HVAC Maintenance and Mobile Handheld PDAs

Access Heating & Air Conditioning came to my house today. Poor them...they did not realize that I work at MobileDataforce and we design, develop and deploy mobile handheld PDA HVAC software applications. They must think I am the most obnoxious customer they have ever had.

"Using a paper form and clipboard I see."
"Yep"
"How do you know what job to do next?"
"They tell me on the radio."
"How many jobs do you do a day?"
"As many as they tell me."
"How do they tell you?"
"I go to the office in the morning and they say - here and hand me a job."
"What about jobs 2-7?"
"I call them on a radio and say I am finished. They say about time now go here or there."
"Do you ever need to review past work orders or maintenance forms?"
"Yep - most of the time the customer has the last one duct taped to the side of the furnace."
"If not?"
"I call the office and ask them to look in the file and read it to me."
"Why three separate forms?"
"One for a service agreement, one is a maintenance checklist and the third is an invoice."
"What happens when you give all that paper work to the office staff?"
"The invoice is put into the computer, the other 2 forms go into a notebook/file folder."
"How long does a service call take?"
"With a customer like you? Too long."
"Sorry...thanks...goodbye!"

I refrained from explaining how we mobilize HVAC operations regularly. It makes so much sense to combine the 3 forms into one mobile software application on a handheld computer. The service agreement, maintenance inspection and invoice could be integrated easily into one electronic form on the rugged handheld computer and the data could be synchronized wirelessly directly to the office computer system.

The service technician could query past visits with a simple online request. Digital signatures and a mobile handheld computer could be used to capture digital signatures and a mobile printer used for the invoice. The invoice could even be emailed to the customer rather than using more paper.

Service orders could be dispatched electronically to the service technicians handheld computer rather than trying to call and read all the information, which the service technician scribbles on a paper tablet while drinking his coffee and driving through the rain in rush hour traffic.

Oh my...I have a lot of work to do.

Toilets and Mobile Handheld PDAs

This is a first - MobileDataforce is developing an inspection software solution for inspecting toilets using handheld PDAs. Our team in Newcastle, England is working on a project called WaterSmart. This application is for Water Utility companies to use to help homeowners conserve water and save money.

This is how it works:

1. Inspectors swarm into a homeowner's bathrooms and start flushing their toilets, using their showers and filling their bath tubs.
2. They measure outputs, water pressure, and the overall water use of a house.
3. They use handheld PDA applications to collect all of this data and synchronize it back to headquarters
4. The data collected results in recommendations for the installation of water conservation equipment in the home, which kicks-off a work order process
5. The work order is dispatched to a service technician that travels out to the home and installs things like; balloons in the toilet to reduce the water in the tank, shower heads that reduce water volume to a dribble and many other clever things...

These mobile software applications are used for mobile inspections, data collection, work order dispatch and synchronization. These are very interesting projects and they allow us to play with cool new handheld PDAs and other mobile gadgets.

Paintless Dent Repair & Handheld PDA Solutions

MobileDataforce has become one of the leading suppliers of mobile handheld PDA software applications to the Paintless Dent Repair industry (PDR). A few years ago I would not have guessed this would turn out to be such a dynamic and growing market for us.

Why are companies involved in the PDR industry using mobile handheld PDA solutions for field services? Here are a few of the business issues that mobile solutions address:

• Avoid duplicate billings - when a car is brought into inventory, the VIN is scanned using a bar code scanner, this creates a new and unique record in the mobile software application that can be used to uniquely identify the vehicle and to assign inspections, work orders and invoices to it. This avoids duplicate billings for the same vehicle which causes the dealership to question your integrity.
• Avoid double entry of data - data should only be entered once. Data should be entered at the "point-of-work" and then synchronized wirelessly directly with the office accounting system. When you use a paper form based system, the staff in the field must fill it out, fax or deliver it to the office where another staff member must decipher it, analyze it, complete it, and then re-type it into a computer system. This is a huge and unnecessary cost and prevents many franchisers from scaling up in size.
• Managers and staff need to know what is happening in the field. Mobile handheld solutions that are wirelessly synchronized with the office computer system can be updating time sheets, production sheets, inventory, employee data, work schedules, sales, customer information, invoices, inventory etc. all day long. This provides management with near real-time visibility into their operations. This is how active, mobile managers stay in touch with their distributed operations.
• Many of our PDR customers are competing with other companies for an auto dealer's business. Being able to show the manager of the auto dealership how your operations are mobilized with rugged handheld computers, wirelessly synchronized with the central office and capable of printing invoices and work orders directly from in the field is very impressive. It shows a level of sophistication and operational excellence missing with many PDR operations.
  
  There are more articles on the use of handheld PDAs in the Paintless Dent Repair industry here.

Ruggedized Digital Cameras and Windows CE

Two Technologies has an interesting product strategy with their Jett-Eye handheld PDA. They have in effect created a ruggedized digital camera in the form of a handheld PDA. Their product marketing emphasizes the camera features as its most distinctive component.

Take digital color pictures in the field. Capture data on the go. Seamlessly connect with the office. Simultaneously increase field service productivity, improve customer service, and turbo charge your profits—all while improving your customer relationships. This complex scenario is now made simple with the JETT•eye. It was designed to make all of this possible at an affordable price point.

Rugged True-Camera-System- 5.17 MP color CMOS Sensor (4MP processed)
• Camera System scans bar codes and processes digital images with auto-focus and illumination

One no longer must settle for a 1.3 megapixel camera in a handheld PDA.

We at MobileDataforce get requirements weekly from companies asking for digital image integration within their mobile data collection applications. Projects involving asset management, conditional assessments, inspections, work orders, quality assurance and law enforcement and compliance often require as must data collection as possible. High resolution cameras just enhance this capability.

Furniture Delivery & Mobile Handheld PDA Solutions

I had a piece of furniture delivered this week and it was an interesting experience with a mobile software application for handheld PDAs. The delivery team had an Intermec 700C Pocket PC with an integrated data card and a bar code scanner with them. I asked them to tell me what they do with it and here is what they said.

1. They first scan all boxed furniture as they load it into the trucks. This allows the office to see where any piece of furniture is at any time.


2. The scan is synchronized with the enterprise database and the addresses of the delivery location and the customer information is pulled down to the handheld computer.


3. When they unload the furniture at the delivery location, they scan the bar code on the label of the boxed furniture and fill out an electronic delivery form on the handheld computer with the deliver driver's name, date and time stamp on it.


4. They carry the boxes into the house and remove the furniture from it.


5. They inspect the furniture for damage


6. They ask the customer to inspect the furniture for any damage and then sign their digital signature on the Intermec bar code scanner screen.
7. Any identified damage that is documented activates an additional "damage report" form on the handheld computer.


8. The driver also signs his name on the screen to verify his delivery.


9. The Intermec bar code scanner synchronizes the data via GPRS back to the enterprise database.


10. Any changes to the driver's routes or deliveries are synchronized out to the driver's handheld computer and a pop-up window with an alert bell informs the driver of a new dispatch.

The above list contains a good example of how to effectively use handheld solution for the following:

• proof-of-delivery
• scheduling of deliveries
• near real-time dispatch
• near real-time notification of deliveries
• near real-time notification of route progress
• inventory tracking
• damaged goods inspection and reporting
• work order management

The problem - the delivery man still had me sign 4 copies of paper forms. What was that all about? 2 copies of delivery forms, and 2 customer service forms verifying there was no damage to the furniture upon delivery. I also had to sign my initials verifying the time of delivery. I asked him if the handheld computer saved him time and he answered no and that it added time to the delivery because he must climb into the back of the truck and scan all of the bar codes before leaving the warehouse, and scan then all again upon delivery....plus fill out the same information on paper forms. OK, that is a problem.

The delivery company had not integrated many of the associated business processes yet. They had made a good first step, but they needed to get all the paper forms on the handheld. The driver does not want to carry a handheld computer in one hand, and a stack of papers in the other. You want to reduce work, not add another layer of it.

The furniture delivery company had automated part of the process (dispatch and proof-of-delivery), but not the customer service forms and the furniture company's inspection reporting documentation.

A complete integration of business processes would have all the data collection requirements for all the various third parties on the same handheld device. The device would synchronize the data back to the office and all the relevant "data" would be forwarded to the appropriate business partners and integrated with their IT systems. This solution would save a great deal of delivery time, internal staff resources and paper.

Inspection Failure & Handheld PDAs

NON-COMPLIANCE! REJECTION! There are so many different ways to fail an inspection. If you could see the stacks of inspection forms that sit on the desks of my professional services teams you could barely sleep at night! Have you ever thought about how many different ways you could fail an inspection?

If you were an elevator in Broward County, Florida - you could fail the following inspections: 7010, 7900, 7020, 7040, 7060, 7030, 7050, 7070, 7090

And believe me...you don't want to fail 7070.

In each of these inspections - you could end up in violation in so many different ways. You could receive "Danger Sign", "Ascending Car Over Speed", "Alarm Bell", and "Door Closing Speed" violations.

If you were a commercial establishment that sells medical narcotics legally, there are inspections completed by the State Board of Pharmacy. If you are a commercial establishment that sells narcotics illegally, then you have other problems to worry about.

In a juvenile corrections facility you could fail the nightly bed check inspection.

If you are a pest, you could fail a huge list of different inspections.

Termites, mold, water, soil, food, vehicle, safety, OSHA, fire equipment - there are thousands of different inspections you could likely fail at any point during the day.

In the electrical utility industry you could fail the following inspections before lunch:

Padmount transformer inspection
Manhole inspection
Pothead inspection (don't ask)
Vault (Substation) inspections
Station inspections
Padmount station inspections
Pole inspections
As-built data collection
Line patrol inspections
Ground rod inspections
Underground Splice inspections
Network secondary transformer inspections
Underground secondary network inspections
Customer equipment inspections
Sub-transmission insulator inspections
Switching center inspections
Farm metering inspection

The thing all these inspections have in common is that you can fail them all on a handheld PDA using inspection software, and the failure can be synchronized wirelessly back to the central database where your wife can immediately be notified.

Mobilized Work Order System for Mobile Handheld PDAs

What does a "mobilized" work order dispatch and management system look like on a mobile handheld PDA? It consists of a number of business processes integrated together to create an efficient and profitable process that satisfies the requirements of your customer. Let's explore a mobilized work order process now:

A customer calls in to report a broken heating system. The office staff takes the phone call, enters the relevant information into the work order database application on the desktop computer which creates a unique work order number. The work order database application, with GIS integration, can compare the location of each service technician to determine which service technician is closest to the work location. This is accomplished with GPS tracking on the service vehicles or handheld computers used by the service technician.

Once the appropriate service technician is identified, the work order is dispatched to the handheld computer used by the service technician. Included in the electronic work order is driving directions from his/her current location to the next job location. In addition to the work order information, warranty, repair, users manual, maintenance history and product information on file can also be dispatched to the handheld computer for reference.

Once the service technician arrives at the location - he opens the work order on the handheld PDA. Opening the work order automatically captures the service technician's name, the date/time stamp and GPS coordinates and enters them into the open work order.

Once the service technician examines the broken heating system and determines which parts need to be replaced. He can pull out his handheld computer and check whether he has the needed parts in his vehicle inventory, if not, it automatically searches nearby service vehicles for the needed part (GPS tracking enables this). If another service vehicle is located that has the part in inventory and is nearby, then driving directions can be sent to describe how to get there in the most efficient time.

When the service technician arrives at the service vehicle with the needed part, the part is scanned using a bar code scanner in the handheld PDA to remove it from the vehicle's inventory and assigns it to the appropriate work order number.

Once back at the work site, the service technician runs into a challenge. He has never worked on this model before and needs advice. He snaps a digital photo of the equipment and synchronizes it back to the office. His supervisor reviews the photo and calls him with advice.

Once the work is completed, the service technician signs his name on the handheld computer screen, and has the customer sign the work order screen as well. The service technician prints an invoice on a mobile printer and collects the payment from the customer. The collection is noted on the mobile work order and synchronized back to the office for immediate processing.

As soon as the work order is completed and synchronized, the work order system reviews work order locations and priorities and assigns the next optimized work order to the service technician.

30 Reasons to Mobilize Your Business using Mobile Handheld PDAs

ROI (return on investment) is the term used to define the value of a solution relative to the cost. If a mobile solution for use on a mobile handheld PDA cost $50,000, how do you justify this investment? Management needs to see that their investment will provide them with a positive return. The following list contains some of the most common justifications for mobilizing business processes using mobile software for handheld PDAs:

1. Eliminate time spent in the office re-typing data collected in the field.


2. Eliminate time spent on the phone dispatching service tickets or work orders, rather dispatch electronic service tickets direct from your computer to the mobile device of your service technician.


3. Send driving directions from Google Maps in the electronic work order; saves time finding work locations.


4. Avoid the fuel costs incurred delivering paperwork to the office; rather synchronize the data direct from the field to the central database application.


5. Avoid the time cost transporting paperwork from the field to the office.


6. Save time and provide better customer service by providing real-time access to enterprise data while in the field. Enable mobile access to customer history, product documentation, warranty information, inventory information, time sheets, work schedules and much more.


7. Speed up field data collection by using barcode scanners and barcode labels on assets. A quick scan with your handheld computer can automatically display all stored information related to the asset for quick review, edits and additions.


8. Create and schedule service tickets direct from the field , rather than using office staff. This avoids the need to involve the central office staff for this purpose.


9. Immediate invoicing for faster collections and cash management.


10. Proof of work – GPS audit trail of work. Detail work completed in that location.


11. Reduce introduction of errors - paper based systems are inherently slow and error prone. The more hands touch a paper form and add or edit data, the more chances that errors can be introduced to the data.


12. Ensure complete data is sent from the field – incomplete field data can take hours of work to track down later .


13. Avoid bad handwriting errors and misunderstandings – by creating prepared pick-lists and using handheld keyboards.


14. Validate answers on the mobile software application – ensure accuracy of data.


15. Digital images to document work - with before and after digital photos that synchronize back to the office.


16. Push data to the handheld – avoid time on the phone and note taking while driving by pushing documents directly from the office to the handheld.


17. Vehicle and handheld GPS tracking for quicker dispatch and least cost routing- handheld computers with GPS functionality can integrate with GIS and display the location of the field worker to help managers better organize service responses.


18. Compute and analyze data on the handheld in the field – programmed analytics can help field users make quicker and better decisions.


19. Automated business processes - your mobile application can be configured to perform all kinds of automated business functions, queries, computations, analytics and many more time consuming features automatically based on data input or buttons pushed.


20. Enforce business processes for efficiency and best practices - mobile software solutions can be configured to ensure the field user follows the appropriate business processes based upon the data entered (a specific answer can force a separate business process.


21. Avoid lost data on paper forms —capture data immediately and sync to headquarters.


22. Avoid undocumented inventory usage and unbilled time due to forgetfulness- enforce real time data entry before clock out or work order completion.


23. Require clock in and clock out at jobsites to document the accuracy of work estimates.


24. Train new service technicians and inspectors with audio memos or video clips.


25. Capture digital signature for proof-of-delivery and proof of work.


26. Enforce and automate best practices business processes.


27. Automatically track inventory and parts usuage on the handheld computer.


28. Query for available inventory in nearby work vans to save travel time and fuel cost.


29. Use information on handheld computers to up-sell more products and services while onsite with the customer.


30. Query latest shipping status or inventory levels via handheld computer while onsite with customer
    

Google Earth, Job Estimates and Mobile Handheld PDAs

Have you downloaded and played with Google Earth yet? There are versions of desktops and for mobile handheld PDAs and iphones. You can download the client and then see all kinds of very interesting maps, 3D buildings, satellite views, fly overs and more. In addition to all the fun and games, there are real business values you can gain from Google Earth.

Let's say you are a Fencing contractor. You want to provide a quick estimate of a job without spending the time and money to drive to the other side of town. Google Earth enables you to enter a home or business address and get a relatively new satellite view of the address. You can zoom in almost to ground level and see the exact yard, driveway, parking lot etc. Next in Google Earth you can select the ruler tool and measure the length and width of the yard, parking lot, roadway, etc to learn the dimensions. You can then provide a ball park estimate based upon the satellite view and measurements you took from the air. Very Cool!

I entered the address of my in-laws house. Google Earth quickly flew me to the address and I zoomed in to their driveway. I could see their horse trailer and their truck trailer parked in the driveway. I zoomed in further and could take exact measurements of their property lines, roof dimensions, length of driveway, yard size, distants to street, etc. This information could be used by:

1. Roofing Contractors
2. Asphalt Contractors
3. Cable Companies
4. Phone Companies
5. Fence Contractors
6. Landscape Contractors
7. Lawn Maintenance Contractors

These are just a few of the contractors that could save a great deal of time, fuel and other resources by studying the close-up satellite photos of their prospective jobsites early on in the sales process. These maps and satellite photos can also be printed off and added to the job estimates with drawings.