Remote Smart

RemoteSmart is not available in Smart version 4.0 or later as its functions have largely been replaced by SmartNet. If you have a need for RemoteSmart functionality in SMART version 4.0 or later, please contact Skorpion sales.

In the tough, competitive world of field service delivery, you need a way to shut out competitors, get your costs down, and deliver new services to your customers. RemoteSMART does all that, and more.

RemoteSMART enables remote access to your SMART system using an inexpensive and secure link which can be set up in seconds, allowing customers and contractors to access only their information.

You can shut out competitors by enabling your customers to book and/or track their own jobs on line. Let's see your cut-price opposition do that!

You can deliver new services to your customers by enabling them to view job history, request quotations, even approve job pricing before you invoice them!

You can improve service levels at periods of peak demand by eliminating the need for customers, control room operators, and contractors to wait in telephone queues.

You can cut costs by reducing data entry, time taken in customer queries, and disputes about pricing or performance.

RemoteSMART allows staff to use SMART on the road or at home, or links branch offices to your central system. It's like opening the windows and letting the fresh air into your business!

Using RemoteSmart

To operate it you need the appropriate Smart licence, a permanent Internet link with a speed of 128k or better, and a firewall to ensure security. Although it is possible to run RemoteSmart on your existing Smart server, we recommend that you provide a dedicated server (an inexpensive PC) to maintain performance and security.

To log in to RemoteSmart, a user must be linked to a Remote Profile. This (optionally) limits the records the user can see (e.g. customers, locations). The user is also subject to the same access controls as any other Smart user, so you can precisely specify what they can see and what they can do with it.

Using RemoteSmart is identical to using 'normal' Smart, with these important differences:

When starting a RemoteSmart session the user must press the green GO button on the toolbar to see the login window.
When the user is waiting for a response from the server, a small red dot appears at the top right of the window. No further user input is accepted until the dot changes to green.
To select from the Main Menu or main toolbar, all other windows must be closed.
The online help system is not available. Full user documentation is available on the Skorpion web site (www.skorpion.com.au) or company Intranet.

Installing

Each PC which is to use RemoteSmart must have the RemoteSmart client software installed. The version of the client must match the version of Smart being used by the remote site - contact Skorpion support if you are in doubt as to the version.

To install the software, click on this link for version 3 of RemoteSmart or this link for version 4 of RemoteSmart, and then

to install on this PC, click the Open button.
to install on another PC, click the Save button and save the installation program to your PC.

If your antivirus system prevents you from operating the above link, you can use this link to retrieve the program in .zip format. Choose the Save button to save the file to your computer, then open it using Winzip or a similar utility and run the program inside.

The installation program must be run on each PC. If you simply copy the installed files from one PC to another the RemoteSmart client will not work.

If you already know Smart

There are a couple of basic differences between using Smart and using RemoteSmart. In RemoteSmart

once a window is open, you can't access another window or the main menu without closing the window.
a small 'light' at the top right of each window indicates the current status of your connection (see below).

Otherwise, remote users can access any function of the 'normal' Smart which they're allowed to.

If you're new to Smart

Smart's a powerful despatch, management, and billing system for a mobile workforce. Your guided tour will only scratch the surface, but you can find lots of information, including full user documentation, here on our web site.

Taking the Tour

A small 'light' at the top right of each window indicates the current status of your connection. If the light is red or yellow the connection is busy doing something and will not respond to your command (if you have a dialup connection you'll see quite a lot of this light, but it's worth the wait!).

To log in to Smart, press on the top toolbar. Log in as adm or administrator with the password of a. The demonstration system is currently configured to allow you full access, but remote users may be tightly constrained so that can only see designated data and/or perform designated functions.

Try one or more of the following buttons or selections from the Main Menu.

Please note that the top menu and button bar are not active while a window is open.
When you are viewing a list of items, a right mouse click will usually provide options.
Holding your mouse over a button will usually display a tool tip with further information.
For detailed information about any area, press the SMART User Docs button at left.

\Window \SMART Roadmap
Getting around Smart This map can be displayed automatically when the user logs in. It provides shortcuts to key Smart features and shows how the various subsystems interact.

Job Despatch Window
This is the main area used by despatch operators and supervisors.

Right click in the list of jobs to see the various display and activity options.

Try the buttons above the window for more windows and options.

Incident Database Used to record non-chargeable incidents that may be of interest.

Personnel log Logs vehicle drivers (e.g. patrolmen) on at start of shift and off when finished.

Locations List Lists locations where services are provided. A customer can be billed for multiple locations.

Status Graph Shows at a glance how many jobs are in progress and their status.

Reminders Used to exchange messages between Smart users or set reminders.

Safety Check Keeps track of personnel working alone on site.

Operations Menu
Selections for despatch operators Many of these selections can be made using one of the buttons above. Exceptions are Keys (the key register) and Periodic Services, where periodic maintenance and other jobs can be scheduled for repeated despatch at any interval.

Accounts Menu
Selections for accounts operators Set up and invoice customers, set up and pay suppliers, view various reports, export data to other systems.

Maintenance Menu
Setup selections Check out Operator Configuration and Smart Setup for a glimpse of the many Smart options which make it suitable for business of all sizes and service types.

Reports Menu
List non-financial items.
List reports simply list information from the Smart Database.

Operational reports provide exception reporting so you can quickly focus on misperformance.

Resolving Connection Problems

If you are using dial-up Internet access, check that your connection is operating by hovering your mouse over the phone icon in the system tray (bottom right of your screen). If you are connected at less than 56Kbps and no error messages appear, RemoteSmart may be running slowly. Just after the main Smart window appears there will be a pause while some small graphics files are downloaded to your PC.
If your PC is connected to a corporate network, or if you have a firewall or other security control in place, you may have to adjust one or more configuration settings. Select the Configuration Settings tab on the client window, and adjust the settings as follows.
- Adjust each setting in the order shown, and then try to reconnect. If connection fails, try the next step, and so on.
- Don't change settings which appear in the window but are not described below, unless instructed to do so by Skorpion support staff.

Step Setting Description

1. Use Proxy Server
Check this box. There is no need (for this step) to make any other changes.

- uncheck 'Use Default Proxy Configuration' if checked.

- clear Proxy User Name and Password if entered.

2.
Proxy User Name

Proxy Password
Enter these if they are known to apply. You may need to obtain assistance from your system administrator.

3. Use Default Proxy Configuration Clear this box and (if it has one) enter your Proxy Server Name.

4. Check Timeout Raise this value to 5 or 10. (Default:3)

5. Suppress Server Check Check this box. (Default: clear)

6. Timeout Increase this value (it determines the number of seconds try retry a connection to the RemoteSmart server). Default: 10.