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The future of field service is going to be very different when the Smart Glasses revolution finally arrives says Pristine IO CEO Kyle Samani...

When Google announced the retirement of their Glass Explorer program some corners of the worldwide media denounced this as an admission of failure.

Despite huge early attention surrounding the smart glasses, the product had never quite lived up to the hyperbole and a growing number of less than sympathetic reports featuring Glass (not least to mention the widespread adoption of the newly coined term Glasshole) had meant that a shadow was being cast across Google’s latest centre piece.

For the naysayers the closing of the public beta Explorer program was a final nail in the coffin for Glass. In fact the truth remains very different.

In fact taking Glass out of the famous Google X research and development facility and moving the division into the main Google HQ was anything but an admission of failure. Actually it was a statement of intent – as was putting Tony Fadell (the creator of the original iPod and the Nest smart thermostat) at the helm.

 

What Google have done however, is take a step back from the world of the consumer and the increasingly blurred lines of fashion and technology and turned far more of it’s attention to the world of business.

An obvious, yet intelligent move given that a) the potential application of Smart Glasse is massive within industry – especially in field service and b) no one product has truly been able to meet the needs of and exploit the massive potential of wearables in field service.

Of course having the hardware is great, but to unleash the real power of such a device we need dedicated apps. For that we need developers that truly understand the audience they are working for.

So Google established the Glass at Work program.

A program where they selected the brightest and the best development companies working on Glass and gave them the support needed to help them flourish.

It’s a select group with only ten certified Glass at Work partners listed by Google currently. One of those companies is Austin based Pristine.io and to find out more about what the next chapter holds for Glass (and other similar products) in field service, we caught up with their CEO Kyle Samani.

The company is young, but they have a strong vision and are also clearly ambitious. “We started Pristine a little under two years ago” Samani begins “I started Pristine in May 2013 because Google announced Glass in February 2013. I just got really excited about the potential of a hands free computer in the workplace and I’ve been doing this full time ever since and having a blast” he adds.

 

Indeed Samani has the credentials to do well. As mentioned in the introduction, an understanding of the end-users that Pristine’s product is designed for is a large factor in their potential success and Samani whose background prior to launching Pristine was in the design and development of EMR systems for healthcare organisations was certainly well placed to step up to the plate

“I studied finance at NYU and I’ve been programming ever since I was a kid. I’ve always been at the cross section of business and technology” Samani explains.

So what led him to launching Pristine? Is it a case of being the right guy at the right time in the right place?

“Pretty much the moment Google announced Glass that’s when I had my Eureka moment – I thought that’s what I’m going to go and do.”

He admits “Someone was going to go out there and make the software to make this thing useful for the enterprise and I was dead set from the moment I saw it that it was going to be me.”

And it certainly seems that Samani has getting things right so far as his fledgling company has rapidly grown in the two years since inception.

Pristine now has over 20 employees and perhaps more importantly over 30 customers. Also whilst a background in medical systems provided a natural opening for Pristine, their customers are not confined to this space.

In a way that somewhat mirror’s Rugged Tablet manufacturer Motion Computing ,whilst they exploited a niche within the healthcare sector, it was soon apparent that within the horizontal sector of field service there lay a far greater prize and this is now a core segment.

 

As Samani explains “Our customer base is pretty broad, it does include healthcare but it also includes a lot of other companies outside of healthcare as well.”

“For example right now we are working with a large manufacturing company that produces conveyor belts, so big heavy industrial machinery, and those guys are seeing a huge amount of potential in the platform. We’re also working with companies now in the auditing space within food production for example.”

He continues outlining the variety of companies that could benefit from adopting Smart Glasses into their work-flow.

“Basically we’re seeing adoption of our technology in any environment where you have heavy equipment that if it’s not functioning, it’s going to effect the profit of the business operation. From lab diagnostics in a hospital to packaging equipment in a factory.”

“We even have one company we are working with in construction and for them a big bottleneck in terms of getting their work done is just getting an architect out on site.”

“So they are using our technology to replace the six hour flight and five hour drive. That’s essentially wasted time and expense for them but now they can have a guy on-site with a pair of smart glasses and an architect dialling in remotely avoiding the wastage”

 

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Check out the next part of this interview where Samani discusses why smart-glasses can improve both field technicians lives and field service companies bottom line plus why the market is about far more than just Google...

 

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Near Field Communications (NFC) as a technology has been around for a fair while yet hasn’t quite got the traction that it could have. However, with Apple introducing NFC albeit in a restricted capacity into the latest iteration of the iPhone the technology could potentially come back in vogue.

This is a good thing as it has the potential to streamline workflow for field service engineers, and NFC tags are a low cost addition to field service technology toolkit.

Here are three quick ways NFC could speed up a field engineers workflow that could easily be written via an android smart device without any need for complex coding.

In the field engineers vehicle.

A tag placed into the dashboard of your field engineer’s vehicle could be written to activate a number of functions on their smart phone. For example it both log the journey start in your dedicated field service apps solution and simultaneously open a routing app.

Combining these two has a double benefit of saving time for the engineer plus by combing the start of your field engineer’s journey with a process that is required for him to make that journey (i.e. routing software), you can ensure logging in won’t be overlooked.

At your clients reception

If you have a regular maintenance contract at a specific client where you know your engineers will be making regular visits you could send that client a tag for them to place on their reception desk.

This way when your engineer arrives and is signing into your clients premises they can tap the NFC tag and automatically log their arrival on site within any dedicated field service management app you may have implemented.

On the device

When your engineer arrives at a device a well placed NFC tag could contain offer access to some key insight into the device he is there to fix.

This could be a link to the most recent maintenance notes and that devices specific history, a web page that holds manuals for the device or even opening up a parts ordering page specific to that device so the engineer can easily access the right parts for that specific device.

 

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Field Service is evolving in front of our eyes. Aly Pinder, Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen looks at what we need to do now to embrace the future...

Many things aren’t as they were for your father or grandfather. Technology moves at such a rapid pace that even I have lost track as to what is the latest and greatest social media platform that has revolutionised the internet, or at least the lives of teenagers.

Even though it is easy to dismiss either end of the technology spectrum – should our business jump at the latest trend or will we save money and heartache by staying the course that was paved by our legacy systems back in the early 2000s?

Both strategies have their faults and may lead to hard times, but I propose there is a middle ground that is necessary for field service.

As much as we would all like to bury our heads in the sand and not accept that the world around us is changing, field service has evolved.

[quote float="left"]Customers expect better service every day, management has seen the light in regard to the value (i.e., profitability) that field service can drive, and our service teams are getting older and are deciding to move on. So why hasn’t field service adapted?

Customers expect better service every day, management has seen the light in regard to the value (i.e., profitability) that field service can drive, and our service teams are getting older and are deciding to move on. So why hasn’t field service adapted?

 

Why are we so reluctant to change as the winds around us continue to sway.

Partially it’s because changing a global network which has become accustomed to doing things a certain way is difficult. Also, no one wants to be wrong, this is our livelihood. But we can no longer sit back and let the rest of the technology world pass the field service industry by as we move in 2015 and beyond.

Not only have customers changed, but almost as importantly the field service technician within your businesses is changing and service leaders must begin to react to keep and hire the next wave of field service heroes. This isn’t easy, but below are three trends which will play a big role in the success of organisations as they move into the future of field service:

Use the tools that make your techs more productive.

As more and more millennials enter the field service workforce, organisations must begin to adapt to their preferences and strengths. In Aberdeen’s recent research report, Emerging Workforce in the Field: Tech-Savvy to Technician (December 2014), the average age of the field worker was 32 years old with approximately one fifth of the workforce under 30.

This isn’t quite a wave of millennials just yet, however a top challenge for many organisations is the ageing workforce and retirement. Why wait to adapt to the changing needs of your workforce?

Despite the (negative) buzz, millennials aren’t that different from previous generations. But they have grown up in an age which they have always had access to the internet and a connected device. They expect to have this capability at work too. Organisations that provide these workers with the latest technology, much of which is moving towards a more consumer look and feel, will have a better chance of hiring the best of the next crop of technicians.

BYOD is not dead in field service.

The wave of excitement for BYOD (bring your own device) has waned a bit since the thoughts of this strategy revolutionising IT. Concerns around security, device proliferation and management, and a decrease in productivity led some organisations to turn away from BYOD.

However, as seen in Aberdeen’s BYOD: A Flood of Devices in the Field report (December 2014), nearly two-thirds of top performing companies currently leverage some level of BYOD within their field service operation.

These top performers found that this strategy had no negative impact on key metrics such as SLA compliance and service margin, while slightly improving employee satisfaction. And as we all know, happy employees make happy customers.

Create the right incentives to drive the right behaviours in field service delivery.

As customer expectations as to what great service is continues to change, the field service team also needs to evolve. No longer is it good enough to just show up within a four or two hour window, resolution is the name of the game for many customers. Furthermore, the way organisations are differentiating in this 21st century economy is through service, and the quality of service being provided.

[quote float="right"]This may seem like marketing or consumer jargon, but even in B2B environments customers have begun to expect a heightened experience and more value-add services.

With this shift scheduling technologies must ensure that the right technician with the right skills and the right service attitude shows up to work with the right customer. This may seem like marketing or consumer jargon, but even in B2B environments customers have begun to expect a heightened experience and more value-add services.

 

This is both a threat, but also an opportunity for the savvy service organisations that adapt to this changing environment and ensures that technicians aren’t only showing up to turn a wrench, but are equipped to solve customer needs.

The field service environment is not stagnant. However, too often organisations work under the mindset that customers will not leave, profitability will continue to grow, and technicians will always do the right thing. The challenge many organisations are facing as we enter 2015 is that the status quo will not be acceptable, and the field service organisation will need to evolve in order to excel.

The opportunity is still great, but the leaders will do well by adapting to the needs of their customers and technicians.

 

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To read Aly Pinder's latest white paper sponsored by Trimble Field Service Management which looks at why Generation Y is a good fit for field service click here

 

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The internet of things (IoT) is fast becoming a field service priority as the revelation that IoT can drastically increase customer satisfaction while reducing costs comes to fruition. IoT has the potential to eliminate unplanned downtime, more accurately meet SLAs, inform product development, and improve business decisions and forecasts when it comes to field service processes. IFS's Tom Bowe takes a look at the challenges being faced by companies looking to embrace this brave new world... 

Adopting IoT technology can change the dynamic of how your service organisation is run and provide vision into future possibilities and opportunities.  None of this is disputed; clearly the benefits of IoT are huge.  But field service organisations still face a myriad of challenges, particularly when it comes to meeting growing customer expectations with new market technology that disrupts internal processes, transfer of knowledge, and more.  How can field service organisations take the challenges of adopting IoT head-on, and achieve an infallible competitive edge?  Here are some suggestions.

Challenge: Lack of a Shared Infrastructure and Common Standards

IoT is actually a complex combination of hardware and software that constitutes a platform for developers and organisations, and the vertical nature of this platform contributes to the fragmentation of its infrastructure (Rachel Kalmar, Forbes 2014). With limited open source platforms, IoT devices are currently installed in their own platforms and ecosystems, which can run up costs and make IoT projects more technically complicated. Additionally the industry has yet to be standardised, including communication protocols and methods.  This makes integrations challenging and can hinder scalability as well.

Solution:

Implement technology that has developed IoT functionality but preferably has not tied itself to a specific platform or IoT vendor.  Solutions with open APIs will allow easy integration with sensors, etc. and will allow you to grow as the industry changes and develops.

Challenge: Data Control and Data Sharing

Large scale adoption of IOT technology is hindered by issues with data control. Decisions around who can access data, especially private data, must be made.  This can be a slippery slope which has yet to be addressed effectively.  With remote sensors and monitoring, there is a need for heightened sensitivity to data control.  This goes for data sharing as well. Since there are currently little to no compliance frameworks to address IoT’s unique issues, partner vetting needs to be even more critical and details about use of transmitted data will need to be clearly laid out.

Solution:

Don’t wait for standards to be fully defined and approved.  Develop your own “standard-inspired” approach by working with your technology vendors on a flexible, OS agnostic pattern and protocol that meets your most important (rev 1) requirements.  Make sure that data auditing is part of your software functionality, and align your IoT with existing company security and privacy demands.  Consider using the AllJoyn framework which is a developing open-source device agnostic IoT standard with the strongest community and downloadable SDK’s. And keep a watchful eye on the top IoT standard competitors including OIC, IIC, Thread (Google) and IEEE (P2413) for ideas, patterns and best practices.

Challenge: Security

The more devices that IoT connects, the greater the risk of malware and breaches.  Devices and sensors are also at risk of being physically comprised.  The latest debate of cloud security also applies here.

Solution:

Work with software vendors that have addressed IoT and cloud security.  Prepare your IT department to keep up with safety and security measures and explore your platform options before implementing.

Challenge: Implementation and Training

Another challenge that field service organisations potentially face in adopting IoT is in the implementation of sensors or other IoT technology.  Will this be a responsibility of your field technicians, or a third party?  Either way, re-education and new training will likely be needed.  This may lead to more upfront costs and internal adoption challenges.

Solution:

Use forecasting and planning software to predict the change in service demand before, during, and after the roll-out of an IoT initiative.  Explore what-if scenarios to see if your current field force can manage an IoT implementation effectively.

According to GE’s Global Innovation Barometer report, 67% of organisations agree that agility and speed in adapting and implementing emerging technologies into their organisation is essential to innovation (Ray Wang, 2014).  Being an early adopter of IoT, especially in field service, opens a world of opportunity in regards to new value creation, business models, and revenue streams.  It will allow your organisation to create new value for customers, bringing the concept of delighting them to a whole other level.

Face newcomer challenges head on, work with vendors that take an open and scalable approach to new technology, and work to make your field service technology nimble.  By doing this, and avoiding a rip and replace mindset, your organisation will be able to reap the intrinsic value of this new technology.

 

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The field service industry has, in previous years, been a subject of concern for having an ageing workforce. However, as the industry continues to evolve, a major trend has been the emergence of young, tech-savvy and collaborative workers writes Trimble Field Service Management's John Cameron

According to Aberdeen Group’s latest report, ‘Emerging Workforce in the field: Tech-savvy to technician’, approximately one-fifth of the current workforce is under 30, with the average age of a field service technician being 32 years old. Field service organisations must therefore recognise what the needs of this new workforce are, in order to keep them for the long haul as well as to attract the next pool of young talent.

Flexibility and Mobility

Technology is recognised as an aid to achieving key strategic objectives. It is therefore important for organisations to understand how the [quote float="left"]Tech-savvy workers don’t want to be tied down by legacy technologies. They want the freedom to engage with the latest advances

influx of young workers use, process and engage with technology. A key factor to consider is flexibility and mobility. Tech-savvy workers don’t want to be tied down by legacy technologies. They want the freedom to engage with the latest advances and utilise technologies they are used to in their personal lives.

 

There has been much debate around ‘Bring Your Own Device’ strategies, where employees have the ability to connect their own technical devices to their company’s network instead of using a device owned by the company. Aberdeen Group’s report found that 62% of the top performing field service organisations have incorporated a BYOD strategy as a result of a more tech-savvy workforce and 43% are more likely to give technicians access to social media and collaborative tools to facilitate knowledge transfer.

Visibility and collaboration

A major characteristic that the emerging field service workforce encompasses is the ability to be collaborative, and this is a trait that will help transform service and the relationship with the customer. Organisations must therefore capitalise on this by developing the collaborative tools needed to help the workforce perform as experts in the field and resolve customer needs quickly.

Collaborative tools, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops offer users the chance to take advantage of mobile apps. Indeed, mobile apps offer technicians the ability to share, store and view job data while out in the field, providing them with a virtual link to the back office. Critical information such as daily tasks, customer histories and billing can be accessed on demand. Furthermore, locations of nearby teammates can be retrieved on a mobile device and a real-time connection provided through social networking, enabling them to seek assistance in order to resolve a problem first-time.

 

Having the tools and capabilities to work more collaboratively, and having access to real-time insight, empowers the workforce to make more strategic decisions. The speed of communication via social and mobile allow them to solve problems more quickly and ensures resolution is not delayed because of lack of information.

Customer service excellence evolves with the emerging worker

It is now widely regarded that customers of today are much more demanding, expecting a quick fix on the first visit and a valued experience as standard. For the field service technician, who is often the only contact a customer will have with the business, there role is therefore more than one of just operational necessity; it is a role of strategic significance.

[quote float ="left"]There is a strong focus on the importance of emotional intelligence as an enabler to deal with the wide variety of changing customer service relationships

As a result, field service organisations seek field workers who have desirable attitudes and attributes for customer service. In particular, there is a strong focus on the importance of emotional intelligence as an enabler to deal with the wide variety of changing customer service relationships. Aberdeen Group found that the top performing field service organisations outperform their peers in regard to retaining the field heroes that they have, but almost as importantly, they are able to find, hire and train the next field service heroes.

 

These top organisations achieve this by capturing as much knowledge from seasoned workers before they retire so that they can pass it on to the up and coming youths of the industry. Indeed, 70 per cent of top performing field service organisations are more likely to provide technicians with a knowledgebase of recorded training videos and images.
 
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In this series we are tackling the topic of end to end field service and exploring the technology options across each stage of the service call lifecycle.

In part one we looked at taking that request, and in part two we focused on getting the right engineer to the right place at the right time.

Last time around we looked at selecting the right hardware for your field engineers and now in this the final feature in this series we look at what considerations should be put in place around the software we put on those devices.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

Tools to do the job  - Software

Having selected the device to empower your field engineers the next step is to select the right mobile software to make the most of that hardware.

Whilst there has been great strides forward with cross platform HTML5 applications a strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).

A  strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).Not only do native apps tend to be on the whole more aesthetically in line with the devices OS and therefore more intuitive for a user familiar with the OS but they are also able to take more advantage of the device’s capability – for example Near Field Communication.

 

There are of course numerous field service apps on the market, and as with office based systems the option to either sit within one platform or select a third party app is open to you. However, as with back office systems integration to your core ERP system is absolutely vital.

The whole point of moving your field workers onto a mobile device is to streamline processes and therefore communication between your office system and your team in the field must also be seamless.

As with all of the discussions so far again understanding your field engineers workflow is at the core of successfully selecting a mobile app that enhances your field service engineers productivity.

However, a few of the more common requirements for field engineers include:

Health and safety regulations:

Whilst your field engineers may undertake the appropriate steps to ensure they are working safely each and every time they tackle a job.

For example an electrician knows to turn off the main power to a house before he changes a light fitting – he certainly wouldn’t forget to do it more than once!

However, by locking an app until the ‘switch mains off’ box is checked not only prompts your field engineer but also ensures he and your company are confirming to health and safety regulations.

Similarly there are stringent regulations in place regarding loan workers, so many field service apps have necessary steps in place to ensure your loan working field engineers are both safe and complying with these regulations.

Knowledge Bases

Perhaps one of the most valuable tools you can arm your field service engineers with is access to a wider knowledge base.

This can range from information on the device they have been sent to repair – it’s previous fault history for example, through to knowledge bases with videos and articles that describe faults the engineer may never have come across before, through to video conferencing where the engineer on the job is able to discuss a problem he is unable to resolve with a more experienced engineer in real time – something that is particularly useful for organisations who are servicing devices in remote locations for example.

Access to parts ordering and contracts

Whilst in an ideal world the diagnosis of the issue would have been made in the initial stages of arranging a service call, in reality in many instances the field service engineer will find the right solution is something different upon arrival at the site.

In this instance it is absolutely essential that he has clear visibility into spare parts inventory and has the ability to order the parts needed if required.

Having to go back to the office and go through a separate chain to get these parts means further frustration for your customer and wasted time and resources for your company.

Similarly if they need to carry work that exceeds a normal maintenance contract – for example if the device he has been sent out to repair has been used beyond it’s normal working parameters, then it is vital he has an understanding of the level of cover the contract offers. Remember a field engineer’s main focus is making things work again and he will be under pressure from your customers when on site. The last thing he will be thinking of is ‘is this covered by there SLA’. Unless of course it is clearly highlighted in front of him.

This also leads us on to the next element, the ability to either communicate with the sales team or create sales directly from the field.

 

A customer falling out of warranty is perhaps the easiest sell a company can have when the engineer is on site – as long as the engineer can show clear evidence that the repair falls out of the agreed contract.

If the engineer can simply add the charge onto the clients account there and then so he can go about resolving the issue then the sales process becomes both simple and effective.

Similarly as a trusted adviser the field service engineer is in a great position to upsell.

“I’ve fixed the problem with your printer and noticed your running low on toner and will probably run out within a week – shall I order some more for you” is one simple example and 99 times out of 100 the customer will surely say yes.

Order approval:

A critical functionality of any field service mobile app is to approve the work as soon as it is done.

By giving your field engineers the ability to have customers acknowledge the work carried out and having this data instantly recorded in your back office system you are not only able to gather information on your field service engineers productivity but also have clear documentation of your work being approved should any dispute arise between you and your customers.

Communicating back to HQ:

Of course order approval is not the only metric you can assess your field engineers  productivity on. Every interaction the field engineer makes with the app provides the opportunity for further data collection on both the engineer themselves and the customer.

For example – is the engineer spending longer on each job than is average amongst his peers – in which case is training required? What about the travel between each job? Is he taking longer than expected? Or is regularly making journeys in less time than you would expect – perhaps indicating he is driving over the speed limit?

What insight does he have into your customers? Has there been a change in personnel since the last company visit? Can your engineer update the CRM system? Perhaps anecdotally he hears that your customers are thinking of expanding – can he arrange for a member of the sales team to come and speak with your customer about how you can ease that process?

 

What about the device he’s working on? Is he seeing common faults at each customer he visits?

Could this result in a design improvement if fed back into R&D?

Important data is everywhere and there are few better equipped to collect it than a field service engineer. Giving them the right tools to transmit that data to the place it has most value is a crucial part of the field service mobile app.

Conclusion: Understand your engineers workflow.

As we mentioned at the very beginning of this white paper the introduction of the concept of end-to-end field service is both emerging and ill defined as yet.

What we have tried to achieve in this white paper is take you as a field service professional whether it be on the side of IT, business leadership or operations, through an end to end journey of how at each stage technology can play a part in streamlining your field service operations.

 

However, not only is the topic itself vast but so to are the resulting options and it is far too easy to end up making costly mistakes in such an environment.

Therefore it is absolutely key to develop a road map that plots your path to developing an end to end service management solution and the only place to start that road map is by stepping outside of your existing framework and understanding two key concepts.

Firstly what do your customers require from you in terms of service, and secondly what is your field engineers daily workflow?

Once you have an understanding of both of these questions then you are in position to build up your solution to enhance and improve these two areas.

It may seem like the longer path in the early stages, however, ultimately such an approach will take you where you need to be far more effectively.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

This series is sponsored by:

 

 

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Tools to do the job – hardware

In this series we are tackling the topic of end to end field service and exploring the technology options across each stage of the service call lifecycle.

In part one we looked at taking that request, and in part two we focused on getting the right engineer to the right place at the right time.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

In the previous features in this series we have looked at the transition from identifying the need for a service call and gathering as much information as possible to allow us to understand the requirements of that specific call out.

Following that we have looked at the importance of being able to have a 360 degree view across internal systems to enable us to get the right engineer to the job, with all the required tools and parts needed to complete the fix and of course to ensure that the service we are delivering is covered by our customers contracts so we are not giving our valuable service away for free.

All good! So now lets focus on empowering our field service engineers when they are on the job.

Paper is just so 20th Century

Having just had a field engineer visit my own home who was still required to fulfil the documentation of his work in paper based format I was amazed at how cumbersome this approach was and the sheer waste of productivity his organisation (one of the UK’s largest glaziers) must be facing.

Seeing it there in front of me as I signed forms in triplicate it really dawned on me that moving to a digital means of working is no longer a nice to have but a must.

 

Not only is there the very simple business case that moving to a digital first medium will almost certainly pay for itself when you factor in the saved man hours in needless administration (not to mention sheer paper costs!) but also the perception.

Despite the engineer being polite, friendly and doing a great job, I still felt I was dealing with an organisation that weren’t as professional as they should be. In the consumer realm this has some impact on the level of brand trust. In a business to business environment – this could be the difference between choosing your company or your competitors.

So if the decision to go mobile and finally turn away from paper is a given – the question becomes no longer why but how – and this is where there are almost as many variables as answers.

Is BYOD the answer?

 

Perhaps the biggest of these  questions centres around BYOD. The BYOD trend has been much vaunted for many years but has yet to truly take off in the UK and Europe as it has done in the United States.

Whilst the benefits are clear – less cost, quicker adoption and happier staff using the device of their choice, a counter argument surrounding security, insurance and the murky hidden costs of such a set up is easily made.

The emerging CYOD (choose your own device) could well take prominence as a solution that takes the best aspects of BYOD and negates the biggest fears.

However, it is my view that this debate is best left to the wider realm of enterprise mobility.

When selecting devices for field service engineers it is far more important to understand the requirements of their daily activities and then find a device that best suits those needs rather than try to utilise a variety of differing devices.

Build a case of requirements based on your field engineers’ workflow

Lets take a look again at the field engineer who visited my own home today as an example.

One of the first things that was evident was that he required a device that was big enough to accommodate the documentation of his work, much of which was form based. Therefore a smartphone or mini tablet device would have been cumbersome and the form factor that would have been preferable would have been either a more standard sized 10” tablet device or a laptop.

Despite their being a number of fields in each form the engineer completed, the actual level of data input was fairly minimal with short answers to most fields. Therefore the need for a keyboard is not huge so the portability of a tablet over a laptop comes more to the fore.

As his job was to measure up the windows we were to have replaced simple drawings were required within the forms that outlined the shape and style of each window. Therefore a pen input should be included for the device for ease of use.

Across one window there was potential for damage to our property during installation if not handled in the correct manner and scaffolding woul need to be erected. Photographic evidence of this would have been valuable not only for his companies due process but also in explaining where exactly the issue was. Therefore a camera should also be part of the device.

The engineer was working mostly indoors in a non hazardous environment so ruggedisation needn’t be a major consideration beyond perhaps a secure case for accidental drops etc. Similarly as the engineer was visiting mostly commercial homes additional connectivity such as RFID and NFC don’t generally come into play either.

 

And there we have it by taking into consideration our field engineers requirements we are able to identify a mobile tool that is right for his workflow.

In this instance a consumer unit such as Samsung Note 10.1 or perhaps the Microsoft Surface with a semi-rugged cover would be sufficient. In more manufacturing based environment a specifically designed rugged device maybe required. If you’re field engineer is servicing connected devices then RFID or NFC can become hugely important. Or perhaps a barcode scanner is required?

Also consider periphery devices, does your customer require a printed receipt for work carried out? In which case a wireless printer in the back of  the engineers van could be essential.

Maybe the engineer has to input large amounts of data manually so a keyboard is essential – in which case a laptop or perhaps a convertible is the way to go.

The important part here is to take a step back and assess the needs of your field service engineers and then select your devices accordingly.

The technology certainly exists to meet most demands however; it is also easy to end up selecting a device on reputation and either missing functionality you need or paying for functionality that your engineers may never use.
 
There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

This series is sponsored by:

 

 

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Within the last decade technology has altered the way field service companies operate irrevocably, yet the technology now emerging on the horizon could change the game even further.

Across the last few weeks Field Service News has been looking at some of the technologies that we think will be impacting on field service across the next year.

In part one of this series we looked at Wearables, Cloud and NFC and in the second instalment we focussed on IoT, Big Data and Cyber Security.

Now in this the final section of the series we take a look at where Drones , 3D Printing, 4G and Integrated Platforms will fit into the field service landscape.

A bit of a buzz around Drones…

As we entered 2014 there was still an incessant buzz around Drones that had been sparked by Amazon’s fantastic claims that they were investing heavily in research and development of Drone technology. Accompanied by an incredibly slick video showing an Amazon branded Unmanned Aerial Drone (UAD) picking up a parcel from the depot and happily buzzing away as it delivered it right to the recipients front door.

At the time Field Service News looked at the proposition including questioning whether it was all just a fantastic PR exercise or whether there was indeed potential for a drone based delivery service.

 

A year on and Amazon’s delivery drones have still yet to materialise however, with the cost of drones plummeting (a small drone with a camera capable of recording decent quality footage can now be picked up for between £50 to £75) there is certainly potential for drones to be used in field service.

Indeed in the UK there are now over 300 companies licensed to use drones for commercial reasons and whilst delivery drones may seem far-fetched and are subject to an awful lot of as yet undefined regulation, there are plenty of applications for drones that could benefit field service.

For example, a visual inspection on an inaccessible roof of a building could be required. A UAD could provide this visual check without the need to erect scaffolding potentially saving at least a days labour. Or what about large manufacturing plants that can in some cases span many miles. Again manual visual inspection could be a long drawn out process, but with the aid of drones the time to complete the task could be slashed.

3D Printing is on the verge of a true breakthrough…

Perhaps my favourite of all emerging technology for the sheer Star-Trek-ness of it all is 3D printing.  The idea of something appearing out of nothing just seems so, well for want for a better word… cool.

 However, it is not just the ‘cool’ factor that makes 3D printing so exciting. More than any other technology identified in this series 3D printing has the potential to completely change business, as we know it.

 

Economies of scale no longer come into play, the cost of producing one unit is the same as the cost of producing thousands of units. Meaning that companies will be able to operate on lean methodologies far easier.

Then we consider the benefits for field service. Imagine the impact it could have if a field service engineer is able to print 3D parts on site. No more parts ordering and delays, the engineer having identified a part is worn could simply print a part there and then.

Whilst it might seem like something from science fiction the truth is this technology could just be around the corner. We know that it is possible to create parts strong enough for commercial applications via 3D printing. A recent example being manufacturer of helicopter parts Turbomeca who are now producing fuel injector nozzles for its Arrano helicopter engines.

We have also seen smaller and more affordable consumer 3D printers come to the fore in the last year.

So is it that big a leap of faith to foresee a field based 3D printing solution being rolled out in the not too distant future?

4G – a key enabler across field service

If 3D printing is the most exciting of technologies to make this list then it could be argued that 4G is perhaps the most understated.

The reason I say this is that when it’s older brother 3G entered the scene it was a complete game changer. The leap from WAP to 3G (okay technically WAP to EDGE to 3G) was an unprecedented stride forward in mobile computing. It coincided with early smart phones and it changed the way we work forever.

By the time 4G rolled along we had already got used to smart phones and fast wi-fi speeds too. So whilst being able to access broadband speed internet on the move is of course pretty incredible – the ‘wow factor’ that arrived with 3G just hasn’t quite been there.

 

3G changed the world. 4G just does everything 3G does only better and faster.

However, if we take a step back then the impact 4G will have is truly incredible, especially for the field service industries.

The increase in mobile data speed means access to knowledge bases is an easy and quick option for field engineers. Similarly the ability to hold high quality video conferencing from one onsite engineer to another is again made possible through 4G.

And with both Vodafone and O2 promising 98% coverage across the UK by the end of 2015, 4G in the UK at least, will very soon be one of those technologies, like smart phones themselves, that we just don’t remember how things worked before it came along.

Integrated field service platforms will continue to be at the fore…

The final inclusion on the list is one which has been making a slow rise to prominence out of necessity as much as anything else.

Across the last year we heard a lot about integrated service management platforms. A number of providers have developed full service lifecycle solutions and with integration issues being at the fore for field service companies looking to move to a next generation solution there is a solid case for exploring such a solution.

 

However, whilst the platform approach has merits, integration with other systems has also become a significant focus for many providers also and this appears to be becoming a growing trend, which could make selecting various best in class options more readily available.

What is key however, is that whether you opt for a full platform approach or a number of individual ‘best-in-class’ with full integration, your service management solution should no longer have any restrictions when it comes to the flow of data.

The ability to breakdown siloes is key to the successful operation of a field service organisation and the technology is now readily available to make sure this is possible – easy integration will be a major selling point for service management providers and those who fail here will struggle to compete.

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End to end field service was one of the biggest buzz phrases heard across the past year and there is good reason for the movement as at each step of the field service cycle there is an opportunity to streamline your workflow...

In the first part of this series we looked at the technology that can be put in place to aid taking the request for service including web-chat, call centres and web based self-help solutions. Now in the second part of the series we focus on how technology can help us ensure we get the right engineer, to the right job at the right time...

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

Whether it be via call centre agent notes or customer provided information on a self-help portal, the one key focus of all of the should be to collect enough information to allow the effective dispatch of a field service engineer (or engineers depending on the task) with the correct qualifications to the job whilst simultaneously ordering any required parts so the engineer has everything at his disposal required to resolve the issue on the first call out.

Therefore it is absolutely critical that you can move this information from a to b as seamlessly and painlessly as possible.

Your organisation may well operate an ERP system that was designed to achieve this and this will sit at the heart of your businesses systems including the service elements.

However, just as we were in the early nineties when the term ERP was first coined and in 2000 when Gartner declared ERP is dead – Long Live ERP II  we are transitioning from one generation of technology to the next and one of the major balancing acts we must undertake is ensuring compatibility with legacy systems as we upgrade certain programmes or modules.

 

Employing dedicated system integrators to tailor software to fit within your existing framework can be an expensive process. Indeed research by Field Service News showed that well over a third (38%) of companies faced issues with integrating software with their legacy systems.

The good news however is that more and more software providers are focussing on integration solutions as they roll out their next gen solutions.

Take for example Solarvista NET  a key component in the software providers latest suite of solutions and is a technology that's designed to enable connection both to  Solarvista 8 but also other systems in a manner that's flexible, reliable, secure.

And as integration issues are minimised it will become that much easier to configure a system that is tailored to your individual organisational needs. However for most service organisations there are generally three fundamental functions that need to be considered.

These are the ability to schedule your workforce to get the right engineer to the right appointments, the ability to manage your assets and order parts as required and the ability to manage and view your contracts.

Scheduling:

The most important aspect of your field service operation is of course your field engineers. They are almost certainly one of your biggest costs as well so managing them effectively is vital if you are going to operate a service division as a profit centre rather than a cost drain on the wider business.

Sending an under qualified engineer or an engineer without the tools required to complete the repair not only causes a delay in resolving your customer’s issue but also represents a days labour cost simply thrown away.

Also for any business it is important to have as many staff as possible in customer facing roles where they can potentially contribute to revenue streams. Regardless of how skilled your dispatchers are their role remains a lower tiered operational one where they can never directly impact revenue.

 

Therefore it makes good economic sense to have fewer resources dedicated to the back office dispatch and more allocated to the field.

This is where the inclusion of a modern scheduling engine is absolutely critical. Research by Field Service News identified that almost half (49%) of companies still using manual processes to dispatch their field engineers were able to manage just 5 field engineers per dispatcher. The same research showed that an average ratio of engineers to dispatchers in companies using any form of scheduling was 16:1.

Basically the introduction of scheduling engines resulted in an improvement in dispatch productivity of at least 300%.

There are a number of different types of scheduling available and the type that is right for your organisation is dependent on a number of factors, for large organisations with many hundreds if not thousands of engineers then an optimised solution maybe preferred.

For those companies with smaller mobile workforces then perhaps a simpler assisted scheduling solution may fit the bill.

Certainly there can be considerable differences in terms of costs and smaller organisations simply may never reap the rewards of the more costly option. Many specialist service management software providers will offer both an optimised and an assisted solution and recommend you the option that is best for your company.

 

For example Solarvista offer both solutions however at 80% more expensive they will only recommend their fully optimised solution to those companies who they believe will truly benefit from the solution.

Whichever level of optimisation you select however, your scheduling system should be able to collate data from both your workforce’s skill sets and your customers requirements and either make recommendations or optimise a day’s schedule accordingly.

What is certain though is that whiteboards, post-it notes and Exel spread sheets simply won’t cut the mustard anymore.

Asset Management/Parts Ordering:

Of course getting the right engineer to the right job is all well and good but it becomes a moot exercise if he doesn’t have the parts required to complete his task.

The next vital element within a service management solution is being able to both track your existing assets and also to easily order parts not in your existing inventory.

As well as being a key factor in helping achieve the field service nirvana of first time fix rates there is also another highly important reason such functionality is a crucial part of a service management solution.

From a business perspective tying up funds in unnecessary inventory either in a depot or worse in the back of your engineers’ vans places an unnecessary burden on cash flow also.

Contract management:

The third element that is essential for almost every field service organisation within a service management solution is contract management.

This again has a two-fold importance.

On the one hand clear understanding of your service agreement with each customer is absolutely critical to ensure that you are not giving away valuable service offerings outside of your agreed SLAs. The flip side of this of course the same insight also provides clear upsell opportunities.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

This series is sponsored by: