Chicago, IL, May 14, 2013 – FieldAware, a leading field service software company that drives business transformation for small to medium sized businesses, today announced the addition of Scott Latimer as Director, Finance and Operations. Mr. Latimer will lead the global financial management of the company and help drive its business performance. He will be responsible for creating the financial processes, policies and reporting that will help inform the performance and strategy of the business. Mr. Latimer will report directly to FieldAware CFO, Patrick Eric Murphy.

“We are very pleased to have Scott Latimer join our management team,” said Patrick Eric Murphy, FieldAware, CFO. “Scott has a proven track record of success helping global companies manage and grow their operations through strong financial discipline. FieldAware is committed to establishing itself as the clear category leader in field service automation and Scott’s addition will help enable our company to meet that objective.”

Mr. Latimer has 15 years of specialized experience in accounting and finance. He previously served as Senior Finance Manager for PepsiCo, Inc., where he oversaw all budget related activities for the international implementation of SAP. In this role, he created annual and long-term operating plans, managed the day-to-day budget and implemented financial processes and internal controls to ensure the integrity of financial records and reporting. Prior to that, he held roles in auditing with Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he focused on the consumer business industry, including a Fortune 50 retail client, as well a management role for the Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LP, specializing in forensic accounting investigations and purchase price disputes. Mr. Latimer is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the State of Illinois, and a Certified Fraud Examiner, and has achieved a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois – Urbana.

“I look forward to working with a strong leadership team with the shared commitment of helping FieldAware realize its goal of becoming the leading provider of SaaS-based field service management solutions,” said Latimer. “This is an impressive company that is realizing remarkable growth in a dynamic and exciting industry.”

Chicago, IL… March 27, 2013 – – FieldAware, a leading field service software company that drives business transformation for small to medium sized businesses, today announced the release of its crew-based scheduling functionality, addressing challenges for field service businesses of scheduling and time-tracking individual field service workers operating on crews or teams.  Building on the release of its Scheduler solution in late-2012, this advancement gives FieldAware the most people-centric solution in the field service management industry and further demonstrates the company’s continued investment in product development of its field service automation solution.

With development offices based in Dublin, Ireland, FieldAware specializes in providing solutions to help businesses transform their field service operations by automating field service management activities via its software-as-a-service (SaaS) product offering.  The latest product release offers key functionality that is developed with significant input from current FieldAware customers.

“For FieldAware, it is essential to get our customers deeply engaged in our product,” said Press Theriot, vice president, technical services for FieldAware. “We actively seek out suggestions from our customers to ensure that our product development provides value that is aligned with how their businesses operate.”

The FieldAware crew-based scheduling functionality gives field service companies the ability to assign a crew lead to a job with multiple field workers, provide dynamic job duration based on multiple workers contributing to the job at varying times, actively show the members of a crew on a job with multiple workers, provide the status of a job, and create a single invoice for a job that was completed with multiple workers – all through the FieldAware mobile app or on a web browser.

Added Theriot, “Our customers tell us that their field workers are the life blood of their business.  Jobs are important and customers pay the bills, but it is the company’s field workers that are the key to how our customers think about their operations. We are pleased to bring our crew-based scheduling offering, which delivers unique functionality focus on the people and crews of our customers.”

“FieldAware has been a key business partner for us over the past couple of years and we have openly provided them input into their product,” said Brian Borchardt, director of operations for Lakeland Building Services. “We expressed our desire to have scheduling that was focused on how our crews dynamically work on jobs, and we’re excited about how FieldAware’s crew-based scheduling will help improve our operational efficiency.”

Chicago, IL…March 7, 2013 – FieldAware today announced the launch of its field service management blog to focus on various aspects of managing a field service business. While many field service management blogs exist, only a handful focus properly to consider a perspective that balances the field technician with the field service company’s owner. The new blog fills a noticeable gap in the field service automation industry and allows FieldAware to bring forward the voices of technicians and business owners of field service companies. The blog is a natural extension to the FieldAware focus on the voice of the customer, working to understand the challenges of field operations and solve business issues with SaaS technology.

The blog will provide topical news, insights and observations covering a variety of topics, including trends in the application of technology to solve field management challenges and customer service through field workers. A key highlight of the FieldAware blog is the use of real world stories that come from its customer base about the daily challenges and accomplishments of field service. Just like the FieldAware customer base, the blog is expected to appeal to a broad base of industries with similar dynamics only found in field service operations. While the blog is expected to be highly informational, the FieldAware blog will also feature the humor that can be found in everyday field service operations.

“We build out product around the needs of our customers,” stated Ray Cunningham, Head of Product Development for FieldAware. “It seems natural that we would relay the experiences of our customers and the industry leaders we work with through this communication platform.”

In an effort to provide a broad range of commentary and perspective from professionals throughout the field service industry, guest bloggers will be an important feature of the FieldAware blog. Guest bloggers will be a mix of industry analysts and experienced professionals in the field service industry. The Guest bloggers will explore topics such as the limitations of growing a field business, leveraging technology for business growth and tips on gaining greater visibility into the customer site from the field.

Plano, TX… February 21, 2013 – – FieldAware, a leading field service software company that drives business transformation for small businesses, today announced the company’s continued investment in expanding the size and scope of its Plano, TX sales headquarter, in order to meet growing market demand.

Based in Dublin, Ireland, FieldAware specializes in providing solutions to help businesses transform their field service operations by automating field service management activities via its software-as-a-service (SaaS) product offering. FieldAware’s solution can be accessed at any time.  The FieldAware system utilizes smartphones and a natively developed mobile app for technicians and workers in the field.  The FieldAware system also features a web browser application that is used by officer workers and dispatchers of jobs and service calls. With thousands of global users, FieldAware is emerging as the high-growth provider of field service automation.

The company moved into newly renovated space in Plano, Texas in 2012 and since then has grown by more than 50 percent.  This rapid growth has fueled the hiring of a wide variety of professionals, with additional hiring planed throughout 2013.

“There continues to be an increasing demand for automated field service from small to medium service companies looking to improve their bottom line through efficient management of field service workers,” said Johnny Jones, Vice President of Sales for FieldAware. “FieldAware has experienced tremendous growth in the past year and continues to invest in expanding our operations in order to meet growing market demand.  We have built a strong sales team and assumed them under one of the best leadership teams in the industry.  We’ll continue to executing our vision, and we fully expect to become the category leader in field service automation very rapidly.”

FieldAware operates in a key technology corridor in Plano, Texas, accompanied by many other technology firms with significant presence, including Hewlett Packard, McAfee and Fonality. Added Jones, “Plano and the greater Dallas area is an excellent location for us to reach the broader market in the U.S. and abroad.

FieldAware plans to hire 40 percent additional staff for the Plano sales headquarters along with plans to double the office space in the coming months. In addition to growth in the Dallas area, FieldAware recently expanded operations with a business development and marketing office in Chicago, IL.

]]> http://www.fieldaware.com/2013/02/21/plano-office-expansion/feed/ 0 http://www.fieldaware.com/2013/01/29/business-transformation-award/ http://www.fieldaware.com/2013/01/29/business-transformation-award/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:22:22 +0000 Brendan Sullivan http://www.fieldaware.com/?p=6106 Streamlining Business Processes Results in $160,000 of Gains

Dallas, Texas… January 29, 2012 – FieldAware, a leading field service software company dedicated to helping service companies transform their businesses, announced that Cote’s Mechanical has been selected as the recipient of the inaugural Business Transformation Award.

The heating and cooling contractor based in Sanger, Texas, was chosen as the winner of the Business Transformation Award based on the innovative methods they implemented and improved the business by an estimated $160,000. Using FieldAware’s unique software solution, the company was able to reduce labor costs on administrative functions by $60,000 annually while gaining another $100,000 in business improvements by streamlining business processes and creating greater efficiencies.

“FieldAware specializes in providing affordable SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions to help service businesses streamline and enhance their field service operations,” said Brendan Sullivan, Chief Marketing Officer for FieldAware. “By helping small and medium size companies digitize their workflow and share this information via the Internet and Smartphone technology, we have seen many of our customers dramatically transform their entire businesses.”

Sullivan said FieldAware was witnessing a significant number of dramatic transformations in its customers’ businesses that they felt it was appropriate to create an award that recognizes the company achieving the most significant improvements.  The winner is selected based on an evaluation of key customers across a specific criteria set.

Cote Wyatt, owner of Cote’s Mechanical, said he was very honored to be selected for the award and credited FieldAware as being a key part of supporting his growing business. Cote said he had been running his business in the traditional way many contracting firms run their companies – technicians filled out paperwork in the field and then the office staff manually entered the information into the computer system.

“The old process took a lot of time and we were faced with a mound of paperwork everyday,” Cote complained. “If we didn’t make a change, I knew we’d never keep up with handling more than 60 jobs a day.”

With the FieldAware solution, Cote’s field techs and office personnel now share all information digitally in real-time. “We looked at several different options but FieldAware offered the best solution and fit our business structure. Within 30 days our entire company had the system down pat.”

“Beyond the savings from data entry and more efficient business processes, the FieldAware system gives us great visibility into every job,” Cote concluded.

The Business Transformation Award will be presented to Cote’s Mechanical at an award’s ceremony in Dallas on January 29^th during the AHR Expo. The Award will be presented annually to the service business that is most deserving of the honor.

With thousands of global users, FieldAware is a leading provider of field service management solutions and helps companies:

• Streamline the service scheduling process
• Increase field worker productivity
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Accelerate invoicing, automate timesheet reporting
• Generate lead opportunities in the field

“FieldAware seeks to recognize the leaders in the field service industry that stretch our system to get the maximum gains from broad adoption and application of our products,” Sullivan concluded.

]]> http://www.fieldaware.com/2013/01/29/business-transformation-award/feed/ 0 http://www.fieldaware.com/2013/01/16/fieldaware-to-showcase-innovative-field-service-solutions-at-the-2013-ahr-expo/ http://www.fieldaware.com/2013/01/16/fieldaware-to-showcase-innovative-field-service-solutions-at-the-2013-ahr-expo/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:55:40 +0000 Karl Schneider http://www.fieldaware.com/?p=5824 FieldAware Helps Service Companies Transform Their Businesses

Chicago, IL … January 16, 2012 – FieldAware, a leading field service software company dedicated to helping service companies transform their businesses, will be exhibiting its innovative software solutions at the 2013 AHR Expo. The event will be held at the Dallas Convention Center, January 28-30, 2013, and FieldAware will be located in booth 3145 on the second floor of the Convention Center.

As the world’s largest trade show and conference for the HVACR industry, AHR Expo is expected to attract more than 50,000 professionals to see the latest products and technologies.

“Since attending our first AHR Expo last year, FieldAware has enjoyed tremendous growth in the HVAC marketplace, and the industry represents the largest vertical market in our customer base,” said Brendan Sullivan, Chief Marketing Officer. “We have doubled our booth space this year as we believe the Show provides us with an ideal venue to make thousands of contractors from around North America more familiar with our field service automation system that can transform their business operations.”

FieldAware specializes in providing SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions to help businesses streamline and enhance their field service operations. With thousands of global users, FieldAware is a leading provider of field service management for the HVACR marketplace and helps companies:

• Streamline the service scheduling process
• Increase field worker productivity
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Accelerate invoicing, automate timesheet reporting
• Generate lead opportunities in the field

FieldAware will also present a session on “Automate Your Field – Transform Your Business” in the New Product Technology Theater on Monday, January 28, at 2:30 pm.

About FieldAware
Our company was founded on the premise that small and medium sized field service companies deserve the same level of automation capabilities used by large-scale field service companies. They also deserve to transform their business with this technology at an affordable price.

We also believe that those capabilities should be delivered on technology that small and medium businesses already have: smartphones and the Internet.

FieldAware operates three global offices. Our international headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland. Our sales and corporate headquarters in located in Plano, Texas. We also operate a business development and marketing office in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information about FieldAware visit www.fieldaware.com.

To register to attend the 2013 AHR Expo or to find more information about FieldAware’s presence at the Show, visit here.

Chicago, IL… January 2, 2013 – FieldAware, a leading software solutions company dedicated to helping organizations transform their businesses, has announced that it has opened a new Marketing and Business Development office in Chicago.

Based in Dublin, Ireland, with US headquarters near Dallas, Texas, FieldAware has moved into newly renovated space at 111 North Canal, which is the home of several other next generation firms. FieldAware will initially hire 12 new people and plans to add significantly more staff and office space during the coming months.

“FieldAware has enjoyed tremendous growth in the US since launching here a little over a year ago,” said Brendan Sullivan, Chief Marketing Officer, “Chicago was the natural choice for our newest office due to its wealth of high-tech resources, central location and support of entrepreneurial ventures.”

The company specializes in providing SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions to help businesses transform their field service operations. With thousands of global users, FieldAware is a leading provider of field service software solutions.

“Many of our customers experience a double-digit increase in service business profits and a dramatic improvement in productivity within months,” said Johnny Jones, FieldAware VP of Sales. “FieldAware is purpose-built for service businesses who were unable to afford the benefits of field service automation previously only available to large companies.”

According to Sullivan, the new Chicago location will allow FieldAware to significantly expand its customer base. “Our goal is to become the category leader for field service software to the small to medium field service businesses.”

FieldAware joins several other technology firms that have recently relocated to, or expanded, their presence in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced in September that 20 Chicago-based technology companies have committed to creating more than 2,000 jobs by 2015. This growth is being assisted by real estate companies like Sterling Bay Commercial Properties, property managers of 111 North Canal, that are offering next generation companies affordable gigabit speed broadband access.

Braintree, a tenant of 111 North Canal, is one of those companies that has committed to Chicago. “I am very familiar with FieldAware and welcome them to the high-tech Chicago community and the building,” said Bryan Johnson, Braintree Chairman. “I’ve watched their impressive growth over the last year and I’m confident they will be a valuable addition to our growing entrepreneur community.”

Plano, Texas… November 19, 2012 – FieldAware, a leading field service solutions provider, announced that its revolutionary new service management interface designed to provide users with the most efficient way to manage their operations was launched today.

Built to streamline service business management, it eliminates the need to switch back and forth between job functions since it provides a single console view for easier scheduling, dispatching, and tracking of all field service jobs.

“We estimate that FieldAware can increase many companies’ productivity by 20% or more”, said Karl Schneider, FieldAware’s Vice President of Marketing.  “We’ve taken all the best features available for scheduling and dispatch and merged them into the most effective interface in the industry.”

The clean and simple interface allows users to:

• View jobs by GPS location to assign more jobs with less travel
• Have one-click access to full job details for quicker decision-making
• Drag-and-drop jobs to quickly assign, re-assign or re-schedule them in real time
• View jobs in list form or map view with real-time status indicators
• Validate equal distribution of jobs by tech and region
• Respond to emergency jobs much faster
• Filter by teams and locations for more efficient dispatching
• Create key customer views for premium management of high priority accounts
• Filter by job description to allow classifications of jobs

The user-friendly interface also features color-coding and icons to indicate real-time job type and status. This allows dispatchers to better manage workloads to reduce tech

overtime and overruns, expedite service delivery and ensure that customer appointments and time schedules are adhered to.

“FieldAware not only makes field service businesses more efficient by significantly enhancing their productivity, it also helps them generate new customers and boost the revenue from those they already have”, Schneider added.

For more information about the latest version of FieldAware, visit www.fieldaware.com.

###

About FieldAware

FieldAware was founded on the premise that small and medium sized field service companies deserve the same level of automation capabilities that large-scale field service companies have — but at an affordable price. The company believes that those capabilities should be delivered on technology that small and medium businesses already have: Smartphones, tablets, and the Internet. For more information about FieldAware visit www.fieldaware.com.

]]> http://www.fieldaware.com/2012/11/19/fieldaware-scheduler-launches-today/feed/ 0 http://www.fieldaware.com/2012/07/31/fieldaware-expands-to-meet-demand-for-new-field-service-automation-solutions/ http://www.fieldaware.com/2012/07/31/fieldaware-expands-to-meet-demand-for-new-field-service-automation-solutions/#comments Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:57:33 +0000 Karl Schneider http://www.fieldaware.com/?p=5644 Triples Headquarters Space, Doubles Staff Size

Plano, Texas… July 31, 2012 – To meet the rapidly growing demand for its field service automation solution, FieldAware announced that it has more than tripled its Dallas-area headquarters office space and nearly doubled its staff in the U.S. and abroad.

Since launching in the U.S. in late 2011, FieldAware has acquired more than 200 new clients for its unique field service management solution. This has necessitated moving to a new 6,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Plano, Texas, and adding 20 new people.

“We are very excited about the tremendous growth of FieldAware,” said Karl Schneider, Vice President of Marketing. “It seems the marketplace is embracing the concept of using the Internet and Smartphone technology to provide very cost-effective field service solutions.” Schneider explained that the FieldAware solution significantly reduces customers‘ costs because it doesn’t require buying expensive hardware or software.

He said that most of the new employees have been added in the tech support, training and development areas to ensure that new and existing customers receive the service they need. “We anticipate that our customer base will double by the beginning of the new year and that our staff will double again within the next 12 to 18 months.”

“We believe our growth is largely driven by the tremendous ROI it delivers,” Schneider stated. “Many customers see a 10-15% increase in service revenues and a 30-60% reduction in administrative overhead for customer management and invoice billing.”

For more information visit www.fieldaware.com.

About FieldAware

FieldAware was founded on the premise that small and medium sized field service companies deserve the same level of automation capabilities that large-scale field service companies have — but at an affordable price. The company believes that those capabilities should be delivered on technology that small and medium businesses already have: Smartphones and the Internet. For more information about FieldAware visit www.fieldaware.com.

Frisco, Texas… May 17, 2012 – FieldAware has compiled a comprehensive directory of mobile apps that service techs can use on their mobile devices to enhance their productivity. Named the “Digital Tool Belt”, the directory lists and links to more than 100 mobile apps offered by a variety of suppliers in the field service industry.

Ranging from such technical apps as Xylem’s System Syzer for piping system design to more general business apps like FindMyIpad, the directory is available free-of-charge at http://www.fieldaware.com/digital-tool-belt. It also provides industry professionals with apps that have the ability to troubleshoot and diagnose HVAC systems, calculate energy and water consumption, produce inspection reports, manage punch lists, perform HVACR conversions, as well as a multitude of other critical functions.

The directory of downloadable tools is invaluable for residential and commercial contractors, engineers, technicians, commissioning agents and maintenance personnel who have a smart mobile device and work in the field. Now they can visit one directory and find over 100 apps from a variety of sources that can make their jobs easier. The directory will be updated on a regular basis as new tools are made available.

“We created the Digital Tool Belt directory to serve as a helpful resource for field service industry professionals” said Karl Schneider, Vice President of Marketing for FieldAware. “Our customers were often asking us if we knew of specific apps they could use in the field so we conducted extensive research among industry associations and suppliers”.

Schneider said FieldAware encourages associations and suppliers to let them know of any new apps they introduce so they can be included in the directory. Field service professionals are also asked to pass along any tools they find useful that are not already listed. “Together, we can share information on the best mobile apps available and improve productivity for thousands of folks in the field.”

For more information about the directory visit www.fieldaware.com.

###

About FieldAware

FieldAware was founded on the premise that small and medium sized field service companies deserve the same level of automation capabilities that large-scale field service companies have — but at an affordable price. The company believes that those capabilities should be delivered on technology that small and medium businesses already have: Smartphones and the Internet. For more information about FieldAware visit www.fieldaware.com.

]]> http://www.fieldaware.com/2012/05/17/fieldaware-launches-directory-of-mobile-apps-for-the-field-service-industry/feed/ 0 http://www.fieldaware.com/2012/05/15/better-field-service-management/ http://www.fieldaware.com/2012/05/15/better-field-service-management/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 23:47:21 +0000 Karl Schneider http://www.fieldaware.com/?p=4024 INDOOR COMFORT MARKETING

Mobile Field Service Solutions Drive Revenue

by Karl Schneider

The lingering effects of a slowly recovering economy combined with the need to increase profitability is causing many service-oriented businesses to take a closer look at their field service operations for revenue-boosting initiatives.

And according to recent studies by the Aberdeen Group, that’s a great place to start.  Based on Aberdeen’s benchmark study of 180 companies in various industries, mobile field service automation solutions can have a tremendous impact on worker productivity, customer satisfaction, service revenues and overall profitability.  The study found that when utilized effectively, mobile field service automation could:

• Increase worker productivity by an average of 27%
• Increase customer satisfaction by an average of 19%
• Increase service revenues by an average of 13%
• Increase overall profitability by an average of 17%

A key reason companies can achieve these types of results is that deploying mobile service solutions allows field workers to more effectively interact with back-office systems and easily share critical data on customers, jobs, assets and inventories with the entire service team.  Basically, it is a process that digitizes the service workflow to eliminate the need for paper work orders, significantly streamlines the scheduling process, dramatically increases field staff productivity and captures new revenue-generating opportunities by using very affordable automation technology.

In fact, 88% of best-in-class service organizations view shoring up the connection between the field and back office as a top strategic priority.  And while  this all sounds great in theory, many organizations continue to struggle with inadequate data management resulting from manual and paper-based procedures in the field.  The challenge of providing service personnel with timely access to critical customer, order, asset and inventory data management continues to plague many field service organizations.

One of the barriers-of-entry for many companies has always been the cost of buying expensive software and hardware, as well as all the related costs for training, software updates, support and switching data over to a new system.  Typically, only the largest of field service organizations could afford legacy model premise-based solutions.

New Cloud-Computing on Smartphones Solution

However,new cloud-based field service management solutions that use native apps on smartphones and tablets are now available at a fraction of the cost because they eliminate the need for expensive proprietary software and hardware.  Now everyone on the service team can share information over the Internet and dramatically streamline the field service management process using their Apple or Android mobile device.

There are a number of bottom-line benefits of using this type of a mobile field service solution for every member of the service team:

Service Administrator/Dispatcher

• Real time review, scheduling and updating of jobs on web-based application
• Significantly faster capturing customer information and service requests via keyboard
• Distribution of electronic work orders is instantaneous
• Easy-to-read scheduling with drag-and-drop functionality
• More efficient job reassignment and rescheduling
• Improved customer service due to immediate availability of accurate information
• Benefits – Increases number of jobs that can be assigned to field techs, significant time savings from elimination of paperwork, frees team up for other assignments.

Field Tech

• Real-time scheduling and updating of job assignments on Apple or Android device
• GPS-mapping to find fastest route to each job
• Full job details available on mobile device, with reminders of add-on/up-sell products or services customer may need
• Variable or fixed pricing of products and services
• Office visibility to job status eliminates need for recurring status calls to Field Techs
• Automatic tracking of service time for each job (time-stamped with GPS location)
• Electronic signature capture so billing is instantaneous
• Ability to add customers and create jobs for ad hoc or after-hours work
• Benefits – Increased field tech productivity due to reduced travel time, reduced paperwork time and eliminated status calls; Increased add-ons/up-sells; automatic time tracking; more jobs possible based on time saved.

Accounting/Payroll Manager

• Ability to invoice immediately upon job completion
• Electronic transfer of invoice data to accounting system
• Automated capture of field time sheet data with GPS location stamping
• Generates variety of customizable financial reports
• Benefits – Shorter invoice cycle; dramatically improved cash flow; significant time savings due to reduced paper work; elimination of human accounting errors; real-time dashboard and reporting; Frees up time for other duties

Service Manager

• At-A-Glance Dashboard with status of all jobs (scheduled, started, paused, completed) across the company
• Assess productivity of individual staff members across jobs and tasks
• Review profitability by customer, service or product
• Immediate rescheduling or reassigning of jobs
• Assign new jobs based on increased productivity
• Elimination of lost or damaged paper work orders
• Can review all time sheet data in real-time
• Customizable reports
• Benefits – Real-time visibility to daily activities to effectively manage around exceptions and issues; optimized resource utilization for fluctuating schedule and availability; increased customer satisfaction; improved ability to forecast and focus on increasing margins

Owner/Manager

• At-A-Glance Dashboard with status of all jobs
• View customizable period-to-date reports of service, product, staff and customer data in real-time
• Assess productivity of individual staff members across jobs and tasks
• Review profitability by customer, service or product
• Review cash flow on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly basis
• Benefits – Manage business more effectively to drive higher overall revenue and increased margins.

A good field service management solution improves efficiencies at every step of the way by eliminating bottlenecks and putting the entire team on the same page.  So for those of you who might have been a bit skeptical about the Aberdeen Group’s findings of an average 17% increase in a business’ overall profitability, you can see how this is attainable.

In fact, we often see much greater results and ROI from companies that have implemented a good automated field service management solution along with best practices for its usage.  You have seen some of the testimonial quotes about the many benefits scattered throughout the article.

And speaking of ROI, the cost of using a cloud-based system is usually based on a small monthly fee per user – typically between $50 and $75.  Business owners recoup that investment many times over in terms of more jobs completed per field rep, increases in add-on sales, greater team productivity and enhanced customer satisfaction.

“Our paper work orders are virtually gone, the office staff is happy and the field techs are generating about 15% more business than last year in roughly the same amount of time.  Our cash flow has also improved because we are able to invoice for work immediately after jobs are complete.  It’s a whole new business.”  Chris McFadden, Service Director, Cross Refrigeration

A Day In The Life of an Automated Field Service Management Team

8:00 am:  Field Tech syncs Apple or Android device, reviews day’s schedule, then gets map to first job via GPS

8:15 am:  Arrives 5 minutes early due to GPS

8:16 am:  Starts job which auto-syncs status to office, reviews customer’s work order tasks and notices up-sell/add-on reminders

8:20 am:  Discusses customer’s needs, assesses job, mentions up-sell/add-on options

8:35 am:  Makes recommendations to customer, gets electronic signature to start work

9:40 am:  Finishes job, captures notes or comments, packs tools and equipment

9:41 am:  Customer provides electronic signature to indicate work is complete, tech changes job status to complete, which auto-syncs job status and details to office

9:42 am:  Tech reviews updated schedule and selects next job by using GPS

9:43 am:  Scheduler notes job is finished and contacts next customer to alert them that Tech is on the way

9:45 am:  Accounting generates/emails invoice to customer, transfers information to accounting system

10:15 am:  Tech arrives at second job 15 minutes early and repeats process.

5:00 pm:  Tech finishes last job of the day, auto-syncing with office which details on all the jobs, time sheet data, products used, etc.

Tech is able to add two new jobs that were originally scheduled for the next day.  By the end of the week, the 10 Techs have added a total of 50 new jobs worht thousands of dollars in additional revenue.

Back at the Office:  As Techs work through the day, the schedulers and service manager are monitoring status of scheduled jobs, rescheduling appointments, performing follow-up calls, scheduling maintenance work and generating reports.

Business Owner:  At any time during the day or week and anywhere in the world, owner can view the At-A-Glance Dashboard or a variety of reports.

About the Author:

Karl Schneider is Vice President of Marketing for FieldAware, a field service management solution company specializing in the indoor comfort industry.  For more information, www.fieldaware.com, or call 972-704-1800.

FieldAware has introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile applications that is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

FieldAware essentially digitizes customer, product, task and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web browsers or their smartphones on a 24/7 basis. For a low monthly fee per user and with no upfront costs, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end to end. It performs key functions such as customer management, service requests, scheduling, invoicing, reporting and much more.

Preview of FieldAware Asset Management: Get a glimpse of the powerful functionality of FieldAware’s solution for tracking and managing assets and equipment — your customers’ and your own. See why FieldAware leads the pack with the most intuitive field service automation solution available today.  View the video here:  FieldAware: TrueAsset Manageability

FieldAwareSoftware

FieldAware has released a free white paper titled “The Advantages of True Mobility in Field Service Organizations”.  The report provides information and data showing that mobile field service automation can increase worker productivity by an average of 27 percent and increase overall profitability by an average of 17 percent. Read Original Content

Supplier News

The White Paper is titled “The Advantages of True Mobility in Field Service Organizations.”

FRISCO, Texas — A new White Paper that details how companies are enhancing their field service operations with cloud-based computing via Smartphones and smart devices is now available from FieldAware.

Titled “The Advantages of True Mobility in Field Service Organizations,” the eight-page report discusses how automating the field service workflow using true mobile solutions is changing the way many companies are doing business.  It explains the new business model some solutions providers are now offering that allows any size organization to significantly enhance its productivity, customer satisfaction, service revenues and overall profitability by digitizing its workflow.

It provides examples of how any size business can implement a mobile solution very cost-effectively by eliminating the need to invest in expensive software, hardware, training and IT support. The report also provides information and data from leading industry research companies that show mobile field service automation can:

• Increase worker productivity by an average of 27%
• Increase customer satisfaction by an average of 19%
• Increase service revenues by an average of 13%
• Increase overall profitability by an average of 17%

The White Paper also details how deploying mobile service solutions allows field workers to more effectively interact with back-office systems and easily share critical data on customers, jobs, assets and inventories with the entire service team. It explains the process that digitizes the service workflow to eliminate the need for paper work-orders, significantly streamlines the scheduling process, dramatically increases field staff productivity and captures new revenue-generating opportunities by using very affordable automation technology.

A key part of the report addresses how ‘Native Apps’ provide ‘true mobility’ and explains that just because it’s on a Smartphone doesn’t mean it’s a native app. Some browser-based apps don’t perform well because they require constant connectivity and Internet access to run their software in the Smartphone browser. Having the software reside on the phone minimizes the amount of time it takes to retrieve information or make updates because only the minimum data is transmitted to and from the database.

“We developed this White Paper to provide businesses of all sizes with the information they need to make smart decisions about enhancing their field service operations,” said Karl Schneider, Vice President of Marketing for FieldAware. “There are new technologies and solutions available in the marketplace that service businesses should be aware of to improve their bottom line profitability.”

Copies of the White Paper are available free-of-charge at http://www.fieldaware.com/advantages-of-true-mobility-in-field-service.

Eliminates Need For Costly Hardware & Software

Frisco, Texas – FieldAware has introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps that is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

Created for small and medium size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special hand-held devices. 

It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to significantly streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality that was previously only available to large companies.

FieldAware essentially digitizes customer, product, task and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web-browsers or their smartphones on a 24/7 basis.

For a low monthly fee per user and with no up-front costs, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end. Designed for the entire service team (customer service reps, dispatchers, service managers, field staff, accounts/payroll managers, owners) it performs key functions such as:

• Customer Management
• Service Requests
• Scheduling and Dispatching
• Mobile Access for Field Staff
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Accounting Integration         

“FieldAware is purpose-built for service businesses and improves efficiencies at every step of the way by eliminating bottlenecks and putting the entire team on the same page,” said Karl Schneider, FieldAware VP of Marketing. “The entire solution was designed from the ground up to leverage the most advanced technologies, including native apps for the two most popular mobile platforms. This gives FieldAware an infrastructure foundation that no competitor can match.”

Native mobile apps provide special features that make them preferable to browser-based mobile solutions:

• The application resides on the mobile device and can be used regardless of whether or not the user has a connection
• There are no delays waiting for browser pages to load or refresh because the screens are already on the phone or tablet
• User adoption of native apps is higher than browser-based solutions due to familiarity with interface standards; little or no training is required for effective use

FieldAware customers report substantial results from implementing the software solution. “Our paper work orders are virtually gone, the office staff is happy and the field techs are generating about 15% more business than last year in roughly the same amount of time”, says Chris McFadden of Cross Technical Solutions. “Our cash flow has also improved, because we’re able to invoice for work immediately after jobs are complete. It’s a whole new business with FieldAware.”

For additional information on FieldAware, visit:  http://www.FieldAware.com.

FieldAware is the field service management solution for small and medium businesses.

We help field service companies make more money by streamlining the service scheduling process, increasing field worker productivity, improving customer satisfaction, and generating lead opportunities in the field.  Our SaaS solution is available on demand over the Internet for a small monthly fee, so there’s no hardware to buy or software to install for your office.  And field staff can find our free native mobile apps – for iPhone and Android smartphones – in the app store they already use.

New Tool Tracks and Manages Assets For Their Entire Lifecycles

Firsco, Texas – FieldAware has announced the addition of a multifaceted new Asset Management tool that provides users the ability to track and manage their customers’ and their own assets for their entire lifecycle.

This new feature provides field service operations with a 360-degree view of all the assets they maintain, including such specific equipment details as manufacturer, model #, serial #, warranty information and much more.  Its unique functionality allows users to:

• Schedule maintenance based on fixed or variable interval periods, including dependency on last service date
• Define customized maintenance procedure groups to standardize delivery service and compliance
• Link assets to customers, locations, and contacts as necessary
• Invoice for multiple asset jobs on a single invoice with breakdown by asset
• Split-billing available for warranty work or shared assets
• Track and mange all assets (i.e. boilders, trucks, engines etc.) from creation to retirement

The feature enables companies to define custom attributes of assets for specific definition of contracts, asset readings and other customer asset information.

With this new feature from FieldAware, field service managers will have the ability to create their own maintenance procedures and procedure groups to standardize delivery and compliance while also being able to schedule asset maintenance based on specified interval periods from the last date the asset was serviced.  On the accounting side, the Asset Management feature facilitates complex billing and invoicing through providing multiple asset jobs on a single invoice with breakdown options by asset as well as providing them with ability for split-billing for warranty work or other shared assets.

The new Asset Management feature can help field service companies provide better service and increased satisfaction for their customers through improved tracking, visibility and history of service on an asset.  It also reduces service costs, increases revenues and renewals.

“This new tool allows companies to take their service contract capabilities to the next level,” said Karl Schneider, FieldAware VP of Marketing.  “Field service operators won’t believe how easy it is to deliver top-notch service to their most demanding customers across all their asset inventories.”

As with all Field Aware’s cloud-based SaaS solutions, it is designed for use on all Apple and Android devices (phones or tablets).  This eliminates the need to purchase expensive legacy-based software or servers and makes it very affordable for even small field service companies.

For additional information on FieldAware’s new Asset Management feature, visit http://www.FieldAware.com.

FieldAware has announced the addition of a multifaceted new Asset Management tool that provides users the ability to track and manage their customers’ and their own assets for their entire lifecycle.

This new feature provides field service operations with a 360-degree view of all the assets they maintain, including such specific equipment details as manufacturer, model #, serial #, warranty information and much more.  Its unique functionality allows users to:

• Schedule maintenance based on fixed or variable interval periods, including dependency on last service date
• Define customised maintenance procedure groups to standardise delivery service and compliance
• Link assets to customers, locations, and contacts as necessary
• Invoice for multiple asset jobs on a single invoice with breakdown by asset
• Split-billing available for warranty work or shared assets
• Track and manage all assets (i.e. boilers, trucks, engines etc.) from creation to retirement

The feature enables companies to define custom attributes of assets for specific definition of contracts, asset readings and other customer asset information.

With this new feature from FieldAware, field service managers will have the ability to create their own maintenance procedures and procedure groups to standardise delivery and compliance while also being able to schedule asset maintenance based on specified interval periods from the last date the asset was serviced. On the accounting side, the Asset Management feature facilitates complex billing and invoicing through providing multiple asset jobs on a single invoice with breakdown options by asset as well as providing them with ability for split-billing for warranty work or other shared assets.

The new Asset Management feature can help field service companies provide better service and increased satisfaction for their customers through improved tracking, visibility and history of service on an asset. It also reduces service costs, increases revenues and renewals.

“This new tool allows companies to take their service contract capabilities to the next level,” said Karl Schneider, FieldAware VP of Marketing.  “Field service operators won’t believe how easy it is to deliver top-notch service to their most demanding customers across all their asset inventories”.

As with all FieldAware’s cloud-based SaaS solutions, it is designed for use on all Apple and Android devices (phones or tablets).  This eliminates the need to purchase expensive legacy-based software or servers and makes it very affordable for even small field service companies.

FieldAware has introduced a cloud-based field-service-management solution with mobile apps that is designed to increase a company’s productivity and profitability.  It is designed for small and medium-size field service businesses.  FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special hand-held devices.  It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing contractors to significantly streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales-lead opportunities by using automation functionality that was previously only available to large companies.  For more information, go to www.fieldaware.com

FieldAware’s new cloud-based service management solution with native mobile apps is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.  Created for small- and medium-sized service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special handheld devices.  It digitizes service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders, while allowing field service companies to significantly streamline scheduling processes.  http://www.FieldAware.com

Eliminates Need For Costly Hardware & Software

Frisco Texas – FieldAware has introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps that is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

Created for small and medium size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special hand-held devices.  It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to significanly streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality that was previously only available to large companies.

FieldAware essentially digitizes customer, product, task and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web-browsers or their smartphones on a 24/7 basis.  For a low monthly fee per user and with no up-front costs, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end.  Designed for the entire service team (customer service reps, dispatchers, service managers, field staff, accounts/payroll managers, owners) it performs key functions such as:

• Customer Management
• Service Requests
• Scheduling and Dispatching
• Mobile Access for Field Staff
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Accounting Integration

“FieldAware is purpose-built for service businesses and improves efficiencies at every step of the way by eliminating bottlenecks and putting the entire team on the same page,” said Karl Schneider, FieldAware VP of Marketing.  “The entire solution was designed from the ground up to leverage the most advanced technologies, including native apps for the two most popular mobile platforms.  This gives FieldAware an infrastructure foundation that no competitor can match.”  Native mobile apps provide special features that make them preferable to browser-based mobile solutions:

• The application resides on the mobile device and can be used regardless of whether or not the user has a connection
• There are no delays waiting for browser pages to load or refresh because the screens are already on the phone or tablet
• User adoption of native apps is higher than browser-based solutions due to familiarity with interface standards; little or no training is required for effective use.  FieldAware customers report substantial results from implementing the software solution.

“Our paper work orders are virtually gone, the office staff is happy and the field techs are generating about 15% more business than last year in roughly the same amount of time”, says Chris McFadden of Cross Technical Solutions.  “Our cash flow has also improved, because we’re able to invoice for work immediately after jobs are complete.  It’s a whole new business with FieldAware.”  For additional information on FieldAware, visit http://www.FieldAware.com.

FieldAware Mobile gives you industry-leading field service management capabilities in the palm of your hand. Manage work orders, customers, contacts, locations, tasks and products directly from your iPhone or iPad.

FieldAware is the field service management solution for small and medium businesses. We help field service companies make more money by streamlining the service scheduling process, increasing field worker productivity, accelerating invoicing, improving customer satisfaction, and generating lead opportunities in the field. Our SaaS solution is available on demand over the internet for a small monthly fee, so there’s no hardware to buy or software to install for your office. No matter what service you provide: HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Pest Control, IT Services, Security, etc., our powerful yet flexible system can digitize the entire work flow to increase profitability. Don’t wait to start making more money! Start using FieldAware today to take your business to the next level.

Benefits: * Native iPhone app gives you full functionality in the intuitive iPhone form, not a clunky browser * Receive and create jobs with full access to customer, contact, location, task and product data * Start, pause, or complete jobs on the fly, with automatic time tracking * GPS features to get you to your jobs * True mobility allows you to continue working even if you don’t have a connection

FieldAware Mobile is a fully functioning application for managing your field service workflow. You can download it and use it without any commitment. However, there is no invoicing or reporting capability in the mobile app. To convert to a complete end-to-end solution and take advantage of FieldAware’s browser-based solution for your office, visit us at www.fieldaware.com, or call us at +1.855.840.9228.

What’s New in version 1.0.2

Minor bug fixes

Requirements

Requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Cloud-based service solution

FieldAware’s new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability. Created for small- and medium-size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special handheld devices. It digitizes service workflow, eliminating the need for paperwork orders, while allowing field service companies to significantly streamline scheduling processes. FieldAware. Www.fieldaware.com

FieldAware website  | Company information

FieldAware offers a cloud-based, field-service management solution for Android and Apple smartphones and tablets. It eliminates the need for servers, proprietary software, and special hand-held devices. The app is designed to increase productivity and profitability. It also eliminates the need for paper work orders and allows customers to streamline the scheduling process.

Watch how easy FieldAware makes it to create a quote on your Apple or Android device, get approval from the customer, convert the quote to a job, complete the job, and then generate an invoice. All from the field! Field staff can now be more efficient than ever at generating revenue.

FieldAware – Field Service…Managed!

FieldAware Quote-to-Job-to-Invoice on iPhone Video

SCOTT ARNOLD, Executive Editor, scott.arnold@penton.com

10:30 a.m.: According to Vice President of Marketing Karl Schneider, FieldAware was founded on the belief that small and medium-sized field-service companies deserve the same automation capabilities as their larger-scale counterparts at a price they can afford. His company’s cloud-based field-service-management solution leverages native applications on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets, eliminating the need for costly servers, proprietary software, and special handheld devices. It digitizes customer, product, task, and work-order data for sharing over the Internet around the clock. For a monthly fee per user and no upfront cost, FieldAware handles the entire service-delivery process.

For more information, visit www.fieldaware.com.

FieldAware Video on YouTube

FieldAware: Field Service Quotes to Jobs to Invoices Watch how easy it is to manage quotes for field service work, convert them to work orders, and then generate invoices from the work orders. FieldAware makes field service manageable! Visit www.FieldAware.com for more details. From: FieldAwareSoftware Views: 2 0 ratings Time: 00:33 More in People & Blogs- Logan Robinson

FieldAware’s new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

Created for small- and medium-size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special handheld devices. It digitizes service workflow, eliminating the need for paperwork orders, while allowing field service companies to significantly streamline scheduling processes. www.fieldaware.com

FieldAware introduces their cloud-based field service management SaaS solution with native mobile apps.  Created for small and medium size field service companies, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for servers, proprietary software, and special handheld devices.  It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improves customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality.  The product essentially digitizes customer, product, task, and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web browsers or smartphones 24/7.  For a low monthly fee per user and with no upfront costs FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end.  Visit www.fieldaware.com for a demonstration.

FRISCO, Texas – FieldAware has introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps that is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

Created for small and medium size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special hand-held devices. It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to significantly streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality that was previously only available to large companies.

FieldAware essentially digitizes customer, product, task and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web-browsers or their smartphones on a 24/7 basis./p>

For a low monthly fee per user and with no up-front costs, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end.

Designed for the entire service team (customer service reps, dispatchers, service managers, field staff, accounts/payroll managers, owners) it performs key functions such as:

• Customer Management
• Service Requests
• Scheduling and Dispatching
• Mobile Access for Field Staff
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Accounting Integration

“FieldAware is purpose-built for service businesses and improves efficiencies at every step of the way by eliminating bottlenecks and putting the entire team on the same page,” said Karl Schneider, FieldAware VP of Marketing. “The entire solution was designed from the ground up to leverage the most advanced technologies, including native apps for the two most popular mobile platforms. This gives FieldAware an infrastructure foundation that no competitor can match.”

Native mobile apps provide special features that make them preferable to browser-based mobile solutions:

• The application resides on the mobile device and can be used regardless of whether or not the user has a connection
• There are no delays waiting for browser pages to load or refresh because the screens are already on the phone or tablet
• User adoption of native apps is higher than browser-based solutions due to familiarity with interface standards; little or no training is required for effective use

FieldAware customers report substantial results from implementing the software solution. “Our paper work orders are virtually gone, the office staff is happy and the field techs are generating about 15% more business than last year in roughly the same amount of time”, says Chris McFadden of Cross Technical Solutions. “Our cash flow has also improved, because we’re able to invoice for work immediately after jobs are complete. It’s a whole new business with FieldAware.”

Read The Article on FacilitiesNet

Media Source: FacilitiesNet

Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration

FieldAware (http://www.FieldAware.com) introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps.

Created for small- and medium-size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for servers, proprietary software, and special handheld devices.  It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality.The product essentially digitizes customer, product, task, And work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web browsers or smartphones on a 24/7 basis.  According to the company, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end for a low monthly fee per user and with no upfront costs.

Air Conditioning Heating Refrigeration

FieldAware (www.fieldaware.com) introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps.  Created for small- and medium-size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for servers, proprietary software, and special handheld devices.

  It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality.  The product essentially digitizes customer, product, task, and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web browsers or smartphones on a 24/7 basis.  According to the company, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end for a low monthly fee per user and with no upfront costs.

http://www.FieldAware.com

Robert P. Mader of CONTRACTOR’s staff

CHICAGO -AHR Expo show management announced that the 2012 exposition and conference established a new all-time attendance record with nearly 40,000 registered visitors for the recently concluded event at Chicago’s McCormick Place.  Together with exhibitor personnel and other attendees, more than 58,000 HVACR professionals participated in the world’s largest HVACR event from Jan. 23-25.

Based on preliminary registration numbers, the 2012 Show was preicted to easily surpass the previous record of 38,534 visitors established at the 2008 Show in New York City.  It did.  Expo management announced attendance on Monday, the first day ot the three-day show, at 56,934.

As reported earlier, this year’s Show was also the largest AHR Expo in the illustrious 82-year history of the event at nearly 430,000-sq. ft., making it almost 5% bigger than the 2006 Chicago Show.

“We are delighted that we have established new all-time records for both the size of the event and the best visitor attenance,” said Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Co., which produces and manages the AHR Expo.  “We hope this is an indication that the economy is on the upswing and will continue to improve.”

Related Articles:

ASHRAE, IAPMO Sign MOU to Advance Built Environment Codes and Standards

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AHR sets attendance record, showcases innovative products

Stevens also attributed the new records to the many new energy-efficient technologies and products in the marketplace, as well as pent-up demand for new equipment.

At the show the aisles were packed elbow to elbow at times.  There was a buzz of excitement as enthusiastic HVACR professionals from around the world filled the aisles looking for the latest energy-efficient products and solutions.  Many exhibitors commented on the quality and quantity of attendees.

“The show has been outstanding for us this year,’ said Mark Handzel, director of marketing for Xylem RCW, the new name for the parent of Bell & Gossett.  “The customers that come to this show are the people that are using our products everyday so really, this is the best show that we have.”

Karl Schneider, vice president of marketing for field service software vendor FieldAware, echoed those sentiments.

“This is our first AHR Expo and we are amazed at the size and diversity of the attendee base – we were overwhelmed by the response,” Schneider said.

A total of 1,968 exhibitors from 35 countries showcased their products and technologies, nearly tying the record of 1,989 companies that exhibited at the 2006 Chicago Show.  In addition to the thousands of new products and technologies exhibited on the Show floor, ASHRAE and many other leading industry associations offered more than 100 education sessions.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers and the Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute co-sponsored the Expo, and ASHRAE had plenty of news of its own.

Rebranding ASHRAE

Throughout its 117-year history, ASHRAE has been the go-to source in the HVACR industry for standards, education and other resources for engineers.  As the role of HVACR has progressed to include different facts of building design, construction and operation, ASHRAE has changed as well.  Consequently, ASHRAE announ ced that it is rebranding itself with a refreshed logo, a new tagline and a change to using only its acronym.

The announcement was made at the Society’s 2012 Winter Conference held in conjunction with the Expo.

The most visible change is the refreshed Society’s logo, which was created in 1959 when the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers and the American Society of Heating & Ventilating Engineers merged to form ASHRAE.

“We want our logo to reflect that we are looking ahead,” said Tom Watson, chair of the logo ad hoc committee.  “The industry has changed and so have we.  In creating this logo, we wanted to pay homage to our HVAC&R origins by keeping the familiar hexagon and traditional shade of blue, while looking forward to a more sustainable future.”

The society’s logo was refined, retaining its familiar hexagon shape in blue that transitions to green, signifying the group’s dedication to energy and water conservation.

Society representatives noted that although ASHRAE is increasingly a global organization, some of the strongest sentiment for retaining the “A” as in American came from its international members.

Along with the new logo, ASHRAE also has a new tagline:  “Shaping Tomorrow’s Built Environment Today.”  The tagline serves as a promise to memebers, and the industry, that whatever the future brings in the built community, ASHRAE will be at the forefront for research and guidance.

Lastly, the Society is doing business as “ASHRAE” vs. using its full legal name of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.  Use of ASHRAE reflects the Society’s worldwide membership and that services will continue evolving globally.

The repositioning of the ASHRAE brand evolution is an acknowledgement of ASHRAE’s broadening scope beyond HVAC&R to include standards, research, publications and educational resources relating to total building design, energy efficiency efforts and sustainable building technologies, otherwise referred to as the total building environment, according to ASHRAE President Ron Jarnagin.

Over the years, ASHRAE has worked to provide resources on a wide range of industry practices and issues such as commissioning, building automation control, indoor environemtnal quality for buildings and aircraft, energy efficiency and smart grid initiative.

In addition, the rebranding coincides with a redesign of ASHRAE.org.  With this redesign comes better navigation, a better search engine and better tracking, all of which will help ASHRAE members find the information they need, whether it’s for their role in the industry or ASHRAE.

CONTRACTOR’s March issue will cover products showcased at the AHR

Westport Connecticut – AHR Expo show management announced that the 2012 exposition and conference has established a new all-time attendance record with nearly 40,000 registered visitors for the recently concluded event at Chicago’s McCormick Place.  Together with exhibitor personnel and other attendees, more than 58,000 HVACR professionals participated in the world’s largest HVACR event from January 23rd through January 25th.

Based on preliminary registration numbers, the 2012 Show will easily surpass the previous record of 38,534 visitors established at the 2008 Show in New York City.  As reported earlier, this year’s Show was also the largest AHR Expo in the illustrious 82-year history of the event at nearly 430,000 square feet, making it almost 5% bigger than the 2006 Chicago Show.

“We are delighted that we have established new all-time records for both the size of the event and the best visitor attendance,” said Clay Stevens, President of International Exposition Company, which produces and manages the AHR Expo.  “We hope this is an indication that the economy is on the upswing and will continue to improve.”  Stevens also attributed the new records to the many new energy-efficient technologies and products in the marketplace, as well as pent-up demand for new equipment.

There was a buzz of excitement during the entire Show as enthusiastic HVACR professionals from around the world filled the aisles looking for the latest energy-efficient products and solutions.  Many exhibitors commented on the quality and quantity of attendees.

“The show has been outstanding for us this year,” said Mark Handzel, Director of Marketing for Xylem RCW.  “The customers that come to this show are the people that are using our products every day so really, this is the best show that we have.”

These sentiments were echoed by Karl Schneider, VP of Marketing for FieldAware.  “This is our first AHR Expo and we are amazed at the size and diversity of the attendee base – we were overwhelmed by the response.”

A total of 1,968 exhibitors from 35 countries showcased their products and technologies, nearly tying the record of 1,989 companies that exhibited at the 2006 Chicago Show.  In addition to the thousands of new products and technologies exhibited on the Show floor, more than 100 education sessions were offered by ASHRAE and many other leading industry associations.

The 2012 AHR Expo is endorsed by the leading HVACR industry associations and is cosponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).  The Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) is an honorary sponsor.

ASHRAE’s Winter Conference is held concurrently with the AHR Expo each year.  For more information visit the Show’s website at www.ahrexpo.com.

ABOUT AHR EXPO

As the largest and most comprehensive HVACR exposition, the AHR Expo attracts tens of thousands of attendees from all facets of the industry, including contractors, engineers, dealers, distributors, wholesalers, OEMs, architects, builders, industrial plant operators, facility owners and managers, agents and reps.

Since 1930 the AHR Expo has been the HVACR professional’s best resource for new products, new ideas and new services.  It’s a hands-on, interactive event that showcases a wide spectrum of equipment, systems, and components.  This unique industry forum creates a dynamic marketing environment unequaled in size and scope by any other industry event.

The AHR Expo is produced and managed by International Exposition Company, 15 Franklin Street, Westport, CT  06880; telephone:  203-221-9232; fax:  203-221-9260; e-mail:  info@ahrexpo.com; website:  www.ahrexpo.com

FieldAware is a new software service that improves efficiency and effectiveness of field personnel.  With an asset management component being released in February 2012, they are off to a good start offering native mobile applications that can help HVAC companies increase their profitability.  For more information, a demo of their product, or a free trial check out their website.  http://www.FieldAware.com

Coolair is a long established HVAC contractor with 10 Service Techs.  Coolair was looking for a Field Service Automation solution that would allow them to get timely, accurate information about their service business.  They wanted the ability to get up-to-the-minute reports such as revenue invoiced month-to-date or profitability by customer.

Coolair also wanted to increase their revenue without increasing staff.  By migrating from paper work orders to electronic ones, their office and the field staff spends less time shuffling papers and more time doing the work that generates revenue.  They’re also enjoying the added benefit of real-time visibility into daily activities across the business.

“All 10 of our techs are able to get at least 2 extra jobs done a week thanks to FieldAware.  Over 80 extra jobs a month!”

All Seasons Hire specializes in supplying and installing Industrial Boilers and Chillers.  Because they provide a UK nationwide service, their eight engineers are widely dispersed and often do not come into the office for weeks at a time.

All Seasons wanted a Field Service Automation Solution that would allow them to commence invoicing as soon as the equipment was delivered to the site and the work order was signed, rather than waiting for the technician to post in the signed work order.  It was also very important to All Seasons that the system is capable of tracking time spent on any particular job by their technicians.

The FieldAware product has enabled all Seasons to improve their cash flow significantly and also increased their chargeable revenue through improved employee productivity.

“We haven’t lost a single work order since we started using FieldAware.  And we’re invoicing faster than ever before!”

Cross Technical Solutions is a Specialist Refrigeration Solutions provider to the Pharmaceutical sector and includes Wyeth Medica, Bristol Myers Squib, and Elan among their clients.

Given the demanding nature of their work environment and the strict regulatory requirements, Cross was determined to find a Field Service Automation Software solution that was proven in the field and would allow their technicians to work regardless of Internet connectivity.

It was a prerequisite for Cross that the system they selected would be adaptable to such an extent that they could customize the various work-orders themselves rather than having to involve the solution provider each time they needed a unique work order.  FieldAware’s Custom Field Feature allowed for the adaptability Cross needed.  Cross Technical Solutions considers FieldAware an essential part of their operations.

“Now that we have FieldAware, I can really manage the business based on facts rather than gut-feel.”

Service Administrator/Dispatcher

• Real-time review, scheduloig and updating of jobs on web-based application
• Significantly faster capturing customer information and service requests via keyboard
• Distribution of electronic work orders is instantaneous
• Easy-to-read scheduling with drag-and-drop functionality
• More efficient job reassignment and rescheduling
• Improved customer service due to immediate availability of accurate information
• Benefits – Increases number of jobs that can be assigned to Field Techs, significant time savings from elimination of paperwork, frees team up for other assignments

Field Tech

• Real-time scheduling and updating of job assignments on Apple or Android device
• GPS-mapping to find fastest route to each job
• Full job details available on mobile device, with reminders of add-on/up-sell products or services customer may need
• Variable or fixed pricing of products and services
• Office visibility to job status eliminates need for recurring status calls to Field Techs
• Automatic tracking of service time for each job (time-stamped with GPS location)
• Electronic signature capture
• Ability to add customers and create jobs for ad hoc or after-hours work
• Benefits – Increased Field Tech productivity due to reduced travel time, reduced paperwork time and eliminated status calls; Automatic time tracking; More jobs possible based on time saved.

Accounting/Payroll Manager

• Ability to invoice immediately upon job completion
• Electronic transfer of invoice data to accounting system
• Automated capture of field time sheet data with GPS location stamping
• Generates variety of customizable financial reports
• Benefits – Increased add-ons/up-sells and shorter invoice cycle dramatically improve cash flow; Significant time savings due to reduced paper work, elimination of human accounting errors, Real-time dashboard and reporting; Frees up time for other duties

Service Manager

• At-A-Glance Dashboard with status of all jobs (scheduled, started, paused, completed) across the company
• Assess productivity of individual staff members across jobs and tasks
• Review profitability by customer, service or product
• Immediate rescheduling or reassigning of jobs
• Assign new jobs based on increased productivity
• Elimination of lost or damaged paper work orders
• Can review all time sheet data in real-time
• Customizable reports
• Benefits – Real-time visibility to daily activities to effectively manage around exceptions and issues; Optimized resource utilization for fluctuating schedule and availability; Increased customer satisfaction; Improved ability to forecast and focus on increasing margins

Owner/Manager

• At-A-Glance Dashboard with status of all jobs
• View customizable period-to-date reports of service, product, staff and customer data in real-time
• Assess productivity of individual staff members across jobs and tasks
• Review profitability by customer, service or product
• Review cash flow on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly basis
• Benefits – Manage business more effectively to drive higher overall revenue and increased margins

FRISCO, Texas – FieldAware has introduced a new cloud-based field service management solution with native mobile apps that is designed to dramatically increase a company’s productivity and profitability.

Created for small and medium size field service businesses, FieldAware leverages native apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets to eliminate the need for costly servers, proprietary software and special hand-held devices.  It digitizes the service workflow, eliminating the need for paper work orders and allowing field service companies to significantly streamline the scheduling process, increase field staff productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and capture new sales lead opportunities by using automation functionality that was previously only available ot large companies.

FieldAware essentially digitizes the customer, product, task and work order data so the entire company can share it over the Internet via web-browsers or their smartphones on a 24/7 basis.  For a low monthly fee per user and with no up-front costs, FieldAware handles the entire service delivery process from end-to-end.

Designed for the entire service team (customer service reps, dispatchers, service managers, field staff, accounts/payroll managers, owners) it performs key functions such as:

•  Customer Management
• Service Requests
• Scheduling and Dispatching
• Mobile Access for Field Staff
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Account Integration

“FieldAware is purpose-built for service businesses and improves efficiencies at every step of the way by eliminating bottlenecks and putting the entire team on the same page.” said Karl Schneider, FieldAware VP of Marketing.  “The entire solution was designed from the ground up to leverage the most advanced technologies, including native apps for the two most popular mobile platforms.  This gives FieldAware an infrastructure foundation that no competitor can match.”

Native mobile apps provide special features that make them preferable to browser-based mobile solutions:

• The application resides on the mobile device and can be used regardless of whether or not the user has a connection
• There are no delays waiting for browser pages to load or refresh because the screens are already on the phone or tablet
• User adoption of native apps is higher than browser-based solutions due to the familiarity with interface standards; little or no training is required for effective use.

FieldAware customers report substantial results from implementing the software solution.  “Our paper work orders are virtually gone, the office staff is happy and the field techs are generating about 15% more business than last year in roughly the same amount of time.” says Chris McFadden of Cross Technical Solutions.  “Our cash flow has also improved because we’re able to invoice for work immediately after jobs are complete.  It’s a whole new business with FieldAware.”

For additional information on FieldAware, visit http://www.FieldAware.com.

CHICAGO – At the FieldAware press briefing, Karl Schneider provided an overview of the company’s field service management software.

Schneider said the FieldAware software digitizes and automates the workflow for contractors. And the cloud-based, software as a service (SaaS) makes it very cost effective. There are no upfront costs and no maintenance fees.

Using smartphones or tablets and the Internet, FieldAware helps contractors to streamline service scheduling, accelerate invoicing, increase technician productivity, and improve customer satisfaction. It shows the contractor what’s going right with his business as well as what’s going wrong, said Schneider.

And, he said, the unique interface was designed by web app designers.

Read The Article in The ACHR News

Media Source: The ACHR News