Who are the most influential people in the global field service sector that you need to pay attention to in 2017?
ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘future-of-field-service’ CATEGORY
Mar 06, 2017 • Features • Aston Centre for Servitization Research and Practi • copperberg • Cranfield University • FSN20 • Future of FIeld Service • Jonathan Massoud • Mark Brewer • Mark Holleran • WBR • Xplore Technologies • Bill Pollock • Dr John Erkoyuncu • field service • field service europe • Field Service Forum • Field Service Medical • Field Service Summit • Field Service USA • IFS • Strategies for GrowthSM • sumair dutta • The Service Council • Thosas Igou • tim baines
Who are the most influential people in the global field service sector that you need to pay attention to in 2017?
The Field Service News #FSN20 is our list of the individuals we believe will be key influencers in our industry across the next twelve months. Those included in the list have been selected by our own panel of industry insiders, who were given the simple criteria of identifying people who will have a significant impact on field service thinking.
However, more than just an annual list of 20 individuals the #FSN20 has grown since it’s launch to become a true celebration of excellence and innovation within our industry.
There are some familiar names and some new faces on this years list and as always we don’t expect everyone to agree with our selection - at it’s heart the #FSN20 was conceived as a tool to get everyone in our industry thinking about who it is that they have come across in the global field service sector that has made them think, who has made them question the accepted paradigms, who has inspired them to do just one little thing more in their own day to day role.
The #FSN20 is not just about the list our panel has put together. It is about fostering discussion that celebrates the unsung heroes of the field service sector. So look out for the online version of this list as well to take part in the debate.
But for now, ladies and gentleman and without further a do, in no particular order, we are pleased to introduce the #FSN20 of 2017...
Mark Brewer, Global Industry Director - Service Management
Brewer is a new entry to the #FSN20 having recently moved to IFS from PTC.
The message from the IFS hierarchy was loud and clear when they held their last World Conference in Gothenburg towards the end of last year. Field Service was a key priority moving forward and their new owners EQT had every intention of pushing the Swedish company to keep doing what has made them a well respected brand within manufacturing and field service management circles - but do it bigger, better and to get to there faster.
Having taken the reigns of the service management division globally Brewer is set to figure prominently in the industry across the next twelve months.
Professor Tim Baines, Group Director of the Aston Centre for Servitization Research and Practice
Baines retains his place on this years list and is perhaps he one person that has appeared multiple times on the list whose entry becomes even more deserved each year.
Baines has been at the centre of the servitization movement for as long as anyone and although many of his peers such as Neely and Lightfoot should share equal status for being the Godfathers of Servitization, it is fair to say that Baines’ work as a leading proponent of the servitization movement is as unparalleled as it is inexhaustible. The Aston Spring Servitization Conference which is the show-piece of the Aston Centre for Research and Practice continues to grow in terms of both audience and importance each year and it’s location in Lucerne, Switzerland this year is a testament to it’s growing status on the international industrial map. Whilst Baines’ would humbly point to the great team he has working with him at Aston, his role in the global shift towards servitization simply cannot be overlooked.
Bill Pollock, President and Principal Consultant, Strategies for GrowthSM
Another that has been ever present on the #FSN20 since it’s inception and someone who is likely to remain on the list until the day comes where he retires, which given Pollock’s passion for the industry and seemingly eternal youth may won’t be any time soon!
Pollock is not only still a key commentator and analyst within our sector whose papers and features are not only widely read but also hugely respected, but he has been a mentor for a number of key figures within the global field service industry, including a number of other #FSN20 members, and also Field Service News’ own highly respected Editor-in-Chief, Kris Oldland.
However, Pollock’s inclusion on the #FSN20 isn’t just based on his past merits, his organisation Strategies for GrowthSM continues to provide some of the most detailed research and insightful analysis for the field service sector that is essential reading for any field service executives that wish to stay in touch with what is driving our industry forward.
Thomas Igou, Editorial Director, Copperberg
Igou has been integral to Copperberg’s continued success and growth in the European field service conference circuit, In fact with five industry focussed events now running across the continent that should be of interest to senior field service and aftermarket executives, Copperberg are firmly established central pillar within the European field service community, and Igou sits proudly at the heart of that. In his role as Editorial Director, Igou is responsible for making sure the key topics in the industry are raised and the leading thinkers within our space are given a voice.
A key influencer within our industry.
Mark Holleran, COO, Xplore Technologies
Under Holleran’s leadership Xplore Technologies acquired Motion Computing and became the 2nd largest manufacturer of rugged tablets in the world.
Holleran is a man who not only truly understands the different sectors his clients operate in but also who truly appreciates the importance of understanding his customers’ work-flows and therefore their technological needs.
A perfect case in point being the inclusion of a HDMI in on their XSLATE D10 rugged tablet, which makes it a perfect device for Telco and Pay TV engineers needing to test signals - which is exactly why it is there.
We don’t expect anything other than rugged tablets to be coming out of Xplore, but we do expect them to keep delivering best-in-class products in this form factor. As Holleran says “that’s what we do and we are the worlds best at it.
Dr John Erkoyuncu, Through-life Engineering Services Institute, Cranfield University
Erkoyuncu takes over from Professor Howard Lightfoot as a representative of Cranfield University in the #FSN20 this year, however it isn’t just a straight like for like swap. Whilst the two worked together at the Through Life Services Institute, Erkoyuncu’s place on this year list is based primarily around the work he is doing in both industrial maintenance simulation and also augmented reality, and as such we believe he will be a key commentator and influencer on our sector in the years to come.
Jonathan Massoud, Divisional Director & Market Analyst Field Service, WBR
Massoud’s role as Divisional Director at WBR puts him in control of a number of the industry’s key events including Field Service USA which is the jewel in the crown as the key point in the USA field service calender.
In addition to Field Service USA, WBR also run a number of important industry focussed events including Field Service Medical and Field Service Europe and in his role as Divisional Director Massoud is directly involved with each of the events and responsible for delivering industry leading content to keep field service professionals up to date with the key trends with in the industry. Massoud is also responsible for overseeing WBR’s research and a respected analyst within the sector
Sumair Dutta, Customer Satisfaction Officer, The Service Council
Chief Customer Officer for The Service Council™ Dutta is responsible for new member acquisition, member engagement, community expansion, as well as the development and expansion of TSC’s Smarter Services oriented research agenda and portfolio.
He is also heavily involved in The Service Council’s ability to provide service executives the ability to benchmark their operations and also provide guided insight to improve service organisation performance through dedicated research programs. Dutta also plays a key role in building out TSC’s community platform focused on becoming the single source of information and networking for service executives globally and is a prolific author on the matter of field service.
Click here to see page two of the 2017 #FSN20
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Mar 03, 2017 • Andy Neely • FSN20 • Future of FIeld Service • Jan Van Veen • Local Government • Momentum Framework • Noventum • Oneserve • Chris Proctor • Hilebrand • housing association • Institute for Manufacturing • Rustema • Servitization
Who are the most influential people in the global field service sector that you need to pay attention to in 2017?
Who are the most influential people in the global field service sector that you need to pay attention to in 2017?
The Field Service News #FSN20 is our list of the individuals we believe will be key influencers in our industry across the next twelve months. Those included in the list have been selected by our own panel of industry insiders, who were given the simple criteria of identifying people who will have a significant impact on field service thinking.
However, more than just an annual list of 20 individuals the #FSN20 has grown since it’s launch to become a true celebration of excellence and innovation within our industry.
There are some familiar names and some new faces on this years list and as always we don’t expect everyone to agree with our selection – at it’s heart the #FSN20 was conceived as a tool to get everyone in our industry thinking about who it is that they have come across in the global field service sector that has made them think, who has made them question the accepted paradigms, who has inspired them to do just one little thing more in their own day to day role.
The #FSN20 is not just about the list our panel has put together. It is about fostering discussion that celebrates the unsung heroes of the field service sector. So look out for the online version of this list as well to take part in the debate.
But for now, ladies and gentleman and without further a do, in no particular order, we are pleased to introduce the #FSN20 of 2017…
Click here to see page one of the 2017 #FSN20
Click here to see page two of the 2017 #FSN20
Chris Proctor, CEO, Oneserve
With their relatively niche operating background primarily serving the UK local government and housing sector Oneserve may not be a company that are as well known as some of their competitors within the FSM solution space, however, there is no denying that in Proctor they have a CEO who isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers.
He has called for the Field Service Management software industry to stop “holding innovation hostage” and under his leadership the organisation have won some significant contracts away from their ‘home turf’ of the housing sector including Pay TV leaders Sky and construction giants Kier.
Having been promoted to CEO from Marketing and Sales Director in just 8 months with the company Proctor is a young, dynamic leader who is not afraid of controversy if it means raising awareness of issues within the industry.
Professor Andy Neely, Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, Cambridge University
Professor Andy Neely is Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Enterprise and Business Relations at the University of Cambridge and also Head of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and Head of the Manufacturing and Management Division of Cambridge University Engineering Department.
In his role as a Founding Director of the Cambridge Service Alliance he is widely recognised for his work on the servitization of manufacturing, as well as his work on performance measurement and management and as such is often seen chairing sessions in the field service sector.
Hilbrand Rustema, Managing Director, Noventum Service Management
As service management consultancy spanning three continents. With over 200 successful projects and a proven track record of improving growth and profitability Noventum are a tour de force and are firmly established as the leading consultancy within the field service industry.
Hilbrand Rustema has been a driving force in that development and continues to lead the business having been at the heart of evolving service thinking for many, many years.
Jan Van Veen, Managing Director, Van Veen Business Innovation
One of the founding partners of Noventum, Van Veen is now working under his own brand and is currently developing a framework for companies to be able to develop continuous momentum based on a series of detailed benchmarking and researching projects.
A broad and ambitious project, but Van Veen has the background and insight to be able to deliver what should be highly powerful business tool.
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Feb 24, 2017 • Features • Connected Field Service • Future of FIeld Service • Microsoft Field Service • Carsten Groth • cloud • field service • IoT • Sentiment Analysis
Kris Oldland, talks to the ever effervescent Carsten Groth, Technology Solutions Professional with Microsoft Field Service, to discuss what field service will look like in the not so distant future...
Kris Oldland, talks to the ever effervescent Carsten Groth, Technology Solutions Professional with Microsoft Field Service, to discuss what field service will look like in the not so distant future...
There are some people who have a such a clear passion for what they do it is palpably infectious, you can literally see the effect they have on those around them.
I find such people are usually a joy to talk to and so when I caught up with Carsten Groth, a Technology Solution Professional working with Microsoft, for the first time in a year or so (at the industry conference Field Service Europe) it was a true joy to see that there was an almost childlike excitement in his eyes.
He had just given a presentation discussing how and what Microsoft are terming connected field service and it is clear that it is a topic that seems to truly capture Groth’s natural passion for technology and harness it into something resembling true exhilaration.
It’s what makes him such a great ambassador for his company and such an engaging speaker. However, with Microsoft’s own field service focussed offering rapidly evolving and spreading it’s technological wings he seems to have cranked the passion all the way up to 11.
“There are complicated processes that need to be rethought, it’s like working in a big think tank around where is field service heading in 2020?” Is his first response when I ask him what developments are being focussed on in Microsoft’s Field Service team.
However, Groth is quite right to be excited by the new IoT enabled world we will all soon be occupying.
We often talk about revolutions in business but truly have we truly seen a revolution in field service on a par with what the near future promises to deliver.
If we are honest our industry that hasn’t massively changed even with the rise of mobile computing. Yet, what we are now seeing is true evolution, field service 2.0.
Now we have augmented and virtual reality in the mix as well as cloud services and of course IoT and these are all enablers to all these field services as well.
“The way we see it and the way Microsoft has started to think of field service, is in terms of what are the new field service enablers,” he begins.
“To begin there are the classical elements, things like the dispatching and scheduling elements and then there are also some influential parts coming from the mobile side of that, turning the mobile experience into more task oriented, check list oriented and more efficient UI oriented functionalities.”
“But now we have augmented and virtual reality in the mix as well as cloud services and of course IoT and these are all enablers to all these field services as well.”
And it is these enablers that are changing every part of both service providers and their customers thinking around field service. Although the introduction of new technologies, which lead to new processes, will also bring with them new challenges as well.
“When you think about an on-site service for a washing machine, in the past it may have taken 60 minutes and as a customer I would be billed for 60 minutes worth of work,” Groth explains.
“But now I see that the field service engineer has far more capabilities enabled by technology so am I still willing to be charged for 60 minutes when he is now doing the same job within 15 in minutes. Obviously I am not”
“If I then see a field service engineer struggling with that same task which I have just looked up online, a task I now know should take less than 15 minutes. Am I going to think it is fair for his company to be charging me an hours work when he should only be spending a quarter of an hour working?”
“By having all these influential cards we see that the customer has more influence and more impact than they have ever had in the past,” Groth adds.
It is a very valid point and it is absolutely vital that field service organisations understand that whilst technology will undoubtedly revolutionise our industry for the better in the coming years, it will also create new challenges that we must be prepared to face.
So how does this not so distant future look to Groth and his colleagues at Microsoft?
“We are driving forward from the term connected field service because we are talking about connected things that have an influence on field service. We are talking about IoT but not only that - also for example, sentiments coming from omni-channels.”
“For example, in my generation if I got stuck in an elevator then the first thing I would do would be to push the assistance button. But the generation following mine may be more inclined to pull out their phone and tell the world they are stuck in an elevator made by x,y or z. They’ll probably do this even before they think of pressing the emergency button to get rescued!”
Of course this type of thinking wouldn’t be at all possible without Cloud computing and the all encompassing, pervasive connectivity that it can deliver
Of course this type of thinking wouldn’t be at all possible without Cloud computing and the all encompassing, pervasive connectivity that it can deliver. Is this why we suddenly see Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle, stepping heavily into the field service sector, once more? Is the future a world of integrated platforms with FSM systems being an integral part of a much wider operational ecosystem?
“I do think we’ll see a movement where we will see the niche players who are offering very specialised FSM software, who are focussed on specific productivity sets, having to step out of their niche,” Groth replies.
“I think they will need to move towards a broader set of thinking as they will only be able to enable the use case scenario if they take into account more things. It’s a bit like building a house.”
“If you’re designing a house as an architect you need to be way more efficient than just designing the shell of the house. You need to have all these different parameters around how are we building the house.”
“I think this is where we see the movement inside field service. It’s not only about thinking ‘I want to enable my field service engineer to do things more efficiently and more productively’. We now must think ‘I want to enable all the kind of things for on-site service as well as customer satisfaction.’”
The shift to servitization is one driver for technology but I think there are a lot of other influential parts enabled by technology. It is also based in part on a generational thing.
Does Groth see the current focus on servitization as being driven by the technology available or is the opposite true - and it is in fact a desire to servitize our businesses that is leading us to seek out technology solutions more aggressively?
“The shift to servitization is one driver for technology but I think there are a lot of other influential parts enabled by technology. It is also based in part on a generational thing. The younger generation playing around with all sorts of technologies and asking why they can’t use these in their day to day business?”
“For instance, we’ve had customers requesting to use WhatsApp for their chat mechanism for field service. We asked why do you specifically want to use WhatsApp? We do offer a solution that offers the same capabilities but it was a generational step up with this product line. They knew how to use it and were familiar with it, they didn’t need training and could just get on with it.”
Regardless of the drivers which as Groth points out are in fact numerous, the fact is that technology is playing an ever increasing role in field service management, and now more than ever before it is beginning to shape how we work and importantly also how we interact with our customers.
“As I said, there is this enablement where we get more knowledge on the side of the customer,’ he reflects.
“We need to think how does connected field service, how do vendors like Microsoft, help our customers empower their own customers.”
“This is actually what Microsoft does with our entire partner ecosystem. It’s the way we are thinking. How do we empower users, not businesses to do more and be more productive.”
“We are thinking how do we step out of the box of FSM only and we need to think about IoT from the consumer side and business side. Changing the way companies think about doing business with field service operational software.”
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Feb 23, 2017 • Features • Coresystems • Corwd sourcing • crowd service • Future of FIeld Service • manuel grenacher • field service
Manuel Grenacher, CEO, Coresystems explains the Crowd Service concept...
Manuel Grenacher, CEO, Coresystems explains the Crowd Service concept...
There has been a rapid increase in technological advancements designed to enhance our quality of life and a consistent trend towards gadgets that save us time. From checking in for flights on our smartphones to having our food home-delivered, we have become accustomed to getting things and accomplishing things as quickly as possible.
Where we stand now
Recent surveys conducted across a broad spectrum of people located in numerous countries determined that 60% of consumers defined a bad customer experience as one that involves waiting a long time for service after booking an appointment. Customers want reliable and fast service, and they want it in real-time. They are looking for convenience:
Time is Precious: Every moment spent waiting for a technician is one spent away from other important activities. Consumers do not want their time taken for granted. They expect service in real-time.
Keep It Simple: Complex booking systems that involve multiple steps or unnecessary time investment (e.g. being on hold with call centres) are a big turn off.
Freedom to choose: Customers do not want to have to fit their lives to the suppliers’ schedules.
They want the flexibility to decide which service appointment best accommodates their day.
Room for Improvement
The problem: many of the gadgets produced for our consumers, though intended to buy them a few precious moments a day, are in fact costing them even more time. Minutes lost on hold with customer representatives. Hours spent waiting for technicians to arrive. Days lost because machines have broken down and can not be repaired immediately.
61% of all field service suppliers cited ‘customer satisfaction’ as their top measure for success
When taking into account what customers really value – real-time service and their time – the current supplier ranking of priorities needs to be adjusted to reflect what would actually keep customers satisfied. Emphasis needs to be placed on optimising field service and reducing the amount of time it takes to meet service demands.
The Surmountable Roadblock
Though it is easy to isolate the best way to improve customer satisfaction, many field service suppliers still face a serious obstacle when it comes to addressing this need. Real-time service requires access to an extensive, widespread and qualified workforce. Access that many suppliers do not have.
A lack of trained and readily available personnel has always led to longer wait times and unsatisfied customers. However, the dawn of IoT is making the problem more pronounced. More and more devices are interconnected. Predictive technology is making it possible to accurately foresee technical malfunctions and breakdowns before they occur. There is a greater demand for service than ever. And yet the number of technicians that most service providers has on hand has remained the same.
The reason for this is mainly the cost factor. Hiring full-time technicians is expensive. Particularly when they are needed for short-term projects. In addition, hiring full-time service employees does not guarantee that they will be where they are most in demand. Having a full-time team member in a remote corner of the globe is not a viable business model.
However, having access to a skilled worker who could provide these same services in remote areas is. What is the solution?
The Solution Is Crowd Services
This is where the Uber-like on demand model prevails. The company created a business model that utilises untapped resources to meet an unfilled demand Receptiveness to this concept of the shared economy has given rise to the crowd service model. And it is being applied to field service management.
Companies have all the benefits of skilled labor, at a fraction of the price.
Revolutionise the Way You Do Service Before It’s Too Late!
Coresystems, with its ample experience in platform implementation and extensive knowledge of all legal aspects, is pressing this revolution forwards by providing the software that makes crowd service implementation possible.
We are on the cusp of a significant shift. If one supplier does not start adapting to real-time demands, consumers will find a supplier that does.
Now is the time to adopt the measures necessary to keep pace with IoT and the direction it is taking us. Make your service model about real-time convenience served up quick and hassle free.
When customers feel that you value their time, they will value your products. Only crowd service can deliver in real-time. Empower your ecosystem today
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Feb 17, 2017 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • Pollock On Service • Bill Pollock • field service • field service management • IoT • Strategies for Growth
The Internet of Things has been positioned as the key technology that will lead to a true evolution of field service delivery. Bill Pollock, President of Strategies for GrowthSM looks at the challenges revealed in his latest benchmarking research...
The Internet of Things has been positioned as the key technology that will lead to a true evolution of field service delivery. Bill Pollock, President of Strategies for GrowthSM looks at the challenges revealed in his latest benchmarking research and explains how IoT will help field service organisations meet these...
The Convergence of the IoT and Field Service Management (FSM)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is not a new concept.
To a growing number of services managers, the two are inseparable as they have been integrally linked together for as long as they have been heading their organisation’s services operations.
This is especially true in an environment where an influx of millennials are rapidly replacing baby boomers in virtually all aspects of the services sector; where the “marriage” between Field Service Management (FSM) and the IoT is generally seen as a “given” with respect to providing the organisation with the ability to satisfy the total needs, requirements and expectations of their respective customers.
As such, this “marriage” is somewhat analogous to the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, or taking “tried and true” favourites like chocolate and peanut butter, integrating the two together, and coming up with something “new” that the marketplace simply cannot live without. The big difference, however, is that the IoT is much more than just a tasty morsel - it is transforming the very core of field service management.
“For most field service organisations FSM solutions are no longer “new” to the services industry...”
However, it can clearly help to re-position an already well-run organisation for accelerated growth, heightened market position, improved effectiveness, improved customer satisfaction and increased profitability. For a growing number of FSOs, the greatest determinants of their commercial viability – and profitability – are the efficiency, functionality and effectiveness of their IoT-based Field Service Management (FSM) solution.
There’s FSM, and Then There’s the IoT-powered FSM
For most field service organisations (i.e., Gartner estimates roughly 75%) FSM solutions are no longer “new” to the services industry – they are a fact of life. What is still news, however, is how easy they now are to implement, as Cloud technology has essentially normalized the playing field so that FSOs of all types and sizes, and serving any geography, can benefit from its implementation.
The results of Strategies For GrowthSM‘s (SFGSM) 2016/17 Field Service Management Benchmark Survey report that the top opportunities, or benefits, cited by FSOs with respect to acquiring and integrating new technology (i.e., the IoT, among others) are:
- 44% Ability to run a more efficient field service operation by eliminating silos
- 39% Improve customer satisfaction
- 35% Ability to provide customers with an end-to-end engagement relationship
- 30% Establish a competitive advantage
- 26% Improve field technician utilisation and productivity
- 25% Reduce Total Cost of Operations (TCO)
The survey data also suggest that the opportunities and benefits significantly outweigh the challenges for a clear majority of FSOs – but, they still exist.
However, the IoT helps to make it all possible by allowing the new technology – in most cases – to easily integrate with existing FSM systems.
This is particularly true for FSOs whose FSM solutions are already built on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, where the addition of field service management functionality may be as easy as simply adding a module to the existing system. This is an important factor – and it should be – for FSOs as they make their decision to acquire a specific FSM solution.
The SFGSM survey research also reveals that, for a near majority of FSOs, this decision is “impacted mostly” by:
- 50% Prefer a solution that interfaces with CRM
- 47% Prefer to work with a single provider of Field Service functionality
- 47% Prefer a solution that is intuitive and easy to train on
- 45% Integrating new technologies into existing FSM solution platform
Another 35% also prefer to invest in a solution that fosters collaboration between Sales and Service as a top decision-making factor.
What the Future Holds for the Convergence of the IoT and Field Service Management
The “future” of field service is already here!
“Like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, the market does not really care how the chocolate and the peanut butter are engineered into the final product; they just know that it tastes good, and the two ingredients work exceptionally well together”
The greatest manifestations of this pervasive technology may be best described in the providing FSOs with the capabilities to:
- Collect whatever data that are needed to improve a process, or improve a product, based on its measured, monitored and tracked usage
- Switch to a lower-cost predictive model vs. the more traditional – and more expensive – preventative maintenance model
- Determine which services to offer to customers that the organisation cannot offer today (e.g., a next-level guarantee against downtime, which can be turned into a premium service, etc.)
- Sell, cross-sell and upsell new services, packaged as competitive differentiators
- Create a more effective KPI program that can measure, monitor and track both the still-relevant traditional KPIs, as well as the “new” KPIs that are being created through the use of the IoT
The IoT technology is readily available; the market demand is here; and the positive impact on the bottom line of an FSM solution, powered by the IoT, is quite compelling. Just like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, the market does not really care how the chocolate and the peanut butter are engineered into the final product; they just know that it tastes good, and the two ingredients work exceptionally well together – just like the Internet of Things and Field Service Management.
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Jan 10, 2017 • Features • Future of FIeld Service • drones • IFS • IoT • Managing the Mobile Workforce
The IFS World Conference has been held in Barcelona and Boston in recent years, A telling testament to the Swedish software company’s growing importance on the global stage. However, in 2016 it was time for a successful homecoming as the conference...
The IFS World Conference has been held in Barcelona and Boston in recent years, A telling testament to the Swedish software company’s growing importance on the global stage. However, in 2016 it was time for a successful homecoming as the conference headed to Gothenberg.
Field Service News was there to report on the key announcements made...
At the IFS World Conference in Boston held 18 months ago the headlines were all about milestones. The company had recently hit their millionth user, Applications 9 had just been launched and key partnerships with the likes of Microsoft and Accenture had seemingly launched them into the world of enterprise level organisations as a genuine challenger to the likes of SAP and Oracle.
So looking ahead to this year’s event in Gothenberg there was an anticipation of just how the Swedish ERP provider had moved onwards from those milestones - just how much progress had been made?
However, just ahead of the conference in September 2016 it was announced that private equity firm EQT had acquired 97% of the company which added a further dynamic to the backdrop of the conference’s three day agenda - what did the acquisition mean for IFS and would it change the roadmap for better or for worse?
These questions were addressed swiftly as Alistair Sorbie, CEO IFS took the stage for the opening keynote session - and the message was clear.
It was still business as usual and field service remained a significant priority for the company.
This sentiment was echoed when we spoke to Paul Massey, Managing Director, IFS Europe West, about the take over.
“They’re very hands off, have been positive in terms of their messaging and are supportive of the existing management” Massey commented.
Taking an initial view of where we might target some early investment field service is an obvious candidate because we weren’t maximising the benefit we’ve got from having that product. - Paul Massey, Managing Director, IFS Europe West
“It’s a growing market that we have got some really good stories in which we haven’t exploited as well as we might, so with EQT coming in and us taking an initial view of where we might target some early investment field service is an obvious candidate because we weren’t maximising the benefit we’ve got from having that product.” he added.
So with field service still very firmly on the agenda and the private equity acquisition looking - upon initial observations at least, to be something that is good for both IFS and their existing users the tone of the conference was able to gain sharper focus - and that tone was very much all about innovation in the technology. The headline stealing announcement being the introduction of IFS IoT Business Connector...
With IoT still very much the key technology on everyone’s buzz list it was an anticipated launch and potentially an essential one, as competitors in the FSM space at least, race to deliver similar tools.
What is interesting about the IFS solution is that as you may guess from the name it is a tool that connects other systems potentially shortening the time from ‘ideas to tangible benefits’ for IFS customers’ by providing an end-to-end architecture.
Designed to de-risk and accelerate IoT initiatives in areas such as predictive maintenance, service management, asset management, and manufacturing, it provides the ability to harness data gathered from products, assets and equipment to identify actionable observations that trigger either user-defined, automated or semi-automated workflows in the wider IFS software suite.
Another important benefit is that it also comes with plug-and-play connectivity to the Microsoft Azure IoT Suite (but also has open APIs to connect other IoT platforms also.)
Essentially the IFS IoT Business Connector is designed to bridge the gap between analysis of IoT data and using the output to then execute maintenance and service more efficiently.
A number of earlier adopter case studies were rolled out during the announcement including Songa Offshore, an international mid-water drilling contractor, ATS, a leading provider of factory maintenance and IT services based in the U.S., Anticimex, an international pest control company, and Hecla Mining, the North American precious metals mining company.
By working with our customers and partners we are able to connect the dots so that investments in IoT not only yield piles of data and pretty charts, but result in real actions... - Dan Matthews, CTO IFS
ATS Automation Director of IT Christopher Lebeau said. “By connecting our field service value chain we are able to automate our processes in a new way and use the insights to make smarter business decisions.”
IFS CTO Dan Matthews added, “By working with our customers and partners we are able to connect the dots so that investments in IoT not only yield piles of data and pretty charts, but result in real actions that are co-planned and executed in an optimal way together with everything else that is going on in a business. For our customers it means an easier way to get started with IoT, lower risks, and faster time to realised value.”
The new version of our dynamic work scheduling solution represents a major product investment aimed at helping our clients streamline and automate their scheduling processes... - Jørgen Rogde, FS product director for service, asset, and project based solutions
Major feature updates include automated resource planning, rostering and shift scheduling as well as extended deployment options in the cloud. Commenting on the updated solution IFS product director for service, asset, and project based solutions Jørgen Rogde commented,“The new version of our dynamic work scheduling solution represents a major product investment aimed at helping our clients streamline and automate their scheduling processes while maintaining and enhancing the flexibility of the solution through new options for cloud deployment and big data management.”
“It will help our customers use their resources more effectively, ultimately saving them time and money.”
Another important announcement made at the conference was the unveiling of a new version of IFS Enterprise Operational Intelligence (EOI).
Included within the new version - the first major release since the solution was acquired through the acquisition of VisionWaves in July 2015 were a number of new features such as capabilities for adding custom visualizations,
plug-and-play integration with IFS Applications, and of course integration with the IFS IoT Business Connector.
A number of elements of EOI are particularly suited including of course the scheduling element, which is powered by the IFS dynamic scheduling engine that users will be familiar with.
This tool used in combination with the ability to customise maps by incorporating drawings, illustrations or performance data onto a map could be a fantastic tool for prescriptive analytics and potentially modelling different schedule scenarios. In combination with the in-memory database technology demonstrated in Boston last year could theoretically mean that running simulations to find optimum workforce division could be done in minutes as opposed to weeks or even months that such a task using manual tools.
However, whilst the developments of both EOI and MWM and their integration to the wider suite of IFS Applications were not only impressive but also have easily identifiable use-cases within field service operations, it was the glimpse into the not too distant future from IFS Labs that was the show stopper from a field service perspective.
At IFS Labs, we look beyond the current needs of businesses to anticipate what solutions will be required in the future... - Bas de Vos, Director, IFS Labs
The drone proof-of-concept featured live integration between a drone and IFS Applications for automatic generation of work orders whilst inspecting assets on a scaled model demonstration.
Using computer image analysis, a drone flown by a member of the IFS labs team was able to recognise a break in a power line within the model and automatically generated an observation that is registered in IFS Applications via the IFS IoT Business Connector.
The end user can analyse and process the drone observations via the IFS Lobby interface, in which additional information such as geolocation and customer feedback is cross-referenced to help the user action appropriate maintenance and repair.
Although still not available, the proof-of-concept demonstration certainly opened up a number of eyes as to the power of technology to help in the delivery of field service within the not too distant future.
“At IFS Labs, we look beyond the current needs of businesses to anticipate what solutions will be required in the future,” IFS Labs director Bas de Vos said.
And perhaps this is the key takeaway from the three day conference, for those asking how the EQT acquisition will affect the IFS, the message was it’s business as usual - and on the evidence on show in Gothenberg this year, the usual is innovation.
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Jan 09, 2017 • Features • 3D printing • Future of FIeld Service • ClickSoftware • IoT • Parts Pricing and Logistics • Customer Satisfaction and Expectations
Marina Stedman, Director Global Field Marketing, ClickSoftware, takes a look at the technology shaping the next phase of field service evolution...
Marina Stedman, Director Global Field Marketing, ClickSoftware, takes a look at the technology shaping the next phase of field service evolution...
The term Internet of Things (IoT), describes the inter-networking of physical and smart devices, items such as vehicles and buildings and even technology services. Connected interoperability across many devices, applications and infrastructure presents an opportunity for the field service industry to raise the bar on two key areas of field service: operational costs and customer satisfaction.
Operational Costs:
Increased connectivity within a field service operation fosters a predictive model for addressing possible equipment, infrastructure, machine or device failures. The ability to diagnose and address issues and undertake preventive maintenance is essential to saving time (and money) on service calls, cutting the number of service requests made and improving the first-time-fix rate.
Take a building’s HVAC system for example. With today’s increasingly unpredictable weather, warm one day and freezing the next, IoT sensors can monitor temperatures and simultaneously use historical service and on-line data to predict maintenance requirements, failure rates and climate trends. This data can be used to manage service and operational tasks, for example making sure a system is serviced before parts fail and before the first freeze occurs, cutting the risk of breakdown and reducing the need for field service intervention.
Customer Satisfaction
Cost, asset management and effective communication are key components to achieving the ultimate goal: ensuring customer satisfaction.
Customers are unhappy when they have to wait a long time for a service visit, wait in all day for an engineer to arrive or make multiple calls to find out the status of their job. If multiple service visits are needed before a problem can be fixed because the information required for a first time fix is not available, both customer satisfaction and business profitability are impacted.
IoT sensors in devices or infrastructure, linked to real-time scheduling and dispatch solutions can detect potential service outages and make sure that issues are fixed before they become critical. For instance, IoT sensors in a food vendor’s freezers could identify a potential fault and notify the manufacturer that it’s due for a service before the freezer breaks and the food spoils. The manufacturer can quickly schedule an engineer to visit and rectify the issue before the freezer breaks down, saving time and money for everyone.
The IoT technology that we envisaged only five years ago bears no resemblance to what can be done today and it won’t be long before machines will automate decisions and launch actions without human intervention.
3D Printing
3D printers use Computer Aided Design plans to mould thin layers of melted plastic, aluminium, and powders together to form shapes. They started off making simple things like models and toys, but today’s devices have the sophistication and capability to form replacement parts. Why is it then, that few, if any field service organisations currently fulfil field-based replacement part requirements with 3D printed spares?
Maybe they don’t feel that the technology is safe and reliable enough at the moment? This won’t always be the case - here are two things to think about for the future:
Speeding Spare Parts Fulfilment
Apart from people costs, spare parts management is one of the biggest areas of cost for a field service organisation. Anticipating parts demand is challenging, even with the most sophisticated field service software solutions and the rarer the part, the less likely a field service engineer will have it available on-site when needed. 3D printing will make it as cheap to produce single items as it is to produce thousands and introduces the possibility of directly manufacturing finished components on site - reducing inventory costs and speeding up job completion.
Improving First-time Fix Rate
Not having their problem resolved in one visit is a constant source of irritation to field service customers and research has found a direct correlation between first-time fix rates and customer satisfaction. (*Aberdeen Group Fixing First Time Fix) .
As lack of parts to fix the problem is the main reason field technicians visit a customer site twice, field-based 3D printing facilities could enable parts to be printed on-demand, improving first-time fix rate and positively impacting customer satisfaction ratings.
Imagine the Future
IoT sensors in devices send messages to fulfilment and dispatch when a part is at risk of failing.
A 3D printer creates the part and the job is automatically scheduled. The service engineer fixes the problem before the customer is aware of the issue and without any disruption to business or personal life. Sounds like science fiction, it won’t be a few years from now.
Looking for more tips, trends, and future field service technology advice? Check out the Technology section of Field Service Matters.
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Jan 05, 2017 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service • PTC • Bill Pollock
Augmented Reality (AR) allows field technicians to “see” how to make a repair, rather than having to “read” about how to do it writes Bill Pollock, President, Strategies for GrowthSM...
Augmented Reality (AR) allows field technicians to “see” how to make a repair, rather than having to “read” about how to do it writes Bill Pollock, President, Strategies for GrowthSM...
It seems that for forever, field technicians have been forced to carry around hundreds of pages of paper in their cars or vans detailing and explaining repair processes, service guidelines and product schematics, etc.
Then, once at the customer site, they still need to flip through those hundreds of pages to find exactly what they are looking for in order to perform the onsite repair – particularly when it involves dealing with a piece of equipment that they may not have seen in years – if ever!
It is more helpful for the field technician to “see” how to repair a piece of equipment, rather than having to “read up” on how to repair the equipment.
Further, while the former can take place in real time, the latter may often require several minutes – or more – of looking up chapters or indices, finding the appropriate pages, writing down notes, and otherwise “wasting” time – at least from the perspectives of both the technician and the customer!
Some companies, like PTC, had long been aware of these concerns. In PTC’s case, they made the move earlier in the year to acquire Vuforia, “a mobile vision platform that enables applications, or ‘apps’, ‘to see and connect the physical world with digital experiences that demand attention, drive engagement, and deliver value’.”
In fact, it is through the use of this AR technology that Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) providers can now empower their customers to leverage two of the most disruptive of transformational technology trends – the Internet of Things (IoT) and Augmented Reality (AR) – to deliver a new class of products that merge the digital and physical worlds.
The benefits to the field force can be substantial as, by adopting an AR-based strategy, Field Service Organizations (FSOs) can:
- Completely eliminate the maintenance, repair and service manuals in their present, cumbersome, print copy (or, even, digital) form;
- Streamline (and/or eliminate) formal, individual, maintenance and repair training for service technicians; and
- Introduce new IoT- and AR-based Service Lifecycle Management (SLM) business models.
In a 2016 Fortune article, the magazine reported that, “More and more we see products that are part physical and part digital – and we see new models wanting to be part physical and part digital. The idea of being able to project a digital experience onto a physical product to figure out how to service it or show operating metrics … is a killer idea.”
Imagine pointing your smartphone at your car and being able to see visual warnings that your wiper fluid was running low or your tire pressure was sub-optimal on a rear tire.
In other words, not only does “Seeing is believing” hold true for those field technicians supported by an AR platform, but if “a picture is worth a thousand words”, then being able to “see” how to repair the equipment via Augmented Reality must expand upon that equation by another thousand-fold!
AR doesn’t create a “new” virtual reality; but, rather, it enhances the perceptual reality that the viewer is able to visualise while looking at a piece of equipment. This is exactly how AR will be able to assist FSOs in an SLM environment; that is, to provide the field technician (who may not ever have been called upon to service a particular piece of equipment) to still be able to perform the repair by “overlaying” an enhanced (again, augmented) reality – in 3D motion – over and above what he or she would otherwise be able to visualise, in order to make a quick, clean and complete fix.
AR doesn’t create a “new” virtual reality; but, rather, it enhances the perceptual reality that the viewer is able to visualise while looking at a piece of equipment.
However, merely talking about Augmented Reality – rather than actually seeing it in action – is like trying to tell a Southerner how cold the Northern Winters are – in words. It’s just not possible! That’s why AR is best understood by actually seeing a demonstration of it in action.
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Dec 19, 2016 • Features • Augmented Reality • Future of FIeld Service
Field Service News hosted a series of Chatham House rules roundtables in Amsterdam earlier this year to get a feel for attitudes towards Augmented Reality amongst service executives.
Field Service News hosted a series of Chatham House rules roundtables in Amsterdam earlier this year to get a feel for attitudes towards Augmented Reality amongst service executives.
This is what the people had to say...
On Augmented Reality as a threat to the labour force:
“That’s kind of the nature of technology in general - for example the big concern with robotics was you build robots and now humans on the assembly line are losing their jobs. But that’s the nature of technology - it does displace people but then it opens up other avenues -now technicians are fixing and programming the robots.”
On AR as a means of delivering remote guided self maintenance and repair:
“We’re chasing vessels all over the world, oil tankers, luxury yachts etc but very often we have to send very skilled people to do very basic manoeuvres of our mechanical systems so I see a big, big advantage for us if we were able to get that installed. The problem I’m seeing is getting the camera there is as hard as getting a skilled technician there, so the question I have is what can we do with the vessels own employees and a smart phone?”
On the transition to utilising Augmented Reality in our workflow:
“I remember when the automotive industry started putting computers in cars and everybody was saying that there would be no more mechanics, you just plug in a computer and it tells you what’s wrong - well all the mechanics are still here. I think this will be the same - it will be an adaptation, a transition and an improvement.”
On Augmented Reality as a training tool:
“We spend a lot of money flying our top guys all over the world to give training to technicians but it would be nice to reverse it where you could do demonstrations where people are dialling in remotely.”
On the power of Augmented Reality being magnified by other technologies:
“I really think we should be using all of these new emerging technologies such as Big Data, IoT, Augmented Reality in harmony”
On the big barriers to Augmented Reality:
“My biggest problem is the connectivity side of things. Connectivity is probably the number one barrier”
On Augmented Reality as a practical tool for hitting one of the most common KPIs in field service:
“I really look at the big advantage of Augmented Reality as improving the first time fixed rates. We’re still going to need really skilled technicians because our equipment has been designed in a way where it is extremely complicated to grasp, but it would help us to be able to fix it the first time and that would be worth it by itself.”
On Augmented Reality entering into R&D thoughts already:
“ I’m starting to think ‘how do we build it into our product?’”
On how Augmented Reality can completely change our approach to service delivery:
“What I’m tasked with is trying to improve efficiency in the field and I’m very keen [on AR] - in fact over ten years ago I had the vision of the engineer going to the site with some sort of camera, projecting that back to the network operations centre and then having all of the competency housed in that hub, de-skilling the field and allowing them to be able to just fix anything but by having the competence built into the remote assistance.”
On the challenge of raising awareness of Augmented Reality at board level:
“We started some trials with Google Glass but it was a waste of time, but everybody thought something was going to happen and it didn’t and now the problem is getting the buy-in again and separating this out from those failed trials.”
On Augmented Reality becoming a mainstream field service tool:
“Ease of use and implementations - look at the iPhone - it’s really easy to use, it’s not cheap but it is really easy to use. So for me it’s going to be who can deliver an AR product to the market with the simplest ease of use proposition.”
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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