ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘future-of-field-service’ CATEGORY

Yes we have reached that time of the year when various competitions are rolled our left right and centre.The best business card in field service, thre best uniform in field service, the cleanest field service fleet and so on and so forth...

However, there are three competitions that have caught our eye of late so we thought we'd share with the class...

ServiceMax's are collecting worst ever field service engineer visits....

As the folks at ServiceMax quite rightly point out field service technicians keep the world running, but they perhaps don't get appreciated all the the time. So the team at ServiceMax are collecting your best( or should that be worst?) field service anecdotes (in strictest confidentiality of course) and have commissioned award winning artist Jerry King to create a series of customised cartoons based on the anecdotes selected

Find out more and enter here

ClickSoftware look for the most extreme field service engineers out there...

ClickSoftware mean while are launching a competition to find the field service professionals that work in the most extreme locations around the world. This is olne that is sure to turn up some interesting answers from the Arctic to the Sahara there are field engineers just about everywhere! There is also some serious money being given to charity of the back of this with each winner allowed to donate £1,000.00 (or local equivalent) to the charity of their choice - good job ClickSoftware.

Find out more and enter here 

Field Service News launch the #FSN20 - make your nominations now!

OK so this didn't so much catch our eye as it's our own competition. And it's not a competition as such... more a celebration of the great and the good of our industry but this year is the launch of the inaugural Field Service News 20. A list of the 20 most influential people working in field service. It could be analysts, commentators, the head of a specific provider that has changed the way your company operates, your boss, a former boss who ever you nominate we'll look into them and see if they can make a place on the list.

We don't promise it'll be the most scientific process, and there are no prizes available, just the awesome sense of well being for saying well done to someone who has helped you, no matter how inadvertently in you working life.

So take two minutes and make a nomination now

 

Be social and share this news

Today, the ultimate goal of field service excellence is to respond quickly to customer needs, whatever they may be and it takes four criteria to meet this goal: Be on time, allow enough time to do the job, have the right skills and bring the right equipment. Trimble Field Service Management's General Manager John Cameron explains more...

For the mobile technician, an increased importance has been put on their role to the overall success of the organisation, as they are quite often the only interaction a customer will have with the business. This has led to the search for new ways to empower technicians and equip them with the right tools that allow them to excel at their jobs, through improved communication, collaboration, data sharing and integration.

 

Recent research from Aberdeen Group[1] found that 82 per cent of field service organisations identified mobility as a strategic initiative for the service operation in the next 12 months, as a tool to empower the field with real-time intelligence to make decisions and resolve issues to better serve the customer. Companies that understand how to strategically leverage mobility solutions stand to drive efficiencies, improve customer service and benefit from a more profitable bottom line.

 

With field-based work becoming increasingly complex and time-sensitive, more and more businesses are beginning to focus on the proliferation of mobile solutions, integrated with back-end field service solutions, to help manage field operations and provide the mobile workforce with the real-time knowledge needed to make better, more intelligent decisions while in the field.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) has huge potential for the field service industry. It enables devices that are equipped with sensors, hardware and software to be networked together through the internet, where they can communicate with one another and send and receive data. Machine-to-machine (M2M) technology is already helping field service companies to find out about issues before they occur through this development but the IoT is said to go beyond M2M and represents the ‘next generation’ for field service, connecting not just with machines but with systems, people and other things.

For example, IoT allows field service companies to gain greater insight into the status and health of their assets remotely, enabling a smarter approach to proactive and preventive maintenance. Sensors can be integrated into their devices in the field which can yield a huge amount of data on diagnostics, measurements, temperature and overall conditions, all of which is instrumental in preventing equipment failure, scheduling maintenance and improving safety. The same principle applies for condition-based maintenance. Businesses will be able to become better at it as they will have access to more and better information in the first place.

Mobile apps

There are a number of different approaches a business can take in order to create a mobile application strategy, one of the most common being to develop them internally with mobile app development tools. At its core, mobile applications provide technicians with the ability to share, store and view job data while out in the field, offering them a virtual link to the back office that helps to inform and empower them.

 

Having full visibility of a field operation is a key success factor and mobile applications that can offer visibility into the status, location and performance of field assets (technicians, parts, equipment etc) help technicians considerably in getting to the right place at the right time with the information they need to do their job correctly the first time. A number of mobile applications on the market today also provide added value to the field worker by enabling them to easily locate and contact nearby co-workers if they need assistance on a job or require advice on solving a problem. By having the tools to work more collaboratively, resolution is more likely to be reached first-time, helping to increase worker productivity and effectiveness.

 

The plethora of information offered through mobile applications can include previous work history of jobs and upcoming work details. For example, if a technician is en-route to a customer, a quick look at service history on a mobile phone can inform them that the customer has complained multiple times to the helpdesk about a product/equipment failure. This is vital information that can help the technician approach the customer with more care, helping to maintain a good customer service. Furthermore, when a technician reviews and accepts a job within a mobile application, the mobile devices’ navigation tool can help them find the most efficient route. Helping to reduce fuel consumption and travel time. From a service perspective, the technician can then pull up the customer’s details and call them to confirm when they will be arriving on-site.

Mobility solutions: What to choose?

There are a multitude of mobile devices on the market today that help technicians get to the right place on time, fix the customer’s problem the first time, and move on to the next task. The problem field service organisations face is choosing the right technology for their field based workers.

Ruggedised devices continue to evolve as mobile technology improves and have proven successful in helping field workers to complete their daily tasks. Such devices can be used in the harshest of environments and enable scanning packages, diagnostics, checking customer records, invoicing and delivery confirmation, among other tasks.

As the lines between consumer and business technology continue to merge, non-rugged tablets and smartphones have also broken into the field service marketplace. Tablets tend to be larger than smartphones and therefore engineers may find it easier to view and input job details. At the same time, smartphones offer the portability factor.

The ‘Bring Your Own Device’ debate has received much coverage in the service sector and has arguably been dubbed as being the only way forward for businesses looking to compete effectively and offer the most efficient customer service and increased employee satisfaction.

 

Simply, ‘Bring Your Own Device’ refers to employees having the ability to connect their own technical devices, such as smartphones, laptops and tablets, to their company’s network instead of using a device owned by the company. Uptake of BYOD had been relatively slow in the field service industry but recent years have seen an influx of workers bringing their own personal devices into their work environment to use in their everyday jobs and the advantages, both to the organisation and the employee, are significant.

 

For the field service organisation, it creates new opportunities for the business by increasing the number of tech-savvy and mobile-application users in the workforce. For the employee, they have taken a personal choice to use the technology and are familiar with it. This in turn will lead to increased satisfaction and productivity whilst eliminating the need for technical support and training costs for the business.

Mobility solutions: Capturing the insight

When a field service organisation deploys a mobile strategy, the wealth of data captured around technician performance, customer data, vehicle location, work order status etc. is not enough to make intelligent business decisions. It is how that data is analysed and turned into usable information that is what will really make a difference. For this reason, data captured through mobile devices must be tied into other systems within the organisation’s technology infrastructure, if not it will get lost. Indeed, Aberdeen Group found the top strategic action for 62 per cent of best-in-class field service organisations to be to improve data integration between the field and back office systems[2].

Aberdeen Group’s research also found that best-in-class field service organisations are 49 per cent more likely than peers to integrate data from mobile devices with back-end systems, such as ERP and CRM[3]. This integration will then allow other departments, such as sales, marketing and engineering to benefit from the field insights captured and maximise its value.

 

For example, customer and equipment data has the ability to spark insights into new products, services and campaigns, which benefit the organisation in revenue opportunities. This interaction also helps customers get access to products and services that will help improve their productivity and business goals. Service is ultimately a partnership between the customer and the organisation and without the use of captured data, the opportunity to evolve will be lost.

 

Ultimately, having a mobility strategy in place allows for better empowerment, data sharing and collaboration out in the field. For the field worker, they are provided with the best possible support and are able, themselves, to make use of the real-time information and knowledge to make the right decisions while on the move. As a result, they are better positioned to resolve issues first-time and deliver the best service they can.

For more information on how to drive an agile, dynamic field service operation through the adoption of mobile solutions, download Aberdeen Group Senior Research Analyst Aly Pinder’s recent report, Empowering the Mobile Worker with Real-Time Insight and Data Integration, here.  The report provides insight into how top performers provide technicians with the right information in the field, integrate data captured in the field with back office systems (via mobile apps) and excel at delivering resolution and not just a response.

[1] Aberdeen Group, Empowering the mobile worker with real-time insight and data integration, 2014

[2] Aberdeen Group: Service Mobility: The right technology for the tech, 2014

[3] Aberdeen Group: Service Mobility: The right technology for the tech, 2014

Why is it that, in a time of unprecedented innovation in phone technology, all field service mobile apps are the same? Ian Mapp, Director at Wyser Stewart throws down the gauntlet to app developers...

Not precisely the same, of course. But, essentially they all try to solve the challenges faced by mobile engineers/technicians in the same way. If you look at the websites of companies that supply such applications – and there are plenty to choose from, too many to list here – you will find the descriptions almost interchangeable.

They all claim to increase productivity by replacing the reliance on paper-based forms, reliably integrating with office-based systems, eliminating errors and speeding up processes; improving cashflow by removing delays in producing the final invoice and reducing customer disputes. Sure, there are differences in details and variations in the technology platforms that are supported, but they are almost identical in capabilities. Plus, delivering indistinguishable experiences for the user.

 

It seems that the biggest innovation right now is who supplies the device – the company or the worker! To BYOD, or not to BYOD. It’s 2014. Is that best we can do? Really?

Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, with market penetration in the UK this year estimated somewhere between 70-80%. And each of them has amazing computing capability, and a bunch of ‘smart’ features that make them very powerful devices. The biggest challenge when rolling out mobile applications is often user resistance to changing their working practices, but we don’t exploit those capabilities or make it very attractive when all we offer our engineers is a replacement for filling out forms.

“Okay, if you’re so clever, what do you suggest?” I hear you ask. And it’s a fair question.

The design for today’s apps mostly started out as automated equivalents of paper systems, as has been mentioned. And that is true of most administrative software products. Take a manual procedure, tweak it a bit and write the resulting re-engineered process into code. Bingo! A faster version of what worked before, more reliable, more consistent and leading to more work being done.

But, what if we started from a clean sheet and made smartphone capabilities intrinsic to the design of a new model for mobile workers? What might that look like? Now, I am by no means a software developer so some of this may not be practical, but I am an enthusiastic smartphone user and this does not seem at all far-fetched. Here are some ideas for a (better) day in the life for an engineer, using M/App (our imaginary mobile app - sorry, couldn’t resist it!)

 

It’s 07:45, and Sam’s phone chimes. Sam has been checking the news headlines and is already logged into the phone – possibly using a fingerprint for security validation. M/App knows, from a calendar entry, that Sam is scheduled for a shift starting at 08:00 and offers a simple prompt, “Ready to start your shift Sam?” with Yes/No/Snooze options for a response. No logging in to an application, no menu choices to be made, just a single button press (or voice input).

The software interrogates Sam’s scheduled jobs and checks for any delays on the journey to the first one. There are none, and at 08:02 M/App gently reminds Sam that he needs to start his daily vehicle check, in order to set off in time for his first appointment. The checklist is on-screen as soon as the phone detects movement outside to the van. The vehicle check requires input from Sam, but once that is finished, the app is expecting that travel will begin to the site and will not require any further response if it detects movement at speed – indicating driving – on a reasonable route to the first destination.

The phone detects that Sam is out of the vehicle, and based on GPS signals, prompts for confirmation that Sam has arrived on-site. He may only have parked nearby and needs some time before he truly arrives, or he may have unrelated tasks to perform – like returning a call to a manager – and so a positive acknowledgement is required.

Depending on the quality of the data about the machine to be serviced, it may be possible to use the latest in-building positioning technologies to determine when Sam is ready to begin work. Irrespective of that detail, M/App will always default to a prompt about the next expected step in the process.

 

For example, asking “Are you ready to start work on the xyz machine?” with Yes/No/Snooze options is simpler than asking for a ‘Start Time’ to be input in HH:MM format. And streamlining the data input demands will also encourage Sam to record what he is doing in real-time, further improving the flow of data back to the office and the decisions to be made about new priority jobs, and dynamically rescheduling for overruns and delays.

The workflow will progress through the necessary actions to complete the job, using any sensors or features of the device than can provide knowledge that enable the app to intelligently determine what is happening and what should happen next – clock, camera, touch screen, accelerometers, GPS and Wi-Fi for positioning, other installed apps or OS facilities.

I am not suggesting that everything will flow simply from step to step without variation – that would not be realistic – but in many industries and job types there is a definite pattern to the individual activities and M/App suggests the ‘line of least resistance’ for the engineer to follow. That’s what we call best-practice, isn’t it?

M/App is always active in the background, trying to ensure that the schedule can be met. For example, Sam starts a task with a ‘standard’ time of 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, the app checks for travel delays and detects a problem, with a hold-up of 20 minutes and a late arrival predicted. The app prompts Sam for an estimated completion time, he confirms 30 minutes, and informs the central system of the upcoming problem. That allows the scheduling system to determine the best course of action. A decision is made and the change to his schedule is communicated to Sam’s device while he continues to work, meaning that he can immediately move on to the right next job – avoiding the traffic hold-up. That improves the productivity of his shift, and means more satisfied customers at the end of the day.

The application is “nudging” Sam to carry out the tasks and jobs in the order that the centralised scheduling system has determined to be optimal, by requiring the lowest level of effort to follow that plan. However, Sam may be able to override that, and carry out work in a different sequence – one of his own choosing. But, it will mean more inputs, choices and manual navigation by him to achieve those overrides.

[quote]How can we use the power of a smartphone to unobtrusively assist our engineers in their daily work, enabling them to focus on delivering service to our customers?’

The underlying design principle of M/App is not ‘how can we get our engineers to fill out the head-office mandated forms better?’, but ‘how can we use the power of a smartphone to unobtrusively assist our engineers in their daily work, enabling them to focus on delivering service to our customers?’. It’s a simple change in approach, but that switch somehow changes everything.

 

So, come on application developers, the market is ripe for some innovation. Over to you.

Field Service News recently undertook an exclusive research project, sponsored by TomTom Telematics to explore the standards of field service companies.

Across the last three features we have taken a close look at the findings of this research In part one which is available here we explored what technology was being deployed and identified a the have's and the have not's of the industry. In the second part of this series, which is available here we expanded on this by taking a more detailed looked at how companies are communicating with their employees in the field and why this is such a key component of getting it right when it comes to delivering service excellence.

In the third part we began to see patterns emerging that indicated a clear link between the levels of service a company can deliver and the technology that they employ. You can find this feature here 

Now in the final part of this series we will look at exactly where field service standards are falling flat, exploring if there is a disconnect between our own perception of our service and our customers before drawing conclusions across the research results as a whole...

There is also an accompanying report to this series which you can access by clicking this link…

Measuring field service worker productivity

As we saw in the last segment of this series if we were to put together a report card for how our customers view service standards amongst field service companies then we would probably be looking at a ‘could do better’ scenario for the field service industries as a whole. [quote float="left"]Did those working in field service believe that their organisation at least was hitting the right notes of success when it comes down to meeting service expectations?

 

But how does this compare to how we measure our own field workers productivity? Is it a case that our customers expectations are rising rapidly and we are yet to adjust to these new demands? Did those working in field service believe that their organisation at least was hitting the right notes of success when it comes down to meeting service expectations?

We asked our respondents to identify their main KPIs that they set for their field workers given them the options of “number of calls attended”, “number of jobs completed”, “number of first time fix rates”, and “sales/leads generated”.

It seems that when it comes to marking our own performances, the field service industries are somewhat more forgiving than our customers with over three quarters of companies (77%) stating that they are generally meeting these KPIs. There is clearly a disconnect between the two realities which needs to be addressed, and it may seem we need to reassess what the standards are that we should be aiming for...

Are we setting the right KPI’s

Lets begin by taking a closer look at these KPIs that are being met in a little further detail... The most common KPI was number of jobs completed, which was cited by over half (54%) of our respondent field service companies. The importance of ensuring that wherever possible jobs are completed is of clear business benefit; especially if we understand that each additional call is going to not only cause our company additional cost but also add further frustration and potentially lost revenue for our customers also.

Therefore it is good to see that so many companies value this is as a KPI. [quote float="right"]Whilst the field service workers themselves may work hard to reach their daily rota of allocated calls, if they are not completing the jobs then all that hard work may as well count for nothing.

Number of calls attended however, is less of an efficient measure, almost simply a tick box exercise. This is reflected in the fact that far fewer companies, in fact just 13% utilise this as a measure of their employees productivity.

Whilst the field service workers themselves may work hard to reach their daily rota of allocated calls, if they are not completing the jobs then all that hard work may as well count for nothing. It is absolutely vital that we empower our field service engineers to be able to complete as many jobs as possible.

Again the technology is there to improve these odds, systems that enable knowledge sharing, or access to parts inventory, or intelligently scheduling the right worker, with the right skill set required for the job are all widely available from a number of providers (such as our research sponsor TomTom Telematics) and these really massively improve your productivity levels.
 

Getting it right, first time - the field service mantra

This leads us on to the direction where many think the focus of the next generation of field service management will lay. That is the pursuit of a combination of preventative and planned maintenance and the accompanying increase on first time fix rates. Currently only 16% of companies set first time fix rates as a KPI. [quote float="left"]As we move towards a world of remote machine-to-machine diagnostics, the Internet of Things and 3D printable parts the first time fix should become less elusive and even commonplace.

In some ways this is a reflection of the current reality, first time fix rates are always desirable but rarely achievable.

The fix may be reliant on parts not to hand, or in some cases particularly where complicated machinery or devices are involved diagnosis of the exact problem may take the full allocated time slot. However, as we move towards a world of remote machine-to-machine diagnostics, the Internet of Things and 3D printable parts the first time fix should become less elusive and even commonplace.

Whilst these concepts may seem futuristic the reality is that they are not too far away, but even if they remain out of reach for now, initiatives such as improving customer communication, so we can start to get our customers to be part of the diagnostics program, are available and in many cases require just a simple shift in thinking as to how we approach service, to become part of the solution.

With this in mind it is really interesting to see that those companies who are currently embracing technology (i.e. using dynamic scheduling, intelligently responding to emergencies and use apps to communicate workloads to their field workers) have a much higher focus on first time fix rates with almost half of the companies in this bracket (47%) stating that this is their main KPI.

Incidentally 20% of these companies state that “number of jobs” completed is their main KPI It seems that the use of technology is allowing such companies greater productivity and the next evolution for these companies is to continuously try to improve their service standards, and improving first time fix rates is the logical progression which is of benefit to both customer and service supplier.

Our customers want our attention

There are a number of interesting points that this research has thrown up at us. Firstly there seems to be a big disconnect between the way we are judging the performance of our field workers, and the reality which our customers see.

When we put together the questions for this survey I genuinely felt that very few companies would have had people turning up at the wrong address, for companies whose workforce is based on the road this is surely the simplest of standards to meet, yet it seems it is not only a fairly common issue but a frequent one at that. [quote float="right"]Having a call centre is simply not enough in any industry these days. Our customers want our attention, they want it now, and they want to use their own preferred means of doing so whether that be phone, email, online chat or even social media. 

 

Similarly for so many ‘service’ companies to be failing when it comes to perhaps the most important element of service i.e. communication was also a major surprise. It seems that customers and their expectations have evolved rapidly in the twenty first century and many if not the majority of service companies have fallen behind those expectations. Having a call centre is simply not enough in any industry these days.

Our customers want our attention, they want it now, and they want to use their own preferred means of doing so whether that be phone, email, online chat or even social media. We need to move quickly to accommodate these needs, because if we don’t you can be sure our competitors will.

However, all is not lost. The technology is their to help and it is no longer prohibitively costly as it was a few years ago. What’s more is as the technology evolves integration between differing systems means we can work with solutions that are tailored specifically for our business.

TomTom Telematics for example now have three separate API’s across their solution that allows for integration with a whole raft of other providers enabling you to tailor your solution to meet your exact needs. As TomTom Telematics Director Giles Margerison commented:

“There isn’t one off the shelf solution, it would be wrong to try and develop that because every company has their own specific needs.”

“What we as technology providers should do is make sure those systems integrate so customers can choose best of breed for their particular needs and we will work together for those customers.”

As has been shown on a number of occasions as we have gone through this research the technology available really can help companies keep pace with our customers growing demands as well as reduce costs and improve technology.

If we want to improve our report card for next year perhaps we need to start looking at how we can utilise it better?

If you want to know more about this research then you can access the full report by clicking this link.

This series is sponsored by

: 

 

Field Service News has recently undertaken an exclusive research project, sponsored by TomTom Telematics to explore the standards of field service companies.

In the first part of this feature which is available here we looked at the types of technology that are being deployed amongst field service companies today and explored whether the gap is widening between the have's and the have not's in the industry.

In the second part of this series, which is available here we looked at how companies are communicating with their employees in the field and why this is such a key component of getting it right when it comes to delivering service excellence.

Now having established a baseline for the types of technology being used within the industry lets take some time to explore the standards being set by Field Service organisations before we try to identify if there is a clear and tangible link between those using technology and the levels of standards being delivered...

There is also an accompanying report to this series which you can access by clicking this link…

So what about the field service standards?

Earlier on in this series we touched on the most common complaints our respondents received from their customers, citing that of those companies using paper based dispatch notes the most common complaint by a long way (40%) was the availability of time slots.

In an interview with Field Service News, Giles Margerison, Director of TomTom telematics highlighted the need for more flexible time slots commenting

“We as consumers have adjusted our requirements to the service industry, it used to be that we would expect to have a service delivery within a day, now really we expect a one or two hour appointment window. That represents a huge challenge for the industry”

 

The findings of our research would also appear to back this up also as time slots was the joint second largest complaint for companies with 23% of the full respondent group citing this as the most common complaint. Interestingly this figure comes down to just 11% when we look at the largest companies.

This would indicate that the largest companies have the resources in places to accommodate more efficient systems, which allow for tighter time slots

Getting the basics wrong?

However, the most commonly cited reason for customer complaints was actually communication which was the most common complaint for 28% of companies. Given that there are a proliferation of means for companies to communicate with their customers this really is an area that should and could be significantly improved yet seems to be being neglected. In a piece of research undertaken by Field Service News earlier this year we looked at the types of communication field service companies were using. This research revealed that whilst the 82% offered a call centre, and 62% offered email communication less than a third of companies (32%) offered online service and just 6% offered access via an app.

This is completely at odds with where the industry needs to be. As Margerison alludes to – our expectations as consumers have changed. We live in an age where we are used to having instant access to information we need on demand. Whilst call centres and email certainly have their place, they are both slow processes when compared to web-based self-service options or online chat portals.

 

When we consider that we all work in service industries, whether it be manufacturing or medical devices, whether we visit opticians or oilrigs our core goal should always be delivering good service, and doing it efficiently.  Quite simply poor communication between ourselves and our customers should not be tolerated and this should be a key area of concern for many. The good news is of course those companies that look to investigate this within their own organisations and remedy issues around communications will very quickly be able to take a step ahead of their competitors.

In line with poor communication is poor response times, which was joint second most common complaint cited by 23% of companies. Again this is an issue that sits well with the notion that we as consumers are becoming less patient with service providers.

Cost is less of a concern than bad service

What is of particular interest is that the least common complaint is the time charged and invoiced which was a major issue for just 13% of companies. This would seem to suggest that most customers are happy to pay a fair price in exchange for good service, but the expected standard for service is coming under increasing pressure as customers rightly demand the same type of service that they get from the field service they deal with as they do from other organisations they deal with in their daily lives like Amazon for example.

As we start to look further down into the research we can see even further evidence of simple mistakes being made on an alarmingly regular basis.

For example almost half (42%) of all companies stated that they have mobile workers turn up at the wrong address whilst 5% stated this happens on a weekly occurrence. In a world where Sat Nav’s and routing software are widely used this is almost beyond comprehension.

 

Perhaps even more incredibly is that when we asked our respondents if they had ever experienced two mobile workers turning up at the same job again almost half of companies (43%) stated this had happened.

This is also apparent amongst companies of all sizes, even amongst those at enterprise level almost a third (28%) admitted to two workers turning up at the same time and a similar amount (33%) suffered mobile workers turning up at the wrong address on a monthly basis.

However, if we look at those using technology to improve their service standards we fortunately see improvements so all is not lost! The amount of companies that have a monthly address issue falls to just 13% with thankfully no weekly mishaps! Also the total of companies that never have this issue rises to 46%, which is 18% higher than the general average.

So it is clear that there is a distinct advantage for those using the technology available to them.

If you want to know more about this research then you can access the full report by clicking this link.

In the final part of this exclusive series we will take a look at the KPIs we are setting, how these match up with the service we are delivering in reality and explore one possible scenario for improving our standards within the future...

This series is sponsored by: 

Field Service News has recently undertaken an exclusive research project, sponsored by TomTom Telematics to explore the standards of field service companies.

In the first part of this feature which is available here we looked at the types of technology that are being deployed amongst field service companies today and explored whether the gap is widening between the have's and the have not's in the industry. Here in the second part of this series we look at how companies are communicating with their employees in the field and why this is such a key component of getting it right when it comes to delivering service excellence...

There is also an accompanying report to this series which you can access by clicking this link…

 

Talking to the field:

In the first part of this series we looked at three options that are important for gathering information from the field and reacting to it. The flipside of a modern field service management solution is how we communicate information back into the field. This is perhaps the most important element of an overall solution to get correct as if done well it can not only improve your companies efficiency, increase your service standards but also make your field workers lives easier. We asked our respondents “How do you inform your drivers of jobs and work schedules?” Giving the options of “Phone”, “Text”, “Paper dispatch note” “Via in Cab navigation” and “via App”.

Paper dispatch

As a starting point lets look at paper dispatch notes. Of the options given this is probably the most arduous means of delivering a work schedule for many reasons. Firstly it is dependent on your field workers arriving at a central depot or office to collect their orders for the day. A waste of time and fuel for everyone involved, and from the field workers point of view an additional hassle at the beginning of the day when they could be starting their first job. Secondly, paper based work schedules are out of date from the moment they are printed. Such a system has no option for the quick reactive response that you desire when an emergency call comes in that must become your clear priority. Fortunately only 6% of companies are still operating in this manner.

The majority (68%) of these companies still using paper based dispatch are as one would imagine in the smallest bracket of companies, although examples of companies still using such a system are to be found right up to the 151 – 300 field engineers bracket. Given that their work schedule is largely static, and it is therefore hard for these companies to react to either emergency call outs or delays either on job or non transit, it is of very little surprise that we see that the most common complaint these companies receive from their customers is missing time slots which 40% of companies cite.

Text:

The most common way of companies to notify their workers of their job schedules is by Text. This is sensible as SMS is a relatively cheap, instant means of communicating and 41% of companies use this method. It could well be that this method will ultimately be replaced by “Via App” so communication becomes part of the wider ecosystem of the companies mobile workforce management program. This is of course ideal as it allows for both additional layers of information to be included, for example the details of the last call out, even photos etc., as well as easy navigation through to other systems. Currently however only 17% of companies are using this option.

It’s good to talk…

However, there are a huge amount of companies (34%) that are still using the phone to communicate work schedules. This does have it’s positives in that it can be flexible and you can update the work schedule on the fly according to how the day is progressing however, there are a number of distinct drawbacks. Firstly there is the issue of wasting resource. Talking on the phone takes time.

Not necessarily a lot of time, but still far longer than sending messages automatically from a field service management solution. And if you add up the amount of time that takes across your whole workforce, even if it is just 10 field workers that is a lot of time being used that needn’t be. Then there is also the issue of driver safety. Yes there are a number of solutions available to allow for hands free communication, however studies from road safety charity BRAKE! Show that even hands free calls can be dangerous claiming an incredible 98% of motorists were unable to divide their time without it affecting their driving ability.

In cab nav

It is interesting to see how few companies are using in cab navigation systems to communicate with their field workers. Only 2% of those surveyed are actually using this method. One reason for this may well be the proliferation of smart phones and or tablets now being used as primary mobile devices for field workers. Indeed there is an evolving movement towards being able to use one device per vehicle such as TomTom Telematics own PRO series of ruggedised tablets, which through the use of open API architecture can provide full access to w whole range of field service and fleet management tools.

As devices like this become more prevalent then having both a standalone in cab navigation devices and another device to run your field service software on simply becomes unnecessary.

If you want to know more about this research then you can access the full report by clicking this link.

In the part three of this exclusive series we will start to explore how the technology being deployed amongst field service organisations is impacting the levels of service they are capable of delivering...

This series is sponsored by: 

 

 

Field Service News has recently undertaken an exclusive research project, sponsored by TomTom Telematics to explore the standards of field service companies.

Are they improving or are they falling? Is it that standards as a whole are now under greater scrutiny than ever before as we all become more and more expectant on getting results as soon as we expect them now that we inhabit an age of instant information thanks to the Internet?

Across the next four weeks we will be publishing a series of features that looks at the findings of this research…  what about those companies that are pulling ahead of the competition and not only delivering to their customers’ expectations but exceeding them and delighting them? What tools are they using to do so? What about those falling behind the pack – what are they getting so wrong?

There is also an accompanying report to this series which you can access by clicking this link…

 

About the research:

The research was conducted over a 2-month period in which we contacted members of the field service news online subscription as well as using the reach of Field Service News throughout the social media channels. We had a wide number of respondents from companies of differing size from those with less than 10 mobile workers through to those with over 2,500. Our respondents also came from a diverse collection of industries including Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, Transport and Local Government amongst many others.

The types of technology being used:

To establish whether field service standards are falling, improving or just staying static, an important starting point is to explore how significantly some of the technology, which is designed to make life easier for field engineers, is actually being applied. Would we see a dramatic difference in standards between those who are using the latest field service technologies and those that are not? To give us some understanding of the type of technologies that were used we asked our respondents to let us know if they were using  ‘real-time telematics when creating work schedules’, ‘dynamic scheduling and planning’, ‘intelligent scheduling around emergency call outs’. On top of this we also asked how they inform drivers of their jobs and work schedules and whether they offered job-tracking functionality to their customers. So first up lets take a look at who’s using what in field service industries…

Real-time telematics data:

In fact it was a completely even 50:50 split of companies who are and are not using telematics data. We do see bigger trends shift [quote float="left"]Of those companies with 500 or more field engineers 84% of companies using telematics data.

When we look just at those companies in the extremes of both brackets however we certainly see a trend emerging.  Of those companies with 500 or more field engineers 84% of companies using telematics data. This is in stark contrast to those companies that had 50 field workers or less. Here the number of companies using telematics data in real time is just 17%.  

 

Dynamic Scheduling:

At first glance it seems a similar situation with dynamic scheduling also. Of the group as a whole 56% of companies were using some dynamic scheduling. Again looking at the outliers, amongst those companies with 50 engineers or less this figure dips dramatically to just under a quarter of companies (24%). Similarly again as we focus on the larger companies this figure once more leaps to an incredible 89%. Again it seems that those companies with larger workforces are taking more advantage of the tools that are available.

Intelligent Scheduling around emergency call outs:

Given the trends above it would be a safe bet to assume that we would see similar trends in this area also with the largest organisations  predominantly using such tools whilst the smaller companies are either able to cope without out or as yet to see the benefits of the approach. Again starting with the group as a whole we see a very marginal majority of companies using intelligent scheduling around emergency call outs with 54% of companies surveyed using them. Amongst the smallest organisations this comes down to just 17% of companies actually using intelligent scheduling. However, unlike the previous two options (dynamic scheduling and use of real-time data) we see slightly less of a significant leap in those using it. In fact 63% of companies with a large mobile workforce are using intelligent scheduling. Still a considerable majority but not as exaggerated as in the previous two examples.

 

The haves and the have nots:

Before we move forward lets take a moment to stop and consider the reasons for the wide gap between the large and small in terms of the technology they are using. One possible argument that could support the statistics are that perhaps smaller companies may not need such sophisticated methods to maintain the standards they deliver. This is of course will be proven one way or the other later in this report as we look at the varying levels of standards that are apparent amongst companies of all sizes.

This certainly could hold true when we look at both dynamic and intelligent scheduling. As we have looked at before in a number of features there are many levels of scheduling systems available with dynamic and intelligent systems being both the most complicated and the most costly. However, for a small organisation sometimes these types of systems can be impractical as the effort in establishing the correct rules and data logic in place to get the desired results can sometimes be counter productive for a small organisation where a simpler ‘assisted scheduling’ solution would be more suited to their needs.

This logic in some part could also explain the reason why fewer larger companies are using intelligent scheduling, as it is perhaps the most sophisticated form of scheduling engine available currently, so perhaps even prohibitive for larger organisations who are able to operate with just a dynamic system in place?

However, where this theory does fall down is in the discrepancy when we look at the use of real time data.

 

Whilst there are certainly existing arguments about which types of scheduling systems suit companies of varying sizes there can be no doubt that the ability to track driver and field engineer data in real time can only be a positive for a company regardless of size, both in terms of their own internal efficiency as well as the level of service they can deliver? Again as we continue this series we will uncover the truth to this supposition, as with the number of companies offering telematics solutions, the availability of such solutions is high while the costs are reasonably low.

If the evidence supports the theory that such tools will help improve service delivery then it will be hard to see an argument for smaller companies not taking this step at the least.

If you want to know more about this research then you can access the full report by clicking this link.

In the part two of this exclusive series we will look at how field service companies are communicating from the office to the field, what the best in class companies are using and what impact this can have on productivity…

This series is sponsored by: 

Rolls Royce once reinvented service in the aerospace industry with ‘power by the hour’ they are about to do it again with ‘disruption based availability’ writes Field Service News Editor, Kris Oldland...

When it comes to creating real value through service and integrating your service offering and product into one holistic package that generates far greater value for your customers and far greater long-term revenue for yourselves, there is one company whose name is come across in almost every conversation.

One company who are the ultimate example of what getting it right looks like.

One company who revolutionised not only the way service operates in their industry but indeed how an entire industry operated.

That company is Rolls Royce Aerospace.

So when we were asked if we would head down to Bristol to record an interview with Dave Gordon, Program Director for Rolls Royce’s Defence Aviation division for a series of interviews for the International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP) we leapt at the chance. And we were not disappointed.

Accompanied by Service Management Specialist Nick Frank we arrived at the Bristol Base, after submitting an array of additional paper work to allow us to film in what on the surface seemed a fairly regular corporate building, although the strict restrictions on where we could and couldn’t be and the detailed examination of our equipment relayed that this was still for all intense purposes an integral component in the Royal Air Force’s operations and therefore access was neither granted or to be taken lightly.

And as we met with Gordon he too carried this air of being somewhere between corporate and government official. As we got set up he spoke with a relaxed and comfortable manner of the experienced corporation man. Getting our coffees personally, making light-hearted small talk about a recent decision to have laser-eye surgery etc.

You felt this was a businessman who had sat in many meetings such as these before, that was calm, relaxed and in control. Yet when we begin the interview and talk about the role Gordon plays he speaks about the UK client, he touches on their engines performance in ‘extreme conditions’ and you suddenly realise just how much pressure he and his team must be under to deliver, when your customers are some of the worlds leading military forces and we live in troubled times where the air strikes in Syria, would be just one example of where both Gordon’s and Rolls Royce’s reputations are put to the test in life and death scenarios that will effect the lives of thousands.

 

Yet still one gets the impression that Gordon would remain the same calm and amiable figure fixing the coffees before the meeting begins, if he was a meeting with a group of RAF Air Marshalls, US Marine Core Generals or as in this instance a member of the trade press.

The other early observation is that he is clearly very proud and passionate about the work he and his team are doing for Rolls Royce.

“Rolls Royce within defence has been on a journey over the last ten to fifteen years, we were a fairly traditional provider of the service we sold a product, we sold a very time and material based service solution, it was very driven by the customer and their management of our product” Gordon begins

“However, it became clear to us that that wasn’t the best fit for our customers” he continues. And it is this attitude, this belief that they can stand in the face of a customer driven process and say ‘hold on, we think we should be doing all this a bit differently’ that has separated Rolls Royce from the rest of the pack in the sectors they operate in.

Although their famous power-by-the-hour service system that is at the heart of their success as a serviced provider required a leap of faith from another global player in the industry.

“There was a very strong pull from American Airlines, who approached Rolls Royce and said we would be far more interested in you providing a solution that kept your engine on wing and we incentivised you for doing that” Gordon explains

“So we worked very closely with that customer and developed a total care solution that very much focuses on that end-to-end need and during that process Rolls ourselves have gradually taken on more of the risks, more of the responsibilities for managing those assets”

And Gordon’s own department in defence have followed this path now themselves taking a strikingly similar journey forward with the those he refers to as ‘The UK Customer’

“Within defence we’ve taken some of those core tools and processes and embedded them into our own value offering to our customer and we particularly use the UK Customer as a testing house to work with them.” Gordon continues

“They themselves were going through a major transformation looking to downsize the scale of their operation and drive efficiency. We were very much up for that journey as well. Very much a collaboration we went about introducing a far more availability based solution, which has been very successful”

However yesterday’s revolution is today’s best practice. And the only true revolutionaries are those who continue to innovate, continue to push boundaries and continue to look for ways they can further improve tomorrow.

Both Gordon and Rolls Royce fit into this camp.

“As we look to the future, we’re starting to work with the customer to go beyond just an availability solution and say what’s really disrupting that customers operation? What is really stopping them doing their job?” Gordon comments before taking a moment to pause.

[quote float="right"]We want to get to a point where they are no longer thinking about my propulsion system they’re just focussed on prosecuting their operation. To do that we need to know a little bit about the nature of the disruption and what we can do to help

“We want to get to a point where they are no longer thinking about my propulsion system they’re just focussed on prosecuting their operation. To do that we need to know a little bit about the nature of the disruption and what we can do to help.” He adds with a definite hint of excitement of that future being within touching distance. It is this concept of ‘disruption based availability’ that Gordon and Rolls Royce clearly believe to be the next evolution of there service offering as they continue to lead the industry from the front.

 

“Disruption based availability is something that we been very focussed on”

“Disruption based availability, or sometimes we refer to it as project zero, as in zero disruption to the customer, is something that both us in Defence and our colleagues in Civil have been very focussed on.” Begins Gordon.

“Understanding that it’s not just about guaranteeing the engine time on wing but actually understanding when the engine does have an incident that causes some disruption to the customer, even something as minor as a delayed take off, still that clearly has a cost. What we have been trying to do is work with our customers to understand very clearly what that cost is.” He adds.

It is a bold vision of where the Aerospace giants next steps will be, yet at the same time it feels like a natural evolution from where they are today. It’s also an approach that will yield a number benefits both hard and soft according to Gordon.

“The benefits are both the tangible where we can build an offering around saying ‘We understand the impact around cost and therefore if we are able to reduce that we can develop that into a value proposition...  but also there is an intangible piece to this as well as it helps me to motivate my teams to understand the exact impact an event will have on a customer. To help them see the fact that there are repercussions way beyond a flight not being able to take off. It will feedback into the impact such an event has on the wider operation, the planning that went into it, the need for contingency planning, and so on…” Gordon explains with enthusiasm

“Understanding the whole eco-system that sits around not just my product, but the system it’s working in and how the customer is using it, and then understanding how we can reduce the impact, you can clearly demonstrate the value to the customer, and we’re working with them to do that….”

He takes the briefest of pauses, giving his next thought some consideration before committing to it.  But when he does it sums up exactly what both Gordon and Rolls Royce are all about

“It’s a real motivator for me as the team really starts to understand what customer service actually means.” He adds in an almost solemn tone.

And this for me is it, there is a point in any interview where you grasp the heart of the story, and you see your subject in their truest light. Dave Gordon and Rolls Royce are a perfect fit. Look at the DNA of both the man and the corporation and you’ll find service deeply entwined.

In the heart of each you’ll find a desire to innovate, to keep pushing the boundaries, and to keep on being revolutionary.

Which is why I expect both to succeed.

 

 

 

As companies capture more data through mobile devices, remote sensors and telematics, the opportunity to increase the efficiency of field service operations has never been better argues coresystems CEO Phillip Emmenegger... 

This year, at tennis’ US Open, we got a glimpse of just how pervasive the idea has become of big data’s transformative power.

Thanks to cameras and remote sensors trained on the every move of the tennis players, we learned from the estimated 41 million data points collected how important it is for tennis players to return the ball to their opponent in the least amount of moves. Or, as the new “must-know” tennis stat that tracks the average distance a player travels on the court for each point is called, “Feet (meter) per point”.

It’s obvious that it’s better to expend less energy chasing down a ball, but now there’s tangible proof. The two men’s players to make the finals, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori, both despite their different styles of play, racked up the least amount of distance per point. Cilic averaged 42 feet per point; Nishikori, 52. In contrast, Roger Federer came in at 57 feet per point, and Andy Murray at 70 feet.

But what does the data crunching at the US Open have to do with field service? Just as in tennis, so in field service: those with the most efficient delivery win. Moreover, just as collecting the seemingly mundane data of the average distance a player ran per point is now being used by tennis coaches to re-examine their player’s games, so a company can now collect the most specific data to be transformed into meaningful analytics to eventually give companies an edge.

Indeed, according to the Aberdeen Group, companies have a strong belief that the proper use of big data will give them a competitive advantage. In the consultancy’s report, “Big Data Perspectives: Users vs. IT,” 43% of IT personnel believe that faster, more complex analytics will give them an edge over other companies.

 

Moreover, providing superior customer service has been show to impact a company’s bottom line. According to business consultancy the Aberdeen Group in its recent study, “Secrets to Optimize Field Service for Better Customer Experience,” those companies that hit a 90% + customer satisfaction were also able to achieve an annual 6.1% growth in service revenue, a 3.7% growth in overall revenue, and even more importantly, an 89% current level of customer retention.

But how can field service companies harness big data? And, what exactly is “big data”? Big data – as opposed to just data – usually refers to the entire process of capturing, storing, managing and analyzing massive amounts of various types of data, according to the Aberdeen Group. Typically, the amounts are in the terabytes or petabytes, stored in multiple formats, from both internal and external sources, and with strict demands for speed and complexity of analysis.

Here are three ways your company can get started:

Collect and Capture Data: Within field service, there are a number of ways big data can be used. The first place to start is to assess the data that your organisation already collects. Using a field service software solution will allow you to collect data quicker and more easily. A field engineer using a tablet-based solution could seamlessly collect the time the technician was dispatched, the time to fix the job, whether or not the job was fixed the first time, if a technician had to return, what reason they had to go back, and what part was needed. What other data does your company collect? Is there fleet management of telematics data available? Would placing remote sensors at certain locations to collect data make sense?

Analysing Data: Once you have captured the data, it’s time to make sense of it. You could compare it to historical data and analyse it for patterns. For example, real-time data from service engineers can show how long a job took on average, giving managers guidance on the right amount of time to assign future similar jobs. In turn, this would impact the accuracy of arrival times, and reduce the amount of jobs that have to be rescheduled, improving customer service.

 

The next place to look is across departments in your company. Could shared data from different departments lead to more efficiencies or opportunities? For example, could data shared between the field service department and the sales department end in more sales opportunities? Managers could also see if one particular area has a higher need for service technicians, and hire accordingly.

Predictive Analysis: More exciting examples could happen when companies get more sophisticated with remote sensors and machine-to-machine communications. The term “predictive analytics” is usually spoken of in marketing as the ability to track the behaviour of prospective buyers to help sellers understand the right time to engage them. But now we’re beginning to hear the term “predictive maintenance”, referring to the ability to foresee when a part or piece of equipment is near the end of its life span. With remote sensors, it would be possible to begin gathering data on whether a particular part is more prone to breaking down by monitoring a machine’s changes over time; or within a certain use case, and what its average life span is. The data could help predict the best time to schedule a pre-emptive service call.

It’s no secret that customer demand for better service has increased and that its success now contributes or takes away from a company’s bottom line. Ironically, as technology helps organizations deliver better customer service, the expectation for even better service just keeps rising. It’s up to companies to use every single tool they have, including the most minute details, to turn them into their own competitive advantage.