Technology is driving a powerful revolution in field services that’s fundamentally changing the way operations are being conducted, says Alex Gittens, Utilities, Energy & Telco Sector Lead – Getac UK.
As traditional ‘pen and paper’ processes become increasingly digitised, more and more organisations are equipping their field services teams with highly versatile mobile devices that let them quickly complete essential tasks from any location.
Getac recently worked with research firm Statista to explore how mobile devices are being used to streamline field services, and why a growing number of organisations are turning to rugged technology when selecting the best devices for their needs. Below are some of the key findings.
Digitally transforming field services
As use of digital technology has steadily risen, so too have productivity levels amongst field workers. Statista found 75% of field services businesses that use digital mobility tools have witnessed big improvements in productivity since switching from more traditional paper-based approaches. Three areas where digitisation is having the biggest impact are as follows:
1. On-demand training and support in any location
Rapid access to instructional manuals and videos while on-site is essential for completing complex field tasks quickly and efficiently, particularly for less experienced field engineers. Providing this access digitally via their mobile devices means they can always carry a wealth of knowledge with them without the need for bulky paper manuals. If required, mobile technology can also be used to connect on-site workers with remote experts elsewhere in the world, who can walk on-site teams through tricky tasks via voice/video, or even with the help of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Doing so optimises resource management and ensures a much higher ratio of first-time fixes.
2. Reducing breakdowns with predictive maintenance
Deploying predictive maintenance solutions can reduce costly equipment breakdowns and service disruption by as much as 70%, as well as increase uptime by 20%, which is a win-win for any field services provider. Leading solutions like Getac’s Device Monitoring System allow users to apply this technology to their entire fleet of mobile field devices, helping spot potential issues early and avoid costly unplanned downtime.
3. Employee tracking and workforce management
Statista’s research found that 53% of field service customers would feel relief if they could track technicians’ locations while waiting for jobs to be carried out. Mobile device tracking enables this, improving transparency and communication between the field service providers, technicians, and customers. It has direct operational benefits for providers too, allowing them to monitor technicians’ locations and allocate jobs more efficiently, reducing the number of failed or late appointments in the process.
Choosing the right mobile device technology is critical
When choosing the right mobile devices for field utilities workers, organisations need to consider a wide variety of factors. Of course, they need devices that offer powerful functionality and connectivity features, but those are far from the only priorities.
Most field work takes place outdoors, in changeable weather conditions and temperatures, meaning devices also need to be built for such surroundings. The work can also be highly physical, with devices getting dropped, knocked, and bashed on a regular basis.
While many consumer-grade devices offer fantastic functionality and connectivity features, they simply can’t cope with the challenging environments that field technicians work in every day. The result is high failure rates and large maintenance bills, leading to poor total cost of ownership (TCO) over the lifetime of the device.
By contrast, rugged devices offer the same powerful functionality, but they are also purpose built for the environments where field services operations take place. As such, workers can take them wherever they need to go in full confidence that their device won’t let them down.
For this reason, it’s estimated that 93% of field services providers will have adopted rugged devices by 2025. So, if your organisation is part of the remaining seven percent, you might want to ask yourself why…
www.getac.com/en/industries | guksales@getac.com | t: +44 (0) 1952 207 222