Sometime I wish the industry had decided on another term other than mobility / mobile worker for putting information into the workers hands at the job site, after all the worker had to get to the location, and as my perfectionist father would say (particularly about English usage): the worker had to be mobile. However those are the term we use.
Within the chemical industry there has long been desire to "cut the cord" from desk based delivery of information, to one that allows the worker to obtain all necessary information to the location where the work is to be done. One of the hold backs for wide adoption of solutions for the mobile EAM worker was the lack of devices that could be used the hazardous locations that abound in the chemical industry. This problem is being solved with the release devices, such as tablets that can be used in a variety of areas (see Google search). With that problem being resolved it is time to readdress what can be done to support the mobile EAM worker.
It is one of my beliefs is that we can learn from other industries, particularly as there are a lot of common processes amongst industries in the EAM space. That being so I would like to point out a webcast being put on by ASUG's Plant Maintenance SIG, WEL Networks Enhances Asset Management with Mobile Apps and Internet of Things (IoT) App. This webcast is April 15 2015 at 3:00 PM EST, during which you can learn bout the deployment of mobile applications for Rounds/Inspections, Work Orders, and Audits to improve Field Service, Customer Satisfaction, and Compliance. Also to be discussed will be how WEL Networks implemented an IoT app via Machine to Machine integration by exchanging data between SAP Plant Maintenance and their Trouble Call System. This enables the automatic creation of work orders based on customer complaints recorded by the helpdesk.
While WEL Networks is a utility, Rounds / Inspections is one of those common processes that applies across industries. Going to the equipment, inspecting, recording data is a common process and anything that makes life easier for us is of benefit, and can be applied to chemicals.
I hope that you can attend personally, or at a later data listen the session (as it is being recorded).
