IoT in Home Services

How new technology is changing the delivery of Home Services

There is no doubt the in-today’s world, technology is ever changing which impacts how customers and business interact with each other. The evolution of IoT, drones and wearable tech is changing how businesses deliver their services particularly in the Home Services industry. These new technologies have the potential to allow this industry to improve the customer experience with proactive monitoring, enhanced trouble shooting capabilities and incident resolution. Now let’s look how the introduction of these technologies impacts Home Services.

A typical service call:

With Home Service organization, there are typically two type of service calls.  There is the provisioning or service call which involves a company delivering and installing a new product.  In this scenario, it usually involves a sales resource selling the product and an installation service in which the technician executes the delivery of the product to the home and then installs the product. It could be window and doors, roofing, a new deck, an appliance or a home entertainment system. The second type of service call is repair or service assurance call which is initiated by the customer calling into a call center with an agent engaging in some basic troubleshooting which results in an appointment for a technician visit to resolve the issue. The technician visits the home and in the ideal situation resolves or repairs the issue. Repairs can range from a leak in your roof, malfunctioning appliances or your HVAC system.

With the latest developments in technology:

“Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2017, up 31 percent from 2016, and will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. Total spending on endpoints and services will reach almost $2 trillion in 2017.”

Consumer Applications to Represent 63 Percent of Total IoT Applications in 2017

“2018 onwards, cross-industry devices, such as those targeted at smart buildings (including LED lighting, HVAC and physical security systems) will take the lead as connectivity is driven into higher-volume, lower cost devices.” Gardner Inc.

Tomorrow’s service call could look like:

With the introduction of IoT, smart or intelligent devices which includes but not limited to; thermostats, home entertainment systems, lighting, home security and appliances have the capability to notify the Home Service companies that have service contract with that customer when an incident that requires a service call is need. The Home Service company through their Field Service Management application that is connected to the smart devices notifications, then has the ability to contact the customer and arrange a service call before the customer is impacted by that specific smart device. When the Home Service technician show up for the scheduled appointment he or she is already aware the issue and has the diagnostic data attach to the service order via the Field Service Managements mobile client. Depending on the type of device being serviced, drones or wearable tech may further assist the technician in diagnosing the issue and resolving it more quickly which I will explain in more detail in my upcoming articles. By leveraging these technologies, it allows Home Service companies to know the issue, pro-actively address the customer’s need for service and increase the effectiveness of the Technician ability to resolve the issue on the first visit. The result is the delivery of better service and a customer experience.

The Challenges ahead

The latest annual digital transformation report conducted by IDC Canada, SAP Canada indicates the most Canadian companies from Enterprise to Small businesses are aware of the need for initiating Digital Transformation efforts but have yet to act. Some of the major reasons are cost of infrastructure and effort of internal resource required for a successful implementation. There is no doubt that impact and need to begin and execute these initiatives will be a key factor in maintaining a competitive edge over their competitors.

The question becomes more of how to implement these new technologies then when.

References:

Gartner Says 8.4 Billion Connected "Things" Will Be in Use in 2017, Up 31 Percent From 2016

Drone technology: Transforming Field Service

Welcome to the drone age
Drones in field service
Agriculture, oil & gas and hydro
Home and commercial services
Commercial HVAC services
The future

The other day I was at my son’s soccer practice. As some of the parents and I were watching them practice, I heard a sound over head: a drone with a camera. One of the fathers was taking a video of his son from a bird’s eye view. That very same weekend, I was at one of the local beaches with my family and I saw a few drones fly overhead several times through out the day, possibly the lifeguards using to get better view of the number of people in the water or any other important observations that would help them with their job.

The number of drones circulating overhead is expected to triple in the next four years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's aerospace forecast for 2016 to 2036. The FAA estimates hobbyist and commercial drones in the U.S. will increase from 2.5 million to 7 million by 2020. (source: time.com)

Drones, more formally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are going beyond military and personal uses and are now being used to assist with tasks that are typically tedious, hard to reach or dangerous. The applications and activities that drones can be used for are far reaching and touch on many industry sectors. Below are just some of the examples where, with the right software and equipment, drones could be deployed to drive real commercial value, increasing productivity and reducing costs.

These are industries where large distances need to be covered and terrain and elevation are factors.  Current drone technology can help field technicians assess, sectionalize and provide important data which ultimately helps to improve repair time and efficiency contributing to KPIs such as increased first time fixed rates.

In the real estate sector, drones could allow home inspectors to investigate high to reach places with poor accessibility such as steep and flat rooves as well as chimneys. The drone would allow the inspector to carefully examine their condition and identify any potential issues. It would also provide roofing and chimney repair service companies to conduct a more detailed assessment for their customers.

In this industry, drones could limit the need for setting up scaffolding, scissor lifts as well as reduce the use of multiple technicians. This would result in significantly shorter inspection times, improved repair times and increased technician productivity. Smaller drones with proper lighting and sensors could be used to inspect ducts and equipment in plants and large buildings with kilometers of duct work, resulting is significant savings.

Whatever the industry sector, drones can provide powerful data and visuals for better decision making.  By integrating information captured by a drone into a Field Service Management platform, technicians have access to accurate and detailed data to help effectively trouble shoot, diagnose and resolve technical issues. Leveraging drone-based imagery can provide Field Service organizations with more detailed information and metrics to help optimize their business and provide improved customer service. Combining technologies like drones, computer imagery processing and IoT will provide a whole new level of working environment for the future. 

To learn more about real business scenarios and the benefits of harnessing the power of drone technology, watch this short video from IFS labs.