Monday, January 7, 2013

Handheld Devices and Work Order Management

Most people can’t do without their smartphones and handheld devices. These recent pieces of tech are the peak of convenience, giving you access to all kinds of information and services from all over the world.
Many companies, primarily those in maintenance and engineering sectors, have integrated handheld devices with effective Work Order Management Software yielding some varied results. For some organizations, handhelds have improved efficiency and data collection; for most, however, handhelds only led to faster collection of poor work order and asset data.

Handheld Devices Work Maagement

If you’re considering incorporating handhelds into your workflow, here are some tips to help you pull it off properly.

Cleaning Up Data and Documentation
One of the biggest issues that come with migrating to handhelds is the assumption that all prior problems will automatically vanish. However, if your technicians or employees have poor discipline when it comes to documentation and completion of work requests, switching to handhelds only exacerbates things. You may actually see a decline in the data’s accuracy and quality.

Before you even switch over to handhelds and Work Order Dispatch Software, ramp up the discipline surrounding your work order documentation system. As annoying as it might be, paperwork is part of the job. Maintaining quality paperwork completion will help streamline the process and ingrain good habits into your technicians.

Introducing Handhelds
Once your technicians have a good handle on creating quality written work orders, they’re ready to switch over to handhelds. Start by explaining the value of using handhelds in your particular work situation. You or your manager in charge should begin tracking handheld use in terms of daily and weekly work request completions.

In the past, handheld devices were clunky, far from convenient, and often had to be plugged into larger computers to upload and download data, but those days are long gone. Smartphone’s, tablets, and iPad’s changed the game. Some simple training with customizable CRM software lends itself to near instant proficiency. Your technicians can write work orders, perform preventative maintenance procedures, and review drawings and schematics all from a single device without the need for a docking system.

Focusing on Quality
Handhelds or not, quality is where things count. Don’t allow your technicians to skimp on quality just because they have some automation at their fingertips. With the right setup, your technicians and dispatch should have no problem with improving their asset and work order data.

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