HVAC Service Orders on Handheld PDAs

In the last few weeks we have delivered 4 HVAC applications. The image attached is a recent application that was created using MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform and delivered to a Dutch company.

The ROIs found from automating work and service orders are easily defined:

1. Daily service orders can be wirelessly dispatched directly to the service technician in the field.
2. Schedules can be dynamically changed on the handheld
3. Driving directions can be included and wirelessly dispatched to the handheld and integrated with numerous GPS navigation systems available on PDAs
4. Customer history and equipment warranty information can be included in the work order and dispatched to the handheld device
5. Parts can be ordered on the application and wirelessly synchronized with the office
6. Parts inventory levels and shipping status can be queried on the handheld device
7. Completed service orders can be invoiced and printed on a mobile printer and left with the customer for fast payment
8. Completed service orders can be synchronized and integrated with the office database, so no re-typing is required.

These are just a few of the common features in the mobile HVAC applications we have recently delivered using MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform.

NFL Scout's Job - Watching, Measuring, Assessing

I read an article on a plane last week about how NFL Scouts do their job of finding talent for their football teams. Bob Morris spends much of the year traveling (20,000 miles per year) to different games, practices and workouts to analyze and evaluate players. The picture in the above right shows Bob carrying a reporter's notebook to collect this data. He evalutes over 500 players each year and records huge amounts of information on each player.

Of course - from my perspective as CEO of MobileDataforce, I believe he should be collecting all of this data on a handheld PDA or a Tablet PC so this information can be instantly sent back to the team's database for analysis, comparisons with other players and past data from each player.

The process of data collection that Bob Morris is using is not so dissimilar to many organizations that still collect huge volumes of inspection data and field tests on paper tablets or forms. MobileDataforce has developed 2 complete suites of data collection software to help companies and government agencies mobilize their field data collection processes.

Here is another blog article on data collection and inspections.

Mobile Service Orders for Furniture Repair and Delivery

The July edition of Integrated Solutions magazine has a case study called, Real-Time Mobile Computing Saves Time In The Field. This case study describes how Kane's Furniture saved 32 man hours per day by converting from a paper based service order system, to using mobile service order applications on handheld computers. Their solution was designed, delivered and deployed using MobileDataforce's PointSync. The solution included the following components:

1. Daily Service Orders sorted by Service Truck
2. Description of tasks or service orders
3. Customer location and driving directions
4. Status of service order (completed, incomplete, pending parts, etc)
5. Digital signature for customer to sign on the completed work order

These features are synchronized with the main service order CRM system at the office. If you would like a personal demonstration of MobileDataforce's wide range of work order and service order applications please contact MobileDataforce.

Automotive Services and Asset Management on Handheld PDAs

MobileDataforce has designed and delivered some of the most advanced automotive solutions for handheld computers that you will find anywhere. This image shows you an inspection form that allows the handheld computer user to identify any repairs or maintenance that needs to be completed on the interior of a vehicle that was returned from a lease contract.

Once the inspection is completed the cost of the maintenance or repair can be factored into the final contract settlement. The repair work can also be scheduled and dispatched as well. This is just one example of the multitude of automotive applications we have developed and delivered around the world.

Additional blog articles on mobile applications for the automobile industry can be found here:

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/11/automobile-lease-return-applications.html

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/ceoblog/2006/11/automobile-work-order-solution-for.html

Field Inspections on Handheld PDAs

In the past I have written about the advantages of conducting inspections using handheld computers and a mobile software platform. In most of my articles I have focused on the efficiencies from collecting data once, and then synchronizing the inspection data directly to a central database. In this article, I would like to highlight the advantages of synchronizing historical inspection data on the handheld computer.

I was recently working with a state agency responsible for inspecting professional licenses and premises. In order to perform their tasks, they were required to drive into the main office, rummage through paper files, remove these paper files and load them into a box to take with them to the inspection sites. They would use a carriage with wheels to transport this box to their automobiles.

Let's pause a moment to think of the costs and inefficiencies of these task. They do the following:

1. Drive to the main office where previous inspections are stored
2. Sort through file cabinets for previous inspection results
3. Read through these files to determine any previous non-compliance or failed inspection issues.
4. Record these issues and highlight them for review at the site
5. Load these files into a box and carry out to their vehicles
6. Re-inspect the site and record more information on new forms
7. Add new paper forms to the files
8. Carry back to the main office
9. Administration staff types all information from the new forms into a database system

A simple database synchronization with a handheld computer, laptop or Tablet PC from the field could have completed task 1-5 and 7-9 in a few seconds.

MobileDataforce helps both commercial and government organizations improve their inspection processes daily.

I have written about other inspection automation and mobilization processes in this recent blog article.

Digital Images and Annotations on Handheld PDAs

I would encourage readers interested in using digital images in work orders and other data collection applications to read this blog article. It talks about how to create a mobile application that allows you to take a digital photo, draw on it and make notes on the photo and then synchronize this edited photo into a central database for record keeping.

I have seen this request from companies doing job estimates on handheld computers. They want to take a digital photo and highlight the problem areas. This information gets sent back to the office where a supervisor can review before delivering a final job bid.

Mobile Solutions for Government & Public Works

MobileDataforce is now involved in so many public works and government mobility initiatives that I felt this area deserved its own blog. The new blog is called, Mobile Solutions for Government & Public Works. The primary focus of this blog is to share information from mobility projects and initiatives in these arenas.

Washington State Mobile Technology Conference - Dec. 1st

MobileDataforce is participating in our 4th Mobile Technology Conference in the past few months on December 1st in Tacoma, Washington. This series has been very popular with government agencies, utilities and field services companies (.i.e. anyone working outdoors). We have participated in this series in Boise, Salt Lake City, Baltimore and now in Tacoma. They are fun, informative and fast paced.

For more details on this upcoming Mobile Technology conference please follow this link.

• 8:30 am - Registration and continental breakfast
• 9:00 am - Opening Remarks - Kevin Benedict
• 9:15 am - Keynote Presentation - Enterprise Mobility - Mission Critical Brent Felker Americas VP, Mobile Solutions,Psion Teklogix
• 10:00 am - Panel Session 1 - What is Field Mobility? Who is Mobilizing? Where is the ROI?Panelist - Microsoft, MobileDataforce, Palm, iAnywhere, Psion Teklogix
• 11:00 am - Break - Exhibitor Demos
• 11:15 am - Latest Developments in Enterprise Mobile Software Solutions
• 11:45 pm - Microsoft on Mobility
• 12:15 pm - Lunch (Provided) - Exhibitor Demos
• 1:00 pm - Government Mobility Projects - Asset Management, Inspections and Work Orders
• 1:30 pm - Panel Session 2 - Enterprise Mobile Projects, Design, Development, Deployment and Choosing the Right Hardware and Connectivity SolutionsPanelists - Psion Teklogix, MobileDataforce, iAnywhere, Palm, PrintekMobile
• 2:30 pm - Latest Developments in Ruggedized in Handheld Computers and Accessories
• 3:00 pm - Latest Developments in Mobile PDA Phones - Palm Treos, Windows Mobile 5.0 and more
• 3:30 pm - Closing Remarks

Data Collection & Data Integrity

Paper based data collection processes have problems. One of the biggest is the inability of a paper process to ensure that the data collected is relevant, accurate and appropriate. Recently I spoke with a person involved in a data collection project that consisted of 17 data collectors. At the end of the project they reviewed the data on the paper forms and much of it was missing, inaccurate or irrelevant. The project was a complete failure.

The screen shot above shows an example of a data collection application with pick lists and database queries. The data collector is limited to selecting pre-designated service categories. Once the category is selected, then a database query is performed that presents only the services related to that category.

There are many techniques for ensuring the validity of the data collected, but this example shows how you can limit the selection to at least relevant answers.

The other problem the failed data collection project experienced was their inability to review the collected data on a timely basis. The project was over and the data collectors dismissed before the collected data was reviewed and analyzed for accuracy. With a data collection solution on a handheld computer that includes integration to a database server, the data can be reviewed as often as needed and with immediate visibility and analysis.

The Automobile Whisperer - Handheld PDAs Communicating with Vehicles

His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. That is from the back cover of the book, The Horse Whisperer. I can't do that, but we can talk to cars, trucks and vans and they can talk back to us.

We have had the opportunity to work with a company in Vancouver BC, that I have written about in an earlier blog article, that had a requirement to communicate with the vehicle's engine computer. The image to the right shows a cable connection, but we have also connected to the vehicle's engine via bluetooth.

What was the purpose of this project? Our customer was converting conventional delivery vans to "hybrid" vans. So during and following the conversion the company was using handheld computers to monitor the engine diagnostics. The mechanics and engineers now can walk up to a car and survey its vitals without lifting the hood. Analysis software on the handhelds can use the data to make recommendations to improve performance and/or configurations.

Think about all the mobile handheld computer applications that are now associated with automobiles:

• Engine analysis
• Automotive repair estimates
• Work orders for automotive repair
• Automobile tracking/Automated Vehicle Tracking using GPS
• Automobile Lease Returns

All of these mobile software applications for handheld computers used MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform for design, development and deployment.