Jan/Feb 2006

A mobile maintenance management system for Pocket PC devices has been launched by SoftSols, a developer with a long-standing presence in desktop-based workforce management systems.

Its current office suite is Agility, and this has now been augmented by Agility Mobile Expert, which is aimed at mobile engineers and contractors. It is said to give them a quick and easy way to update work order information and time sheets automatically "on the fly".

Agility itself was launched recently in browser-based form, allowing office based helpdesk staff working with a Web browser to see the status of each engineer at a glance, and allocate work orders that can be sent directly to the appropriately skilled technician via a PDA device.

On completion of the work, engineers need only update the work order on their PDA. Functions also include database queries, site and asset histories and signature capture.

 

The Pocket PC application is said to work even when the unit out of network coverage. Updated information is stored in a message queue, which automatically synchronises when the network connection is re-established.

Users of existing SoftSols products include PZ Cussons, Unilever, Wellstar Hospital Group and DS Smith.