In a mobile world where information technology is at everyone’s fingertips, there is great potential for empowering engineers in the field. Nick Harper, Sales Director with Amtech, considers some of the possibilities
It is not that long ago that mobile business devices were far more capable and connected than any personal device you owned. In the recent years this has changed significantly and personal devices have taken the lead. As individuals we are able to do pretty much everything we want with our smartphones, from various forms of communication through to making purchases.
Businesses are now waking up to the capabilities provided by new mobile devices, so there is now a requirement to harness this with business specific applications loaded onto the devices, combined with back office connectivity enabled to the core business systems.
This creates a great opportunity to equip engineers with the capability to achieve considerably more while they are on site, while dispensing with the traditional manual processing and re-keying that wastes time and duplicates effort.
A case in point is the onsite production of Inspection & Testing certificates. For example, an ‘Inspection & Testing’ app for iPad can be used to create new certificates or use a previous certificate as a template. Either way, as the data is generated from the test results it can simply be entered into the app as you work.
Once the onsite work is complete, the data can be synchronised to dedicated cloud servers for secure storage. It can also be accessed by the main computer in the office that has the full version of the certification software.
This integration of mobile device and cloud storage serves to protect data, acting as a back-up should anything happen to the iPad. Crucially, it also enables administration to be completed on return to the office, so that onsite productivity is maximised.
Also, in situations where multiple engineers are carrying out Inspection & Testing onsite it allows managers to download the test results as they come in from various engineers for production of certificates.
Just the beginning
This integration between mobile devices, cloud storage and back office systems is just the beginning. In the very near future we can expect to see a much higher level of integration between systems that help to manage everyday tasks.
For example, a service engineer with an Inspection & Testing app may also receive jobs from service and maintenance management software on the same mobile device. Integration between these systems will enable documentation such as previous certificates to be delivered to the mobile device along with the job details. So if it’s a re-test job, having all that core information from the previous certificate in place, within the Inspection and Testing app, will save a lot of time.
If the testing reveals problems with the system, that same mobile device can be used to take photographs of, for example, damaged cables to send to the client. At the same time, an estimating app on the mobile device will enable an estimate for remedial work to be produced on site, using material and labour costs from an online pricing database. The estimate can then be sent to the office and/or client for approval.
Once the work is approved a follow-up visit is booked into the scheduling software and the engineer can leave site – or it may be possible to complete the work there and then. The key point here is that the engineer has achieved considerably more while on site than would traditionally be the case.
In parallel, all of this information is shared with back-office systems in real time so the company retains full visibility and control of progress.
For an even higher level of efficiency, the scheduling software may also be integrated with GPS tracking so that scheduling and allocation of reactive and planned jobs can be automated – based on parameters such as the skill-sets, geographical location and current status of engineers .The result is better compliance with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), optimisation of resources and reduced fuel consumption.
Information on the move
There will also be times when both service and installation engineers on site need quick access to technical or installation information about a particular product. Clearly it would be impractical to store all the information that might be required on the mobile device itself, simply because of limited storage capacity. But when you’re ‘always online’ you can get access to that information on the internet.
Through the use of web services such as LuckinsLive.com all product information is available on the mobile device. Everything from simple dimensions, and technical details, through to complete installation instructions, compliance certificates, pictures, CAD images and more can be downloaded and delivered to the engineer or customer – or appended to a quote or job schedule .
The underlying principle here is that mobile technologies are opening up new ways of working; empowering engineers on site to maximise their productivity for the benefit of all parties. It’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed!
For further information visit www.amtech.co.uk
