· July 6, 2012, 11:44 AM ET
GE Repairman Defrags Your Fridge
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lint Boulton
Reporter
Last month, GE Appliances introduced a home service repair program that allows technicians to connect laptops to a new generation of refrigerators and other pieces of household equipment that are outfitted with ethernet ports. The laptops are loaded with analytic software designed to diagnose problems with the appliances–eliminating much of the guesswork or trial and error that’s usually associated with repairs.
GE Appliances hopes that this new capability will help improve the efficiency and accuracy of the repair crew, cutting costs associated with sending workers on repeated trips and raising the level of customer satisfaction. Few homeowners like to wait around for hours while service workers fix their machines.
GE Appliances has a longer term vision for its New Field Inspector system, or NewFi. In the not too distant future, NewFi’s cloud-based analytics software will collect information about appliances, including such granular details as a refrigerator’s temperature readings or how often its door has been opened and closed — all of the little events that wear on the machine over time. Using the data, the software would anticipate possible appliance problems and inform GE when a part is ready to be replaced. Ideally, should technicians be called to appliance owners’ homes in the future, they will come with proper replacement parts to eliminate additional service trips.
Currently GE Appliance’s 1,000 U.S. field technicians care for 130 million appliances installed in homes and offices around the country.
“We’re going to get to the point where, based on the information coming from this appliance, we can pre-ship parts so that we don’t have to make multiple service calls to resolve the consumer’s issue,” said Jeff Moore, a business technology leader in the factory service division of GE Appliances. This diagnostic information will not only help GE cut more costs tied to service trips, but it will also help GE improve its development of next-generation products.
“This is basically our approach to Big Data for service,” said Laura Peace, IT director for consumer home service at GE Appliances, who added that new GE appliances, including the company’s French Door-style refrigerators and water heaters, are NewFi-enabled. NewFi also is part of GE’s broader “connected home” strategy. Ultimately, consumers will be able to remotely manage household tasks, such as changing the temperatures control on GE water heaters, using mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads , she said.
NewFi is a product of GE’s $1 billion investment to bolster its U.S. appliance manufacturing business. GE wants to improve the performance of its industrial businesses, and reduce corporate reliance on the finance unit, which is responsible for roughly 40% of the company’s profits.
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