1   Business Case

As the Maintenance Manager for the public transportation company, the mobile application for Vehicle Inspections helps you to:

• Have a real time status of your fleet based on mechanics and drivers feedback.
• Schedule a Vehicle Inspection list, whereby the expert in each area is responsible for a specific report. Drivers and mechanics will focus on their knowledge specific area.
• Provide an application that enables any employee to inform the Maintenance Manager about a malfunction he/she has detected in a vehicle during a vehicle inspection. Frequently, strange noises or vehicle behaviours are a warning that the vehicle is faulty. Any information received in advance is important to make appropriate, cost saving and most critically, safe decisions.
• Avoid unnecessary paper and time wasted every time a vehicle inspection takes place.

As the IT Manager for the public transportation company, the Movilizer helps you to:

• Provide your Maintenance Managers with the quickest solution to implement and deploy. The Movilizer can be up and running within minutes (without integration with your backend system) or within hours/days (in case you require integration with your backend system).
• Provide your Maintenance Managers with the most economical solution: the Movilizer supports any mobile phone that your employees may use already today (no new mobile hardware), it requires no additional middleware infrastructure (no server required) and it does not have any license cost implications (Movilitas only charges support fees for Users in productive system).
• Provide your Maintenance Managers with the most flexible solution; they will have the option of redefining the Vehicle Inspection forms any time; adding, changing or deleting screens from the Movilizer application merely takes minutes.

  2   Supported Processes

Step 1: Maintenance staff creates Vehicle Inspection forms

In the Mobile App Admin Portal (under www.movilizer.com), the Maintenance staff create the Vehicle Inspection forms. Each Vehicle Inspection form can then be assigned to one employee. As soon as a particular Vehicle Inspection form has been assigned, it will be sent to the final user’s mobile phone. Various categories of Vehicle Inspection forms can be created so that each type can have different screens, different info fields and different screen texts; this allows the company to use the Vehicles Inspection forms for different vehicle types. Should you integrate this mobile application with your backend system you would be creating the Vehicle Inspection request info in your backend system (E.g. SAP CS).

Step 2: Employees execute the Vehicle Inspection forms on their mobile phones

Employees will find the Vehicle Inspection forms in the main menu. They can select the Vehicle Inspection form they are going to perform and execute it. Adding or removing screen fields as well changing the text of any of the screens is supported in the free version of the mobile application for Vehicle Inspections. In the Enterprise version, you can add, or delete fields, change the screen sequence, and add many other features (Link to Enterprise Version features).

Step 3: Maintenance staff monitors the processed Vehicle Inspection forms

In the free version as soon as one of the employees completes the Vehicle Inspection form in the mobile device, the Maintenance staff can then see in real time the form details via the Mobile App Admin Portal (under www.movilizer.com). The list of completed forms and the corresponding details can then be exported to Microsoft Excel.

  3   Technical Features

As you can see in the diagrams below, there is no requirement for a new infrastructure. This is mainly due to two reasons.

• Firstly, the Movilizer Client runs on any mobile phone or PDA (you can reuse existing phones and/or mobile devices) and
• secondly, the Movilizer Middleware runs as a service in the Movilizer Cloud. Via the Mobile App Admin Portal, you can use the Movilizer Standalone, but in case you wish to integrate the Movilizer with your existing Maintenance backend (e.g. SAP, Maximo, etc.), you can download the plug-in connector from the Mobile App Admin Portal and deploy it to your backend. If the connector you wish is not available “out of the box”, you can also build your own connectors. Below the two usage models at a glance:

Technical Architecture
Movilizer Standalone Application

Figure 1: Standalone Application—Mobile Application for Mobile Survey with the Movilizer

Technical Architecture
Movilizer Integrated Application

Figure 2: Movilizer Integrated Application—Mobile Application for Mobile Survey with the Movilizer

1. The Movilizer Client

• You can run the Movilizer Client on your current mobile phones (not only on smart phones) or on your current handheld devices (rugged or non rugged PDAs). No new hardware is required. The Movilizer Client runs on any platform (Blackberry, Symbian, Android, Windows mobile, IPhone) and on any of the following mobile devices: any Nokia, any HTC, any Blackberry, any Sony Ericsson, Samsung, any Motorola mobile phone or PDA, any Intermec Handheld device etc. The deployment of the Movilizer Client is done via SMS and is as simple as downloading a Ringtone (average set up time is seconds).
• The mobile application for Vehicle Inspections works offline – online. This means that you do not need connectivity to be able to work with it. The synchronisation can be triggered automatically in the background, or explicitly by the mobile User.
• The Movilizer uses the native user interface of your mobile phone or PDA, whatever phone you use. In this way, you can use many of your mobile phone features within the Movilizer: diary, integration with phone book etc.

2. The Movilizer Cloud

For you, as an IT responsible, the Movilizer Cloud means that you do not need to install any additional infrastructure (no middleware) to be able to run the mobile application for Vehicle Inspections. The following components are accessible via the Internet:

2.1 Synchronization Service

The synchronisation service allows you to work synchronously or asynchronously. This provides the Movilizer with the capability of supporting thousands of mobile user synchronisations per second.

2.2 Mobile App Admin Portal

You use the Mobile App Admin Portal via the Internet (www.movilizer.com) to:

Create the Vehicle Inspection forms (*only for the standalone scenario):
Via the Mobile App Admin Portal you create the Vehicle Inspection forms that your mobile Users will receive on their devices.

Adapt your Vehicle Inspection forms to your needs (*only for the standalone scenario):
Via the Mobile App Admin Portal you define how your Vehicle Inspection forms will look on the mobile phone. You can adapt the Vehicle Inspection forms according to your needs. For example, you can change the texts of the screens, you can delete screens or you can create new screens (feature available only in the Enterprise version). Obviously, in the Movilizer you can have different Vehicle Inspection forms and assign them to different mobile Users. (E.g. Different types of forms depending on the vehicle type or the user knowledge: driver, electric mechanic…).

Administrate your mobile Users (*only for the standalone scenario):
User administration means to create Users (name and mobile phone) and to assign the corresponding Vehicle Inspection forms to the mobile Users. In an integrated scenario, you do the mobile User maintenance in your own backend system, passing the User information to the Movilizer Cloud via the Web Service.

Monitor your mobile Users (for both scenarios):
In any case, you need to be able to monitor the scenario. In the Mobile App Admin Portal you can monitor based on User name or phone, or alternatively based on Vehicle Inspection form ID (each created Vehicle Inspection form becomes a unique Vehicle Inspection form ID).

Access and download the completed Vehicle Inspection forms (*only for the standalone scenario):
In the Mobile App Admin Portal you can access the processed Vehicle Inspection forms (filtering by date and mobile device) and download them into Microsoft Excel. In an integrated scenario, this information is automatically sent to your backend system.

Download available connector or create your own connector (for both scenarios):
In the Mobile App Admin Portal you will find all the connectors available for the mobile application for Vehicle Inspections. If none of the available connectors fit your needs, you can build your own connector. In the Mobile App Admin Portal you will find a tutorial and supporting documentation explaining how to use the Web Service API to send and receive Vehicle Inspection forms from whatever backend you may use today.

2.3 Web Services

You use the Web Service to connect the Movilizer to any backend system you may use. The Web Service includes APIs for:

• Sending and assigning forms to your mobile Users.
• Receiving processed forms.
• Monitoring the mobile landscape.

3. Movilizer Connectors (as Plug-In):

To save you implementation and development efforts, the Movilizer comes with predefined connectors. In the Mobile App Admin Portal you can download all of the available connectors and find the exact documentation for the installation (via Plug-In concept).
Movilizer connectors always include a generic connector (that will allow your system to call the Movilizer Web Service) and a business connector (which contains your scenario business logic).

Should none of the available connectors match your requirements, you can easily build your own connector. All that you will need is a backend system capable of doing WebService calls and the Movilizer WebService documentation. This documentation explains step by step how to build, test and operate a new connector (You can find this documentation in the Mobile App Admin Portal).

  4   Available Connectors

In case you wish to use this mobile application integrated with your backend system, you can:

• Develop the connector yourself: All you need is to be able to send an XML file via Web Services to the Movilizer Cloud. This means that as long as your backend system is able to call the Movilizer web service and, as long as the XML file follows the Movilizer Protocol, it does not really matter which backend system you use. Should you wish to visit one of our online or onsite training sessions on how to build a Movilizer connector please register using this form:link to the form.
• Alternatively, you can contact us to check if the connector you need is already available “out of the box”. Today the Movilizer comes with “out of the box” connectors for the following standard systems: any SAP system (all SAP ERP modules, SAP CRM, SAP SCM etc.), Microsoft Excel and SalesForce.com. In case you wish to use one of them, or in case your backend system is listed here, please contact us by completing this form: link to the form.

  5   Frequently Asked Questions

Which mobile phones and mobile devices are supported?

You can run any Movilizer mobile application on any PDA, smart phone or even a standard mobile phone with the ability to connect to the Internet (GPRS, UMTS, Wi-Fi etc.).

Is the Movilizer also running on Netbooks, Notebooks / Tablets?

Yes, the mobile application runs on Netbooks, Notebooks and Tablets as well. On devices with higher resolution than mobile, smart phones or PDAs, the mobile application user interface looks simplistic, because it has been designed to be process driven (the User only says “Yes” or “No”) and not information driven (no menu options etc.).

In some of the areas where our final users have to complete the Vehicle Inspections forms, mobile phone connection is very poor. How does the Movilizer work in such an environment?

The Movilizer does not require online connection in order to work. The Movilizer functions fully offline should a connection be unavailable, and automatically synchronises captured data as soon as the mobile device regains connectivity.

Do I have to buy GPRS/3G data cards for my mobile phones in order to be able to use the Movilizer?

Not necessarily. In case you do not need the information in real time and provided your mobile devices can manage Wi-Fi connections or can be connected via Cradle to the LAN, you can work offline during the day and synchronise data via Wi-Fi or Cradle at the office.

Can I integrate the mobile application for Vehicle Inspection with other mobile applications?

Yes, you can. For example, you can use the mobile application for Vehicle Inspection and the mobile application for Time Recording in the same mobile device and in the same Movilizer client.

How much does it cost me to use the Movilizer (licenses and support)?

The usage of the mobile application for Vehicle Inspection is free. No upfront licenses and no support costs. You can use it without any restrictions in time for 10 mobile Users absolutely free of any charges.

The free version allows you to:

• Use the “out of the box” mobile application standalone (via the Mobile App Admin Portal).
• Change any texts in the existing screens.
• Add or remove any fields from the existing screens.

Limitations of the free version are

• Limited to 10 mobile Users.
• Movilitas does not provide any support for the free version.
• Movilitas does not guarantee a high availability of the system (no 99.9% availability).
• With the free version you are not able to remove or add new screens to the mobile application. You can not change the sequence of screens and you are not able to define variables in the existing screens.
• Some additional features like barcode scanning with camera (1D, 2D or QR codes), RFID or GPS coordinates capturing are not available with the free version.
• The free version can only be used standalone (via the Mobile App Admin Portal). For integration via web services with your backend system you need to use the Enterprise version.

For a detailed overview of the enterprise version features and cost please follow this link: link to the Enterprise version

Can I use the Movilizer to mobilise other processes?

Yes, this is possible with the Enterprise version. The free version allows only the usage of “out of the box” mobile applications.

Is the usage of the delivered connectors also free?

No. To use the “out of the box” connectors you will require the Enterprise version.
Please note, in addition to the Movilizer Enterprise version, some connectors do have supplementary fees; Find further information about this in the related connector documentation.

How difficult is to build a new Connector for the Movilizer? What are the technical requirements to my backend system?

It depends on your backend system. As an example, the average implementation time to build an ABAP based connector for SAP ERP is 5 to 10 days development for the mobilisation of lean applications. The only technical requirement to your backend system is that it is able to make web service calls to the Movilizer cloud.

If I use a GPS enabled mobile phone, can the Movilizer take geo-coordinates?

Yes this is a feature of the Movilizer; however because this feature is not part of the “out of the box” mobile application for Vehicle Inspection you need to use the Movilizer Enterprise version in order to be able to add it as a new screen. For more information about this contact our support team: support@movilizer.com so that we can quickly adapt the mobile application for you.

Barcode Scanning is crucial for our Vehicle Inspection process. All Vehicles are identified via barcodes (QR-Codes). Is this supported by the Movilizer?

For scanning purposes you can use the mobile phone camera (should your mobile phone have an autofocus camera); in case you are using PDAs, the barcode scanner of the PDAs will work “out of the box” with the Movilizer (using Hardware Key Wedge software).
For both mobile phone cameras and PDAs, the Movilizer supports lineal barcodes as well as 2D Datamatrix barcodes.
If your mobile phones do not have cameras but you still need to scan, the Movilizer also supports the usage of external Bluetooth barcode scanners.
This is a feature of the Movilizer; however because this feature is not part of the “out of the box” mobile application for Vehicle Inspections you need to use the Movilizer Enterprise version in order to be able to add it to your mobile application. For more information about this contact our support team: support@movilizer.com so that we can quickly adapt the mobile application for you.

RFID Scanning is crucial for our Vehicle Inspection process. All Vehicles are identified via RFID Tags. Is this supported by the Movilizer?

Yes. For PDAs having integrated RFID scanning capabilities, the Movilizer can use the native RFID reader to read and write the RFID tags.
If you are using mobile phones or PDAs without RFID readers, the Movilizer also supports the usage of external Bluetooth RFID scanners for reading and writing on tags.
This is a feature of the Movilizer; however because this feature is not part of the “out of the box” mobile application for Vehicle Inspections you need to use the Movilizer Enterprise version in order to be able to add it to your mobile application. For more information about this contact our support team: support@movilizer.com so that we can quickly adapt the mobile application for you.