MicroMain Corporation and Socket Communications, Inc. partner to offer advanced mobile capabilities for maintenance professionals.
Maintenance technicians are able to increase mobile productivity by using MicroMain’s xmMOBILE™ technology with Socket’s bar code scanners to accurately capture data in the field. The Socket CompactFlash Scan Card (CFSC) Series 5 and Secure Digital Scan Card (SDSC) Series 3 products enable MicroMain users to instantaneously add bar code scanning capability to existing Pocket PCs. Socket’s plug-in card allows users to quickly roll out bar code scanning throughout the enterprise and improve mobile maintenance operations. Maintenance supervisors use xmMOBILE�part of the MicroMain XM™ computerized maintenance management (CMMS) suite�to transmit work orders to technicians. With Pocket PCs, the technicians access the work orders, complete tasks, and update the work order at the point of work performance in the field or plant floor. Creating new work orders on the fly, tracking time, adding parts, and entering comments on the handheld are also common mobile maintenance procedures.
With Socket’s bar code scan card plugged into the Pocket PCs, technicians use the same equipment to scan a bar code on a compressor or forklift, for example, to see all work orders for that asset displayed on their Pocket PCs. If no work orders exist, or if an inspection reveals the need for additional work, the maintenance technician can generate a new work order using the handheld. Using a Pocket PC with bar code capability also allows users to easily scan equipment for inspections and scan parts for inventory adjustments.
“Recent industry reports document that the use of mobile data services increases global workforce productivity by 13.4 percent per week on average for a full-time worker,� said Peter Phillips, vice president of marketing at Socket Communications. “The implementation of a mobile scanning solution not only increases mobile maintenance productivity, but also ensures information accuracy, reducing lost productivity and material costs related to data entry errors.�