Ready, set, go! – Equipping your mobile workforce with OCR meter reading
Ebin Thomas
Account Executive at Anyline
When it comes to mobile workforce management solutions, there are some pretty good ones out there. They are good enough, or almost, but often require peripheral tools that must be used to make them fully functional. The primary add-on that greatly improves the efficacy of an existing management system or planned management system is optical character recognition or OCR.
That is the focus of this post, to examine the meter reading technology that every mobile workforce management should consider, how OCR can be incorporated into an existing system, and answer the following topics:
- Which advances in mobile workforce management are already in use?
- What are some typical fieldwork tasks?
- What issues are still there with the working schedule?
- The key is named OCR
- How can mobile meter scanning be integrated?
Jump to key topics
Jump to key topics
Which advances in mobile workforce management are already in use?
Mobile workforce management is the process of organizing and dispatching mobile utility workers. Also known as MWM, it incorporates several moving parts including the processes and tools that are necessary for empowering and supporting mobile utility workers as they carry out their daily tasks. There is a constant push to improve the efficiency and productivity of mobile utility workers and utility companies employ several technologies to aid in this process which include:
- Cloud computing – Instead of handling storage and processing in-house, it is managed by the software provider. This allows companies to bypass the expenses that are associated with the installation of new hardware. Cloud services also tend to have increased security so that data is secure and backed up regularly. It also allows data to be synced across all devices and access to data from anywhere, improving collaboration among teams.
- GPS tracking – Provides the ability to track employee locations and movements in real-time to ensure safety, compliance, and optimal productivity.
- Device-agnostic solutions – Solutions that are applied to multiple devices, including computers, smartphones, tablets, and more.
- Transparent schedules – Ability for a company to know where employees are located and which job or jobs they have completed throughout the day, and transparency in assigning and scheduling of jobs.
- BYOD – Bring your own device. Mobile workers can bring their own devices and install an app for work purposes. This minimizes the learning curve for getting acclimated to a new device.
When technicians and dispatchers are connected in real-time it centralizes labor management while improving work schedules. Critical updates can be delivered to employees and customers in real-time, making the job of the mobile utility worker easier and more efficient.
What are some typical fieldwork tasks?
Workers carry out many tasks when they are in the field. These can be long-range and routine or they can be emergent in nature.
Fieldwork tasks include:
- Inspection – Usually booked as an appointment, well in advance, and confirmed with contractors or customers.
- Planned maintenance – Typically visible on a long-term schedule but is not an urgent matter. It can be conducted at any point over several weeks or handled at a specific time and date that was agreed upon at an earlier time to facilitate access to equipment and other necessary tools.
- Emergency calls – These tasks are the highest priority and are incorporated into the schedule immediately, sometimes even replacing tasks that are a lower priority.
- Same-day service tasks – These tasks can be prioritized and entered into the schedule.
- Service level agreement (SLA) – These tasks are scheduled according to contracted agreements that require calls to be managed within specific timeframes.
- Co-located tasks – These tasks are attempted in response to a service call made to a site and allow for planned maintenance work to also be performed at the same visit.
- Complex and prerequisite tasks – These tasks can be applied and added to daily work and tend to be regular tasks that facilitate the completion of the primary task.
The issues in the fieldwork
The success of mobile workforce management hinges on a well-functioning and highly organized schedule for the mobile workers. While issues may arise that can impact the schedule, the basic bones are in place and the mobile workers can carry out their jobs in a timely manner. However, fieldwork is rarely without its challenges:
- Scheduling conflicts and delays
- Unplanned or unexpected extra trips
- Misunderstanding or miscommunication regarding the job
This will happen that will sometimes affect the schedule, especially when mobile utility workers are traveling, but they can be prevented.
The key is named OCR
While certain tasks that mobile utility workers perform require them to travel to the actual site, such as installing a device or repairing equipment or software, certain maintenance tasks can be completed remotely. Reading the meter is one such task and doing it remotely can help workers avoid some schedule delays or conflicts. One technology that can be particularly useful in this area is the AI-based technology OCR.
While utility workers who use OCR technology can still go to a customer’s home to scan their meters, the optimal solution is for the utility company to create an automated process for reading utility meters. This can include allowing clients to scan their own meters using their own smartphones. OCR can quickly and easily identify the numbers on utility meters and transmit it securely to the utility company. They can also scan other information such as meter serial numbers or barcodes.
Mobile meter reading eliminates the need for utility workers in the field, visiting dozens of homes daily, scanning the meters, and recording the information. This leaves a lot of room for error.
How can Anyline be integrated?
The beauty of Anyline’s data capture technology is that it can be integrated into whatever workforce management system a utility company is already using or a mobile app that utility customers can use on their personal devices. This saves valuable resources while ensuring that utility workers and customers can feel at ease using the technology because they are already familiar with their own smart devices.
This ease of integration is thanks to Anyline’s Software Development Kit or SDK. It allows for secure, fast transmission of meter reading data. It is also backed by Anyline’s hands-on customer support which can help with the technology’s integration into android and iOS smartphones and they can offer support for common integration frameworks including Xamarin, React Native, Flutter, .NET and Cordova.”
You can test the capabilities of our mobile meter reading by downloading our Energy & Water Demo App to see if this solution is right for your business.
