ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘iot-2’ CATEGORY

In the Big Discussion we take one topic, bring together three leading experts on that topic and put four key questions to them across four weeks to help us better understand its potential impact on the field service sector...

This time around we turn to a brand new topic which is the Internet of Things and our experts are Paul Whitelam, ClickSoftware, Mark Homer, ServiceMax from GE Digital and Mark Brewer, IFS...

And so onto the first question on the topic...

 

---

 

Question One: Just how big is the potential impact of IoT on Field Service?

The Internet of Things is already transforming field service. Service has traditionally been a reactive practice. Something breaks, a technician is dispatched to fix it, and sometimes the repair is successful the first time. IoT enabled devices provide ongoing visibility into the status of a piece of equipment, as well as a richer view of the severity and source of any issues, and the ability to make predictions based on this information.

The service organisation no longer waits for a panicked phone call from a customer. They can proactively maintain equipment, replace components before they break, and use an understanding of asset lifecycle and usage patterns to inform future product design.

Customers increasingly expect to pay for uptime instead of equipment, and define SLAs based on their business targets. Eventually, all service organisations will have to live up the expectation of seamless  service and minimised  disruptions.

 

---

 

The potential of IoT – and more importantly IIoT (the Industrial Internet of Things) – is immense. So much so, that it’s making service a game changer, fundamentally changing how we optimise equipment and capital assets, and predict their maintenance and service requirements.

By harvesting and applying intelligence that previously would have been impossible to obtain, companies are seeing a major step change this area - that’s why more forward thinking companies are combining IoT-enabled field service management with asset performance management.

This is emerging as the real disruptor because for the first time, customers have meaningful performance and service intelligence at their fingertips to understand potential equipment issues, and pre-empt them or act upon them quickly and efficiently with the correct tools and parts.

It’s important to remember that prescription is equally as valuable as prediction - prescription to make adjustments or refine parameters to improve productivity or throughout, or keep something running to the next planned service outage. That’s one of the things that makes the Industrial Internet so powerful – you can do load balancing, and share the flow and volume across multiple appliances or machines using condition-based monitoring to switch machines in high volume usage areas when required.

 

---

 

IoT has huge potential to transform field service organisations. The concept and technologies allows organisations to take data collected from remote sites and equipment to:

Gain better insights into the usage of equipment.

This will help determine when to perform optimal service. Rather than send technicians to sites on a schedule, you can send them only when you need to. For example, say you service a solar park. One of the main things that can lead to damage solar modules is wind. By remotely tracking the wind speeds, you can better estimate when to perform service.

Run a leaner service organisation.

One challenge service organisations encounter is that they’re reactive in nature. They respond to equipment failing. And without real-time information of equipment, when the equipment fails is unpredictable. This requires the organisations to maintain a fair amount of slack. Both within the inventory they manage, and the people that they’re made up of. Knowing when equipment will likely need service or when it will reach its end of life allows you to better plan.

Improve the competitiveness of your service offerings.

IoT, combined with machine learning, allows you to address problems before they occur. This results in higher availability of your equipment and lower service costs. You can pass this to your customers by improving your service terms and conditions. Higher SLA targets and compliance delivered at lower cost is a win-win all around.

 

---

 

Next weeks question: Is IoT now making the shift from early adoption to mass adoption amongst field service companies?

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Kris Oldland deliver's his editorial leader in issue 17 of Field Service News where our theme was the ever changing nature of field service...

---

Field Service News subscribers are entitled to our bi-monthly magazine in both print and digital versions. Subscription is free for field service professionals click here to apply for a complimentary industry professional subscription now and get a digital copy of issue 17 sent straight to your inbox instantly

---

Now any regular readers of this column will know that I’m a big fan of change.

Not that I think change needs to be wholesale and sweeping. No I subscribe much more to the journey of continuous improvement method of change. I like the concept of constant refinement, of being in constant Beta.

As a result of such an outlook I do tend to focus on innovation quite closely, which is a happy coincidence that there seems to be constant innovation within the field service sector too.

So I often talk about changes in our industry. Changes in business processes such as the shift towards servitization or the concept of crowd service

Changes in technology such as the emergence of Augmented Reality and IOT as two highly credible emerging technologies that the field service industry must embrace.

Even, the changing skill-profile of the field engineer as an incoming generation replaces an ageing outgoing one.

But the change referred to in this edition of Field Service News is actually a completely different type of change and for once I found myself wondering if such seismic change within our industry is good for us.

That change is amongst the solution providers, the pioneers and innovators that helped usher in so much of the revolution we are currently experiencing.

 

In the last 18 months we have seen most of the big names in field service  management solutions being acquired. Tesseract, IFS, ServiceMax, ClickSoftware, Telogis, and most recently ServicePower have all been bought up and that’s just a few from the top of my head.

There are many, many more.

The thing is that all of these companies had a common thread that allowed them to thrive in our industry. They were all independent companies who truly understood and cared about field service.

If I recall correctly the redesign of Solarvista a few years back took 3 MILLION lines of code, more than it takes to send a shuttle up to the space station, there are far easier sectors to enter, far easier places to make money as a software provider.

But it was the passion to help drive service forwards that was at the heart of many of these companies’ success.

Colin Brown former MD and founder at Tesseract for example came from an engineer background himself, so he got the challenges that companies were facing and was able to tailor that into a series of industry first solutions (i.e. first windows based solution, first browser based solution, first SaaS solution).

Similarly, Dave Yarnold, CEO at ServiceMax has spoken at great length about the importance of service - even going as far as to described ServiceMax once as a Field Service Enablement company who happen to use technology to do so.

And while Yarnold, remains on board in ServiceMax’s new guise as part of the GE Brand one just hopes that is infectious enthusiasm for great service delivery isn’t diluted by being in a bigger pond.

Indeed, the message from almost all camps is that it is business as usual just with bigger expectations, and quicker developments. On the surface it all sounds great and I must admit that it is fantastic to see the field service sector become such hot property globally - it’s just when so many great independent companies are bought within quick succession of each other it does make me a little nervous.

All Change maybe fine, just not at once, is all I’m asking.

---

Field Service News subscribers are entitled to our bi-monthly magazine in both print and digital versions. Subscription is free for field service professionals click here to apply for a complimentary industry professional subscription now and get a digital copy of issue 17 sent straight to your inbox instantly

---

Be social and share this feature

Bill Pollock, President Strategies for GrowthSM takes a look at some of the findings of their 2017 Field Service Management Benchmark Survey to explore exactly what the impact of IoT is set to be in 2017...

There have been myriad times in recent years when a new technology seems to control the conversation in the business world – and, particularly, in the services sector. And, field service is typically one of the first areas where customers and users catch their first glimpse and initial understanding of what each of these “new” technologies can do for the industry.

However, it usually takes a while longer before they truly understand what these new technologies can do specifically for their respective organisations.

Many of these new technologies enter the mainstream of the business world – and the global services community – after some initial fanfare, trade press, blogs, tweets and white papers, etc.

However, most of them will actually take years to be fully accepted and deployed via a more staggered and drawn-out basis over a lengthy period of time.

 

For example, 10 to 15 years ago, RFIDs were all the rage, with seemingly every article and white paper talking about the potential use of RFIDs for everything from tracking parts shipments, to identifying personal items that consumers send to the dry cleaner for laundering.

The evolution of RFIDs, however, was fairly steady to the point of almost being modestly linear over the next decade and a half.

But, fast forward to 2017, and Tesla Inc. founder and CEO, Elon Musk, has recently announced the formation a new company, Neuralink Corp., which The Wall Street Journal describes as a “medical research” company that plans to build technology “through which computers could merge with human brains”, essentially using embedded chips to upload and download thoughts directly from humans. In less than a couple of decades, RFIDs went from the “talk of the town”; to a backdrop of steady (albeit non-glitzy) market adoption and deployment; to a virtual science fiction-like catalyst between the technology of today and the advanced future.

That is why the introduction and accelerating proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in field service is such a big deal. Because, as most industry analysts tend to agree, the projected growth path for the full integration and convergence of the IoT into the global services community – particularly in field service – are stunning!

While some new technologies start out like “gangbusters”, many quickly turn into fads, or segment specific applications, as only a small percent actually do become “game-changers”. And this is where the convergence of field service and the IoT seems to be so much different than the rest.

 

As technology companies actively tout the capabilities (and supposed uniqueness) of their respective IoT-based applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution providers tend to focus on how their embedded Field Service Management (FSM) solutions are also bolstered by the IoT. And, then, there’s Augmented Reality (AR) – which could not exist in its present form without the functionality of the IoT. In fact, many services industry analysts have stated that there could be no servitization – at all – without the IoT.

Maybe so; maybe not. There certainly could be no Augmented Reality (AR) without the IoT. And AR is already one of the “shining lights” among the “new” technologies that has staked its claim as the “next big thing” in field service.

However, even as the services community continues to talk about the gradual introduction of AR into their field service operations, the technology is already morphing and converging with other related technologies, most notably, Virtual Reality (VR). This “new” new technology is already being brandished as “Mixed”, or “Merged Reality” (MR) among the global technology leaders (i.e., depending on which one of the leading technology providers you follow).

Still, the results of Strategies For GrowthSM‘s (SFGSM) 2017 Field Service Management Benchmark Survey reveal that while “new” technologies provide a host of specific benefits for Field Services Organisations (FSOs), most are still not ready to embrace the full potential of all they can ultimately offer.

However, both the need – and the perceived benefits – are there.

For example, the top opportunities, or benefits, of acquiring and integrating new technology are cited as:

• 44% Ability to run a more efficient field service operation by eliminating silos, etc.
• 39% Improve customer satisfaction
• 35% Ability to provide customers with an end-to-end engagement relationship
• 30% Establish a competitive advantage
• 26% Improve field technician utilisation and productivity
• 25% Reduce Total Cost of Operations (TCO)

However, as boldly as these opportunities and benefits are cited, less than 10% of respondents presently claim to be leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) into their field service operations – although 18% say they would be either “very” or “extremely likely” to do so in the next 12 months.

Still, there are twice as many respondents (37%) who say they are “not likely” to do so, compared with 18% of the more progressive respondents who will be moving forward with AR.

 

The survey reveals similar findings with respect to VR – perhaps the advent of “Mixed” or “Merged Reality (MR) will move the market somewhat more forward during what seems likely to be a period of accelerating growth in acceptance.

As reported in the SFGSM survey, it is still somewhat comforting that the respective levels of interest in acquiring these new, IoT-powered, technologies continues to grow:

• 31% Are currently integrating new technologies into existing field service operations
• 37% Plan to integrate new technologies into existing field service operations in the next 12 months
• 36% Are interested in learning more about the IoT and AR

Once again, the impact of the convergence of field service and the IoT looks to have an increasingly strong acceptance for the foreseeable future.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Resource Type: White Paper
Published by:  IFS
Title: Utilising dynamic scheduling in a predictive maintenance world

 

---

 

Click here to subscribe to Field Service News and get the white paper "Utilising dynamic scheduling in a predictive maintenance world" sent directly to your inbox now

 

---

 

Synopsis:

People assume that machines will talk to each other as part of IoT, but it seems that the integration of data from IoT projects is something that is lacking.

In fact, it’s common to see organisations working with multiple IoT projects because of the disconnected flow of data. Effective use of real-time data from IoT projects enables operative predictive maintenance, which can link to advanced scheduling, more effective delivery of service, and higher customer satisfaction ratings. But how do these three business strategies link together?

In the context of this white paper, IoT means using data coming from sensors, in combination with data interpretation to predict maintenance needs. From those predictions of maintenance needs, the most efficient field schedule can be created through advanced scheduling based on data provided from the machine in the field, technician skills, and parts and tools needed for maintenance.

These predictions in combination with advanced scheduling take the schedule beyond drive time and identify the most effective use of your most important asset—the field service engineer

Overview:

This white paper covers four key areas:

IoT Strategy:

No matter the industry, any company can leverage an IoT strategy. Mobile phones, tables, machines and other devices continuously collect information that can be analysed and acted upon.

Cisco IBSG predicts there will be 50 billion internet-connected devices by 2020. This is an astonishing 100 percent increase from 2015.

This increase in internet-connected devices provides the opportunity to embrace IoT in a big way by leveraging large quantities of data from connected devices.

Predictive maintenance:

As unplanned downtime can disrupt an entire organisation, diminishing down-time is invaluable to organisations.

Equipment downtime often results in significant losses. A survey conducted by Nielsen Research demonstrated that downtime costs an average of $22,000 per minute.

 

Because downtime can be so costly, most organisations invest in predictive maintenance in an effort to replace worn-down parts before they cause downtime. A well-designed IoT solution is a step in the right direction.

Leveraging real-time with advance scheduling:

When real-time data from an IoT solution connects with an advanced scheduling solution, a field technician can be notified of high-priority maintenance, prioritised by the advanced scheduling solution’s ability to adjust a schedule by responding to customer SLAs as appropriate.

The solution generates the most efficient, cost-effective schedule, identifying travel routes for the technician in closest proximity to the site of maintenance, with the right tools and skill-set to meet the maintenance needs.

Benefits of an IoT solution: 

To move from reactive maintenance to predictive and preventive maintenance, an IoT solution providing real-time data should be implemented. By attaching sensors to equipment and facilities, an organisation can gain information about the condition of the equipment and facilities and how they are being used.

Is the robotic arm vibrating too much? Is the refrigerated room too cold for what it stores? The sensors collect data, and by using a communication platform, they transmit data to a cloud-based IoT listener. The IoT listener analyses the data to determine if it is actionable, and if so, the data is sent to the organisation’s field service system.

 

The field service system analyses the data and issues prescribed actions that automatically lead to tasks being performed based on rules defined by the user. For instance, a task could be assigned to a field technician who travels to a customer site to address an issue before a customer is even aware that they have an issue.

Talk about a high customer satisfaction rating!

 

---

 

Click here to subscribe to Field Service News and get the white paper "Utilising dynamic scheduling in a predictive maintenance world" sent directly to your inbox now

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Research Nester has recently announced its latest research on “Global Internet of Things (IoT) in Energy Sector Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2023”.

Rapid growth of urbanization across the globe is changing the way of using devices and things present in the technological environment. Internet of Things (IoT) in energy sector includes the devices and software which have connectivity feature with internet. The devices are embedded with sensors, chips, and others to enhance the user’s experience and to increase the operational efficiency of the operations in energy sector.

These devices and software are efficient to operate various tasks with less time consuming methods. The growing need of internet enabled devices and rising need of internet connectivity are some of the major factors which are anticipated the positive growth of internet of things in energy sector globally. Technological advancements in semiconductors offer the advantages to develop lightweight and efficient devices which are much smarter than the conventional and heavy devices. Internet of things (IoT) in energy helps the sector to reduce the loss of resources and also help them to optimize the use of available resources through smart grids.

Moreover, rising need of remote monitoring systems and internet enabled devices had supported importance of internet of things (IoT) in energy sector especially in utility and power distribution. These devices and systems enabled to operate efficiently and serve better to consumers.

Likewise, the energy management provides ease to various end-use industries such as Power, Oil & gas and mining industries to minimise the energy losses which further cuts down the operational cost. Wide-scale availability and diversity in technological devices are providing ease to the energy sector to adopt latest technology. On the other hand, mining and petroleum industries are also looking forwards to real-time monitoring systems to manage the mobile workforce. The growing concern towards energy management is one of the major factors which are fuelling the demand for internet of things (IoT) devices and software.

 

The connected devices help the users to maintain their lead time and increase their operational efficiency. The demand for power and fuel is growing in developing countries across the globe due to rapid pace infrastructural development. These factors are creating a huge pressure on the energy sector to increase the supply by utilising their resources efficiently.

Further, rapid pace development in energy sector including the power and oil & gas sector is changing the ecosystem of these sectors. Urbanization across the globe is increasing the demand for resources such as fuel, power and others. In addition to this, the robust pace in smart cities and smart infrastructure in various developed countries such as U.S. and others are encouraging the energy sector to adopt advanced technology such as internet of things (IoT).

Moreover, the smart power grids are showcasing a tremendous growth on the back of rapid adoption of IoT in energy. The construction of smart power grids with hundreds of sensors and devices further help the energy sector to increase the response and supply.

Privatization and newer regulations is expected to increase the penetration of internet of things in energy sector. Government authorities are taking initiatives in developing regions such as Asia-Pacific, Europe and others to strengthen the energy sector by adopting internet of things (IoT) in energy sector. The setting up of smart cities along with growing concern towards optimisation of resources is bolstering the growth of IoT in energy. However, issues related to security and privacy of data and connectivity of devices is the major restraint for the market which is creating cynicism among the end-use sector.

Furthermore, high cost of internet of things devices and software is one of the major reasons which are hampering the growth of IoT in energy sector. The global internet of things (IoT) in energy market reached USD 6.8 Billion in 2015 and the market is expected to reach USD 26.5 Billion by 2023.Further the market is projected to register a CAGR of 15.5% during the forecast period 2016-2023 globally. The internet of things comprises devices and software that enable connectivity and exchange of information.

 

From a field service perspective it is interesting of course to see yet further evidence in the rapid rise of IoT given the comprehensive impact it is set to have on our industry.

---

 

To know more about this research visit: http://www.researchnester.com/reports/global-internet-of-things-iot-in-energy-sector-market-global-demand-analysis-opportunity-outlook-2023/256

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Commercialisation of narrowband IoT technology is widening growth opportunities, finds Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Transformation team...

Growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) market, as evinced by increasing launches, investments and partnerships, will accelerate in 2017 with the commercialisation of narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

This cellular communications technology uses licensed spectrum and offers a standardised low-power, wide-area network (LPWAN) that can capture previously untapped segments of the market. Further, machine learning and block chain technologies are being integrated with different industries, such as financial services and energy.

In Europe, IoT connections are set to exceed 9 billion by 2021. Dedicated venture funds for IoT development will help create an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of startups in the region.

 

“IoT applications integrate the consumer into the wider connected system to reflect a truly intelligent society,” said Digital Transformation Research Analyst Yiru Zhong.

“Significant funding in the last 18 months suggests that the IoT market is poised for another shift. The next evolution will be from using data to react to events, to using sentient tools and cognition or ‘predictive computing. IoT 2.0 will thus eventually enable self-healing events in a connected system.”

European Internet of Things Market Outlook, 2017, new research from Frost & Sullivan’s Connected Industries Growth Partnership Service, summarises the IoT landscape in 2016 in terms of adoption, applications and key market players, and forecasts development areas. The study examines enterprise attitudes to IoT adoption and offers eight market predictions for IoT in 2017 and beyond.

For complimentary access to more information on this analysis and to register for a Growth Strategy Dialogue, a free interactive briefing with Frost & Sullivan’s thought leaders, click here: https://goo.gl/VYvpGF

 

Five emerging growth areas for IoT identified by the research are:

“Q3 2016 witnessed a surge of large industry participants coming together to establish partnerships for promotion of the IoT ecosystem,” noted Zhong.

With it's impact on the field service industry rapidly shifting from huge potential to huge reality such conversations around IoT 2.0 and it's alliance to sentient tools is a vital focus for the evolution of our industry.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Kieran Notter, Director, Global Customer Transformation, ServiceMax from GE Digital, takes a fresh look at some perennial problems...

Field service management hit the headlines in 2016 as automation, the Internet of Things and servitization reshaped the way we service and maintain capital assets.

These trends have now trickled down to the supply chain, providing a fresh approach to age old headaches. In this article, we look at five areas of friction in the supply chain and how combining field service management with assets is solving them.

The Inventory Tug of War

CFOs will always push for lower inventory levels to free up cash flow and reduce the risk of obsolescence. Yet Service Directors want higher inventory to increase First-Time Fix rates, reduce internal costs, improve productivity and raise customer satisfaction.

The supply chain is between a rock and a hard place trying to balance between two opposing arguments. So what’s the solution? In a word, knowledge.

Knowing the assets and installed base – from the basic location knowledge all the way to IoT (smart connected products) – gives the supply chain a much better chance to meet the demands of both sides. It caters for greater availability but with less inventory, thus freeing up cash. By using the data that’s attached to the asset, it’s location, it’s preventative maintenance plan, and its productivity provides an alert when a part is about to break.

 

Expensive, Unplanned Freight Costs

Knowing the frequency of parts that fail, and the correct intervals for preventative maintenance visits reduces freight costs with fewer ‘emergency’ shipments. However, the biggest saving here is actually in reducing the parcel count itself. If you know what parts you are going to need and when, you can consolidate shipments, sending them direct to the technician in advance.

At a basic level, just knowing where your assets are means you can position the inventory in more strategic locations to reduce costs and increase availability.

Product Lifecycle – The Delayed Curve

A supply chain is expected to cover the assets through their lifecycle. However, if you cannot see if the install base is growing or shrinking, you can’t align inventory accordingly.

That means it’s on a delayed curve which will either result in back orders for new product ranges as the planning tries to catch up or obsolete stock for products as they come to the end of their lifecycle, and usage slows down as planning has not reacted quickly enough.

Addressing this issue also means you get insight into the true profitability of a contract or product.

Likewise, knowing the top 20 required shipments rather than just focusing on the 200 makes a huge difference to how a supply chain can react and prioritise their efforts and resources. This also gives a much more focused supply to the field service organisation and the customers with the most need.

Back Orders After The Fault Is Fixed

When parts are ordered direct to the fault on the machine, a small change in process and practice can pay huge dividend – cancel back orders once the fault has been fixed. This may not work for all businesses but it will work for many.

In most cases, back orders are left for the supply chain to fulfil, even though the technician has fixed the issue with a borrowed unit from a colleague or fixing the part rather than the assembly ordered. If the original back order is left, the other technician who lent the part is now second in line to get it returned, which has a knock-on effect with a ‘not required’ demand outweighing a potential ‘urgent’ order.

Also, if the original back order is shipped to the customer and the customer’s machine is up and running, then parts are often lost. One company who introduced this practice (less customer fit parts) reduced their back orders by 52%.

IoT (Internet of Things) – The Holy Grail of Condition-Based Service

Many companies are now firmly into the IoT realm and benefitting from the data that is being provided.

From smart sensors telling them what parts need replacement before an issue arises to optimum intervals between preventative maintenance.

Using this voice of the product alongside customer demand means you can plan your inventory to not only be available before a fault arises, but also plan the consumables and after sales items to a level that has not been seen before.

This moves you into the servitization market with confidence and a predictable profit margin.

Both the supply chain and field service benefit hugely from analytical information, real time data feeds, and expected, predictable outcomes supplied by IoT and its communications. You only need to look at industry verticals benefitting from this already, such as jet engines, fleet management, HVAC and medical devices to name a few.

 

Without asset knowledge, you are essentially working as a ‘demand’ chain and within the limitations of technicians’ ad hoc tasks to manage any intelligent levels of inventory at your locations.

You will always be behind the curve.

Some companies with high volume and low SKU’s can manage with this model, but all businesses will benefit from more real time data and the ability to not just pre-empt future requirements, but act on them.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

Gary Brooks, CMO, Syncron outlines some of the key technologies set to have a significant impact on field service in the not so distant future... 

Regardless of industry, emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles, wearable devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing and drones, will have a significant impact on how after-sales service, the service delivered after the initial sale of a product, is performed. For manufacturers of long lasting durable goods specifically, these new and evolving technologies will enable them to respond to the increasing demands of today’s consumers.

After-sales service is now one of the biggest opportunities for manufacturers to generate revenue, increase margins and improve customer loyalty. For field service repairs, emerging technology used correctly could become a huge source of competitive differentiation and improved service levels.

 Below, I outline five emerging technologies and how manufacturers can use them to positively impact their field service organisations.

Driverless cars:

According to Juniper Research, by 2025 there will be 20 million driverless cars on roads around the world, with them becoming most popular in North America and Western Europe by 2021. For manufacturers, this emerging technology could be especially beneficial to field service. Driverless vehicles mean technicians can multitask – something that they can’t (or at least shouldn’t) do behind the wheel today.

Multitasking allows technicians to use their field service app to ensure the upcoming appointment is as efficient as possible while en-route to the call – reading up on customer history, service part inventory and equipment data – so that the technician walks into the appointment ready to make the repair quickly and successfully. The possibilities are endless – if a vehicle is not stocked with a needed service part, it could self-drive to a warehouse to retrieve it while the technician is working on other aspects of the repair. This emerging technology could provide new and easy ways for technicians to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively, and for manufacturers to create that competitive edge with their service organisation.

 

Wearables:

Gartner anticipates smartglasses, like Google Glass, could impact the field service industry by $1 billion in 2017. The biggest impact wearables could make is in efficiency – if technicians can diagnose and fix problems more quickly without bringing in additional experts, both the cost savings and improved customer experiences could be monumental.

The augmented reality associated with smartglasses provides on-the-job training to technicians, and enables them to more easily repair goods, especially those they have less experience repairing. Additionally, the hands-free nature of smartglasses allows technicians to complete tasks without having to start and stop to read or view instructions. Video collaboration with remote experts could also add to efficiency.

While adoption of wearable technology has been slow due to the dependence on apps and services targeted to field service, companies like KPIT have already deployed smart glass technologies for field service specifically. As barriers to entry become lower, brands will be forced to adopt ‘smart’ devices to meet demanding customer expectations.

Internet of Things (IoT) 

Forrester foresees IoT as a means to create more valuable customer interactions and improve the customer experience. And, this holds true for field service, which oftentimes serves as the ‘face’ of manufacturing brands.

The intertwined network of physical goods with sensors and software allows manufacturers to freely exchange data between the products they sell and their internal systems in place. This helps both the manufacturer and end-customer – products built with ‘smart parts’ can send a signal to both the manufacturer and customer to alert them a repair is needed and to schedule a service appointment soon. With the appropriate service parts management technology in place, the manufacturer proactively ensures the needed part is available and sends a technician to repair the product quickly, alleviating any downtime, and delivering the amazing experience customers expect.

3D Printing

3D printing has long been used in manufacturing to create part prototypes. Now, with the advances made to the technology, they can print parts in metal, which means 3D printing can be used to create actual replacement parts.

As the technology continues to advance, the impact 3D printing could have on parts inventory levels, warehouse needs and the logistics of moving parts from one location to another could be monumental. These factors will lead to reduced cost and faster repair times – meaning more revenue for the manufacturer and better experiences for the end-user. And, it might not be in the too-distant future that driverless vehicles could be equipped with printers that can print parts on the spot!

 

Drones

Drones are becoming increasingly common for personal use. You’ll oftentimes see them at high school sporting events, outdoor concerts or being used for personal photography. For field service specifically, there are both immediate and long-term benefits of drone technology.

More immediately, drones can be used as a means of diagnosing issues on large-scale equipment like oil rigs. This means less risk for the field service technician, as drones can help them survey large or hard-to-reach areas without putting themselves in dangerous situations. Or, they can be used in warehouses to retrieve parts, making the process much more efficient.

In the future, drones could even be used to deliver a part in the field. If a technician is on-site making a repair but doesn’t have the necessary part, a drone could bring it to him or her, eliminating the need to make an additional service call.

 These emerging technologies are beginning to impact businesses today, and manufacturers must consider adopting them to meet the needs of today’s customers, while simultaneously driving revenue. Soon, everyone will be able to say they’ve received exceptional customer service, as long as manufacturers embrace these new tools.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature

In his role as Director of IFS Labs Bas de Vos, is at the heart of driving innovation forward in our industry. So who better to talk to find out what technologies we should be eagerly awaiting and what is the process to take these technologies from cool ideas through to practical applications...

FSN: What are the three most exciting technologies that have yet to come fully to light that you and your team are currently working on?

BdV: Firstly it is augmented reality or mixed reality as I see it, secondly I would say that drones are still in there as well and the third one is something that we have been working on for some time that we keep coming back to - autonomous assistance. New ways of interacting with business applications - can I talk to my device? Can I chat with my device - it’s a very interesting subject. We have a prototype and we are going to researching and further developing that.

Whether it will be an IFS product one day, that is something that with Labs I can never say up front - but I see the development now in the consumer space with speech control like Siri and Cortana and on the other hand chat-bots for Facebook and Snap Chat etc it’s all very interesting, so we shall see.

FSN: Your team demonstrated a great example of Drones, IoT and FSM software all coming together at the last IFS World Conference - is that product ready to go or was it just a proof of concept demo?

BdV: Well, yes it is ready to go but it won’t be an actual IFS product - we won’t have the IFS drone product out in the market - definitely not.

No, what we wanted to do was demonstrate how companies who want to do stuff like this can do so through using our IoT business connector. Basically everything that we demonstrated at the World Conference in that session, the integration of drone technology, image capture and recognition and automated data analysis was made all possible through the IoT business connector.

FSN: How much of what you and your team do is about actually giving your customers the ideas of what is possible to allow them to innovate themselves?

BdV: If you look at the mission we have as IFS labs it is threefold. Firstly, we exist to guide, basically we do a lot of research. We don’t get to only do the cool stuff - so it’s not only playing with drones! We do a lot of proper research into database technologies etc. So we are there to guide the R&D teams on what we think they should be picking up and taking further.

Secondly, we are here to talk to influencers, to help explain to the wider world what we are doing at IFS and what the purposes of IFS Labs as a technology incubator is all about.

Then thirdly, and perhaps the most important part of the job for me is that we are here to inspire our clients to do more with their business applications. If you look at my work personally it’s an equal split across these core functions. 

FSN: In general do you ever feel an urgency to push a project out whilst it may be still in Beta or do you think it is better to wait until the product is fully refined and completely free of bugs?

BdV: That’s a very good question.

First of all do I feel pressure to deliver IFS products around any given technology? The answer is always no and the reason for that is fairly simple. We are not here to compete with say Microsoft HoloLens in terms of technology. We will not be providing the actual AR technology ourselves.

What we need to do -which is part of the mission of IFS labs is to make sure that our business application is ready for when these technologies do become viable products.

What I mean by that is we need to be able to have an app ready to go on HoloLens to take advantage of that technology, or any other similar new emerging technologies.

Are we the guys that will actually create the technology? No I don’t think that is our core business and to be honest I don’t think that we would have the skill set to do that as well as others who are focussed on that area.

Our task at labs is to keep on monitoring the market and being able to leverage these exciting technologies once they are industry ready.

 

---

 

Be social and share this feature