Wearables have become popular in the consumer realm, letting users track their steps, heart rate, and activity intensity. Wearables can become equally useful in the field service industry. Available mobile technologies today already make a field service technician’s job easier and more effective; when supplemented with wearables, a field service technician’s job can be made even easier. Here are the ways wearables can make field service more efficient:
Collaboration
One of the most compelling applications of wearables in field service is collaboration. Service technicians may have different knowledge and experience, which can be utilized by other technicians, if it is available. As newer, less-experienced technicians begin working for service organizations, they may need guidance from experienced technicians to solve different jobs. One way they can do this is through wearables. For instance, technologies like Google Glass (now known as “Project Aura”) presents a way for newer technicians to show experienced technicians exactly what they are seeing during a service visit. It also enables the experienced technicians to direct the newer technician with the visual information they share via a 4G or LTE wireless connection.
Hands-Free Messaging
As it relates to collaboration, wearables, including smart watches and augmented reality glasses, allow technicians hands-free access to messaging. Voice-directed messaging to the dispatchers to let them know a job is running longer than expected helps the organization adjust job times. Similarly, glasses with a microphone allow technicians to talk to other technicians or contact the home office for additional information or parts.
Hands-Free Knowledge Bases
Another way a wearable like Google Glass can create collaboration is by allowing service technicians to record their work. Training is increasingly important for service technicians. What better way to foster newer technicians’ knowledge then by allowing them to view the work done by experienced technicians? Not only can it provide a lesson, but a recording can be later accessed while on a job, allowing a technician the opportunity to complete a job on the first visit.
Additionally, technicians can have hands free access to important data, including equipment specs. The benefits hardly need mentioning—being able to access equipment information makes a technician’s job easier, particularly if the piece of equipment differs from the average job.
Hands-Free Check Lists
Whether or not augmented reality becomes a reality, the usefulness of a check list remains constant. Technicians on a routine job can pull up a check list of steps to complete. As they complete the job, the steps can be recorded. Not only can a check list help a technician stay on track, but it can help the dispatcher watch which jobs are being completed more quickly or slowly, and reevaluate routes based on the changing information. Similarly, service managers can review which steps take the longest and investigate ways to tailor training to each technicians’ needs. Newer technicians benefit, too, giving them a helping hand through any job they may have less experience performing.
Identifying the Problem
The future of wearables, combined with the Internet of Things (or IoT), could offer technicians insight into what the problem is with any given piece of equipment. Diagnostics can be ran with the use of wearables, reporting issues or potential problems to the technician, who can then approach the job with the right tools and mindset.
Ready Access to Schedules
Schedules rule the field. Customers expect technicians to be on time, just like service managers expect smooth dispatching and routing. With a smart watch, or even smart glasses, a technician has easy access to their schedule, even while on a job. Alerts and reminders can keep technicians on track by reminding them of upcoming jobs, their lunch break, or other important deadlines.
Wearables present a good opportunity for a mobile workforce to make use of hands-free options. Having hands-free access to data bases, collaboration tools, check lists, and other features means having two hands available for a job—meaning more time working on the equipment customers expect to be fixed the first time. Although there are still improvements to be had in smart glasses and other areas, expanding smart watch features could mean an increasingly efficient and plugged in mobile workforce.
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