Maintenance Technology July 2014 - (Page 30)

WORKFORCE MOBILITY ROUNDUP Mobideo Mobideo (mobideo.com) is a real-time operations-management software platform that delivers mobile solutions addressing the human-resource component of complex business operations in discrete and continuous process industries. According to Greg Alvarado, who recently joined Mobideo as Senior Vice President for Process Industries (and is based in the company's new Houston, TX, offices), a major challenge for companies everywhere involves the accurate capture of the myriad details of their operating processes. The forms and documents that typically contain this crucial information, including procedural manuals, Standard Operating Procedures, checklists and other task-specific formats, can be prone to error, difficult to use and insensitive to changing conditions in the field. "Situations like these," explains Alvarado, "can have significant impact on an organization's workforce. They will lead to inefficiencies, risk exposure and compliance and safety issues." Mobideo's patented software platform overcomes those types of problems with its ability to quickly and seamlessly convert documentation of any type and format along with information retrieved from ERP, EAM and other third-party enterprise software products into an automated, validated, guided business process. The program ingests the documentation and best practices as its starting point, then applies sophisticated tools to create a context- and content-driven Mobideo Mobile application application. Alvarado says that Mobideo Mobile offers a range of benefits for workers in process environments. As an example, he cites results of a recent pilot project with the technology during a large oil-refinery turnaround (TAR) that indicated a 50% compression/reduction in response times for findings during the TAR and an overall 30% reduction in the length of the TAR. Operating on any device by which personnel (in the field or plant) receive tasks, Mobideo Mobile incorporates an easy-to-use, intuitive graphical interface that lets the user see exactly what task(s) he/she needs to complete. Information is presented as a single, unified application comprised of forms and documents bundled with data populated in real-time from other enterprise software products. The application guides workers through the process of doing their jobs, and shields them from making errors and minimizes mistakes. Depending on the data that serves as the foundation for an application, personnel can follow procedures, collect information, fill out forms and gather photographs, barcode scans, GPS locations and RFID tags. Time and location are captured through every screen-touch interaction with the Mobile application. All captured data is sent to the Mobideo Engine and analyzed in real-time on the Mobideo Portal. Sorting Out Mobile-Device Concerns: COTS and BYOD Can you afford to use off-the-shelf and/or employee-supplied smart mobile devices in your operations? A recently released White Paper by Opto 22, the Temecula, CA-based maker of the groov technologies featured on page 31, discusses the beneﬁts and risks associated with the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products and workers' personal smart devices, aka "Bring Your Own Devices (BYODs)," in industrial automation. That experience may have practical implications for readers in the maintenance arena. The paper describes how automation engineers and technicians use COTS mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to remotely access equipment, commission and maintain systems, provide inexpensive machine operator interfaces and 30 | MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY other purposes-frequently without problems. However, Benson Hougland, a Vice President at Opto 22, cautions that use of such technologies can also lead to trouble, including breaches in system security. In the end, he says, four factors-environment, safety, security and connectivity-will inﬂuence the decision to use or not use mobile devices in industrial settings. The referenced White Paper considers each of those factors, reviews mobile-device trends and discusses the pros and cons associated with COTS devices. (Read the White Paper at: opto22.com/documents/2107_ COTS_Mobile_in_Automation_white_paper.pdf.) JULY 2014 http://www.mobideo.com http://www.opto22.com/documents/2107_

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology July 2014

Maintenance Technology July 2014