Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
Here the group discuss...
Feb 11, 2021 • Features • research • Digital Transformation • Covid-19
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
Here the group discuss...
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
Here the group discuss whether we are ready to build a second iteration of an IoT empowered field service sector.
You can find further analysis of this research project at our dedicated research site research.fieldservicenews.com
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Feb 09, 2021 • Features • research • Covid-19 • Leadership and Strategy
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
Here they discuss what...
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
Here they discuss what service excellence will look like in the new normal and where the battlegrounds will be for companies seeking to differentiate on their service delivery.
You can find further analysis of this research project at our dedicated research site research.fieldservicenews.com
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Feb 09, 2021 • Features • White Paper • Digital Transformation • field service management • Software and Apps • Esri UK
In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by Esri UK, now available at Field Service News, we look at two case studies of how location intelligence helps organisation improving efficiency and refine field operations.
In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by Esri UK, now available at Field Service News, we look at two case studies of how location intelligence helps organisation improving efficiency and refine field operations.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Esri UK who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Last week, we looked at how using the power of location can improve field service operations. Today we look at two case studies describing how the use of Esri's ArcGIS platform can help companies in challenging situations.
Amid concerns about the possible emergence of a deadly new plant disease, Fera Science has created an ArcGIS app and dashboard to enable hoticulturalists to coordinate thousands of plant and tree inspections nationwide.
One of the most damaging plant bacteria ever identified is spreading in countries around the world. Called xylella fastidiosa (Xf), it has been detected in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal and, if it were to gain a foothold in the UK, it could affect dozens of plant species, including elm, plane and oak trees.
Working with APHA, Fera Science has used Esri’s ArcGIS platform to develop a complete end-to-end solution to support plant inspections, including testing plant samples and tracing of the spread of the disease.
When a first case of Xf is detected in the UK, a geoprocessing model, developed using Esri’s ModelBuilder, will create the initial inspection zone around the plant, divided into 100 metre and 1 km grid squares. Inspectors will then use an intuitive app, created with Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS, to view interactive maps of their assigned inspection grids, on their mobile devices, and inspect up to 50 host plants in each square. They will collect a sample from each plant, put the sample into a bag with a barcode and use the Collector app to record the barcode, together with the location of the plant, plant health observations and pictures.
When laboratories test the samples, the results will be recorded against the barcodes and uploaded via a web portal to ArcGIS. Python scripts, developed by Esri UK’s Professional Services team, will combine the test results with the data collected in the field and categorise each plant as either diseased, free of disease or inconclusive test. All the data will then be visibleon an Esri Operations Dashboard, enabling APHA, DEFRA and other key stakeholders to view the locations and health of each inspected plant in near real time. Whenever a new positive result is recorded, the surrounding inspection zones will be automatically created, allowing inspectors to start collecting new samples straight away.
Real-time data to trace the spread of disease
If Xf is detected in the UK, APHA will be able to see near real-time data on diseased plants and their locations, all around the UK. The ArcGIS dashboard presents the data in a spatial, map-based format that is simple to understand at a glance, enabling people to trace the spread of the disease very easily. Users can see which grid squares have been inspected, monitor the progress of inspections and identify where best to allocate resources based on the latest test results.
Effective collaboration of many stakeholders
The ArcGIS solution can be used by multiple stakeholders, not just APHA. Therefore, in the case of a major outbreak of Xf, inspectors from other organisations and landowners, such as the Forestry Commission, could use the Collector app on their own mobile devices to collect standardised data and samples in a coordinated approach. Other organisations can also be given access to the same Esri dashboard enabling them to collaborate more effectively with APHA and implement joined-up strategies to detect and eventually eradicate the disease from the UK completely.
Working at the scene of some of the world’s most devastating humanitarian disasters, this volunteer-driven charity uses Esri’s ArcGIS to produce up-to-date maps for humanitarian aid organisations. Its new Kiosk product makes vitally important location-based intelligence available to aid workers in digital formats, helping them to respond more quickly and, ultimately, help save more lives.
Since its inception in 2002, MapAction has become an indispensable part of the global response to humanitarian crises. As soon as its volunteer teams, who are specially trained in disaster response, arrive in affected areas, their services are in high demand from multiple organisations. Consequently, on-the-ground teams face growing pressure to produce and distribute more maps, more quickly.
Esri UK has supported the work of MapAction for over twelve years, and ArcGIS, Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) platform, plays a pivotal role in the delivery of MapAction’s emergency mapping service. MapAction secured funding for a new ‘selfservice’ mapping facility, and sought out the expertise of Esri UK’s professional services team to help it design and deliver this inventive project using ArcGIS.
Named the MapAction Kiosk, the new GIS solution developed operates using the principles of web mapping and runs on a lightweight laptop connected to a powerful WiFi router. Aid workers in the vicinity of MapAction’s field base can connect to the Kiosk via WiFi and print additional copies of any maps produced by MapAction’s volunteer team. In addition, they can view interactive maps, zoom into specific regions and turn on required data layers to create any customised maps that they might need to inform aid missions. Finally, responders can use the Kiosk to download MapAction’s up-to-date spatial data and incorporate it into their own GIS systems.
MapAction will continue to produce the paper maps that aid organisations around the world have come to rely on. However, now, this unique charity will also be able to make its invaluable location- based intelligence accessible in digital formats to many more people, more quickly, to improve the effectiveness of life-saving humanitarian missions.
Notably, the MapAction Kiosk will help the charity to distribute its maps to aid workers who might otherwise not have had access to a paper copy. It will therefore make situational data accessible to a wider audience and facilitate greater collaboration between multiple aid agencies and local groups. Pennells says: “The Kiosk helps us to give a common operational picture to all responders and agencies working on-the- ground in a disaster situation. The sooner they have this shared knowledge, the closer they can work together to reach people at risk.”
In addition, the Kiosk gives aid workers the ability to create their own customised maps for the first time. They can gain instant access to the mapping intelligence they need – in the precise format they need it – to enable them to respond quickly to emerging new scenarios.
Feb 04, 2021 • Features • research • Covid-19 • Managing the Mobile Workforce
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
You can find further...
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector.
You can find further analysis of this research project at our dedicated research site research.fieldservicenews.com
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Feb 02, 2021 • Features • research • Covid-19 • Managing the Mobile Workforce
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector. In this excerpt from the...
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined by Marc Tatarsky and Steve Mason of FieldAware as they analyse the findings of a wide-reaching study into the effect of the pandemic on the field service sector. In this excerpt from the first of two deep-dive debrief sessions the group explore the differences between how larger and smaller companies dealt with the challenges of lockdowns as a result of the COIVD19 pandemic.
You can find further analysis of this research project at our dedicated research site research.fieldservicenews.com
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, FieldAware who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this report.
Feb 01, 2021 • Features • White Paper • Digital Transformation • field service management • Software and Apps • Esri UK
In this new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Esri UK, now available at Field Service News, we discuss how to digitally transform field operations using the power of location.
In this new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Esri UK, now available at Field Service News, we discuss how to digitally transform field operations using the power of location.
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Esri UK who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Location is at the heart of field activities. It sounds like an obvious statement, but field management often either completely overlooks location or marginally takes advantage of it.
Field managers and workers are likely to make decisions faster and deliver better customer service if they can access location intelligence in the field. This e-book explains how geographic information system (GIS) technology and a suite of field mobility apps work together to improve performance in the field. Five case studies show how organisations incorporated apps into workflows and describe the returns they gained.
Organisations use GIS to capture, manage, analyse, and display all forms of geographically referenced information and use focused field apps to improve field operations. Its ability to transform data into useful information has proved to be highly valuable to field operations managers in four operational areas: coordination, navigation, data collection, and monitoring.
Daily operations need to quickly adjust to changing conditions including last-minute requests and unexpected resource unavailability and delays. A geographic perspective allows you to easily see the location of the worker nearest the call and quickly assign that worker to respond. This level of flexibility results in exceptional customer service and compliance with service-level agreements.
Workforce for ArcGIS helps you quickly put resources where they are most needed.
GIS does much more than map point A to point B. For instance, users can add other layers of information, such as private road networks and asset locations, to street maps. GIS apps combine this data and calculate optimised routes that fieldworkers see on their mobile devices, even when disconnected. GIS recalculates delivery windows in real time based on traffic conditions, so drivers can give an estimated time of arrival (ETA), which keeps customers happy. GIS is the route optimisation tool of choice for organisations whose reputation and success are defined by on-time delivery.
Navigator for ArcGIS, StreetMap Premium for ArcGIS, and ArcGIS Network Analyst support routing with high-quality street data and give you tools for complex problem solving.
Built-in GIS capabilities in mobile apps ensure that location information is included in the data. This capability extends to other business data submitted via inspections, incident reports,
or any type of form entered into your system of record. Understanding the location where field activities happen is critical for historical analysis, QA/QC, regulatory compliance, and coordination with other users.
Focused apps allow crews to capture, update, and analye data accurately. Fieldworkers use these apps to create surveys, capture the answers, and analyse the results. Mobile apps provide fieldworkers with their organisation’s maps, allowing them to locate assets and mark up the map with additional details. Drones offer an inexpensive way to capture field imagery, and by using a desktop app, drone-captured imagery can be easily turned into professional quality imagery products that you can use for mapping and analysis. Data generated by these apps can all be synced at the office and shared within the organisation and the public.
Collector for ArcGIS, Explorer for ArcGIS, Survey123 for ArcGIS, and Drone2Map for ArcGIS boost data accuracy and optimise geospatial analysis.
It is difficult to manage what you cannot see. GIS provides dashboards that enable real-time monitoring of events and key performance indicators (KPIs) so that you can make decisions at a glance. GIS-based dashboards show information as maps, charts, gauges, and other understandable visualisations. Combined with real-time GIS analysis, GIS dashboards help organisations focus on specific information by revealing exceptions, trends, and patterns that are relevant for decision-making.
GIS also supports tracking of field personnel. Managers and supervisors are able to view where workers are and where they have been through a mobile app that captures their location tracks. This helps them identify workers’ last known locations, confirm the territory covered, and more effectively balance the allocation of workers to needs.
Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS helps users visualise and monitor data that is relevant to them. Tracker for ArcGIS enables monitoring of personnel to better manage what happens in the field activities.
Jan 29, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation
Edwin Pahk, VP Of Product Marketing and Business Development, Aquant outlines some key findings from their Service Intelligence Benchmark Report...
Edwin Pahk, VP Of Product Marketing and Business Development, Aquant outlines some key findings from their Service Intelligence Benchmark Report...
The bottom quarter of the workforce costs organizations 80% more than the top quarter. That’s according to the newly released 2020 Service Intelligence Benchmark Report from Aquant. The data reveals that a knowledge gap in the workforce is a major contributor to higher-than-average service costs and service delivery hurdles.
The report, which analyzed actual service records from more than 2 million work orders, found that the biggest impact on service costs and performance was directly related to the skill level of the workforce.
When the top 25% of the workforce is overloaded with tasks, called on to solve the most complex service issues, and still asked to mentor junior staff, that imbalance is reflected in high attrition, low morale, and poor service. And, the Knowledge Gap is Expensive!
Service leaders are navigating a shifting industry. They are juggling multiple challenges that are exacerbating already-existing workforce gaps, including:
This shift has left service leaders struggling to upskill junior employees and erase the knowledge gap that exists between the highest performing 25% of the workforce, and everyone else.
By better understanding workforce performance, and adopting tools that erase the knowledge gap between employees, service organizations will be able to quickly scale performance and reduce costs.
Here’s why. The report found a close relationship between workforce skill level and service performance.
Read the full 2020 Service Intelligence Benchmark Report at Aquant.io to learn about cost-effective methods to quickly upskill the workforce, improve KPIs, and drive rapid ROI across the entire service team.
The report measures:
* All data was anonymized
Jan 28, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation • FieldAware
Marc Tatarsky, SVP Marketing, FieldAware, reflects on the findings of a major research project undertaken in partnership with Field Service News and asks whether the trends that study appears to reveal will become a permanent part of the new normal...
Marc Tatarsky, SVP Marketing, FieldAware, reflects on the findings of a major research project undertaken in partnership with Field Service News and asks whether the trends that study appears to reveal will become a permanent part of the new normal as we look to a post-pandemic world...
As we come to the end of a tumultuous 2020, the speed of change in the field service sector continues to evolve at what feels like a speed of light pace. And the change is still happening - more so than many of us would prefer or could have predicted.
While there is an overarching optimism in the field service sector, the world is still grappling with getting past recovering from the pandemic and working to move into a full restoration mode.
With vaccines on the horizon, the focus is on establishing the new operating normal and paving the way for growth.
At FieldAware, we look to stay in tune with customer needs and market trends. As I reflect on our market view through 2018-19, we saw early adopters and visionaries defining the “what” of new best-in-class services and offerings such as IoT and remote assist.
As we initially encountered the global pandemic in March, we engaged in a research program with the late Bill Pollock, from Strategies for Growth, to establish a baseline of the impact the crisis would have on these services. As the pandemic’s magnitude continued to evolve, our research immediately shifted focus to measure the crisis’s repercussions and establish a Year Zero/New Normal benchmark.
The ripple effects have been more pronounced and long-lasting than anyone initially anticipated.
Yet, our research with Field Service News revealed optimism biased towards growth with three quarters (76%) of field service companies focusing on growth rather than survival.
This optimism appears to be bolstered by accelerated investment in digitization and the enablement of the best-in-class services required to deliver essential services in the new operating environment.
As my colleague, Steve Mason, COO at FieldAware, likes to say, “Gradually…Then Suddenly”, referring to a great Hemingway quote from the classic novel, The Sun Also Rises. This sediment perfectly surmises how several critical best-in-class services have rapidly become the “New Normal.”
Sure, the pandemic has accelerated our need or faster adoption, but we have been plodding away at the core components of these best-in-class services like remote assist for years. As a workforce, we have been getting comfortable with remote interactions, building a knowledge library of best practices and likely responses, and mobile advancements have helped to shepherd these advanced technologies into our everyday lives and activities.
What the pandemic did was to mandate remote-work commonplace for EVERYONE, not just those that were early adopters/visionaries. And so, it is, suddenly, best-in-class services like remote monitoring/assist and IoT sensing are now the “New Normal.” Not just some nice-to-have if you have time to tap into it, but a staple in today’s field service environment.
Marc Tatarsky, SVP Marketing, FieldAware, reflects on the findings of a major research project undertaken in partnership with Field Service News and asks whether the trends that study appears to reveal will become a permanent part of the new normal as we look to a post-pandemic world...
I don’t think this is a fad at all. There is no question that physical intervention as the first line of defense for field service will be a thing of the past even once COVID passes. However, I think the emphasis on hybrid is key to its longevity and success.
Our research indicated that almost half (48%) of respondents stated that they believe their customers will still perceive a greater value in face-to-face service calls, while only 13% believed that their customers would see greater value in remote services alone and just over a third (39%) state that they believe their customers will see equal value in both (fig 1)
So, the challenge remains, if a hybrid-model is the New Normal, how do we make it accessible and affordable to organizations of all sizes?
These shifting trends led FieldAware down a path towards a new approach to thinking about and package our platform as a field service hub. The hub approach involves expanding and strengthening the depth of our solution’s “core” field service capabilities to create a system-of-record for all field service activities (robust technician enablement, advanced scheduling & optimization, workforce management, etc.).
It also requires broader exploiting our open API/architecture to expand back-office connectivity and build embedded capabilities to tap into best-of-breed technologies to easily and affordably provide access to these best-in-class solutions.
The service hub is a different approach. It enables service providers to establish new best-in-class service delivery models by building upon the digital field service infrastructure that FieldAware provides.
This is achieved by enabling best-of-breed specialist point solutions to be quickly and affordably integrated into the service hub to form an integral part of a new service delivery model workflow. Providing field service providers the ability to quickly ramp-up or expand their service delivery capabilities to meet new market demands.
As Kris Oldland wrote in our study summary, “We truly are on the cusp of a new era of field service, our industry has slowly been building the blocks of evolution across the last decade. COVID-19 has simply put us all on the same page.”
The infrastructure for connected service has been built. The thinking for advanced services has been considered. Now, as a result of necessity, the digital transformation required has been accelerated.
This powerful combination of events and solution evolution paves the way for the success of a hybrid model that delivers value and helps drive additional growth.
Jan 28, 2021 • Features • Michael Blumberg • Digital Transformation • Covid-19 • Remote Services
In this article for Field Service News, Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group, discusses the "new normal" expectation for field service organisations to offer a proactive, connected, and remote service...
In this article for Field Service News, Michael Blumberg, President of Blumberg Advisory Group, discusses the "new normal" expectation for field service organisations to offer a proactive, connected, and remote service...
Over the last 12 months, Field Service Organizations (FSOs) have had to rethink how they deliver service due to the restrictions of COVID-19. With the limited ability to provide onsite, face-to-face service 100% of the time, FSOs needed to implement new processes and procedures to ensure their employees' and customers' health and safety. One of the developments which emerged was the concept of a Hybrid-Service Delivery model. This model, fueled by remote monitoring and IoT technology, enables FSOs to resolve a significant amount of service issues remotely through enhanced triage and troubleshooting capabilities while improving technicians' ability to quickly resolve onsite service issues if an onsite dispatch is needed.
The ability to offer and deliver this proactive, connected, and remote service, which had once been the domain of best-practice companies, has become the "new normal" expectation for FSOs of all sizes. Covid-19 may have been the catalyst for rapid change, but the foundation for these offerings has been building for many years. At issue, several macro-environmental trends have been fueling investment in the building blocks necessary for delivering a proactive, connected service experience. These trends include the proliferation of IoT devices, Moore's Law, and Servitization.
The significance of COVID-19 was that it forced FSOs to adopt and apply the building blocks of Hybrid Service much sooner than expected as a matter of survival. Indeed, a recent study by Field Service News reveals that 67% of respondent companies surveyed have implemented these types of solutions because of COVID. However, many FSO industry participants found themselves quickly cobbling together these solutions to deal with the immediacy of the situation. This has led to gaps in capabilities within and between FSOs. The industry now faces the challenge of filling in these gaps by systemizing and scaling these capabilities and providing access to FSOs of all sizes.
The ability to capture and monitor data from assets in the field is central to the Hybrid Service Delivery model. By collecting, monitoring, and analyzing this data, FSOs can anticipate future service events and reduce face-to-face onsite visits. It enables FSOs to take the appropriate preventive actions to resolve problems, often remotely before they occur, which extends the life of their customer's equipment. Lastly, they can generate new revenue sources through an Uptime as a Service (UtaaS) offering. Through a UtaaS offering, FSOs can meet their objectives of cost reduction, service excellence, and revenue growth. These objectives will remain central to FSO strategies in the new normal. To provide UtaaS, FSOs must have a few basic building blocks in place, including but not limited to
Achieving this outcome presents a challenge for a significant segment of the Field Service Industry. Per research from Field Service New, three quarters (76%) of respondents can read data from assets in the field, but only two-thirds can view it in real-time. The net effect is that only 51% of respondents have this combined capability. While 72% can utilize the data as part of the triage process, slightly more than one-third (36%) possess all three abilities. In other words, there is a large gap in capabilities between FSOs who have fully enabled UtaaS solutions in place and those who don't. Only a small segment of the market has all the building blocks and can deliver a complete Hybrid Service experience.
Fortunately, macro trends such as Moore's Law combined with cloud computing and advancements in telemetry have made it possible for SMB and Mid-Sized companies to implement many of the foundational components for UtaaS solutions in recent years. The technology has become more affordable, easier, and efficient to deploy. It also helps that software vendors have made a strategic decision to target these market participants.
Field Aware, a developer of Field Service Management software, and ThingTech, a supplier of IoT -based Asset Management solution, are two such vendors who have teamed up to deliver UtaaS solutions accessible to organizations of all sizes. Their combined solution provides a perspective of what to look for in a best-in-breed, UtaaS solution.
The UtaaS solution from FieldAware and ThingTech enables companies to gather data from any asset type in the field. The data is processed in real-time and produces alerts, reports, and notifications based on user-configured rules and workflows. Based on these rules and workflows, automation within the FieldAware service hub triggers the appropriate action. For example, submit a work order, dispatch a technician, or schedule a preventative maintenance visit. Once the service event is completed, the technician can document his actions and update the system through his mobile device.
M.E.S.O., a company that provides Fleet Maintenance on capital intensive, mobile equipment found in multiple industries (i.e., Oil & Gas, Construction, Utilities, etc.), needed a solution that could provide a line of sight to the assets in the field, facilitate high levels of technician efficiency and productivity, and streamline back-office operations. M.E.S.O. was able to achieve these results by implementing the UtaaS solution described above.
By implementing this solution, M.E.S.O. can provide its customers with a predictive and proactive solution that increases uptime, reduces maintenance and repair expenditures, and extends the equipment lifecycle. This solution also saves M.E.S.O. an enormous amount of time. Backoffice productivity has improved by a factor of five without hiring additional staff. The decision to provide Uptime as a Service and invest in the has had positive results for M.E.S.O. The management team views it as a huge competitive advantage, and it plays a central role in the company's sales & marketing message.
Read Michael’s latest white paper, Uptime as a Service: Driving Service Excellence, Cost Reduction, and Growth in the New Normal, to obtain more insights and perspectives on this topic. Click Here
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