It included two presentations on the central theme of mobile communications for field service providers, followed by a group discussion to allow those present to voice comment and opinion.

Following lunch, ASFM president Simon Morris opened proceedings and set the tone for the afternoon by highlighting the importance of mobile communications. With growth of between 10% and 20% predicted for the future, with 67% of service companies in Europe currently using a mobile solution, the subject has a number of aspects worthy of further discussion in the future.

Steve Downton was the first speaker, beginning by explaining the various aspects of mobile communications highlighted in the benchmarking survey published in the Service Management Buyer’s Guide 2008 last December. One problem, he explained, was that many companies did not understand the true meaning of a mobile communications solution.

Of the companies that had implemented a solution, only 20% were using the data acquired to drive their business, said Downton. Highlighting the considerable benefits available, increasingly more companies are realising the potential.

Raising a number of relevant points, he explained how mobile communications could result in an engineer becoming a one man call centre. After touching on the subjects of remote and in-house fixing, Downton concluded that the creation of a considered implementation procedure could avoid problems such as gaining acceptance from the workforce.

The next speaker was Steve McCorry, complementing Downton’s delivery by providing further informed commentary with an entertaining and informal presentation. Installing mobile communications is largely a matter of common sense, he said, but the business has to understand what it was trying to achieve.

By establishing key performance indicators, said McCorry, companies could measure how effective their choice of solution had been. He also stressed the importance of involving the workforce in all stages to gain acceptance.

Looking at the mobile devices available, McCorry compared those developed for consumers with rugged alternatives. Many companies had found mobile consumer options had a life cycle of just eight weeks, while rugged alternatives could last for between five and eight years.

After explaining the various means and benefits of fine tuning a mobile device, providing solutions to the most common problems, McCorry explained the options available to get engineers to buy in to the project and increase its effectiveness from the start.

It was decided that the subject warranted further discussion in the future and a presentation by a field service manager would be ideal.

The next meeting is planned for June and further details will be announced in Service Management and on the servicemanagement365.com website.