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Utility Service Uses Mobile Tablets to Boost Productivity

Field Service Technicians Boost Productivity 28% with Mobile Tablet Computer

Utility Service selected DT Research’s WebDT 362 Mobile Tablet Computers for their outdoor field service and maintenance technicians. Technicians are not spending nearly as much time filling out forms for water tank inspections and maintenance reports.

 America’s Tank Maintenance Company!™mobile tablet being used in field service

Established in 1963, Utility Service Company, Inc. is the largest water tank service firm in the United States. Utility Service provides all aspects of tank asset management and maintenance including engineering services as well as renovations.

Utility Service manages and maintains water tanks across the country. The company’s Field Service Technicians are required to document all inspections and maintenance procedures for each tank. To continue providing the best possible service to clients while increasing worker productivity, Utility Service decided to apply a more efficient and automated reporting system.

Paper wasn’t cutting it

For a long time, Utility Service Field Technicians had been using paper forms during the inspection and maintenance process of each water tank. During inspections, the paper reports were often subjected to water, humidity, and outdoor environments involved with each task. After a service job was completed, the Technicians turned in all the corresponding forms and papers to their nearest service location. Here, a clerical worker would type each report into their software system and send it back to headquarters. Although this process was successful for quite some time, it soon became inefficient and tedious as the company grew. Utility Service needed a more reliable and efficient way to enter and maintain water tank reports and records.

Writing a Software Application

Utility Service decided to write a software application that would assist workers during the inspection and maintenance process. The software application was designed to automate inspection and maintenance reports to increase accuracy and productivity in the field. By eliminating pen and paper reports, clerical staff would no longer have to manually type each report into the system. With the software completed, they now needed a durable computer to take onsite. The software application required a full screen and a standard laptop just wasn’t cutting it.

Introducing Mobile Tablets to Field Service

After some research, Utility Service came to RMS Omega for assistance with a Mobile Tablet Computer with a full screen. In addition to a full screen, it was important that the computer was lightweight, easy for the technicians to handle, and needed to have good outdoor visibility for various weather conditions.

RMS Omega proposed DT Research’s WebDT 362 Mobile Tablet Computers. Before making a decision, Utility Service’s Management team brought in several different types of mobile computers for their field crew and tested each in their work environment. In the end, the Technicians selected the DT Research Tablet because of its ease of use, lightweight form factor, and outdoor screen visibility. The 362 was much easier to carry while other comparable tablets were over three pounds. Having to carry their computers up and down water towers along with the rest of their equipment made the decision easy.

Bringing the Solution Together – Implementing Mobile Tablets in Field Service Operations

Utility Service purchased the DT Research 362 Mobile Tablet Computers from RMS Omega. The company’s software was loaded and configured for each computer and then reintroduced to the Field Service Technicians. Technicians were trained and began conducting their daily reports. At the end of each day, the technicians report back to their service location where their data is synced and automatically uploaded into the system. The entire implementation process took approximately 3 months.

Since the completion of the implementation process, Utility Service has seen many benefits utilizing the WebDT 362 Tablet. The inspection and maintenance reports are being turned in on time. Worker productivity has increased by 15-30% and the technicians are not spending nearly as much time filling out forms. The company’s clerical staff no longer has to manually type in the Technician’s reports after each inspection saving several hours each day.

“After 6 months of good comparative analysis, we have seen a 28% increase in throughput since the units were implemented.” – David Al-Khazraji, Utility Service