Zebra Technologies: MH Equipment Transitions to Fully Paperless Operation

MH Equipment has successfully transitioned to a fully paperless operation using a rugged tablet-based mobility solution from Xplore Technologies and TPI, a Platinum Xplore Partner, Zebra Technologies Corporation announced.

Xplore XSLATE B10 fully rugged tablet PCs and custom-developed Mobile Service Plus software from TPI have enabled the heavy equipment sales and service leader to eliminate paper-based workflows across its sourcing, inventory management, customer service, and accounts payable functions. All former “clipboard” processes are now completed electronically on the IP65-rated XSLATE B10, including work orders, inspection forms, parts inventory locates, and timecards. A new work order dashboard enables field technicians to see their work-in-process in real time, which has improved worker readiness. New remote dispatch capabilities have increased overall resource availability.

“We are very pleased with the return on our investment,” said Randy Kaluza, president of operations, MH Equipment. “The combined Xplore and TPI mobility solution has very quickly increased our operational efficiency, eliminated resource waste, eliminated thousands of dollars a year in printing costs, and improved our customer satisfaction levels. All of this has contributed to elevated cost savings and the generation of new revenue sources.”

After competitive field tests, the XSLATE B10 rugged tablet worked best with the many Hyster & Yale diagnostic programs used by MH Equipment to diagnose and repair forklifts. The tablet also worked seamlessly with MH Equipment’s new MSP software. The rugged tablet-based electronic work order system has improved the business economics and resource availability for MH Equipment during a period of steady company growth. The constant connectivity, bright screen display, digital pen and overall durability of the XSLATE B10 have given field technicians valuable new efficiencies related to data capture and knowledge sharing in very demanding working conditions.

“Rugged tablets are an ideal mobility platform for companies that want to create a fully paperless operating environment,” said Tom McNeela, senior director, product management, Zebra Technologies. “The XSLATE B10 easily replicated MH Equipment’s traditional paper-based processes and desktop applications, which allowed for workflow continuity and improved worker productivity during the migration to the mobility solution.”

Field technicians can now retrieve mission-critical data while on-site, including each lift truck’s service history as well as an up-to-date inventory of the parts currently available on their own truck, other technicians’ trucks around them, and within their dealership’s warehouse. This has directly improved customer service capabilities, and customer satisfaction levels, at MH Equipment dealerships and in the field. 

Zebra recently acquired Xplore.