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Asset and service data will be a crucial element of making this transition to a more outcome-based business model. However, at present, surveyed organisations are not accessing the full potential of this data due to their inconsistent use of digital tools and technology. While 98% of respondents report that their organisation uses automated digital tools and technology to aid the collection and utilisation of asset service data, only around half or fewer state that these tools are used in the collection (51%), aggregation (43%) or analysis (52%) stages of the process.

This intermittent use of automated technologies is not only opening the door for inefficiencies but is also directly leading to difficulties with data collection and utilisation. Around four in ten respondents report that when it comes to the management of access to asset service data in real time (40%), aggregating asset service data in a structured way (39%), analysing asset service data (41%), and sharing asset service data analysis with the rest of the business (42%), their organisation either needs huge improvements in these areas, a complete overhaul or that they simply do not do this at all yet.

The difficulties regarding asset and service data are exasperated further by the 59% of respondents who agree that their organisation is held back from the successful analysis of data because the quality of it is usually poor.

Struggles are rife throughout the entire process, right from who is collecting it and how they do this, down to how it is being analysed and shared across the business. How can these organisations possibly expect to make any informed, strategic decisions using the data that is readily available to them if the process is so disjointed, outdated and underdeveloped digitally?

Lack of Data Confidence

And these struggles have led to a distinct lack of confidence among surveyed decision makers and their colleagues, with only 50% of respondents reporting that they or other service leaders in their organisation completely trust the asset service data that they have access to. But this will need to change because asset and service data is becoming an ever more integral part of organisations, and this is summed up by the 85% of respondents who agree that service asset data should be central to strategic decision making.

The requirement to boost trust levels is especially pertinent in those organisations where the C-suite is already using asset service data today (39%) or have plans to in the future (34%) because they will need to be able to trust in the data in order to make well-informed decisions for the business.

The use of asset and service data by the C-suite will also serve to set an example for leaders across other departments that this is the best way forward for the organisation.

Glaring Skills Gap

However, it is not just these deep-lying trust issues that are a concern for organisations, which is clear from the fact that only 22% of respondents are willing to admit that the IT and field service functions in their organisation work together completely effectively to achieve the goal of better data utilisation.

This lack of collaboration is compounded by a glaring skills gap whereby over three quarters (77%) of surveyed decision makers concede that the pace of data intelligence digitally collected by their organisation’s assets is outpacing the skills of those responsible for actually utilising the data.

Further to this, more than four in ten respondents report that the skills of engineers (45%) and the skills of management (44%) are a cause for concern when it comes to using data produced by advanced technologies (such as a digital twin) meaningfully. This should set alarm bells ringing for organisations because they are struggling with skills among both their employees on the ground and those higher up the organisation as well. It seems that even with the implementation of the appropriate technology for the collection and utilisation of asset and service data, there will still be work to be done in order to extract as much value as possible – this will likely need to be in the form of a rigorous training program.

An Appetite for Automation

A lack of collaboration between teams, an ever-increasing skills gap and an inconsistent use of the appropriate technology, leading to trust issues could become a recipe for disaster in these organisations if not addressed quickly.

The need for automated digital tools has rarely been clearer, and respondents recognise this. Only 7% believe that automating the process of collecting and utilising asset service data is not at all required because all data manually entered by service engineers is structured and entirely usable. Whereas over four in ten (43%) report that the automation of this process in their organisation is required to a huge extent, or that it is completely required because manually entered data never/rarely provides value.

Organisations will need to utilise automated digital tools more consistently if they are to progress, but they will also need to upskill their workforce and address any collaboration issues internally. These three areas are crucial if asset and service data is to be utilised to its full potential and this will ultimately underpin the successful transition to an outcome-based business model.

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Adopting IoT as part of the greater service and business environment involves keeping up with industry changes as they take place. That means incorporating better measures when needs arise in any business area and keeping cost-effective solutions in mind for future progress of the company as a whole.

Aly Pinder outlines how the growing trend for connected products is set to revolutionise the way we approach service...

What is the value of a connected product or asset? Some might argue, connected products allow a manufacturer to capture a wealth of product data which can be used to make better products in the future.

Others might state, connected products open a window into customer usage data which can help manufacturers and sales teams target customers more effectively driving increased revenues.

These are two important use cases and show some of the promise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected products.

But I think there is an even more impactful area of value from the ability to connect to products – field service.

Now you may be thinking, of course, it’s all of field service, as you peruse the articles of Field Service News. But even if I am preaching to the choir, the impact that connected products can have on the ability for manufacturers to transform the way they deliver field service and customer support is not necessarily a given.

However, as more products and assets are connected I believe there is a real opportunity to see great leaps in field service and the transformation of the way manufacturers interact with the end customer.

Three opportunities, in particular, jump out as big wins for the future of field service as a result of data captured from connected products and equipment:

Finally, predict and not react

The journey from reactive field service to proactive and predictive persists for many manufacturers. I don’t think this is necessarily a battle which will ever reach a state of 100% predictive service, and nor should it.

But I do think there is a great opportunity to take the volumes of data being captured in real-time to make smarter decisions in field service which can lead to a different balance of reactive, proactive, and predictive support.

Also, data gleaned from connected products can help make reactive service calls more valuable and efficient as a technician should have the answers to the issue without having to guess or lean on gut-feel.

Service without a truck roll.

As noted in recent IDC research, by 2020, 50% of global OEMs with connected service offerings will have incorporated augmented service execution and/or remote management thus improving service margins by up to 30%.

The ability to resolve issues remotely or to utilize a centralized expert to help a customer solve a problem can be transformative for field service. This type of model could help service leaders allocate their seasoned technicians to the most complex problems as opposed to just an issue within their geographic footprint.

Connected products enable a manufacturer to know what is wrong in advance of a response and ensure the right response is the one scheduled for a scarce set of resources.

Focus on the value of the human interaction.

When we think about the negatives associated with the rise of the machines (i.e., Terminator), we often miss something.

This should be an opportunity not a threat.

Connected products which ‘talk’ to each other provides an opening for field technicians to focus on the humans while they are on site as opposed to spending time looking for information, turning wrenches, or filling out paperwork.

Obviously, this will mean manufacturers and service leaders will need to train their technicians on a new set of skills and activities. But as the workforce and economies evolve, the skill of interaction will be in more demand and provide more value in the customer relationship.

And manufacturers which leverage connected product data to have their field teams focus on the customer will succeed.

The promise and value gained from connected products is more than just additional data points.

As manufacturers look to transform their organizations and teams, connected products should be the catalyst for a journey of new ways of delivering value to customers and not the end result of a technology investment.

Field service should be the aspect of the business which sees the biggest gains from connected products and equipment.

The possibilities are endless, and I look forward to seeing where manufacturers take this technology as it extends beyond IT and engineering to the field.

Aly Pinder is Program Director - Service Innovation & Connected Products, IDC Manufacturing Insights

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According to a new research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of telematics service subscribers using embedded systems will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.9 percent from 49.0 million subscribers at the end of 2017 to 258.1 million subscribers at the end of 2023.

Moreover, Berg Insight forecasts that shipments of embedded car OEM telematics systems worldwide will grow from 26.8 million units in 2017 to reach 67.2 million units in 2023, which represents an attach rate of 71.7 percent.

Connected car services have evolved from being a differentiating factor to a common feature with a high attach rate among the premium car brands and are rapidly becoming increasingly common in mid-range vehicles. GM’s OnStar was launched 20 years ago and is today the market leader worldwide with well above 14.0 million users in total, out of which 12.3 million were in North America by year-end 2017.

BMW includes telematics hardware as a standard feature on all its cars sold in 45 markets worldwide and has the second largest user base of an estimated 8.0 million equipped vehicles. PSA Group is currently in third place with 2.9 million connected vehicles in Europe. The carmaker launched an emergency and assistance call service already in 2003. Additional automotive OEMs with over 2 million telematics subscribers also include Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota/Lexus and FCA Group.

“There are several connected car services that experience growing demand from stakeholders including consumers, car manufacturers, governments and various third parties as awareness of the value of telematics spreads”, said Martin Svegander, IoT analyst at Berg Insight.

The leading carmakers are gradually exploring new use cases and business models for telematics such as premium concierge services, usage-based insurance and personal car sharing. “Recently, we have also seen GM, Jaguar Land Rover and Hyundai launch in-vehicle commerce platforms that create opportunities for retailers and merchants to connect with consumers”, added Mr. Svegander.

For field service organisations it will be interesting to see how this trend continues to shape the way we view fleet management and w2e are certainly beginning to see some maturation of a technology that will have a significant impact on our sector.

Want to know more? Download report brochure: The Global Automotive OEM Telematics Market

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We are undoubtedly entering a new era of technology, automation and innovation, but in a world of rapid industrial evolution how will regulations also adapt? 

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"Everything is true… everything anybody has ever thought." Philip K. Dick – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

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It is impossible to escape from the fact that technology, and increasingly artificial intelligence (AI), has transformed everyday life.

It all started with how we play our music, but Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa (along with other similar "virtual assistants") now have a daily interface with many of us. We are also, increasingly, now daily users of the Internet of Things (IoT) – connecting up smart fridges, boilers and alarm systems, each controllable from a smartphone. The "everyday" form of AI is almost unavoidable in the modern home, but, while not necessarily as obvious to you and me, there is also an ongoing, yet unseen growth in AI in the manufacturing sector.  What is still lacking, however, is concrete regulation in place for the use and development of AI in the industry.

This article looks at where AI regulation might be implemented and, specifically, what impact both AI has, and its regulation would have, on the manufacturing industry and what role the UK might have in this ever-changing sector.

What is "Industry 4.0" and how is AI related?

The term "Industry 4.0" is not a new one.  It relates back to discussions in 2012 of a forthcoming "Fourth Industrial Revolution", the idea being that the current trend of automation would increase, with technology enabling "smart factories". These factories take existing automated assembly line structures and include a cyber element, allowing for the underlying manufacturing machinery to communicate with one another and with the wider factory system as a whole via an IoT setup – increasing efficiency.

Machines with autonomy

The whole process is, and would still be, overseen by a human element, who the machines can also communicate with.  But one of the main goals of Industry 4.0 is to have the machines operating in a decentralised way and with as much autonomy as possible save only where exceptions, interferences or conflicting goals require additional input.

How is AI being used currently?

"So far, so sci-fi" you might think, but Industry 4.0 is alive across our manufacturing industry and there are already plenty of examples of manufacturers using this kind of technology across the sector.  Developments are being pioneered by high-end technology companies such as Tesla, Intel and Microsoft on an international scale, some through mere investment or others through actual manufacturing and application.

AI efficiencies and cost savings

Siemens has been using neural networks for a number of years in monitoring the efficiencies of their steel plants.  Siemens is now using this prior experience to make waves in the manufacturing AI sector, using AI to monitor variables (e.g. temperature) on their gas turbines which then adjusts the operation of the machine for increased efficiency and without unwanted by-products.

Others use system masters to spot potential problems and possible solutions, often before a human operator would notice such issues.  The use of this technology has resulted in positive improvements across their smart factories, reducing maintenance costs, as AI can now detect wear on machinery long before it becomes unmanageable.

The UK's role in AI and plans for regulation

In the UK, The Manufacturer's Annual Manufacturing Report 2018 conducted a survey on the possibility of a more widespread use of "smart factories" - 92% of senior manufacturing executives believe that digital technologies (including AI) will enable them to increase productivity levels.  Yet, the UK is generally seen as "lagging behind" many other developed countries when it comes to implementing AI in the manufacturing sector.  Is this an example of the UK "traditional mindset"?  With estimates on global turnover of the "smart manufacturing" market soaring to a projected $320bn by 2020 – let's hope not!

Sector-led regulation

Despite technology advancing at a rapid pace, regulation of AI is yet to emerge.  Whilst some commentators have theorised a Skynet-style AI uprising if the sector remains as unregulated as it is today, the UK government has provided a more pragmatic voice. According to the House of Lords Select Committee's report on AI[1], the UK "is in a strong position to be a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence" and with this comes some required element of regulation.

The report "AI in the UK: Ready, Willing and Able?" makes several recommendations as to how the law may need to be updated to account for these new technologies, but also states that "blanket AI-specific regulation, at this stage, would be inappropriate". The Lords instead believe that a sector-specific approach should be taken, with three new governmental organisations (the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI), the AI Council and the Government Office for AI) each taking a lead role in developing regulatory policy going forwards.

Manufacturing sector

For the manufacturing sector, this is expected to cover a number of areas. A key area of focus is likely to be the availability of data access.  AI systems are notoriously expensive and this could clearly impact on the revenues of SMEs struggling to compete financially with international corporations if they were to be further bolstered by AI. A possible solution suggested by the Lords is to implement an "Open Banking" style model where some data can be made public in order to make the sector, as a whole, more competitive.

Safety concerns

Terminator references aside, safety is also one of the primary concerns in this new technology. The current law is a long way from Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" and currently fails to address liability issues if, for example, a worker was to be injured by a machine malfunction. As with all policy issues at the moment, the spectre of Brexit looms large and is specifically referred to in the Lords' report as an area of concern since many of the UK's AI initiatives are run jointly with EU counterparts.

Impact on workforce

Finally, aside from direct regulation, businesses across the sector must prepare themselves for potential changes in personnel. Much has been made of how AI will "cost jobs" but the reality is that work in this field is expected to create as many as are lost. It will be more a matter of retraining current staff to deal with the new equipment, and each business will have to assess how much of an impact this will have on their own operation.

AI promotion of innovation and growth

The use of AI in manufacturing will inevitably increase over the short-to-medium term before becoming the "norm" and with an encouraging approach taken by the Lords, aligned with UK Government – who are committed to regulation "that promotes innovation and the growth of new sectors while protecting citizens and the environment", it is likely that we can expect domestic investment in AI as well as the inevitable international investment.

Sustainable regulation required

As with all rapidly growing technologies, the focus should be on sustainable regulation (such as the recent developments in UK law on the use of drones).  However, while the regulatory forecast is still uncertain, what is becoming clear is a real sense of opportunity.

AI - an opportunity for all

With the possibility of the UK being front-and-centre of the new age for manufacturing, there is huge potential for our manufacturing and technology clients:

• those that embrace the change and move towards a technology-focused approach away from the traditional "industrial" style will surely benefit from the efficiencies that come with that change, and
• for the smaller UK SMEs and start-ups out there – dream big!  With the AI sector in such an early stage of development and with many larger corporations lacking the technological know-how (for the time being) to trail-blaze the industry, UK start-ups, with the technological background, have the opportunity to partner or contract with large industrials and have their say on what the future of the manufacturing sector looks like.

Womble Bond Dickinson takes a sector-based approach in all work that we do for our clients and are particularly strong in both manufacturing and technology.  If you have any comments or queries in relation to this article, AI in general, or questions about how we can help your business grow and embrace this new landscape, please get in touch.

We have seen a seismic shift within the field service sector towards adopting a more proactive approach to service - but is this a mega trend in itself or is it indicative of an even bigger shift in the way we view service delivery?

Want to know more? This article is based around an exclusive fieldservicenews.com webcast which you can access @ http://fs-ne.ws/Y8ny30lsZUR

Within our industry we are currently seeing a seismic shift - that is the move towards predictive maintenance and whilst the traditional modus operandi of field service operations of a break-fix approach will likely still have a place within most service organisations processes for the foreseeable future, predictive maintenance, empowered by the Internet of Things, is becoming a massively prevalent discussion amongst companies in all sectors who are looking to seek enhanced competitive advantages over their peers whilst simultaneously improving their own performance efficiencies.

One company who have such developments on their roadmap is Daikin Applied UK who recently joined Field Service News and Salesforce for an exclusive webcast discussion on how service organisations are harnessing technology to bridge the gap between the mobile workforce and their customer bases.

Indeed, it is a topic that we have covered extensively here at Field Service News, but is this shift to preventative maintenance set to be a megatrend within our industry, as many are predicting, or is it suited to specific industries and certain organisations within those industries?

"Even within sub-sectors within manufacturing, we are seeing companies have different results and taking different approaches..."

“I think it is absolutely going to be a mega-trend,” commented Scott Flatman, Regional Sales Director, Salesforce during the session.

“It is going to be a real competitive differentiator for companies that want to go the extra mile and stay ahead of the competition,” he adds.

“I do think that we may see this in different guises depending on the industry, however. For example, manufacturers at the moment seem to be at the forefront of this shift, but then even within the wider manufacturing industry it would be wrong of us to broad-brush it as a complete mega-trend.”

“Yet even within sub-sectors within manufacturing, we are seeing companies have different results and taking different approaches.”

“For us, this capability of connecting our products to our customers and to our business is really important, but it is not a one size fits all solution,” adds John McCarthy, CRM manager, Daikin Applied UK.

“It is certainly a trend across a lot of the sub-sections of our industry but it won’t suit all of our customers. However, we do need to be offering these types of solutions, for us to continue to be a leader within our sector.”

Of course, it is this ability to tailor a service solution to customer requirements that is a critical part of the discussion not only around predictive maintenance but also service delivery in general in today’s markets, which are becoming increasingly customer-centric. But is there a direct correlation between asset connectivity and increased customer engagements and satisfaction?

"We understand that our technicians and engineers are the front line and the face of our business. So we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring they have the tools and resources that they need..."

“There certainly is,” McCarthy responds when this question is put to him.

“For us, we understand that our technicians and engineers are the front line and the face of our business. So we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring they have the tools and resources that they need as well as also giving our customers the tools and resources they need to get the most out of the services they get from us.”

“Ultimately this technology doesn’t take away from the fact that we have highly skilled factory trained engineers, but it certainly enhances it,” he adds.

“I think it is also changing the expectations of the customers,” comments Flatman.

“The very best service experience is to have no service experience at all. Let’s take the Daikin Applied UK use case as an example. If you have a chiller that is operating outside of its normal thresholds - wouldn’t be great if an engineer was passing on his or her way home wouldn’t it be great if they could drop in and give it a check, make some tweaks or perhaps perform a rest so they can resolve the issue before it arises - as opposed to a company having to wait for it to go down.”

“That can help avoid not just a negative service experience for the contact, but also avoid all of the compound issues that could arise from that one failure.”

“If we can help our customers avoid that happening, who can then help their customers and so on, for me that is going to be the real win for businesses.”

This is perhaps the true mega-trend that preventative maintenance is part of the shift away from a number of businesses operating only alongside each other in a transactional way, to organisations becoming much more integrated partners within a true business ecosystem.

Indeed, this concept is at the heart of what many in the sector are now calling advanced services, which can yield greater profit margins in a much more stable business environment and predictive maintenance is set to become a cornerstone of such approaches to service in the not so distant future.

Want to know more? This article is based around an exclusive fieldservicenews.com webcast which you can access @ http://fs-ne.ws/Y8ny30lsZUR

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Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to Kevin Starr of ABB's Oil and Gas Division, to get his take on just how pivotal it is we all get on board with the digitalisation agenda…

Kevin Starr, Program Director, Advanced Digital Services, for ABB jokingly refers to himself as someone who is just getting started, having spent 31 years in the industry.

Given Starr’s wide-ranging background which encompasses installing industrial automation, working with pneumatics, then electrics, DCS and now digital and across roles that include R&D managers, software developer, data scientist and cloud specialist - he is perhaps the very personification and embodiment of how the field service sector is in constant flux on a journey of continuous evolution.

Yet, underneath all that evolution, there also remain fundamental goals in place that we mustn’t lose sight of either.

As Starr himself explains - across his varied career the core objective for ABB, regardless of the technology surrounding the discussion is always to allow their clients to “hit their value, production and quality requirements by providing them with solutions.”

"Regardless of the technology surrounding the discussion is always to allow their clients to “hit their value, production and quality requirements by providing them with solutions...”

However, Starr also absolutely sees a convergence in the various skill-sets he has honed across his career in the area and era of digitalisation we are all working within today.

Indeed, certainly within field service circles, when it comes to digitalisation Starr is to be regarded a leading subject matter expert – a fact that is attested to the fact he is a highly sought-after speaker at industry conferences as well being the host of a successful YouTube series and author on the topic.

“We definitely are in the industrial revolution 4.0,” Starr asserts with conviction when I spoke to him recently during whilst recording a forthcoming episode of The Field Service Podcast.

All well and good, but what exactly does this shift to the Industrial Revolution 4.0 actually mean in real terms for most companies, who perhaps are lacking the innovative streak ABB certainly have embedded at their core.

Whilst there are undoubted opportunities to be had, for many it means stepping into a brave new world of the unknown and for many, this can be a daunting proposition.

“We are definitely moving into an area where our customers may have some new concerns and fears. There are some misunderstandings that need clarification and there are a number of different issues relating to digital that they have to consider," Starr explains continuing, “so what we’ve tried to do is make this discussion feel more real for them, we’ve tried to make it concrete and actionable.”

"When clients hear things like Data Science, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and all the other tech jargon that is being thrown around, they can get nervous...“

When clients hear things like Data Science, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and all the other tech jargon that is being thrown around, they can get nervous.”

Additionally, the wave of technological innovation we are witnessing today is only part of the sea change of disruption that currently surrounds us.

“It is something of a perfect storm,” Starr agrees expanding on the topic.

“There is an ageing workforce, there is knowledge retiring, there are new people coming into the workforce who just aren’t ready to spend thirty years with the technology,” he adds.

Yet, it is exactly within these challenges that Starr sees big potential for innovation.

“We have here some opportunities to really change the game for our industrial clients and along with this is what is really an industrial explosion of automation.,” he explains.

“When I started off the controllers were on a wall, so the size of the service was aligned with the physical proximity of a wall. Now, you have dots on a screen. Where once you might have had thirty or forty devices, now you have three or four thousand.”

"What we’ve always done in the service space, doesn’t work today..."

This anecdote serves as a stark example of just how much service delivery has moved within just a matter of decades.  In terms of actual service delivery, automation, particularly in industrial sectors, has made the way work today almost unrecognisable from how things were done in the past.

This is something which needs to be fully understood and acknowledged for companies to be able to bring their business and operational processes in line with modern means of tackling service delivery.

“What we’ve always done in the service space, doesn’t work today,” Starr states bluntly.

“What this means is that there are a lot more failures, a lot more downtime and a lot more product instability. This leads to a lot more fear, uncertainty and doubt  - because if that phone rings and your client calls you and says my system is down - what do you do?  That is a terrifying call to get and it always has been, but with digital, we can solve all that.”

“In the Oil and Gas sector, for example, we have clients who are trying to remain competitive in an industry in which price changes sent a complete shockwave through the sector. Companies who used to have large corporate staff are shrinking, with reduced manned or unmanned solutions becoming more prevalent.”

“Yet, most solutions involve people working on a system, so we truly have a gap. We’ve got to keep the site running but we also have to make our production and our quality efficient - and of course first and foremost we have to make sure our people are safe.”

“To me, the digital arena is what will allow us to use devices to reduce this problem space.”

Of course, many of the challenges that Starr outlines are also prevalent in sectors well beyond the Oil and Gas industry and searching for solutions for those challenges within the digital realm is now well established as the correct path to follow.

Yet, one of the reasons perhaps Starr has proven to be such a popular speaker on this topic is his ability to blend the technical and the practical and to help those listening to visualise how the often vague concepts sitting under the umbrella of digitalization will manifest in real, pragmatic terms – something he demonstrated again when we spoke with a particularly neat and effective summary of how the implementation of such tools can really have a significant impact on service delivery.

“It’s kind of like a heads-up display in a car. When I have a problem, it advises me so I then know when to dispatch somebody and make sure they have the right tools at the right time,” he explains.

"When that happens, great things happen and you can actually push through and hit production, quality and cost to produce levels that have literally been unheard of..."

“When that happens, great things happen and you can actually push through and hit production, quality and cost to produce levels that have literally been unheard of.”

“That’s what keeps me just giddy with excitement,” he says before adding wryly “but if it was easy it would already be done.”

Here, of course, Starr has hit the nail firmly on the head with regards to the current dichotomy most service companies find themselves in.

Whilst it seems that digitalisation of service delivery offers us great opportunities they equally bring additional challenges. As with many things in life, it appears there is an ever-evolving arms race between these two. As one challenge is solved thus creating new opportunities, so a new challenge is born.

With this in mind, I was keen to see if Starr sees field service today as something that has been simplified by technology, or in particular as we consider the vast amount of data we are now generating, has it actually become further complicated?

“I was always one of ABB’s smart guys with a bag of tricks. If there was a problem I’d get a ticket and I’d go fix the site. But I was always able to do that because the problem space wasn’t as huge as it is today,” he replies.

“Today our guys have to worry about cyber attacks, IT Security, Back Ups, Disk Space, Uptime, Communication, Visualisation and much, much more – so it’s very difficult to have someone who is an expert in all of those areas - and we’ve got to quit trying,” Starr explains.

“What’s different now is that the components being produced, and ABB makes an awful lot of these, each has their own digital signatures. Basically, they have a built-in data stream associated with the asset.”

"If I go outside and see a vapour trail in the sky I know a jet went by – even if I don’t see the jet. That’s the same principle on every single connected asset – it will leave a digital signature behind it..."

“For example, if I go outside and see a vapour trail in the sky I know a jet went by – even if I don’t see the jet. That’s the same principle on every single connected asset – it will leave a digital signature behind it.

“I was fortunate to have been the fireman and put the fire out on the site, but I would think ‘If I had just been here yesterday and I could have seen this data trail I could have prevented the failure.’ So that’s where we started packaging that and we called those diagnostic solutions, benchmarks and fingerprints - where we would provide scope and insight.”

“We would go and harvest the data and fifteen or twenty years ago that was very difficult. We would go and hook up resistors and current line – but we learned the technique.”

But it was time well spent and a highly precipitous move that has placed ABB perfectly at home in today’s world where there is more data and storage than they’re ever has been.  And a reflection of their expertise in this area is that they are now getting more requests from customers for us to go and look at there data than ever before.

As the conversation begins to conclude Starr offered up one ore excellent anecdote that really helps visualise the importance of digital in service delivery today.

“I was driving along the road in Vietnam the other day when we came to a bridge across a river,” he begins.

"That’s what modern service is – you can either fish with a hook or fish with a net..."

“On the side of the bridge there were two men fishing with a line, but in the shallows, there was a man fishing with a net – and he was bringing in a far greater haul than those two guys with their lines.  I thought to myself, that’s what modern service is – you can either fish with a hook or fish with a net.”

“In our world of automation, you don’t need to physically go and touch every single asset, that is hurting people, putting them in harm's way. When there are digital components you can actually send out agents, pull that digital signature back, run data analytics and compare it to known failure rates, known performance and you can tell exactly where your systems are.”

“So you can actually know if your safe reliable and optimised and you can demonstrate it.”

If your organisation hasn’t done so already perhaps it’s time to start thinking about what your digital net should look like as well?

Subscribe to The Field Service Podcast to be sure to hear the full interview with Starr by clicking here

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Samir Gulati outlines four key technologies that are forming the bedrock for twenty-first century field service...

Twenty-first-century technological advancement has transformed how businesses everywhere communicate and interact with their customers.

Gone are the days of the occasional customer service call. Mobile technology has forever changed how people connect with product and service providers.

Field-service businesses that have yet to embrace digital customer engagement methods and tools must work quickly to do so. Modern consumers don’t like losing whole days waiting for calls from service personnel. They expect field service companies to use the latest technology to streamline the customer experience, create visibility into appointments and reduce hassle.

But which technological innovations should field service providers focus on? Here are some of the key technological tools gaining steam among the customers of the connected age.

Customer portals

Because of the pervasiveness of mobile technology, customer portals are everywhere.

Although the quality of these web-based assets varies from business to business, there are a couple essential components that creators of customer portals will always include:

• Information-rich, personalized dashboards allow users to view critical service data.
• Payment and account management give customers transparency into their past service requests and a place to pay for services rendered.

With tools like these, customers can serve themselves, which 67 percent prefer over speaking directly with a customer service representative. That said, direct communication tools such as instant messaging are still valuable, especially if they connect a customer with their personal technician or central dispatch.

These features not only meet the high standards of connected customers. They also simplify field service operations and reduce the likelihood of miscommunication between the provider and the customer.

Internet of things:

The internet of things is perhaps the most powerful innovation transforming business-to-consumer interaction today. At the moment, more than 11 billion IoT assets are active worldwide. By 2020, that figure is expected to jump to around 20.4 billion, a good number of which will likely be part of connected field-service operations.

In the field-service industry, asset-based deployments are common. Sensors embedded in equipment or appliances leverage internet connectivity to notify owners or even field-service providers when maintenance may be required, accelerating the repair process. Technician facing IoT workflows are also common and use geolocation to track service teams and route them to customers in need.

Smart home technology:

Even though web-enabled smart home technologies have received a lot of buzz in recent years, relatively few homeowners have adopted such solutions: In 2017, only 10 percent of families across the had any connected home solutions.

But smart home adoption isn’t unlikely to remain this low for long. Consumers are beginning to understand how much time and money smart home tech can save.

Field-service companies in the utility sector are catching on to the building momentum behind these innovative hardware and software solutions. Smart thermostats, for example, give customers greater visibility into—and control over—their electricity and gas usage. They also give technicians a better way to leverage data in order to provide personalised service and communicate effectively with the customer and the manufacturer.

Augmented reality:

Reality, augmented by real-time data, delivers benefits to connected customers by giving their technicians all the resources they need to perform perfect maintenance.

Field-service companies of all sizes are leveraging these tools to revolutionise on-site operations. Many are equipping technicians with augmented reality headsets that allow them to view updated product operating instructions or best practices while performing maintenance or repairs. Others are using these tools in training exercises so new technicians can ramp up quickly.

Summary: Embracing Innovation:

Field-service providers without these technologies may still be tempted to hold off on adoption. Perhaps they find these solutions too expensive or too complicated to deploy at the moment. It’s up to the decision-makers at these companies to decide what’s viable and what isn’t.

But these leaders should not underestimate the power of creating a bold new strategy for technology. It can lay the groundwork for excellent service effective operations in the age of the connected customer. As technology moves forward, so do consumers.

Field-service enterprises would be wise to recognize this reality and put into place up-to-date hardware and software that meets the needs of those driving the modern marketplace.

Samir Gulati, is Chief Marketing Officer, ServicePower 

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Approximately one in three companies (32 per cent) believe the business use of artificial intelligence will be commonplace within the next decade, new research from TomTom Telematics has revealed.

The study found that 22 per cent believe virtual reality will be in common usage, while around one in five anticipates the prevalence of in-vehicle working due to the development of autonomous vehicles.

However, almost a third (32 per cent) fear they may struggle to keep pace with the rate of technological change. Furthermore, one in two (49 per cent) believe those that fail to embrace digitalised processes and the Internet of Things are at greater risk of going out of business.

“Complacency can sound the death knell for businesses,” said Beverley Wise, director UK & Ireland at TomTom Telematics.

“Companies should be mindful of the pace of change and keep a close eye on the solutions and processes that will help ensure a competitive future – from smart mobility and connected tech to advanced manufacturing and design systems. Many of today’s new emerging technologies will disrupt and revolutionise commerce, and in the process become the standard for tomorrow.”

Almost half of companies (46 per cent) believe remote working has or will become, the norm within the next 10 years. Remote working is currently proving more prevalent among larger companies (58 per cent) than their SMEs counterparts (37 per cent).

“The onus is on businesses, both large and small, to adapt to this new era of hypermobility and connected working that is being ushered in by advancements in areas ranging from telematics and the connected car to iPaaS and blockchain solutions,” added Wise.

“Such connected technologies and unified communication systems are unshackling workers from traditional working patterns - an empowering development that is set to significantly impact productivity and business efficiency.”

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