Redefining Mobile Work – A Series: How Field Service Workers are using the TOUGHBOOK 55
Think about what your job looked like 15 years ago, before advanced technology tools became commonplace and the wide-spread use of mobile devices began appearing on jobsites. Now, think about what your job may look like 15 years in the future. With technology and job practices rapidly evolving, combined with the no-two-days-the-same nature of field services, it might be difficult to see exactly what the future may hold. Enter the customizable TOUGHBOOK 55.
If you work in field service, you often spend long hours at remote job sites. Having a laptop that’s customizable to support the variety of work you do is especially valuable given the evolving nature of equipment and field servicing. Through close partnerships with our field service customers, we listened to their feedback and engineered the TOUGHBOOK 55 to support the variety of tasks done – whether working inside a service vehicle, inside a plant or factory, or outside in a remote area.
Customizable Design Keeps up with the Evolving Nature of the Job Over Time
In field service work, no two days look alike…let alone years. A common frustration felt by many technicians is that as new equipment, tools, software applications and practices come to market, your current laptop no longer suits your needs. But having to buy new technology every few years to keep up with the pace of change isn’t exactly practical.
That’s why at Panasonic we took a completely innovative approach in designing the TOUGHBOOK 55 laptop. The TOUGHBOOK 55 is fully customizable through expansion packs, called xPAKs, which provide a variety of additional features. Specifically, the xPAKs add more functionality to the laptop, including an extra battery, a dedicated graphics card and a second storage drive. So, based on your needs for the jobs you have on any given day, you can customize your device. The benefits to you are improved workflow, decreased downtime and flexibility to evolve your laptop as business needs change.
Long-Lasting Battery Life and Wireless Connectivity Keeps You Connected No Matter the Job Site
For any field service job, some of the biggest limiting factors are good wireless connections and battery life. As a field technician, you can be in the field up to 12 hours a day. Having to pause on the job to charge a device, or reconnect due to inconsistent wireless connections, unnecessarily extends your work day and limits the number of jobs you can complete in one single shift.
The TOUGHBOOK 55 has the longest battery life of any of our TOUGHBOOK devices to date. It comes with up to 20 hours of battery life with the standard battery and up to 40 hours with the optional second battery. The second battery also offers a hot swap capability, so you don’t need to waste even a minute to power down the device and switch out the battery. And the TOUGHBOOK 55 is certified to work on our global wireless connectivity platform, P180, that provides reliable coverage with no roaming fees and offers personalized shared data plans that are scalable to actual usage.
Powerful Performance, Rain or Shine
When you’re working long days on-the-go, the last thing you need slowing you down is a device that just can’t process data or applications or locks-up midstream. The TOUGHBOOK 55 runs on the latest Intel® 8th Gen quad-core i5 and i7 processors, to provide consistently powerful performance to get you through the day as efficiently as possible. Productivity counts and we know field service organizations often measure job efficiencies down to minutes and seconds. The TOUGHBOOK 55 high processing power means you and your colleagues can complete tasks faster, which not only improves job performance but also helps you finish tasks more quickly so you can get back home to your family and hobbies.
As a field worker, you’ll often find yourself in hard-to-work places, like on a roof or in tough weather conditions. Device features like screen brightness and touchscreen sensitivity become extremely important to getting the job done. The TOUGHBOOK 55 features an optional 1000 nit touchscreen for easy viewing in direct sunlight whether you’re on a roof fixing an HVAC unit or running diagnostics on a truck on a sunny day.
The TOUGHBOOK 55 has four microphones and powerful 92 decibel speakers ideal for those who work in noisy plants or outside. Whether you have to conference with remote experts from the field or listen to instructions, you won’t need to step away from the job site to find a quiet place to listen.
A day on the job typically includes a lot of typing and scrolling through long manuals so for many the standard, imprecise and slow touchscreens simply don’t cut it. Or when working in humid conditions, rain, snow or with hands dirty or greasy from the job, the TOUGHBOOK 55 can quickly identify touch and distinguish between a raindrop and a finger for optimal use and an efficient workflow.
Other TOUGHBOOK 55 performance features include:
- Expandable storage up to 2TB and 64GB of RAM so you can store all the manuals and resources you need on your device.
- A color-selectable backlit keyboard for easy identification in dark spaces or at night.
- A durable handle for easy mobility and a true “toolbox” feel.
Full-Service and Comprehensive Warranty
Although the TOUGHBOOK 55 is engineered for extreme longevity thanks to its durable design and modular functionality, each device comes with a comprehensive three-year warranty covering materials and service. Our engineering team, the help desk and repair services are based in the U.S., providing you dedicated device service that has an average turnaround time of just 48 hours once received. This means you can be back up and running fast if repairs are needed. Additionally, we pay the cost of all overnight freights both ways for all in-warranty repairs.
We recognize that field service organizations make big investments in high quality tools. The computing technology used is also a critical part of that toolbox, and quality can’t be compromised. That’s why the TOUGHBOOK 55 is built to be durable, reliable and customizable with powerful performance to help get the job done better and faster. To see it in action, watch the video.
For specifications and purchasing information about the TOUGHBOOK 55, visit our website.
