How do YOU do field-side mobility?
At the Utility company I work for we're starting to assess our current mobile capabilities. We currently have 5+ applications that have all been purchased as an "addon" to core business systems but are now looking for a more unified approach. Some of the main drivers are an increased end-user experience (working in 1 system as opposed to 2-3), and potential to integrate different business processes into the software in the future. The work that gets performed today can be classified as short-cycle and long cycle work, as well as unscheduled (emergent) work.
What sort of technology does your utility company to update and complete work in the field?
What trends do you see in technology that could potentially disrupt this space?
Is there one solution for your field workers, or does the type of work dictate what system it is coming from?
What sort of industry leaders are out there for field service management for the Utility sector? We aren't looking for a new work management system, just something flexible enough to use with multiple backends.
What's the breakdown of Windows/Android/iPhone in your field services?
Does your company support BYOD for field workers?
Kasey,
I am sending you links to some articles that were written from our mobile confernce in 2016 - they might be helpful.
https://www.energycentral.com/c/cc/going-mobile-without-falling-your-face
https://www.energycentral.com/c/mu/conedison-mobile-ask-dont-assume
https://www.energycentral.com/c/cc/comed-ups-customer-joy-mobile
Kasey,
You may want to check out KloudGin Intelligent Mobile Workforce Managent Cloud. I am part of the KloudGin team just to stay honest.
Product is designed to do exactly what your vision is. It has Single APP to Schedule, Dispatch and Execute on Native Mobile online/ offline both short-cycle and long cycle work.
What it means is for all Field Operations, whether it is short-cycle from any CIS, long cycle work from WAM, water quality samples from LIMS, or reactive maintenance (Leak repairs, outages etc.), ESRI GIS based inspections all types of field work is optimized by the KloudGin scheduling engine and different types of work orders are executed on a Unified Native Mobile User Interface. This means that as worker switches jobs, he or she will only have one User Interface across all jobs. This is a huge benefit in Field Operations, as user adoption is a massive problem.
It comes with an Integration engine which has pre-built adaptors to Oracle CC&B, ESRI GIS 10.6.1, SSO, Oracle WAM 2.0, Maximo, Oracle ERP, PeopleSoft, Oracle Cloud Sensors etc. This allows you to combine data from multiple systems in single easy to use modern application.
https://www.kloudgin.com/calwater-success-story
http://utilitymarketconnections.com/vendor_spotlight/changing-the-face-of-customer-experience-from-the-ground-up-with-kloudgin/
https://www.kloudgin.com/industries/energy-and-utilities-and-cities
It's built on a configurable cloud platform so you can configure it based on your expanding needs.
https://www.kloudgin.com/intelligent-cloud-platform
Thanks for your reply Vikram! It looks like the Kloudgin is a full on suite of services, and interesting platform for sure. It looks as though the thought of the platform is Scheduling and Mobile Work Execution should take place in the same system. What drove that decision, given that Maximo WAM and Oracle ERP all have scheduling modules?
Hi Kasey,
Good to see you talking about the industry problem. I have been working utilities for giving a digital transformation for their field worker mobility. In the process of acting as a catalyst what we learned is that the first place where organizations are stuck is where your thread starts.
There are many WFM Solutions in the market meeting different needs. for example here is a top 10 needs or areas to cover when looking for a field solutions.
If the above list has your problem statement then you are on the right hunt.
One Solution I could ask you to look into is Fieldon.com which emphasizes on-field problems.
If you would like to know more or understand in terms of what it takes for transformation then feel free to buzz me.
Kasey,
This topic comes up more more often than not in this industry. It will continue to be a topic for as fluid as we are in the Utility space.
At PG&E, we are a mix of iOS and Rugged Windows where each device serves their purpose. We do allow BYOD, but not for field work - that is limited to just PIM data (Calendar, Email, Contact and some in-house developed Apps).
For field management, we use ABB Service Suite for Schedule and Dispatch. We have some other back-end what I'll call IT tools that work in conjunction with our business tools as well.
Feel free to contact me if you'd like a more deep dive into some of what we're doing over here. I'm also curious as to what your landscape looks like and some fo the challenges you face.