A predictive future: Remote monitoring in field service

Over the last few decades, humans have witnessed software infiltrate and rebuild the world as we know it. This massive technological push inspired Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreesen to write his famous essay entitled, “Why software is eating the world,”, which struck a chord even in its time of release in 2011. Now in 2024, we can see he wasn’t all that wrong. Over the past 13 years alone, companies have increased their enterprise software spend from US$250 billion to over US$650 billion. That is a lot of software!

More and more industries are becoming increasingly “software-centric”, as software becomes a part of their product offering. Complete compatibility or at least flexibility with software is now essential in 2024, as technology-minded customers seek the best and most sophisticated solutions. Medical, gaming, entertainment, automotive, aviation, networking, leisure, sports and just about every other industry now has more software as part of their offering. 

When it comes to driving change, the consumer world is always going to be the leader. We have seen this with streaming services and now with home appliances. Washing machines can ping your phone to tell you when a cycle is done or if you need to add more detergent. This isn’t just a convenience play or to provide a top-tier experience; from the manufacturer’s perspective, it is to capture data. 

By enabling such basic appliances like a washing machine or a dishwasher, these appliances are now devices and therefore are deemed as “smart”. For these units to have the intelligence to provide updates, they must connect to another device through a Wi-Fi beacon or a Bluetooth connection. For these connections to work, additional hardware must be installed, a motherboard for example. For the motherboard to retain its powers of capturing data, it needs some sort of hard drive or flash memory. Finally, for all this work in concert, the device needs software. Chomp, chomp, Mr. Andreesen. 

As more fundamental pieces of equipment are technologically enabled, customer can oversee their own software superpower by connecting all their equipment. Now, your smart washer can 

connect to your dryer, and even your dishwasher, and your thermostat, until all your appliances are enabled, in conversation with one another, and under a central control.  

In the latter half of 2022, McKinsey & Company published an article on the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which is the next industrial revolution and is highly focused on the digitisation of the manufacturing sector. McKinsey further outlines the previous revolutions in a simple way – “steam propelled the first (industrial revolution), electricity powered the second, and preliminary automation and engineering powered the third; and cyberphysical systems – or intelligent computers – are shaping the fourth.” Conclusion, we are just starting to see how intelligent solutions are reshaping the world including but not limited to Artificial Intelligence (AI) which aligns with shaping the fourth industrial revolution. 

The consumer market may lead this revolution, but the industrial market is close behind. Let’s dig in on why the industrial markets are just seeing software-enabled equipment come to fruition.

Software in the industrial world 

Every organisation was hyper-energised by the idea of connecting devices and gathering data to see patterns of use, diagnose problems remotely, and lower manufacturing costs. One of the first ways software combined with the industrial world was within automotive manufacturers. Features within 

vehicles could now be added, hidden, and exclusively accessed with the addition of software. These features can now be turned on or off based on the customer’s preference. If they buy the vehicles with the features off but decide to upgrade, then all the manufacturers must do is sell a key to unlock said features. Other automotive manufacturers focused on the reduction in the number of engines available for certain models. If one engine may be used for all models, or at least most models, a customer may only need a four-cylinder because perhaps they drive less in an urban area. However, what if that customer moved to a rural area and started to drive on highways? Again, 

this customer could purchase an electronic key and then turn on additional cylinders. While this was bantered about in 2014-2016 time, it was Tesla who took this to a whole new level by monetising almost all their car’s features.  

This is only one of the ways software can be utilised in the industrial sphere. Now, how do these technological advances affect the service world? 

A reactive service model 

Let’s turn to service and how the servicing of these pieces of software-enabled equipment has been changing but is only beginning to gain momentum.  

Many are now realising how the break-fix model is ill-suited and impractical for any company with a project and a deadline. This service model has always been a reactive offer driven by the demand to repair some piece of equipment after it breaks, working well for certain sectors or types of end market types like consumers, but not very well for commercial or industrial end-markets. For those under deadlines with time and money on the line, there are very few ways to get ahead of potential issues onsite.  

Equipment can still break despite regular checkups and maintenance; bringing extra equipment to the site is doable for the screwdriver, but unrealistic for the bulldozer. When does it become too expensive, too impractical, to account for the unknown? Spend less time creating solutions for your solution; instead, consider a proactive service model.  

A proactive service model 

Now comes the world of preventative or proactive maintenance. Where a break-fix model goes hand-in-hand with near-catastrophic failure, a proactive service model gives you a chance to tone down the failure’s severity. By enabling equipment with software, it can tell you what it needs.  

Service contractors need software to help them manage contracts, schedule onsite proactive visits, and equip technicians with all the right materials to complete the job without any disruption or delay. After all, the customer has a commitment to carry on, a deadline, a purpose that requires efficient service.  

This is true for just about every industry. The HVAC system that drives the college campuses or even one building at the school, can’t shut down in the morning as that would mean classes could be canceled. Good for the student, not so good for the faculty, the school, and the overall mission to educate students. What about a hospital’s generators? Power failures are inevitable, but without a system that can supplement the power utility to that hospital or do the emergency services, waiting until failure to fix could literally mean life or death.  

Along with the initial software, an effective proactive service model requires one more addition. Just like how your home appliances can all be connected to a central control, so can your service equipment. In this larger scale, the central connector is a robust field service solution.  

To truly be proactive, a worthy field service solution needs to have complete mobile capabilities. A busy technician who hauls all their tools and materials shouldn’t have to tote a computer; with mobile capabilities, their phone or a tablet can fit in their pocket or their tool bag. Offline capabilities are also essential to service equipment, as many units are in allies, rooftops, or 

basements, and have limited or no Wi-fi or cell service nearby. When technicians complete work and re-enter a service area, the field service solution will sync with the back office, ensuring all workflows continue with minimal disruption. Solutions like this are truly redefining the proactive service model.  

The future holds even more promise. Imagine a world where there is already proactive service, but the critical pieces of equipment can also warn or call the technician for help if something is wrong. This may soon be the case for modern equipment that is being manufactured as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  

Predictive Service Model

While it may seem like just about everything is connected these days, we are a long way off from  maximising our digital potential in the service world. Let’s not forget the impact of the global pandemic as well; issues in the supply chain created significant delays for manufacturers building new and more software-enabled equipment. 

This doesn’t mean that the predictive service market isn’t here. It is growing. It was recently published by Research and Markets that the global predictive service market is valued at US$10.6 billion and will reach more than US$47.8 billion by 2029, a 35% CAGR. What is driving this opportunity? As expected, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is slated to revolutionise the service market. Nearly every industry is beginning to take advantage of AI’s predictive nature by creating their own specific solution, trying to build a bridge for industries to take the next step. This is truly exciting: AI has the potential to take these industries into the future, but people’s resistance to technology combined with slow advancement puts us at the very beginning of this effort.  

This is aimed at the manufacturers controlling these data volumes and key telemetric insights for improving future product design and development. However, the service contractor has an opportunity to redefine their business models and how they staff, as well as how they service software-enabled equipment. The Internet of Things (IoT) is finally becoming a force multiplier for the service world! 

When IoT combines with AI, it has the potential to save businesses great amounts of time and money. Unfortunately, we still lack one thing; there is no one-size-fits-all solution for predictive maintenance management, no software or technology that can link everything together. Yet. 

Take this example – imagine a huge piece of earth-moving equipment has been leased by a road construction to complete a project. Before the project begins, a service technician checks the piece of equipment and performs all necessary maintenance to make sure it is ready. Later, while on another site for a different job, the technician gets an alert on their phone, sending service meter alerts to their field service software indicating the machine is now burning oil at a damaging level. The field service software can automatically create a “service request” which then notifies all the other operators of that field technician team. With such quick alerts, the technician can return to the piece of equipment and resolve the issue as fast as possible.  

This project will now remain on track because the software-enabled piece of equipment has sensors and diagnostic codes that are beaconed to the company’s field service solution, from which an action can be created. This quick and efficient generation of data allowed the technician to address the issue as fast as possible, taking only a few moments, not hours or days, to diagnose, treat and release back to the job without disruption. 

The hope is with technological advancements like these, the job site will become safer and less unpredictable. We are slowly but surely building the bridge from a break-fix service model to a fully connected service model, and although a solution that links all the pieces together is not here yet, it will undoubtedly come soon. In the meantime, there are solutions like Service Pro Insights. Service Pro Insights ingests data and given the parameters of acceptance for alerts, will trigger a service request. Companies can utilise Service Pro Insights to service more equipment with greater efficiency, leaving room for opportunities to maximise profitability through increased visibility. 

Now you have the secret to providing all types of service to all types of equipment for multiple business models – a connected, IoT-enabled integrated field service software solution! 

If you want to learn more about IoT-enabled services and the servitisation1 movement, please visit www.msidata.com

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