US telecoms giant AT&T recently shared that the company has been using drones to inspect conditions of its 65,000 cellular towers across the US.
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Mar 09, 2017 • video • Features • AT&T • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • Mobile Masts • Phantom 4 • Cellular Towers • DJI • drones • field service
US telecoms giant AT&T recently shared that the company has been using drones to inspect conditions of its 65,000 cellular towers across the US.
The challenge is daunting. There are millions of cell towers in the US alone, all of which need to be inspected on a regular basis.
To begin with their is the genuine issue that these cell towers tend to make very attractive birdhourses. In fact cell towers offer convenient and reasonably safe homes for nesting birds. To make even more complicated, according to US federal environmental regulations, if the nesting species happens to be endangered, then teams must leave them be.
No a mast tower inspector’s life is not an easy one.
All this is a headache for telecoms firms and inspection providers alike, simply because current processes are so laborious.
Until a technician can get a close look at the tower, there’s also little indication as to what problem they may need to fix. This means multiple trips, increased downtime and elevated personal risk.
Of course, until a technician can get a close look at the tower, there’s also little indication as to what problem they may need to fix. This means multiple trips, increased downtime and elevated personal risk.
Drones, with their high-resolution cameras, can serve as a unique tool to provide an initial inspection for the technicians.
The majority of inspections are routine and don’t require a technician to scale the tower. The ability to do this remotely with a drone greatly increases the operational efficiency of the service providers, allowing them to identify towers with issues more quickly and minimising the amount of time they spend hanging from ropes from the side of towers.
Cell towers are technically sensitive equipment, with lots of wires, transmitters, and distribution boxes.
One commonly cited concern related to using drones for inspecting towers is the risk of a collision that cuts wires or damaging equipment. Deploying a drone with obstacle avoidance, such as DJI’s Phantom 4, along with an experienced operator are vital to safe operations.
Interestingly, DJI recently partnered with US service operator Measure Aero, a specialist in technical inspection work.
It will be interesting to see how the telecoms industry will be deploying drones over the next 12 -18 months.
With a variety of use cases and substantial safety and efficiency gains to be had, it is hard not to imagine adoption, and business, will be brisk.
Note: This content first featured on www.dji.com
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Dec 08, 2016 • video • Coresystems • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • IoT • Uncategorized
Field service management software providers Coresystems showed us a glimpse into the not too distant future, bringing together field service and consumer IoT.
Field service management software providers Coresystems showed us a glimpse into the not too distant future, bringing together field service and consumer IoT.
As smart homes become more prevalent one of the key hubs leading the way in integrating a variety of disparate smart devices is Amazon's Echo which features voice controlled personal assistant Alexa.
Commands such as 'Alexa switch off the downstairs lights' or 'Alexa turn the heating up to 68 degrees' allow the Echo to control the heating lighting, security and much more in your smart home.
And now as demonstrated in this video by Philipp Emmenegger, Deputy CEO and Head of Sales EMEA with Coresystems Alexa can schedule a field service call for you as well.
In the brief demonstration above, filmed at Field Service Europe held in Amsterdam last week, Emmenegger is able to schedule a service call on the day of his choice simply by telling Alexa "Alexa, tell coresystems to schedule a service call'.
After a brief exchange a day is confirmed and we can see the appointment added into a dispatch schedule.
Of course, further development would be required to make this a solution rather than just a gimmick, for example identifying exactly what it is I want the engineer to come and fix, however, it is an interesting glimpse into how we could be arranging our field service schedules in the not so distant future...
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Nov 30, 2016 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • Video
Prankul Middha, Head of Utilities & Strategic Partnerships at VideoYourNotes explains how they are accelerating productivity, improving compliance and boosting customer satisfaction for Global clients through utilising smart, storyboarded video...
Prankul Middha, Head of Utilities & Strategic Partnerships at VideoYourNotes explains how they are accelerating productivity, improving compliance and boosting customer satisfaction for Global clients through utilising smart, storyboarded video notes...
For thousands of years the written word has been used to communicate the full range of human emotions: love; hate; longing; disappointment. This skill sets us apart from other life forms.
However, writing clear, unambiguous text requires time and experience. Time is something that is in short supply in our hectic working lives. It can be a real challenge for field services representatives when time pressured due to multiple jobs. This pressure to be productive can actually undermine efficiency through incomplete communications. Clear precise communication is difficult, under pressure it’s very difficult.
Field services suppliers are increasingly looking to digital tools to help solve this problem leading to the adoption of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Field Service Management (FSM) systems.
These systems are designed to create a unified place for customer data allowing the engineer or inspector to capture information as text or pictures into the customer record so that the correct resources and parts can be allocated to resolve the problem.
We speak at 150 words per minute (wpm) but type on a laptop at 40 wpm and into a mobile device at a mere 20 wpm. That’s 7.5x less productive than speaking. Still images can also be problematic in handling a complex problem.
Even Winston Churchill once apologised for writing a long letter because he didn’t have time to write a short one! This can lead to higher failure rates and customer dissatisfaction – a situation that will be challenged further as more and more hand-held devices are introduced for text data capture.
We speak at 150 words per minute (wpm) but type on a laptop at 40 wpm and into a mobile device at a mere 20 wpm. That’s 7.5x less productive than speaking. Still images can also be problematic in handling a complex problem.
These very real challenges have led to CRM or FSM systems not delivering all the productivity gains they should be able to due to the poor quality of data in the system.
This is an issue we first helped overcome in sales organisations who faced similar data quality and compliance challenges for their mobile field sales teams.
Our SmartVideoNotes, which are short, structured and secure 30-60second videos are now being used in over 35 countries globally and in 8 languages. Leading companies like P&G, Cognizant, Unilever, Vodafone, etc. have discovered the power of smart, structured video to help them to make better and faster decisions.
Our solution could be deployed in an even more transformative manner to the challenges faced by field services providers. SmartVideoNotes capture the problem quickly (30-60seconds), show the real situation and can be shared with the right people or appropriate systems instantly.
Smart tagging of the data captured through speech to text recognition allows for valuable reports to be simply and quickly generated.
All this is done with the highest levels of security on systems that meet banking level security audits. Indeed SmartVideoNotes have just been awarded Cyber Essentials Certification.
Alan Harrison, Non Exec Director and previously Group CIO of a major Water Utility summarised it beautifully to me:
Video is the single most powerful communication media, 5x as effective as any other media. Your organisation could now be harnessing this power to reduce failure rates, increase productivity and efficiency.
Video is the single most powerful communication media, 5x as effective as any other media. Your organisation could now be harnessing this power to reduce failure rates, increase productivity and efficiency.
In a recent study of video by a major field services organisation, 87.5% of users used SmartVideoNotes and this resulted in a 50% time saving compared to completing their normal processes. Further, there was significant customer interest in our video solution and field services engineers reported greater customer confidence and improved perceptions of service.
Video into your workflow or CRM has the power to transform your field services teams today, not just in compliance, productivity and customer experience but imagine its power in Health & Safety.
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Sep 15, 2016 • News • fleet technology • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service
New findings from Juniper Research reveal that the automotive head-up display market will exceed 16 million installed units by the end of 2021, with the market anticipated to expand fourfold during the forecast period 2016-2021.
New findings from Juniper Research reveal that the automotive head-up display market will exceed 16 million installed units by the end of 2021, with the market anticipated to expand fourfold during the forecast period 2016-2021.
The new research, Automotive HUDs: Innovations, Strategies & Leaders 2016-2021, found that the market will be driven by increased adoption in mass-market vehicles, with growth boosted by aftermarket HUD sales.
Juniper believes that the market will begin to accelerate in 2017 as more OEMs integrate HUDs into their medium segment cars and predicts that around 1 in 8 new vehicles will come with an OEM-fitted HUD by 2021.
AR-HUDs Promise to Transform the Market
AR (Augmented Reality) is the most exciting advance in HUD innovation with navigation and ADAS safety warnings being the biggest opportunities. The availability of sophisticated AR content could be a game changer leading to an upswing in HUD installations if drivers perceive value to the technology.
However, cost and technical challenges remain which, coupled with production delays, mean that AR-HUDs will account for less than 6% of the OEM HUD market by 2021.
Prioritising Information Critical to Safe HUD Design
As more content is added, there is a danger of information overload for the driver, particularly in the case of smartphone-based aftermarket HUDs, where vendors seem keen to add infotainment-type content in a bid to make their products look as appealing as possible to potential customers.
“At present, there is a legal void with respect to what type of content should or should not be displayed on HUDs”,said research author Gareth Owen. “The NHTSA is currently studying HUD displays and plans to issue guidelines soon which could hit aftermarket HUD sales in the coming years.”
Other key findings include:
- Growth in the automotive HUD market could be impacted by AR glasses, which could reduce demand for HUDs, particularly in lower cost vehicles.
- Juniper anticipates that AR-HUDs could replace the centre-dash stack in the long term.
The report forms part of Juniper’s ongoing analysis of Connected Cars & Telematics. A complimentary whitepaper, ‘Head-up Displays ~ The Road Ahead’, is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full research.
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Jul 28, 2016 • News • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • MIcrolise • driverless cars • fleet
More than 33% of transport industry professionals do not believe autonomous vehicles will work, according to findings published recently in the Microlise Transport Conference post event report.
More than 33% of transport industry professionals do not believe autonomous vehicles will work, according to findings published recently in the Microlise Transport Conference post event report.
The statistics, covered in full in the dossier which has been released today, were captured during interactive voting on questions at what is now the largest road transport conference in Europe, attended by more than 1,000 delegates.
The report goes further than last year, by providing an in depth view of the road transport industry in 2016 on a range of key issues, with responses broken down by sector, age, job position and gender.
The findings tell us that the industry is still not sold on the potential of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles – despite many experts predicting them on our roads in the not too distant future.
“The findings tell us that the industry is still not sold on the potential of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles – despite many experts predicting them on our roads in the not too distant future. It’s also interesting to note that industry support for leaving the EU aligns with last week’s referendum result.”
Despite a majority giving their support for a leave vote, when questioned about the EU, 43% said that they felt leaving would have a negative effect on the haulage industry.
Alongside a lack of faith in the EU and autonomous vehicles, the statistics also show that 84% believe the Government’s support for the transport industry is unchanged since the Conservatives came to power. More than 58% of delegates feel the situation in Calais has gotten worse in the last year.
“Standing at the podium I was struck by an audience defined by its reasonable views, moderate politics, inclusive attitudes and tenacious work ethic,” Conference Chair Quentin Willson commented as part of his foreword which is published in full in the report.
The date of next year’s Microlise Transport Conference has been announced as 17 May and it will again be held at The Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
To download the 2016 post conference report, which includes a recap of each session; statistics from the answers to questions put to delegates and analysis on the trends behind the numbers go to www.microlise.com/mtc2016report.
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Jul 13, 2016 • News • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • M2M • machine to machine
Berg Insight estimates that global cellular M2M module shipments increased by 19.4 percent in 2015 to a new record level of 96.0 million. A somewhat higher growth rate is expected for 2016.
Berg Insight estimates that global cellular M2M module shipments increased by 19.4 percent in 2015 to a new record level of 96.0 million. A somewhat higher growth rate is expected for 2016.
Until 2020, shipments of cellular M2M devices are forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.7 percent to reach 256.0 million units. East Asia, North America and Western Europe were the main geographical markets in 2015, accounting for around 75 percent of the total demand. The regions are similar in size measured by volume.
“Annual module revenues for the three largest market players Sierra Wireless, Gemalto and Telit increased by 12.5 percent to US$ 1.12 billion, with the total market value reaching approximately US$ 1.6 billion
These new standards are designed to be less complex to limit power consumption and are priced more favourably to address the mass market and make it viable to connect entirely new applications.
The results of Berg Insight’s latest cellular M2M module vendor market share assessment show that the three largest module vendors have 72 percent of the market in terms of revenues. “Annual module revenues for the three largest market players Sierra Wireless, Gemalto and Telit increased by 12.5 percent to US$ 1.12 billion, with the total market value reaching approximately US$ 1.6 billion,” says Johan Fagerberg, CEO at Sweden-based M2M/IoT analyst firm Berg Insight.
Sierra Wireless leads M2M module revenues, followed by Telit and Gemalto. SIMCom Wireless leads in shipments for the first time in 2015, but is only in fourth place in terms of revenues.
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Jun 28, 2016 • News • future of field service • PTC • IoT • Software and Apps • software and apps
PTC has introduced two new smart, IoT-based connected service solutions: Remote Service and Connected Service Parts Management. Both solutions leverage the company's ThingWorx IoT platform to help organisations transform the way they execute service...
PTC has introduced two new smart, IoT-based connected service solutions: Remote Service and Connected Service Parts Management. Both solutions leverage the company's ThingWorx IoT platform to help organisations transform the way they execute service for connected products, optimising decisions for better service delivery.
They are integral components of PTC’s roadmap for organisations adopting a strategy for smart, connected service.
It helps them redefine their service models to generate unprecedented value for their customers and organisation. The service journey entails three steps:[ordered_list style="decimal"]
- Understand – Make smarter decisions by analysing service and product data in real-time
- Advance – Differentiate your service offering by improving and expediting the way products are serviced
- Outperform – Completely redefine value for customers and the service organization with new offerings and business models.
[/ordered_list]"Many organisations struggle to transform their service environment and desire to take advantage of IoT and the value that can be gained from the data streaming from connected equipment and devices,” says Steve Morandi, senior vice president, Service Lifecycle Management, PTC. “PTC’s connected service solutions help organisations successfully navigate this transformation by optimising their existing service models and creating new value-added offerings. With Remote Service and Connected Service Parts Management solutions, organisations can analyse service and product data in real-time, differentiate service offerings, and improve the way products are serviced.”
Remote Service enables service and support technicians to remotely identify, diagnose, and resolve issues, while continuously monitoring key performance parameters in connected equipment. Remote Service helps service organisations avoid equipment downtime and unscheduled service events enabling organizations to reduce service costs and improve customer service.
Connected Service Parts Management enables service organizations to utilise data directly from connected assets to more accurately forecast and plan service parts demand. Leveraging the power of the ThingWorx IoT platform, Connected Service Parts Management captures asset location and performance information and feeds that data to the Service Parts Management solution. By collecting, transforming, and organizing data reported directly by equipment in the field, organisations are able to improve service levels and increase equipment availability.
These smart connected service solutions help companies improve their service revenue and profitability, competitive advantage, and product reliability.
"In delivering better solutions and outcomes to customers, connectivity is a must for service organisations," said Sumair Dutta, chief customer officer, The Service Council. "A connected infrastructure can make a service business more predictive in its service relationships, more efficient in its reactive service delivery, and more responsive in the development of new services that are needed by customers."
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Jun 20, 2016 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • ClickSoftware • Cloud computing • data privacy
Powerful, flexible and scalable cloud computing technology is opening up multiple new opportunities for businesses to improve customer service, develop better ways for customers to -serve themselves and introduce new technologies more quickly and...
Powerful, flexible and scalable cloud computing technology is opening up multiple new opportunities for businesses to improve customer service, develop better ways for customers to -serve themselves and introduce new technologies more quickly and easily. However, the ready availability of business applications via the cloud has also raised the issue of data security and how to keep information about people and the businesses they work in, secure and private at every level.
In Part One we looked at how cloud is an enabler for field service organisations and in Part Two how technology is facilitating enhanced centralised control and better people management and communications.
In this third and final instalment of our coverage of the recent debate on “Cloud and Mobility: The next frontier for Field Service Management” which was organised by ClickSoftware, we’ll consider in more detail the most important ways in which technology can improve overall customer service and how organisations should deal with the issues of security and privacy.
The debate was chaired by Forrester’s senior analyst, Paul Miller, with a panel including: Tim Faulkner, Senior Vice President at ClickSoftware; Dr Carsten Sorensen, Associate Professor in Digital Innovation at the London School of Economics; Katelyn Burrill, Product Marketing Manager at ClickSoftware; and Phil Wainewright, Chair at Euro Cloud UK.
Self-serving customers
One popular trend for improving overall levels of customer service, is to offer new technologies to customers that allow them to “self-serve”, the idea being that customers have a faster and more tailored experience which costs the business less to deliver. But where is the competitive advantage and business vale of providing customer service in this way, if everything is being done by the customer themselves and the suppliers have no opportunities to engage directly with their customers?
One particularly interesting example to consider here is the case of energy smart meters. Smart meters monitor energy consumption in real-time and automatically send electronic meter readings to providers. While the devices improve operations for utilities companies, providing real-time usage data that helps them to forecast demand and also help their customers to minimise energy usage and save money, once smart meters are installed, the suppliers never need to visit houses and offices to take meter readings.
“In the smart meter world, the biggest challenge that utilities suppliers worry about is how to roll out the smart meters. But finding new ways to maintain customer loyalty and revenue should also be looked at as a high priority activity because technicians are going to be in the customers..."
“You have to find things people want and talk to them about it when you’re there,” explains the LSE's Dr Carsten Sorensen. “We go to fix or install stuff. If you look at utilities companies, they’re not silly. Once they do arrive, it’s all about upselling.”
However, Phil Wainwright, of Euro Cloud UK, argues that physical presence is only a very small aspect of the opportunities available to business to interact with customers.
“A huge part of a good brand experience and competitive advantage in the modern world is minimising the amount of frustrating interaction the customer has with individuals not equipped to deal with their problems. It’s all about delivering competitive advantage by delivering good quality customer service through any medium.”
Human interaction
So what happens when we reach that stage where, in many or most cases, the customer is in charge of managing the services themselves, through mobile apps, smart meters and similar associated technologies? In a situation where devices pass information directly back to a central location, there is less interaction. If most of the information that vendors have comes from customers, where does the competitive advantage come from and where do suppliers offer value if everything is done by the users or their devices?
"The other clear opportunity for field services organisations rolling out smart devices and mobile apps is from utilisation of the considerable amounts of highly valuable data being generated..."
The other clear opportunity for field services organisations rolling out smart devices and mobile apps is from utilisation of the considerable amounts of highly valuable data being generated. So how might they start do to clever things with this data? One obviously practical and impactful use of data is in getting a better understanding of each individual customer’s behaviour – what they are using, how they use it, when they use it for example.
“The other is being able to predict what kind of approach you’ll need to take to address any issue based on job type and history of that job with that customer,” Faulkner explains. “Building in this kind of predictive analysis for parts is a direction that ClickSoftware is taking now in our R&D team. There’s a mix there. You can automate it and/or provide decision-making capability. And you also need to use human beings who have personal experience and can understand the context and add value. Because an automated decision can sometimes be a wrong one.”
Data privacy
Finally, when dealing with apps or smart devices in homes that are collecting a lot of data, there is the issue of privacy and data security to be addressed. What happens, for example, with the data being collected by companies that can effectively tell where you are and where you’ve been, when you are in or out, what you are doing and what you might like to do?
As Paul Miller, Senior Analyst at Forrester, points out, even while the likelihood of that data being abused is very low, “the customer has a nagging doubt that bad people or Big Brother will do something with the data. How will a field service organisation respond to that?”
Gauging the best response is largely down to having a good understanding of the trade-off customers are willing to make between privacy and convenience. “Companies need to work out their push-pull line,” says Sorensen, “as it becomes increasingly complex and risky to manage all that data.”
The bottom line is that data privacy is a huge focus, for governments, legislators and brands alike. Plus, in addition to looking at privacy from a consumer perspective, it’s also insightful to consider the ways in which field service software providers deal with issues of data privacy from the point of view of their business customers.
"No-one wants to be called at four in the morning with an upsell proposition when they are on holiday on the other side of the world!"
Many of ClickSoftware’s customers are household brand names and they take issues of data security and customer privacy very seriously and work through it diligently as Faulkner explains. “They have specialist teams that work on security topics, and they have big legal teams. It’s about education, about trust that the brand has transparency.”
It really matters to consumers and to businesses what data people have on them and what they use it for. Companies need to work out their push-pull approach. No-one wants to be called at four in the morning with an upsell proposition when they are on holiday on the other side of the world!
What's often discussed in the media is that everyone should have a social contract with their suppliers. It's not just 'we give you X and you pay us Y', it's a back and forth negotiation which should be based on situation and context. As individuals we can be hypocritical in terms of data privacy, when it works for us and we get a reward, we're all for it but when something goes wrong, we claim that we didn’t agree to the terms.
The field service professionals can be a key part of the evolution. They are there, speaking to the customer and can provide real feedback on what the customer does and doesn’t need, what went well and what topics of discussion, goods and services the customer liked and engaged with. Empowering the people on the ground to decide how they interact and feedback will go a long way towards assuaging any concerns about how personal and business data is being used.
Training engineers to use personal interactions as an opportunity to be brand ambassadors, looking for upsell and feedback opportunities is what all field service companies should be aiming for.
Through discussions with both academic and industry experts, this debate looked at how cloud and mobility will impact the field service industry and help businesses achieve their goals both now and in the future. The three-part series covered why cloud is an enabler for field service businesses, how technology is allowing central control and improving employee management and, with this final part of the series, looking at how technology can improve customer service and the issue of privacy.
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Jun 08, 2016 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • future of field service • ClickSoftware • Cloud computing
Field service management is a key part of the customer experience. Meeting the engineers or technicians despatched to their house is often the end-user’s first and only human engagement with the company. Cloud and mobility technology is helping to...
Field service management is a key part of the customer experience. Meeting the engineers or technicians despatched to their house is often the end-user’s first and only human engagement with the company. Cloud and mobility technology is helping to improve the flexibility and collaboration between central control systems and individual fieldworkers, ensuring customers experience the best possible service and field service professionals become brand ambassadors, as well as technical problem solvers.
In Part One of this three part series on the next Frontier for Field Service Management, our panel considered the fundamental importance of the power and scalability of cloud computing and the ways in which it is revolutionising field service management. In Part Two they discuss the importance of striking a balance between central control and individual initiative.
The debate was hosted by ClickSoftware and chaired by Forrester’s senior analyst, Paul Miller. Joining him were Tim Faulkner, Senior Vice President at ClickSoftware; Dr Carsten Sorensen, Associate Professor in Digital Innovation at London School of Economics; Katelyn Burrill, Product Marketing Manager at ClickSoftware; and Phil Wainewright, Chair at Euro Cloud UK.
Central control and individual collaboration
In order to provide the quality and consistent levels of service that today’s customers demand, businesses still need to retain a degree of control centrally.
“You need to deliver on promises and provide a consistent level of service and quality that the customer wants,” explained Tim Faulkner. “You also need to allow for improvisation and tools that allow the technician to make decisions on whether or not to replace a part there and then or call a buddy to help.”
You also need to allow for improvisation and tools that allow the technician to make decisions whether or not to replace a part there and then or call a buddy to help.
Faulkner explains how ingenious adoptions of new cloud and mobile technologies allows FSM companies to better utilise their existing workforce, putting both technology and a greater decision-making autonomy in the hands of individuals.
It is exactly this enabling ability of cloud technology that helps networks or companies co-ordinate more widely distributed, flexible and fast-response supply chains, according to the LSE's Dr. Carsten Sorensen.
“The 21st century is about helping individuals and companies alike to adapt to emerging needs, to react immediately when something goes wrong or identify where there is room for improvement,” says Sorensen. He thinks that the cloud is fundamentally transforming the way organisations do business.
The reality for FSM businesses is that workers out in the field are becoming increasingly digitally enabled with mobile devices of their own (and supplied by their employers) of various kinds. And those organisations that are able to capitalise on this new way of communicating, swiftly and wisely, are set to benefit.
The UK police - how the operate like Uber
Perhaps one of the best examples of advanced users of field service technology in the UK to date is the police service.[quote float="right"]One of the best examples of advanced users of field service technology in the UK to date is the police service.
“The police don’t talk about mobile technology,” Sorensen explains. “For decades they’ve talked about mobile data. The whole point is instead of having a very localised arrangement – where somebody calls a police station and they dispatch on a two-way radio system that somebody should go somewhere - now they operate, in principle, like Uber. They did ten years ago and they still do now.
“Ordinary police officers have a queue of incidents and they choose one like a customer in a taxi rank. Whenever you try to solve one problem, you may have other problems and you need to balance what everyone is aware of. Fundamentally, you can transfer the way work is done.”
So are there lessons to be drawn from this police model for businesses to learn from?
“With most large companies, you have to spend hours on the phone to get in touch with a human being,” adds Sorensen. “For a lot of companies, their competitive advantage will come from having a civilised human being to talk to you.”
The police case study is particularly interesting to ClickSoftware's Katelyn Burrill, because issues around automating, picking and choosing jobs are things that she deals with a lot with her customers.
“Automating that process is one of the huge benefits that companies achieve,” says Burrill. “It’s managing the change that these field workers go through when a new technology is implemented. If they don’t understand the benefits and just see it as Big Brother managing their day all of a sudden, they won’t manage the technology to the best of its ability.”
The lesson here is that field workers often have their own ways of operating that have worked well enough for them for many years, so it's vital that they don’t think that their own discretion and autonomy is somehow being removed from them.
“That’s how projects fail,” says Burrill. “When organisations don’t sell it into them in a strategic manner. They [the field workers] need to be part of the process to organise how you’ll go about changing and what’s acceptable to change.”
After all, the people out there in the field are often a lot smarter about what’s really happening and what needs to happen than the people in head office, who might not understand the bigger picture and certainly can’t see it in real-time.
“Let’s not forget that the field service workforce is already using smart technologies, already sending photos and videos on their smartphones to ask: how do we get this done?” notes Phil Wainewright, Chair of Euro Cloud UK.
“You need to build a more collaborative infrastructure that takes advantage of how things really work on the ground.”
In part three of the debate we move on to consider ways in which technology can improve customer service and we address issues like privacy and security.
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