The Types of Industries That Can Benefit from Field Service Software

Initially, field service software was designed with field techs and their managers in mind. However, in the recent past, other industries have taken this path to better the performance of their businesses. Any industry that deploys skilled laborers and assets to off-site locations benefits from field service software. It’s all about resource allocation and data centralization for efficient management and running of the business? activities. With field service software, you got all your business? functions logged in one place.

So, who needs field service management software? Professionals like electricians, plumbers, IT technicians, construction workers, and carpenters all find it useful. Moreover, there?s a wide range of application in many different types of industries.

Here are some industries that benefit from field service management software.

Fire and Life Safety

In a fire and life safety industry, equipment and safety systems should be kept running at peak efficiency. Therefore, it’s necessary to provide appropriate services that will ensure the smooth running of processes. On top of complying with government codes, fire and security systems installed should offer reliable services. Since service is at the core of this industry?s operation, most people in fire and security industries are turning to field service software to automate operations of their service delivery. With the field service software tools, the industry can easily monitor security technologies, quickly respond to customers, and manage compliance, inspections, and procedures effectively.

Medical Device Enterprises

For medical device companies seeking to improve their services, sales, and compliance, field service software becomes very essential for the smooth running and operations of their functions. The medical device enterprises that greatly benefit from this software include those offering installations, repair, and maintenance of medical equipment. With the comprehensive field service tools, service delivery and performance is greatly improved.

Moreover, with the field service software, these industries find better ways of tracking critical records needed for regulatory compliance since the medical industry is one of the most regulated industries in the globe. For the companies doing the manufacturing of medical equipment, they can integrate field service software in their accounting systems to streamline their invoice processes and shorten their billing cycles.

IT and Communications Services Companies

With the remarkable technological advancements in the recent past, Internet service providers, cable companies, and communications organizations are looking for better ways of service delivery to keep up with the pace of the growing technology. Connections are becoming more complex day by day propelled by an explosion in new data sources, and the use of the devices. To keep up with the increased demand for instant services by customers, the IT and communication service companies, are turning to field service software to make their service delivery more effective.

A combination of the robust, advanced scheduling system and rich functionality makes this software very useful to the communication service companies. They can use the software to design and install complex internet infrastructure. Moreover, field service software can be used by these companies to set up recurring maintenance plans to maintain the installed internet systems.

Oil and Gas Enterprises

Most oil and gas industries are faced by complexities which need special handling for better business performance. Since the running of projects is at the cornerstone of their businesses, they’re always looking for better ways to ensure a smooth running of their project activities. For this reason, most of the oil and gas enterprises that have discovered the benefits of field service software are integrating the main activities of their projects in this software.

With the project-based software tools, there?s an efficient flow of information and transparency throughout the enterprise ensuring excellent project management. With the checklist feature included in most field service software, inspections, compliance, site surveys, and maintenance of procedures is made easier in oil and gas companies.

Facilities Management Industry

Given that this is a service industry, high-level of efficiency is paramount. To meet customer expectations and battle against cost, most facility management industries are turning to field service software. With the comprehensive tools included in the field service software, supervisors can assign tasks to their reports, monitor their progress, and receive alerts on critical issues while in a remote place or at the comfort of their office.

Maintenance and emergency repairs in the facility management industry are greatly supported by this software ensuring increased productivity and efficiency. Additionally, with field service software the industries benefit from a streamlined workflow and improved communication that greatly reduces administration time and cost.

Industrial Equipment Enterprises

Industrial equipment companies aim at maximizing their overall productivity and preventing equipment downtime. There?s a wide range of activities that take place in industrial equipment companies which require field service software for higher levels of efficiency.

From load testing, installation projects, and load testing to emergency repairs, this software, enables the managers to design work orders, and get them ready for scheduling, and distribute them in a moment. With the equipment and asset tracking software, the supervisors can gain instant visibility into the equipment and assets in the field to ensure their regular maintenance. The scheduling and resourcing tools ensure the supervisors are in full control over the dispatching of their workforce, their schedules, and the route taken by each for maximum work output. Additionally, with the field service software, industrial equipment companies can meet their customer expectations.

Construction Industry

Since construction work involve both site work and office work, building industries find field service software very useful in integrating their field and office activities. Field service software is designed to establish effective communication between the office staff and the field operators. With inclusive software tools, the supervisors can easily manage daily inspections and receive feedback from the field workers without leaving the office. Moreover, documentation is simplified, and everything is documented in a central place so that it’s easier to retrieve important information at any time. With field service software, building industries can manage their construction efficiently while minimizing cost, and saving on time.

Filed service software is gaining popularity in the industrial world as most enterprises seek to improve their business? performance, and keep up with the competition. Moreover, more companies are expected to come on board as the field service software companies work extra hard to add more tools to suit a wide range of functions.

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The Cloud: Changing the Game for Small Businesses

There is a consensus among cloud experts that the onset of cloud computing will benefit small organisations the most. In fact, many even go as far as saying that the cloud and small businesses are a match made in IT heaven. How much of this is true and how much of this is merely part and parcel of the hype surrounding cloud computing?

The Cloud as the Great?Equaliser

If you closely examine the essential characteristics of cloud computing, particularly public cloud services, you will see why small organisations would be very interested in the cloud, and would eventually flock to it, like moths to a flame. And why not? Cloud computing is turning out to be the weapon that can allow small and medium organisations to compete on a more level playing field against large enterprises.

Here are some cloud computing benefits that may just close the gap between the two.

Significantly lower IT spending. With little to no investment at all on hardware infrastructure and practically zero maintenance costs, SMBs that would have required substantial capital for IT are now finding it easy to get a business started from scratch or develop and test out new products by using the cloud as the backbone of their IT set-up. The pay-as-you-go pricing scheme that cloud computing offers allows companies to start small and scale up as needed, or when the revenue starts coming in.
Higher employee productivity. Licensing fees for software applications can run high even if you don’t have a large staff. Good thing there are now a host of cloud-based office tools – word processors, spreadsheets, presentations, accounting systems, etc. – that can boost employee productivity without the corresponding costs that small businesses can ill afford. Plus, team members in remote locations can continue to collaborate with the rest through any internet-connected device in real time.
Easier, better communication. The easy accessibility of communication apps has also changed the way employees interact with fellow employees and more importantly, with customers. Whether through email, instant messaging, or social networks, cloud services have given individuals and businesses more ways of giving and getting feedback. The best thing about it is that most of these services don’t cost much or are even free, giving SMBs ample tools to create better products and improve service.

A Look at the Figures Many small businesses are already seeing the potential in the cloud, with SaaS (Software as a Service) applications most commonly used among the early adopters. These services include email and other communication apps, file sharing, and backup.

In a February 2012 Edge Strategies survey (commissioned by Microsoft) of 3,000 small businesses in the US, the following data came to light:

The number of small companies with 2 to 10 employees using paid cloud services will triple in the next three years;
Current cloud users report purchasing an average of 4 services in the cloud now and expect to use 6 in the future;
Fifty percent agree that cloud computing is going to become more important for businesses such as theirs.

Further, a survey of 323 SMBs recently released by social business site Spiceworks and sponsored by EMC reveals that from 48 percent at the start of 2012 and 28 percent a year ago, 62 percent of the businesses surveyed now use some type of cloud app.

What these numbers show is that cloud adoption among small and medium enterprises is starting to gain ground and for sure, more will do the same as understanding and awareness increase. Yes, these businesses should still perform their due diligence as there is no one-size-fits-all cloud solution. But for those companies who have managed to find the right cloud apps and services for their needs, it’s all sunny skies up ahead.

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Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

Any business in the manufacturing industry would know that anything can happen in the development stages of the product. And while you can certainly learn from each of these failures and improve the process the next time around, doing so would entail a lot of time and money.
A widely-used procedure in operations management utilised to identify and analyse potential reliability problems while still in the early stages of production is the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).

FMEAs help us focus on and understand the impact of possible process or product risks.

The FMEA method for quality is based largely on the traditional practice of achieving product reliability through comprehensive testing and using techniques such as probabilistic reliability modelling. To give us a better understanding of the process, let’s break it down to its two basic components ? the failure mode and the effects analysis.

Failure mode is defined as the means by which something may fail. It essentially answers the question “What could go wrong?” Failure modes are the potential flaws in a process or product that could have an impact on the end user – the customer.

Effects analysis, on the other hand, is the process by which the consequences of these failures are studied.

With the two aspects taken together, the FMEA can help:

Discover the possible risks that can come with a product or process;
Plan out courses of action to counter these risks, particularly, those with the highest potential impact; and
Monitor the action plan results, with emphasis on how risk was reduced.

Find out more about our Quality Assurance services in the following pages:

Excel Spreadsheet Conversion to SQL Reports

Spreadsheets are flexible, inexpensive and easy to use. They are especially handy when it comes to beating report submission deadlines or making impromptu data computations.

Unfortunately, organisations heavy reliance on spreadsheets have made these User Developed Applications (UDA) into high-risk office tools. Simple spreadsheet errors like leaving out a negative sign or a cut-and-paste mistake have already caused million-dollar discrepancies. Also, when a fraudulent employee enters into the picture, the risks become unimaginable.
Think TransAlta’s spreadsheet cut-and-paste glitch (the company later called this a ‘simple clerical error’) which caused the energy firm a whopping $24 million loss or Fidelity’s overstatement of its earnings owing to the omission of the minus sign on the spreadsheet of a $1.3 billion net capital loss.

Denizon can convert your Excel Spreadsheets to a web based SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). It does not import Excel data, rather it allows the creation and deployment of reports in a more efficient manner by querying the data.

So what is the problem with Spreadsheets?

Plagued with risk issues and vulnerable to fraud
Lacking in control features especially when copied, edited and emailed between many users
A burden to regulation compliance e.g. SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley)

Moreover:

Accidental copy-paste/Omission of a negative sign/Erroneous range selection
Incorrect data input or unintentional deletion of a character, cell, range, column, or row
Possibility of the user working on the wrong version
Prone to inconsistent company-wide reporting
Often ‘defenceless’ against unauthorised access

See Top 10 Disadvantages of Spreadsheets

What makes SQL Server Reporting Services better than Spreadsheets?

Free from spreadsheet risks & equipped with built-in controls that substantially reduce risks to data
Less prone to fraud
More suitable for regulatory compliance e.g. SOX
Designed for an agile business environment

Automatic consolidation eliminates errors and wasted time caused by tedious copy-pasting of data and linking of cells
Better collaboration capabilities allows team members to bring their heads together for planning, budgeting, and reporting even while on the go
Mobility support enables users to input data or retrieve information through their wireless mobile device

Superior sharing features ensures that everyone is exactly on the same page and viewing real-time information
Dashboards provide insightful information at-a-glance through KPIs, graphs, and various metrics
Drill-downs enable users to investigate unusual figures and gain a better understanding of the details that contribute to the big picture
Easy to learn interfaces allow your organisation to cope with fast personnel turnaround or Mergers & Acquisitions

Don’t know how to shift from Spreadsheets to SQL Server Reporting Services?

We’ve got the knowledge and expertise to assist you in:

Making a smooth and cost-efficient transition from risky spreadsheets to reliable reports
Designing and implementing SOX-compliant report-generating methods and procedures
Putting exposure to high-risk reporting methods a thing of the past