Rugged hardware is generally running OS one or two steps behind that which we are used to on our personal consumer mobile devices.  But with new devices running advanced processing capability could we be on the cusp of a new era - that includes augmented reality and voice recognition. Mark Glover finds out more...

Apparently the processing power in an iPhone could get you to the moon. A 2019 study comparing the processing output of Apollo 11’s on-board computer with the iPhone revealed Apple’s product has more than 100,000 times the power of NASA’s pioneering space vehicle.

Of course, this is all in context but as I glance at the latest ping from my own smartphone delivering an email from my editor (I need to hurry up and write this!) I pause to think of the advances in mobile technology. As well as Outlook, it shows me the weather and when my Amazon parcel is arriving; it’s currently downloading the next Pearl Jam album; heck, it can even take and receive phone calls. It’s quite extraordinary but it’s a piece of kit that I’ve got so used to over the years and probably take for granted.

 

The Importance of a Mobile Device for Field Service Engineers

Smartphones remain the one form of tech that most people own. They sit alongside car keys and wallet in the chain of everyday importance, in fact, it may sit at the top. We’ve all experienced that feeling of blood draining when you can’t locate your phone, tempered only by the wave of relief when you eventually find it under a cushion. We’ve become so accustomed to our handsets we panic when it’s not in our eye line or snuggled safely in a jean pocket.

Service technicians may not be emotionally attached to their work handset, as they do their personal smartphone - although many rugged devices are dual-sim so it is possible to have both - but what they expect from their rugged device closely resembles to their Samsung S10 or iPhone, they want the similar intuitive interface with similar apps and similar functionality, and more often that not this is what they get.

Now this isn’t rocket science, it makes sense to give them a handset with that same app-based, Android friendly set-up, but if we pause for a moment, it really is a clever thing that rugged manufacturers have done over the years. Gradually implementing the Android system for example, into the rugged devices of service technicians has been one of the movements of the sector.

 

"Its seems as soon as I’ve the ‘latest’ device in my hands I see an advert on TV for the next model. Still, it’s part of my monthly budget that I seem to accept, as do most people..."

 

I’ve mentioned Google’s operating system a few times here and that’s due to the OS being pretty much the system of choice for rugged. Windows is an excellent package that chimes more on tablets, but given most of its enterprise applications: Office, Teams etc. are available through the Play store. Google’s OS tends to win out.

I sneak another glance at my phone despite the lack of a ping (it’s funny how the eye is always drawn to it even when it doesn’t demand our attention) and wonder when I’m due an upgrade. Like most people I’ve brought into the 18 month contract cycle, essentially paying a monthly fee to get a shiny new phone once every two years.

Yet, its seems as soon as I’ve the ‘latest’ device in my hands I see an advert on TV for the next model. Still, it’s part of my monthly budget that I seem to accept, as do most people.

So while my lag behind the latest handset is perhaps six months or so, I’m always up to date when it comes to the latest Android OS which updates automatically when Ice Cream, Oreo or whatever sweet treat it’s called becomes live.

However, for rugged manufacturers an Android update means the emergence of new processors, bringing the end to the latest production cycle and the beginning of a new one. Here time is then spent incorporating additional functionality and the cycle begins again. [EDITORIAL NOTE  - IS THIS CORRECT?]

So, while a service tech expects an app with their email, the weather and perhaps the news, they also need specialist functionality to help with their day-to-day such as barcode scanning or an RFID tagging facility, it’s all add-on technology that takes time to incorporate. It means that devices are often one or two generations behind the current Android's operating system.

In 2020 however, we might be heading into a new era of rugged devices. Handhelds that could be delivering augmented reality, voice recognition or accurate mapping solutions. With the majority of hardware are being powered by meaty Snapdragon 660 processes such technology could be on the horizon. [EDITORIAL NOTE AGAIN SEEMS BROADSTROKE AND NOT SURE IF IT IS TRUE/VALID REASONING?]

Data is also playing a role in the modern service device, physically, it means screens have to be larger for a technician to see and process the torrent of information that slides constantly into their handsets. [EDITORIAL NOTE - AGAIN I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS ACTUALLY TRUE - OR MAYBE IT IS WORDED BADLY? MAKES IT SOUND LIKE THERE WOULD BE A TORRENT OF DATA COMING THROUGH THE DEVICE LIKE SOMETHING ON THE MATRIX?!) 

But it’s the advent of AR and suchlike that’s really exciting. The point of these Handy Little Book articles is to horizon scan, to look to the next 12 months identifying what trends are beginning to form.

In rugged, it’s makes sense to look at the next five years of which, the first two will see devices operating today’s latest OS, yet it’s the next three where the likes of AR and voice recognition could be as common as barcode scanning, RFID tagging and sending a text to your boss. It’s a genuine leap for the sector and one to monitor closely.

So perhaps 2025’s Handy Little Book will welcome in a new wave of rugged developments, until then I’m off to see if my S10 can get me to Mars.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Rugged Hardware @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/hardware
• Read more articles from Mark Glover @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/author/mark-glover
• Read more articles about Augmented Reality @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/augmented-reality
• Read more about mobile apps for field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=mobile+apps
• Read more about the future of field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/future-of-field-service

Software AG and Tech Mahindra Partner to Deliver Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics innovation for Telco sector accelerating digital transformation and enhance service offerings.

The new partnership will see Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT and webMethods Integration Platforms integrated with Tech Mahindra’s IoT framework to support telecommunications customers.

Accelerating Digital Transformation in Service

Working together, Software AG and Tech Mahindra will provide Internet of Things (IoT), analytics and integration technologies, services and support. This will enable communications service providers (CSPs) and manufacturers to drive digital transformation efficiently, quickly and with maximum impact for their customers, employees and business.

Vikram Nair, President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Tech Mahindra, said: “As part of our TechMNxT charter, we are constantly looking to expand our partner ecosystem by connecting with industry-leading companies. This partnership will strengthen our existing relationship with Software AG, and will enable our CSPs to accelerate the roll-out of digital solutions empowered with advanced IoT solutions.”

As CSPs increasingly move towards more data-driven and value-added services revenues, powered by intelligent networks, they require substantial systems integration and solutions development work that can be best provided by Tech Mahindra and Software AG.

John Schweitzer, Chief Revenue Officer, Software AG, said “Our joint solutions will help CSPs to accelerate the rollout of new advanced IoT offerings. Working with Tech Mahindra, we have made it easier than ever for CSPs to build stronger integration with OSS, BSS and other parts of telecommunications enterprise systems. This will allow CSPs to roll out new advanced offerings and onboard new customers faster than ever before, offering an unparalleled customer experience.”

The connectivity of devices is playing a key role in service development and vendors working together to bring IoT to sectors will only assist service delivery. This new partnership will be key in deciphering the value of data-driven offerings from IoT.

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Further Reading:  

• Read more about IoT in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/IoT
• Read more about digital transformation in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digitaltransformation
• Read more about the telecommunications sector in service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/TELCOS
• Read more about Software AG @ https://www.softwareag.com/
• Read more about Tech Mahindra @ www.techmahindra.com

Scandinavian telecoms and networking giant partner with a number of Chinese companies and Swedish telecoms provider Telia to deliver significant 5G roll out in major field service operations across both regions.

 

5G roll-out paves way for enhanced field service mobility

China Telecom and China Unicom have selected Ericsson as a 5G radio access network (RAN) vendor as part of the Communication Service Providers’ (CSP) joint nationwide 5G network. China Telecom has also selected Ericsson as a 5G Core vendor.

Ericsson will provide outdoor and indoor site solutions to build capacity and coverage in the 3.5GHz and 2.1GHz bands. Network services including provisioning, installation and testing will be provided to meet the CSPs’ technical needs and enable them to build and share 5G networks.

China Telecom has also selected Ericsson 5G Core portfolio solutions. These include Cloud Packet Core, Cloud Unified Data Management and Policy products, built on cloud-native technology for operational efficiency and agility to launch new 5G services.

In Europe, Swedish communications service provider Telia Company has launched commercial 5G in Stockholm with Ericsson (RAN) products and. Initial services on the 700Mhz band will cover most of central Stockholm by mid-June.

Telia aims to enhance and supplement its low-band 5G commercial services with additional nationwide 5G coverage, including mid and high-bands, following the auction of the related spectrum by the Swedish government later this year. For this launch Telia is using its existing 700MHz spectrum, boosted by LTE and New Radio (NR) carrier aggregation.

Having already partnered successfully on 5G in Sweden including the country’s first industrial 5G network, Telia selected Ericsson as its partner for the launch network. Earlier this month Telia’s sister company Telia Norway also launched its first commercial 5G services, with Ericsson as its 5G RAN supplier.

The service sector is set to take advantage of global 5G coverage as increased speed of mobile connectivity offers further enhancement to mobile computing in the field.

Commenting Allison Kirkby, CEO, Telia Company, said: “As we roll-out 5G across Sweden, we will open up new user experiences and accelerated innovation in areas such as entertainment, healthcare, manufacturing and transport, that will collectively strengthen and protect everyone living and working in Sweden, and Swedish competitiveness in the world.

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Further Reading:

• 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
• Read more about Ericcson from their blog @ https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2020/5/the-key-to-mobility-robustness-5g-networks 

Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News talks to Ashok Khartham, CEO M-ize about why the challenges we are all facing in the fallout could see a drive towards field service companies embracing the gig-economy and how that could work

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Want to hear more? Head over to our podcast library @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts and look for Series Five, Episode Two 'Season Five, Episode Two: Ashok Khartham on Connected Customers Being the Missing Link to Fully Connected Field Service'

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Treat Gig workers like You do Your own field service engineers

There is one topic which is dominating all conversation at the moment. That is, of course, the current COVID-19 pandemic and how we plot our path back to full recovery. 

One of the suggestions that has been forward in a number of conversations around this topic is how the gig economy could play a pivotal role in that road to recovery.

At Field Service News, we have been talking a lot about the potential of the gig economy for some time before the pandemic took hold but now with many, many field service companies seeking to re-establish control and catch up on the thousands of lost service hours the tapping into the gig economy is becoming a very real prospect as to the only way many companies will be able to get through the sheer volume of capacity requirements they face. 

However, the big challenge is if you're tapping into that gig economy market and other forms of third party labour you are putting your customers in the hands of a workforce that will likely have a broad knowledge base now have a broad skill set.

This can be fine for a large majority of jobs, but what happens if the gig worker comes up against an issue that is more specific to your organisations assets that they simply couldn't be expected to resolve first-time out? 

 

"As we all know, the gig economy and independent contractor usage is growing..."

 

A second service call means increasing costs at a time when cash-flow is stretched to a breaking point already.

This potential increase in the use of the gig-worker in the field service workforce and the need for easy transmission of data and information that can assist in fault diagnosis and steps to resolution has really amplified the need for solutions that can deliver knowledge where and when it is needed. 

"As we all know, the gig economy and independent contractor usage is growing," commented Ahsok Khartam, CEO, M-ize on a recent episode of the Field Service Podcast describing a recent case study they had just published with Electrolux. 

"Initially, when they started deploying our knowledge management solution, they started with their authorised service technicians. However, one of the things they quickly found is they needed similar knowledge access for all their independent technicians that they are starting to use.

"Having that knowledge access has helped Electrolux as even though gig workers may not care as much about the productivity [of the parent company], providing knowledge management systems has still led to a better customer experience. If that product with their brand name is fixed faster than they are providing better customer experience and enabling third parties where they don't have access to they won't technicians offers a better availability of service an reduces the time it takes to resolve the issue."

Here Khartam makes an excellent point. Form an outside-in perspective we must remember the customer cares little if the engineer that turns up to resolve their problem is a third-party employee or part of your internal workforce. All they will remember is how quickly you were able to resolve their problem. 

Investing in the right tools to empower the gig-workers to do just that could be a very wise move right now.  

 

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Further Reading:

• Listen to the full podcast @ www.fieldservicenews.com/podcasts
• Read more about the gig economy in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/gig-economy
• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
• Read more about connected field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=connected+field+service
• Find out more about M-ize @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/all-about-mize
• Connect with Ashok Khartham on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/in/ashokkartham/
• Follow M-ize on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/mizecom
• Buy Competitive People Strategy @ Competitive People Strategy: How to Attract, Develop and Retain the Staff You Need for Business Success
  
  

HOLT CAT, the largest US dealer of Caterpillar machines and engines, has adopted Augmentir’s Connected Worker platform to speed-up the process of training new technicians and to standardise job times.

The company operates across construction, mining, industrial, petroleum and agricultural sectors, selling, renting and servicing equipment. The firm will look to spread the Augmentir platform across other areas of its re-manufacturing and rebuild operations, including their business systems and workflows.

Artificial Intelligence's effect on Field Service Productivity

The firm’s new workforce approach will see them dovetail Augmentir’s AI-centric software with Salesforce’s Field Service Lightning, a platform they currently employ, and a move that Brandon Acosta, VP of Enterprise Operations at HOLT CAT, says should enhance productivity and output. “We truly believe that the seamless connectivity of Augmentir with that platform [Field Service Lightning] will empower our technical staff within one end-to-end digital platform; not just what to do, but how to do it,” he said.

Russ Fadel, Augmentir’s CEO and Co-Founder is confident HOLT CAT will see progress in staff training and overall productivity. Commenting, Fadel said: “We are excited to be selected as HOLT’s connected worker platform for its service, repair and maintenance applications. Our AI-based Connected Worker Platform helps industrial companies to intelligently close skill gaps so that the entire workplace can perform at its peak.

The Augmentir platform uses Artificial Intelligence in a suite of tools that assist firms in the digital transformation of their operations, for example moving from paper-based procedures to digital, augmented work instructions. It can speed-up the process of training new technicians by capturing legacy worker knowledge creating digital work instructions and workflows.

It recently upgraded its remote-connectivity capability, Augmentir Remote Assist, which now includes real-time chat, live video and audio collaboration and a recording capability to enhance knowledge sharing, a requirement gaining traction as social distancing rules from Covid-19 permeate service operations.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Artificial Intelligence in Field Service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/artificialintelligence
• Read more Augmentir @ www.fieldservicenews.com/augmentir
• Read more about HOLT CAT here. 
• Read more about the impact of Covid-19 on Field Service @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19

Mark Glover spoke to Roy Chikballapur about the role of edge computing in Industry 4.0, how a comparison with the cloud is not useful and why bringing the two technologies together could benefit the smart factory.

 

In a recent LinkedIn post I pondered if edge computing would ever replace the cloud. 

service innovation from Automation

A comment from Roy Chikballapur from MachIQ caught my eye. “I would say that they are heavily complementary, and neither can deliver without enough advancement of the other,” he wrote, “The edge hyperbole is an automation-industry led backlash that doesn’t fully capture the opportunity of the speed with which innovation can be implemented on the cloud and distributed to the edge.”

This was all great stuff. I quickly messaged Roy and we arranged an interview the following day. This was the kind of insight I was hoping for, however the Skype call we set up had other ideas, booting Roy off the line halfway through.

Skype operates via the cloud, having moved there in 2016 after existing primarily in P2P networks. However, as proven by my call with Roy, connections can drop out as the application gobbles up bandwidth. 

Our connection used a trickle of data compared to that of a connected smart factory and it seemed ironic that our video-chat set-up to discuss the role of cloud and edge computing should drop out.

“You can’t have (connection issues) like we just had right now,” Roy says, using our dis-connection as an example of what can’t happen in an industry setting. “You can’t afford that break in the network when you’re running any type of factory because machines just can’t stop.”

Roy is absolutely right. For manufacturers time is money and asset downtime is loss making. The digital sinews that connect smart factory assets need to work all the time and Roy’s initial comment in response to my LinkedIn post, that the cloud is unable to handle these intricacies (that it was unable to handle our Skype call is another article) made sense.

Of course, the cloud is not in the sky, it’s very much on the ground, stored on data centres and server farms, sometimes a long way from the asset that’s asking to communicate with it. It’s this geographical distance that causes ‘lag’ or latency in “cloud speak”- the time it takes to get the data sent, dealt with and then sent back. A lag of several seconds may seem trivial but for industry it’s pivotal.

The news item that prompted this piece, centred on an analyst report from GlobalData who suggested edge computing was primed for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. 

"Edge computing operates by being physically closer to a device..."

The APAC consists of East and South Asia, South East Asia and Oceania and is made up of large sprawling countries like China and Australia. It covers approximately 2.8 billion hectares of land blanketing nearly 22% of the global land area. It’s huge.

In the report, GlobalData predicted benefits for the region’s manufacturing sector if it fully adopted the edge including the streamlining of industrial processes, supply chain improvement and more autonomous use of equipment.

The uptake, the report claims, is due to the widespread adoption of connected assets in the region including smart homes. It forecasts by 2024, given the current adoption rate, it will become the second-largest market of edge computing, second only to North America.

In contrast to the cloud, edge computing operates by being physically closer to a device, rather than stored in a data centre several hundred miles away; operating on the ‘edge’ of a network thus transporting the digital instructions quicker and negating lag. 

The report says China will spearhead the adoption, and given the country’s size (9.5 million km²), lag from a server in a Beijing datacentre for example to an end user in Shanghai could be avoided.

If, as the report claims, manufacturing is to benefit, it’s important to understand Industry 4.0; the fourth industrial revolution as it were, where data is the new coal and a natural environment for the edge to operate.

In our home, we tinker with the heating while on the train home from work; or look through our security camera while waiting for a bus. It’s this societal shift in the use of connected devices, Roy says, that has pushed the fourth industrial revolution forwards. 

“If you see where the Internet of Things came from, it has origins in implementations such as Google’s Nest,” he explains. “Here the sensors would send signals to the Cloud to make sense of the data, determine what action the device needed and carry them out.”

This was a step on from Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), the first industry-based conduit for connecting machines to networks and a significant step in manufacturing’s development. 

Pre-internet and pre-big data their use was limited but large B2C tech firms: Microsoft and, in this instance, Google, with the eventual advent of the cloud, took the technology further. Today can get your living room lights talking with your mobile phone. “That was basically how Nest really started,” Roy says.

"The industrial firms knew that the cloud alone could not sustain the real-time demands of smart factory operations..."

PLCs were game changers for of GE and Schneider in terms of industrial automation (Schneider would eventually purchase Modicon, the company credited with producing the first PLC), they understood the value of real-time data in a factory setting; that continuous uptime and production was paramount to their operations. Which bring us back to Roy’s point on industrial continuity and how the lag from cloud connectivity will not only affect output but, most importantly, employees’ wellbeing too.

“If it takes multiple seconds for data to travel back and forth, for instructions to be sent from a cloud-based controller to a device in the factory,” Roy says, “it can sometimes literally mean the difference between life and death as there are cases when worker safety inside the plant is affected. And that just can’t happen.”

The edge vs cloud debate was fuelled by industrial actors like GE, Schneider and Siemens responding to IT players including the aforementioned Google, Amazon and Microsoft’s assertion that the cloud could oversee everything, including industrial, operational technology.

The industrial firms knew that the cloud alone could not sustain the real-time demands of smart factory operations. It just wasn’t possible. The stand-off went on for some time until Moore’s law – his 1965 theory that over time, more and more transistors would fit into silicon chips - made it economical to embed sufficient data storage and processing capacity within the asset itself, enabling much of the real-time computing that make smart factories “smart”.

“Computing that was initially supposed to be carried out in the cloud could eventually be carried out on the device itself, by attaching a processor inside. This is basically what edge computing is.” Roy says before suggesting the technology could and should work in perfect harmony with the cloud, particularly in industrial environments. ”There is a space for both these technologies to operate side by side and complement each other perfectly well, to deliver exponentially higher value to industrial plants than either one being utilised alone.

There’s more to discuss here, particularly around edge and the Cloud working together, but I’m saving this for an episode of the Field Service Podcast with Roy as my guest.

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Further Reading: 

• Read more about cloud computing in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/edge
• Read more about customer servitization in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/servitization
• Read more articles by Mark Glover here.

Dr Shaun West of Luzern University offers us some insight into the barriers to digital transformation - one of the biggest areas of focus within the field service sector globally...

 

I believe digital transformation is difficult for manufacturers to design and develop, before considering its execution or delivery. I will draw from published materials, an unpublished survey and study, and personal experience to help understand the challenges we face, and suggest realistic actions firms can use to help them overcome the barriers and develop new value positions and solutions.

The motivation for our research came from a Swiss study that identified the drivers, barriers and risks for digital transformation (Figure 1 below).

 

 

The Need for Digital Transformation:

Why do we need to make this transition? Within a Swiss context, a recent survey by Swissmem confirmed the importance of the development of new digital solutions. The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation report “Research and Innovation in Switzerland 2020” expanded further: they anticipate “that future revenue models for these new digitally enabled solutions will be mainly driven by data and platform exchanges and will become output focused (e.g., pay-per use)”. It is clear that even in an economy focused on manufacturing there is an ongoing shift from a goods-dominated world to a services-dominated world.

Reading the newspapers, it would appear that digital transformation is all about technology and within ten years we will all be out of jobs as robots and AI will have taken over. Read beyond the hype, and it becomes clear that the development of new digital solutions within a product service system environment is as much about organization change as technology.

"Digital transformation has a wider impact than most companies see, and this creates barriers within firms..."

Much of the new technology will allow us to redesign our current work and the way in which we deliver it. Netflix evolved from a DVD subscription model based on postal services to an internet-based model. As Netflix evolved, they removed the physical material from their system, improved the efficiency of the service delivered, and increased the value in their offer (anyone who watched UK television in the 1970s would be amazed by Netflix today).

Digital transformation has a wider impact than most companies see, and this creates barriers within firms. Digital has a clear impact on production (e.g., MES, ERP), IT (e.g., cloud services) and marketing (e.g., big data behaviour insights), but it has a hidden impact on other parts of the business, often in unexpected ways (e.g., your customers have more information on status than your service personnel). Perhaps a better way to view digital’s potential impact is to consider the technology, people and processes involved. Think how we moved to faxes, then email, then to WhatsApp, now to Zoom and workflows; we have absorbed each new technology and changed processes and our behaviours, as Table 1 shows.

 

 

Examples of the digital transition:

Before examining our survey in detail, it is useful to consider some cases. Table 2 gives insights into a range of firms and the barriers they encountered: Piaggio is undergoing a servitization journey with a product-centric mindset; Kone have wide range of technologies within their installed base; FAVI’s workforce resisted empowerment; Unilever built their own data-lake with a massive amount of data; Mass Mutual moved to real-time fraud detection; Domino’s integrated production technologies into a manual process; Cannon faced challenges connecting machines; Allianz moved from operational silos to a process driven business. No firm is alone in the digital transition, many face similar challenges, and all firms should look to others for lessons.

 

 

Survey and interview insights

We conducted a survey with 124 respondents from different-sized firms, the majority (+90%) of which were industrial. Most information was provided by middle management, with over 2/3 of the respondents being from the firms’ headquarters.

When we asked what was driving digitization in each company, we discovered firms wanted to improve internal process efficiency, develop new customer value propositions and use both to deliver new business models. Some companies expressed concerns with hiring Gen-Y or millennial staff, as they felt they were “somewhat old-fashioned and not an attractive employer” but they confirmed they needed Millennials. We were concerned that many firms were only interested in internal efficiency improvements, rather than wishing to build new digitally-enabled value propositions.

The barriers firms were facing were based around weak/no vision from the leadership, existing/legacy IT, the lack of skilled talent, and general resistance to change. Lack of vision from leadership was considered a major barrier, the interviews showed flip/flopping with direction and application of digital was an issue.

"The lack of skilled talent matches with the lack of leadership vision: how can you hire the right people when you have no clear vision?"

I have some sympathy for this as it’s hard for a second-tier manufacturer to be able to create a clear and viable strategy and vision when it comes to digital – just look at the challenge VW Group are facing today with this. Existing IT systems were considered next most important, as in the new world IT skills become core to value creation and capture, rather than just being a business cost. The lack of skilled talent matches with the lack of leadership vision: how can you hire the right people when you have no clear vision? Resistance to change and an organization’s silo mentality cannot be broken without clear leadership.

Respondents strongly agreed that business development should lead the digital transformation, as it’s not a technology development program but rather a business and cultural change program that has impacts across the business. Treating it as an IT project means it will fail; treating it as a technology play means it will fail. Treating digital transformation as a change management program (that is even more transformational internally and externally than Lean) means it may well succeed.

The respondents confirmed that digital will impact on all areas of the business, however service was considered to be the area most affected. Most thought the firm’s internal infrastructure would be impacted, and this is one of the most visible aspects of the transformation– in effect the whole business will change.

Over 330 individual comments were left by the respondents, demonstrating how important this topic is to the community. Analysis showed that ‘people aspects’ were more commonly mentioned (80%) as barriers to a successful digital transformation:

• Strategy: lack of vision & mission from the leadership, transformation roadmap.
• Leadership: resources, sponsorship and management conception, and fear of losing power
• Culture: customer centricity, openness and willingness to change, silo management, hierarchy vs network.
• People: capabilities, expertise, roles, adaptability.
• Governance: communication and collaboration, KPIs, alignment.
• Middle management: as a key role between leadership and workforce.
• The workforce: knows that they need to update, but Leadership does not understand where to start.
• Education: is key for long-term sustainable implementation.
• Digital transformation never starts at C-Level: provide evidence that it can be profitable
• Build teams – members must have digital skills, flexibility (intellectual) and the capability to do abstract work.

Technology must always be applied in tandem with effective, well-designed processes. These converge into a “single system” where data is shared, processed, and integrated across the organization. Technology and process barriers (20%) were based around:

• Automation and connectivity (ICT infrastructure, cyber-physical products).
• Intelligence (processing and analyzing data).
• Operations, supply chain, product lifecycle (channel and business practices/processes, agility, Integration and data exchange).
• Select a technology that fits with your value chain.
• No technologies are perfect.
• Missing customer voice: Involvement of customers in product development.

When it comes to implantation in the business, we found that:

• Legacy systems are a barrier: How to digitalize all company levels? Not only buy technology but adapt products and processes accordingly.
• DT costs money and time.
• New jobs/ functions as a DT consequence.
• Start small, and if it works, go ahead; if not, change strategy.

Companies must adapt their organizational structures and processes to allow their workforce to drive and deliver Industry 4.0 initiatives. This must be done within a clear vision set out by the leadership. Some new ways of working will fail, and some will be successful. The lessons learned need to be openly shared within the firm. Companies should encourage cross functional and cross business collaborations on smaller projects rather than large formal “IT” projects which generally lack long-term business impact. The overview of the transformation should be led by business development and be close to, but separate from, the operational business.

Teams need to try out new technologies, such as cloud computing and machine learning. Assets and equipment need to be integrated with the enterprise system, to monitor and analyze the performance on both a technical and an operational base. As processes within production, services, sales, supply chain and the product lifecycle become integrated, they will converge allowing data to be shared, processed, and integrated across the business. Figure 2 (below) provides graphically the complex environment in which we live and the considerations we have to take when designing Smart digitally-enabled services.

 

 

How can you help your firm overcome barriers preventing digitalization?

Knowing where to start isn’t easy, however the survey sheds some light on the barriers preventing or slowing digitization. Our view of the future is shown in figure 3 (below)and knowing where you and your firm sits within this ecosystem is the key. Three ways you could help your firm, based on our insights from the study:

1. Develop a digital strategy, vision and road map for your team or business and communicate it clearly inside and outside the team. Ask at every team meeting how digital will impact and change the business and discuss opportunities and risks.
2. Use small mixed teams to develop digital solutions with impact within the firm. Learn from these teams what works and what doesn’t in your business environment.
3. Share your digital lessons learnt from the projects within the firm, with your customers and your suppliers. Work with suppliers to improve operational efficiency: work with customers to develop, prototype and test new digitally-enabled solutions and value propositions.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts for providing the funding for the study as well as my colleagues (Günter Zepf, Ute Klotz, Barbara Kummler, Pilar Gil Fombella and Paolo Gaiardelli).

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Further Reading:

• Read more about digital transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital_transformation
• Read more articles from Dr West @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/author/shaun-west
• Read more articles from academia @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/academic
• Connect With Dr West on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunwest

Technology use in service is about attaining business needs, says Rohit Agarwal. In a world impacted by Corona Virus ensuring your tech fulfils its business case will become more prominent.
While technology is the walls, ceilings and decorations of the cathedral; the foundations that the cathedral stands on are the strategy, the people and the processes of the organisation. These three decide the entire stability of the cathedral and how well it can withstand the external forces. In this article, let’s take a dive at why understanding business needs and creating the right strategy around it is the first important milestone in any technology implementation.

How the Pandemic Drove Digital Transformation in Field Service

Covid-19 hit us hard, and by us I refer to humanity, a disruption of our daily life, economies, governmental policies and the rate of medical research. What has been one common theme of being able to the contain this deadly virus if one asks? ‘Technology’ would be one prompt answer that comes to our minds. Technology has helped us detect the virus, learn how it spreads and has allowed everyone globally to communicate about it. Technological progress and prowess seem to the definite answer to our biggest threats and challenges, but then, if I may ask, why is the country with the most technological prowess hit the hardest? The strategy to use the technology to attain defined goals or mitigate disasters is what separates a successful technology implementation from an arrow shot in the dark.

Let’s take the simplest example of Video Calling. The technology allows a grandmother and her grandchild to communicate in two distant continents seamlessly but there are thousands of video calling platforms such as messenger, WhatsApp and Skype to name a few. The reason these names come to our mind over the rest is simply because the way the technology has been implemented keeping the business needs of creating a simple intuitive platform that make it simple enough for an 8-year-old to an 80-year-old to use. The value of a Video Calling platform increases with the number of users or in technical terms ‘the installed base’. Whatsapp’s strategy has been to provide the platform free of charge to users to lure them to the platform and get them hooked on. The dozen employees of Whatsapp worked relentlessly on improving the simple platform to build users rather than trying to complicate the technology leading to an evaluation in billions when it was sold to Facebook.

 

"The failure for new technologies isn’t innovation in product or services, rather it is a missing business model in a space where customer needs are uncertain..."

 

If we narrow down to the modern corporate scenario, over the last five years we have seen technology evolve faster than our minds can keep up with it. IoT, Augmented and Virtual Reality, AI has been some of the biggest differentiators for corporations. The difference between one trying to use these technologies versus one that has been able to reap benefits out of it has been understanding the business needs, prioritising it and creating a formidable strategy around it without being blinded by all the great things that the technology could achieve. According to an article on Forbes, the failure for new technologies isn’t innovation in product or services, rather it is a missing business model in a space where customer needs are uncertain.

Let’s take Augmented Reality (AR) and see how a company could use it to improve their value proposition or just try to force the technology into practise. Acme(fictitious) is a small company in existence over the past 5 years and has been providing field service as a contractor with specialisation in packaging machines. Acme’s current business strategy is to expand its service base but cannot afford to hire very experienced technicians and the CTO believes in talent farming. Acme does a technology review to identify what kind of digital tools it can implement to upgrade its customer’s experience. The technology research shows that Augmented Reality could be used as a digital tool that would help new technicians get expert advice from the office. Instead of jumping straight into purchasing expensive AR glasses and software, the CEO, a big fan of the lean start-up methodology starts looking into building a strategy to slowly implement the technology in short loops involving the technicians and have the possibility to persevere if things go well or pivot if things go haywire. 

The CTO does an audit of the knowledge management of the company to see if relevant materials are available in easily accessible form for the back-office expert and the on-field technicians to use and it appears enough to run trials. Acme promotes its most experienced technician who is about to retire to a back-office expert role to guide the other technicians on the field. They use simple video calling with their smart phones and a tripod to keep the technicians’ hands free. Based on input from the usage, the knowledge repository is enhanced, and the feedback is taken from the technicians.

 

"The strategy, process and people are the bridge that connects the use of new technology to the upgrade in customer experience."

 

After the first 3 months, the depositories of knowledge are updated sufficiently, and the processes are set in place to allow for optimal use of the back-office experts time. After analysing the results from this time, the CTO and the CEO decide to hire 3 new technicians and assigns them to the back-office expert to oversee and guide. In parallel Acme partners up with an Augmented Services Solutions company to try the usage of Augmented glasses to run experiments on how the efficiency of the system can be further improved.

Acme manages to expand its service base, not waste money on technology without proof of value and attains its business goal. The key to Acme’s success is not the mere use of technology, but the focus on understanding business needs, creating a strategy towards these and incorporating technology along the way to attain these goals. The strategy, process and people are the bridge that connects the use of new technology to the upgrade in customer experience. In the digitalisation phase today, the ability to apply incremental changes, have a strategy that is flexible and possibility to get quick feedback has become the major differentiator for businesses. To be able to jump the chasm between new technology implementation and upgrading customer experience, organisations must build a solid bridge of strategy, processes and people.

 

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Further Reading: 

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital_transformation
• Read more about the impact of Covid-19 on Field Service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
• Read more articles by Rohit @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/author/rohit-agarwal
• Connect with Rohit on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/in/rohitag1/

In a turbulent automotive market Japanese manufacturing giant Nissan have had to take the hard path to find success writes Laura Anne Danaraj...

The automotive industry has been going through a state of disruption in recent years challenged by consumer-centric approaches, driving transformational changes and adopting new technologies.

With so many options available in the market, automakers need to stand out amidst economic, environmental, and emotional preferences. But how? At Field Service Asia, organized by WBR Singapore, we had the privilege to interview Jamie Morais, Head of Aftersales Dealer Operations, APAC, Nissan to learn more.

Full Cycle Service Management Across OEM, Dealer and Customer

Well, apart from doing what they do best - designing and manufacturing cars, automakers have realized the importance of giving a full spectrum of services to build brand loyalty. In the case of Nissan, the Japanese automaker is working hand-in-hand with an authorized network of dealers from different countries as their partners, seeing them as an integral part of their ecosystem.

“They (dealers) are the ones who take care of the cars for the customer," Morais explained. "Therefore, what we do from our side is to come up with policies and strategies that focus on enhancing customer experience and customer’s journey. We then work with the dealers to ensure that the kind of service delivered to the customer is accomplished.”

As such, when automakers and dealers form a collaborative partnership, customer retention improves, brand loyalty is achieved and customer engagement process is standardized. This in turn influences the overall market share gained.

However, some relationships have often been fraught with friction, as automakers appear to be occupying the passenger seat, with dealers engaging with the customers directly. How then does Nissan manage expectations and delight customers in this situation?

“Well, it’s only a challenge if you don’t put yourself in your customer’s shoes." Morais continued, "If you do put yourself in your customer’s shoes, thinking from a customer’s point of view, it becomes a delight. If you can achieve or exceed you customer’s expectation, you are already building loyalty. Our focus now is customer retention, in order to build what we call a ‘family’ of Nissan owners.”

"To minimize disruption, predictive maintenance can be performed while equipment is operating..."

Since dealers manage customer relationships, they are in the best position to build trust and personalize experience, thus, seen as enabler rather than a hindrance, a partner rather than a competitor. For Nissan, getting the buy-in of the dealers to deploy their strategies is a priority. When both manufacturer and dealer have the same goal, training and development is next to ensure that what the frontliner is saying and acting are according to the designed strategy.

And one of the strategies include embracing technology to satisfy customers, which as we all know influences the customer’s perception of the brand, and decision to buy. What kind of projects involving technology did Nissan have in place for their customers then?

“We are working on this project for ‘last mile, first mile’." Morais responded. "After you buy a car, you would then need servicing. The question is when. So instead of waiting for the customer to call you for servicing, why not call the customer instead. You are predicting when the car is going to need servicing. And, this requires technology. For us (Nissan) to be able to communicate with the car – like an indication when it needs servicing, the car should inform us of its problem first.”

To minimize disruption, predictive maintenance can be performed while equipment is operating. The transition from a reactive to a predictive mindset enables automakers to respond to the warning indication the moment it is received. Going the extra mile to provide high quality aftersales, enables manufacturers to reinforce their ties with their customers through a satisfying experience.

"Automakers should adapt to their customer’s preferred communication channel..."

Nissan is also going digital when it comes to customer interaction. With the prevalence and ease of mobile phones and tablets, Morais believes customers are after non-verbal communication these days. Looking at how customers currently interact with them, service appointment and engagement process are done without opening their mouth, but all in the palm of their hand. And with this, automakers should adapt to their customer’s preferred communication channel to make information readily available through these commonly used platforms.

“When they come in for a service, actually coming in and bringing the car to us, we try to make the process more convenient, making sure that the time that they come in to the time they go out is the shortest possible, with least disruption to their regular routine,” he said.

Convenience is key in fueling high quality aftersales; and should be infused into every single customer experience. Automotive industry is no exception when it comes to dealing with the ramifications of customer’s expectations. These expectations have a profound effect on brand loyalty, and are crucial in firming up purchasing decisions. No longer separated by dealers, automakers have to collaborate with them in bringing the brand closer to their customers. 

Finishing, Morais shared the benefits of attending Field Service Asia, how it gives him the chance to not only discover the latest technology in the market at present, especially when it comes to aftersales service, but also engage with like-minded people.

 

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If you want to learn more about digital transformation in your business or on how to engage with your customers, then make sure you attend Field Service & B2B CX Asia . 

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Further Reading:

• Read more about digital transformation in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/digital_transformation
• Read more about Customer Satisfaction @ www.fieldservicenews.com/Customer_Satisfaction
• Read more articles from Laura @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/author/laura-danaraj
• Find out more about Field Service Asia @ fieldserviceasia.wbresearch.com
• Follow Laura and the Field Service Asia TeaM on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/fieldserviceap