Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are not only changing the way people hail a taxi, they’re poised to upend the entire service industry. From WIFI installations to appliance repairs, people now expect an experience that allows them to track the whereabouts and estimated arrival time of their service technician, much like the way ride-sharing apps allow them to check on their driver. With up-to-date information at the customers’ fingertips, the transformative experience afforded by ride-sharing apps has given rise to a new approach to field service known as Connected Field Experience.
To deliver on this experience and optimize their field operations, service businesses will need to modernise and automate their platform and applications to include Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and artificial intelligence.
Zero-touch automated field service
As much of their service work can now be automated, providers are becoming increasingly interested in improving their existing field service management (FSM) solution or replacing it altogether. Some service providers envision a fully automated field service that requires “zero touch.”
Indeed, with the advent of the IoT and industrial internet of things (IIoT), the possibilities for optimizing the delivery of field service work – and thus improving efficiency, productivity, and end-customer experience – have exploded. Field service providers are considering a range of automated solutions that include assets equipped with sensors that can detect problems and create detailed service tickets to zero-touch models, in which machines can repair themselves autonomously, or human technicians can service assets by voice command alone.
The infographic below illustrates the difference automation can make in the service management chain:
Industries ripe for zero-touch automated field service
Benefits of automation
The terms “robots”, “automation”, and “artificial intelligence” often evoke job loss anxieties. Yet, according to the Future of Jobs Report released by the World Economic Forum in 2018, only 57 percent of work activities can be automated and automation is valid only for 10 to 15 percent of occupations. In this scenario, automation is less likely to replace humans than it is to help us to do more with less time and effort, putting our skills to use in productivity-enhancing roles and high-stakes decision making.
In FSM, delegating repetitive and time-consuming tasks to automation will allow field technicians, planners, and supervisors to focus on the work that requires human intervention. Tasks that can be automated include, but are not limited to, the following:
As an integrated solution, IoT- and IIoT-enabled automated FSM will allow end-to-end visibility and control of the entire service management chain. The real-time management of resources and customer communications that automation provides will optimize forecasting, planning, shift and task scheduling, and mobility. Automation will also enable customers to enhance productivity by increasing visibility, reducing travel time and overtime, increasing on-site efficiency, and generally minimizing wasted time.
Rahul Deo
Global head of Wipro’s Field Service Management and Solutions practice.
With more than 13 years of experience in consulting, integration, design, development, delivery of field service and workforce management, and other industry solutions, he advises clients across digital automation, robotics, and customer service. He has expertise in both the technical and business sides of field service management. He has worked for a decade with workforce-management based product companies to enhance their offerings.
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© 2021 Wipro Limited |
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