Boston Scientific on the Future of Service and IoT

            


In a few words, could you tell us about your current role and some of the priorities you’ll be working on over the next couple of months?

Tom Buckley: In my role, I am responsible for a team that provides global support for Boston Scientific supplied capital equipment. This includes installation, repairs, preventative maintenance, and technical support.

One of our key priorities we are now working on is implementing a global service management system. This system leverages SAP and ServiceMax functionality to support the Boston Scientific capital equipment business. We expect the rollout to be completed in 2019.


Within the past year, has your company introduced any technologies or initiatives aimed at keeping up with the evolution of field service and customer experience?

Tom Buckley: The global service management system we are currently implementing will be the foundation for us to optimize our processes to make it easy to do business with Boston Scientific.


A majority of medical device companies are looking at ways of empowering their customers through remote technologies, connectivity, and prescriptive service. How would you summarize the value of these capabilities to your company?

Tom Buckley: We are just starting on the journey to develop and leverage IoT capabilities to support our capital equipment products remotely.

We are expecting this will enable us to provide the following:


  • Troubleshooting – Monitoring or seeing the system via remote connectivity to determine issues vs. having a FSE visit the site.
  • Software upgrade/updates – We currently have to visit each system to do upgrades or updates. This capability would enable us to push software out to systems.
  • Capital equipment utilization – Opportunity to monitor system utilization of disposables or SUD’s to determine usage for possible reordering as well as lack of utilization which could be system performance or training issues.


Your field service engineers play a vital role in keeping customers happy, and having a competent team is essential to your service business success. What advice would you provide to your peers who are charged with talent acquisition, training, development and engagement in today’s highly competitive marketplace?

Tom Buckley:  Our business strategy is ‘Global Commitment and Local Dedication’ – this means we are focused globally and tailor or adjust as needed for local markets. This helps us align our local teams to their culture or expectations. We also emphasize with our leaders the value of overcommunication. This is especially important for field service team members who are based remotely – keeping them connected to the business and providing a forum for their feedback.


What are you most looking forward to at the conference this February?

Tom Buckley: I appreciate the networking and opportunity to hear what others are doing in medical device service space. 

Tom Buckley will be sharing in-depth insights on running service organization as a business unit at Field Service Medical 2019, taking place in San Diego, California, this coming February. Download the Field Service Medical 2019 Agenda to learn more.

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