by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – TECHNOLOGY has emerged as the answer to the man-made and natural disasters afflicting South Africa.
From the George building collapse in May to the floods that have wreaked havoc in the Western Cape for the second year in a row, and the wildfires that engulfed KwaZulu Natal in July, all have come with a significant cost to lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.
Zuper, the software provider, said more particularly, anyone working in disaster management and recovery should look at how field service management (FSM) software could benefit their efforts.
This type of software optimises scheduling, dispatching, and work order management for businesses with field-based operations.
Having first emerged, albeit in a very limited form, in the 1980s and 1990s, FSM started to come into its own with the rise of mobile technology and smartphones in particular.
“Since then, FSM software has become indispensable for organisations across a broad range of fields,” says Anand Subbaraj, Chief Executive of Zuper.
“From mobile network operators to telcos and utility operators, it has transformed how businesses with field service requirements operate. Imagine if those advantages could be transferred to disaster management efforts.”
According to the Zuper executive, there are several ways that FSM software can benefit disaster management efforts.
It can, for instance, be used to help to manage the deployment of technicians to disaster areas, and management of data around their feedback.
“FSM software can also help ensure that resources are deployed to the correct areas,” said Subbaraj.
With sub-Saharan Africa among the most vulnerable regions to climate change, the number of natural disasters are predicted to increase in the coming years.
– CAJ News