Skip to main content

IoT drives field activity


For this discussion let's think about work in two buckets, scheduled and unscheduled. Scheduled covers things like preventative maintenance, project work, essentially anything that is scheduled or preplanned.  Unscheduled work; also known as a service call or any ad hoc request for work. In context of remote monitoring, which has been around for many years, a significant impact in the coming years will materialize for both scheduled and unscheduled field activity.



The idea is not really that novel; however, the world is changing significantly with regards to sensors and monitoring. For the most part the costs per point and the availability of data, it's mash up, and the analytics to make it relevant and actionable, are all becoming more accessible with this new wave often referred to as the "Internet of things". These points of input, when digested by folks that actually understand what they mean, can influence who we send to an unscheduled activity or when we are actually going to the field to perform scheduled routines.



"Transactional work order management systems in five years may not even exist, with the exception of very sophisticated plant operations requiring component and subcomponent monitoring and reporting". Instead the arduous process that currently takes place today to set up either rounds for patients, activities through a care plan, or PM visits for piece of equipment or building will all shift from a calendar based or subjective important point of reference to condition generated activities. The patients or equipment will reach out when maintenance needs to be performed.  We will see the outcomes driving the need for service activity.



Next post:  blending internal and external labor
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In$pired

As the steam from Avid Andy's coffee fogged his glasses on this crisp January morning, he reflected on last year and thought enthusiastically about the year ahead.   Sometimes the noise of business is deafening, we rarely take the time to contemplate our moves, instead are often thrown one direction or another.   Hey, face it, if you are reading posts to gain perspective you fall in the group of folks who pride themselves as obsequious hoop-jumpers.   We live to help others and expect that all of those around us feel the same way.   I just love Influential Irene.   Okay, it is out in the open, she is an inspiration for me and so many others.   Irene reminds folks every year, without fail, these three statements which she fondly refers to as "the punchline" (although this is no joke).   Businesses, of any size, will be successful if they remember that it is people that make a company.   Put this advice into practice, today: Sincerity |...
Post a Comment
Read more

expert at everything...not a problem

Well... I would say sometimes there certainly is a perceived notion that one person is an expert at everything. For the worker "everything" may be defined as the specific area in which you were hired or are constantly scheduled. Our opinions are frequently influenced off of past experience, or information we've received from their coworkers. Unfortunately this only gives us partial insight to that workers expertise and often is limited to their most recent history. Narrowly focused accounting is made of the skills that this individual possess. Come on, can't we figure out a way to leverage all of the skills of a particular worker? One of the challenges has always been that relationship between the activities which need to be accomplished and the myriad skills of individuals within your workforce. In addition, even if you could inventory and get a pretty good handle on the skill sets, they are constantly changing (with any luck) and thus the ineffective process of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who owns the data?

Finally the capital budget allows you to replace some very old equipment.    You can't open a trade magazine without seeing the latest news regarding the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).   Lucky for you the equipment manufacturers are offering an IIoT ready solution packaged with your equipment.   Suddenly your enthusiasm turns to confusion as you review the details of the quote.   What the hell is that subscription fee?   Isn't this equipment mine; lock, stock and barrel?   You mean to tell me that I need to pay the manufacturer, every month,   to give me the luxury of accessing data produced by the equipment I just purchased?   The only explanation has to be new math, at least as a child this is what my parents told me when I asked hard to answer questions. It's amazing how history repeats itself, we are starting to see manufacturer specific data languages appearing in their "smart" equipment.   Didn't we learn our lesson ...
Post a Comment
Read more