Instant Online Document Lookup Using Microsoft Tags

Over the next weeks units shipped from Mestex Dallas will begin to include a small feature that we believe will provide large benefits to our contractor customers.

A common problem in the field with installation, operation & maintenance (IOM) documents is that they are misplaced, lost, or left in the weather and become unusable.  Over the last few years we have taken steps to make replacing those documents a bit easier by posting them on our Sales Assistant website for downloading.  While this is a big improvement over calling Dallas during business hours and ordering a document, it still requires the user to contact us and then log in to Sales Assistant for the download.

Starting July 1, equipment shipped from Dallas will continue to contain a printed copy of the IOM but it will also have a new label that includes a “Microsoft Tag” image.  Microsoft Tags are basically customized, square, barcodes that can be read by cell phones, and some tablet devices, using the free “tag reader” software from Microsoft at http://gettag.mobi.

After downloading the free reader app, if the service contractor has a cell phone with a camera he will be able to aim the camera at the tag and the software will automatically launch the phone’s web browser to open a PDF copy of the proper IOM.  IOM documents will then be available to a contractor or service technician 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  And since the IOMs are stored in the Mestek corporate “cloud”, any updates will be automatic and it will not be necessary to keep up with revisions in the field.

Of course, once the file is opened on the phone most devices will allow the document to be saved and transferred to a computer for printing if desired.  We hope this new feature will make life a bit easier for our customers.