hand-held devices

[acnerd]

My company's latest craze is training everyone up on using hand-held devices to send us our jobs, very similar to the type that UPS, DHL, Fedex use. It would mean that every split unit we service would have to be logged as a start and finish on this device, including travelling to jobs, etc. No more paperwork and timesheets done based on the times we log.

I was just wondering if any of the other big maintenance companies out there are using them, and if so, how they are getting on?

It seems like a monumental waste of my time, as I will quite literally be controlled by a computer programme which has almost no flexibility built in for the HVAC industry.

[Silhouette]

Are they going to fit Trackers to your vehicles as well or does the unit do this task? A lot of the major players in the service sector use this type of kit or variations of it. I know Space use the Cyclops system utilizing Ipaq's with the engineers, but I don't work on that side so have no idea how well it works!

[multisync]

I hear one of our customers is now insisting on an electronic job sheet as they can track us too.(They are a multinational and it's worldwide policy ) We haven't got it yet so I don't know what is coming

So what have they given you and how does it work?

[Brian_UK]

<snip> I will quite literally be controlled by a computer programme which has almost no flexibility built in for the HVAC industry.

You've got it in one.

Been using them for a few years now and until our firm went all 'national' on us it used to work quite well.

Now we are 'scheduled' by some office wallah who is monitored by some other non-technical bod above him.

The actions of logging on and off etc didn't cause a problem until they decided that all the paperwork must match the PDA times. As the PDA keeps time in minutes but can only log time against a job in 15 minutes sections you can see that that isn't going to work.

They now complain if the log off time doesn't match the PDA time. Oh life is such fun.

Now of course they have fitted trackers which gives them an even better 'big brother' mode to work in.

They sold the tracker on the H&S aspect, you know, don't drive too fast, we can help with route planning, watch over you when lone working etc.

Bollox, I asked the question the other day, "If I have an accident when driving and the police phone the company number, from the side of the van, who has details of my next-of-kin?" Answer- absolute silence.

Sorry, rant over, enjoy your new life being micro-managed by some bean counter.

[Latte]

The company I work for have been using Psion Pda's for a couple of years now and have to say they have cut out 90% of our paperwork. Now i have jobs sent, fill out jobsheets, send/recieve e-mails, check timesheets etc all in one PDA. Only problem is the #### network they are on so going up and down the A11 it looses signal every 5 minuits

[fralysmo]

My company's latest craze is training everyone up on using hand-held devices to send us our jobs, very similar to the type that UPS, DHL, Fedex use. It would mean that every split unit we service would have to be logged as a start and finish on this device, including travelling to jobs, etc. No more paperwork and timesheets done based on the times we log.

I was just wondering if any of the other big maintenance companies out there are using them, and if so, how they are getting on?

It seems like a monumental waste of my time, as I will quite literally be controlled by a computer programme which has almost no flexibility built in for the HVAC industry.

They sold the tracker on the H&S aspect, you know, don't drive too fast, we can help with route planning, watch over you when lone working etc.

[lowcool]

stubbie holder !! now thats a hand held device

[acnerd]

I am quite surprised to learn there are so many out there in our field already. In answer to your questions, they are not tracking us, and my van does not have a tracker. Some areas of the country have gone live already, but as of yet, my area is still paper sheets. The training server they have been using to teach us apparently crashes on a daily basis (based on comments from colleagues on different training days to me). It crashed at lunch time when I was there, so they have to re-schedule another day for me. Question being, if the training server can't handle it, how does the real one cope??

I like your comments Brian, I foresee all that coming before I've even used it.

Multisync: over the last few months we have been furiously updating the asset lists so that the system knows all the plant we maintain. As we don't use it yet, I can only repeat what they starting telling us before the server crashed. We switch them on every morning, then log in before we leave home, place it into travelling mode (non-productive time) and then log on site when we get there. On maintenance we then have to open and close every job we do (each indoor unit, each outdoor unit) and have it signed off. We have to log lunch-times. We have to do the jobs in the order the system shows them.

[acnerd]

continued....

If two engineers attend the same site, they have different job numbers. If the customer asks me for a quick look at a faulty unit, I have to turn them down, unless they log a call-out. In which case I have to log the current maintenance job as in-complete, then log in the call-out, look at the job, then log out the call-out, then log back in to the last maintenance job I was on. Get the picture?? Freaking nightmare!!

Latte: sounds very similar to ours; you're not on the orange network are you? It's not the best and that's what we will have on these pda's.

Our job is complicated enough without all this nonsense too. Was much happier when I worked for a small company!

[multisync]

Multisync: over the last few months we have been furiously updating the asset lists so that the system knows all the plant we maintain. As we don't use it yet, I can only repeat what they starting telling us before the server crashed. We switch them on every morning, then log in before we leave home, place it into travelling mode (non-productive time) and then log on site when we get there. On maintenance we then have to open and close every job we do (each indoor unit, each outdoor unit) and have it signed off. We have to log lunch-times. We have to do the jobs in the order the system shows them.

Crumbs that's a bit over the top. I hope we don't have to go that far.
What have you got exactly?
We have trackers already so we're used to them.
One of the suggestions was a digital pen which writes the jobsheet then beams it back to hq via your mobile..

http://www.destinyplc.com/flash/#/th...lpen/overview/

[glenn1340]

Trackers.... I wonder if the manager`s cars have them. The day my boss says he`s fitting them is the day I look for another job. They`re just another excuse to watch us. What`s the next step microchips under our skin like dogs have?

[Brian_UK]

It did start getting a bit silly when we were told to start telling our scheduler when we would be going for lunch.

I think that fell over when we couldn't contact the scheduler because they were at lunch. Well, damn me, they didn't tell me about it.

It almost reached the stage where I was going to ask permission for a dump but realised that the scheduler is just another poor mutt like me but with a lot less training.

We now have most guys sitting in their vans reading magazines or newspapers killing time before moving on the the next job or going home.

One aspect which I don't know how you guys feel but.... Sorry maybe

Writing up a break-down type job which is naturally an hourly charge item you would expect to show your times on the report sheet, yes?

Now if doing a PPM would you show your hours on the report sheet or not?

I ask because I feel that a PPM item has been timed/priced and as such as long as the job is done properly then it is charged for at the agreed rate.
Now, without trying to fiddle the client, if you show your time on site you open the door to the client equating the charge with the time spent. Sometimes it will be in their favour and sometimes it will be in the firms but if the client is smart he can start saving money and the firm starts losing it.

If you don't show your PPM time then, providing the work is done, you either get to go home earlier or get to start the next job/task sooner thereby making more money.

[acnerd]

Crumbs that's a bit over the top. I hope we don't have to go that far.
What have you got exactly?
We have trackers already so we're used to them.
One of the suggestions was a digital pen which writes the jobsheet then beams it back to hq via your mobile..

http://www.destinyplc.com/flash/#/th...lpen/overview/

I know very little, had a go on them for 1 hour where they showed us how to log 1 call-out, and how to apply for holiday. It's an oversized PDA, comes with a bar-code scanner, and can be used as a phone, although the latter two are not used. We will be able to access the internet and our company e-mails. It will be on the orange network.

I have heard about the digital pens. Sounds much simpler and the office gets your job details quickly. No more losing paperwork, so it speeds the system up ... without over-complicating it.

[kev99]

the top brass on my company have gone to hand held devices and should have gone live last month,but its all fallen over,[shame].there now talking about febuary,i still cant see how something with so little surport with engineers and lower level managment can work.

[coolhibby1875]

the drive in pda and shuch like is more aimed at delivering real time information back to the customers i,e getting paid quicker, most supermarkets demand real time info from there contractors, The downside of this for the likes of us is that these devices can also be used to catch the people who tend to have a magic pen that books hours that are not worked.

[kev99]

Rumor and engineers gossip says that our company has wasted 8 million on development on hand held devices for us.Something that will be less effective / flexable than a trained help desk.But they were very quick to say no pay rises or christmas bonus .

BAA HUMBUG