In our April 8th post I provided information about the benefits of automating Hours-of-Service (HOS).  On January 31, 2011 the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a regulatory proposal that would require interstate commercial truck and bus companies to install Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) to monitor their drivers’ HOS compliance. 

EOBRs are devices attached to commercial vehicles that automatically record the number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle.  HOS regulates the number of hours an operator can drive after a set period of rest in a 7 or 8 day period and it is estimated that HOS logs are the third-highest paperwork burden of all Federal Highway Administration regulations. Under the proposed ruling interstate carriers that currently use Records of Duty logbooks to document drivers’ HOS would be required to use EOBRs.

Check back in the next few days to learn about end-to-end mobile solutions that will prepare you for this requirement.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about Electronic On-Board Recorders.

I just read an interesting article from Engadget that featured information about a new, rugged Android tablet being developed by Motorola.  This information was passed to Engadget by an anonymous source and it appears that Motorola is in the early stages of developing an enterprise tablet and beta testing is scheduled to begin October of this year.  Preliminary specifications show that the 7-inch tablet looks like it will feature:

• Rugged design that can withstand 4 ft. drops
• 1.3MP front-facing camera with video and 8MP rear-facing camera with illumination and aiming
• Signature capture

It will be exciting to learn more about this new device before it hits the market, so stay tuned.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for information about our end-to-end mobile solutions.

Zebra Technologies recently announced the release of the new QLn™ mobile printer which is the third generation of their popular QL printer.  The QLn boasts innovative technology that lowers operation costs and enhances print quality.  The QLn is the first printer with Zebra’s Power Smart Print Technology that delivers faster printer speeds, improved print quality and extended battery life.  The QLn is ideal for retail shelf labels, price tags and healthcare applications such as pharmacy and beside specimen labels.  With the QLn workers have a reliable mobile printing solution that lasts for an entire shift and the fast print speeds enable users to print more labels during their shift—increasing efficiency and productivity.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn more about the new Zebra QLn and our mobile printing solutions.

It is the duty of businesses to ensure that their employees are safe throughout the work day.  With a growing number of mobile workers this can become quite a daunting task.  Mobile workforces are constantly traveling, visiting customer homes and businesses and working in remote areas.  There are several lone worker solutions that increase the safety of employees through monitoring and tracking. 

Mobile devices with integrated GPS can be used to locate employees that have hit a panic button when they feel their safety is compromised or when an employee has become unresponsive.  A mobile device’s accelerometer can also detect free-falls and impacts and can be used as a man down function.  This function alerts the proper respondent to either verify safety or summon emergency assistance.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about lone worker safety solutions.

The 44th Annual ISM (IT Solutions Management for Human Services) Conference will be held in Austin, Texas August 14th-17th and DecisionPoint will be attending the show as a silver sponsor.  The ISM is an affiliate of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and the goal of the organization is to promote the development and operation of effective automated systems in Health and Human Services. 

If you’re attending the conference this year, be sure to stop by Booth #321 and visit with DecisionPoint, Motorola and Mobile Epiphany.  We’ll be providing information about our end-to-end mobile solutions and demos of the latest state-of-the-art rugged mobile devices running Mobile Epiphany’s Touch Inspect Child Services application.

Learn how you can improve child welfare while simultaneously helping caseworkers carry out visitations with mobility.  Enable your caseworkers to:

• Retrieve and browse complete case history on a mobile computer
• Collect visitation data in real-time
• Minimize the risk of lost information with automatic case info transmit
• Capture detailed pictures, signatures and easily run reports

And more…

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. to learn more about mobile solutions designed for Health and Human Services.

In our June 1st post I provided information about the importance of assigning field technicians to service calls based on skill level to improve first call resolution rates.  With a mobile field service solution you can also provide technicians with access to technical reference documents, schematics and history on a mobile computer to further enhance productivity and first-time fix rates.  Providing technicians with real-time resources on a mobile device not only increases first-time fix rates and boosts productivity, it also:

• Reduces overtime costs
• Improves ticket close out times
• Reduces total service costs
• Increases service profitability

Mobile field service solutions provide technicians with all the tools they need to efficiently complete a service call.  A hierarchy of diagrams for full equipment range, exploded parts diagrams and part lists are available on-demand right at their fingertips.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about our MobileArc™ Field Service solutions.

A recent study conducted by Motorola Solutions revealed that 56 percent of hospitality organizations plan to raise mobile investments to better equip workforces, improve operational efficiencies and enhance the customer experience.  Hospitality organizations are elevating the guest experience with customer-facing applications and mobile technologies such as:

• Self-service check-in via kiosks
• Mobile tableside ordering for restaurants, poolside and beach front service
• Reservation and event ticketing via kiosks
• Voice and data solutions for facilities management and staff communication

According to Motorola’s 2011 Hospitality Market Barometer, 58 percent of hospitality organizations deploying mobile technology today see improved customer satisfaction and 59 percent witnessed an increase in employee productivity and efficiency.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about mobile solutions designed for the hospitality industry.

In past posts we’ve discussed the ways that kiosk printers enhance the shopping experience by providing customers with on-demand access to coupons, online order information and more.  Selecting a kiosk printer that is easy to use and maintain are important considerations when implementing a kiosk solution.  Check out this video from Zebra Technologies that explains the important features to look for and showcases a full-feature kiosk printer.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about kiosk solutions and kiosk printer selection.

In past posts we’ve provided information about DecisionPoint’s Push-to-Talk solution Grapevine and the benefits it provides to field-based workforces.  Grapevine Push-to-Talk is an “always on” solution that enables instant voice communication over Windows Mobile phones or PCs and is ideal for communications between dispatch and field workers.  Check out the latest video from DecisionPoint that features Grapevine and showcases its high-quality voice and performance.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about Grapevine Push-to-Talk.

Our post yesterday focused on the opportunity to increase revenue by selling additional products and services during service calls with the help of mobile solutions.  Adding mobile payment functionality to the mix further enhances up-sell opportunities.  Mobile computers and printers enable field workers to close an entire deal on the spot, which has a big impact on up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.  With an end-to-end field payment solution your workers can not only offer additional services and products, they can also:

• Accept payment at the time of order
• Capture signatures
• Print out a receipt
• Send digital receipts

More and more companies are adopting mobile payment to shorten the sales cycle and increase revenues by enabling field workers to up-sell, extend contracts and more—all at the point of customer engagement.

Let’s Get Mobile!  Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for additional information about mobile payment solutions.