How to get the most out of pest control technology?

Living surrounded by technology is already something common for us, and at some point we have all stopped to look around us and realized that there is a large amount of technology of which we are unaware of its use. From the moment we get up until we go to sleep, electronic devices are part of our lives, some of them even being essential in our daily lives. How then do we expect that technology is not also present in our work environment? It is clear that technology is here to stay, and above all to evolve our companies. When we look back we see that in any sector, technology has completely changed the way of working. The Industrial Revolution, science and research have been basic pillars for society to advance at a much greater pace than we were used to, but it is no less true that until we see that some technologies are fully implemented and we truly know ourselves, we always tend to be hesitant and take a step back due to the lack of confidence when implementing them. Now, in the pest control and environmental health sector we are seeing some fruits appear thanks to the use of technologies. It is true that in our sector the implementation of technology is relatively recent, but all companies are already accepting the benefits of unifying human effort with the work and labor provided by new computer systems and technologies. Given this current situation, in all the sector fairs around the world, more and more spaces are provided to present new technologies, smart devices (IoT), software tools... Recently we have all seen how the use of some intelligent devices is now a reality, which are capable of detecting the presence of some species, either by capturing movement, or by changes in temperature, alteration of weights in the baits, etc. And not only that, but these devices will help all of us manage the warnings that we receive, optimizing the time to act on the detected species. Many companies in the sector already install these smart devices, or other types, in large areas to be able to control everything that happens there in real time. This will reduce some periodic visits by technicians to monitor what has happened at our clients' facilities, since these devices will notify us in each case when we should go to the client. This will mean a great saving of time for companies that will be able to afford to waste a little more time in the implementation of their pest control systems with higher quality, and not only that, but they will have more time on other more important tasks that increase the profitability of the companies. The smart device market in our sector has already begun its journey, but there is still a long way to go. The companies in the sector are the ones who hold the key to the future and evolution of this technology in their hands. The way of working, the involvement, the determination with the digital development of the company and above all the attitude to be in constant evolution will mark the path of the sector from this moment on. One of the most futuristic projects that have emerged in recent months and that has had a very positive reaction within the sector has been the use of Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. These glasses allow the technician to have all the important and relevant information on the screen of the glasses when performing a service and/or monitoring, without having to use a cell phone or other document, freeing the technician's hands completely, since these glasses are controlled by voice. We can approach a bait station and these augmented reality glasses will recognize the device thanks to a 28 QR code or NFC sticker, and all the information about that control point will appear before the technician, being able to review it with his voice, answering all the necessary questions, while with his hands he replaces the bait or an adhesive plate. Several companies in the sector are working on the development of these new technologies, including iGEO ERP, where we have shown in situ the operation of these glasses, the experience has been much more comfortable and attractive than expected. Agility at work is one of the key points for technicians, given that they work for hours on the street or in sometimes somewhat uncomfortable places. All this agility is necessary for the sector to continue growing and experiencing new phases. For this reason, the rise of working with the latest technologies and specialized software becomes, we could say, almost an obligation since it is the only way to be completely updated, having total control of everything that happens in our company and in our clients' facilities in real time. We are seeing that the passage of time is attracting the latest technologies to begin to be part of our sector and help optimize our time. All technologies have a place in practically any sector, and ours is not going to be any less, we just have to look for and adapt the benefits of these technologies to daily work. There is no other way to advance and continue growing than by having the latest technology on the market, and implementing it in the different work methodologies. The use of technology does not imply a substitution of human labor, far from it. The final decision-making will always go through people, but they will undoubtedly be more accurate if we have new systems to help us. We all know that every day we have more and more digitalized information. We are going to reach a time when the overload of information will be difficult to manage and therefore we will need help to analyze all that data. Precisely the use of all this data (Big Data) together with artificial intelligence is already helping to analyze the information in detail and in a short space of time. These technologies will allow us to have control of everything that happens in our hands, based on a very exhaustive analysis of the data, and will make us understand what the true strengths and weaknesses of our company or the IPM systems implemented in our clients are. We will be able to anticipate events or carry out the most accurate corrective measures in an agile manner and this can only translate into an improvement in processes that are not being profitable to achieve our objectives.