk to your customers’ customers because they are the ones that will drive the trends in the future.”

Customers want to Buy Everything as a Service

Manufacturers are recognising the need to find new ways of offering value to customers. Their offerings are changing from a product focus to a service focus, which emphasises providing the customer with the capability to achieve their business goals, instead of emphasising product features. They are now competing through a combination of products and services, enabled by technology, tailored to meet the customer’s needs. Rolls-Royce, for example, sells hours of flight time for its jet engines rather than the more traditional purchase of the engine. These are more sophisticated, higher-value contracts, based on outcomes. They are also higher risk for the manufacturer but with higher potential to create a competitive advantage.

New technologies enable to respond to changing needs

New developments in technology are enabling the value chain to be redesigned. Embedded sensors and processors in assets and devices are increasingly capable of transmitting data to control centres to signal the need for repair or refurbishment. Research participants cited the introduction of driverless vehicles, some of whom mentioned that this is already a reality in some situations, and will increasingly be the case in the future. It will provide the opportunity for companies to take leadership and redesign the value chain to increase efficiency and added value. New configurations of networks allow companies to redefine their role in the value chain.

A transformation is needed

Delivering such advanced service requires fundamental changes in the manufacturer’s operations, relationships, organisational structures and potentially a change in their culture. Denis Bouteille of Fives addressed this in our study by saying, “Talking to the customer, we need people who can really develop the empathy, the listening and the deep understanding.”

Conclusions of the research on societal ‘Megatrends’

This exploratory research concludes that societal megatrends can drive opportunities for manufacturers to compete and grow through advanced services. To realise those opportunities, it’s important that companies exploit the implications of new trends together with their customers and explore what the impact of societal trends might be for future needs. The megatrends explored in this research show a significant potential for companies to develop advanced services and strengthen the competitive position of companies. However, some key factors need to be taken into mind when manufacturing companies take the decision to invest in developing advanced services.

1. Before companies can start developing advanced IoT enabled services…..

• Top management needs to support the development of advanced services and provide clear leadership to staff in the mindset appropriate to the development of the new capabilities[/unordered_list]

2. Stay close to your customers to identify opportunities for advanced IoT enabled services by understanding how value perception and needs are impacted by societal trends

• Understand your companies role in tackling global social and environmental challenges
• Explore the opportunities of the ‘circular economy’
• Recognise the impact of IoT on your customer's value chain

3. When you are developing the business models around advanced services make sure that:

• The tacit knowledge of the very experienced but ageing workforce is transferred into technical solutions to deliver advanced services
• Your company thinks global, but acts local and delivers a superior customer experience

Want to know more? Download an executive summary of this research and learn how the other societal trends can bring business opportunities. @ http://fs-ne.ws/dOId30iepLh

Manuel Grenacher, CEO Coresystems, explores the major trends that he expects to impact field service companies across 2018...

While 2017 introduced innovative new technology-based trends with the likes of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR), 2018 will bring real-world applications that put those buzzwords into practice. Here are the top trends we see this coming year.

The IoT will drive more proactive device maintenance, service and repair

In 2016, Gartner, Inc. forecasted that 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2017, with 5.5 million new devices being connected every day. The vast majority of today’s devices and machines come equipped with sensors, which transmit signals, status updates and warnings.

Field service innovators are finding ways to use the IoT and increased connectivity to their advantageThese alerts not only allow people to address problems proactively but also accelerate expectations around service time. The alerts notify users the moment their device needs maintenance or repair, which immediately puts the technician on the clock to resolve the issue. Challenges such as long response wait time and excessive appointment windows already plague the field service industry, so the IoT threatens to exacerbate these existing issues.

However, field service innovators are finding ways to use the IoT and increased connectivity to their advantage. In 2018, further innovation in the field technology space will enable technicians to take advantage of the IoT’s increased connectivity and automation in today’s devices, enabling them to provide service in real time to meet and exceed customer expectations.

Artificial intelligence will simplify and automate service appointments

2018 will focus on not the adoption of AI, but the implementation of it in real use cases. One industry that stands to greatly benefit from AI is customer service, particularly field service. Gartner forecasts that 85 percent of customer relationships will be through AI-powered services by the year 2020.

AI technology will make strides in streamlining the customer experienceIn 2018, AI technology will make strides in streamlining the customer experience. Chatbots will troubleshoot issues with customers, determining all necessary information before dispatching a technician. Powered by machine learning, chatbots will understand if a customer needs assistance in resolving an issue or wants more information about a certain piece of equipment. Logistic regression capabilities will enable chatbots to walk customers through equipment problems step by step.

AI will also automate the technician’s workflow. One of the biggest pain points in customer service – particularly field service – is dispatch time. To combat this, heuristic search functions in AI technology will determine which technicians are not only available but also knowledgeable enough to properly service the request. AI will also consolidate relevant customer details – from device history and prior appointments to technicians who are qualified and available to resolve an issue – to ensure customers receive the most efficient and painless experience possible.

Augmented reality will provide unprecedented visibility into worksites

Augmented reality enhances the way we see, hear and feel by bringing elements of the virtual world into the real world. Many people associate augmented and virtual reality with the gaming industry, but the technology offers far more than entertainment for a niche group. Industry forecasters predict that by 2020 the market for AR will reach $100 billion in value.

The increased connectivity that the IoT brings will continue to propel the application of AR in the field service sector. The increased connectivity that the IoT brings will continue to propel the application of AR in the field service sector. Using standard mobile devices and AR glasses, service technicians are finding unique ways to approach service. AR applications that allow technicians to look into machines without disassembling them have proven enormously helpful for pinpointing malfunctioning parts. Also, the ability to share data from onsite with offsite experts allows for a more collaborative approach to finding solutions. And this capacity to share knowledge and access an endless stream of information is increasing the first-time-fix rate and thereby improving the customer experience.

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As we enter into another year it seems like the speed at which our industry seems to be hurtling forward is showing little signs of slowing down.

 

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If anything it seems to be getting faster.

Across the last year, we saw the Internet of Things shift full throttle from being a concept adopted only by those on the leading edge to something that was very rapidly becoming mainstream within the field service sector. It seems that the technology is finally all beginning to fall into place and the dual rise in prominence of outcome-based services and preventative maintenance means that IoT is at the forefront of most service organisations as we move into 2018.

One of the earliest and major proponents and enablers of IoT within field service was, of course, ServiceMax and when we saw the first fruits of the union between them and GE earlier this year with integration between the ServiceMax solution and GE Digital's Asset Management Performance solution we perhaps saw one of the last major missing parts of the puzzle of how IoT can be embedded within a field service workflow slot right into place.

Indeed, the acquisition of ServiceMax by GE whilst coming perhaps out of leftfield initially appears to be making more and more sense and so far at least it seems that as opposed a technology being lost to the wider market when swallowed up by a behemoth of an organisation such as GE, ServiceMax are set to become an even more prominent player as part of the GE DIgital stable as they push out into hitherto uncharted markets with a message of service excellence for all. The vibe was certainly all positive at the European leg of Maximize towards the end of the year and you can find my exclusive interview with Dave Yarnold, Rei Kasai and Anup Sharma.

At the other end of the evolutionary spectrum, but with just as much potential impact on the field service sector is New York-based startup Nanowear. Wearables have never really hit the heights that they should have so far in the field service sector, but Nanowear's smart cloth has huge potential to be utilised in smart clothing that could reduce the risk for lone workers. These folks are just at the start of their journey but are certainly one to watch and you can read why I think so on.

However, whilst technology is undoubtedly playing a more and more dominant role in our industry, there are certain maxim's that hold true and once again we see the importance of adopting an outside-in viewpoint when it comes to establishing a high level of customer satisfaction being re-iterated by a number of our columnists in this issue.

Both Nick Frank and Jan Van Veen to authors whose opinion and contribution to our humble little magazine I value very highly, raise the importance of understanding the customers wants needs and desires in their articles on this topic here and here respectively.

Interestingly, it is also a key theme in my interview with Matt Boretti, Strategic Director, Teleflex who is just six months into his role establishing a new Customer Experience group of his organisation.

Meanwhile, Alastair Clifford-Jones really brings home the increasing importance of field service when he points out how the focus of field service is shifting towards driving strategy rather than being a recipient of it and Michael Blumberg delivers his usual excellent deep level insight into this issue's lead article exploring how field service companies can deal with digitalisation, uberization and servitization which you can find on page 26.

The field service sector as a whole is moving into 2018 with a swagger, service delivery is more important than ever before and ours is an industry that is now reaping the rewards for embracing emerging technologies.

Long may it continue!

 

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