Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Hilbrand Rustema, Managing Director and Founder of Noventum to discuss the findings of Noventum's Remote Service Delivery Benchmarking study.
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Jun 03, 2021 • Features • Leadership and Strategy
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Hilbrand Rustema, Managing Director and Founder of Noventum to discuss the findings of Noventum's Remote Service Delivery Benchmarking study.
During the discussion, Rustema outlines the key data trends that emerged within their study as well as offering his deep-level insight into the meta-trends of field service and how these have shifted dramatically in recent times.
Here Rustema provides his executive summary of the findings from this detailed study and what this means for the wider field service sector.
Find out more about this study and the work Noventum undertake @ www.noventum.eu
Want to know more?
FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full-length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.
We would also point you to the excellent Service Centricity Playbook that is available over at Noventum Service Management's site which you can access on @ https://www.noventum.eu/the-service-centricity-playbook
Further Reading:
- Read more exclusive Field Service News content from Hilbrand and the team at Noventum @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=Noventum
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Follow Noventum Service Management on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/ByNoventum
- Read more research-based content dedicated to the field service sector @ https://research.fieldservicenews.com/
- Connect with Hilbrand Rustem on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilbrandrustema/
Jun 02, 2021 • News • industry leaders • IFS • Leadership and Strategy • GLOBAL
Geo-data specialist, Fugro, is fueling a transformation journey to unify its people, processes, and business data with a single enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution from IFS.
Geo-data specialist, Fugro, is fueling a transformation journey to unify its people, processes, and business data with a single enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solution from IFS.
With a 9,000-strong workforce in 61 countries, Fugro collects and analyzes information about the earth and the structures built upon it. The company helps its customers determine the optimal site for the safe, cost-effective, and sustainable design and construction of buildings and infrastructure by acquiring, analyzing and advising on geodata for clients in industries such as offshore and land-based energy, renewables, infrastructure, and nautical engineering.
IFS Software to empower Furgro employees worldwide with cloud-based capabilities across global finance and accounting, project management and procurement
The investment in IFS is part of a company-wide initiative that is aimed at bringing staff together in one collaborative way of working, on a centralized technological framework. Without a central system and access to one version of its business information, the company was challenged in leveraging efficient and collaborative ways of working, with common processes and effective business and financial reporting. To provide a single, digital home to its business units, the company opted for a flexible solution that could support its project-based business and ensure timely and accurate reporting in one fully integrated solution. The cloud-based IFS solution will support mission-critical processes including financial management, project and business management, project accounting, and purchasing. When fully deployed, the system will be used in some 40 countries worldwide.
“Companies like us, supporting our clients in managing their complex project lifecycles, are often forced to use separate software products to manage different stages of the project, creating multiple disconnects between data, people and time,” Fugro Chief Executive Officer Mark Heine said. “The IFS solution will standardize and harmonize our project-oriented processes in one highly intuitive ERP platform. Having all of our people accessing the same data and working in the same way will be faster and more enjoyable for our teams. We look forward to working with IFS to usher in the next phase of our company’s business transformation journey.”
Frank Beerlage, Managing Director, IFS Benelux, added, “Project-based service providers such as Fugro need business technology that can scale and flex as business and circumstances dictate. We have a very successful track record in developing tools for companies in some of the world’s most demanding environments, both offshore and onshore. Fugro is a well-respected brand in the project-based service space and we are excited to be working alongside them to establish new standards of efficiency and value.”
The solution will be implemented in collaboration with management and technology consultancy, and Platinum-level IFS partner, BearingPoint.
Learn more about how IFS supports project-based businesses at www.ifs.com/corp/solutions/enterprise-resource-planning/project-erp-software/.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Find out more about IFS @ www.ifs.com
- Learn more about Fugro @ www.fugro.com
- Read more about IFS on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/ifs
- Learn more about the IFS Enterprise Resource Planning @ www.ifs.com/enterprise-resource-planning/project-erp-software/
- Follow IFS on Twitter @ twitter.com/ifs
Jun 01, 2021 • Features • Coen Jeukens • servicemax • Leadership and Strategy • GLOBAL
Do you know what your maximum service revenue potential could be based on the product units your organization sells? Is your current service revenue less than this maximum? Do you have a process to upsell service contracts into your existing...
Do you know what your maximum service revenue potential could be based on the product units your organization sells? Is your current service revenue less than this maximum? Do you have a process to upsell service contracts into your existing installed base? Coen Jeukens VP of global customer transformation at ServiceMax explains more...
If you gave one or more puzzled looks while reading that, chances are you are suffering from upsell leakage.
In my previous article on revenue leakage, I defined two types of leakage: contract and non-contract leakage. In this article, we’ll define upsell leakage. It is very likely that upsell leakage at your business could be twice as big as the other two combined.
Understanding Upselling Leakage
As a service organization, you’d like all your customers to buy your premium service. Some customers will buy ‘gold’ service level for their installed base, others will be happy with ‘basic’ service. It all depends on the use case of your customer and their propensity to value the services you offer. As use cases tend to change over time, you may want to consider setting up an upselling program using the touchpoints from your service delivery.
“If you don’t ask, you don’t give them the opportunity to say yes.”
Not having such a program deprives you of revenue potential; being the delta between your current service revenue and ’gold’ service level.
Defining the Upsell Service Revenue Potential
To quantify upsell leakage we can use a mechanism known to Sales as TAM (Total Addressable Market). Suppose you sold 1,000 units at $10,000 each. Suppose a ‘gold’ service contract has an annual selling price of 12% of the unit selling price. This would put your service-TAM at $1,200,000 per annum.
Imagine your service department has 600 of those 1,000 units on their radar screen. The rest is sold via an indirect sales channel and/ or lost-out-of-sight. This gives an installed base visibility of 60%. Let’s assume those 600 units generate a service revenue of $400,000, split across:
- 10% of units are in (OEM) warranty and don’t generate revenue (yet)
- 50% of units have a bronze, silver, or gold contract generating $240,000
- 40% of units don’t have a contract and generate $160,000 in Time & Material (T&M)
With the above figures, you currently reap 33% of your service-TAM and you have an upsell potential of $800,000. Monitoring this upsell leakage metric should give you the incentive to put a revenue generation program in place.
Identifying the Metrics that Impact Upsell Leakage
In the numeric example, we’ve touched on three metrics that impact upsell leakage.
- Installed base visibility: It all begins with installed base visibility. Units not on your radar screen will not contribute to your service revenue! This is easier to manage for units sold via your organization’s direct sales channel, though it does require an effort to manage the life cycle from as-sold to as-maintained. For units sold via the indirect sales channel, you’ll have to exert extra effort to get access point-of-sale data, maybe even ‘buying’ the data.
- Attach rates: Both warranty and contracts are attached to the unit, thus driving attach rates. Attach rates are ‘boolean,’ they say something about having an attached contract, not about the amount of revenue you get through that contract. Attach rates start at the installation/ commissioning date of a unit. Either Sales makes the attached-sale at point-of-sale of the unit or the Service department drives the attaching post-point-of-sale. The driving metric for Service is to maintain a continuum of attachment throughout the life cycle of the unit.
- Service revenue contribution: Within the subset of attached contracts, you’d like to have as much revenue contribution as possible, ‘gold’ service being the holy grail. Per service contract you could have any of the following revenue contributions:
- OEM Warranty: 0% of Service-TAM
- Enhanced Warranty: 33% of Service-TAM (only the on-top-of OEM warranty piece)
- Extended Warranty or Basic Service: 67% of Service-TAM
- Gold: 100% of Service-TAM
Remedying Upsell Leakage
The overarching paradigm to growing service revenue is twofold: increasing your installed base visibility and making sure you have attached offerings to those units.
Getting visibility on units sold via the indirect channel is slightly more complicated, but once you quantify the associated service-TAM with those units, you may have the ‘funding’ to ‘buy’ the data. This may even lead to revenue sharing models with your channel partners. The last piece of the puzzle is using the visibility of the upsell leakage gap whenever you have a touchpoint with your customer.
Note that the original (service) contract has been drafted many months ago by people who are further away from the business, who could not 100% envision the service reality of today. You thus may end up in an entitlement conversation where the customer has an urgent requirement whereas the contract ‘only’ covers for the ‘basics.’ The delta is an upsell opportunity. Either resulting in an upgrade of the service contract or maybe only upgrading an incidental work order. In case the latter happens more often, you have the data points to convince the customer for the former.
Now, understanding that upsell leakage is potentially twice as big as contract and non-contract leakage together, you may have found your compelling reason to start another revenue growth project.
Learn about ServiceMax Entitlements here.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read news and articles about ServiceMax @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servicemax
- Learn more about ServiceMax Entitlements @ www.servicemax.com/asset-360/warranty-contract-management
- Read more articles by Coen Jeukens on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/coen-jeukens
- Find out more about ServiceMax @ www.servicemax.com/uk
- Follow ServiceMax on Twitter @ twitter.com/ServiceMax
May 27, 2021 • Features • management • BBA Consulting • field service management • Jim Baston • service strategies • Leadership and Strategy
In this sixth article from his blog series on “supercharging” revenue generation through the field service team, Jim Baston, President of BBA Consulting Group,discusses how to get buy-in from supporting divisions.
In this sixth article from his blog series on “supercharging” revenue generation through the field service team, Jim Baston, President of BBA Consulting Group,discusses how to get buy-in from supporting divisions.
The third item in our list of steps to ensure our success is getting buy-in from supporting divisions. There are a lot of interdependencies associated in delivering a service. For example, in the process of recommending a product or service, we may rely on a sales team that reports to another division to follow up on the initial inquiry and provide the customer with detailed product information, payback evaluations and the final proposal. And, in delivering a product or service, we may depend on another group within our organization to provide a specific part of it.
This can work well if everyone is aligned, but, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Sometimes the other departments don’t have the same interest or excitement about the opportunity or the same relationship with the customer. When this is the case, they may not treat the customer or the opportunity with the level of care and urgency that you would expect. If this happens, the customer may become disappointed and the field team frustrated.
By recognizing this, we can take proactive steps to address any misalignment and prevent these types of problems from occurring. There are several things that we can do. For example, we can speak with the management of those groups to get their commitment and the commitment of their team to support our efforts in the manner required, and we can set up a system to address any problems relating to any misalignment quickly and efficiently. We can also take steps to personally address any problems early that cannot seem to be corrected in the normal way.
Next time we will consider how what we say and do as managers, can impact our success.
Reflection
Thinking about your service of making recommendations, what are some of the relationships that you depend upon to perform this at the highest levels? As you work through this exercise, consider any interdependencies in areas such as:
- Completing the proposal
- Presenting the recommendations
- Delivering the service
- Specific areas within the organization such as:
- Sales
- Projects
- H.R.
- I.T.
Under each identified interdependency, identify the specific proactive steps you can take to ensure complete and seamless alignment.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more exclusive articles by Jim Baston @ www.fieldservicenews.com/jim-baston
- Connect with Jim Baston on LinkedIn @ linkedin.com/jimbaston
- Learn more about Jim Baston and BBA Consulting Group @ jimbaston.com
- Connect with Jim Baston directly by email @ jim@jimbaston.com
May 27, 2021 • Features • Leadership and Strategy
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Hilbrand Rustema, Managing Director and Founder of Noventum to discuss the findings of Noventum's Remote Service Delivery Benchmarking study.
Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News is joined on the Field Service News Digital Symposium by Hilbrand Rustema, Managing Director and Founder of Noventum to discuss the findings of Noventum's Remote Service Delivery Benchmarking study.
During the discussion, Rustema outlines the key data trends that emerged within their study as well as offering his deep-level insight into the meta-trends of field service and how these have shifted dramatically in recent times.
In this excerpt from that detailed discussion, the two discuss if remote service delivery capabilities are set to become table stakes in the service portfolio as we move into the new normal of the field service sector.
Find out more about this study and the work Noventum undertake @ www.noventum.eu
Want to know more?
FSN Premium subscribers and FSN Elite members can access the full-length interview plus many, many more in the Field Service New Digital Symposium. If you have an FSN Premium account you can access the video on the button below. If you are currently on our FSN Standard subscription tier you can upgrade your subscription by clicking the link below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can join 30,0000 of your field service management peers by subscribing to FSN Standard for free to gain access to a monthly selection of premium content or select either FSN Premium or FSN Elite for even more resources. Click the button above to visit our subscription page to find out more.
We would also point you to the excellent Service Centricity Playbook that is available over at Noventum Service Management's site which you can access on @ https://www.noventum.eu/the-service-centricity-playbook
Further Reading:
- Read more exclusive Field Service News content from Hilbrand and the team at Noventum @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=Noventum
- Read more about Digital Transformation @https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Follow Noventum Service Management on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/ByNoventum
- Read more research-based content dedicated to the field service sector @ https://research.fieldservicenews.com/
- Connect with Hilbrand Rustem on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilbrandrustema/
May 26, 2021 • News • Small Medium Businesses • SMB • Leadership and Strategy • EMEA • xero
More than half (57%) of SME owners plan to expand trade to new territories outside the EU and at home after the pandemic with the help of online tools, according to global small business platform, Xero.
More than half (57%) of SME owners plan to expand trade to new territories outside the EU and at home after the pandemic with the help of online tools, according to global small business platform, Xero.
The boom in e-commerce and new EU trading conditions are driving many SMEs to break into fresh territories and customer segments. According to Xero’s Future of Small Business report, more than a third (36%) say it’s too expensive to sell to European countries, due to Brexit trading regulations and import-export charges.
This hasn’t dampened small business ambitions. It’s pushed 44% to explore new markets for the first time, with one third (33 per cent) increasing their customer base geographically during the pandemic due to a bigger focus on borderless e-commerce sales.
A THIRD OF SMALL BUSINESSES INCREASED THEIR CUSTOMER BASE GEOGRAPHICALLY DURING THE PANDEMIC DUE TO A FOCUS ON BORDERLESS E-COMMERCE SALES, AS COMPANIES QUICKLY ADAPTED AND EMBRACED NEW TECHNOLOGIES
The rise in remote working and rapid adoption of new technology has made it much easier to sell beyond physical location. 2 in 5 (41 per cent) say that online tools have been key for targeting new customers both at home and abroad. And 34% of SME owners are now more willing to hire staff that are completely remote as a result of Covid.
“The way small businesses operate on a global scale is transforming and it’s positive to see the impact of Covid and Brexit hasn’t dampened their ambitions. Technology and automated software in particular – like e-commerce platforms – have undoubtedly opened up trade opportunities for small businesses, allowing them to trade both across the UK and further afield,” said Donna Torres, director of small business at Xero.
Max Henderson, Co-Founder of Hotpod Yoga, also commented: “Dealing simultaneously with a global health pandemic and Brexit, has certainly been challenging. Luckily for us, the reaction in the UK since lockdown restrictions eased has been extraordinary and we’re seeing our classes hit 100% capacity across the whole country.
“This kind of rebound has meant we're back on the front foot and looking to launch around 40 new locations across the UK and Europe within 12 months - but with that comes a lot of work to understand the rules of operating in different markets and of course a large amount of paperwork for things like customs and rules of origin. We’re yet to see the immediate effects of Brexit on trading, with cross-continental trade having been put on hold due to various lockdown restrictions in each market, but given our success in the UK, we’re optimistic about the opportunity.”
Thea Paraskevaides, Founder of Beaumont Music, explained her situation: “Due to Brexit we've had to register for VAT in six countries which we were already distributing to. The amount of paperwork this has come with is overwhelming but using digital software like Xero has made the process far more streamlined.”
Xero has a dedicated Brexit Hub - here - with advice and resources to help businesses stay up to date.
Research methodology
The survey was conducted in January and February 2021 by Censuswide with 500 SME owners and 2,000 consumers.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about the impact of COVID-19 in the Field Service Industry @ www.fieldservicenews.com/COVID-19
- Learn more about Xero @ www.xero.com/uk/
- Follow Xero on Twitter @ twitter.com/xero/
May 24, 2021 • Features • field service • Trusted Advisor • Leadership and Strategy • Sam Klaidman
Sam Klaidman, Founder and Principal Adviser at Middlesex Consulting, analyzes the role of the Field Service Engineer as the customer's trusted adviser in his new article for Field Service News...
Sam Klaidman, Founder and Principal Adviser at Middlesex Consulting, analyzes the role of the Field Service Engineer as the customer's trusted adviser in his new article for Field Service News...
In a recent whitepaper Beyond Remote Service: Is now the time to redefine service delivery? Author Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News presents a number of compelling arguments that support the notion that Augmented Reality will not only change Field Service delivery, but the long-term outcome will be good for customers and service organizations.
However, neither Kris nor other current authors discuss what will happen to the Field Service Engineer’s role as the customer’s trusted adviser.
What Is a trusted adviser?
There is a significant difference between customer experience and a trusted adviser. Customer experience deals with all the aspects of how the customer interacts with the company, their products, advertising, people, and processes. A trusted adviser is someone in the company who customers reach out to when they want honest, unbiased opinions about aspects of the company’s products, processes, or people.
In most B2B companies, people generally accept as fact that field service engineers are customer’s trusted advisers. I believe that every FSE with more than a few years’ experience in their company has been asked at least once:
- “Is the new XXX worth buying to replace my old one?”
- “Should I install the latest version of the XXX software?"
And the customer expects, and usually receives, an honest answer with supporting reasons. Also, the first thing that a person who becomes a service customer learns is “don’t give your FSE a tough time or complain to their boss unless it is a significant issue!” They want to make sure the FSE trusts the customer and they expect to be able to trust the FSE’s recommendations.
How will remote support change the FSE's role?
Remote support is the enabler of self-service. The customer who has the proper skills and tools can work with the remote technical support person and perform many of the FSE’s tasks as long as spare parts are available. This new process cuts down on the need for the FSE to actually visit the customer’s site to fix problems. The FSE role changes to concentrating on big projects like installation, major upgrades, infrequent troubleshooting of difficult problems, or uninstalling equipment.
Therefore, the key questions are:
- “If self-service becomes the accepted business model, will using merged reality (MR), augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) systems remove the FSE as a trusted adviser?”
- “Will our B2B technical support professionals fill the trusted adviser role?”
Why is the FSE a trusted adviser and not the technical support engineer?
The pre-COVID interaction between FSE and customer is quite different from the interaction between technical support and the customer. To help understand these differences, it is useful to look at the following table that compares how customers view our FSE’s and technical support engineers with and without using MR/AR/VR.
However, if the FSE role changes to a few face-to-face infrequent interactions spread over a number of years, then the earned trust will not continue.
Who will replace the FSE as the customer's trusted adviser?
From the perspective of the service organization, the preferred choice is the technical support professional. But will technical support replace the FSE? Probably not. There are two reasons for this conclusion:
- There is no continuity between technical support and customer. Tech support customers require a rapid response and as a result, calls are usually handled on a first-come-first-served basis by the first available operator.
- There is no chance to create a lasting relationship because of (1.) above and because trust is usually earned from multiple face-to-face interactions.
And if not technical support, then who will take on this role? Possibly either sales or customer success.
Sales has a big obstacle to overcome. Historically salespeople were seen as being “coin operated.” The perception was that their recommendations were designed to increase their income. While today many salespeople place the customer’s best interest above their own, it will take a long time for the earlier image to be removed from people’s minds. And with customer success teams replacing sale for aftermarket upselling and cross selling, the salespeople may never get the opportunity to reset expectations.
Customer Success has a real opportunity for a few reasons:
- They are relatively new so the do not carry any baggage
- They are trained to work as consultants
- They collect and use customer data to help increase the value derived from using the product and also for demonstrating the advantages of using what CS recommends
- They are assigned to accounts and charged with building lasting relationships
- Some under-utilized FSEs are likely to transition into customer success roles. They will bring their consultative skills and existing relationships along with them.
Therefore, in my opinion, the new customer trusted adviser will be someone from the Customer Success organization.
Key takeways
- With self-service, field service will no longer remain as the customer’s trusted advisor
- For B2B technical support, the people who call them are trained and know the limits of their competency
- Sales will be unlikely to replace field service as the customer’s trusted adviser
- Customer Success will probably succeed field service as trusted adviser
- The career path for many FSE’s will be into Customer Success
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more exclusive FSN articles by Sam Klaidman @ www.fieldservicenews.com/sam-klaidman
- Find out more about Middlesex Consulting @ www.middlesexconsulting.com
- Read more articles by Sam Klaidman on Middlesex Consulting Blog @ middlesexconsulting.com/blog
- Connect with Sam Klaidman @ www.linkedin.com/samklaidman
May 13, 2021 • News • field service management • IFS • Sustainability • Leadership and Strategy • GLOBAL
IFS, the global enterprise applications company, announces that Jacqueline de Rojas has joined its Board as a non-executive director. Following three years of successive double-digit growth, the appointment of de Rojas adds strength and depth to the...
IFS, the global enterprise applications company, announces that Jacqueline de Rojas has joined its Board as a non-executive director. Following three years of successive double-digit growth, the appointment of de Rojas adds strength and depth to the IFS Board, providing direction, governance, and support to management during this phase of expansion. The appointment is effective immediately and brings the current number of non-executive directors at IFS to five.
De Rojas is an experienced technology executive and industry thought leader. Through her various roles and appointments, she has helped the industry at large address the digital skills gap, deliver on diversity and inclusion, and ensure technology is accessible throughout all levels of society. Her work and commitment have been recognized by industry bodies and governments. She has also been awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services benefiting the technology sector related to international trade.
TENURED TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE AND PRESIDENT OF TECHUK TO SUPPORT IFS THROUGH THE NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
Commenting on her appointment, de Rojas said, “As the global economy reboots following the Covid-19 pandemic, technology will play a crucial role in helping businesses to build back better and make up for lost ground. Throughout this crisis, we’ve seen the power of IT in action to deliver life-saving public services, swift vaccination rollouts and keep businesses operational.”
“IFS stands apart from its competitors by marrying the Company’s deep industry expertise with its ability to rapidly create business impact,” she continued. “The leadership team has a clear vision of how to empower its customers to deliver meaningful moments of service and value. I’m thrilled to be joining the diverse and ambitious team at IFS which is set to play a major role in the reshaping of industry business models as we enter a post-Covid economy.”
Darren Roos, CEO of IFS, said, “Jacqueline’s track record speaks for itself and she is a real ambassador for the things we care about as a business. Her experience and passion will be meaningful as IFS continues its transformation and growth trajectory. The expertise she brings will further enhance the board’s ability to support and oversee the delivery of our strategy.”
Jacqueline de Rojas CBE
De Rojas holds Board-level assignments for several leading global businesses: as Chair of Metapraxis; and as a Board director at Rightmove plc, FDM Group plc, Costain Group plc. She is also President of techUK, an advocate for diversity and inclusion, and a mentor at Merryck Group.
Prior to her current assignments, de Rojas had a 30-year career in enterprise software having held senior leadership positions in global tech businesses such as Citrix, CA Technologies, McAfee, Novell, and Business Objects.
For more information about the members of the IFS Board, please visit: https://www.ifs.com/corp/company/governance/
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Find out more about IFS @ www.ifs.com/
- Read more about IFS on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/ifs
- Learn more about the IFS Board @ www.ifs.com/corp/company/governance/
- Follow IFS on Twitter @ twitter.com/ifs
May 13, 2021 • Features • CEO • Dave Hart • Service Leadership • Leadership and Strategy
Dave Hart, Managing Partner of Field Service Associates, discusses one of Marvel’s greatest superheroes (and the issue of skill shortage in the field service sectors)...
Dave Hart, Managing Partner of Field Service Associates, discusses one of Marvel’s greatest superheroes (and the issue of skill shortage in the field service sectors)...
In 1963 it was the height of the Cold War and it so happened that Marvel published its latest comic edition entitled Tales of Suspense. It launched a new superhero who was a wealthy ‘ladies’ man’ (Don’t shoot the author at this point - that’s how Marvel described him - can we say that now?) called Anthony Edward Stark or Tony Stark as most of us know him. The creator of this new superhero, Stan Lee, based the character on Howard Hughes, one of the most colourful and influential entrepreneurs of his time.In 2008 the character hit the big screen in the film Iron Man, played superbly by Robert Downey Jr. and grossed over $585 million at the box office.
Iron Man had the following abilities:
- Genius level intellect
- Proficient scientist and engineer
- Powered armour suit with:
- Superhuman strenght, speed, durability, agility, reflexes, and senses
- Supersonic flight
- Energy repulsor and missile projection or Regenerative life support
Tony Stark’s armour suit was always intriguing to me as it gave him an extraordinary advantage in any situation as it was powered by an arc reactor. He could fend off any potential foe as it gave him incredible strength and durability.
It got me thinking. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone would develop a suit that would give people incredible strength and durability? Just imagine the uses. People with a physical disability could walk again. The elderly, who may struggle with physical exercises such as climbing stairs or walking could live a ‘normal life’ again if a suit like Tony Stark’s existed.
Well, perhaps it does, in the form of Exoskeleton technology. According to a study by ABI Research, global exoskeleton revenues are expected to rise from $392m (£284m) in 2020 to $6.8bn in 2030. When you consider all the use cases, this number does not seem so unbelievable.
In our mind's eye, we may see large bulky metal frames with wires and hydraulic pipes hissing as the frame moves like some giant metal Schwarzenegger lifting a small family car, but this is not reality anymore, the technology has improved over time. There are practical use cases now used in everyday life. Take GM for example, they are supporting the development of a battery-powered exoskeleton glove developed by Swedish firm Bioservo. This glove, called the Iron Hand, has sensors and motors in each finger, which automatically respond to the level of force that the wearer applies to his or her hand when lifting or gripping something. The glove, therefore, takes up some of the strain. A simple use case, but it helps with productivity, lowers repetitive strains, decreases health and insurance costs, and reduces the risk to its workers.
"It’s been long established that field service is heading for a skills shortage. Growth in service businesses has fuelled demand..."
Does this all seem a bit 22nd century still? Well, Delta airlines are testing a full-body exoskeleton for their baggage handlers that can lift to 90KG (200lbs) for up to eight hours at a time. Please think of the benefits that will deliver to the long-term health and well-being of their people.
So why is the growth in exoskeleton technology so rapid? Well, according to the American Chiropractor Association, back pain accounts for more than 264 million lost workdays in one year—that’s two workdays for every full-time worker in the country, and Low-back pain costs Americans at least $50 billion in health care costs each year—add in lost wages and decreased productivity and that figure easily rises to more than $100 billion, in the US alone!
Now to my point here - it’s been long established that field service is heading for a skills shortage. Growth in service businesses has fuelled demand. As the Boomer generation retires, the next generation of Millennials display signs of reticence and don’t always see field service as an area where they see their career long term. We are heading for the perfect skills shortage storm.
Yes, some technology advances help; the boom in AR technology that allows much better remote triage impacts productivity and customer experience. Couple this with Customer Replaceable Units (CRU’s) and the pressure has been relieved somewhat. Still, most service organisations have no choice other than to send a highly skilled engineer to a customer site to affect a fix.
So, where does this leave us?
Fewer engineers and higher workloads might mean we need to use tools that could extend the working day or indeed the working life of our engineers. Using exoskeleton suits could reduce the physical burden on engineers so this can be possible. Factor in AI where the suits become more intelligent as they learn over time, and you could have a combination that could deliver a huge productivity bump in field service. Also, consider that as battery technology and manufacturing costs reduce, this technology will be within the grasp of a service leaders budget – it’s just a matter of time…
So next time you place a service call on your office printer, look out for Tony Stark with his tool bag in hand. If Pepper Potts is with him, then you really have struck gold.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more exclusive FSN articles from Dave Hart @ www.fieldservicenews.com/dave-hart
- Learn more about Field Service Associates @ fieldserviceassociates.com
- Connect with Dave Hart on LinkedIn @ linkedin.com/david-hart
- Follow Dave Hart on Twitter @ twitter.com/DaveHartProfit
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