News
Practical limits to efficiency?
Spring is in the air, so field service teams will be looking forward to the joys of being out and about rather than huddling in the café and will stop envying their office bound colleagues. This month we celebrate sunny days by asking about the typical practical limits to efficiency and utilisation of typical field crew, we take a preview of the latest test and benchmark wireless software developed under the auspices of the MCUG, and we consider some novel alternative approaches to location for those who are lost and lonely – finally, is choosing just one mobile device... Read More...
IT'S A DATE!
MCUG FORUM 2010 - 13th & 14th May 2010 Following the success of the 2009 Forum the MCUG are pleased to announce that we will be returning to the Ramada Hotel and Resort, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham for 2010.... Read More...
Come to the MCUG SME Clinic
Over the past two months we have trumpeted the return of our MCUG clinic at the Service Management event at NEC in October. The best way to approach such a large and comprehensive event as Service Management is to jot down your key requirements before you reach the door, and have down loaded the show guide from the service management web site a day or two before, and planed your campaign. If, when the doors of the NEC swing open, it ends up as being not-that-simple, a short reality check at the MCUG Consultants Clinic might help restore some... Read More...
Hotspots for South East Water
This month we look at the trials going on with MCUG member South East Water who are using WiFi to supplement their GPRS mobile data systems, We consider the sad demise of the door-to-door meter reader, and we wonder how remote workers feel without the cosy corporate bonding of the office coffee machine. In addition, and at long last, MCUG has a new logo, and a smart new web site that actually works. The web site has some innovations, such as a bulletin board, copies of past newsletters, current news, events lists, and an exchange for those with surplus,... Read More...
DATE FOR MCUG FORUM 2010 CONFIRMED!
Following the success of the 2009 Forum the Mobile Computer Users Group will be returning to the Ramada Hotel and Resort, Birmingham for 2010 on 13th & 14th May.
This annual event on Mobile Computer usage and remote working sets the model for sharing good practice across all sectors.
Delegates will represent the many businesses who now rely on mobile computers and wireless data to support their field workforces.
In March this year senior representatives from the Utilities, Broadcast, Aviation, Finance, Local Government, Telecommunications, Environment, Police, academics and others met to share knowledge develop ideas in a series of talks and panel sessions run by the User Group. New developments in the sector included a number of major sub-contracting businesses who had unvested heavily in mobile technology in order to deliver higher standards of services, and also users who were investing in technologies to improve the usability, flexibility and quality of mobile data connections Both provided models for new approaches to improving field work effectiveness..
Tutorial sessions covered critical decision points for mobile data project managers such decisions over the purchase of ruggedized devices, managing communications and coverage problems, choosing the right mobile device operating system, using mobile technology when accurately mapping street works, and how to effectively deploy automated work scheduling.
The two day event included networking sessions, a dinner and a thought provoking talk by Sean Murphy of Childreach International, a direct aid charity who have used advanced mobile personnel tracking from MCUG members Trackaphone to enhance their fund raising events. The event, chaired by Martin Gooch of Southern Water is the broadest in its field, allowing users to review best practice in other industry sectors, and to collect the best thinking amongst leaders in each field.Delegates have all been supplied with our 'outcomes' document which captures all the notes made at the interactive sessions.
For further information See Main Forum Website
