Mobilizing Facilities Management and CMMS

FM or facilities management is an industry that utilizes our mobility software solutions for handheld PDAs in large numbers. This industry has over 18,000 members registered with the IFMA, International Facilities Management Association alone. The business processes and tasks that FM users most often want to mobilize are the following:

• Inventory
• Work Orders/service orders
• Preventative maintenance orders
• CMMS - computerized maintenance management systems - custodial/janitorial services
• Hazardous material tracking
• Server room management
• Inspections of all kinds
• Asset Management
• Health & Safety inspections
• Contractor Quality Assurance
• Moving instructions and details
• Office leasing information
• Fire extinguisher and emergency medical equipment inspections
• Much more...

FM professionals often are responsible for the operations of large buildings, campuses, warehouses, and remote properties. Their work consists of gathering all kinds of data from remote areas and entering this data into a central database where it can be managed by any number of FM software applications.

The challenge is not so much managing the data once it is in their FM software application, it is collecting the data and getting in entered into the FM software. This is where MobileDataforce comes in. Our software solutions for PDAs and handheld computers enable you to quickly create electronic forms and mobile applications that can be used in the field to collect data and then synchronize it directly into the FM software application. Our integration technology makes it a relatively simple process to integrate with most FM software applications.

Remote data collection is a big need, but also the ability to look up information on a building, maintenance project, business process or piece of equipment while you are inspecting the facilities. This requires your handheld PDA to have a RDBMS (relational database management system) on your PDA. Our PointSync solution enables you to replicate your FM application database on your handheld, so you can query information, and update information in the field. Any changes that you make in the field, will be updated to your FM application upon synchronization.

Adding Value to Your PDA

Once you have jumped into the world of PDAs and learned how to check your email, contacts, calendar, etc., what can you do with your PDA that can add to the bottom-line of your business? The following list contains some ideas:

1. Replace paper forms that you use in the field, with electronic forms on your PDA. These can be automatically synchronized with your back-office database applications.
2. Load your product catalogs to your handheld PDA with price and product attributes
3. Load work order/service orders onto your PDA so you can fill them out and synchronize remotely.
4. Develop an inventory update application so you can check inventory levels and update them from the field.
5. If you are an inspector, or dabble in filling out inspection forms, create electronic versions that automatically load to your database or spreadsheet.
6. Add a bar code scanner to your PDA so you can scan product barcodes and see inventory levels.
7. Add GPS to your PDA so you can quickly find your next job site or customer location.
8. Are you filling out time sheets in the field? If you are a supervisor, you can enter the timesheets of your entire crew and synchronize this information to your office remotely.
9. Do you need to compute a lot of numbers in the field? Do the results of these numbers change what you should be doing in the field? Create a mobile application that can compute your input data and direct your actions based upon results. We work with a lot of inspection processes where the result of the inspect impacts the next step in the business process.
10. Print forms while in the field. Once your electronic form or mobile database application in your PDA has data in it, you can print it to a mobile printer. You can look up historic information and print this for your customers as well.
11. Quality Assurance forms - we have a lot of large companies that send out Quality Assurance auditors to inspect their facilities and processes. You can easily replace these paper processes with mobile applications on your PDA. The value? Quick input of field data so you can immediate analyze the data and implement Q&A improvements.

This list identifies a few of the most common uses for PDAs in the field. All of these applications add value to your PDAs and handheld computers.

MobileDataforce, http://www.mobiledataforce.com provides software solutions for quickly and affordably developing and implementing these kinds of solutions.

Implementing Mobile Projects

Now that you have decided to mobilize one or more business processes, how do you choose a system integrator or consultant that can implement it? There are a few basic details that all consultants who develop and implement mobile solutions should ask you. If they don't ask you these questions, you may want to look for a more experience implementation team.

Here are some sample questions:

• What handheld hardware will you be using(make and model)?
• What add-on accessories will you be using (GPS, RFID, Digital Imager, Barcode, etc)?
• Where and how will the user be synchronizing their handheld(at home, office, shop, WiFi, GPRS, cradle, bluetooth, Satellite)?
• What operating system does your handheld computer have (Win CE.Net, Pocket PC, Palm)?
• Do the users have working conditions that will impact our solution design (users wear gloves and need big touch screen buttons)?
• What business process will be mobilized (work order, invoice, time sheet, project status, etc.)?
• What database do we need to connect to? How do we access it? Can you provide a data model?
• Do you need mobile printing?
• Do you need formatted reports? Will they be printed in the field, or in the office?
• Do you need internet access to this data? If so, who will design the website?
• Are you going to conduct a "proof-of-concept" first? If so, how many users? What is included in the POC. How do we measure success?
• Concerning roll-outs - how are we going to roll out this solution to your billion mobile users? How many at a time?
• How are you going to train the users?
• When are you going to have the handheld computers delivered?
• Who will install the software and document how to use them in the field?

These are a few of the questions that an experienced team of consultants and systems integrators will ask you before they provide you with a quote. If a consultant does not ask these questions upfront, it does not mean they are bad, just inexperienced and will likely not meet their timelines and cost projections.

Paper Forms or Electronic Forms on PDAs?

Many companies that contact my sales teams are seeking to replace their paper and clipboard processes with electronic forms on PDAs. Let's take a few minutes to understand why this is most often a good idea, but not always.

What is the downside to using a paper form with a clipboard?

1. Paper forms are often submitted with missing information. This lack of completeness wastes considerable time in the office as staff try to contact the original author and gather the missing data.
2. Paper forms can often be left on the clipboard for days or weeks, so there is a delay in getting the information transferred from the paper form into a computer software application for processing.
3. Handwriting on the paper forms is often hard to interpret. This allows for bad data entry into the computer system. Bad data in - bad data out.
4. Paper forms can not validate the information entered on them. So invalid information can be written on the paper forms.
5. Paper forms are easily misplaced, lost or damaged by environmental factors and irresponsibility.
6. Paper forms can not effectively provide you with a list of all possible correct answers. Electronic forms can provide you with "pick lists" or "drop down" menus that limit your answers to only valid ones.
7. Paper forms do not provide you with the ability to query all "products" in a catalog. Electronic forms that are tied to a database on your handheld PDA, can enable you to "look-up" lists and databases with product listings and product attributes that will automatically fill in the electronic form.
8. Paper forms do not compute. Electronic forms can compute math, invoice totals, elasped time on a projects, milage, square feet, and much more.
9. Paper forms can not link to many other applications that can provide GPS coordinates, RFID reading, bar code scanning, digital images, CAD drawings, etc.

The above list identifies some of the deficiencies of a paper form, however, there are times when either a paper form or a full sized laptop is simply more efficient. I find that when there are a great deal of notes to be taken, it is not efficient to attempt this on the limited screens that PDAs provide. If you have 3 pages of observations and notes to be entered, you need to either handwrite on paper, or use a full sized keyboard connected to a laptop or desktop. Another case is when you have large maps or CAD drawings to view. A PDA screen can be used for specific views, but PDAs are not practical for viewing large areas. In this case either a laptop, Tablet PC or paper version is more efficient and saves your eyes.

Working with a Budget, Part 4

In segments 1-3 we discussed the various parts of a mobility project, and the different options within these parts. Now let's bring all these together and discuss how they impact the price of a mobility project and our strategy.

1. Someone needs to develop the "mobile client" software that synchronizes with your Work Order Management software in the office. Is this going to be your cousin Bob, or a professional IT developer or consultant? If you are going to use a professional, get a quote on the project costs.
2. Are you going to develop your own mobile software from scratch, or purchase a "software development kit" for mobile solutions from a company like MobileDataforce, http://www.mobiledataforce.com? Get a quote from the software vendor.
3. Are you going to buy a $300 consumer grade PDA that can be easily broken when dropped, or are you going to spend $1,500 on a water resistant and dust resistant handheld that can be dropped to concrete from 6 feet. Search on ruggedized handhelds or call MobileDataforce for referrals.
4. Do you want to call your field service technicians on their mobile phones and read them their next work order, or do you want to have it synchronized out to their handheld device in the field? Contact your wireless service provider for data connection quotes using PDAs or handheld computers with data cards.

Once you have made up your mind about these various issues and received quotes, it is time to set project schedules, implementation and test plans.

Working with a Budget, Part 3

In the previous 2 segments of this discussion we covered:

• Work order management systems
• "Mobile client" software that runs on the handheld computer and synchronizes with your work order management system
• How to determine the kind of handheld computer to purchase

Now we are going to explore some of the options for dispatching work orders to your teams in the field.

Handheld computers can now be PDA phones. You can buy a Pocket PC Phone from just about any mobile wireless carrier now days. Palm is even coming out with a Treo 700 Pocket PC Phone this Quarter. The challenge with these devices are their lack of durability when Fumble Finger Fred is using them.

Ruggedized handheld computers can also come with wireless data cards built-in. These allow you to send and receive data using the mobile wirless carriers networks, but often do not include "voice" communications. This capabilitiy enables your field work crews to both send and receive work order data at the push of a button on their "mobile client" software. So the office can write up "service orders" and when the field crew pushes a synchronization button on their handheld, any new service orders will be dispatched, and completed service orders would be uploaded to the office.

A number of handheld computer manufacturers are also adding VoIP to their handhelds. VoIP is "voice over IP or internet protocals". What does this mean? It means you can talk to your office through the microphone in your handheld computer using the internet connection, rather than the phone connection. The vision here is the following - a junior service technician can call the office asking for advice on a repair job. The supervisor asks junior for a digital photo of the object under repair. Junior holds up the handheld computer and snaps a photo. The photo is uploaded through the data connection to the office. The supervior reviews the photo and talks him through the repair over the VoIP connection. Mission accomplished.

...more in Part 4

Working with a Budget, Part 2

In the last segment we assumed you already had a functioning "work order management system" in the office. As a first step you needed to find a "mobile client" software package that would synchronize with your "work order management system". MobileDataforce has a "software development kit" for PointSync http://www.mobiledataforce.com/pointsync/pointsync_developer.asp that would resolve this issue. So the next step is determining which handheld computers to use.

Here are a few thoughts on determining which handheld computers to use:

• Do you need a numeric, or alpha numeric keyboard on your handheld? If not you can save money by simply writing on the touch screen with your stylus, or using touch screen buttons.
• Do you need add-ons like a bar code scanner, RFID reader, digital camera, GPS or electric chainsaw? These can be very useful, but add costs to your handheld.
• How rugged does your handheld need to be? If you are repairing desktop tape despensers, you could probably get buy with a $300 consumer grade handheld, but if you are climbing fences, wading through sewage ponds, or immitating a crash test dummy, you may want to seriously considering investing in a ruggedized device that is in the range of $1,500.
• Handheld computers have a standardized rating system that identifies how "rugged" they are. So when considering which handheld device you need, read up on the ruggedized ratings. This will tell you how many times Fumble Fingered Fred can drop the handheld while washing the outside of the windows on the 19th floor.

...more in Part 3

Working with a Budget, Part 1

OK, so you want to know how much it will cost to get your 10 field service technicians set-up with handheld computers so they can be dispatched work/service orders in the field. Let's explore the issues?

What are the major pieces to this mobility solution/project?

-Work order management software in the office (hopefully this is already in place)
-Mobile client software (software on your handheld computer) that synchronizes with your work order management software in the office
-Handheld computers
-Data network through your favorite wireless carrier (e.g. Verizon, Sprint, Cingular, Vodaphone, Orange, etc.)

The first task is to find a "mobile client" software package that will synchronize with your work order management application. The problem is your cousin Bob developed your work order management system 4 years ago for a high school project and he is now back in prison. What next? You may want to find a company like MobileDataforce, http://www.mobiledataforce.com that provides software that you can use to rapidly develop and configure a mobile client that can synchronize with your office software. If you have enough in your budget, it is usually a faster and easier process to involve my professional services team, or to get one of your local talented IT consultant, assuming they are out on probation, to do this for you.

...more in Part 2

Mobile Solutions a Consultant's Nightmare

The first time is not always your best. Consultants and integrators get better the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time they have implemented the same mobile solutions. The problem is- nearly every mobility project has unique and different requires.

-different handheld computers
-different add-on hardware accessories
-integration to different backend database applications
-different business logic needed on the mobile application
-different ways of doing the same business
-different screen layouts
-different data requirements
-different synchronization methodologies

How can a consultant or an integrator profitably and successfully implement these mobility projects? The answer - find what is common about all of these projects and productize a solution that can be flexible and powerful enough to be used over and over again to implement mobility projects. All of us involved in consulting know that reusing previously made code, and leveraging your expereince is how you gain the efficiencies that make your projects profitable.

My Engineering team has been studying mobility projects since 2000, and productizing the results of their studies. The result is our PointSync and Intercue Mobility Suite solutions. Both of these platforms allow you to consistently produce high quality solutions on standardized mobility platforms. Once your team is familiar with using these "rapid application development solutions for mobile environments" (RADs-ME), they can rapidly develop, edit and customize mobile solutions for new customers.

Secret ROIs from Mobilizing Business Solutions

There are many obvious advantages and cost savings that come from mobilizing paper processes. You enter the data once in the field and wirelessly synchronize with your database application. You avoid the office staff needing to re-type all the information, you avoid introducing typos during data entry, and you speed up the process of making the data available for other mission critical business applications and business analytics. Yet there are many not so obvious advantages to replacing paper processes. Here are a few for your consideration:

-Mobile field workers don't have to drive to the office just to deliver their paper forms
-Mobile field workers don't have to drive to the office just to pick-up their paper forms and assignments
-Invoicing can be completed much quicker since work can be updated from the field for immediate processing (better cash management)
-When using handheld computers you can avoid issues with bad handwriting
-Mobile software applications can validate the data entered at the time of entry
-You can attach digital photos directly to your data on the handheld
-You can push data out to the handheld so the field user has continuously updated information
-Field users can preform their own database queries on their handheld, thus avoiding the need to use office staff
-Handheld computers that have GPS functionality with mapping software can help the field worker find their next job site without asking office staff for directions
-Handheld computers with GPS functionality can report the location of the field worker to help managers better organize service responses
-Handheld computers can be used not only to collect data, but to compute the data and show results in the field
-Buttons on the screen of your mobile application can be configured to perform all kinds of queries, computations, analytics and many more time consuming features (recently we created a mobile solution that would provide a route delivery driver with predictive product re-stocking numbers at the push of a button based upon the past 12 months stocking numbers)
-Disciplined business processes - 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 - for example - the geiger counter attached to your handheld shows dangerous levels of radiation - a message pops-up warning you to cover your private parts with a lead fig leaf)

These are just a few of the not so obvious benefits of mobilizing. Please email me any additions that you want me to add to this list.