There is a Tsunami of youth unemployment awaiting us at a time when we face a crisis of an ageing workforce. Surely it is time to join the dots before it is too late writes Mark Homer...
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Aug 21, 2020 • Features • Ageing Workforce Crisis • Recruitment • Managing the Mobile Workforce
There is a Tsunami of youth unemployment awaiting us at a time when we face a crisis of an ageing workforce. Surely it is time to join the dots before it is too late writes Mark Homer...
The world has never been more unpredictable, such a statement invites a variety of responses that ranges from complete agreement to denial or a more middle of the road response; possibly augmenting the discussion with words of caution or even scepticism. My own view is the world has always been unstable and unpredictable, but I do think we are heading into uncharted waters.
I suspect the majority of Service Leaders would agree that increased economic pressure, social compliance and even more operational uncertainty is ahead.
Furthermore, this uncertainty in itself is more than likely to have the greatest impact on our futures, our service industry and especially the way we work. Throughout this COVID crisis a large number of our field service colleagues have been quietly continuing to supply service and continued to maintain critical equipment to ensure the continuity of availability and supply.
Many have willingly accepted a greater personal risk to themselves going about this essential work given the potential infection risks they continue to face. We should all take the time to thank, acknowledge and appreciate their amazing contribution throughout this crisis and continue to celebrate what an interesting career it is to be in the service industry. This is exactly the time to promote just how critical the service industry is to our modern society.
"During this crisis, I have listened to many service leaders describing how they are deferring more routine maintenance and preventative work. Consequently, increasing their work backlog to record levels, thus increasing future demand..."
- Mark Homer.
However, under the surface brews the swirling currents and early signs of a storm, a skills shortage. For the last few years I have been commentating on the rise of the Service Gig economy, the increased use of third party labour and the increasing reliance on third party contracting firms to help Service leaders smooth the peaks and valleys of fluctuating service demand.
I have been to many conferences where presenters have warned of the potential for increased widespread industry skill fade; largely due to our baby boomer generation now retiring from the global pool of available technicians and allied service trades. The continued trend to also sweat capital assets and eke out just a few more years of operational asset life before eventually total failure, parts obsolescence, lack of knowledge in the field force to service such assets and available options for final asset replacement.
Also, during this crisis, I have listened to many service leaders describing how they are deferring more routine maintenance and preventative work. Consequently, increasing their work backlog to record levels, thus increasing future demand.
I was really struck by an article in the Sunday Times by Kenneth Baker last week. Lord Baker is chairman of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust and a former UK Government Education secretary; he warns of a youth unemployment tsunami. Citing that sadly many apprenticeships that were approved this year have already been cancelled by companies, including Bentley, JCB, Netflix, Rolls-Royce and Warner Brothers.
More cancellations will follow. He makes the call for more technical training and technical skills development, calling on the UK Prime Minister, Chancellor and current Education Secretary to make changes that facilitate more courses to be available and that training is better than unemployment. He illustrates how the Government might fund this change.
As a service industry we are in desperate need of that new talent. Now is the time for us to all get involved with schemes that encourage people to join our industry.
To come together to promote the range of interesting and rewarding careers that will in turn help address both the skill fade and skill shortage that we will all likely face in coming years.
Let’s start promoting our industry, recruiting new talent and in the words of Lord Baker to train, train, train.
Mark Homer is an independent commentator, who specialises in Digital Transformation within the Field Service Industry.
Aug 19, 2020 • Features • White Paper • Aquant • Managing the Mobile Workforce
Having published a series of features based on excerpts from their latest white paper, Aquant's Edwin Pahk, has outlined the importance of field service companies measuring KPIs, now more than ever before. He has also identified for us the five...
Having published a series of features based on excerpts from their latest white paper, Aquant's Edwin Pahk, has outlined the importance of field service companies measuring KPIs, now more than ever before. He has also identified for us the five KPI's he believes are crucial for service leaders to measure. Here in this bonus addition to the mini-series, Pahk concludes with an overview of the Aquant Workforce Performance Index...
Would You Like to Know More? www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can access the full white paper on the button below. If you are yet to subscribe join 30K of your field service management peers and subscribe now by clicking the button below...
Sponsored by:
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HELPING YOU CREATE AN ENTIRE TEAM OF SERVICE HEROES
Aquant accesses and analyzes hidden data and creates an accurate snapshot of the health and balance of your entire workforce.
The Workforce Performance Index factors in a wide range of KPIs, providing a holistic view of each team member in relation to peers. It’s easy to see, at a glance, who excels at solving complex problems while also understanding who needs additional support or training. What sets the Workforce Performance Index apart from traditional workforce rankings is that it’s based on an organization’s diverse set of service data including service tickets, technician notes, parts usage information, CRM data, and more.
That hidden data isn’t the only nugget of info that makes this measurement so effective, it’s also about Aquant’s domain expertise.We have decades of collective experience and understand how service organisations really work behind the scenes (we know about the many service shortcuts and all the data that’s supposed to be entered into a database, but never is). This led us to build a system that applies an organisation’s own knowledge and data in real world scenarios, to
- Create dynamic service intelligence that delivers robusts findings, recommendations, and best practices that’s personalized to each organization
- Apply AI-based continuous learning that learns the behaviors of service heroes and applies that knowledge to empower the entire workforce
HOW THE WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE INDEX LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD
Before you can solve a problem, you need to understand the root cause -- that’s the critical step required to resolve problems faster and foster performance improvements. Then, provide equal access to information so everyone has the right tools to succeed.
AI, enhanced by the feedback of experts, is key to capturing siloed tribal knowledge and making that knowledge accessible across your workforce. That’s how your hidden data helps empower less tenured employees with the wisdom of your service heroes. By making information easily accessible to everyone, from customer-facing service reps to field engineers, you’ll impart domain expertise on newer employees in a matter of weeks, helping them to understand problem-solving in a way that teaches them how to think like your service heroes.
ONCE YOU HAVE A BASELINE INDEX, WHAT’S NEXT?
Now you can accurately plan how to distribute expert resources in the most effective way while understanding what kind of guidance junior team members need to get up to speed. Benefits include:
- Accurate resource planning. Give your service heroes time to breathe by allocating them to the most complex jobs while allowing time for mentoring or training
- Provide the challengers in your workforce with the resources or training they need to become more successful
- ○ Better, more cost-effective service outcomes
- Less customer churn. Your customers may even shower your team with praise!
- Track progress and make continuous adjustments based on the data and desired outcomes
TAKE THE 7 DAY CHALLENGE AND MEASURE THE SERVICE PERFORMANCE THAT MATTERS
FOR A FREE AI-POWERED WORKFORCE ANALYSIS...
Give Aquant a sample of your service tickets and get results, including a Service Workforce Performance Index, in a week!
Aquant’s AI engine takes your service data and provides you with meaningful insights that demonstrate how AI benefits your workforce and service delivery.
Find out more at www.aquant.io/7-day-challenge/
If you missed out on the earlier features from this series or you would like read the full white paper it is available to subscribers to www.fieldservicenews.com who can access the white paper on the button above alongside the rest of our entire premium content library!
If you have yet to subscribe then join 30K of your field service management peers and subscribe @ www.fieldservicenews.com/subscribe
Further Reading:
-
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Managing the Mobile Workforce @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- Read more news and articles featuring Aquant @ www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=aquant
- Connect with Edwin Pahk on LinkedIN @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwin-pahk-8a066515/
- Find out more about the solutions Aquant offer to help field service companies @ www.aquant.io/
- Follow Aquant on Twitter @ twitter.com/Aquant_io
Aug 17, 2020 • Features • Augmented Reality • Remote Assistance • OverIT • Managing the Mobile Workforce • Space1 • Field Service News Digital Symposium
In the final excerpt from this exclusive Field Service News Digital Symposium Presentation we look at how SPACE1's clever use of Artificial Intellignece could rapidly spped up the time it takes to get field service technicians out of the classroom...
In the final excerpt from this exclusive Field Service News Digital Symposium Presentation we look at how SPACE1's clever use of Artificial Intellignece could rapidly spped up the time it takes to get field service technicians out of the classroom and into the field...
Would You Like to Know More? www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can access the full presentation by clicking the button below. If you are yet to subscribe the button below will take you to our subscription page, where you can see the range of subscription options available.
Sponsored by:
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, OverIT, who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this presentation.
One of the things that really stood out of the recent Field Service News Digital Symposium Presentation from Space1 was towards the end of the presentation when Francesco Benvenuto, who was displaying the solution outlined a function that really showcased the power of Artificial Intelligence
During the live presentation Benvenuto outlined how the embedded Artificial Intelligence, was able to pick out and build a transcription of a video.
However, what was a massive additional benefit demonstrated was SPACE1’s ability to also translate that transcription into a different language.
"With Space1, we provide the automatic digitilisation of content that has been captured and enhanced by the artificial intelligence algorithm..."
-Francescon Benvenuto, OverIT
This allows for training documentation to be captured in real time and in-situ and then almost instantly that training material can be available in different regions globally. For any global enterprise working across different international markets, this has the potential to be a huge plus.
“With Space1, we provide the automatic digitilisation of content that has been captured and enhanced by the artificial intelligence algorithm. As we have many clients who are working globally, the idea is to allow them to acquire data from the technician in a specific language to translate it automatically and to create a new content out of the dialogues, video recordings or any data that we capture. Using AI we can translate automatically and from there create a new digital work instructions, started from the content translated.”
This is perhaps one of the key areas of benefit for tools such as SPACE1 – it allows field service organisations to get their new technicians out of the training room and into the field where they can bring value to the business a lot quicker.
With almost every company in our sector, all around the globe facing their own challenges around an aging workforce, plus the additional challenges of recovering a lot of lost capacity as a result of the lockdowns it is imperative that we reduce the time it takes to get engineers out into the fild – is SPACE1 allowing companies to achieve this?
“We are seeing for many customers that leveraging augmented reality/mixed reality/virtual reality but also the knowledge management they can use just such data to train people in a much faster way so they no longer need to travel to visit other countries to meet new employees to train them in person today, thanks to the collaboration tools. We can do everything remotely. And most of all, we can leverage the technology to share data that were part of previous session. The time spent to train new resources really can be reduced drastically.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about Augmented Reality and Remote Services @ www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=Aumented+Reality
- Read exclusive FSN news and features about OverIT & Space1 @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/overit
- Find out about the Space1 and OverIT solutions @ www.overit.it/
- Request a demo of Space1 @ www.overit.it/en/request-demo/
- Follow OverIT on Twitter @ twitter.com/OverITSpA
- Connect with Francesco Benvenuto on LinkedIN @ www.linkedin.com/in/benvenutofrancesco/
Aug 12, 2020 • Features • White Paper • Aquant • Managing the Mobile Workforce
In this last article in this series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Aquant, Edwin Pahk, VP Product Marketing and Business Development, Aquant outlined the first two fo five critical KPI's field service organisations must monitor....
In this last article in this series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Aquant, Edwin Pahk, VP Product Marketing and Business Development, Aquant outlined the first two fo five critical KPI's field service organisations must monitor. Now in the third article in the series we look at three more crucial KPIs...
Would You Like to Know More? www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can access the full white paper on the button below. If you are yet to subscribe join 30K of your field service management peers and subscribe now by clicking the button below...
Sponsored by:
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content, Aquant who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper.
KPI#3: MEAN TIME BETWEEN FAILURES
What is it?
Mean time between failures (MTBF) measures the average time between customer issues. The goal for service organizations is to maximize this metric because a high time between failures represents high service quality and maximum uptime.
How it measures workforce performance
MTBF is less about resolving the single issue that prompted a failure, and more about a service professional’s ability to holistically maintain the health of the machine. This is a skill that is typically difficult to measure. Seasoned service heroes know how to take advantage of time in front of an asset to ensure that everything is working properly. They’ll work to proactively maintain or replace parts before a failure occurs, and understand how to keep failures from happening in the future.
How it measures customer experience
The less you notice this measurement creeping up, the better. Tracking MTBF is a great way to measure customer uptime and service reliability — ultimately resulting in happier customers. While service is about providing a great experience in each customer interaction, a better outcome is preventing the failing in the first place.
Challenges to measuring mean-between-failures
- Measuring mean time between failures requires long intervals of data because it’s a lagging indicator: MTBF is a big picture measurement. It requires a sustained ability to measure the time difference between failures. Quite often, organizations may only look at a quarter’s worth of data, and that’s not enough time to accurately measure MTBF because a good indicator of health means that failure may only happen every few quarters.
- Attribution of mean time between failure to service professionals is up for debate: What is the definition of failure? Is it when different, unrelated issues arise in the same asset? Or can it also be a problem that (unknowingly) is not fixed correctly the first time, and subsequent service calls were needed to address the actual problem? Because multiple service technicians are usually contributing to service across one asset or customer, it’s difficult to attribute a long or short MTBF to a single individual.
How to measure mean-time-between-failure:
It’s straightforward with the exception of these scenarios. When dealing with long MTBF intervals (6 months or longer) or an extremely short average asset lifecycle, using the standard approach to MTBF might not be suitable. Instead, using MTBE (mean time between events) might be a better measurement. When using MTBE as a metric it’s less about whether a particular interaction with a customer constitutes a failure and more about measuring how many times you had to interact with that customer. Fewer interactions signal fewer service issues.
KPI#4: SERVICE COST PER WORK ORDER
What is it?
Service cost per work order (or per case) is an effective measurement of the total cost of each work order or case created. It’s also known as the average cost per truck roll.
How it measures workforce performance
The cost per work order provides a measurement of the duration and/or parts usage a technician uses, on average, to resolve an issue. Higher performing individuals innately know how to solve problems without shotgunning expensive parts.
How it Impacts Customer Experience
While customers aren’t concerned with how much it costs to resolve each problem, the bigger quality issues remain true here. A lower cost per work order generally highlights a higher quality of service -- and that’s what customers notice.
Challenges of measuring mean time to resolution
- Service cost per work order might be a misleading indicator of performance: Context is key, especially when a few experts are regularly assigned complex jobs. These are cases when top employees may have a higher average service cost per work order. If yours is an organization that saves the most difficult cases for workforce heroes, know that the more complex the cases, (typically) the more expensive the service costs. ○
- Service costs can have an inverse relationship to customer satisfaction: You likely get requests from service teams for additional help because more resources (and faster response times from those with lighter workloads) typically result in better service performance. So don’t look at this metric without regard to the customer experience component. ○
- Service cost per work order doesn’t differentiate poor experiences and repeat visits: After scouring data from hundreds of organizations, it’s clear that one of the most difficult challenges in measuring service costs hinges on the ability to identify when consecutive work orders are related to the same issue. Organizations that carefully track when cases that were previously closed, were closed in error -- because the root issue wasn’t resolved properly the first time -- are rare.
How to measure mean time to resolution:
One of the best ways to track cost per work order is to use the metric to measure service cost per success. By flipping to the positive outcome, your organization will have a better understanding of who within your workforce are the heroes of your organization (those who resolve issues with minimal parts and visits). The difficulty with measuring each success is understanding whether a case is isolated or related to another case. Depending on how you capture data, you can use different methods to measure successful events, including the method describing how to measure repeat visits previously.
KPI#5: NET PROMOTER SCORE
What is it?
Net promoter score (NPS) is one of the most widely used methods to identify customer satisfaction and loyalty. Simply put, it measures the number of promoters and detractors for the service you provide
How it measures workforce performance
There is no other metric that reinforces the statement “customer is king” more than NPS. Happy customers overwhelmingly signal strong workforce performance. Typically, NPS measures a qualitative experience (technical workforce skills), such as how quickly a problem is resolved, but sometimes, NPS reflects a customer’s opinion about how they feel they’ve been treated (soft workforce skills).
How it measures Customer Experience
This is one of the most straightforward measurements possible to gauge customer satisfaction.
Challenges of measuring mean time to resolution
- Net promoter score alone is not a true measure of workforce performance: While customer satisfaction is a critical component in delivering great customer service, NPS alone is an incomplete measure of the performance of your service workforce. In service organizations where NPS is the measurement used, service costs skyrocket. Customer service professionals provide endless perks and free services in order to create customer loyalty. Unless this is part of your organization’s objectives, be careful when using NPS alone.
- Net promoter score is difficult to attribute to any one service factor: While NPS is a comprehensive measure of a customer’s experience, it’s difficult to use it to clearly identify any one specific factor or event that impacts score.
In the final feature in this series we will look at the Aquant Workforce Performance Index and how field service organisations like yours are leveraging this to improve their customer satisfaction ratings. Look out for this article in a weeks time!
Alternatively, subscribers to www.fieldservicenews.com can access the white paper on the button above and the rest of our premium content library! Join 30K of your field service management peers and subscribe @ www.fieldservicenews.com/subscribe
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership and Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Managing the Mobile Workforce @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- Read more news and articles featuring Aquant @ www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=aquant
- Connect with Edwin Pahk on LinkedIN @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwin-pahk-8a066515/
- Find out more about the solutions Aquant offer to help field service companies @ www.aquant.io/
- Follow Aquant on Twitter @ twitter.com/Aquant_io
Jul 07, 2020 • Features • Digital Transformation • Field Service Engineer Training • Si2 partners • Managing the Mobile Workforce
Competencies needed to get your workforce digital ready refer not only to technology, but more importantly to people’s skills. In short, Digital Transformation is less about technology and more about people writes Julia Moeller of Si2 Partners...
Competencies needed to get your workforce digital ready refer not only to technology, but more importantly to people’s skills. In short, Digital Transformation is less about technology and more about people writes Julia Moeller of Si2 Partners...
“Technology is always about doing more with less, yet that combination is effective only, if you pair technology with the right human skills.”
- As quoted in the recent article by Harvard Business Review: “Digital Transformation Is About Talent, Not Technology”
Why Do We Need Digitalization?
The storing and processing of data is increasingly being deployed by companies to increase productivity and/or revenue to build competitive advantage. It is not only about building technology capability, but normally leads to new ways of working.
This may lead to resistance from Service Engineers who have been in the field for decades, happy with the way things have been handled.
This makes it critical as you embark on your change programme and brief your team, that you clearly describe your reasoning, the „why“ behind new technology, explaining how it is not only a new way of working, but help them do a better job in a safer environment.
Why will this help the Field Technician to do a better job? If you as an employer can answer this question, your staff will be much more likely to be intrinsically motivated to not only carry new hardware, but also gladly use it. New hardware or new technology could mean the Field Service Engineer gets information needed for a warranty or repair job easier and faster, maybe find a sales brochure or digitally sign off service reports and new orders.
In order to best support your Field Technician, you as a company have to be set-up for digitalization as well. Not only does it include equipment and training for all staff, but also organizational support and the digitalization of internal processes. Most importantly, when using new tools, the Field Technician needs to be able to rely on it. There is nothing worse than standing in front of a broken machine, not being able to use your shiny new tool.
The answer is the organization has to think about the whole application up front (customer happy with access, HSE, connectivity etc). Often, I have found that a trial is essential in proving the solution to be workable.
Furthermore organizational support needs to go hand in hand with what is being promoted. For example for a client who wants to have documents signed digitally, the organization must have the processes and authorization that enables this process.
Concerning the necessary skillset needed for employees, according to the World Economic Forum the Future of Jobs Report states that active learning and learning strategies as well as creativity, originality and initiative will be more important in 2022 than they were in 2018. What is striking is that complex problem solving, critical thinking and analysis are becoming less important as more and more equipment has built in diagnostics and the capability for remote analysis. What we see is that behavioral skills such as using emotional intelligence to be able to sense what the customer needs, are being values which are on the rise.
Source: Future of Jobs Survey, World Economic Forum
Another, new, skill – Technology design and programming- suddenly ranges in the top 5 for 2022, however wasn’t mentioned at all in the list of important skills for 2018. Nowadays the hard skill of coding becomes very relevant, because software is contained in all technology and devices used today.
To successfully leveraging digital tools, field technician’s competencies can be summarized in three major areas: Character, Technology and Experience.
- Character; especially curiosity for learning new things and soft skills such as initiative in helping a client are important.
- Technology; in particular the interaction of mechanical, electronic and control systems is becoming increasingly critical for FSEs to understand.
- Experience; cannot always be substituted by training. Training and working with your team will be key to raising their proficiency in using your digital tool set. Although generation X and Y tend to be more pro digitization; what many fail to understand is that this group will still have to be trained in order to be successful in the field. The only difference between this generation and more experienced personnel is the way we train them.
The ‘modern learner’ appreciates peer-to-peer interaction and sharing experiences more than bosses preaching from the top. What is more; in order to get important information across, keep in mind the modern learner won’t watch videos longer than 4 minutes, unlocks their smartphone up to 9 times an hour and gets interrupted as often as every 5 minutes. Easy to understand, the modern learner is impatient and easily distracted. (Bersin and Deloitte)
In spite of this 80% of workforce learning happens via on the job interaction with peers, teammates and managers. Here, a clear vision is needed. This provides your team with clear expectations of the technical & behavioral skills they need to develop, and different learning options that suit the specific needs of team members. Often this leads to a personalized training matrix for each team member, which should be reviewed on a yearly basis.
In conclusion: Lead by example, share experiences, give sufficient organizational support and of course the right hardware you will give your Field Service Engineers the right competencies needed to be digital ready!
If you would like to know more about how to get your Field Service team ready for the digital age, then please contact Julia Moeller @ julia.moeller@si2partners.com
Further Reading:
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Read more about Managing the Mobile Workforce @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- Read FSN more articles from the team at Si2 Partners @ www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=si2+partners
- Connect with Julia on LinkedIN @ www.linkedin.com/in/julia-moeller/
- Follow Si2 Partners on twitter @ twitter.com/si2partners
Jun 17, 2020 • News • MIcrolise • fleet management • telematics • Managing the Mobile Workforce • EMEA
Microlise are an organisation committed to developing technology solutions that help operators to manage and reduce risk while safeguarding drivers and other road users as they recently announced...
Microlise are an organisation committed to developing technology solutions that help operators to manage and reduce risk while safeguarding drivers and other road users as they recently announced...
At Microlise we're committed to developing technology solutions that help operators to manage and reduce risk while safeguarding drivers and other road users.
The Importance of Field Service Engineer Safety
If like many operators, you are beginning to focus on getting your fleet Direct Vision Standard-ready, the Microlise ClearVision multi-camera solution, which integrates with our telematics platform, will provide the visibility and peace of mind you need to safeguard your company reputation, your drivers, and other motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
ClearVision provides a big-picture perspective of what’s happening to, in, and around your vehicles at any point in time and when combined with other ‘Safe System’ components, allows you to manage a DVS-complaint fleet.
A nearside vehicle sensor system alerts drivers to the presence of vulnerable road users, while an audible vehicle-manoeuvring alert on the same side of the vehicle warns road users when the vehicle is turning left. Pictorial stickers provide an important visual alert, highlighting various danger spots and potential hazards around the vehicle.
However the Microlise offering extends far beyond DVS requirements with options for offside, rear and driver- facing cameras recording footage that is downloadable through integration with Microlise safety solutions.
According to Stephen Watson, Product Director, “The Microlise Clear Vision solution protects drivers and improves safety outcomes for everyone on the road including the most vulnerable of users. An in-cab screen displays footage from nearside, offside and rear blind-spot cameras. Activation of the nearside / offside cameras are triggered through the indicators, while engaging reverse gear activates the rear camera.”
“The system also supports road-based incidents, accident reporting and driver performance management by utilising high-speed mobile networks and state-of-the-art file compression to record and transmit video clips immediately prior to an incident or in the case of a near miss.”
“While DVS compliance will loom larger on everyone’s radar as we count down to March 2021, an overarching safety solution goes far beyond it - enabling driver peace of mind, strengthening safety culture, protecting organisations from malicious claims and improving outcomes for everyone on our urban and rural road network “ concluded Watson.
Driven by safety to provide industry-leading, integrated fleet technology, Microlise is the UK market leader across HGV telematics, with a current installed base of over 500,000 global assets. The company works with many of the transport industry’s leading operators, including 14 of the UK’s largest retailers and with industry heavyweights such as MAN Truck & Bus, Knorr-Bremse and JCB
Further Reading:
- Find out more about Microlise Clearview @ www.microlise.com/fleet-management/fleet-camera-systems
- Read more about Fleet Management and telematics @ www.fieldservicenews.com/telematics
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital-transformation
- Read more about Managing the Mobile Workforce @ www.fieldservicenews.com/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- Follow Microlise on twitter @ twitter.com/Microlise
Jun 16, 2020 • Features • health and safety • Martin Summerhayes • Managing the Mobile Workforce • worldwide • mental health
We are all living in completely unknown times. The past couple of months has seen so many changes to the way that we work, rest and play; none of which we would have realised would have such profound effects on us all. For people in services, it has...
We are all living in completely unknown times. The past couple of months has seen so many changes to the way that we work, rest and play; none of which we would have realised would have such profound effects on us all. For people in services, it has been extreme beyond all measure explains Martin Summerhayes...
Speaking to customers and partners, it is clear that many do not know why they are feeling the way they are. Some are feeling angry. Many are feeling frightened. A few are in denial about the current situation. A small minority are feeling that this is only a short term situation and everything will return to “normal”, whatever, they may describe as normal.
Managing the mobile workforce during covid-19
It reminded me of the “Change Curve of Loss” that I was taught a number of years ago and have used on many change programmes. So, what is this curve? The theory is based on a model originally developed in the 1960s by a psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, to explain the grieving process. Since then it has been widely developed as a method of helping people understand their reactions to significant change or upheaval.
It is such an extraordinary time; that I took some time to refresh myself on what the model describes. The model, in its simplest form, has four stages associated with it. These stages are:-
- Stage 1 – Immobilisation and Denial
- Stage 2 – Anger and Bargaining
- Stage 3 – Depression and Testing
- Stage 4 - Acceptance
Note: Since writing this article, the HBR – Harvard Business school, has published an article on the same subject, details of which can be found at the end of this article.
So, what do these stages describe? Before we jump in. let me ask you to spend a moment, just a moment, to write down on a piece of paper, the word or phrase of where you are feeling in the current situation. It will help guide you through the detail, for you to know where you are in the “change curve”. Please be aware, there is no right or wrong answers to any of this and this is only a guide. Let, me explain the stages and the details behind them:-
Prior to Stage 1 - Stability
Prior to the onset of Covid-19, we were working, living and experiencing relative stability in our lives, our work and our social surroundings. Yes, there were challenges, but for many; we were living in relative stability. Then came the announcements of virus infections; illnesses; deaths; closure of services; restrictions on movement; social distancing and finally; lockdown in your own home. Within a relatively short timescale, a bow wave of significant changes and upheavals hit us all, all effecting us in different ways. How these have affected us, then follows the four stages….
Stage 1 – Immobilisation and Denial
This is the “rabbit in the head lights moment” where we go “OMG” what on earth is happening. This stage occurred just prior to and at the point of the lockdown, here in the UK.
- Immobilisation: We suddenly feel immobilised. Full of fear. Confusion sets in. We feel overwhelmed with the news and the social media “storm” that ensued.
- Denial: Next comes denial. We saw that as soon as the government announced restrictions, with some people ignoring them and continuing to meet up and get together. “Its’ not going to happen to me Gov”, was the argument.
Stage 2 – Anger and Bargaining
This is where another aspect of our view of the world kicks in. We kick back, feeling anger at the situation. Our “fight or flight” base feelings kick in at this stage.
- Anger: Anger at the loss of freedom. Anger at the loss of liberties, the freedoms we all had. “Why me” is often cited at this point. Often, the anger can be expressed in physical means, striking out, or trying to discharge the emotional turmoil.
- Bargaining: Strangely enough, next comes bargaining. This is where you try to minimise the impact. “If only I do this or that, then the situation will not affect me.”
Stage 3 – Depression and Testing
This is the lowest ebb in the change curve. Being aware you are in this stage, is a good starting point to trying to understand, cope and deal with it. None of us are professionals in mental health, so if you feel that you are not coping well, please reach our to friends, colleagues, loved ones, family, or contact the NHS for support.
- Depression: If the change curve of loss is followed in sequence, then this is the next phase. This is where the sense of loss and frustration turn inwards. “Why me” is often spoken of. If you considered before this situation, 1 in 5, yes, 1 in 5 adults in the UK had experienced some form of stress and potential depressive episode, during their working life; you can only imagine the numbers that may enter this stage over the next few weeks.
- Testing: This is where you start to lift out from the depressive phase. It is where you start to test the “new norm”. Where you begin to try new alternatives. Perhaps it is walking. Perhaps it is exercise. Perhaps it is Skyping a friend or relative.
Stage 4 - Acceptance
This is where you feel that normality is returning. It is not going to be the same normal as what there was before; but we have a fantastic ability to adapt.
- Acceptance: This final stage is where you respond to the change realistically.
It is important to recognise that we are all going through this “Change Curve of Loss” over the coming weeks.
Our customers. Our partners. Our field engineers.
How quickly we go though this change curve and to the depth of curve cycle, is going to be personal for each one of us. How people recognise and understand that it is perfectly natural to feel this way; how well individuals respond to the changes as they occur and how quickly they move into the acceptance phase, is all personal. I would encourage us all to take the time to be thoughtful of others. To take a moment of kindness and reflection in this uncertain time. We will come out of this period of uncertainty. We are, after all, human.
Further Reading:
- Read more articles by Martin Summerhayes @ www.fieldservicenews.com/martin+summerhayes
- Read more articles on health, safety and wellbeing in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/healthsafety
- Read more articles on managing the mobile workforce @ www.fieldservicenews.com/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- The HBR article referenced in the article can be found @ hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief
- Read NHS Support on mental health @ www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/mental-health-services/
Jun 02, 2020 • Features • Recruitment • servicemax • Managing the Mobile Workforce • north america
A specialist recruitment platform initially conceived to help fill the service talent gap took on a new significance as an urgent post calling for medical technicians meant the project was fast-tracked to market. Mark Glover uncovers the story...
A specialist recruitment platform initially conceived to help fill the service talent gap took on a new significance as an urgent post calling for medical technicians meant the project was fast-tracked to market. Mark Glover uncovers the story behind ServiceMax's Field Service Finder and its extraordinary five-week turnaround.
We are living and working in unprecedented times. All aspects of life are being affected by the pandemic: work, travel, holidays, live sport on TV.
Covid's Impact on the field service workforce
Of course the return of football is rather trivial compared to the health and financial impact this virus is having. As I type, news feeds are reporting Germany’s dip into recession. Indications this normally robust economy is wobbling will send tremors across the rest of Europe and beyond. In the UK, a financial crash is said to be inevitable and in the US the economy is showing significant signs of a downturn, fuelled in part by 26 million Americans losing their jobs as companies take actions to reduce bottom lines.
In service, technicians hardest hit are those in industries locked-down such as hospitality and retail. It means many have been furloughed or made redundant.
It’s another blow to a recruitment pool that has historically always struggled to attract and identify new talent. Field service positions are specialist, they require knowledge across a range of skills and are difficult to fill even without a global pandemic. Service - and I appreciate I’m sweeping broadly here - essentially exists to fix things, but it requires a highly-skilled and technical workforce to do so.
It wasn't always like this however. Post-war optimism and the 'baby-boomers' generation flooded the blue-collar market learning trades that secured a job for life. Now, the US, like the UK, are today seeing a large chunk of their workforce drop off as this generation retire. This decline has left an alarming employment gap that might not be an abyss, but with the advent of Covid-19, it’s looking a lot deeper than before and some sectors are feeling the pinch more than they ever have.
However, for the medical and biotech industries, there are challenges not in reducing staff numbers but significantly increasing them to cope with accelerating service requests.
Medtronic are a medical device manufacturer who have seen a substantial increase in demand for equipment such as ventilators which has in turn increased the need for service technicians to install and fix them. Theirs is a specialist field and even before the pandemic, finding those with appropriate experience and knowledge to service the assets was difficult.
"The site went live on May 4, the result of an extraordinary five weeks of development, testing and refining and more testing..."
As part of a recent recruitment drive the firm reached out on LinkedIn, publishing a post that directed people to their specialist vacancies, hoping it would touch a niche slice of a workforce they desperately needed to engage. The post was noticed by ServiceMax’s Stacey Epstein. “It was something of an urgent plea for volunteers and skilled workers to visit their own internal career page because they were desperately needing help,” she tells me over a Zoom conversation one afternoon, a week after the firm's most recent product launch.
ServiceMax's Field Service Job Finder is a platform connecting talent with demand across critical industries but even before this pandemic, the project had been in the pipeline for a while, an idea sparked by the aforementioned issues in service recruitment and confirmed following a piece of research from Forrester Consulting, commissioned by ServiceMax looking into the drivers of digital transformation in service.
Consulting 675 decision makers globally the research revealed, rather shockingly, that 97% reported challenges in sourcing talent with 49 % citing challenges identifying candidates who have the required knowledge and expertise. The issue was obvious but how to negate it?
ServiceMax and their customers straddle an array of industry verticals so they already had the audience (or “eyeballs”, Stacey says) for such a platform, however they needed to find the right partner who could provide the infrastructure.
Krios already ran their own recruitment portal. The site is tailored for the gig economy linking freelancers to a range of requests covering graphic design, translation services and web design; a blueprint similar to ServiceMax’s idea but on a different level of vocation. The two firms met, Krios were able to commit and the project quickly spun into action. The site went live on May 4, the result of an extraordinary five weeks of development, testing and refining and more testing. It was much earlier than was planned - but sparked by Medtronic’s post, the relationship the two had anyway (Medtronic are a ServiceMax customer) and the impending pandemic - the site was fast tracked to market. “It was literally seeing that request on LinkedIn,” Stacey explains, “and knowing it was a customer and that we’d already been talking about what we could be doing to help our customers with the skilled worker gap issue, we said, ‘we’ve got to do it now.’”
There are plenty of Medtronics out there, struggling with a challenge the likes of which they have never experienced and conversely, never planned for..."
So they did. To date, traffic has been steady with over 4,000 new users and exceeding 7,000 page impressions and while the majority of users are US-based the site is seeing traction globally being viewed in over 40 countries.
I suggested to Stacey we keep in touch, that I would like to monitor the site’s progress. Beyond the user metrics, I said, it would be interesting to see what comes to the surface after a month or so; to see what service companies are now looking for. It could offer a clear barometer of where service recruitment is, what jobs are available and what skills are being asked for – a glimpse of the new service workplace as the pandemic leaves its legacy.
But for now, this was a project that came from a glance at LinkedIn and a realisation what affect this pandemic was having. Stacey tells me when she saw the post she was pretty sure Medtronic would probably not be the only firm blinking in this new Covid dawn. Sadly, she’s right. There are plenty of Medtronics out there, struggling with a challenge the likes of which they have never experienced and conversely, never planned for.
COVID-19 is unprecedented and changing the very fabric of what we once knew as ‘normal’. For service to survive – and eventually thrive – it needs to pivot and flex; to absorb and react. This starts at the ground - in recruitment and the next generation.
Further Reading:
- Read more about recruitment in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/recruitment
- Read more about Covid-19 in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/covid
- Read more about more about empowering field workers @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- Read more about ServiceMax's Field Service Finder @ https://www.fieldservicefinder.com/
- Read more about Medtronic @ www.medtronic.com
Jun 01, 2020 • News • 5G • frost & sullivan • Managing the Mobile Workforce • worldwide
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis finds the integration of 5G in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems will accelerate the realisation of Industry 4.0., a key building block of service mobility progression.
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis finds the integration of 5G in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems will accelerate the realisation of Industry 4.0., a key building block of service mobility progression.
Wide-spread 5G adoption can benefit field service mobility
While the application of 5G-enabled IIoT is currently limited to quality inspections, supply chain management, and generic machine control, key system manufacturers are actively exploring other areas in industrial operations where the benefits of 5G connectivity can be leveraged for process optimisation and increased automation.
"Incorporating 5G in IIoT devices will enable low latency, increase data throughput, and reduce operation time, thus leading to improved overall process productivity,” said Mogana Tashiani, Frost & Sullivan Technical Insights Research Analyst. "Apart from enhancing the automation of industrial operations and control, 5G-enabled IIoT devices can also minimise the complexity of supply chain networks and warehouse management, helping businesses to efficiently operate in dynamic business environments."
Service leaders will be keeping a close eye on the the roll-out of 5G as widespread coverage should enhance technicians' mobility and bolster current practices such as remote working in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tashiani added: "5G will play a key role in ensuring the sustainability of businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The low latency will aid in managing the high traffic to e-commerce by improving network accessibility at a faster pace, accelerating online purchases and order placements. Furthermore, 5G-integrated IIoT devices have the potential to disrupt traditional on-site job functions through remote working and virtual meetings. COVID-19 has led to a massive shift to remote working to maintain business operations on par with on-site job operations."
Key sectors that can leverage the growth opportunities from 5G-integrated IIoT include:
Banks, Financial Services, and Insurance: The BFSI sector deals with millions of transactions every day and most of them are mundane and repetitive. 5G-integrated IoT devices and systems allow transactions to be completed and recorded at a faster pace, increasing accuracy by reducing human errors in the process, thus improving the overall productivity of the system.
Retail: Businesses in the retail sector can automate in-store transactions with 5G-ready radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, which can be attached to items or shopping carts to facilitate autonomous check-out in brick-and-mortar stores, leading to unmanned/cashier-less stores.
Automotive: 5G facilitates data transfer among AI algorithms, sensors, and mechanical parts to navigate self-driving or autonomous vehicles. In addition, 5G-enabled vehicles establish a connected system in which real-time data transferring and receiving can be achieved conveniently and effectively. Apart from vehicle-to-vehicle communication, interaction with traffic system is possible with 5G technology, which enables data transmission beforehand to achieve practical navigation for certain road conditions.
Further Reading:
- Read more information on Frost & Sullivan's report, Role of 5G Communication Revolutionising Industrial Internet of Things, @ https://go.frost.com
- Read more about 5G usage in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/5g
- Read more about mobile computing in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/mobility
- Read more about more about empowering field workers @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/managing-the-mobile-workforce
- Read more about digital transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
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