ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘software-and-apps-2’ CATEGORY

Welcome to the latest edition of the Field Service News podcast. This month we are joined by Tom Oates, Senior Project Manager with service management software provider Solarvista and we are discussing the importance of getting the implementation of any software right if you are to see the expected efficiency and productivity improvements you are expecting.

You can listen to this edited snippet here for free and if you want to hear the full podcast which includes Tom's advice on how best to implement the software and manage the transition from one system and set of processes to another both in terms of the technology in place as well as from a change management perspective, you can get instant access by simply clicking the link below and completing the brief registration process.

---

To download the full podcast just click here and complete the brief registration form!

 

---

 

be social and share this

Enterprise technology expert, Keytree has developed an interactive tool for food charity Plan Zheroes, to help address food waste in the fight against UK food poverty.

Launched today, Plan Zheroes’ new platform acts as a social network where relationships are built between food businesses and charities to ensure communication is quick and simple and food reaches those in need, safely and conveniently.

When an organisation has surplus food to donate, they can now sign into a secure site, upload their information, and nearby charities will instantly receive a notification of the available food. Charities can then claim the food online, and a network of local volunteers and transporters can help transport the food where required.

The platform is designed in a highly scalable way to grow with the charity.  It offers a complex mapping feature and hosts communities within a website to help build relationships between food businesses, charities, local community groups and volunteers to speed up the process of regular food giving.

 

“The platform is fully responsive from desktop down to smartphone, with all functionality available across devices.  We decided to create a responsive web solution to keep ongoing costs for the charity down so maintenance is done across a single platform rather than a website,” said Ian Jones, Principal Consultant, Keytree.

 

“It also works on all devices through either an iOS or Android app. We are now considering working on a standalone app and the use of SMS functionality to enable those volunteers without smartphones to also take part in the process.”

Whilst 13 million people are living in poverty in the UK, 650,000 tonnes of perfectly good food is thrown away by food businesses. Plan Zheroes seeks to address this by inspiring food businesses to give their surplus food to those who need it so it will never go to waste.

Maria Ana Neves, Co-founder and CEO of Plan Zheroes said: “Keytree has included some unique and highly innovative functionality to address a very complicated collaboration structure. The user experience and user-centric design is ideal for those who will use the site. The team also unlocked valuable insights such as bringing volunteers and transporters into the map and transforming the new platform into a social network.”

“The launch of our new platform is the important next step on our journey to fight food poverty and the devastating effect it is having on people in the UK. It allows a better connection between local networks of businesses, charities, volunteers and transporters, making the process simpler, quicker and more intuitive. With Keytree’s offer of pro bono help we can now further expand the network to support even more people in need of food.”

The Plan Zheroes website can be found at www.planzheroes.org

Plan Zheroes currently works with a wide range of food businesses - including restaurants, catering companies, cafes, food shops, schools, supermarkets, hotels and food markets – all of which can now register on the Plan Zheroes website and forge links with charities and local community group. Plan Zheroes partners include Borough Market, Paul UK, Le Pain Quotidien, Gail’s bakery, the Langham Hotel, catering company Squid & Pear and Budgens. Charity partners include Red Cross UK, Look Ahead, the Marylebone Project, New Horizon and The Abbey Centre.

 

Be social and share this story

In this series we are tackling the topic of end to end field service and exploring the technology options across each stage of the service call lifecycle.

In part one we looked at taking that request, and in part two we focused on getting the right engineer to the right place at the right time.

Last time around we looked at selecting the right hardware for your field engineers and now in this the final feature in this series we look at what considerations should be put in place around the software we put on those devices.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

Tools to do the job  - Software

Having selected the device to empower your field engineers the next step is to select the right mobile software to make the most of that hardware.

Whilst there has been great strides forward with cross platform HTML5 applications a strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).

A  strong argument lies within a ‘native’ app approach where the application is specifically designed to work alongside your device’s operating system (OS).Not only do native apps tend to be on the whole more aesthetically in line with the devices OS and therefore more intuitive for a user familiar with the OS but they are also able to take more advantage of the device’s capability – for example Near Field Communication.

 

There are of course numerous field service apps on the market, and as with office based systems the option to either sit within one platform or select a third party app is open to you. However, as with back office systems integration to your core ERP system is absolutely vital.

The whole point of moving your field workers onto a mobile device is to streamline processes and therefore communication between your office system and your team in the field must also be seamless.

As with all of the discussions so far again understanding your field engineers workflow is at the core of successfully selecting a mobile app that enhances your field service engineers productivity.

However, a few of the more common requirements for field engineers include:

Health and safety regulations:

Whilst your field engineers may undertake the appropriate steps to ensure they are working safely each and every time they tackle a job.

For example an electrician knows to turn off the main power to a house before he changes a light fitting – he certainly wouldn’t forget to do it more than once!

However, by locking an app until the ‘switch mains off’ box is checked not only prompts your field engineer but also ensures he and your company are confirming to health and safety regulations.

Similarly there are stringent regulations in place regarding loan workers, so many field service apps have necessary steps in place to ensure your loan working field engineers are both safe and complying with these regulations.

Knowledge Bases

Perhaps one of the most valuable tools you can arm your field service engineers with is access to a wider knowledge base.

This can range from information on the device they have been sent to repair – it’s previous fault history for example, through to knowledge bases with videos and articles that describe faults the engineer may never have come across before, through to video conferencing where the engineer on the job is able to discuss a problem he is unable to resolve with a more experienced engineer in real time – something that is particularly useful for organisations who are servicing devices in remote locations for example.

Access to parts ordering and contracts

Whilst in an ideal world the diagnosis of the issue would have been made in the initial stages of arranging a service call, in reality in many instances the field service engineer will find the right solution is something different upon arrival at the site.

In this instance it is absolutely essential that he has clear visibility into spare parts inventory and has the ability to order the parts needed if required.

Having to go back to the office and go through a separate chain to get these parts means further frustration for your customer and wasted time and resources for your company.

Similarly if they need to carry work that exceeds a normal maintenance contract – for example if the device he has been sent out to repair has been used beyond it’s normal working parameters, then it is vital he has an understanding of the level of cover the contract offers. Remember a field engineer’s main focus is making things work again and he will be under pressure from your customers when on site. The last thing he will be thinking of is ‘is this covered by there SLA’. Unless of course it is clearly highlighted in front of him.

This also leads us on to the next element, the ability to either communicate with the sales team or create sales directly from the field.

 

A customer falling out of warranty is perhaps the easiest sell a company can have when the engineer is on site – as long as the engineer can show clear evidence that the repair falls out of the agreed contract.

If the engineer can simply add the charge onto the clients account there and then so he can go about resolving the issue then the sales process becomes both simple and effective.

Similarly as a trusted adviser the field service engineer is in a great position to upsell.

“I’ve fixed the problem with your printer and noticed your running low on toner and will probably run out within a week – shall I order some more for you” is one simple example and 99 times out of 100 the customer will surely say yes.

Order approval:

A critical functionality of any field service mobile app is to approve the work as soon as it is done.

By giving your field engineers the ability to have customers acknowledge the work carried out and having this data instantly recorded in your back office system you are not only able to gather information on your field service engineers productivity but also have clear documentation of your work being approved should any dispute arise between you and your customers.

Communicating back to HQ:

Of course order approval is not the only metric you can assess your field engineers  productivity on. Every interaction the field engineer makes with the app provides the opportunity for further data collection on both the engineer themselves and the customer.

For example – is the engineer spending longer on each job than is average amongst his peers – in which case is training required? What about the travel between each job? Is he taking longer than expected? Or is regularly making journeys in less time than you would expect – perhaps indicating he is driving over the speed limit?

What insight does he have into your customers? Has there been a change in personnel since the last company visit? Can your engineer update the CRM system? Perhaps anecdotally he hears that your customers are thinking of expanding – can he arrange for a member of the sales team to come and speak with your customer about how you can ease that process?

 

What about the device he’s working on? Is he seeing common faults at each customer he visits?

Could this result in a design improvement if fed back into R&D?

Important data is everywhere and there are few better equipped to collect it than a field service engineer. Giving them the right tools to transmit that data to the place it has most value is a crucial part of the field service mobile app.

Conclusion: Understand your engineers workflow.

As we mentioned at the very beginning of this white paper the introduction of the concept of end-to-end field service is both emerging and ill defined as yet.

What we have tried to achieve in this white paper is take you as a field service professional whether it be on the side of IT, business leadership or operations, through an end to end journey of how at each stage technology can play a part in streamlining your field service operations.

 

However, not only is the topic itself vast but so to are the resulting options and it is far too easy to end up making costly mistakes in such an environment.

Therefore it is absolutely key to develop a road map that plots your path to developing an end to end service management solution and the only place to start that road map is by stepping outside of your existing framework and understanding two key concepts.

Firstly what do your customers require from you in terms of service, and secondly what is your field engineers daily workflow?

Once you have an understanding of both of these questions then you are in position to build up your solution to enhance and improve these two areas.

It may seem like the longer path in the early stages, however, ultimately such an approach will take you where you need to be far more effectively.

There is also an accompanying white paper to this series which is available to download here

This series is sponsored by:

 

 

Be social and share this feature

DA Systems, a market leader in the provision of mission critical sameday courier software, has announced a unique offer to support sameday couriers affected by the collapse of City Link.

It is giving any courier with evidence of previous employment by City Link the opportunity to use Express completely free of charge and start trading as an independent courier business. Express is a new, cloud based software solution designed to run every aspect of a sameday courier operation, from job pricing and scheduling, to delivery route planning, with real-time parcel tracking and proof of delivery notifications to customers.

DA Systems’ offer of free access to Express for ex-City Link workers is worth over £400 and available to any courier presenting evidence of former employment or self-employment with City Link and wishing to establish a micro courier business. In return, they will have the opportunity to use Express completely free, for the first two months.

 

Using ACI Express will allow a courier to have access to a single, centralised and integrated system that has been specially designed to meet the changing needs of the time sensitive courier industry.  As a cloud based solution, no upfront investment is required, the system is web-based and can be accessed by any connected device.

“The advent of courier networks and steady demand for e-commerce fulfillment means there has never been a better time to set up in businesses and take control of their future. Rather than working for a single delivery provider, it might be more prudent to spread the risk and become self-employed. With free access to Express, they have the opportunity to give it a try for two months.” says David Upton, CEO of DA Systems.

Latest estimates suggest the courier market is now worth £7bn annually, which can be well served by entrepreneurial independent couriers.

Be social and share this news

Resource Type: White Paper

Published by: Exel Computer Systems

Title: How do large Field Service companies gain competitive advantage?

About: Published by UK service management software and ERP provider Exel Computer Systems this white paper looks at some of the challenges that companies can face as their mobile workforce grows to significant size. Concisely written this white paper raises some interesting questions and provides some good advice both for companies with a large mobile workforce as well as those who foresee their organisation and thus their mobile workforce expanding in due course.

Download: Download the white paper by clicking here

Overview:

 Whilst many of the challenges for field service companies are shared regardless of company size or industry vertical, there are some challenges that appear specifically amongst those field service companies that operate with a larger mobile workforce.

 

Understanding these challenges and how to minimise their impact on your business operations is of course important for those field service managers and directors working for larger enterprises, however, it is also important for those managing smaller and medium businesses (particularly those with aspirations of growth) as the adoption of best practices now may mean your company can both potentially avoid such issues as you grow and also enable you to grow your organisation faster.

This white paper from Exel Computer Systems addresses some of these issues and offers some great insight into how to overcome them.

Topics include:

The need for clarity of data within larger field service organisation…

The larger the service team, the more data there is to be potentially collected and analysed by more people across the business. It is here that the often-overlooked area of reporting offers real competitive advantage.

The company which can quickly access its information in appropriate real-time, flexible formats, from multiple points across the business (from the board room to dispatch room) and, most importantly, which can also trust that information, has a real advantage over the company reliant on inflexible reports only accessible and understandable by a limited number of people within the organisation.

Not only is the former company able to be more responsive and agile at an individual job/asset level, it has the potential to be so at a strategic level by being able to analyse and spot any emerging trends and react accordingly. 

Maximising customer facing time

Another challenge facing large service teams centres around maximising customer facing time by intelligently scheduling the best use of each engineer.  [quote float="right"]As the size of the team increases, there is the potential to treat each engineer according to more generic rules which may work better some times and less well at others.

In smaller service teams, there are less engineers to manage and it is inherently easier to optimise their use. As the size of the team increases, there is the potential to treat each engineer according to more generic rules which may work better some times and less well at others.

 

When a company has an FSM system that provides the visibility and accuracy of data described above, each engineer can be treated on an individual basis by the user utilising the knowledge and data held within the system. Not only does this potentially increase the quantity of jobs achieved over a given time period, it also potentially increases the quality of customer service as the customer will invariably get a quicker response.

Greatly increased risk of stock obsolescence

There is also the not inconsiderable challenge of minimising mobile stock levels. A company of five mobile engineers requiring fully stocked vehicles compared to a fleet of 500 vehicles represents not just a vast difference in terms of tied up stock, it also represents a greatly increased risk of stock obsolescence. It is for this reason that companies with large field service teams are beginning to gain competitive advantage by building relationships with suppliers at a local level.

 

If successfully done, local suppliers can either work on an agile basis and replenish individual vehicles as and when required, or even arrange to deliver to a customer site to coincide with an engineer visit.

Improving diagnostics, remote repair and self repair

Companies with large service teams are beginning to gain competitive advantage by proactively encouraging customers to share what can often be mission critical data. One such example is in a service/repair context where customers can aid preliminary diagnostics by sending a picture or video of the asset/problem in question. In some cases, this is enough to enable a skilled service engineer to work remotely with the customer to resolve an issue much quicker than sending an engineer on-site. This can also be advantageous where different engineers have areas of specialist knowledge; an engineer on-site can instantly communicate with another engineer that may have more experience for advice and direction, again removing any unnecessary waiting.

 

For some companies where downtime of an asset can be measured in thousands or tens of thousands of pounds per minute, this is an advantage offering huge potential savings.
 

Download your copy of this white paper now!

 

Be social and share this feature

Research conducted by US based technology consultancy Software Advice has revealed that many field service companies—especially small to midsize residential service providers, such as cleaning services, pest control and plumbers are falling behind other business when it comes to the technology they deploy to run their operations on a day to day basis.

The research, which had well over 8,000 responses from random adults who have used residential services within the United States, identified that despite a wide range of software solutions designed specifically for field service being available, many companies have yet to adopt such modern systems.

Indeed a 2014 Software Advice field service BuyerView report indicated that 54 per cent of field service companies, that could be potential software buyers, are still using manual methods for managing their business. Similarly a Field Service News research report identified 48 per cent of companies were using manual tools.

The benefits of moving towards a digital workflow for field service companies are well documented (not least amongst these pages) however, the benefits for the customers of field service are also great and it is in this area that the Software Advice research focussed.

Here we explore some of the key findings of the research...

1. Customers are more likely to select a provider that can track their field service technicians.

The first area the survey addressed was how much more likely customers were to select a field service company based on the types of technology they use. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between the technology being implemented and the likelihood of gaining new business.

Well over half (58 per cent) of the respondents stated the use of technician tracking technology would “somewhat increase likelihood” to hire a field service company whilst over a quarter (28 per cent) stated it would “greatly increase likelihood” to hire that company.

Of course one of the main benefits of implementing this type of technology is that field service companies are able to provide far more accurate timeframes for the arrival of their field service operatives. In today’s busy world the difference between an accurate time slot or the traditional ‘some point between 8am and 6pm’ can be a huge benefit for customers.

According to Sam Pillar, CEO and co-founder at Jobber, one beneficial technician-tracking capability field service software may offer is geofencing. This technology acts quite literally like a digital “fence,” enabling businesses to set boundaries for service, create alerts upon entry and exit to and from these boundaries and automatically notify customers when their technician is nearby.

As Pillar explains, “If you're scheduled to do a job at 2 p.m., but at five minutes to 2 p.m., you’re still 10 miles away, you’d be able to automatically send a text message to a customer saying you’re going to be a little late."

In addition to improving customer experience and satisfaction, there are organizational benefits of integrating this tracking technology. “If [the technician says] that they were at a job and the customer says they weren’t, you can verify this; or, if they get in an accident, you can see exactly where they were,” Pillar explains.

2. Customer portals in field service are something we must get right

One of the most polarising sections of the research was the responses around customer portals.

Whilst access to an online portal for self-service tasks such as scheduling and bill paying had the second-strongest positive impact on respondents’ likelihood to hire a field service company the data also indicated that an online portal could have the most negative impact in customers eyes.

In fact 5 per cent of respondents indicated that having a customer portal function would "somewhat decrease" the likelihood of them selecting a company, whilst 12 per cent stated it would or "greatly decrease" the likelihood of hiring that company. Such mixed responses would suggest that when implemented properly online portals can enrich the customer experience—but when implemented poorly, they can severely detract from it.

 

Of those respondents who indicated a preference for customer portals, 55 per cent stated that they would use “online bill pay” more than any of the other functions listed. Another popular function was ‘online scheduling’ which exactly half of respondents indicated they would use.

3. Customer perception of technology in field service

The next section of the research focussed on consumers’ perception of how well field service companies were deploying technology and how this impacted on the customer experience.

41 per cent of respondents indicated that the companies they have hired previously had done an “average” job of using technology to improve the customer experience they deliver. 39 per cent stated their provider uses technology to improve their service offering either “somewhat” or “very well”. Leaving a minority who say in their experience field service providers leverages technology “poorly” to some degree.

It's clear that more customers have a positive experience with a field service provider's software than a negative one. Pillar elaborates on what a positive experience with field service software should look like.

“If we [software developers] are doing our job well in building great technology for these businesses [to use] in serving their customers, then we’re doing it in such a way that it stays out of the way,” he says. “The end consumer shouldn’t really notice. There shouldn’t be a situation where a field service technician is fumbling with an iPad or an Smart phone to try and get a bit of information recorded, or to pluck information about a job. It should be very quick and easy.”

 

If the proper use of software is invisible, it’s probably very apparent when a provider is not using software properly: Processes tend to be slower and more inconvenient for customers. As Pillar says, the right software offers real, operational improvements that benefit the business owner. And the end result of these improvements is better customer service.

“The end consumer sees the benefits in more efficient work; an industry that is, overall, faster and more competitive; and, ultimately, they should start seeing greater price competitiveness as a result, because [providers] are able to do more with less,” he adds.

You can read the full report from Software Advice for free by clicking here. 

 

Be social and share this feature

It’s a given that the customer is your number one priority, however, to satisfy and retain your clients, field service companies need to repeatedly provide a professional service. Here we take another look at a section from the Service Management Handbook published by advanced field service to see how. 

You can also download a copy of the full 45 page Service Management Handbook by clicking this link

Typically, customer service is impacted by a combination of factors that result in the customer not getting what they want, when they want it.

Organisations generally fail to deliver successful customer service if they are impacted by the following:

• Lack of integrated, real-time communication between the field engineer and the customer service representative
• Poor visibility of current stock levels across multiple systems and manual entry
• Manual processes hindered by unnecessary paperwork

This can, in turn, cause problems with accuracy and delays, or just a simple lack of flexibility, when it comes to dealing with customer issues, for example:

• Not able to notify customers if the engineer or part delivery is delayed
• Not able to order and replace spare parts quickly, particularly if an incorrect part is ordered initially
• Inefficient use of engineers’ time and resources
• Not able to respond quickly and flexibly to customer requests

Delivering a winning customer service is what sets field service businesses apart.

6 steps to service success

Given these common challenges, what can service businesses do to really ensure that what you are delivering is adding genuine value to your clients? And what can you do to ensure your value-add is fully recognised by the client?

Here’s our winning formula…

1. Provide a professional response

Whether you operate in the B2B or consumer/domestic markets, you’ll need to consistently meet basic criteria, such as responding within a set timeframe or appointment window.

A field service solution helps you to deploy your engineers with maximum efficiency and equip them with everything they need to know to do a proficient job, from the customer’s contact details to inspection sheets.

Technology gives you the option to send the engineer’s estimated time of arrival, by SMS or email, to the customer. If the engineer is running late, you can keep the customer posted on developments. In many cases, customers will find a delay more acceptable if they are informed of the reasons for any hold-up, along with the new ETA.

2. Live capture of onsite data

The information your engineers enter remotely through their PDAs should automatically feedback to your call control centre and back-office reporting and billing systems.

Customers can be sent up-to-date compliance certification within minutes after the job is completed. Sending an invoice promptly while the job is still fresh in the customer’s mind will also avoid queries and delays further down the line.

While not strictly speaking a customer service issue, having fast efficient billing processes reinforces your image as a professional service provider and helps speed up payments and improve cash flow.

3. Collect customer feedback

Rating product suppliers and service providers has become a way of life.

Customers are accustomed to completing online surveys and logging their opinions on review sites.

Without bombarding customers with survey requests, you can collect their feedback using standard forms on the engineer’s PDA or schedule a survey to be emailed to them after the job is complete.

Not only does this foster confidence that their views are valued, you can angle the questions to gain valuable insight into your customers’ thinking and identify possible opportunities to upsell the contract and services, where appropriate.

4. Sophisticated customer intelligence

Intelligence on your clients will enable you to offer a greater level of customer service and provide your teams with organisational knowledge, information and the expertise to make complementary sales.

The provision of powerful, accurate information equips your teams to better meet the needs of your clients. A CRM solution, integrated with your service management software, will share information across your whole business, helping to facilitate access to critical information at all times whilst managing your sales pipeline and opportunities.

5. Deliver on time

Accurate and consistent service delivery is essential to keep the business running to its optimum. Capturing data on the spot and time-stamping photos will protect you from becoming open to penalties and demands for refunds. Always putting the customer first and meeting their demands and expectations will put you ahead of the competition.

6. Customer web-portals

Many service organisations now approach many of their major clients as strategic partners, rather than just mere end-users, working in collaboration to ensure long-standing relationships and increased profitability.

A customer web-portal offers your clients, staff and contractors, the ability to create jobs, view history, access contract agreements and run interactive reports on their KPIs. This type of self-service access will ensure your clients are kept firmly in the loop, cementing your status as a preferred service partner – without adding to the workload of your service administrators.

Want to know more? You can download a copy of the full 45 page Service Management Handbook by clicking this link

Be social and share this feature!

Research released by Halifax and the Empty Homes Agency to mark #EmptyHomesWeek which ran throughout this week reveals that over 600,000 properties remain completely empty in the UK.

This is a stark and worrying fact that is alarming on both the human and business level. Every housing provider knows it is important to have as few empty homes (or voids) as possible – not only do they cost money, they can also be a problem for local communities.

The research also highlighted that the public are concerned about this issue –  36% of people think empty homes are a blight on their local area and 74% believe their local authority should place a higher priority on tackling empty homes.

What more can be done to convert these empty properties into cherished homes?

Reducing the time it takes for repairs and maintenance teams to complete their part of the journey to re-letting a property can be one way to reduce void days.

Field Service software provider Oneserve have been working closely with a number of Local Authorities, Housing Associations and Contractors all over the UK. Through using Oneserve, a cloud based service management solution, customers are reporting better visibility and management of the void process which is enabling them to reduce turnaround days.

Phil Pemberton, Managing Director of Property Services at Sovini (One Vision Housing) commented:

“We have reduced our voids repairs and maintenance days from 10.09 in April 2014 to 8.99 in September 2014. This is a reduction of 11% and attributable to the process improvement we have achieved through using Oneserve.”

Adam Thompson, Managing Director at Oneserve added:

“It's great to see how organisations like Sovini are using Oneserve to turn properties around more quickly. We hope to increase the number of housing providers we work with in 2015 to deliver even more value to the sector.”

Why is it that, in a time of unprecedented innovation in phone technology, all field service mobile apps are the same? Ian Mapp, Director at Wyser Stewart throws down the gauntlet to app developers...

Not precisely the same, of course. But, essentially they all try to solve the challenges faced by mobile engineers/technicians in the same way. If you look at the websites of companies that supply such applications – and there are plenty to choose from, too many to list here – you will find the descriptions almost interchangeable.

They all claim to increase productivity by replacing the reliance on paper-based forms, reliably integrating with office-based systems, eliminating errors and speeding up processes; improving cashflow by removing delays in producing the final invoice and reducing customer disputes. Sure, there are differences in details and variations in the technology platforms that are supported, but they are almost identical in capabilities. Plus, delivering indistinguishable experiences for the user.

 

It seems that the biggest innovation right now is who supplies the device – the company or the worker! To BYOD, or not to BYOD. It’s 2014. Is that best we can do? Really?

Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, with market penetration in the UK this year estimated somewhere between 70-80%. And each of them has amazing computing capability, and a bunch of ‘smart’ features that make them very powerful devices. The biggest challenge when rolling out mobile applications is often user resistance to changing their working practices, but we don’t exploit those capabilities or make it very attractive when all we offer our engineers is a replacement for filling out forms.

“Okay, if you’re so clever, what do you suggest?” I hear you ask. And it’s a fair question.

The design for today’s apps mostly started out as automated equivalents of paper systems, as has been mentioned. And that is true of most administrative software products. Take a manual procedure, tweak it a bit and write the resulting re-engineered process into code. Bingo! A faster version of what worked before, more reliable, more consistent and leading to more work being done.

But, what if we started from a clean sheet and made smartphone capabilities intrinsic to the design of a new model for mobile workers? What might that look like? Now, I am by no means a software developer so some of this may not be practical, but I am an enthusiastic smartphone user and this does not seem at all far-fetched. Here are some ideas for a (better) day in the life for an engineer, using M/App (our imaginary mobile app - sorry, couldn’t resist it!)

 

It’s 07:45, and Sam’s phone chimes. Sam has been checking the news headlines and is already logged into the phone – possibly using a fingerprint for security validation. M/App knows, from a calendar entry, that Sam is scheduled for a shift starting at 08:00 and offers a simple prompt, “Ready to start your shift Sam?” with Yes/No/Snooze options for a response. No logging in to an application, no menu choices to be made, just a single button press (or voice input).

The software interrogates Sam’s scheduled jobs and checks for any delays on the journey to the first one. There are none, and at 08:02 M/App gently reminds Sam that he needs to start his daily vehicle check, in order to set off in time for his first appointment. The checklist is on-screen as soon as the phone detects movement outside to the van. The vehicle check requires input from Sam, but once that is finished, the app is expecting that travel will begin to the site and will not require any further response if it detects movement at speed – indicating driving – on a reasonable route to the first destination.

The phone detects that Sam is out of the vehicle, and based on GPS signals, prompts for confirmation that Sam has arrived on-site. He may only have parked nearby and needs some time before he truly arrives, or he may have unrelated tasks to perform – like returning a call to a manager – and so a positive acknowledgement is required.

Depending on the quality of the data about the machine to be serviced, it may be possible to use the latest in-building positioning technologies to determine when Sam is ready to begin work. Irrespective of that detail, M/App will always default to a prompt about the next expected step in the process.

 

For example, asking “Are you ready to start work on the xyz machine?” with Yes/No/Snooze options is simpler than asking for a ‘Start Time’ to be input in HH:MM format. And streamlining the data input demands will also encourage Sam to record what he is doing in real-time, further improving the flow of data back to the office and the decisions to be made about new priority jobs, and dynamically rescheduling for overruns and delays.

The workflow will progress through the necessary actions to complete the job, using any sensors or features of the device than can provide knowledge that enable the app to intelligently determine what is happening and what should happen next – clock, camera, touch screen, accelerometers, GPS and Wi-Fi for positioning, other installed apps or OS facilities.

I am not suggesting that everything will flow simply from step to step without variation – that would not be realistic – but in many industries and job types there is a definite pattern to the individual activities and M/App suggests the ‘line of least resistance’ for the engineer to follow. That’s what we call best-practice, isn’t it?

M/App is always active in the background, trying to ensure that the schedule can be met. For example, Sam starts a task with a ‘standard’ time of 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, the app checks for travel delays and detects a problem, with a hold-up of 20 minutes and a late arrival predicted. The app prompts Sam for an estimated completion time, he confirms 30 minutes, and informs the central system of the upcoming problem. That allows the scheduling system to determine the best course of action. A decision is made and the change to his schedule is communicated to Sam’s device while he continues to work, meaning that he can immediately move on to the right next job – avoiding the traffic hold-up. That improves the productivity of his shift, and means more satisfied customers at the end of the day.

The application is “nudging” Sam to carry out the tasks and jobs in the order that the centralised scheduling system has determined to be optimal, by requiring the lowest level of effort to follow that plan. However, Sam may be able to override that, and carry out work in a different sequence – one of his own choosing. But, it will mean more inputs, choices and manual navigation by him to achieve those overrides.

[quote]How can we use the power of a smartphone to unobtrusively assist our engineers in their daily work, enabling them to focus on delivering service to our customers?’

The underlying design principle of M/App is not ‘how can we get our engineers to fill out the head-office mandated forms better?’, but ‘how can we use the power of a smartphone to unobtrusively assist our engineers in their daily work, enabling them to focus on delivering service to our customers?’. It’s a simple change in approach, but that switch somehow changes everything.

 

So, come on application developers, the market is ripe for some innovation. Over to you.