Wireless CMMS: Next-Generation Tool
Part 1: The Benefits and Challenges of Wireless CMMS
Part 2: Wireless CMMS: Managers Must Convince Technicians
Part 3: Wireless CMMS: Consider Total Cost of Ownership
Part 4: Mobile CMMS: Questions About Data Entry
Part 5: CMMS: Wireless Connectivity an Issue
Mobile CMMS: Questions About Data Entry
By Kris Bagadia - March 2010
As mobile CMMS devices get more compact, certain features, such as keyboards, are sacrificed for aesthetics. Many maintenance technicians constantly work with their hands on machinery and equipment, and typing on a small keyboard or screen is difficult, if not impossible.
The technicians' typical response is to return to the older method of recording data on paper, but this move rekindles the issue of usability and the investment of technicians in the success of mobile technology.
Managers have a simple, proactive solution to this problem. With the right software option, managers can customize the software to avoid an interface that relies on empty text fields into which technicians must type data. Instead, the software features a menu-based interface. In this scenario, rather than risking errors from smudged fingers on a keyboard, technicians simply pick the desired option from a drop-down list.
