Year: 2014

RedPoint F-Gas IAP Beta now supports realtime temperature sensing to drive intelligent service response

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

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With RedPoint ACI Intelligent Asset Profiles you can offer customers with strict temperature requirements the most responsive service imaginable.

By connecting remote temperature sensors (existing or newly installed) to Visicom’s RedPoint HVAC monitoring platform, RedPoint F-Gas can pull down realtime temperature statistics directly into the asset management and service profiles for the ultimate in critical temperature monitoring.

Each asset can have its own priority service personality “An Intelligent Asset Profile or IAP”.  RedPoint F-Gas uses Artificial Intelligence to monitor the asset and make decisions when to alert key personnel to problems.

The IAP attempts to detect if temperature variations are due to failure or regular patterns.  Rises or falls that are out of character will first alert engineers by email or SMS.  The recipient can pull up the temperature on their RedPoint F-Gas mobile service app and decide if a call out is required.  If certain parameters are met, RedPoint’s IAP manager system will automatically raise a job, send it to the on call engineer and send them an email to alert them.

RedPoint Monitor is capable of taking data from many off the shelf temperature sensors, GSM sensors and a multitude of other digital and analogue sensors and we can work with clients to develop more advanced systems to pull in pressure, current and fallout relays.

IAP is currently in beta stage and of course requires the installation of temperature sensors on the asset or even the room the asset serves.  Some features may be subject to change whilst beta testing is completed.

 

 

 

 

 

Case study: Managing F-Gas compliance for asset owners in local authority settings

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

Customer X is a local authority with numerous offices and commercial buildings, many of which are equipped with Air Conditioning and some with F-Gas containing heat pumps.

Since the introduction of F-Gas recording legislation, customer X has strived to manage F-Gas compliance and services using a combination of paper, spreadsheets and shared calendars.

The existing approach was troublesome for many reasons.

  • Often more than one contractor was used to carry out service work on F-Gas containing assets across the local authority area.
  • In addition, spreadsheets were often lost or corrupted.
  • Sharing spreadsheets only added to the confusion.
  • Large amounts of paper were in use that require storage in an accessible way.

It was identified that a centrally available solution was required to reduce the chance of legally required records being lost or corrupted, reduce errors, manage contractors more efficiently and reduce the amount of unnecessary paperwork being generated.

  • RedPoint F-Gas was employed to setup a central database of locations and responsible managers for these locations.
  • The authority employed a single contractor to oversee management of the system and to capture asset lists for all locations during their next scheduled service.
  • Engineers were added to the system and provided with mobile apps for their devices.

Since the deployment of RedPoint F-Gas in this setting,

  • All F-Gas certificates are stored electronically for immediate retrieval.
  • The responsible contact is easily accessed securely.
  • Maintain detailed records of all AC assets and their service and performance history.
  • As scheduled services become due the appropriate contractor is notified and allocated the work.
  • As soon as the contractor completes work the system records all service work carried out.
  • All F-Gas regulations are complied with through the use of RedPoints strict F-Gas compliance frameworks.
  • The cost of using RedPoint F-Gas is calculable to reduce the net cost of AC F-Gas compliance paperwork management by 66%.
  • The use of RedPoint F-Gas to enforce the F-Gas compliance framework keeps the local authority legally protected.

 

Customer X reports that the system has made it easier to manage their F-Gas compliance records leading to peace of mind and improved legal compliance throughout the setting.

RedPoint F-Gas is available via your Air Conditioning installer, authorised RedPoint Reseller or directly from our UK distributor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Move from XL based AC asset management before you get left behind

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

You’ve used it for years, its reliable, I have a print out in my hand, but in the end its going to cost you big time.

The story is the same only the names have changed.   The reality is that many asset managers still hold onto XL spreadsheet based systems for fear of change not due to the absence of viable, cost effective and simply better alternatives.

The fear is driven by many factors, all of which are generally unfounded or worse, supported by company polices that are no longer fit for a cloud enabled world.

Data security tops the list of concerns for potential cloud adopters

Data security tops the list of concerns.  The idea that cloud is somehow insecure or at least less secure than keeping XL files on your company network or worse a personal desktop computer.  This barrier is compounded because most fm managers will ask themselves “If I go this way and there is a data leak, it’s my head on the block“.  The reality is that cloud or even better “private cloud (a cloud in your own private system)” will invariably offer far greater security provision than can be affordable upheld by the average company.  There are a huge number of options to increase security of data for cloud systems and with a little understanding the potential for data breaches are very low.

So what’s the future for your XL based fm or asset management system?

It hasn’t got one is the simple answer.  Why? because sooner or later contractors and fm service providers are likely to adopt their own electronic database driven solutions and having to hand ball 500 asset and service forms into your spreadsheet so you can sleep at night is going to start to eat into their bottom line.  That can only mean one thing, increase cost of service to you.  If you stick to your XL guns the argument becomes more hypocritical as those who provide the service will still want to put your assets onto their field service management system in order to be able to carry out the work and so your dream of a “secure system” starts to look a little infantile.  Its like asking the post office not to store your address but instead find you by asking people on street corners how to find your house!  Yes the post office can’t leak your data but everyone the postman asks along the way now knows you are getting a parcel….

If you must have a spreadsheet…

OK, so you still like something to hold in your hand, thats understandable, but any Air Conditioning service software worth its salt will provide the facility to bring down your asset lists to other systems including XL.  But remember when its weekend and your XL sheet is tucked away on your desktop pc in the office and you need to get an engineer out to site to repair that freezer which is defrosting 5K or stock, you may just think “I wish I had….”.

To summarise

Adopting a capable and well designed AC service platform will bring cost saving by making it easier to manage scheduled and on demand service work as well as compliance with F-Gas legislation.   Holding onto the past is a natural reaction, but don’t hold on to long or you will get left behind.

The RedPoint F-Gas Platform is a powerful but simple and cost-effective tool that helps you manage all your customers’ Air Conditioning and Refrigeration servicing needs using your iPhone® or iPad®. It produces Air Conditioning routine service, commissioning and F-Gas certificates that can be stored, searched, E-mailed or printed. It records all F-Gas usage on a per asset basis and manages your F-Gas bottle to keep you and customers fully compliant with F-Gas regulations. Our unique and flexible pricing options means that you only pay for what you use and the more you use, the cheaper it gets.

 

Air Conditioning database software

 

 

 

Pitfalls of migrating from paper to mobile for AC & Refrigeration engineers

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

Today every HVAC engineer will have considered moving from paper based AC service records to a software based solution.  After all every engineer most likely carries some form of mobile device with them, so why not put it to better use?

Done correctly moving to mobile is one of the single things any AC or Refrigeration company can do to improve their efficiency and used correctly it can bring huge rewards over and above making your day to day life easier.  This article considers the Pros and Cons of adopting mobile and software based service solutions.

Pros at a glance

 

  • Instant access to location and asset information
  • Reduced errors
  • Less time spent writing out forms
  • Get certificates to customers quickly so you can invoice
  • GPS locations help find customers on the road
  • Admin staff can perform many tasks freeing up engineers for other things
  • Customers value your commitment to keeping them compliant
  • Faster response times to on demand work
  • Verifiable F-Gas compliance structure

Cons at a glance

 

  • Asset information has to be entered into the system
  • Need to purchase suitable devices for engineers
  • Training for engineers and staff to use the system

On first impressions the Pros outweigh the Cons but by far and away the biggest barrier is populating a new software system with information.  Without it it isn’t much use.

So is there a way to dip your toe that is easy, carries little risk and won’t take all month?

 

If you are just starting to consider mobile job management then you probably have work coming out of your ears and the last thing you want is to have to spend days or weeks putting information into a potential candidate system only to find out its not for you.

Of course there is always going to be something to do, software isn’t magic after all but thankfully there is a way to test, evaluate and migrate on a sliding scale that won’t consume your working day.

Start with 1 engineer

 

  • Using our software you can start with 1 engineer.  Get the app and register for a free single engineer account.  The process takes about 15 minutes to complete and by that time they will be ready to go.
  • Run paper against mobile for a few weeks to see how it works.  You engineer can report back to you on his progress and issues.

As you roll out let your engineers capture asset information on the next site visit

 

  • After a few weeks your single engineer will be up to speed and be able to guide other engineers
  • Rather than trying to populate the system in one go, let your engineers capture new location and asset data when they attend sites

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Why not take RedPoint F-Gas for a test-drive today? Download the app and register for your free single engineer account.  If you like it which we are sure you will upgrade to multi engineer at any time.

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Growing number of AC/Refrigeration operators demanding compliance solutions from service providers

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

Since the introduction of F Gas regulations there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the compliance aspect of keeping solid F Gas records.  That’s not to say the service sector didn’t care, but flaky rules, changing dates and obligations have made it difficult for many caring service companies to communicate the impact of the regulation to their clients.  One need only look at the R22 changes for 2014 and the total blank face that was received by many service providers when trying to talk to customers about it.

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Maybe we are seeing a change… and fast!  The recent solidification of the near future F Gas policies has led to a resurgence of interest in the subject, this time on behalf of the owner operators.

At last the service sector asks, they are getting the message?  The answer is yes they are but it may leave many service companies with a new problem.  Traditionally F Gas has been at best a ad-hoc affair for most owners and service providers.  Paper records, spreadsheets and maybe the odd database.  Because many owners didn’t see the worry and service companies had a hard sell to warrant the passing on of costs to develop robust software solutions, the situation is that most but the largest FM providers are ill equipped to handle the day to day responsibilities involved with maintaining modern and secure F Gas records.

A new problem now arises as we are seeing a greater demand from large asset owners who are suddenly asking for electronic solutions to mange their bulging asset lists and to police the service contractors to ensure compliance.

This should be a nice problem to have, as for once AC operators are understanding there is a cost involved and a benefit to be had.  The problem is that unless the service providers involve themselves in the process early on they face the probability that they will have to engage with many different systems which will eat into time and money.

The RedPoint F-Gas Platform is a powerful but simple and cost-effective tool that helps you manage all your customers’ Air Conditioning and Refrigeration servicing needs using your iPhone® or iPad®.

It produces Air Conditioning routine service, commissioning and F Gas certificates that can be stored, searched, E-mailed or printed.

It records all F Gas usage on a per asset basis and manages your F Gas bottle to keep you and customers fully compliant with F Gas regulations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 reasons to ditch paper for your AC & Refrigeration field service

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

F Gas regulation is probably the most significant change to affect the HVAC industry in many years.  Keeping track of assets and service due dates is no longer the most difficult task Air conditioning and Refrigeration service companies face.

Now added to the list of headaches is keeping track of gas usage and leakage to an unprecedented level.

Software such as REdPoint F Gas deliver an to end turn key solutions for asset owners and service providers alike

So what are the difficulties do service providers, facilities managers and even asset owners themselves face in the increasingly legislated world of HVAC?

  1. Asset owners, that’s anyone who owns or operates HVAC equipment now invariably bear ultimate responsibility for correct record keeping in relation to their equipment.
  2. Service providers hold a burden of professional care to ensure they are both qualified and deliver the service correctly.
  3. Large asset owners are demanding innovation and more accurate electronic methods for lodging, storing and retrieving F Gas service certificates.

Switching to paperless record keeping and mobile workflow management helps in a number of ways:-

Firstly it is just good ecological and environmental practice! If you own hundreds of thousands of assets then keeping volumes of paper certificates and log sheets is just unacceptable, expensive and some may argue irresponsible from a corporate environmental perspective.

Second to the beautiful planet we call home is the basic truth that it is just cheaper and more efficient to do it electronically.  Just how much can be saved is quite staggering and a recent survey across a typical 2 years of a SME Air con company managing around a 1000 assets gave consistent savings in the 60% + region over using paper forms.

Thirdly is the reduced risk that is inbuilt into electronic F Gas management.  As the penalty for non compliance becomes very real and government agencies seek to use the threat of legal action to make offenders take note, asset owners will become increasingly concerned that the service provider they employ is not only capable of doing the work but is also capable of proving they have done the work.  Electronic access to F Gas certification documents drives a more efficient, risk free process and allows service providers to deliver innovative and cost effective solutions that work at scale.

Fourth in the list is management of staff and the protection of the precious F Gas.  F Gasses are unlike many other commercial consumable products in so far as if you loose some, a simple “get some more” may not protect you from potential legal and financial implications.  Green House Gasses (GHG) are seriously environment damaging and F Gas regulations are focussed heavily on tracking their release into the atmosphere with strict rules.  Unlike a box of nails, if a bottle of gas goes missing or more interestingly some of its contents, then the bottle contract holder may face unwelcome attention at some point.  Electronic tracking of not just the bottle cylinder but its actual contents is essential not optional.

One final reason to consider switching to paperless F Gas management is interoperability.  Many service providers utilise sub contractors to deliver service work for their clients.  Here is were mobile devices and centralised services stand out from anything that has gone before…   With the addition of a simple F Gas app to an engineers device, they can easily connect securely to different systems to download and synchronise work sheets, capture asset information and complete work on an ad-hoc basis.

So all in all its, cheaper, faster, more reliable, less error prone, expandable and more environmentally friendly to move from pen and paper to electronic F Gas record keeping.

The RedPoint F-Gas Platform is a powerful but simple and cost-effective tool that helps you manage all your customers’ Air Conditioning and Refrigeration servicing needs using your iPhone® or iPad®.

It produces Air Conditioning routine service, commissioning and F Gas certificates that can be stored, searched, E-mailed or printed.

Try our simple solution today

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How can #CAFM lower cost and improve efficiency in Air conditioning service #SaaS #cloud

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

Computer Aided Facilities Management or CAFM is the term used to describe the use of one or more integrated software systems that allow an organisation to organise and catalogue assets in a database.

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The database is the central core of the CAFM system and allows multi hierarchal systems to act upon and select the data to drive useful information systems and processes critical to the core business function.

Examples of information gathered or created by CAFM are:

  • Schedule on demand and ad hoc service visits
  • Keep track of consumables used to deliver the service
  • Manage remote engineers and mobile work force personnel
  • Interact with remote Machine to Machine M2M systems to gather sensor data
  • Monitor job status and service performance
  • Generate reports
  • Predict future work loads and drive decision making

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Service is a perfect example of an industry that can lever the potential of CAFM.  The high number of assets involved and the on site nature of their maintenance make it voracious consumer of man hours.  Costs saving opportunities are few and far between so small savings in fixed processes are obvious targets to save money and time.

Our research into costs attributed to the use of paper and pen versus mobile digital asset capture and service record generation threw out some interesting results.

The average small Air Conditioning  service business can service at least a thousand AC assets in a year.  A typical F Gas and service sheet would contain anything upto 30+ fields of specific information.  Roughly that is 30,000+ fields of text (100,000 words) to hand write onto paper.  Those same 100,000 words are then typed across to another system when an engineer gets back to the office, and by this point there is no real database as such in place for all that effort! Just duplication and time wasted.   The average unskilled typist manages just 19 words per minute when composing text!

“Paper and pen is costing your Air Conditioning service business AT LEAST £926  to $1398 USD a year”

100,000 words / 19wpm = 5263 minutes 5263/60 minutes = 87.7 Hours spent typing up information from written service forms.  Another way to put that is around 5 and a half minutes to process a single service form from paper to spreadsheet.

The average wage of a HVAC and Refrigeration engineer is £10.57 or approx. $16 USD.  So with the above in mind, paper and pen is costing your Air Conditioning service business AT LEAST £926  to $1398 USD a year for a single busy service engineer.  That equates to approx. £0.92p or $1.39USD per asset serviced.

Add to that the cost of 1000 paper forms X 2 in duplicate, printed out again in the office and possibly then sent to a customer.  Add the cost of printing and the cost of your ever swelling hard disk and backups

Add further to that the cost of errors, lost paperwork, return visits etc and we can see the cost keeps growing.  If that sounds realistic to you, then clearly there is some room for improvement?

Any size of HVAC business can move to a paperless solution and realise huge savings and improve their image to customers and reduce carbon usage and waste.

Until today you may not have considered the hidden costs of service work, slowly eating away at your bottom line.  Hidden as they are they are easy to see once you look for them.  Click here to run our free online HVAC Service Cost Calculator and see for yourself. The good news is that no matter what size of service business you run, you can have access to the latest technology for a cost that totally makes sense.  Not only does moving paperless save cost, time and reduce errors it also adds a number of other benefits such as:

  • improved efficiency
  • more accountability
  • reduced theft
  • improved customer experience
  • improved company image
  • competitive advantage
  • the ability to expand and reduce team size quickly
  • reduced staff frustration
  • more pens in the stationery store ;-)

RP F Gas is the clear standard in multi device and cross platform service software.  Offering what we believe to be the most simple to calculate cost per use available today.

Built on some of the industries most powerful cloud computing platforms for seamless scaleability, RP F Gas Software is managing, protecting and helping service teams nationally to deliver cost reductions and improved efficiency.

Backed by a growing number of international distributors including HVAC trade counters who can help and advise you on how to get the best of your system and keep you upto date with the latest developments.

Data entry should not be a barrier to adopting mobile HVAC field service software

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

The problem

Any Air conditioning or Refrigeration service business more than a few years old will generally have generated a considerable volume of data.  Worse still that data will generally be in more than one format, stored in more than one system and usually someone in the business will have the “special knowledge” of “how we do things”.

That’s great when you are staring out, but once you realise that XL files and filing cabinets are going to start holding back your plans for world domination your thoughts will usually turn first to “I wonder if there is a solution out there?“, then it will quickly move to “How on Earth will we get all of our data into this?”

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Air conditioning engineers are generally not 40 wpm typists and you already have enough to do without having to get 2000 customer records and 5000 assets into a new computer system right?

The solution is digital on boarding

The solution to the problem is to ensure that your chosen solution provider offers an “on boarding solution”.  On boarding is the process of taking your existing database information and importing that into a new system in a way that minimises manual data entry.  On boarding isn’t for everyone.  Some will prefer to just start from scratch and migrate slowly to a new system.  in that way they can cross reference the results from old to new and evaluate if the new system is providing the right information they need.  What matters is that the service is available should you need it.

The RedPoint F-Gas Platform is a powerful but simple and cost-effective tool that helps you manage all your customers’ Air Conditioning and Refrigeration servicing needs using your iPhone® or iPad®.

It produces Air Conditioning routine service, commissioning and F Gas certificates that can be stored, searched, E-mailed or printed.

Our unique and flexible pricing options means that you only pay for what you use and the more you use, the cheaper it gets.

We offer bespoke on boarding on request for a small charge and can help you export from your existing systems and import that data for you.

 

 

 

 

 

A/C Engineer paid over £300 in rental for empty F Gas bottle

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

Sounds familiar?  That’s what one customer told us this week after adopting RedPoint F Gas to manage their F Gas bottles and update their field service engineers with RP F Gas app.

The bottle had been tucked away in the stores for 5 years at £5 per month before being audited and placed into their RedPoint system.  “Immediately it flagged up“ the client told us, who rang the office to say thank you.  “Thanks to RedPoints bottle tracking database we should avoid this in the future.  I just wish I had done it earlier!”

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RedPoint F Gas which is frequently one of the top selling Uk business apps is a complete Air Conditioning and Refrigeration field service system that simplifies your business and offers a wealth of powerful features.

mobile Air Conditioning App

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Air Conditioning Service Software

Posted on by rp-fgas guru

Manage your Air Conditioning service visits with your mobile device and keep track of F Gas usage for your equipment using a central easy to use database.

  • Add new assets, locations and customers
  • Handles packaged, indoor and outdoor systems
  • Generate commissioning certificates
  • Any F Gas type, quantity or system configuration
  • Handles customised multi/split systems
  • Track F-Gas bottles usage and contents
  • Bottle diary so you won’t miss a return date
  • Assign service jobs to selected engineers
  • Monitor status of service visits in realtime
  • Access complete asset lists for any location/sub location
  • Download digital F-Gas certificates

Simple mobile app that works even when you have no signal lets your engineers access the information they need most.

mobile Air Conditioning App

 

Simple yet powerful cloud database lets your facilities manager or service manager access all the information that matters, quickly and efficiently

Air Conditioning database software

 

Available in a range of affordable options.

Click here to view options