Choosing the Right Rugged Device for Your Workforce Size

Before talking models or specifications, segment your organisation by operational scale. Device needs and the way you finance, deploy, and support them change significantly as you grow.

Micro teams (1–20 users). Owner-managed or single-site teams. Agility matters most; standardisation is simple and support is personal.

Small teams (20–100). Multiple teams and shifts begin. You need consistent kitting, clear device ownership, and simple management tooling.

Mid-size (100–500). Several sites or regions. Spares pools, disciplined device management, and structured support agreements become essential.

Large enterprise (500–5,000). Fleet segmentation by role, staged rollouts, analytics-led optimisation, and vendor service-level agreements.

Mega fleet (5,000+). Platform thinking: device governance, supplier panels, multi-year refresh waves, compliance frameworks, and dedicated fleet analytics.

Rugged smartphone-class handhelds. Versatile and pocketable, ideal for supervisors, field service, drivers, and light scanning. Look for IP65–IP68 ingress ratings, MIL-STD-810H drop resistance, glove-friendly touch, and strong daylight readability.

Rugged mobile computers with integrated scanners. Purpose-built for speed and accuracy in warehousing, inventory, and manufacturing. Options include 1D and 2D imagers, long-range scanning, and pistol grips to reduce fatigue.

Rugged tablets (8–12.8 inches). Designed for technicians, inspectors, and line managers who review drawings, forms, and dashboards. Pair with shoulder straps, hand straps, and vehicle docks for comfort and safety.

Vehicle-mounted tablets or computers. For forklifts, trucks, and yard management. Prioritise bright displays, glove-friendly touch, ignition-sense power, and shock-isolated mounts.
Wearables and ring scanners. A good fit for pick-pack operations and conveyor lines where hands-free speed matters.

Intrinsically safe (ATEX/IECEx) devices. Non-negotiable for oil and gas, chemicals, and other hazardous zones. Ensure both devices and accessories carry the correct certification.
Mobile label and receipt printers. Close the loop with on-the-spot labelling, proof-of-delivery, and returns processing.

A simple sizing approach avoids guesswork and prevents budget creep.

1. Estimate peak concurrency. Multiply the number of active workers per shift by the number of overlapping shifts. This gives the maximum number of devices in use at the same time.

2. Add a spares pool. Allow for breakage, repairs, training, and unexpected growth. In light-duty environments, ten to fifteen per cent spares is typical. In heavy-duty, wet, dusty, or cold environments, plan for fifteen to twenty per cent.

3. Plan your battery strategy. If you run long shifts and your devices support hot-swappable batteries, it is usually more efficient to buy extra batteries rather than extra devices. Estimate whether a single battery truly lasts a full shift for your heaviest workflows.

4. Segment by role. Avoid over-speccing. Pickers may need ergonomic mobile computers with pistol grips; supervisors may be better served by tablets; drivers may need smartphone-class devices with vehicle power and an in-cab mount. Calculate concurrency per role and then add spares per role, because failure rates and usage patterns differ.

Illustration. A warehouse has two shifts of thirty pickers (sixty total, thirty concurrent), ten supervisors on a single shift, and eight forklift drivers across two shifts (four concurrent). With a fifteen per cent spare pool, you would plan roughly thirty-five devices for pickers, twelve for supervisors, and five for forklifts. If shifts exceed battery life, add spare batteries for the roles that need them.

Typical mix
- Six to twelve rugged smartphone-class devices for technicians or drivers.
- One or two rugged tablets for site management and digital forms.
- Optional mobile label printer for field labelling and proof-of-service.

Why this works
- Minimal IT overhead with one or two product families.
- Fast deployment using preconfigured profiles and simple enrolment.
- Lower upfront cost, with accessories you can actually keep track of.

What to look for
- IP67 or IP68 sealing and MIL-STD-810H drop protection without bulky aftermarket cases.
- True all-day battery or hot-swap capability.
- Sunlight-readable screens, glove-friendly touch, and good cameras for site photos.
- Push-to-Talk compatibility for instant voice across the team.
- Lightweight device management to lock down apps and support remote diagnostics.

Practical tips
- Buy one extra device as a spare, labelled and stored centrally.
- Standardise on a single charging ecosystem to avoid cable chaos.
- Take an extended warranty with advance exchange for peace of mind.

Typical mix
- Sixty to eighty per cent rugged mobile computers with integrated imagers for pick-pack or field data capture.
- Twenty to forty per cent rugged smartphones or tablets for supervisors and drivers.
- A modest number of vehicle mounts for forklifts or service vans.
- Wearables or ring scanners for high-velocity lines or cold-store operations.

Key moves
- Create role-based kits. Each role gets a predefined kit: device, charger, holster, screen protector, pistol grip where needed, and a short job card explaining check-out and check-in.
- Establish a spares pool sized to peak concurrency, not headcount.
- Invest in multi-bay chargers in team rooms and avoid one-to-one cable charging, which is error-prone and messy.
- Introduce mobile printing where paperwork slows the job or where proof-of-delivery is valuable.

Management
- Adopt a lightweight device management platform. Use kiosk mode for front-line roles, push line-of-business apps, and enable remote wipes and remote view to reduce truck rolls and site visits.
- Write simple SOPs for damage reporting and next-day exchange.

Typical mix
- Distinct device families for scanning-heavy front-line tasks, supervisory oversight, and in-vehicle workflows.
- Hot-swap batteries and multi-bay chargers to support continuous operations.
- Vehicle power cabling with ignition sense and compliant mounts for safety.

Operational essentials
- A staging playbook. Use zero-touch enrolment and a golden image so that every device lands on site ready to work with the same policies and apps.
- A defined repair and RMA process. Keep on-site spares to meet service levels. Capture failure reasons to inform future procurement and training.
- Analytics across the fleet. Device health, battery cycles, app crashes, and Wi-Fi or cellular coverage insights help you pre-empt downtime and prioritise fixes.
- Security baselines. Define your operating system update cadence, app allowlists, full-disk encryption, and role-based access.

Budgeting
- Move from price-per-unit thinking to a three-to-five-year TCO view that includes accessories, spares, warranties, support licences, and training time.
- Decide on capital expenditure versus operating expenditure. Device-as-a-service agreements may include support and refresh, smoothing cash flow and simplifying operations.

Fleet design
- Segment by workflow: receiving, putaway, replenishment, picking, packing, dispatch, returns, field repair, and audit.
- Assign devices according to task intensity. Heavy scanning requires ergonomic mobile computers with pistol grips; supervisors often benefit from tablets; drivers need smartphone-class devices with safe in-cab mounting and reliable power.
- Introduce wearables for very high-velocity pick lines and vehicle-mounted tablets for material handling equipment fleets.

Automation and governance
- Automate compliance through your device management platform: patch windows, certificate rotation, and policy enforcement with minimal manual effort.
- Scale telemetry. Battery health scoring, drop detection, and predictive maintenance help you time repairs and refreshes to minimise disruption.
- Negotiate vendor SLAs. Advance exchange, loan pools, and guaranteed turnaround times keep shifts moving.
- Implement global kitting standards. Packaging, asset labelling, and serial capture should flow into your IT service management and ERP systems.

Connectivity
- Blend Wi-Fi 6 or 6E in facilities with 4G or 5G for the road. Prioritise roaming performance, fast re-association, and resilient coverage in large distribution centres.
- For rural routes or patchy networks, consider external antennas, high-gain vehicle docks, and network quality-of-service for voice and Push-to-Talk.

Governance
- Establish a Device Governance Board with representation from IT, Operations, Health and Safety, and Finance. Control SKU sprawl and require business cases for changes.
- Maintain a supplier panel to reduce risk and ensure continuity of supply for core devices and accessories.
- Plan refresh waves, for example refreshing a quarter of the fleet each year, to smooth budgets and avoid mass obsolescence.

Compliance
- In regulated or hazardous environments, enforce intrinsic safety at procurement and during audits. Accessories must also be certified, not only the device.
- Align with data protection obligations (for South Africa, POPIA) through encryption, remote wipe, access control, and clear data retention rules.

Lifecycle finance
- Consider leasing or device-as-a-service for predictable operating expenditure. Include analytics and support so you can manage by outcome, not just inventory.

Warehousing and fulfilment
- Prioritise scanning ergonomics, long battery life, and rapid roaming on Wi-Fi.
- Device mix: mobile computers with pistol grips for pick and pack, wearables for speed, tablets for supervisors, and vehicle mounts for forklifts.

Transport and logistics
- Rugged smartphones for drivers (navigation, digital proof-of-delivery, messaging), vehicle-mounted tablets for route visibility, and mobile printers for labels and receipts.
- Safety: compliant in-cab mounting, ignition-sense power, and distraction-reduction settings.

Field service and utilities
- Tablets for digital forms and drawings, smartphones for communications, optional thermal cameras or specialised probes for diagnostics.
- Weather sealing and glove-friendly operation are essential.

Manufacturing
- Scan-heavy stations need mobile computers; quality assurance and line leads benefit from tablets.
- Consider chemical resistance and disinfectant-safe materials for housings.
Oil, gas, and chemicals
- Intrinsically safe devices only, with strict accessory compatibility.
- Fewer SKUs, tighter certification, and mandatory training.

Security and public safety
- Instant voice communication, long battery life for overnight shifts, and optional body-worn solutions where policy requires.
- Accessories include shoulder microphones, belt clips, and in-vehicle rapid charging.

Accessories often determine whether a device enhances or hinders productivity.

- Pistol grips and ring scanners reduce fatigue and increase scan rates, particularly in high-volume pick environments.
- Holsters and shoulder harnesses keep tablets secure yet accessible, reducing drops.
- Screen protectors and bumpers lower breakage rates and extend useful life.
- Charging ecosystems based on wall-mounted multi-bay chargers keep shared rooms tidy and ensure every device starts a shift at full charge.
- Vehicle docks with power ensure safe, reliable charging on the move and reduce cable failures.

At Go Enterprise, we build end-to-end mobility that works in the real world. From rugged mobile computers and tablets to wearables, vehicle-mounted units, intrinsically safe options, and mobile label printers, we design role-based kits that match your workforce size and workflow mix.

Our team pairs hardware with the software that makes it sing: mobile device management, label design and printing, device analytics.

We help you right-size from day one with:
- Sizing workshops to model concurrency, spares, and battery strategies.
- Pilot bundles with acceptance criteria and analytics built in.
- Staging and zero-touch enrolment so devices arrive ready for work.
- Fleet analytics to optimise battery health, reduce downtime, and guide refreshes.
- Support SLAs that keep shifts moving with advance exchange and rapid RMA.

Whether you are equipping a fifteen-person crew or harmonising a multi-site fleet across regions, the approach remains the same: right-size, role-kit, manage, and measure.

Workforce size is not just a planning number; it is a design constraint. It determines the right device archetypes, the accessories that protect health and productivity, the management tools that keep everything compliant and secure, and the financial model that turns capital into measurable output. When you align your rugged device strategy to the size and shape of your workforce, you reduce risk, cut waste, and accelerate every job your teams do.

If you are ready to right-size your fleet, speak to Go Enterprise. We will design, pilot, and roll out a rugged mobility stack that scales with you no more, no less.