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With the newly rebranded Field Service Management Expo (formerly Service Management Expo) now just two weeks away Chris Edwards, Director Field Service Management, UBM gives us a look at what to expect from the newly rebranded Field Service Management Expo in it's fourth consecutive year in London's ExCel

 

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If you haven't registered yet it's free do so on the following link www.servicemanagementexpo.co.uk/FSN

 

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Off the back of an electrifying 2016 show, we wanted to ensure we deliver even more for 2017 and went straight to the industry to identify how. This has resulted in a name change to reflect the profile of our visitors and make sure that Field Service Management Expo mirrors this important market.

Focusing on a new theme, this year’s event; “starts and ends with the customer”, addressing our industries current pain point that delivering a seamless, exemplary customer experience is all important. Therefore we have concentrated a significant amount of our seminar programme along this topic. The Field Service Theatre will include over 12 hours of seminar and workshop content over the 3 days, exploring the customer journey, recruitment, IoT, the customer experience and RoSPA dedicated workshops on fleet management and driver safety.

 

Headlining a programme boasting more than 25 sessions is this year’s Inspirational Speakers, who will be focusing on the theme of strength, resilience and defying the odds. Featuring Dame Kelly Holmes, Professor Brian Cox OBE and Simon Weston CBE, each will deliver an inspiring session on the obstacles they’ve faced, solutions they’ve found and how the results have allowed them to march on.

Also new to 2017, visitors will have the opportunity to meet like-minded professionals in dedicated networking sessions, which finish each day in the Field Service Theatre.  Topics for discussion will include, ‘powering intelligent service delivery’ and ‘Removing business silos and engaging with your customer’

It promises to be another amazing year for Field Service Management Expo and the team and I can’t wait to welcome the entire service management industry, as you and your peers network, learn and identify innovative cost saving solutions in an incredibly fun and energetic week. We’d also love to hear your feedback and hope you’ll join the conversation on social media, so tweet us @FSMExpo using #FSME17

What to expect:

1:2:1 Meetings Programme

The complimentary matchmaking tool enables visitors and exhibitors to search and connect with each other before the show, allowing you to manage your event schedule.

• Arrange meetings at exhibitors’ stands or in one of the dedicated Meeting Lounges
• Search thousands of contacts by job title, products and services, buyer/seller activities and market sector
• Make the most of your time at the show, pre-arrange meetings and open the door to new business opportunities

Find out more at: www.servicemanagementexpo.co.uk/visit/meet-suppliers

 

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Dedicated Networking Bookending the day

Its visitor’s opportunity to expand their service management industry community and discuss trends and pain points with like-minded peers. Topics will range from ‘Powering intelligent service delivery’ and ‘An agile field service operation’ to Digital marketing transformation and ‘Removing business silos and engaging with your customers’

Session will take place in the Field Service Theatre at the beginning and end of each day.

 

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Field Service Theatre  Sponsored by IFS/ FSM

Through a mix of networking sessions, seminars and debate, this theatre will explore the service management customer journey. Sessions will focus on: ‘the customer experience in the service management industry’, ‘IoT’, ‘proactive maintenance’ and ‘recruitment’. Afternoons will be dedicated to fleet safety with RoSPA-led sessions each day.

Sessions will include:

• Delighting the customer with service excellence
• Driver Behaviour – why it’s important within your business
• Can a focus on customer experience really make a difference?
• Embracing millennials in the workplace
• Customer experience excellence in the service industry. Ideas and tips to make a critical difference

Get first-hand experience with over 100+ products and solutions

Discuss your project needs and learn about tried and tested implementation when you meet the product technicians. Plus, discover a range of suppliers across the entire service management chain including IFS, Protean Software, iTouch Vision, MPL Systems, BigChange Apps, Mix Telematics and more.

Inspirational Speakers

Our biggest inspirational line-up ever, featuring Double Olympic gold medallist, Dame Kelly Holmes; Rock star physicist Professor Brian Cox OBE; and Falklands War veteran, Simon Weston CBE are coming to inspire and motivate you in the Keynote Theatre between 20-22 June.

• Build your motivation by emulating the work-ethic that led to double Olympic medals from Dame Kelly Holmes and discover more on her work on numerous mental health boards
• Explore the universe with Professor Brian Cox OBE, and expand your mindset beyond the day-to-day aspects of your role
• Be inspired by a story of triumph and courage, from Falklands war hero, Simon Weston CBE, and turn adversity into opportunity

When are where?

• Dame Kelly Holmes: When & Where: 20 June, 11.30 – 12.30, Keynote Theatre
• Professor Brian Cox OBE: When & Where: 21 June, 11.30 – 12.30, Keynote Theatre
• Simon Weston CBE: When & Where: 22 June, 11.30 – 12.30, Keynote Theatre

 

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Register your place at Field Service Management Expo here; www.servicemanagementexpo.co.uk/FSN

 

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It has now been three years since the Service Management Expo moved from Birmingham to London as it became part of UBM’s wider Protection and Management event, but has this transformation been positive or negative for the event that was once widely believed to be Europe’s best show dedicated to the sector?

The first thing you realise when you arrive at UBM’s Protection and Management (P&M) Series, which takes up the entirety of the ExCel Conference and Exhibition Centre in London’s revitalised Dockland’s region, is that this is a collection of BIG shows.

The largest of the P&M events is IFSEC which serves the global Fire and Security industry and it alone take up the entire south side of ExCel’s mile long exhibition space. With delegates and exhibitors from across the globe it is a truly impressive event. However, there are other sizeable events at P&M too.

The Facilities Show, Safety and Health Expo and FIREX are all heavyweight shows in their own right, and in this context Service Management Expo (SME) can occasionally feel a little lost. It is probably no exaggeration that there are single stands within the IFSEC side of the event that are larger than the entirety of Service Management Expo, and whilst the colour of the carpet gives you a visual clue as to whether you are still in SME or have wandered off elsewhere, if you turn one way you’ll be surrounded by companies selling hi-vis clothing, turn another and it’s air conditioning units.

Indeed, this has been the one constant criticism of SME ever since it left the NEC and joined it’s bigger brothers in London. In fairness, the exhibition organisers have listened to this feedback and tweaked the event year on year, to try to help SME maintain it’s own identity but it is one of the perennial conundrums of the field service industry - that whilst as a horizontal industry it is essentially highly pervasive, it remains a niche sector, with a relatively small but passionate community at it’s heart.

 

And actually when we take a step away from the mega-shows that surround it, and put SME in it’s context alongside other field service orientated shows then it is in fact a huge event in terms of the numbers of people in attendance.

In fact, this year UBM announced an incredible 1,911 visitors attended Service Management Expo, which was an increase of 35% on those that attended from 2015.

There was also a truly international flavour to the attendees this year with visitors from each of the 5 major continents walking around the expo across the three days. In context such attendance figures arguably make SME the largest event dedicated to the field service industries in the world. So just what is it that is attracting these delegates to London?

Where SME excels, is in that it is primarily an expo rather than a conference, so it provides a perfect platform for field service execs to get a look at a number of different solutions and vendors, check out software demonstrations and get their hands on some rugged hardware in one place.

According to a spokesperson at UBM the delegates who attended showed particular interest in lone worker safety, IT and cyber security, CRM, system integration, IoT, and recruitment. However, from our experience talking to delegates on the Field Service News stand, for many it was also an opportunity to just have a look at what new developments and tools were available in the industry.

The one area that SME perhaps falls down on is in the Field Service Solutions Theatre, essentially a mini conference area in the middle of the Expo. With both Copperberg and WBR offering full conferences in Europe - with A list speakers talking to rooms full of senior field service executives, the conference-lite approach comes across as a little anaemic. All too often throughout the Expo, the sight of a vendor delivering a thinly veiled sales pitch to a handful of delegates could be seen in the theatre area.

 

This lack of high-end content would probably explain the relatively low percentage of senior executives amongst attendees, with UBM figures stating that 25% of those in attendance were director level. But SME’s greatest weakness is also it’s greatest strength. This isn’t an event all about top-tier conference sessions, or indeed one that senior directors will attend for networking with their peers. It is an event, where field service companies can send their field service managers or supervisors to go out and get an overview of what tools are available, quickly and conveniently.

In this regard SME remains an absolutely vital part of the field service calendar (the increase in attendance YoY is perhaps testament to this) and with no other Field Service Expo on the horizon, it will no doubt remain so.

 

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Attendees to this year’s Protection and Management Series (P&M), which includes five separate exhibitions including the Service Management Expo will be able to see keynote speeches from three highly inspirational speakers this June.

Across June 21st, 22nd and 23rd P&M takes over the entirety of London’s flagship exhibition and conference centre venue the Exel in the South of London close to the iconic O2 arena and Canary Wharf.

The event which as well as Service Management Expo also includes The Facilities Show, The Health and Safety Expo, Firex and IFSEC will attract over 45,000 visitors who will be able to see key note speeches from Tim Collins OBE, Kate Adie OBE and James Cracknell OBE.

As well as the keynote sessions in the main theatre there will also be dedicated solution theatres across the whole of P&M including a field service focused theatre.

The keynote presentations will be as follows:

Colonel Tim Collins OBE

21 June, 11.30 – 12.30

Colonel Tim Collins attracted attention on both sides of the Atlantic for his rousing speech to the troops before going into battle in Iraq. His autobiography, Rules of Engagement, subsequently went straight into the best-seller lists and he is now CEO of a security company.

Tim is a naturally inspiring speaker, combining extensive experience of active service with broad knowledge of military and political history. An authority on teamwork, leadership and motivation, his speeches show a clear parallel between military problem solving and the challenges faced by leaders in any walk of life.

Kate Adie OBE

22 June, 11.30 – 12.30

It used to be said that if you found yourself in the same place as Kate, you should leave straight away.  She became a household name as BBC Chief News Reporter, covering the Gulf War, the demise of the Soviet Union, the protests in Beijing’s Tienanmen Square and NATO’s campaign in Kosovo.

Aside from her autobiography, The Kindness of Strangers, Kate has published Corsets to Camouflage and Nobody’s Child. She has won the Royal Television Society Journalism Award and the Monte Carlo International Golden Nymph.

James Cracknell OBE

23 June, 11.30 – 12.30

James Cracknell is one of Britain’s greatest ever oarsmen. After victory alongside Redgrave and Pinsent in the coxless four in Sydney, he went on to achieve another Olympic gold in Athens.

James will talk about his adventures, the build-up to both Olympics and how they were nowhere near as straightforward as the public seemed to think. He reveals the highs and lows of his training regime, the different characters that make a successful team and what drives him to seek out new challenges.

 

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Whilst there are some exciting technologies appearing currently that can shape the future of field service, field service companies must have the basic technologies such as scheduling and routing in place first before they explore these emerging technologies argues Magenta's Stuart Brunger when we caught up with him at the Service Management Expo 2015

 

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Service Management Expo 2015 saw a number of excellent debates including a panel discussion that focused on the challenge of replacing an ageing workforce. As the millenials take over the work place, moderator Kris Oldand asked the panel just what will the changing face of field service look like?

The challenge for service companies was not so much the age of their current workforce but the aptitude and willingness to learn new skills, said Andy Beer, European Service director, Pitney Bowes. "As technology changes, the engineer's role may change from being field-based to carrying out remote diagnosis on a Help Desk. Regardless, they still need an underlying skill set and it's important those skills sets are up-to-date. Do they have the aptitude to learn and adapt?"

In field service, solutions are knowledge-based, pointed out Susannah Richardson, Marketing Director at mplsystems. "What is important is to get that knowledge documented - and your ageing, very experienced workforce can often be the best source for that. See it as an opportunity to get that valuable knowledge out of one engineer’s head and into the wider workforce. Once you've secured that knowledge, your service levels won’t drop if key staff leave or retire."

Formal, documented knowledge can also improve customer service, she added. "Once available, it can be used by the Help Desk engineers for remote diagnostics and repair, or even to guide customers on fixing problems themselves via a help area on your own website."

It is important that during the process of documenting knowledge, experienced engineers do not feel threatened, said Beer. "The solution is to show them you appreciate that knowledge and involve them in the process - such as sending them the final document for approval."

How important is technology in attracting tomorrow's engineers?

The consensus on the panel was that technology would play a key role in attracting the Millennials who will be the next generation of field service workers. As Professor Howard Lightfoot of Cranfield University School of Management said: "Young people don't think about technology, they just use it. They access everything digitally, including training and education."

 

Service companies need to remember that Millennials would also form a large part of their customer based in future said Lightfoot. "They'll expect a different sort of service and engineers will need training in soft skills. Managing clients and client behaviour, coping with complaints on a face-to-face basis will become an important part of the skill set."

A service sector that used modern technology would help attract the next generation and get buy-in from existing engineers when work processes were changing. "Giving engineers an iPad to work with wins hearts and minds," said Beer. "We found giving them permission to use the device in their personal lives made them excited and got them thoroughly engaged in the changes we were making in the business."

The sharing generation

Service companies could also benefit if they grasped the fact that the millennial generation, whether customers or engineers, are used to social media and sharing of information, remarked Richardson. "In the workplace, millennials will want to be part of a social community that shares information, interacts and is collaborative.  This generation are more likely to communicate via Instant Messaging than make a voice call. Millennial customers wouldn't be phased by requesting a service via an app, not via a call to the help desk. "

It might also drive earlier resolution of a problem, she added. "Technology enables a three-way web chat, for example, with the customer calling the help desk who then brings in a field-based engineer to discuss the problem."

Trusted advisor or sales person?

The panel was asked whether a new generation of engineers would be less resistant than older workers to the idea of leveraging their position as “trusted advisor” to become a “trusted sales advisor". All were adamant that while this might be appealing for service companies, there were also inherent risks.

"There is potentially a lot to be gained, but if the field engineer starts to act in a more overt sales fashion, there is also the risk of losing that trusted advisor status with the customer," commented Beer. "Field engineers see themselves as trusted advisers and fixers. Many will resist the ideal of becoming sales representatives and customers, indeed, can see through overt sales tactics. "

Richardson however, thought some engineers would welcome a sales/upselling role. "Incentivising engineers for sales rewards them monetarily, but can also be attractive from a career development point of view."

Technology for training

"Skills training needs to accept that there is a wide spectrum of workers, from those who are scared of a mouse to those comfortable with a smartphone,” remarked Professor Lightfoot. "Training is no longer just talking to people, it’s more interactive these days,” he added.

 

Baby steps and the gamification concept was the way forward, thought the panel with Dan Lancaster, Field Service Specialist with Telogis, advising "Set questions in a dynamic format. The process can be heavy at the start but you soon reach the point where you can get them to filling in questionnaires to test their skills levels."

Ageing workforce: crisis or opportunity?

Having already identified the need to interact with Millennial workers, each of the panel members were asked whether they considered if an ageing workforce represented a crisis (all that knowledge disappearing from the company) or an opportunity (with all those young people with a new outlook, enthusiastic about embracing the technology) that is going to be essential for service delivery over the next couple of decades.

"There are over 1 billion mobile devices out there: your workforce will be using them anyway, so tap into that mindset," urged Lightfoot.

"Technology is delivering the opportunity to document a vast amount of knowledge and get it out there to the wider workforce and customers," pointed out Richardson.

Finally, Lancaster added: "Younger people expect to be engaged in what they are doing, at work or play. So engage them. It's a fantastic opportunity to look at your operation in a different way."

So, in conclusion, our panel unanimously agreed that any potential crisis in terms of loss of expertise as older workers retired could be overcome and that service companies should explore the different aptitudes and mindset of a younger generation to drive process change and transform customer service strategies.

The face of field service is changing, but as with anything change can be both frightening and exciting at the same time. The trick is to walk the line in the middle so you are prepared for the pitfalls and ready to embrace the opportunities. Is your company up to the challenge?

 

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The great and the good of the service management industry came together at this years Service Management Expo held in London's Exel and Field Service News was at the heart of the action hosting the Field Service Solutions Zone.

Here we bring you a selection of the speakers from Day One including: George De Boer, International Alliance Manager, TomTom Telematics, Professor Tim Baines, Aston Business School, Nick Frank, Principal Consultant at Frank Partners, Steve Foxley, Customer Services Director Siemens.

 

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Companies keen to deploy the Motion F5m tablet, who have been thwarted by lack of availability got some good news at last week's Service Management Expo - new owners Xplore Technologies announced that the tablet has begun shipping again.

Stocks dwindled rapidly when Motion Computing's screen supplier abruptly closed its factory in China at the end of last year. Production has now restarted with a new supplier and lead times are back to normal, Ian Davies, Country Manager, Northern Europe, told Field Service News.

The F5m specification includes an Intel i7 vPro processor and the option of ultra-fast 4G mobile broadband connectivity.

Last week's event was the first time service companies had the chance to take a look at the new combined range from following Xplore's acquisition of Motion Computing in April. Both companies are leading providers of Windows-based rugged tablets designed to enable mobile workers to securely capture and share critical data at the point-of-service, delivering real-time decision making capabilities necessary for improved productivity, operational efficiency, and faster / smarter service tablets.

"I'm pleased with how the integration is going," said Davies. "Xplore Technologies can now offer a wider line-up of tablets addressing a broader range of customer needs."

Look out for Field Service News' review of the F5m next week.

 

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Running across the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th of June the Service Management Expo remains one of Europe’s key field service events and Field Service News is pleased to be hosting the free educational sessions in the Field Service Solutions theatre once again this year.

In this the final part of this series we look at the third day sessions of the Field Service Solutions Theatre which is being hosted again by Field Service News.

Catch up on what is happening on Day One by clicking here and Day Two by clicking here.

As per Day One and Day Two of the event we see the opening session being given by the Field Service Solutions Theatre co-sponsors IFS and Field Service Management who begin proceedings with a half an hour presentation starting at 12:15pm.

Following on from this session we then move to the first of the days two interviews as once again Kris Oldland takes on his role of interviewer with his guest in the first session being Martin Summerhayes, Head of Stategy and Business Development, Fujitsu live on stage at 1.00pm.

 

In this half an hour session entitled “Employing the next generation of field service engineers” Oldland and Summerhayes will be tackling perhaps the biggest threat that field service companies are currently facing – namely that of the ageing workforce and how companies such as Fujitsu can overcome this challenge.

Having had an exceptional career working from field service engineer himself through to managing teams of varying sizes from a handful to a continent before finally arriving in his current role with Fujitsu, Summerhayes is expertly placed to share his insight into not only the dangers we face as one generation reaches retirement age but also how we must interact with the field service engineers of tomorrow from a young age in order to capture their attention and guide them towards a role in field service.

We follow this session by inviting one of the guests from last year who was a true highlight of the event program, Tim Jones, Professional Services Manager Europe and India. At last years sessions Jones explained how he had moved his field service operations to a de-centralised system, taking time to outline the reasoning for his move, the process he and his team had undergone to make such a transition, how they reorganised there teams, and of course what the early signal are as to how the move is delivering.

It was a bold move when many other field service companies were looking towards doing the opposite and centralising their operations. However, if the amount of questions Jones faced after the interview was any form of indication last years session was certainly left the seeds of an idea in a number of those who attended.

So has it actually worked? Well we’ve invited Jones back to give us the feedback on what has been successful and what has not. What he would have done differently and ultimately if he would advise other companies to follow this path.

 

Finally to bring the sessions to a close we have one final panel discussions which brings together Field Service Solution Zone sponsors TomTom with a number of their partners as we discuss “How connectivity and data are at the core of next gen field service”. The session, which also includes representatives from AllOnMobile, Magenta and Smart Witness is designed to help us put together some of the key leanings from across the three days sessions and see how all of these various technologies can come together to improve a field service organisations daily workflow.

With many predicting that the future of field service will have connectivity at its heart, it will be interesting to see from these various technology leaders about how there various systems can integrate and connect with each other to enrich the data available.  With a focus on enabling smarter decisions the session will ask how can we make the field engineers lives both safer and more effective efficient?

With a full three days worth of excellent and thought provoking line up of sessions the opportunity for discussion over a drink at the end of each day as the theatre becomes a networking hub is sure to be welcomed and on the final day it is certain to be a vibrant opportunity to discuss the ideas and trends highlighted both in the theatre solutions and the wider Service Management Exhibition as well.

 

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To join us at the Service Management Expo click here to register

 

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Running across the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th of June the Service Management Expo remains one of Europe’s key field service events and Field Service News is pleased to be hosting the free educational sessions in the Field Service Solutions theatre once again this year.

So as we continue our series looking at what you can expect at this years Service Management Expo we turn to Day Two the 17^th of June where as well as an excellent calendar of events there will also be our daily networking session where you can continue the debates fostered by our mix of presentations, interviews and panel discussions over a beer or glass of wine amongst your peers.

Once again our day begins with an opening session from our theatre co-sponsors IFS and Field Service Management who open the proceedings with a presentation at 11:30am.

Following on from this session we turn to our first live interview of the day. Kris Oldland, Editor of Field Service News will be back in the hot seat as our question master and moderator for the day as he interviews Pitney Bowes, European Director of Customer Care, Andy Beer.

The session entitled “Service management 2.0 implementing a service management system across Europe” will have a focus on how the franking and posting giant’s recent pan-european implementation of a field service manager we will be looking at the pain points Beer and his colleagues went through when going through such a significant transformation to their field service operations, what they identified as key components of the new system and what benefits they have felt since making the transition.

We return to the presentation format once more as we welcome Sergio Barata of Telogis to the podium to give his 1.45pm presentation entitled "If you can connect it you can transform it" during which Barata will give us his expert insight into the fast paced, ever evolving and increasingly exciting world of the connected vehicle.

With vehicles now becoming central hubs for all applications the connected vehicle is no longer just driving transformation, but is now driving disruption. With experts predicting that by 2020 it's predicted over 50 billion things will be connected to the internet Barata’s session promises to give us vital insight into how we can keep in step with the revolution and still meet your customer's own ever increasing needs?

 

Importantly for us field service professionals we will be able to see how we can use connected intelligence to lead and differentiate our own service businesses and still double the ROI from our fleet operations.

Barata is not only has a deep background in fleet automation, but is also an intelligent and eloquent speaker so this promises to be a fantastic session for fleet and field service managers alike.

Following on from Barata’s presentation we return once more to the interview format with Oldland this time speaking to Professor Howard Lightfoot of Cranfield University. As well as being one of the founding thinkers in the area of Advanced Services, Lightfoot is now playing a critical role in the development of the next generation of engineers with the pioneering work he is doing at Cranfield University.

In a session entitled "Training the next generation of system engineers" we'll look at how Lightfoot is uing a mix of the latest technologies including both Augmented and Virtual reality to train tomorrow’s workforce so they are ready to deal with the explosion of technological evolution we are currently facing including IoT, Big Data and 3D Printing Lightfoot is in a unique place to give his insight into what makes the so-called millennial generation tick. What motivates them, what are their weaknesses, what are the skills they have that the ageing ‘boomer generation they are replacing lack? And most importantly how suited are they to the field service industries?

 

Lightfoot also returns for the final session of the day with Oldland moving form questioner to moderator as with hold the second panel session of the event. This panel discussion which also sees the return of Barata and Beer tackles the ‘Changing face of Field Service’. 

The aim of this panel discussion will be to asses just how big the threat of an ageing workforce really is for field service companies and is there really such a big difference between the outgoing and incoming generations of field workers? What are the common traits of the next generation of workers – both the good and the bad, not only from Lightfoot’s academic point of view but also from the real world perspective of Beer as a Senior Service Director? And finally how big a role will technology play not only in attracting the best of the next generation, but also in shaping the very format of the field engineer of tomorrow.

 

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Register for Service Management Expo by clicking this link 

 

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