Mobile Field Service
The use of mobile technology to deliver information to field engineers for service and maintenance activities is long established. Organisations such as Intermec and Symbol offer ruggedised mobile devices, while companies such as Cognito provide sophisticated network services for the delivery of job information to a variety of users in the field. However with the availability of commoditised devices and mobile data networks the potential for greater use of mobile technolgy in field service is clear.
A field service system is similar to that described in the CRM section of this site. It consists mainly of activities, contact information and history of work done for a particular site or customer. Additionally a field service system will typically handle items such as parts, inventories, and cost of jobs performed.
All of this information can be readily provided on a mobile device through a series of forms. In fact the demonstration application shown on this site, is a simple example of a mobile job application which allows the user to see details of the job on a mobile phone and then update the status of the job. With field service this latter point is key. The mobile application is not just for the benefit of the end user. It can be used to centrally collect information on job progress and this information can then be used to efficiently schedule other jobs. It is this process of optimising workflow which provides the basis for a return on investment in the mobile field service application.
The above ideas are explored in more detail in the following white paper
Some Field Service Applications
Oracle Field Service on Nokia E Series devices
Mobile Field Service from Sybase
Mobile Field Service from Accenture
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