OGPN - Feature = Stories - Rogers Business Solutions / Emerson Process Management

New wireless solution delivered = through=20 Rogers mForms dramatically reduces paperwork, improves invoice times and = increases overall customer satisfaction for service technicians in the = oil and=20 gas sector

by Lee Toop=20

The clipboard =96 a staple of company trucks all = over, its=20 stack of wrinkled and scrawled forms a regular appearance on job sites = and in=20 the office. Almost every company has forms that need to be filled out, = for=20 maintenance requests, billing, and all kinds of other tasks. That = paperwork can=20 be a time sink, especially for people working in the field who have to = spend=20 time finishing them off either on their own time or back in the = office.

A=20 partnership between Rogers Wireless and TrueContext could just cut the = amount of=20 paperwork done in the field by letting those employees fill out their = forms on=20 handheld computers =96 a process that could save time, money and piles = of=20 paperwork.

Rogers mFORMS system is a software package that can be = installed on handheld devices (currently available for Windows Mobile = Pocket=20 PC=92s; a Blackberry version to will be released soon), allowing field = workers to=20 get rid of their clipboards and produce professional forms on site = before=20 transmitting them wirelessly back to the office. =93We=92ve been looking = at field=20 forms enablement for several years now; the challenge has been that = it=92s=20 expensive to do,=94 explained Mansell Nelson, Vice President, Business=20 Development, Rogers Business Solutions. =93You had to buy expensive = middleware, do=20 systems inte-gration=85 it was only for big companies who could amortize = that=20 cost. We weren=92t selling a lot of the stuff, and it was only to big = enterprise=20 clients. We came to the conclusion that, drawing on the success of the=20 Blackberry, we needed to make this a lot simpler to do.=94 Rogers worked = with=20 TrueContext, a provider of mobile business solutions that developed the=20 underlying application, and HP, which provides the hosting for the = solution, to=20 develop the concept of a forms solution that could be easily implemented = and=20 accessed through a wireless format.

The result is a packaged = solution=20 that provides an easy-to-use application for field workers who can fill = out=20 forms, either basic templates or custom designed, on the spot, then = transmit=20 them through the mForms server and back to the office, where they can be = quickly=20 processed. =93The middleware solutions have usually been for 250 users = and up, and=20 what we=92re seeing now is that small companies, some with less than ten = users,=20 are being attracted to mForms. But, we are also in the midst of a = deployment to=20 some companies of 500 and up,=94 Nelson said.

Essentially, the = customers=20 only need the compatible handhelds and access to back-office operating = systems=20 where the relayed forms will be sent. The reduction in capital costs = means=20 Rogers has the opportunity to provide pilot projects for companies that = would=20 not have been able to afford larger systems.

One company that has = picked=20 up mForms in an industry with plenty of paperwork handled by field = employees is=20 Emerson Process Management. The oil and gas sector is a key target for = this=20 turnkey mobility solution, and according to Reg Buffet, Emerson General = Manager,=20 Instrument and Valve Services, mForms has thus far proven to be a good=20 selection. =93We have field service technicians that can be gone two, = three, four=20 weeks at a time. We do our sales through a sales channel =96 we=92re = constantly=20 having to give them our invoices and quote out what our work in the = field is=20 going to cost. Our guys in the field would be finished their work on = site for=20 two or three weeks and we wouldn=92t be invoicing them yet because the = guys had to=20 get back into the shop and do their paperwork,=94 Buffet said. =93This = helps out our=20 techs =96 they=92re not coming back into the office with three or four = days of=20 paperwork to do so we can get our billing out.=94 Buffet said Emerson = has been=20 doing some field testing before the busy season startsthis spring. The = company=20 provided Rogers with copies of the forms that are normally filled out = during=20 field service work, which were then converted to electronic versions = accessible=20 through the handheld devices. Basic off-the-shelf forms are also = available.=20 Users then only need to open the program and can get to work on the = spot. =93You=20 can have the forms there or have work pushed out to you by the = dispatcher so=20 it=92s on the machine when you turn it on=85 the ten jobs you need to do = come up,=20 you click on the job, and the form comes up,=94 Nelson described. =93The = sections of=20 the PDA document are broken up like a traditional form might be = sectioned out,=20 with drop-down menus and other items preloaded for the users. These = technicians=20 are filing the forms out in a much more complete and accurate manner = than they=20 were with traditional paper-based systems.=94 Buffet said Emerson is = finding the=20 mForms is a cleaner and easier way for technicians to work. =93Anything = electronic=20 is better than anyone=92s handwriting =96 guyswho have worked in the = field for 12 to=20 14 hours, the notes and the way they fill out the document can get a = little=20 sloppy,=94 he noted. =93This makes it more of a professional = presentation to the=20 customer, with the bill and the charges all laid out.=94 Once the form = is=20 completed, Emerson customers can sign off on charges on the spot using = the=20 Pocket PC=92s device and data entry stylus, sending it wirelessly = through the=20 central server where it=92s passed along to a designated person in the = head=20 office, Buffet said. The server notifies that person by e-mail, and the = form can=20 be opened up, adjustments made, and the invoice sent out. =93The faster = I can get=20 my invoices out, that=92s a good plus =96 our head company is big on = circulating=20 cash flow quickly, so the quicker we get the invoices out, the faster we = get=20 paid,=94 he commented.

That speed in cash flow turnover helps = with return=20 on investment. =93If you look at the time the guys have to use sitting = in the=20 office doing paperwork, or sitting in a hotel room late at night, = sometimes it=92s=20 hard to put a dollar value to something like that,=94 Buffet = said.

Using=20 the Rogers Wireless network, mForms has a broad reach when it comes to = coverage,=20 Nelson noted. =93We=92ve got one national network that covers 94 percent = of the=20 population, so network coverage is not the issue it used to be,=94 he = said. =93And,=20 the system works offline, so if you need a blank form and fill that out, = if=20 you=92re an oilfield person in the middle of nowhere, when you come back = into=20 range it will automatically synchronize up. That=92s very important for = people who=20 are doing what I=92d call mission-critical work. Browser solutions when = you=92re out=20 of access are very limiting.=94 Oil and gas is just one of many sectors = that can=20 benefit from the mForms system, Nelson pointed out. =93It=92s one that = we=92re seeing=20 a lot of activity in =96 there are all sorts of forms, from health and = safety to=20 oilfield inspection,=94 he said. =93Anything that has a traditional = paper-based=20 system is ripe for this kind of thing.=94 mForms offers two distinctly = different=20 models: a straight out-of-the-box solution as well as a more customized = form=20 solution, both of which are simple to use, flexible and affordable, and = will=20 also be available on the BlackBerry.

Rogers Business = Solutions
RRC #1041

Emerson Process = Management
RRC #1042

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