by Ian Stewart | Jul 31, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
These days it seems as though just keeping current when it comes to technology isn’t enough for most field service organizations — managers who want to make sure they’re getting the most out of their service departments need to train their eyes on the...
by Sean Lyden | Jul 31, 2012 | Strategy & Leadership
Top-performing field service techs are hard to find — and even harder to keep. They have that rare blend of technical expertise, sales prowess, and top-notch professionalism. And with their uncanny ability to garner repeat business and referrals with each service...
by Mobile Enterprise | Jul 30, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
The following article first appeared in Mobile Enterprise, and is excerpted here with permission. We are going through a radical shift in the way people work and use computers. Increasing availability and affordability of wireless broadband is giving the global...
by Ian Stewart | Jul 27, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
The past four or five years have been a particularly painful time for many people in the trades. A dramatic economic recession, followed by a slow and grueling rebound that seemed to favor technological expertise over blue-collar work that has left the field a little...
by Darren Weiss | Jul 27, 2012 | Strategy & Leadership
Best Buy recently announced it had laid off 650 of its Geek Squad field service techs, only to hire 500 more a few days later. That’s not exactly the most cost-efficient business practice, and it’s precisely the scenario OnForce, which pairs contract...
by Darren Weiss | Jul 26, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
When one of its 170,000 wind turbines around the world breaks down, Southwest Windpower does what any good manufacturer does — it gets a field tech out there to check it out. But the company sends its techs with one word of warning: Don’t climb the towers....
by Derek Korte | Jul 25, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
The opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics are just around the corner and, as with all post-9/11 Olympics, security is a huge concern. British authorities arrested 14 people last week on suspicion of terrorism, which of course heightened security concerns around the...
by Ian Stewart | Jul 25, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
Rumor has it BlackBerry will finally release its 4G PlayBook tablet later this month. What remains to be seen is whether they’ll be any market for it, though. BlackBerry, which was very recently the dominant brand among smartphone users in the enterprise, has...
by Ian Stewart | Jul 24, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
Your boss probably has a Tumblr blog. And your mom has a Facebook account. And in all likelihood, your kids are on a bunch of social networks you we don’t even know about yet. So should it be any wonder that your work van could have a Twitter account? PoolCar,...
by Tiffany Kaiser | Jul 24, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
Part of being a field service tech means driving all kinds of commercial and industrial vehicles from one job site to another — sometimes through dirt, mud, dust, or worse. Dirty jobs make for dirty vans. But a nascent materials technology could change all that for...
by Field Technologies Online | Jul 23, 2012 | Mobile & Tech
The following article first appeared in Field Technologies Online, and is re-published here with permission. At first glance, a BYOD (bring your own device) strategy can sound mighty appealing — rather than the company investing in mobile devices for the workforce,...
by Sean Lyden | Jul 20, 2012 | Field Service Spotlight
You’ve seen the ads by auto dealers that seem to shout on billboards, in newspapers, or on TV: “We won’t be undersold!” “We’re stacking ’em deep and selling ’em cheap!” “We’ll pay off your trade no matter how much you...
