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Rugged Mobile Devices: An Investment with Big Returns! | Efficiency Focused Solutions

Rugged Mobile Devices: An Investment with Big Returns!

Does your company manage multiple projects? Do you employ project managers, field service technicians and or salespeople who spend a considerable amount of time onsite, at various customer locations? Most importantly, do these locations require rugged mobile devices, devices that are able to withstand harsh weather and severe working conditions? If you have answered yes to each of these questions, then it is about time your enterprise perform a cost benefit analysis on a capital expenditure. However, in the case of upgrading your mobility solutions with rugged mobile computers, this is one investment that is guaranteed to provide considerable returns. So, what would an upgrade to rugged mobile devices look like and how would it help improve how your enterprise manages these projects?

  1. Rugged handheld computers improve decision making

  2. Project managers are called upon to make immediate decisions, ones that ultimately mean the difference between making a profit on the project, meeting its timeline or blowing its budget and losing money. To be successful means to have access to information at a moments notice and to make time-critical decisions that maintain the project’s timeline. Having a durable handheld computer provides project managers and team members with instant access to the types of information needed to move forward. They can immediately reconcile onsite inventory versus what’s available back at the warehouse. They can properly manage vendor delivery statuses and make immediate decisions about critical and non-critical paths to project completion.

  3. Mobile computers provide immediate updates

  4. It’s not just about making better decisions earlier on, but ultimately about having access to the information needed to make those decisions. Your field service technicians and project managers can access time-critical information whenever they need. This can be done before arriving at the customer’s location or immediately upon arriving onsite. They can then coordinate raw material and spare part requirements in a fraction of the time it would take with conventional manual processes. Instead of calling the office, waiting for a confirmation and then making a decision that hopefully is the right one, employees can make faster decisions with better information. In addition, rugged mobile devices allow project managers and team members to be self-sufficient. They need not rely too much on internal company resources. The information is provided immediately, and decisions are easily made, without having to go through the laborious steps of calling the front office.

  5. Stronger project cost management

  6. Can an argument be made that maintaining project costs and keeping a customer happy are one and the same? Most definitely! However, to be successful means the project manager must be able to rely upon tools that help manage the entire project, from the project’s initial scope all the way to the final customer signoff. This means that field service technicians, salespeople, warehouse personnel and project team leaders must be able to reach each other and discuss delays that affect manual labor schedules and the impact of raw material shortages. There is perhaps no greater example of the euphemism that time is money than the time constraints imposed on project managers. Time is of the essence and to properly manage time means to properly manage costs.

  7. Better coordination of team members and collaborative efforts

  8. Project managers know that onsite materials management isn’t as straightforward or as cut-and-dry as it is in a warehouse. There are the elements to deal with, a higher incidence of pilferage and most importantly, the high costs of damage to parts and materials. That reality must be dealt with immediately. Once the project manager and team members arrive, they all must have the ability to reconcile inventory of machinery, equipment, parts and raw materials. Faster information empowers team members to make better and quicker decisions. Access to this information is an essential part of benefiting from collaborative efforts and just might mean the difference between making a profit, or losing money.

If your company fills the role of an integrator and onsite manager of large capital projects, then it’s essential you upgrade to rugged mobile devices to further advance your enterprise mobility network. Having a complete system allows your company to not only better manage inventory and the project itself, but to better manage your customer’s expectations. One late project leads to another and one upset customer typically means another will be equally upset when delays become commonplace.

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