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Showing posts with the label work orders

Mobile Field Services Score Cards

Mobile score cards for field service technicians. That is an interesting notion that is written about in this article . You combine mobile work order management applications, with mobile business intelligence dashboards and perhaps even mobile customer surveys. The results are a score that is shared company wide to all field service technicians. In this scenario, everyone can see the total number of work orders a technician has completed each week, plus the results of customer satisfaction surveys and the totals of any products or services each technician has sold. This score is presented on a mobile dashboard on each of the technician's mobile handheld computers or Smart phones. The idea is that a competitive spirit and peer pressure will encourage and motivate field service technicians to do the things that most benefit the company. The customer service survey, each service technician must have the customer fill out on the screen of the mobile device, helps keep the service t

FieldSync Automotive for Mobile Handheld PDAs Hits SEMA with a Storm

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This week the MDF sales team attened the SEMA show in Las Vegas. If you are not familiar with the SEMA Show, it is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. It draws the hottest products for the automotive industry to one place and we were there in force. The show attracts more than 120,000 industry leaders from over 100 countries. Our booth was a HUGE success! We introduced the latest version of FieldSync Automotive , for use on mobile handheld PDAs , which hosts a slew of new features like Estimating, RO #/PO# reference and enhanced reporting capabilities. Our booth was surrounded by interested parties who were anxious to test drive FieldSync Automotive. After viewing FieldSync one visitor commented, "this will revolutionize our business." That's our goal - delivering mobile solutions that extend business processes into mobile environments. We are looking forward to 2009 with great anticipation! I anticipate 2009 will bring more off the

The Law of Mobility for Mobile Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software

The Law of Mobility states that the value of any product or service increases with its mobility. Improvements typically realized from a mobile solution include a reduction of paper, streamlining of non-value added and redundant processes, an increase in overall productivity, elimination of manual processes, reduced labor costs and overtime, and increased quality and reliability of information. ~ Russell McGuire, The Power of Mobility Russell McGuire has provided us with a concise description of the value of mobile software applications for use on mobile handheld PDAs. Here are 39 detailed reasons to mobilize your business. Mobilizing business processes enables you to gain visibility into work done in the field, helps to ensure quality work, enables you to reduce administrative work and invoice for field services quicker. - Kevin Benedict

Mobile Handheld PDA Technology in a Slow Economy

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Slow economic periods are a time for reflection for many companies. Understanding how to react to an economic downturn is one of the hardest tasks for a manager. The focus must be on accomplishing more with less and reducing inefficiencies. How can you provide more services per person, lower administrative costs and reduce expenses while at the same time providing quality work and good customer services? This article is intended to help the reader start the process of self-evaluation - to explore where inefficiencies may be lurking in your own unique business environment. The use of PDAs, Handhelds and other mobile software technologies, in the context of field services automation, is most often driven by the following 12 business motivations: 1. Efficiencies in communicating information between the office and the remote service technician or jobsite 2. Efficiencies in planning and scheduling work based upon location, parts and expertise needed 3. Reducing fuel costs 4. Reducing travel

Smart Meters, Mobile Handheld PDA Solutions & Utilities

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MobileDataforce is working on a number of very powerful mobile handheld PDA applications to help electrical and water utilities manage the maintenance, installation and repair of meters. These applications contain several different software components including: Work Orders Digital photos of meters before, during and after installation Safety inspections and reporting Mapping/GPS Inventory Logistics These applications are integrated with mapping software to enable the user to view current, future and past jobsite locations. MobileDataforce is working on many custom mobile software projects for water and electrical utility companies and contractors both in North America, South Africa and in Europe. Please visit our website or contact us if you would like to discuss your mobile field data collection or work order project requirements.

Visibility & Accountability in Field Services with Handheld PDAs

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I must confess that I am much more of a people person than a numbers person. However, in my role as CEO of MobileDataforce I am accountable for understanding and using a large amount of numerical data. My responsibilities include: Collecting the important business data Analyzing the meaning of the data Reporting the data to my managers, my board and financial institutions Forecasting future growth and business performance based upon the data Improving my business processes to enable better performance in the future Investing in future products and services that will reap rewards in the future My responsibilities are very similar to many officers and managers of small to medium sized businesses. The key to effective management is having accurate and timely data, understanding the data and making effective business decisions based upon the data. Let's take a moment to ponder the process of collecting data in the world of field services (mobile service technicians). The field service

Mobile Handheld PDA Case Study: Utility Inspections, GPS and Field Data Collection

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Company Overview: LYNN-EDWARD Professional Services, Inc. (LEPService) delivers a full range of metering, SCADA and communications services to the utility industry. Based in Covington, Georgia, LEPService has served the utility industry throughout the Southeast since 1990, and is rapidly expanding into other geographic regions. Research Challenge: LEPService needed a mobile software solution that could efficiently track the installation and service of load management devices. The mobile software solution would enable the utilization of GIS mapping to effectively identify switch locations. A key requirement of the project was that it be designed modularly so that additional utility inspections could be added at a future date to cover their vast service offerings. MobileDataforce Solution: The initial mobile handheld software application developed for LEPService was for the tracking of load management devices. The application was initially designed to work on the Itronix Tablet PC runni

Sybase iAnywhere, Mobile Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software Applications

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The attached newsletter from Sybase iAnywhere and Gartner includes many different case studies of companies that have implemented enterprise mobile solutions for use on mobile handheld PDAs. One of the articles is on MobileDataforce's customer Janssen-Fritzen. They used MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Suite to customize a wireless work order system for use on mobile handhelds that run on Windows Mobile. Sybase-iAnywhere-Newletter-V1.pdf

QuickBooks and Mobile Handheld PDA Software Applications

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MobileDataforce provides mobile business applications for use on handheld PDAs that are integrated with QuickBooks. These applications are highly popular with field service technicians and contractors that use QuickBooks in their office and work orders in the field. Mobile applications include: Mobile Service Tickets, Work Orders, Service Requests, etc. Mobile job estimates Mobile time tracking More MobileDataforce provides a wireless work order management system called FieldSync that integrates mobile handheld devices with QuickBooks. Work orders can be wireless dispatched to the field service technicians, once they are completed they can be directly synchronized with QuickBooks in the office. MobileDataforce offers both off-the-shelf mobile business applications and customized mobile business applications to fit their customer's specific requirements. For more information please visit their website or contact by email .

MobileDataforce and IBM's Maximo for Mobile Handheld PDAs

MobileDataforce has recently completed a mobile software development project that integrates the PointSync Mobility Platform with IBM's Maximo application. This project was developed by MobileDataforce and implemented in both Australia and New Zealand. Our customer is a very large engineering and construction firm that works throughout the Asia/Pacific region and needs field services dispatch, work orders and asset tracking on mobile handheld PDAs. The software application is a mobile work order management application.

This is Not the Way to Mobilize Work Orders for Handheld PDAs

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I was in Starbuck's on friday . I must confess this is not out of the ordinary for fridays, nor any other day, but I witnessed an event that was. Two service technicians were sitting at a table reading a work order on their mobile phone screen. This phone had about a 1" x 1" screen. They squinted at the screen and then filled our a paper work order on a clipboard. This is certainly one way of mobilize field service technicians, but I would recommend some better ways, and different mobile handheld PDAs or smartphones. Provide a service technician with a full work order on a mobile device that has a big enough screeen to read. I can still see both service technicians squinting at their tiny screens over their mochas . Don't make them rewrite the work order. Use a mobile work order software application on the handheld mobile device. Let them read the service ticket, fill it out, and sign the screen. Don't use a paper work order. Wirelessly send new and completed w

Growing a Business Using Mobile Handheld PDAs

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One of the major reasons small service companies call MobileDataforce is to investigate our mobile field service solutions for use on mobile handheld PDAs and smartphones and to try to understand how they can grow their business without adding additional administration resources and costs. This is the age old problem of how do you grow beyond the capabilities of the immediate owner/manager. The answer is to automate the business processes that are related to field services. Use wireless dispatching of service orders Synchronize completed service orders directly to the office accounting system Accept digital signatures on service orders completed in the field Use a mobile printer to print completed work orders Use time tracking on the handheld computer to monitor the time spent on each job Track inventory used on the handheld computer and have this information synchronized to the office so all parts and equipment usage is tracked Include a customer survey on the handheld device and ass

Building Businesses with Mobile Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software

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I have written a great deal on the value of specific mobile solutions like the following: Mobile Work Orders Mobile Inspections Mobile Job Estimates Mobile Asset Tracking Mobile Delivery Solutions Today I want to focus on some key problems businesses face, and how mobile solutions can help solve these problems. When a company expands beyond the capabilities of the owner/manager, new employees or contractors must be added. This can often introduce the following kinds of problems: Inexperienced workers Unreliable workers Irresponsible workers Uncommitted workers Forgetful workers Thieves and felons on the payroll These problems can lead to the following set of issues: Unhappy customers Cost overruns Incomplete and/or incorrect paperwork Inaccurate job estimates Work quality issues Slow work production Lost tools and equipment Management headaches Believe it or not - many of these issues can be improved and corrected by using mobile software applications on handheld computers to help ensu

Mobile Handheld PDA Applications for Inspections on Hospital Equipment

MobileDataforce is working on a mobile software application for use on handheld PDAs and barcode scanners by a biomedical equipment company that provides services to over 200 hospitals. The mobile field services application provides: Work Orders software Inspection Software Breakdown repairs and preventative maintenance on all biomedical equipment Safety and performance testing of all biomedical equipment Loan equipment to minimise inconvenience Acceptance testing of all new biomedical equipment Training and education on equipment operation and maintenance Our mobile application will integrate with their pre-existing CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) to provide mobile handheld PDA applications for their service technicians.

Mobile Handheld PDA Software & HVAC Service Technicians

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The poor HVAC service technician didn't see it coming. My wife tried to warn him. She said, "Don't answer any of his questions!" It was too late. Kevin -"What have you got there on the clipboard." Unsuspecting HVAC service technician -"This is a work order form." "How do you know where to go for your next job" "I call Pam at the office. Problem is my Nextel phone takes 10 minutes to connect to the office...I hate it. Sometimes I use my own personal phone to call her." "What does Pam do?" "She talks to all the service technicians and dispatches all the work. She tries to keep track of where all the service technicians are and what they should be doing, and where they should go next." "What happens if Pam elopes to Las Vegas with a circus clown?" "We would just close down the shop and lock the door. She is critical to our business...I call her 5-7 times a day to have her look up archived wor

Business Process Optimization for Mobile Handheld PDAs

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How do you improve upon a paper forms-based business process? The plumber, electrician and appliance repair person have been using a clipboard with paper work orders and service tickets forms forever. How do you improve upon this tried and true process? Let me provide some ideas for your consideration: The office can wirelessly dispatch new work orders directly to a handheld device Small service companies, with an owner/operator, can take calls from customers while on the road and enter new work orders on their mobile PDA phones. These work orders can be synchronized with the office and dispatched immediately to other service technicians Wireless work orders can be integrated straight into office database applications and accounting systems so there is no additional paperwork to be entered The wireless work orders can contain all the information on the customer, warranties, equipment type and model, history of the account, driving directions, etc. No need to call the service technician

Concrete Sawing and Drilling and Mobile Handheld Computers

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I had the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at the Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association meeting this week in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a cool 112 degrees on Wednesday when I arrived. I was able to spend a lot of time with these CSDA folks (who would go outdoors in that heat?) and learn even more about their individual businesses. Here are some of the reasons companies in this industry are interested in mobilizing their field services: 1. Wirelessly dispatch job tickets to mobile handheld computers 2. Pre -task planning to prepare for job and have all required equipment loaded on vehicle 3.Track equipment that is needed and removed from warehouse 4.Record the person who checked out the equipment 5.Record the vehicle that equipment is assigned to 6.Document the tasks that need to be performed on the job. Were they all done? 7.How much time did each task take? Improve job estimates 8. Wirelessly synchronize data back to the office for instant invoicing 9.Was all equipment checke

MobileDataforce and HVAC Service Software on Handheld PDAs

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MobileDataforce supports mobile software applications for many different kinds of service technicians and handheld PDAs. This time of year (summer 2007 and hot weather) has us working with many HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning) companies. A recent report from Aberdeen Group says that field service automation can lead to an 18% increase in service revenues and 9% reduction in Mean Time to Repair. The typical conversation with the owner of an HVAC company goes as follows: "I am getting buried in paper work orders! Is there a way to have an electronic work order on a handheld PDA or Smart Phone that wirelessly synchronizes directly to my accounting software? Can work orders be dispatched from my office to a handheld computer? I would like my service technicians to enter their time, parts used, work status and get a digital signature on a handheld computer. Can that be done cost effectively for my 18 service technicians?" My answer - "Yes sir...we deplo

Unscientific Analysis of the Mobile Software Market for Handheld PDAs

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If you are looking for a scientific study, with verifiable statistics, on the trends to be found in the enterprise mobile software application market, this is the wrong place. What I can share is the following examples from the past few days in Boise, Idaho, USA. Last week I looked out of my office window (I do this a lot to appear contemplative), and see a mobile dent repair van in the parking lot. We have been involved with many mobile dent repair business application projects - my sales team swarmed him. Later that day the paintless dent repair technician visited our website to download information on our mobile solutions for paintless dent repair . Yesterday, I visited Starbucks (this was not my first time), and saw a gentleman wearing a shirt that had a "Carrier" logo. Carrier is a manufacturer of Air Conditioning equipment. We have been involved with numerous mobile software application projects with HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) companies. I said

Field Services, Work Orders and Mobile Handheld PDAs

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I have written a number of articles over the past year about the value of using handheld PDAs and Smartphones for field services and work orders. Here are a few of them for your reference: Tools, Parts & Mobile Work Order Solutions on Handheld PDAs HVAC Maintenance and Mobile Handheld PDAs HVAC Service Orders on Handheld PDAs Mobilized Work Order System Mobile Inspection Software, Service Requests & Asset Management Toilets and Handheld PDAs More on Mobile Workflow & Business Processes 30 Reasons to Mobilize Your Business Business Analytics and Mobile Handheld Computers Mobile Service Orders for Furniture Repair and Delivery Automobile Work Order Solution for Handheld PDAs To read more articles on mobile business solutions click here .