Explore what remote monitoring for service looks like in action. This article presents in-depth data and examples of real-world results, read on to learn how ThingWorx Industrial Innovation Platform can quickly enable businesses like yours:
- Solve service issues before they happen with predictive analytics
- Gain in-depth data on customers’ machine use and tool performance
- Reduce truck rolls and create more prepared technicians
Quick Wins and Long-Term Results with Remote Monitoring for Service
Table of contents
Solving Problems Before They Happen
Predictive Service
Immediate Solutions to Complex Repairs
Optimized Field Service
Future-Forward Servicing Ecosystem
Revenue-Driving Service Model
ThingWorx is Your Service Differentiator
Manufacturing service professionals are problem-solvers, code-breakers and translators. To fix a machine that is unexpectedly offline, under-performing, out-of-range or otherwise anomalous, service technicians need to be fluent in the machine’s language. And for industrial equipment, that language is real-time, accurate and accessible data.
Remote monitoring gives your machines a louder and stronger voice. They can tell you what’s gone wrong—or what’s about to go wrong—so you can fix it before your customer experiences any inefficiencies or downtime. Remote monitoring through an Internet of Things (IoT) platform enables your business to:
- Improve first-time fix rates (FTFR)
- Decrease mean-time-to-repair (MTTR)
- Increase customer satisfaction
- Streamline predictive maintenance
- Create a future-forward servicing model that supports innovation and new revenue streams
Remote data, which can track performance, failure reasons, and potential fixes, provides service technicians with the answers to solve customer problems faster.” – Aly Pinder Jr., Senior Research Analyst Service Management, Aberdeen Group
These benefits help turn your service into an invaluable asset for gaining and retaining customers. With today’s remote monitoring tools, you can sell your customers on more than just products—you can sell them improved plant floor uptime for a more profitable and productive factory, at a lower cost of machine ownership.
Remote monitoring is changing service models across the industry, and service organizations that do not embrace this new technology will rapidly fall behind more savvy competitors. Here are just a few of the ways that remote monitoring provides quick wins for immediate ROI—while helping you create a long-term strategy towards future service optimization.
- 23% of manufacturing service leaders have adopted a proactive maintenance approach, focused on product monitoring
- 38% of manufacturing service leaders have adopted a preventative maintenance approach
- 40% of Top 100 discrete manufacturers plan to provide Product as a Service platforms
- 70% of global discrete manufacturers were estimated to offer connected products by 2017
Solving Problems Before They Happen
What It Looks Like
Machines that seamlessly send real-time performance data to service professionals, who can then assess, analyze and act on issues before they become problems. With a centralized remote monitoring platform, service teams can easily leverage the diagnostics and sensor data that they need to become more proactive and less reactive. Technicians can detect faults and prevent downtime before it occurs—and often before the customer is aware of any issue. Predictive data also provides a holistic pattern for technicians, so they are better able to understand and monitor usage, performance, target parameters, productivity and more.
Real-World Results
With proactive maintenance through remote monitoring, a leading elevator servicing organization has achieved an 88% FTFR—high above the industry average of 60%.
Predictive Service
Quick Win: Cost-Savings
Long-Term: Extended Machine Life
Reactive Repairs: Technicians get a call from an unhappy customer whose machine is malfunctioning and causing downtime. The technician makes their repairs, and the problem is resolved—with no further analysis of trending issue data or insight into contributing factors that could further impact the machine or other equipment.
Proactive Prevention: Technicians monitor equipment based on data sent directly from machines and can address malfunctions before they happen. After maintenance, technicians continue to collect data for trend analysis and gain insights into a wider picture of general maintenance and service needs— both across a single customer’s toolset and across all deployed equipment.
Excessive Machine Wear-and-Tear: Industrial machinery is built to run in harsh environments, but it’s not invincible. Breakage and repair strains can reduce equipment longevity— leading to frustration for customers who want to maximize ROI and productivity.
Extended Machine Life: Catching issues early—or preventing them altogether—means less overall wear-and-tear from breakage and invasive servicing. Equipment runs smoother and lasts longer, so customers gain more ROI—and remain loyal with future contracts when equipment does need to be replaced.
Immediate Solutions to Complex Repairs
What It Looks Like
Technicians always have real-time utilization, performance and failure data at their finger-tips. They receive in-depth product performance information from all deployed machines, so they can go into the field with data-based readiness, instead of relying on customer analysis of machine issues. With real-time data—and the ability to interact with the equipment fully remotely, for some issues—technicians can maximize repair efficiency.
Real-World Results
With more in-depth insights through remote monitoring, Diebold Inc. A global leader in integrated self-service delivery and security systems and services—resolves 17% of service issues remotely, reducing the average time to repair by 83% and decreasing equipment downtime by 15%.
We needed to provide service more efficiently and cost effectively while delivering higher uptime and productivity to our customers, improving their revenue opportunity. Remote service software would allow us to service machines and respond to issues within minutes as opposed to sending a technician on site every time there is a problem. Finally, when we do need to dispatch a technician, we can eliminate unnecessary downtime by remotely diagnosing the problems while the technician is en route to the ATM.” – Shelly Ewing, Senior Product Manager of Service Product Management, Diebold, Inc
Optimized Field Service
Quick Win: Cost- and Time-Savings
Long-Term: Increased Customer Satisfaction
Reactive, Expensive Field Service: Technicians need to visit the customer’s site to diagnose and address problems accurately. Often, when a technician arrives on-site, they don’t have the exact parts they need because they were given partial or incorrect information about the issue. And if it is a complicated or unexpected repair, the time and money sinks can increase exponentially.
Proactive, Prepared Technicians: Technicians can identify the correct issue, part and solution before they get on-site—saving time and money for you and your customers.
Volatile Customer Satisfaction: Technicians and customers struggle to prevent downtime and preempt product failure. Incorrect diagnoses, slow resolution times and low FTFR lead to poor customer satisfaction.
Proven Value and Increased Satisfaction: Technicians come fully prepared, leading to improved FTFR, MTTR and overall customer satisfaction. Customers’ uptime rates increase in turn, adding value to your service reputation and securing contract renewals.
Future-Forward Servicing Ecosystem
What It Looks Like
Technicians optimize their remote monitoring processes and gain confidence in role-based customizations. They find creative new solutions to old problems—adapting and improving service in ways that support each unique mission. And as they discover new benefits to remote monitoring and IoT connectivity, they unlock deeper analytics, more profitable contracts and additional revenue streams.
Real-World Results
Building on their remote monitoring solution, Trane2—a leading manufacturer of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems and building management systems—has improved the profitability of their service business by enabling new service levels and higher-tiered service contracts that improve margins. Beyond efficient servicing, Trane now delivers guarantees of 99% uptime and a reduction in client energy costs— both made possible by remote monitoring and IoT data.
Now we describe our mission not in internally focused terms of product quality, profit goals or market share, but as ‘helping our customers make their buildings better for life.’ That’s the life of the building as well as the lives within the building.” – Dane Taival, Vice President of Building Services and Customer Care, Trane
Revenue-Driving Service Model
Quick Win: Increased Profitability
Long-Term: Industry-Leading Reputation
Stagnant, Traditional Service: Service that meets customer needs, but doesn’t anticipate how those needs will change and grow with new technology.
Scalable, Customizable Servicing Models: Remote monitoring initiatives open the door for advanced, scalable operational processes that create revenue and are ready for next-gen servicing opportunities.
Steady Service Goals: A servicing department that meets its goals, but doesn’t reach beyond those metrics. While meeting customer needs is vital and valuable, keeping steady can really mean falling behind as competitors onboard remote monitoring and IoT technology.
Proven Value and Increased Satisfaction: An advanced service ecosystem that raises the bar for competitors and positions the servicing department as a revenue-driving leader across the company—and even the industry.
ThingWorx is Your Service Differentiator
The ThingWorx Industrial Innovation Platform has helped customers all over the world improve their service initiatives through remote monitoring. Purpose-built with reliable, feature-rich IoT solutions, ThingWorx enables you to quickly optimize your service and operational processes via a single platform with user-friendly development tools and advanced, role-based remote monitoring capabilities.
ThingWorx provides centralized remote connectivity, so service teams can do their best work using an industrial IoT platform that provides the most relevant data for their job. ThingWorx can easily connect to all your assets—no matter the device or location—and requires minimal IT interventions (if any). And ThingWorx is user-friendly and accessible to everyone across your enterprise: from technicians focused on the nitty-gritty, in-depth data to C-Suite professionals who want a higher-level view of department metrics.
ThingWorx Capabilities:
- Real-time asset monitoring
- Critical alert notifications for service issues
- Diagnostics to assist with issue resolution
- Role-based apps for focused data access
ThingWorx Benefits:
- Increased equipment uptime
- Reduced service visits
- The scalable, future-forward service solution
- Foundation for new business models
- Improved customer satisfaction and contract renewals
Remote monitoring helps service providers optimize field service delivery, reduce costs and improve customer trust and satisfaction. The deeper data integration enabled by ThingWorx remote monitoring provides immediate insights—while creating a foundation for long-term service model improvements built on preventative maintenance.
Faster Service Delivery:
- 50% Reduction in the meantime to repair
- 50% Reduction in case resolution time
Reduced Cost Of Service:
- 15 – 30% Reduction in truck rolls
- 15 – 40% Reduction in unplanned downtime
- 66% Reduction in service requests
Growth in Service Revenue:
- 12 – 30% Increase in service contract renewals
- Increase 33% in customer satisfaction
Source: PTC
