The first fieldux user meeting – two days full of practical insights, exchange, and honest perspectives.

Thomas Riegler from the VDMA kicked off the technical session with a presentation titled "Generational Change as a Change Project: Retaining Knowledge Within the Company." The focus was on how to preserve experiential knowledge when long-serving employees leave and new, often digitally savvy colleagues join the team. As a compelling supplement to this topic, the VDMA offers an industry podcast: The Risk of Knowledge Loss: Mechanical Engineering’s Battle Against Forgetting (VDMA Industry Podcast). Additionally, key information regarding secure remote maintenance in mechanical and plant engineering was shared, along with a guide on drafting legally compliant remote service contracts.

Next, the fieldux team presented the most important product updates. The focus here was on the reporting process: how maintenance checklists and service reports can be created as templates and supported by AI, allowing technicians to easily select and fill them out via the mobile app—and how these reports are subsequently reviewed and approved by the back office.

Following a coffee break filled with lively networking, two impressive customer presentations took place: Timo Thomes from Fassmer Service GmbH offered insights into reporting, demonstrating how to create service reports that are both internally analyzable and professionally presented to the customer. A specific use case highlighted was the generation of certificates to document lifeboat servicing for the customer—a process handled entirely digitally within fieldux.

Broetje-Automation GmbH’s presentation on their customer portal and ticketing system highlighted how structured inquiries and clear status updates reduce communication overhead and strengthen trust through customer collaboration via the portal.

From 4:30 PM onwards, the first day wound down with after-work drinks and snacks—the perfect setting for conversations to truly open up, covering topics such as interfaces, the skilled labor shortage, and the question of how much digitalization is actually practical in day-to-day operations. A short walking tour of Aachen, a group dinner at the "Alter Postwagen Ratskeller," and an entertaining pub quiz rounded off the day, illustrating what our User Days are all about: peer-to-peer exchange, honest practical insights, and a partnership that extends beyond the software itself.

The second day of the fieldux User Meeting focused entirely on AI, interfaces, and a clear look toward the future. To kick things off, Alexander Engels from aiXbrain gave a presentation titled "When AI Has to Say 'No' – How Do You Build Reliable AI Use Cases?" that really struck a chord with the attendees. The discussion didn't center on "magic AI," but rather on where AI genuinely helps in service, scheduling, and reporting; what "reliability" means in the context of AI decisions; and the practical prerequisites required to achieve it. As a fun, lighthearted touch, he showcased an AI-controlled popcorn machine—which, needless to say, won everyone over with its taste. In the subsequent use-case workshop, participants were able to apply these concepts directly to their own workflows and develop concrete ideas for AI scenarios in their daily operations.

After a coffee break and some intensive networking, Felsomat GmbH gave a presentation on SAP interfaces—a key topic for many, given that SAP often serves as the organizational backbone and a seamless data flow is crucial for smooth service processes. During the subsequent lunch, we deliberately set aside time for open questions, in-depth discussions, and direct feedback for our team before moving on to an outlook regarding the fieldux roadmap. We outlined the direction we are heading and the topics currently occupying us. A major focus here is the expansion of the fieldux FSM platform to handle planning, reporting, and controlling for installation and commissioning projects in an integrated manner. We were even able to present a prototype of this feature to the customers. Full details are available here: fieldux — Installation & Commissioning Add-on | Waitlist

We are taking three key takeaways from the first fieldux user meeting: practical experience beats theory, customer presentations are invaluable, and true partnership is a process. The best ideas emerge when users openly demonstrate how they work, including all the specific nuances and workarounds involved. Insights shared by Fassmer, Broetje, and Felsomat revealed that many companies face similar challenges regarding reporting, customer portals, SAP interfaces, and AI.

Furthermore, fieldux is not a "finished product" but a tool that we continue to develop in collaboration with our customers. The user meeting is a vital component of this process. We process the content, explore specific topics in smaller groups, and incorporate feedback directly into our products and projects. We look forward to the next fieldux user meeting with our customers.