Honeywell Operational Intelligence Service Management Module Deploys a Vendor-Agnostic Solution

This is a four-part series looking at how Honeywell is revolutionizing IT asset and service management with Operational Intelligence. Operational Intelligence includes four modules to give you a robust tool to manage and optimize assets across your locations throughout the operational asset lifecycle. These include: 1) Service Management, 2) Performance Management, 3) Configuration Management, and 4) Worker Performance. Part 1 will introduce the Service Management module.

Across the supply chain, organizations deploy fleets of mobile devices made up of assets from multiple manufacturers – ruggedized mobile computers, tablets, barcode scanners, and printers. Each device comes with its own operating system, software, contracts, agreements, and repair processes that must be carefully managed. Many of these devices can collect rich telemetry and event data that can be used to provide actionable insights into how devices are used, how to decrease operational costs, and how to improve productivity. Sadly, organizations are challenged in accessing these insights because they are using separate tools and aggregating the information with spreadsheets and in-house developed tools.

Operational Intelligence Overview

Honeywell Operational Intelligence solves these needs and problems by providing IT and site leaders and services providers a centralized, cloud-based platform to manage the complete lifecycle of their assets. Operational Intelligence aggregates lifecycle and workflow information into a single flexible tool to capture data, enforce processes, and provide visibility across the entire device workflow for your heterogeneous environment. Operational Intelligence is also capable of communicating with Honeywell devices to gather deep metric and telemetry data; provide software, configuration, OS, and firmware updates to the devices; and track indoor device location.

Operational Intelligence is a powerful analysis software engine that provides dashboards to support your troubleshooting efforts. At Honeywell, we believe in the power of intelligence and design products to give you more of it. Over the last several years, Honeywell has been systematically adding powerful “self-analyzing” toolsets to all of our hardware products. These embedded tools are capable of methodically capturing hundreds of performance data points from our devices as they are being used in your operations. When this data is compiled and analyzed, it opens amazing insights into many problems common to AIDC technology users.

Operational Intelligence includes four modules to give you a robust tool to manage and optimize assets across your locations throughout the operational asset lifecycle. These include:

• Service Management: As a vendor-agnostic solution, systematically standardize, manage, and optimize the process of servicing your IT assets.
• Performance Management: Track, analyze, and report on the operational performance of your IT assets. Remotely download software and configurations.
• Configuration Management: Reduce time spent on individual device updates and security risks by keeping devices automatically updated.
• Worker Performance: Analyze worker performance and workflow efficiencies by tracking device and application use.

A Closer Look at Service Management Module

Operational Intelligence is a vendor-agnostic solution that systematically standardizes, manages, and optimizes the process of servicing your IT assets. With the Service Management module, you can:

• Standardize Your IT Asset Database. Bring a consistent methodology to centralize the way you track and service your IT assets inventory across your operations. Consolidate and configure device lifecycle and return merchandise authorization (RMA) processes into one efficient system.
• Manage RMA and SLAs. Improve return and repair workflows by supporting your IT asset problem evaluation and repair processes. Receive real-time status updates on assets returned for repair. Track support contracts and verify vendor adherence to Service-Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Optimize IT Asset Inventory. Standardize and manage your device workflow in a centralized system. Use intelligent service reporting to improve business outcomes. “Right-size” your spare pool inventory and “right-place” your IT assets across sites.

Some of the module highlights include:

• All IT assets loaded in a single database by serial number
• Organizes your equipment list by model, type, location, and more
• Keeps track of asset warranty and service contract terms and renewal dates
• Tracks software version levels of your IT assets
• Standardizes the RMA process to eliminate No Trouble Found (NTF) and lost equipment

With Service Management, you can:

• Reduce missing hardware by knowing the location of your mobile devices
• Decrease unnecessary returns through a 25% reduction in No Fault Found (NFF) returns
• Improve profitability through reducing your RMAs by 50%

Building a case for service management

Effective mobile asset management is mission-critical for an organization’s operational lifecycle of each device. Beginning with requisition and procurement followed by deployment and maintenance through to its retirement, operational asset management involves a process.

Effective processes provide control, consistency, and accuracy that benchmark against specific goals and objectives. Per industry experts, when an organization chooses to onboard a well-defined and standardized operational asset management strategy, they will see as much as a 55% cost savings (30% in the first year, followed by 5% in each of the subsequent 5 years).

It’s the difference between being able to know versus guess about the operational lifecycle of your mobile device fleet.

Honeywell and industry research show that it is not uncommon for a company to have 10–30% of their devices either stolen or missing. Think about that. If you had 1,000 devices in your fleet, as many as 300 of them are gone. That is a very expensive proposition when you think of the cost of just one mobile asset.

There is a tremendous challenge of underutilized, unavailable, or mismanaged mobile assets, which brings great opportunities – and this is where Honeywell can help. What is your process for managing your mobile device assets lifecycle? Is your process based on a spreadsheet or operational asset management software or some combination thereof? How does your process stack up against industry best practices?

Remember, lifecycle is what you do; asset tracking records what you have done. Process is how you do it. Process is the foundation of asset management.

With Operational Intelligence, you will gain a well-defined and field-tested solution that provides:

• Well-defined processes to ensure efficient, consistent, and accurate execution of asset management tasks and activities. You gain a configurable RMA process workflow and overall workflow.
• Continuous process improvement to achieve greater levels of your mobile device visibility. You can improve processes based on historical workflow analysis.
• Effective tools that provide process support and automation. You will have a manufacturer-agnostic portal for guided workflow with integration to repair centers, shipping, and mobile device management (MDM) solutions for automation.

Minimizing the loss of mobile devices throughout their lifecycle

With Operational Intelligence, you can minimize the loss of mobile assets by:

• Assigning assets to unique departments and locations for accountability
• Identifying current or last-known location for each asset
• Receiving real-time status updates on assets returned for repair

Tracking is not just a physical location. When a device enters the RMA lifecycle, you receive real-time updates at every step in the process, from the service center to repair center and when it will return to you.

Managing mobile device security, contracts, and usage throughout the lifecycle

It is not uncommon for a fleet of mobile devices to include assets from multiple manufacturers. Each device comes with its own OS/software, contracts, and agreements that must be carefully managed. Operational Intelligence helps you:

Track Vendor Contracts and Verify Adherence to SLAs. When you create an RMA to have a device repaired, you will know how long it will take to move it through the repair center. You will know whether your vendor is meeting SLA contracts around return and repair.

Verify Adherence to RMA Vendor Contracts. Reduce risk and improve operations by combining process workflow and SLA contract information to monitor contract adherence and compare vendor performance.

Manage Lease Agreements and Renewals for Financing Terms. You will be able to understand the details of device service agreements, including when they are expiring and needing renewals.

Monitor Usage Utilization and Software Versions. In addition to OS security patches, when you include the Performance Management module or have a connection with an MDM like Soti MobiControl, you will be able to know each device’s software version and its security status. This is true for devices deployed on Honeywell’s Mobility Edge platform or any device the MDM is managing.

Standardize, automate, and simplify processes throughout the lifecycle

Per Honeywell device service and repair center studies, about 25% of all returns are classified as No Fault Found (NFF), meaning that the device was in good working condition and did not need repairs.

These NFF devices come with a lot of hidden costs that include shipping, handling, labor, diagnostics, and more. The costs can average $75, which is charged back to the customer. Decisions need to be made to return the device to the customer or place it in the spare pool. Decreasing NFF returns increases productivity and profitability.

With Operational Intelligence, you can also create accountability to reduce unnecessary returns by standardizing the process. You are able to:

Define Self-Service Checklists. Standardize the internal device review process to follow prior to opening RMA issuance. Be able to connect the process to individuals, locations, and devices for actionable reporting and analysis.

Consolidate RMA Processes into One Efficient System. Create operational improvements and simplify operations by consolidating multiple tools and processes from different vendors. You create one database that consolidates your workflow data, which provides for easy reporting. Instead of managing spreadsheets, you grant and control access to team members. The system integrates with manufacturer repair centers, and RMAs are automatically created. The process is streamlined and efficient.

Control Corporate Shipping Methods. Through automated integration with manufacturer repair centers, you standardize on best practices for moving devices cost-effectively.

Right-Size Spare Device Inventory. Companies can reduce capital expenditures for spare devices by actively managing spares pool usage and historical trends rather than arbitrarily and through guesswork.

Develop a Vendor-Agnostic Portal. You will have a manufacturer-agnostic portal for guided workflows with integration to repair centers, shipping, and mobile device management (MDM) solutions for automation. Gain management benefits like SLAs, test scripts, documentation, and licensed software tracking.

Conclusion

Honeywell Operational Intelligence is a cloud-based platform to manage the complete lifecycle of your assets. Operational Intelligence aggregates lifecycle and workflow information into a single, flexible tool to capture data, enforce processes, and provide visibility across the entire device workflow for your heterogeneous environment. Operational Intelligence is also capable of communicating with Honeywell devices to gather deep metric and telemetry data; provide software, configuration, OS, and firmware updates to the devices; and track indoor device location.

Operational Intelligence is a powerful analysis software engine that provides dashboards to support your troubleshooting efforts. At Honeywell, we believe in the power of intelligence and design products to give you more of it. That’s why we have been systematically adding powerful “self-analyzing” toolsets to all of our hardware products. These embedded tools we call “Edge Intelligence” are capable of methodically capturing hundreds of performance data points from our devices as they are being used in your operations. When this data is compiled and analyzed, it opens amazing insights into many problems common to AIDC technology users.

Operational Intelligence delivers results that have been previously unattainable with any one solution. These include:

• Assign assets to unique departments and locations for accountability.
• Receive real-time status updates on assets returned for repair to reduce help desk status calls.
• Define self-service checklists to follow prior to RMA issuance to reduce NFF returns and create accountability.
• Simplify the RMA process by consolidating and standardizing the lifecycle management processes by digitizing your service and repair workflow, ensuring global consistency and simplifying the process for all employees.
• Control corporate shipping methods through automated integration to understand and reduce shipping costs.
• Minimize size of spare pools, reducing upfront capital expenditure.
• Properly allocate devices to locations and departments based on usage to improve productivity.
• Track connected mobile devices in operation and unconnected mobile devices through their service repair workflow and back into operations or spare pools to reduce lost devices.
• Reduce wasteful spend on unnecessary equipment purchases by analyzing device utilization and alerting supervisors to underutilized devices that could be relocated.
• Receive device lifecycle analytics to make informed decisions to refresh devices, spot reoccurring device issues, and identify individual problem devices.
• Track and locate devices to minimize lost devices.
• Minimize productivity loss with real-time notifications for printer jams and out-of-media and ink issues.
• Increase device uptime and availability by providing predictive notifications about pending maintenance needs or consumable replacements such as batteries, labels, printheads, and more.
• Track dropped and high-impact events on the devices to understand the care and use of the devices.
• Understand battery usage to drive behavior changes to extend the lifespan of batteries.
• Receive recommendations and make informed decisions regarding battery replacements based on health.
• Device OS and firmware update capabilities and versioning tracking so you can have visibility into security vulnerabilities and can patch devices to enforce compliance and mitigate risk.
• Integrated dashboards, KPIs, alerts, and notifications to provide device usage and productivity degradation events to improve utilization and productivity.

If you want to learn how Operational Intelligence can help you better manage your mobile assets, contact Honeywell today at https://www.honeywellaidc.com/solutions/workflow/operational-intelligence.