Field Service

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Field service applications are oriented to external customer support and service professionals who go to the customer's or product's physical location. And because field service is by definition done in the field, any automation of such service activities will result in a high return on investment.

There are many different types of field service, some involve outside personnel, and some don't. For example, field service personnel install, maintain and inspect systems. But with a WLAN at the helm, some of those tasks can either be optimized or performed remotely. We will examine how, through the following case studies.

Case Studies

Barwon Water

Barwon Water is a large regional water authority in Australia responsible for 8100 square kilometers (or a little over 3126 square miles) southwest of Melbourne. Barwon's 106-person field staff includes service maintenance, water supply, sewerage, survey, construction auditing, and customer service specialists. This staff continually travels long distances to manage the company's $832 million asset base. The same staff must also service over 250,000 customers through a network that includes more than 5000 kilometers (3107 miles) of in-ground pipes, ten reservoirs, ten water treatment plants, and nine sewerage treatment facilities.

Although Barwon Water had invested heavily in computer technology, when field personnel were on the road, they had no access to the company's electronic information systems. Whenever they needed information such as schematics of a particular asset, detailed work instructions, or maps of an area, they had to drive back to one of five regional depots, locate the physical documents they needed, and bring them along into the field. They then had to return to the depot every night in order to return those documents and file forms detailing the work they did during the day.

"There's a lot of paperwork in the system," said Grant Green, executive manager, Customer Services. "For example, if a maintenance employee has repaired an asset, details of that repair have to be keyed into the system after the event. This opens the opportunity for translational errors."

Because of the remote geography, the field staff was often out of radio contact. Even when they were within radio range, communications were often compromised. When workers entered areas of poor or no radio coverage, dispatchers had little idea of exactly where the field workers were or what they were doing.

Recognizing that the ability to access crucial information in the field would significantly improve its field staff's efficiency, Barwon Water deployed a new service management system, integrating it with its call center and other key business systems. At the same time, Barwon also deployed FOCUS, an enterprise-wide mobility service request and dispatching application from Melbourne-based developer e-Wise. FOCUS is built on Microsoft's .NET Compact Framework, and allows Intel Centrino mobile technology-powered computing devices to access multiple, centrally-hosted databases that manage details of all work orders carried out by field staff. Call center personnel enter work orders into FOCUS as they field calls from customers. The orders are then allocated to workers by dispatchers, who can monitor workers' movements and status.

"Our core business drivers are business efficiency and customer service," said Green. "One of the drivers for our FOCUS system is to have a more efficient field workforce, and at the same time improve our levels of service to our customers. These improvements will come by ensuring field staff have the information they need, when they need it," he adds.

The full solution enables field personnel to use Intel Centrino mobile technology-powered PCs running FOCUS, which integrates and makes accessible to end-users Barwon's Geographical Information System (GIS) and other documentation. Use of both broadband and narrowband wireless networks are important because the right network can be used for different types of communications. Workers can log into the system from home to retrieve their allocated work orders, while supporting information, such as GIS data file updates, will be automatically retrieved and downloaded to the mobile PC via an 802.11b wireless network located at each depot.

"This is not just about dispatching a message for a job," Sheiman said. "It's about total bi-directional communications between corporate back-end systems and a mobile field worker. For this, it's no good to be running in cut-down mode; workers need strong enough computing power to be able to trawl through all the data they need to take with them. Standard mobile technology would have been inefficient, but Intel Centrino mobile technology [and the 802.11b network], opens up a whole lot of new opportunities to provide rich clients in the field."

Once workers are in the field, work orders, messages, and other information continue to be transferred to and from their PCs throughout the course of the day via a PC Card. The card accesses a low-speed State Mobile Radio (SMR) network providing coverage even in remote areas, thanks to a statewide network of repeaters. Although the SMR network can transmit small packets of information, it's unsuitable for large files used by GIS and other applications. Barwon Water's mobile solution combines the slow, far-reaching SMR with faster, but relatively short-range, 802.11b wireless LAN technology to move data as efficiently as possible.

Still the SMR provides the remote workers with any necessary updates when they are in the field, allowing the information to travel to the workers that need it, rather than vice versa. According to Green, wireless PCs enable employees to start and finish their working days from home; and by providing a rich mobile PC environment, Barwon Water is able to better provide its field service staff with all the information necessary to complete their tasks. He goes on to say, "Significant duplication of effort and cost is avoided, and collaboration between field crews, the customer call center, and job dispatcher is significantly more effective."

Also, by giving field service personnel instant access to the data they need, Barwon Water is able to streamline its customer service process and, in turn, see a rapid return on investment. And, by using 802.11b wireless connectivity at depots, and low-bandwidth radio network connectivity in the field, dispatchers can better track the location and status of each field employee.

U.S. Fleet Services, Inc.

As one of the country's largest on-site, commercial fleet re-fueling companies, U.S. Fleet Services, Inc., must provide accurate and timely information to its customers 24/7 while being responsive to their needs. But to provide such service requires a lot of time, which translates into a smaller overall profit. U.S. Fleet found a way to improve accuracy, shorten its billing cycle, keep its customers happy, and improve its profit ratio-an Intermec wireless solution, in the form of a new 802.11b wireless network. To access the wireless network, U.S. Fleet employees use Symbol Pocket PC-based 710 mobile computers with integrated wireless communications and barcode scanning. Then the company bought Symbol 782 portable printers to enable their employees to print invoices and statements.

The company undertook a huge wireless project-there were over 50 branches in 23 states that had to be integrated. So U.S. Fleet selected an outside project manager to assist with the new systems design and implementation. The company turned to Intermec and its professional services division to implement a new wireless data collection system and to provide a project manager to help U.S. Fleet personnel develop a deployment process.

The completed network connects each branch office with headquarters. From each office, branch managers set up drivers' routes by entering start and end times for customers' re-fueling needs. Then the system organizes the best routes and schedules. The driver synchronizes his or her wireless mobile computer with the network using the 802.11b standard and access points that are strategically placed within the offices, and then downloads the day's work.

During customer off-hours, drivers scan barcodes on each gas tank of a customer's truck, using the mobile computer's integrated laser scanner. Once the vehicle is identified, the fuel is pumped. The driver uses the computing device's integrated 802.11b radio to communicate wirelessly with the U.S. Fleet truck's electronic fuel meter, specifying the exact type and quantity of fuel, to the tenth of a gallon, consumed by the vehicle. All the data is maintained in memory on the CompactFlash card in the mobile computer.

U.S. Fleet reports that productivity has measurably increased-its drivers are no longer required to write down transactions, and that time saver alone enables most drivers to add another stop to their route each day. The timesavings also have enabled the company to steer the drivers to a path in which they can provide better customer service. The company expects a ROI payoff in less than a year.

After a driver completes his or her route and returns to home base, the next step is to wirelessly upload the fuel delivery data to the company's database. The data is then immediately available for invoicing and is published to the U.S. Fleet extranet, allowing customers access to detailed reports.

With U.S. Fleet's new wireless mobile system, customers now have up-to-the-minute access to account information, accurate invoices, detailed reports, route schedules, and complicated tax information on time, anytime, from anywhere.



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Going Wi-Fi. A Practical Guide to Planning and Building an 802.11 Network
Going Wi-Fi: A Practical Guide to Planning and Building an 802.11 Network
ISBN: 1578203015
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 273

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