Video Solutions Have ROI In Field Service
By Ally Kutz, contributing writer
Video solutions for surveillance and intelligence are gaining popularity in field service. A Business Solutions article reports the enterprise mobile video collaboration market is predicted to grow at a rate of 113 percent into 2017.
“Many sectors in the industry are taking advantage of video as a tool to reduce downtime, shorten the turnaround time, reduce cost, and hence lead to a more streamlined business and happier customers,” said Resolution Tube founder and CEO Arnav Anand in a Field Technologies Online (FTO) article.
Commercial Carrier Journal reports truck fleets are finding the technology to be “a way to protect themselves and their drivers from the ever-present threat of litigation.”
Commercial Carrier Journal senior editor Aaron Huff writes, “Video intelligence platforms are designed to capture a short clip of incidents before and after a trigger event such as speeding, swerving, and sudden deceleration. They also capture data from such events and deliver an efficient way to manage risk …”
He points out that solutions are available that “expand the view” by not only including forward-facing cameras, but also cameras capable of providing views around the vehicle and services that can retrieve video within a certain timeframe of an event.
Video also can be leveraged for other purposes.
The article points out there are challenges when using video with field service, including connectivity and lighting conditions.
FTO lists a number of applications in the article “The Value Of Video In Field Service.” In the article, Aly Pinder Jr., senior research analyst for Aberdeen Group, points out field service organizations with technicians that must complete more than three jobs in a workday are most likely to choose video to coordinate their workforces.
Marieke Wijtkamp, vice president of Librestream Technologies, says getting information to field workers faster is another driver — to help them avoid making bad decisions on the road.
Wijtkamp adds, “… field service organizations are using video from the field as part of every inspection and service visit, saving a little time and money with each event. These companies have successfully built video into their work processes and use it to mentor staff in the field and to make better, more informed decisions.”
It is also a training tool — technicians can record calls and later use them for training sessions.
The article also points out, “Video solutions should also be simple and easy to use for the technicians and should provide low-latency video streaming that doesn’t frustrate the participants in the video call. If the solution is easy to use, it can be built into daily workflows to help improve the knowledge base and decision-making capabilities for technicians in the field.”