Understanding The True Scope Of The IoT In Field Service

By Brian Albright, Field Technologies

We’ve been thinking a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its potential in the field service space (we even completed a special report on the topic; see below). And while the IoT will definitely provide a way for service organizations to remotely diagnose and repair equipment, it will ultimately do a lot more than that.

The real impact of the IoT in field service will be to provide unheard of levels of visibility. This will also enable field service organizations to create and sell service pans that help their customers avoid malfunctions, shifting the business from a reactive to a proactive business model. That will not only require a dramatic change in the way field service companies do business, but also will require a mindset change among customers who are used to calling when something is broken and then being billed for labor and materials.

According to McKinsey, 70 percent of IoT usage will be in heavy enterprise industries like field service. While the IoT has gotten a lot of buzz because of potential consumer applications and for providing some degree of supply chain visibility, service is where companies are likely to experience a real return on investment (ROI), and where the business case for connectivity is fairly straightforward.

Instead of heading to a site with a van full of parts, performing diagnostics, communicating with the customer and the supervisor, and then possibly discovering that the needed parts or equipment are not on the van, technicians can be more prepared. Diagnostics and troubleshooting can be conducted from afar, potentially helping to avoid a costly truck roll altogether. With diagnostic data in hand, the technician can make sure they have the right parts and tools before they head to the site, and once there they can get right to work.

The type of real-time monitoring enabled by the IoT also makes it possible to spot problems before they turn into failures. Using business analytics, you could also conceivably evaluate customer usage data for a specific piece of equipment and provide recommendations about extending the life of the equipment or possibly recommend equipment or products that better meets their actual use case. And you could guarantee uptime in a way that was previously impossible.

A number of service automation and work order management vendors have been active in creating IoT-centric solutions. Other companies are targeting specific markets and applications. HID Global, for example, recently announced hits HID Trust Tag Services for “smart building” maintenance management. It integrates computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and links them with physical assets and cloud-based maintenance systems and applications. Technicians can quickly access service history, open tickets, and confirm call times and status.

With field service becoming a primary revenue driver at many companies, the possibility of creating new streams of revenue in a way that is less costly to deliver service should make the IoT or similar machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity solutions a top priority in service.

McKinsey sees the IoT generating trillions of dollars in annual value by 2025, but achieving those benefits would require companies to overcome technical, organizational, and regulatory challenges. Interoperability will be critical for the majority of applications. Data will also need to be used for more than just identifying anomalies – predictive applications and optimization are where the real value lies.

Adopting an IoT strategy for service will require planning. The IoT M2M Council (IMC), a trade group, has created software that can help service companies and manufacturers evaluate their readiness for deploying connected devices.

The IMC IoT Readiness Calculator asks questions about security, integration, scalability, and other features to measure how prepared a company might be. They can see how they compare to similar companies and projects, and receive advice on what improvements to make and what vendors might be able to help.

Field Technologies Online recently published a special report, “Preparing Your Business for the IoT Era,” that explores the potential of the IoT in field service and provides guidance on the required enabling technologies, how to put the data to work in your business, and connecting both internal stakeholders and your customers into the IoT ecosystems.