Any technology initiative requires CIOs to make a number of decisions, but none can require more choices than providing mobile employees with wireless technologies. Mobile technology is confusing — you have to choose devices, wireless networks, applications, how often workers will connect, and so on. Also, mobile technology is constantly evolving, so at the end of a project, you’ll have more choices than you started with. And while having more options is a good thing, it is more challenging to reach a mobile decision.

Tim Spencer, VP of technical service and support for $2 billion General Binding Corp. (GBC), recently faced the challenge of a mobile deployment. He completely replaced his company’s outdated field service solution and faced the same choices every company faces. Spencer’s reasoning behind some of GBC’s decisions can provide you with insight as you face your own mobile deployments, whether they’re upgrades or initial rollouts.

The mobile solution Spencer helped put in place is composed of Verizon Wireless XV6600 PocketPC phones that run Vertical Solutions, Inc. (VSI) PowerHelp CRM — Field Service, a Web-based mobile application. GBC’s 115 field techs, who service the document finishing (e.g. binding and laminating) equipment sold by GBC and handle more than 80,000 calls per year, receive notification of jobs via text message from a centralized dispatch center. When the techs receive a message for a service call, they can log on to the Web site and view the call details, confirm their acceptance of the call, and complete work orders when the job is finished.

Most companies that implement a field service solution use a scheduling solution to eliminate — or at least reduce — the reliance on a dispatch center. Calls coming in are automatically assigned to techs based on the technicians’ availabilities, skills, and locations, and a schedule is built. Techs typically receive these schedules at the start of each day and complete each service call as directed. By automatically scheduling technicians, most companies realize benefits in increased productivity of their techs (because the schedules are optimized, the techs can do one or two more jobs in a day) and reduced dispatch center costs.

UPDATE MOBILE TECHNOLOGY, SAVE MONEY
GBC’s previous solution involved old (more than 10 years) two-way clamshell pagers that could support text. The dispatch center would contact field techs with text messages, and the techs pulled up call boards showing active calls and completed the calls by inputting coding for the work that was done and the parts that were used.

While many companies deploy field service solutions to improve inefficient processes, one of the reasons GBC deployed the solution was to improve outdated technology. “The solution was so old that it wasn’t being supported any more, so we were basically working with a ticking time bomb,” says Spencer. “No more towers supporting the system’s network were being built, and in Canada they were actually taking towers down. In the back end, the people who wrote the software we used weren’t even in the industry anymore. We were using an old 486 server; if we wanted to replace it, we’d have to go on eBay.”

GBC spent $400,000 on its new mobile system; the cost includes the smartphones, new servers, the PowerHelp CRM software, and the professional services to customize the software as needed and integrate it with GBC’s financial system. GBC was able to offset part of the expense with the savings it received in the form of a 40% reduction in telecommunications costs. “We have text messaging incorporated as part of our carrier plan, and we can also make calls unit-to-unit for free,” says Spencer. “The techs can send e-mails of field issues, and even attach photos, for a fixed price.”

HOW WILL YOUR TECHS ACCESS FIELD SERVICE APPS?
There are a number of ways to provide field techs with access to the applications they need for their jobs, and these methods almost always fall into one of two camps: thin or thick client. In a thin-client environment, applications are based on a centralized server, and very little computer processing is done on the actual mobile devices — the devices simply connect with the server and run the application from there. The server can be Web-based or housed behind a company firewall. In a thick-client architecture, the application runs directly on your techs’ mobile devices and only relies on a company server for data storage. There are hybrids of these types of clients, however. Some applications are hosted by application vendors, but run as thick clients on techs’ devices.

Both types of architectures have their pros and cons. Thin clients don’t need much memory or processing power from mobile solutions, but they typically require a constant network connection. Mobile devices running thick clients technically only have to connect at the beginning and end of each day. However, they rely on the devices’ processing capabilities and memories. You could generalize and say that thin clients are best suited for smaller mobile devices like smartphones and PDAs, and thick clients work well on more robust handheld computers, laptops, and tablet PCs.

HAVE NETWORK CONNECTION
BACKUP FOR THIN CLIENTS
GBC’s field service application, running on smartphones, falls into the thin-client category. Spencer had decided to use smartphones, rather than more rugged devices, because he didn’t feel the work environment of the techs (mainly offices and print shops) merited a rugged device — and the cost associated with it. “In a population of about 145 units, I’d have to have 4 nonrugged devices break each month to make the cost justification,” he says. “Also, I hated to spend more money on a device I assumed would be obsolete quickly.” GBC’s field techs can access their calls via the Web-based solution, complete work orders, and even drill down to part schematics (more on this later). The servers at the vendor house the necessary data, and the only processing the smartphones do is regular Web browsing.

GBC did run into the problem of no network connections — and thus no contact with the thin-client application. Despite performing analysis and testing of carriers based on their coverage for the locations of GBC’s field techs, the techs still can’t get signals all of the time. “We have a ‘phase 2’ plan in place that gives some additional functionality to the device when it is out of network range,” says Spencer. “The devices will download a small piece of the software that allows the techs to view and fill in pertinent work orders when out of range. When they get back into range, the data will be automatically uploaded.” You can also ensure connectivity with multiple carrier agreements or use available technology that turns service vans into Wi-Fi hotspots, which the smartphone can communicate with and access the Web.

The thin-client application makes for a relatively easy deployment, though. “Because the device has no software on it other than the basic OS — and needs no other software — we didn’t have to preload anything before rollout,” says Spencer. GBC gave the techs the smartphones in July 2005, when it began the project, so the techs could become familiar with the look and feel of the device; in the meantime, GBC customized and integrated the software at the back end. When GBC was ready to go live in October, the techs had very little trouble working with the solution.

ACCESS JOB-SPECIFIC DATA WITH FIELD SERVICE APPS
More than a scheduling and routing tool, field service software is an information tool. This seems obvious, but it is often overlooked. Most field service jobs are very technical in nature, and you probably equip your techs with printed manuals of parts lists, machinery schematics, and other supporting information. By transforming that information into electronic versions, you can incorporate the information into your field service system. Techs can access the information much more quickly (the electronic versions can be indexed and searchable), and you save on paper costs when updating the manuals.

GBC’s techs carried four to five file crates in the backs of their vans holding pertinent printed material. One of the opportunities Spencer saw in updating his field service system was getting those documents into electronic form. Part of the $400,000 investment included software called ‘Parts Arena,’ which took GBC’s parts manual and reformatted it electronically and created interfaces compatible with a smartphone screen. The software interfaces with the service management component of the solution; with the stylus, techs can click on various parts of machinery and zoom in on specific screws or bolts. Once the tech selects a part based on the view, the part number and other information automatically populates the work order. GBC is also in the process of digitizing its other paper manuals and putting them onto flash memory cards the techs will carry with them and plug into the smartphone when needed.