Technology connects repairmen directly to appliance maker’s enterprise system for routing, dispatch, delivery, field data collection and order completion.
The typical Maytag repairman may get bored by a lack of service calls, but on the rare occasion when he’s on the road enterprise data and applications are never more than a few clicks away thanks to a recently installed wireless mobile computing system.
Maytag Corp. has rolled out a real-time wireless mobile computing system for approximately 800 service technicians. The system, running on hardware from Intermec Technologies Corp. and software from Agentek Inc., connects field-service technicians directly to Maytag’s enterprise system for routing, dispatch, delivery, field data collection and order completion.
Agentek’s Agent Field Service and Agent Mobile Communications applications operate on Intermec 760 mobile computers, which have multiple wireless communication options, the latest battery and display technology, and memory capabilities that Maytag hopes will improve distribution time, customer service and the efficiency of its operations, according to an Intermec press release. A Maytag spokesperson was not available for comment by press time.
By using multiple wireless communication protocols, including GPRS wireless wide area network (WWAN) and 802.11b wireless local area network (WLAN) radios integrated with Wireless Matrix Corp.’s MBS satellite dome communications, technicians can always be connected with Maytag’s enterprise systems.
In fact, the use of multiple wireless technologies is becoming more common for companies looking to connect field workers to the so-called home office, said Phillip Redman, research vice president, mobile and wireless, at Gartner Inc. “One infrastructure cannot answer the needs of all of the field service users,” depending on location and wireless signal reception, he said in an interview. “By taking advantage of multiple types of technology, a company can roll out an effective mobile solution for its entire field force.”
For instance, like mobile phone connections, there are “dead spots” for GPRS signals. And in certain rural locations, there may be no GPRS service at all. In those situations, the Intermec technology automatically switches to the satellite communication to connect the user to Maytag’s enterprise systems.
Maytag’s trucks that operate in remote areas are supplemented with MBS satellite dome communications that work with the Agentek software and Intermec handhelds to provide complete network coverage. Maytag technicians will also benefit from turn-by-turn, voice-directed driving directions on the 700 Series.
The use of real-time mobile technology by manufacturing service technicians is becoming much more common as prices for the technology fall, the reliability improves and as manufacturers see the value in using the technology, Redman added. “The service cost per user is actually more expensive than the hardware now,” he said. “We have seen some very competitive service fees at about $15 per user, per month.”
And shelling out the $15 per user is generally easily recouped in increased efficiency and improved customer service. “We have seen a four to five times improvement in efficiency,” such as the number of calls a technician can make in a day, Redman says.
Julie Ask, senior analyst, wireless at Jupiter Research agrees. “If a company can reduce its average service time by one hour by using wireless technology, certainly that is worth a certain amount of dollars.” However, don’t expect an ROI in a few months. “It takes time to quantify the benefits, in terms of more efficient technicians and increased customer service,” she said.
Maytag wanted to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its service force, according to Erik Anderson, vice president of sales and marketing at Agentek. “It was all about brand awareness for Maytag,” Anderson said in an interview. “They wanted to provide the best service possible to customers so they could ultimately sell more product.”
As wireless services have matured, Anderson said that more manufacturers have wanted to use the technology to help service professionals work more efficiently. “Prior to Maytag and a few other companies, there were a lot of false starts with other wireless projects. Maytag’s project proves that the technology can work.”
However, with any new technology many times the major roadblocks are not IT related, added Jupiter’s Ask. “Education is probably the biggest task in a wireless project,” Ask said. “First you need to get the employees to use new tools and work differently. A lot of that depends on how well the software works and how well it is configured to the user’s actual needs.”
For Maytag, Agentek set up a call-in number for Maytag’s technicians so they wouldn’t have to make a sometimes embarrassing call to their supervisors to ask them how to use the wireless technology. “The key to success is getting technician compliance in a project like this,” Anderson said of the project that began its rollout in mid 2004 and was recently completed. “The direct help line is a comfortable place where technicians can call.”
From Managing Automation