Smart Equipment 101: The Basic Building Blocks for Getting Started with Connected Field Service

A 2019 Field Service Post-Webinar Report

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Meet the AuthorMichael MendozaField Service Practi ce Lead

mmendoza@hitachisoluti ons.comwww.linkedin.com/in/mikeoza

Over 70 Field Service Customers across 20 Countries, 10 Languages in diverse industries that include Oil and Gas Field Services, Industrial Equipment Services, Medical Devices, Security, Manufacturing, High Tech, and 65% share of the North American Residential HVAC market.

Field Users Worldwide

Years in Field Service

Dedicated Field Service Team

15K+ 16+ 60+

Introduction

As fi eld service organizations transition towards a more connected service paradigm, they need building blocks for smart, connected equipment and machines to begin their progress. Identifying these foundational pieces begins with a review of IoT, predictive analytics, machine learning, and other technology applications; but also with a conversation about transitioning towards the outcome-based models that customers demand today.

When manufacturers and distributors prioritize not simply products, but business outcomes for their customers, their fi eld service teams must take a more holistic view of their environments and explore how a more connected architecture adds value to customers’ enterprises.

Consider these essenti al questi ons:

How do I build a foundati on for a more connected environment?

What are the diff erent pathways and specifi c steps to achieving this goal?

What are the contextual factors that will shape my transiti on, and what insights can help?

How can I achieve an outcome-based approach to my fi eld service operati ons?

This guide offers an in-depth view of the foundational elements that support a more connected service enterprise and will help you position yourself for the outcome-based solutions your customers want and demand.

What to expect in this report

There are several factors to understanding and deploying a connected equipment environment. This guide touches on the key concepts you need to take the next steps:

Understand the fundamental elements of connected equipment, and why they’re important for a Connected Field Service platf orm

Learn the tools that make connecti ng the data and insights from your equipment a quick and easy process

Develop a roadmap for adopti ng the right technologies, connecti ng fi eld service operati ons, and delivering business value beyond products alone

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The connected equipment value chain starts with sensor-centered devices—whether they come from PLCs, gateways, or clouds—which hold equipment data. You can use these connected environments to leverage equipment data and their contexts, then develop insights that drive value-add behaviors for your customers.

This action paradigm becomes a foundation for scaling connected environments and applying these principles to specific scenarios. These might include unique applications of certain product subsets, the strategic introduction of new products, or the development of predictive maintenance and other new capabilities.

The Connected Equipment Value Chain

When you achieve a connected equipment value chain, you create more opportuniti es to opti mize equipment and its performance. Whether applied to the build, service, or parts replenishment side of service, driving these insights supports the opti mizati on of those processes.

Operati ons• Optimize equipment, connectivity

and parts data

• Consolidate data and user experiences

Processes• Customer experience process

redesign

• Service process redesign

• Data and back office process redesign

Models• Start predicting failures and

proposing resolutions

• Find more efficiency in the service process

• Optimize resources and schedules

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The Foundation for Transformation

ThingsConnect your devices and

get data from them

InsightsTurn your data

into information

ActionTurn information into

action by incorporating it into your workfl ows

83%83% of manufacturers said that service-based business models would help them sell more2

1 Aberdeen Group, 20172 Columbus Global, 20173 According to more than 270 fi eld service software implementation case studies and vendor references collected by Gartner from December 2015 to December 2016. Results may not be typical. (Technician Productivity N=15, Common % 15-20)

4 Data Center Journal, 2015

12%Best-in-class fi eld service

organizations used IoT technology to increase in worker productivity

by 12%1

Why Are Companies Moving to Outcome-Based Service?Value derived from outcome-based service models

12%An effective preventative maintenance program delivers average savings of over 12%4

25%Connected Field Service increased

technician productivity by an average of 25%3

These principles can be mapped to all supply models and supply chains. Many of Hitachi’s customers are moving into an outcome-based model as a result of these practices, where they are guaranteeing uptime, production levels, and output. They’re managing and taking care of both equipment and consumables, as well as predicting failures. Companies taking this journey

are also managing to a margin rather than simply making equipment.

As managers increasingly transition to outcome-based models, competition no longer depends simply on price. Customers expect these approaches; they are demanding different ways to maximize the value of the products they buy.

Many of Hitachi’s customers are moving into an outcome-based model as a result of these practi ces

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Addressing Connectivity Challenges

Here, we review six of the most pressing challenges to fi eld service teams seeking to achieve a connected equipment value chain that drives successful outcome-based service models.

Highly dispersed device environments. Companies that have highly-dispersed environments may have devices they’d like to connect that are up to 30 years old. Some of these devices may not align with a standardized protocol or speak the same languages as other, more contemporary devices. As companies work to optimize their device environments, they must determine whether they will retrofi t these devices or replace them.

Constantly evolving platf orm of architectures. In the past fi ve years, the industry has evolved to incorporate more platform architecture. There are more players, more providers, and more platform stacks entering the ecosystem. Organizations must learn what value new platforms are delivering versus others in order to keep up.

Disparate technology frameworks.Companies managing non-compatible technologies must manage different standards, protocols, and languages, all of which add to the complexity of delivering on customers’ evolving expectations.

Repurposing legacy technology stacks. Repurposing legacy technologies is becoming popular as companies us IoT to increase the effi cacy of these devices and systems. However, this method can create inconsistencies with implementation and limitations to organizations’ capabilities.

Volume, velocity, and variety of IoT data. This is a common challenge and concern in the industry, but there are several ways to manage and utilize large quantities of IoT data. The ownership of data is a business-model-specifi c subject, a common challenge which companies should prioritize as they move towards outcome-based service models.

Organizati onal resources and development tools. While most organizations have some understanding in this area, most struggle to source all organizational resources, tools, and skill sets that could improve their connected environments. Companies must be able to retain skills, hire new staff, and acquire new resources that lend themselves to an outcome-based service model.

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Edge intelligence represents one’s knowledge of opportunities to adopt winning standards and ecosystems. Acquiring this knowledge requires a great deal of market and comparative research, but companies need edge intelligence to do smarter networking and internal prioritizing.

It’s only with suffi cient edge intelligence that stakeholders can adopt the right network connecti vity.

Network connectivity encompasses all aspects of one’s equipment network, including implementation methodology, communications tools and protocols, and network design.

Of course, market knowledge and even the best connectivity solutions are only foundational to driving business value. Even upon establishing expertise and strategies in these areas, fi eld service teams must

determine how they will manage their data in a way the provides contextual information about their devices. This will allow companies to determine how to move forward. That may mean going in a different direction, where premade platforms may become valuable.

Understanding the marketplace for networks and devicesTo beat these obstacles, companies must categorize what’s available in the marketplace, using broad strokes to establish how they will begin their transformation. Start with an assessment of your readiness for IoT and connected devices as you develop your business case.

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Network ConnectivityEdge Intelligence

Data Acquisition Enablement• Control System Integration• New Sensor Specifi cation• Sensor Sales & Sourcing• Installation & Setup• Sensor Warranty Management

Equipment Interface• Sensor Hardware• Control Systems Interface Software

IoT Networking• Site Surveying• IoT Network Design• Communication Integration• Network Implementation

Communications• Azure IoT Gateways• Edge Devices• Protocols Managers

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How Hitachi Solutions Guides Your JourneyAt Hitachi, we recommend companies start this journey with small steps.

Begin by testing, determining the effort levels involved, and connecting devices that will get you to value quickly. Strategize—determine the actions you’ll take and understand the value you’ll get from those actions. Do this in a systematic fashion. In time, you will have an optimally connected equipment value chain.

Step 1Use IoT Hub to capture data

from smart sensors embedded within devices that provide

real-time or near real-time data

Step 4Use descriptive and predictive

data points to enhance quality control processes with

process/problem specifi c algorithms

Customer Current StateReactively monitor and

respond to device failures

Step 2Load historic IoT data where

available for accelerated Machine Learning & AI

Step 5Optimize resource

mobilization and automate service/maintenance processes

Step 3Enable live data points via

alerts and Machine Learning to provide predictive

maintenance indicators

Step 6Complete customer case

study; Review impact (revenue, operational effi ciency) gain

expected/achieved

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We begin with all our customers by qualifying the data and measuring its connectivity. We identify the scope of what they’re trying to accomplish—what questions they need to answer—before we get into more advanced business and use cases.

As they move forward, the equipment itself needs to be monitored, measured and maintained. The connected equipment paradigm allows companies to do that.

So, how do you get there? This depends on your foundational building blocks. With the right platform, you can abstract the complexity of your connected environment and consolidate all information.

The first step is sourcing this information. As a consumer of that data, it can come from multiple sources. You must understand all the processes and architectures involved. When you can abstract that data quickly, you can begin to add context to your environment—you can take all the events and properties, subscribe to them, and define them.

Once you’ve abstracted protocols for individual devices, you can begin qualifying the results. You can create context for summarizing, and begin to understand profiles, sensor models, and simulation models. This allows you to synthesize value.

The next step is identifying how you can create a predictive model based on the data and the context of that data. You can orchestrate multiple plants, improve the supply chain and consumables, and go deeper into your business processes.

Finally, optimize your resources for mobilization, automation, and predictive maintenance processes. Hitachi works with you to transition to an outcome-based model in which improving customer experiences, resolving customer issues, and reducing service costs are central to the end-goal of innovating your service model to meet the evolving demands of your service environment.

With the right platf orm, you can abstract the complexity of your connected environment and consolidate all informati on.

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Summary and Next Steps

Connected equipment delivers the insights

and intelligence needed for connected

fi eld service.

A trusted, experienced

technology partner can help make

the transition easy, straightforward, and

stress-free.

Connected fi eld service enables organizations to transform into

proactive, outcome-based service models.

Reach out to Hitachi Solutions

today to start your connected fi eld service journey.

You now have a better understanding of how a connected environment provides data, how you can develop insights and create context using that data, and how you can take action based on patterns as they unfold.

Start with test actions, and then move on to reconnecting your edge devices. Take that data management focus on use-case development, value analysis, pilot programs, rapid development, and establishing the minimums for what is viable—then you can begin to iterate very quickly.

It’s important that connected devices provide not only data but also insight. Insight and context are key to making sense of the data from your connected environment. Once you have that context, you can frame the data correctly and begin delivering value. It’s a foundational step to transforming your business model and achieving a successful, outcome-based model for the future.

1 2 3 4

It’s important that connected devices provide not only data but also insight.

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About the Authors

Hitachi Soluti ons America, Ltd. is a business application consulting fi rm and trusted provider of vertical industry solutions built on the Microsoft Cloud. We are passionate about helping Service-based companies successfully compete and thrive, using powerful, easy-to-use, and innovative Field Service Solutions enhanced with world-class IoT, Mobility, Business Analytics, Portals, and more. Hitachi Solutions America provides global capabilities with regional offi ces in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Japan, China, and Asia Pacifi c. Visit us and learn more: htt ps://us.hitachi-soluti ons.com/fi eldservice-partner

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