Automotive Services Software for PDAs

I am amazed at how much computational power a software application on a handheld computer can have. Let me give you an example - We are finishing up an application for a company that provides mobile automotive services such as vehicle cleaning, washing polishing and detailing. This one handheld solution actually includes all of the following components:

• Work Orders
• Payroll records
• Time Sheets
• Customer invoicing
• Mobile Printing
• Bar code scanning
• VIN decoding
• Wireless database synchronization
• Web enabled access to the data
• Report printing

All of these components are available from one menu on a Pocket PC handheld device. We developed this application using MobileDataforce's PointSync Suite. This application allows the mobile service providers to effectively communicate with headquarters while remaining on the jobsite making money and providing services.

Inspections on PDAs

Inspections are one of the most common types of applications that customers request, and there are soooooo many different kinds of inspections. We are currently working on projects and proposals for the following:

• Tulip bulb inspections - The Netherlands
• Environmental Occupational Safety and Health for the FAA
• Board of Pharmacy - Inspecting pharmacy licenses
• Cattle inspection
• Automobile inspection
• Quality Assurance - food processing plant inspections
• Street sign inspections
• Many more....

On a phone call today, the gentleman said he could conduct 20 inspections in a day, but each inspection takes 3 hours to type into the computer system once he returned to the office. The inefficiencies are enormous and expensive.

Handheld PDAs, PDA Phones and rugged handheld computers can all collect, store and synchronize the inspection data from remote locations directly into a configured database application back in the office. No wonder inspectors love handhelds!!!

Trapped Data Issues

One of the common reasons companies say they want to mobilize their business systems is to release data that is trapped on paper. Let me give you an example - Unilever, one of the largest consumer packaged goods companies in the world, approached us about mobilizing their quality assurance auditing processes. One of the key deliverables they were seeking was to make the audit results available for business analytics that would lead to quality improvements. At the time all of their audits were completed on paper, and filed in paper file folders. The data was trapped on paper and was not available to be analyzed using business analytic software.

With data trapped on paper, the ability to review the data as an aggregate is lost. The ability to mine the data for gems of wisdom, trends, problems, successes, etc., is lost.

Replacing your paper business processes with mobile software applications on handheld computers enables your field teams to provide all of their data electronically. This data can be wirelessly synchronized to enterprise databases in the office without the need to drive to the office and deliver trapped data on paper.

Janssen-Fritsen Selects MobileDataforce® Europe

Janssen-Fritsen selects MobileDataforce to mobilize their Gymnastics Equipment Service and Maintenance Teams. This project is being implemented in The Netherlands. Janssen-Fritsen has 50 field services teams that repair and maintain gymnastics equipment around Europe. Their maintenance and work orders will now be done using MobileDataforce's PointSync software, on handheld PDAs, customized to their requirements.

Mobilizing Automotive Services

MobileDataforce is enagaged on yet another automotive services project. This customer repairs "bumpers" on used cars, and wants to invoice the customer for the work completed. This application will involve the ability to scan a VIN number so the car can quickly be identified, and the work done on it invoiced. All of this will take place on a handheld computer with a barcode scanner, wireless connectivity to a database at headquarters. They will user PointSync Mobile software on each handheld computer, PointSync Server to bi-directionally synchronize the data, and PointSync Developer to configure and develop the complete system.

VIN decoding is a big part. It helps our customer identify the details of the car, so the invoice can specifically identify the car, and the exact work done on it. This helps both our customer and their clients avoid confusion and payment delays.

VIN decoding is not easy. New models are added monthly, and different models are sold in different regions of the world. So the VIN decoder needs to be able to accommodate these weekly additions in an organized manner that protects the integrity of the data. MobileDataforce has a lot of experience designing for these requirements.

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Mobilizes

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality has selected MobileDataforce's PointSync software as their enterprise mobility platform. Their internal IT department will use PointSync to develop a wide variety of mobile solutions for use by their staff in the field.

The Real Reasons to Mobilize

Handheld computers are fun, although the CFO is unlikely to approve their purchase unless there are better reasons to purchase. Here are some very real reasons for your consideration:

• Cash management - quickly invoice for work done, invoice accurately and avoid disputes
• Better fuel mileage - dispatch work crews to the closest job, on the right routes and send them out with the right tools and supplies the first time.
• Improved productivity - avoid wasted driving time, and inefficient paper work
• Improved customer service - respond faster, bring the right tools and parts the first time
• Visibility into inventory use - monitor parts and inventory used and apply these to the right customer accounts. Make sure you aren't losing parts and supplies to theft and loss.
• Reduced liability - accurate documentation of work, wirelessly synchronized with the headquarters database for storage.
• Improve quality and performance - compare times, work productivity, customer satisfaction and profitability of each employee through automated time stamping and handheld work orders synchronized with the central database.

The bottom line, you can do more work, make more money, for less risks and expenses by mobilizing your remote business processes.

Why Mobilize a Field Services Team?

This article contains an interesting reason to mobilize field technicians - better cash management.

For Dave Croteau, manager of customer support for Toshiba America Medical Systems, getting data from his mobile field-service staff in a timely manner was a nagging problem. And the delay was losing the company money.

Croteau oversees customer-service operations for the Tustin, Calif.-based company, which provides service and support for medical imaging equipment, including ultrasound and X-ray machines, to hospitals and labs across the country. His team dispatches one of 400 field service engineers whenever a customer needs help.

Here was Croteau's beef: The engineers were equipped with laptops running Amdocs' Clarify customer relationship management software to enter information about the work they performed. But if they were at a customer's facility, they usually couldn't get a network connection to log in to the Clarify system, and they'd put off the data-entry task. "The average close for a case was running over 13 days," Croteau says, "which coincided with the technical engineers doing their expense cards every two weeks."

That delayed how quickly Toshiba America Medical Systems could get paid, because the billing department can't process invoices until an engineer files a report detailing the work. Plus, Croteau says, the billable hours engineers entered were often only hazy guesses, and it turned out that on average, customers were being undercharged.

So the 2 reasons Mr. Croteau gave for mobilizing - delayed billings, and under charging customers. In other words - bad cash management.

Spending on Mobile Computing on the Rise

This article describes why companies are spending more on mobile computing and what they believe the benefits are:

http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,1959015,00.asp

Idaho Fish & Game Department Mobilizes

The Idaho Fish and Game Department has just selected MobileDataforce solutions as their mobility platform. They have requirements for numerous handheld inspection forms and different mobile applications. They will use MobileDataforce's PointSync Developer application to create their own custom applications, whenever and where ever they need them. Their development team will visit our classroom in the next couple of weeks to participate in a training class on the ins and outs of mobilizing business applications.

Let me take a moment to point out the value of owning your own development environment like PointSync. Once you purchase a license of PointSync Developer, you can create an unlimited number of mobile applications at no extra charge. You simply purchase licenses for each handheld device that uses the application. So if your organization has the need to mobilize many different business processes, then this would be a good option.

In addition to being able to develop your own mobile applications without coding, you can edit, customize and update your existing applications without waiting for a vendor to respond to your needs. This is the reason MobileDataforce believes in empowering our customers with the ability to control and edit their own applications.

Choosing Your ERP Mobile Client

Companies we are working with often ask me if they should use a mobile software client provided by their ERP or enterprise software vendor, or if they should use MobileDataforce's PointSync. This is a good question to ask and here are some points to consider:

• Often your enterprise software vendor provides a mobile application that is only usable with their specific software. Any other mobile applications would not be supported or possible. This presents an issue - do you really want to maintain different mobile applications for every different enterprise application? I recently worked with an electrical utility that had 7 different applications they wanted to mobilize. They were attracted to PointSync because it could support all of these applications on one platform.
• Do you want to support/maintain multiple mobile software platforms? If you would prefer to get trained on one platform that can support all of your applications with mobile software clients, then PointSync would be a good candidate.
• PointSync is a rapid application developmentment platform, which means you can develop, edit and improve your own code or one of MobileDataforce's partners can help. You are not dependent on a specific application vendor to update your application.
• PointSync can integrate with multiple database applications at the same time. For example - you can tie into inventory, invoicing, work orders, vehicle tracking systems, etc. and have this information all bi-directionally updated to a single handheld application.

In summary - having your own standardized mobility platform, security, synchronization methodology and development environment often gives you a much better value. It enables you to update and edit your own applications, and have the freedom to enhance your own solutions on your timetable, not a vendor's.

MobileDataforce's Many Electrical Utility Applications

One of MobileDataforce's biggest challenges is helping our potential customers recognize and understand what our mobile software solutions can provide. Why is this a challenge? Because we can deliver so many applications for use on handheld computers and PDAs. We have invested over 20 man years into developing a very powerful set of mobile applications development tools called PointSync and the Intercue Mobility Suite. Our challenge is demonstrating all the applications that we can deliver using our mobile software development and inspection applications. The list below contains just a few of the applications we can deliver to the electrical utility industry for use on handheld computers and PDAs:

• Service Orders
• Vehicle Tracking
• Power Plant Inspections
• Meter Repair & Maintenance
• Line Inspections
• Stray Voltage Inspections
• Health and Safety Inspections
• Pipeline Weld Tracking
• Construction Management
• Facilities Managment
• Asset Manager & Mobile Asset Management
• Sub Station Inspections
• GIS and data collection applications
• Padmount transformer inspection
• Manhole inspection
• Pothead inspection
• 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
• Quality control of GIS data (QA/QC on exiting plant)

The power of using a mobile software development solution like PointSync, is you can deliver all the applications above using it. Your IT team only needs to learn one mobile software development environment and platform, and support and edit any of the applications above. The alternative would be to buy separate mobile software applications for each of the above areas, each from different vendors, and get trained on each of their different technologies. Of course that is an unrealistic solution that would be impossible to economically justify, support and maintain. Standardizing on a mobile software development platform like MobileDataforce's PointSync provides an IT organization with a low cost, rapid application development environment that is easy to use, maintain and support.

Electrical Pole Inspections & MobileDataforce

My professional services team has been delivering quite a few inspection applications for the electrical utility industry lately. This screen shot depicts a "pole inspection" application used in the State of Missouri. We have delivered several mobile inspection solutions to Sho-me Power. The other day Andy Meyer sent me this quote.

"Sho-Me Power has been extremely happy with the solution and service provided by MobileDataforce. Our line crews are using the new application to do their annual right of way inspection and we are now working with MDF to provide us with an application to help us build out our fiber network. The PointSync s/w is very powerful and flexible, we have not come up with any ideas that can't be implemented." ~~Andy Meyer, GIS Specialist, Sho-Me Power

GIS, Service Orders & In-Vehicle Inventories

Scenario: A service technician needs a widget part to complete his job. He checks the inventory in his van and he is out. He pulls his PDA phone out, enters the part number into a query, and the map on his PDA shows the nearest van that has his part in inventory. He taps on the van icon on the map and the street address appears with the service technician's mobile phone number. He calls and reserves his part, meets the van and completes his job.

Today's announcement of an integration between MobileDataforce's PointSync Suite, and DeLorme's XMap now makes this scenario possible.

Work Order Management, GIS & PDAs

Today we announced an integration of our PointSync (software for developing mobile applications) with DeLorme's XMap software. This allows us to graphically show jobsites, delivery routes and work locations on maps on PDAs and Tablet PCs.

http://www.mobiledataforce.com/news/apr1906.asp

GPS, XMap software and MobileDataforce's Work Order applications for PDAs and Tablet PCs make a very powerful and efficient system for service technicians.

Our first implementation was for a company in the electrical utility industry involved in meter inspection, maintenance and repair.

MobileDataforce & Utilities Solutions

I found the following figures concerning electrical utility IT spending quite interesting. MobileDataforce does significant amounts of work in the utilities industry with customers such as: Alabama Power, Sho-Me Power, Tampa Bay Electric, New York Power Authority, Lynn Edwards, Power & Construction, etc.

Research by the Research & Analysis Division (R&A) of Energy Central - According to R&A Figures, utilities expect to spend up to $1 billion on ERP solutions, nearly $800 million for work management systems and more than $141 million on business intelligence systems during the three-year period beginning in 2006.

MobileDataforce, PDAs and Automotive Services

We completed a mobility project for a Canadian company last week that adds hybrid electrical components to delivery trucks. I found this very interesting. We used standard consumer grade PDAs, MobileDataforce's Intercue Mobility Suite and RS232 adapters to plug into an automobile's computers and read OBD-II Trouble Codes. These codes could be uploaded to a database and printed in a report. Reading your vehicle's vitals with a PDA just seems so futuristic to me.

There is an OBD-II Trouble codes plug-in under the dashboard of most vehicles. With this application a mechanic can quickly identify any errors or problems being reported by the automobile's sensors. The results can be displayed on a handheld PDA screen and printed to a report.

In past blog articles I have written about our ability to decode VIN numbers and build powerful automobile inspection applications, for dealers, buyers, and automotive services companies all on handheld computers. Now we have added the ability to inspect the condition of the engine.

In another article I wrote some time back I discussed connecting GPS capture to automotive applications. This was needed to identify the location of abandon cars following hurricane Katrina.

In summary you can do a whole lot with a PDA in the automotive sector. Here are a few application features we have delivered:

1. VIN Decoding on a PDA to identify the details of a specific car
2. Engine inspection and error decoding with a PDA
3. Attaching work orders and service orders to specific VIN numbers using a PDA
4. Combining GPS coordinates with a VIN number on a PDA
5. Using a bar code scanner on a handheld computer to capture VIN numbers
6. Printing invoices on a mobile printer that combine VIN numbers with work orders
7. Automotive inspections and valuations of automobiles using a handheld computer

More Mad Cow & More Work for MobileDataforce

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060416/wl_nm/madcow_canada_dc_3

I have documented the work MobileDataforce is doing to help manage animal tracking and animal health tracking using our mobile software solutions and handheld computers in a previous blog article, and the need for this solution just keeps growing. In the linked article above, this Canadian cow was found to have Mad Cow this week and it was able to be tracked back to the 2 farms it had lived on. These farms are now going to review their records of the food this cow was fed to determine if there is a link. This effort shows planning and good record keeping. The recent case of Mad Cow in Alabama could not be tracked back beyond the cattle auction. It had no unique ID that could be associated with records detailing where it came from and what other cows and farms it was associated with.

We have 2 experienced dairy farmers on our staff, myself and Conrad Kennington. Both of us are now involved in developing mobility software, but grew up milking cows, feeding cows, and caring for cows. It is fun to be able to combine our farming knowledge, and our technology knowledge to improve the way the industry works.

GIS & MobileDataforce's PointSync

My engineering team has just completed an integration between our PointSync Suite (development tool kit for mobile solutions) and DeLorme's XMap (a GIS solution). This integrated solution combines the power of PointSync to customize work order solutions, inspections forms, vehicle tracking and fleet management applications with the power of DeLorme's mapping and GIS software. A press release will describe this in more detail later this week.

Here is how it works - You can open a service or work order on a handheld computer, PDA or Tablet PC (the picture above is from one of our Tablet PC applications), then click a map button in the application to see a view of the location of all work orders, those completed, pending and incomplete. You can also open the map, and click on a flag that designates a work order location and it will launch the PDA based work order details.

This same solution can be used with inspections. If you must conduct 3 inspections today, the inspection form can have a button which launches the mapping software, and the mapping software can launch the specific inspection forms that need to be used at each jobsite.

These are just a few of the applications we will be launching using this combination.

MobileDataforce's Vehicle Tracking Systems

We are in the final testing stages of a large vehicle tracking project. I wrote about it in an earlier blog article. One of the very cool features is the ability to view the GPS logs of specific vehicles. These GPS data logs, can be set to capture and store the GPS coordinates at specific time intervals. For example, every 30 seconds the vehicle's GPS system can capture the coordinates, give these to the handheld computer, mounted in the van, which synchronizes this data to a Canadian database over GPRS (mobile phone connections). A person can then open these GPS data logs and see on a map (pictured above) the exact path of the vehilce and progress over time.

This functionality allows a dispatch manager to view the location, on a map, of all of their fleet vehicles at any given time. My team is having a lot of fun building applications that enable simple Windows Mobile handheld PDAs to provide huge business value to our customers.

We developed this system using MobileDataforce's PointSync software platform for handheld computers.

Service Orders Using Handheld PDAs

We published a press release today about a recent project we completed -Kane's Furniture Selects MobileDataforce. This project involved converting their paper service order processes to mobile service orders on handheld computers. They are very happy and the CFO confirmed they are saving 32 man hours per day over their 17 locations.

Service orders and work orders are quite similar across many industries. At least similar from an IT perspective. Technicians need:

1. Job assignment
2. Job location
3. Job schedule
4. Job task
5. Document result

The traditional manner of dispatching and completing a service/work order is by phoning the technician with a job assignment, and the technician writes the information onto carbon paper. When the work is complete the customer signs it and the technician leaves a copy with the customer and attaches his copy to a clip board on the seat of the truck. At the end of the day these service/work orders are delivered to the office where an administration person re-types this information into an invoice system.

There are a great deal of inefficiencies in the manual process. Incomplete forms, lost work orders, bad handwriting, wrong information, duplicate efforts required to re-type the information in the office, etc.

When you have a mobile service/work order system - the technician gets a message on their handheld computer that a new service/order assignment is available. The handheld computer synchronizes with headquarters and provides the work assignments, driving directions, instructions, etc. Once the work is complete, a digital signature is captured on the screen of the handheld, and the completed work order is synchronized immediately with the office service/work order dispatch and invoicing system. Very clean, accurate, fast and efficient.

Cattle Tracking Solution & Handheld RFID Readers

The following link is the public announcement of a series of very cool mobile applications for tracking the lifecycle of cows. The purpose is to know exactly where a calf was born, and all significant movements during its life. This solution provides a way to know of any other animal that may have shared location with a diseased animal through a trace back query on an animal tracking database.

This system involves Psion Teklogix handheld computers, MobileDataforce's PointSync software, and a proprietary database designed and hosted by Micro Beef.

Micro Beef Technologies Ltd. Selects MobileDataforce(R) to Add Mobile Cattle Tracking Solution

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060407/20060407005363.html

Boise, Idaho--April 4, 2006 – MobileDataforce® Inc. (http://www.mobiledataforce.com/), the leading provider of Rapid Application Development Solutions for Mobile Environments (RADS-ME)™, is pleased to announce that Micro Beef Technologies, Ltd., the global leader in the innovation, development, and implementation of real-time computerized livestock management systems, has selected MobileDataforce’s PointSync® software to add proprietary mobile capabilities to their ACCU-TRAC® Systems Suite.

The ACCU-TRAC® portfolio of systems by Micro Beef Technologies provides beef producers alternatives matched to their specific operations and management practices. These producer-driven alternatives include every conceivable method of identifying and managing animals including paper-based systems, web-based systems, laptop solutions, permanent chute-side configurations that can be customized by location, and now mobile handheld computer solutions using RFID technologies and synchronization with a central high-performance, multi-species database. The database, launched in June, 2005 by Micro Beef Technologies, is a mission-critical, private, centralized American database designed to safeguard the health of the U.S. national herd, protect America’s producer interests, and meet the 48-hour traceback requirements of state and federal health officials in the currently voluntary National Animal Identification System.

“MobileDataforce is excited to work with Micro Beef Technologies to enhance the traceability of animals,” said Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce. “This solution highlights the power and flexibility of our mobile solutions to work in rugged outdoor environments.”

PointSync Suite is an enterprise-grade software system for rapid deployment of database centric mobility applications on handheld computers. MobileDataforce PointSync provides partners, enterprises and integrators the capability to rapidly develop and deploy mobility projects of all kinds.

About MobileDataforce

MobileDataforce is a global leader in the development of high performance software solutions for use on mobile handheld computers. Privately held, MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 and its software solutions are sold worldwide through direct and Value Added Reseller (VAR) channels. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.mobiledataforce.com/.

Pharmaceutical Applications on Handheld PDAs

Next week my Professional Services team is delivering an application to a pharmaceutical company that enables them to monitor the dosage and times that medicine is taken by their remote customers. This will help ensure that their customers are properly using the medicine according to the manufacturers recommendations. This will also provide better patient care, better research data and better results.

The solution includes handheld PDA phones that synchronize data via GPRS to their care giver's database, and MobileDataforce's PointSync software.

Idaho State Board of Pharmacy selects MobileDataforce® PointSync® Suite for Inspection Automation

Boise, Idaho--April 3, 2006 – MobileDataforce® Inc. (http://www.mobiledataforce.com/), the leading provider of Rapid Application Development Solutions for Mobile Environments (RADS-ME), is pleased to announce that the Idaho State Board of Pharmacy has selected MobileDataforce’s PointSync® Suite and professional services to automate their Pharmacy Inspection processes. The handheld PDA based solutions will synchronize both wirelessly and through cradles with the Board of Pharmacy’s existing database systems.

The Board of Pharmacy’s solution takes advantage of MobileDataforce’s PointSync Suite software to convert their existing paper based system into an automated handheld PDA solution. In total, 6 different inspection processes are being converted including; Pharmacy Inspection Reports, Inspections for Institutional Facilities, Inspections for Manufacturers & Wholesalers, Non-Pharmacy Drug Outlet Surveys, and Inspections for Parenteral Admixture Pharmacies.

“We expect to save over 10 man hours per day by using the new PointSync software with our inspection processes,” said Jan Atkinson, Senior Compliance Officer for the Idaho Board of Pharmacy. “In addition, our mobile applications now enable our inspectors to have immediate access to information never before available to them in the field. They can look-up information real-time on the handhelds, and synchronize the inspection data directly to our internal database system. PointSync has turned inefficient and time consuming processes into an easy to use, intelligent system that saves significant time, virtually eliminates errors and provides immediate access to the information our inspectors need while in the field. MobileDataforce’s experience and expertise allowed us to accomplish our objectives quickly, providing immediate cost savings.”

PointSync Suite is an enterprise-grade software system for rapid deployment of database centric mobility applications on handheld computers. MobileDataforce PointSync provides enterprises and integrators the capability to rapidly develop and deploy mobility projects of all kinds.

About MobileDataforce

MobileDataforce is a global leader in the development of high performance software solutions for use on mobile handheld computers. Privately held, MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 and its software solutions are sold worldwide through direct and Value Added Reseller (VAR) channels. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.mobiledataforce.com/.

MobileDataforce, Automotive Services & Handheld PDAs

On occassion I review our MobileDataforce business plans from past years. It is interesting to review how our plans and focuses change over the years based upon our customers requirements and the mobility market. Our earliest business plans never mentioned the automobile services sector, however, in recent years we have become one of the industry leaders in providing mobile solutions for the automotive services industry. The following list contains some of the solutions and applications we have worked on and delivered to our customers:

1. Vehicle tracking solutions using GPRS and satellite uplinks
2. VIN decoding solutions with GPS integration to identify automobiles, and locations where the automobiles were found.
3. Shuttle services applications to identify pick-up and drop-off locations for people and cargo
4. Dealership applications to record automobile detailing and prep work
5. Autobody applications to identify work completed on vehicles at dealerships and invoice for it.
6. Handheld PDA time sheets for recording the work of individuals at automobile dealerships
7. Auto auction applications to assist in real-time valuing of cars based upon condition found
8. Vehicle recover applications following hurricanes

Many of these applications involve VIN decoding. This is the process of identifying the specific car based upon bar code scanning the VIN number on the dashboard or door. We have invested many man hours in developing this functionality and the VIN content in our mobile software. This is useful in identifying the exact car, work needed, work completed and invoicing for the work.

Idaho Board of Pharmacy, Inspections & Handheld PDAs

We, at MobileDataforce, are announcing this week that the Idaho Board of Pharmacy (BOP) has selected our PointSync platform to mobilize and automate 5 different inspections processes including; Pharmacy Inspection Report, Inspection for Institutional Facility, Inspection for Manufacturers & Wholesalers, Non-Pharmacy Drug Outlet Survey, and Inspection for Parenteral Admixture Pharmacy.

The BOP will be using off-the-shelf consumer grade Dell Axim Pocket PCs, HP 460 mobile printers that are bluetooth enabled, and MobileDataforce's PointSync Suite for their mobile software application.

They will wirelessly synchronize data betweent the handheld PDAs and their internal database system. Some of the inspectors will cradle sync when they return to their offices, but others will synchronize via WiFi from field offices using VPNs.

The cost savings are very well defined. Here are some areas where they expect to save time and money:

1. Pre-inspection data look-ups (the handheld PDAs will have all data on them)
2. Data on the PDAs will save 4-5 phone calls per day per field inspector to the office, and save the office staff needing to respond to the field inspectors.
3. Paper inspection forms will be replaced with intelligent electronic inspection forms on their PDAs that ensure completion, validity and proper processes are followed.
4. Instead of filing the paper forms there will be wireless synchronization of data directly from the PDA to the BOP's database system.
5. All data can be analyzed immediately via database reporting software (currently the data is trapped on paper in a file cabinet)

The BOP is anticipating saving a minium of 10-12 hours per day, plus greatly improving the quality of their work.

HP iPAQ hw6940 Mobile Messenger

HP iPAQ hw6940 Mobile Messenger

This handheld PDA from HP is designed for moving data between the enterprise and the mobile field worker. It is due out in the summer and combines many of the features that previously were only available in a Blackberry unit from RIM.

The advantage of the HW6940 over a Blackberry is the ability to hold large amounts of enterprise data, and full functional relational database applications on them. MobileDataforce is excited to begin delivering solutions on this device.

HP Sees the Future and the Future is PDA Phones

HP: Pen-based PDA market on death bed

HP sees the future - and the future in convergent PDA Phones.

Japan Comes Up With Intelligent Manhole System

I never thought of a manhole cover in terms of their intelligence?

RFID Times: Japan Comes Up With Intelligent Manhole System

Another cool application for RFIDs and handheld PDAs.

Enterprise Instant Messaging for Windows Mobile 5.0 PDAs

I read this article and can think of many uses for enterprise quality encrypted instant messaging on Pocket PC phones.

Mobility Site: WebMessenger Launches Enterprise Instant Messaging for Windows Mobile 5.0 PDAs

The ability to IM a field worker to inform them to synchronize their mobile application is a very good example - "Charlie - you have a new work order!" Charlie pushes the synchronize button on his PDA and downloads the new work order.

Another example - "Charlie, click here for a map to your next job"

MobileDataforce, Home Healthcare & XV6700

My consulting team received this new XV6700 Pocket PC Phone this week from a customer. Our customer (in home healthcare) selected it to run our PointSync software on. They are using our PointSync software and a customized application we developed to monitor, remotely, the health condition and medicine that their 500 patients are using.

The bottom-line, my team loves this Pocket PC phone. It slides shut into a very comfortable phone, and the keyboard is very usable. The landscape screen gives you very readable emails and other data.

This particular phone is sold by both Sprint and Verizon.

MobileDataforce is being engaged on more and more of these home healthcare related projects.

Automated Business Processes on Handheld PDAs

A long time friend of mine, Bryan Larkin, was fond of saying that electronic data collection forms on handheld PDAs are much more powerful than simply digital versions of paper forms. When an end user creates a PDA data collection form using our Intercue Mobility Suite, they can control the quality of the data and the business process that the form represents. Let me provide some examples:

• Form 1 has a question with 3 possible answers (a,b,c). If you answer the question with "a", the electronic form on the PDA jumps you to another page to answer additional questions related to answer "a". The form is now customized to ask only questions related to your previous answers.
• If a question asked for a unit of measurement in meters, and you answer with a "yes", it can pop-up a message saying - "Invalid answer please use numeric answers"
• If you select a data collection form called "Phase 1 Site Assessment" the form can be configured to walk the user through each data collection process in the order desired. For example - first enter data from a "Nuclear Density Compaction Test", second collect soil samples, package and document them in a zip lock bag with a printed client label, third collect a water sample, place in a bottle with the client's label attached.......

The opportunities to creatively build work flows and business processes into electronic data collection forms on handheld PDAs are powerful and endless. The immediate values are improved quality assurance, process standardization, better data, controlled processes and normalized procedures.

Heavy Construction & Handheld PDAs

We have recently provided a mobile software solution to a large highway/roadway construction company in Ireland to address their need to document safety inspections on scaffolds and cranes. Ireland has safety regulations that require each work shift to inspect the scaffolds and cranes before using them. The purpose of these regulations are to avoid accidents like this recent one on Boston.

For those not geographically challenged - yes I took this photo in Spain, not Ireland, but it looks good and matches this topic so no complaints.

This customer has the requirement to document and store all safety inspections in case they are audited or there is an accident. Since many of their construction projects have 2 work shifts per day, this can mean up to 10 safety inspections per job site per week.

In order to keep all of these inspection forms organized and stored, they required the use of handheld computers on each job site that would synchronize the data from each safety inspection with a centrally managed database at their headquarters. The handheld PDAs were low cost iPAQ Pocket PCs from HP connected to a SQL database. The PDA version of the safety inspection forms were created using MobileDataforce's Intercue Mobility Suite.

Underground Cable Layers, Utilities & Handheld PDAs

A few months back we created a mobile work order management system for an "underground cable laying" business. I did not even realize this was an "industry" category, but soon learned it even has its own annual conference in Las Vegas.

Our customer works on behalf of utilities and phone companies to lay cable primarily along roadways. Our solution was delivered using Pocket PC handhelds, MobileDataforce's Intercue Mobility Suite software, and uploading to an MS-Access database application.

Recently this same customer has been pondering an upgrade to our PointSync solution which would allow for bi-directional database synchronization and a full RDBMS on his handhelds.

Bluetooth Adopts New Radio Technology: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Here is an interesting article that describes how Bluetooth is evolving:

Bluetooth Adopts New Radio Technology: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Currently, Bluetooth works only for low-speed uses like headsets and wireless keyboards. UWB, which has yet to appear in consumer devices, enables wireless transmissions at speeds equivalent to USB or FireWire cables at distances up to 10 feet.

Paper Data Collection vs. PDA Data Collection

A friend of mine works at a company that supplies temporary and contract labor. They recently supplied an electrical utility with a dozen workers to act as data collectors. They were given the task of counting the number of lines coming off of each electrical transformer. They were suppose to walk to the transformer, count the lines connected to it, and identify where each of the lines terminated.

Despite my valiant sales effort to convince them to use our PDA based data collection solutions, they decided to accomplish this task using paper forms on clipboards (my arch rival). The other day I met up with my friend and he shared that the project had been a disaster. Why? Large amounts of the required data collection fields were left blank, or were unreadable. Random testing of the data uncovered a great deal of inaccuracies. To add to these issues, the mistakes and problems were not discovered until the project was completed and the workers dismissed. Bad data in - bad data out.

How could MobileDataforce had made this project a success? Our data collection solutions for handheld PDAs can do the following:

1. Validate the data at the point of work
2. Ensure required fields are completed
3. Synchronize the data to a database for real time review and quality assurance
4. Tie the data collection process to individuals for quality assurance (pay only for quality)
5. GPS coordinates can be automatically captured and tied to the data collection

To send a group of temporary and unproven data collection people into the field with paper forms is expensive, time consuming and often a total failure. By automating the data collection process, and engaging in real-time quality assurance, you can ensure you are getting accurate data and the results you require.

Inspection Services on Handheld PDAs

Inspection services is a very popular category for MobileDataforce. We have hundreds of end users who are using our mobile software solutions to do facilities inspections, asset management inspections, quality assurance inspections, pharmacy inspections, animal inspections and more.

The process of inspecting an asset is quite similar across many verticals. An electronic inspection form on a handheld PDA needs to be created. The questions and data need to be customized to fit the exact requirements of the process. The data needs to be validated to ensure quality data is gathered, and a method for synchronizing and integrating with a back-office database needs to be configured. Both of our mobile software suites can accomplish this, Intercue Mobility Suite and PointSync.

The Intercue Mobility Suite saves the data gathered on the PDA as an XML file, and MobileDataforce's PointSync saves the data to a RDBMS on the handheld PDA that is configured to integrate with a back-office RDBMS.

PDA Based Vehicle Testing Application

This week one of my professional services teams (mobility gurus) are working on a very interesting mobile application for testing Hybrid cars. This application involves a handheld PDA using Windows Mobile connected to the automobile's diagnostics using a plugged in RS232 adapter. All cars manufactured after 1995 have this plug-in. This adapter is connected to an inline device that interprets the codes coming from the engine and feeds them to the handheld PDA. Once the data is fed to the PDA, our mobile software application, Intercue Mobility Suite, displays the data in an electronic form where additional human gathered data can be added. Once the data is gathered it can be uploaded directly to a database or spreadsheet for analysis. We seem to be working on a lot of vehicle inspections, analysis and other automotive solutions lately.

32 GB Flash Disk for Mobile Computers

This announcement may enable handheld Win CE or Windows Mobile devices to have up to 32 gigabytes of storage on each device. Anyone want to load SAP or Oracle on their Pocket PC?

Samsung launches 32 GB Flash disk for mobile computers TG Daily

More on Fleet Management & Handheld PDAs

My PSO (professional services team) is rolling out a fleet management solution next week that will involve up to 1,200 vans using Win CE mobile applications from MobileDataforce. These vans will pick up and deliver rail crews to different locations at the yard, hotels, airports, etc. The handheld PDA solution has the following requirements:

• Integration with a international dispatch system
• Integration with a GPRS and Satellite
• GPS and mapping
• Dome magnetically connected to the van roof and plugged into the handheld computer for dispatch synchronization
• ID of driver, van, rail crew
• Elapsed time from pick-up to delivery
• Driver Status
• Van Maintenance status
• Odometer and fuel status

This is a fun and challenging solution since it involves synchronizing over both GPRS and Satellite depending on the availability of the GPRS networks.

This solution uses our PointSync software, and Psion Teklogix handheld computers mounted on the dashboard, and a Satellite/GPRS dome from Wireless Matrix.

The architecture involves a database driven dispatch system in Canada, that communicates via GPRS or a satellite uplink with the van based handheld computers in the USA using a Win CE mobile software solution for fleet management from MobileDataforce.

PDAs on the Farm

The other day I put on my farm clothes, and headed off to a calf raising farm. Why? I wanted to see handheld computers in action. Farming is not done the same way as it was when I was a young dairyman. Now days as a result of "Mad Cow and Hoof-and-Mouth" diseases large buyers of meat (grocery stores, Japan, Europe many more...) want a meat seller to be able to track exactly where a steak originated, and they want it in 48 hours.

Just last week a cow in Alabama was found to have Mad Cow, and officials were not able to track the cow's origins beyond the auction yard. This is a big problem. There may be other exposed cows, but no one can tell. So healthy cows and clean farms all fall under suspicion. This becomes not just farmer's problem, but an industry's.

We are very involved in developing solutions for the cattle industry here at MobileDataforce. Our software enables a handheld computer with attached RFID readers to immediately and uniquely identify a calf with an RFID ear tag. So any movement of the calf from one pen to another, or from one farm to another can easily be tracked by reading the passing ear tags as the animals are moved or loaded onto a truck.

In addition, any health issues that the calf experiences as it grows can be identified by reading the RFID ear tag, and identifying the health problem and any treatments associated with that animal. This information stays with the calf through life and death.

So in effect - this solution is a "chain-of-custody" for animals. It tracks their movement, any associated farms, health issues and other animals that they have been in contact with them and the data is stored for "track-back" in the event of a disease outbreak.

This is a very interesting application of mobility. It is also an application with global health significance.

RAD Tools for Mobile Applications

My definition of a RAD tool is a Rapid Application Development application that allows a user to rapidly create mobile applications. What is the significance of a RAD tool? It is absolutely required if you are trying to quickly build a mobile business application.

No one wants to spend months or years of expensive time and energy developing synchronization features. No one wants to spend months or years figuring out how to integrate mobile applications with backend databases. No one wants to spend months developing connectivity with Satellites, GPRS, integration with RFID, Bar code, GPS, Digital cameras, etc. No one that is, except a few crazy mobility gurus and developers here at MobileDataforce. We have spent over 24 man years designing and developing a RAD tool for mobile applications called PointSync.

The purpose of this application is to do all the boring, time consuming work on your behalf, so you can spend your time configuring mobile applications to give you the best "return on investment". Our customers often say that over 80% of their mobile application requirements are already available in the RAD tool, PointSync. These users can reserve their time for configuring their mobile business processes, not optimizing C++ code for use on a large variety of different mobile handheld computers.

Cars Featuring Windows Mobile Inside

Today at the 2006 Geneva International Motor Show, Microsoft Corp.'s Automotive Business Unit introduced Windows Mobile for Automotive, a software platform and hardware reference design that helps the automotive industry speed the development of in-car infotainment systems for drivers and passengers worldwide. Concurrently, Microsoft and Fiat Auto Group unveiled Blue&Me, the first in-car infotainment system based on Windows Mobile for Automotive.

Blue&Me allows motorists to use voice commands and a push-to-talk button to operate their mobile phones, digital music players and other devices in a safer, more convenient manner in the car. The system supports hands-free communication for more than 140 types of mobile phones via a Bluetooth connection, and through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port it can connect with a wide variety of personal music players and other devices. The software is upgradeable, so it can be refreshed to accommodate consumers' changing needs supporting future devices and new industry standards. The system supports nine languages and is available to drivers and passengers throughout Europe in the company's Fiat Grande Punto, Alfa Romeo 159, Alfa Romeo Spider and Alfa Romeo Brera models.

"The digital lifestyle is about staying connected with people and information, and enjoying digital entertainment, wherever you are — even in the car. Working with Fiat we have delivered automotive-grade systems that extend the digital lifestyle into the car at a price that is affordable to most car buyers," said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "Windows Mobile for Automotive provides performance, reliability and flexibility for a new generation of in-car communication and infotainment solutions." "By partnering with Microsoft, we've been able to design, test and deliver a new in-car infotainment system to market in less than two years," said Giuseppe Bonollo, vice president of Product Portfolio Management at Fiat Auto. "We look forward to offering similar Microsoft-powered systems to our customers in every new Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo model over the next few years." Microsoft Windows Mobile for Automotive provides the industry with an open, standardized platform for in-car infotainment system development. Automakers developing in-car infotainment systems using the platform can tailor functionality for specific models or desired price points. For example, a navigation system in an economy car might only provide voice prompts and a heads-up display, while a luxury model may offer a full-color LCD display featuring maps and real-time traffic information. As a result, Windows Mobile for Automotive helps the industry achieve the following: — Fast time to market. Manufacturers can move quickly to market with a standards-based, ready-to-install electronics gateway that gives consumers hands-free digital access to cell phones, music and information in their cars. — Low development costs. Windows Mobile for Automotive frees OEMs from the need to develop proprietary software - with its associated high development costs. This entry-level solution is based on a familiar Microsoft programming model and supports industry standards for reliability, power consumption and temperature variations. — Flexible implementation. Available in two versions, Windows Mobile for Automotive can easily be tailored to meet automakers' needs across a variety of models, vehicle types and price points. Because the software is upgradeable, support for new devices, applications and industry standards can be added to increase functionality for drivers and passengers over the life of the car. Software upgrades can be easily deployed by the dealer via the wireless connection or USB port.

Meter Maintenance Applications on Tablet PCs

My team is completing an application for a company that contracts to electrical utilities on the East coast. They are involved in meter maintenance and repair. The unique part of this application is that they asked for both a PDA version of their mobile application, and a Tablet PC version. I have included a screen shot of their Tablet PC version. We developed and configured this application using PointSync software. They also required us to integrate their mobile application with GPS and their backend database.

PointSync allowed us to build one application, and publish it to 2 different formats, 1) Pocket PC and 2) Tablet PC. The application did not change, just the way we layed out the screens. Since the Tablet PC has bigger screens, we could display more information on it.

Safety Inspections at Power Generation Plants

We have recently completed a project for a very large fossil fuel power generation plant in the SE. It involved safety inspections to conform to OSHA requirements. A sample of the Pocket PC application is displayed here.

This project involved labeling equipment and breaker boxes with bar code labels, so inspectors could quickly scan then to determine the date of last inspection and maintenance cycles. This data was then synchronized with a central safety compliance database for storage and auditing purposes.

This safety and maintenance inspection application was customized and configured using MobileDataforce's PointSync and used Dell Axim Pocket PCs using bluetooth Socket Scanners for reading the bar codes.

PDA Based Work Order Management System

Our professional serivces team has recently completed a very successful project with Kane Furniture that involved mobilizing their work order management system. Tim Cerami, our PSO Manager has written up the details for your reference.

The Challenge:
Since 1948, Kane’s Furniture has become one of Florida’s fasting growing furniture retailers. Along with this growth came the challenges of managing an efficient service order organization. Kane’s knew their existing paper-based service order system was costing them valuable time everyday due to costly data reentry.

By introducing mobile technology in the field, Kane’s and MobileDataforce engineered a custom solution that allows technicians to completely eliminate paper, respond to customers with more complete information and eliminate costly data reentry entirely.

The Solution:
MobileDataforce developers and engineers worked with Kane’s management and technical team to build a custom mobile application (similar to the one seen in the picture above) and data transfer process that streamlined the process of getting data from the field to their backend database.

Kane’s chose standard Dell Axim handheld devices for its mobile service technicians. Devices are brought back to the office where they synchronize to the PointSync Server using standard USB cradles. At the heart of the mobile solution is the MobileDataforce PointSync mobility tool. To build a simple, easy to use mobile application, PointSync Developer was used to quickly build the user interface and business logic. To facilitate device connectivity and synchronization logic, PointSync Server and Manager where deployed. To seamlessly integrate with Kane’s existing backend database design, customized file exports were also integrated into the PointSync configuration.

The Results/Benefits:
With PointSync mobile technology being used in each service technician’s hands, Kane’s saves over two (2) hours per day for each of their store locations. With this glowing success in their services organization, Kane’s is looking to mobilize other aspects of their business, including a large furniture delivery organization.

Handheld PDAs & Waste Management

I am often surprised. MobileDataforce's original business plan did not list waste management as an industry we were going to target with our mobile software solutions for ruggedized handheld PDAs, however we find ourselves delivering mobile waste management applications monthly.

In the next couple of weeks I am going to detail a very cool waste management solution we are just now implementing in Dublin, Ireland. It involves "chain-of-custody" for waste, and compliance with new EU laws.

The common threads in these applications are the use of MobileDataforce's PointSync software, waste hauling trucks/lorries, waste containers or bins, and documentation of all materials picked up and delivered.

PDAs in the Rail Industry

This is an interesting blog on the subject of mobile applications in the rail industry.

TelematicsWire.com -Rail

MobileDataforce is now working on a proposal to use RFID to inspect and inventory cargo in rail cars. This is quite interesting. The user walks up to a rail car and uses an RFID reader on a ruggedized PDA to see what is in it. This solution uses our PointSync software to integrate with the RFID reader, query a database on the handheld computer, and show information on the cargo in the car.

Ticket evaders targeted with PDAs

Westminster's parking attendants using PDAs to track motorists who fail to pay their fines.

Ticket evaders targeted

Palm OS Based Vibration Spectrum Analyzer

I love seeing companies put PDAs to work. The following links show how the power of Palm PDAs can be used for machine condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and routine troubleshooting.

Datastick Systems, Inc., introduces the VSA-1212 Vibration Spectrum Analyzer, the first PDA-based vibration analyzer to use standard, off-the-shelf ICP®-type piezoelectric accelerometers for machine condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and routine troubleshooting. Includes VSA-1212 Vibration Spectrum Analyzer, Datastick Spectrum handheld software, and Datastick Reporting System™ for VSA personal computer software.

Our Intercue Mobility Suite can be integrated with a large variety of testing equipment. The integration can be directly with the handheld PDA via USB, bluetooth or IRDA.