Background
Ford Motor Company, with more than 3,000 dealerships in the U.S. and 7,500 worldwide, produces some of the world’s most iconic vehicles, including its eponymous lineup of Fords, and its upscale roster of Lincolns. Every dealership is staffed with technicians trained to maintain and repair their customers’ vehicles, with most repairs being completed on the spot. But not always.
With increasingly complex cars, the difficulty of repairs has also increased. In addition, unresolved problems that brought customers back a second time following an initial repair attempt did not meet Ford’s high-quality standards. In both cases, if technicians needed to connect with Field Service Engineers (FSEs) for assistance, the communication process took too long.
For these complex and difficult cases, Ford has developed a personalized approach to repairs. Technicians will contact their assigned FSEs to help diagnose, troubleshoot, and make repairs. But these problem-solving methods all have their limitations and as cars are increasingly becoming more complex, dealerships need more sophisticated knowledge sharing tools to resolve issues.
Challenges
- Ford operates more than 10,000 full-service dealerships worldwide. They each include maintenance and repair services. But some vehicle problems are more difficult than others, requiring expert help.
- The company’s dealership network is global, including locations which are difficult and costly to support by sending in experts to help.
- Unresolved problems needed rework or longer repair cycles, or unsuccessful repair attempts were not meeting Ford’s high-quality standards.
A lot of cases that come to the FSE are resolved remotely during the initial contact. But a significant number of cases require some sort of follow-up. These cases are often solved via emailed pictures and lengthy phone calls. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes a phone call is all that is needed.
However, there are instances where seeing what the technician is working on can aid in resolving a problem. Matt Kunes, ITO Manager at Ford Motor Company explains: “This was not an ideal situation because our technicians need their hands free to get a job done.”
Matt Kunes ITO Manager at Ford Motor Company
“The technicians using SWIS have provided very positive feedback on the program. They are finding that SWIS is helping them find and repair problems more easily.”
Solutions
- Real time communication. With See-What-I-See sessions, remote experts guide the Ford technician with clear instructions in real time.
- Instant access to knowledge and guidance. Formerly analogue processes are digitalized, giving technicians immediate access to knowledge, and helping them to increase first-time fix rates quickly and efficiently.
- Augmented field of view. TeamViewer Frontline augments the technician’s field of view offering tailor-made features to troubleshoot repairs including AR pointers and markers, as well as document sharing and more.
With TeamViewer Frontline augmented reality software at both ends of the conversation, the FSE can contact the technician to start a remote See-What-I-See (SWIS) session through a pair of smart glasses worn by the technician, or through a smart phone. The wearable device will display relevant information in real time such as images, diagrams, and most importantly 3D markers shared from the FSE’s device. The camera enables the remote expert to see exactly what the technician is seeing. Throughout the session, the remote expert guides the technician, giving verbal instructions or even directing the technician’s camera to zoom in, to record, to freeze frame, to share its screen, and to trigger the flashlight to illuminate whatever the technician’s camera is showing.
The onboarding process for the dealers is seamlessly structured and led by TeamViewer’s system integration partner Tech Mahindra that also supports initial training, device configuration, and after-sales service. The dealerships receive the ready-to-use SWIS packages via mail, containing the hardware, pre-set with the Frontline solution for remote assistance. The technicians only need to connect the smart glasses to the local Wi-Fi and SWIS is ready to aid them in diagnosing vehicle owner concerns.
On the administration side, Ford leverages information provided by the Frontline software, such as call history and relevant media shared and created, to ensure correct data when referencing cases. A seamless integration within Ford’s own dashboards allows for real-time insights on the usage of SWIS, making it easier to evaluate how to effectively use SWIS.
Elizabeth Tarquinto Marketing Manager at Ford Motor Company
“With the See-What-I-See (SWIS) program we see sustainability on multiple levels, reaching far beyond the environmental impact we already are achieving today.”
Results
Within the first year, using TeamViewer Frontline, Ford has already reached more than 20,000 remote support calls, reducing time-to-resolution down to as little as 40 minutes. By instantly connecting the technician to an expert, repairs can be completed quicker, allowing vehicle owners to get back behind the wheel faster.
With rising usage numbers that are still climbing, Ford is identifying areas of greatest ROI. Top areas of productivity so far are in gas and body, and cases connected to EVs. The program has proven highly successful for all involved parties, especially in complex cases involving advanced vehicle electronic systems. In addition, having a less centralized, more white-glove approach to troubleshooting repairs has fostered closer relationships and interactions between dealerships and their regional FSEs.
Currently, SWIS is for diagnostic assistance between the technician and their FSE, but additional use cases are being explored by other organizations within Ford. Warranty analysts can use SWIS to inspect components without the need to return the component. Ford training coordinators are exploring how they can utilize SWIS to make training accessible to more technicians when traveling to a classroom is not possible.
Outcome
With more and more EVs on the roads and the level of new, complex EV-specific knowledge that is required to fix their issues, the demand for support will only rise. By implementing the TeamViewer Frontline solution, Ford is meeting tomorrow’s demands today, supporting a more sustainable future for all.
The SWIS system enables troubleshooting and diagnosis from afar which has significantly cut the need for field service engineers to visit the dealership on-site. Fewer trips not only mean less travel costs and a better work-life-balance for their experts, but also a reduced carbon footprint for Ford, supporting their global sustainability goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Besides less trips, Ford has discovered a more sustainable way to enable the dealerships to quickly adapt to the emerging eco-friendly shift to electronic vehicles via remote training. With TeamViewer Frontline, knowledge sharing and transfer becomes easier than ever. While being connected to experts or instructors and receiving intuitive guidance, the on-site technicians as well as fixing new problems that are specific to EVs.
The results speak for themselves
- Instant troubleshooting and support with complex repairs to get Ford drivers back on the road quicker
- Reducing time to resolution to as little as 40 minutes for over 20,000 remote support calls
- Fewer expert travel, resulting in less costs, reduced carbon footprint, and better work-life balance
- Better knowledge transfer and on-the-job training for technicians
- Now live at 3,600 dealers in 13 countries around the world
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