At the Bosch Blue Innovation Summit held in Frankfurt in June, Bosch Power Tools announced the launch of a brand new range of connected tools. The range will allow users to interact with their tools in a brand new way, to improve user experience, optimise work results and maximise productivity.
From autumn 2016, Bosch Power Tools will offer seven new connected 
tools: A combi laser, two screwdrivers, two combi drills, an angle grinder and a workplace light. Two laser measures and a thermo detector which, when connected to mobile terminals, facilitate documentation are already available. The tools are consistently tailored to users’ needs. “This is what we call our ‘User Experience’ approach. We involve users in the product development process from the outset and adapt the function and design of our tools to their needs,” says Ralph Dammertz, Senior Vice President of Professional tools for industrialised markets at Bosch Power Tools.
“The construction and trade sectors are under extreme pressure due to the continuous demands for high planning and execution quality. It is here that our connected products and services for professionals are being used: By linking a smartphone to a tool via Bluetooth, tradespeople can optimise their work processes and rule out errors such as those caused by the manual transfer of measuring values.”– Ralph Dammertz, Senior Vice President of Professional tools for industrialized markets at Bosch Power Tools
Practical Innovations
Bosch Power Tools has set a goal to produce practical innovations that are specifically targeted at areas where professionals have previously felt support was lacking. “From our analyses, we know, for example, that tradespeople today only spend 30% of their working hours performing actual construction activities. The rest of the time is dedicated to preliminary or follow-up tasks such as preparing the vehicle or preparatory measurements. One solution that we, therefore, provide professionals with is ‘TrackMyTools’ – our cloud-based inventory management system, which is designed to help companies manage and locate their working equipment,” added Dammertz. Via the tool’s localisation data saved in the cloud, tradespeople know where their tool is at all times and whether they have all the necessary equipment with them when attending a call-out or working on-site. This saves time – which the tradesperson can then spend on productive activities such as screwing or drilling using the new Connectivity screwdrivers and combi drills.
With the new Connectivity products for professionals, Bosch is well-positioned in meeting its aim to provide products that are convenient and comfortable to use. Tradespeople can, for example, individually configure their connected tools and save their settings for future tasks. Intelligent displays directly on the tool, known as HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces), will also make working easier. As Wolfgang Hirschburger, Vice President Engineering for professional tools in industrialized markets, explains: “The long-term goal is to network all of Bosch’s professional power tools and thus to offer users added value.”
“It’s in your hands”
The quality of professional power tools from Bosch is based on a precise analysis of the user’s needs, their day-to-day work and permanent dialog with professionals. In terms of communication too, there will be increased focus on the user in the future: “It’s in your hands” – this is the main idea behind the new brand communication which Bosch presented at the “Bosch Blue Innovation Summit”. Martina Ehrmann, Vice President Europe and Asia Pacific for professional tools, explained what Bosch means by this. “The professional has the expertise – we provide them with the right products and services to optimally use this expertise and thus to perform their activities as efficiently as possible.” Bosch considers itself to be a partner for trade and industry. “For us, ‘User Experience’ means that we bundle together our expertise and that of the professionals to achieve a common purpose: Optimum work results and maximum productivity.”
