One of the most difficult operational responsibilities for most field service providers is managing a team of technicians. They may still rely on antiquated manual techniques to assign work and track their mobile workforce, which is a time-consuming and error-prone process.
Furthermore, field technicians respond to emergency calls on a daily basis, which must be prioritized over their usual process and necessitate immediate schedule modifications. Poor customer service, idle technician time, and low efficiency can all be caused by minor misunderstandings, delays, or missing information.
Let’s look at 4 key features of a Field Service Management tool that will help you make the most of the software and deliver desired results for your field service business.
1. Work order management
Work orders, like everything else these days, have gone digital. Who wants to deal with paperwork orders in the first place? Work order management is a typical component of field service software that simplifies and clarifies the process. When a project is received and allocated, the technician who was given it is noted on the work order so that everyone knows who was in charge of doing it.
This function also allows technicians to record their work at a specific task. Techs have the ability to take notes, capture video and audio, and photographs. In this manner, information about the job may be quickly retrieved in the future by office employees or various specialists without worrying about poor handwriting or misplaced notepads.
Then, after work is completed, your experts may label it as such in the system. Nobody will have to wonder if a project was finished since they can simply check the system to view the status of all of the work orders. Work orders are retained even after they’ve been completed so you may review them later if necessary. However, double-check your vendor’s data storage plans to ensure you have access to documents going back as far as you need.
2. Inventory management
By keeping track of the components your technicians utilize on a regular basis, field service management may aid your asset management efforts. Because your field personnel is likely to utilize many of the same parts to accomplish a variety of jobs and repairs, you must ensure that those parts are always in stock. You can keep track of your inventory levels with field service software that includes parts inventory management tools.
The system keeps track of every time a technician takes or uses a tool, allowing you to keep track of your inventory in real-time. Many providers will give you an alert when a part’s inventory reaches a specific level, so you’ll always know when you need to purchase more. Furthermore, several systems combine analytics with inventory software to provide demand projections. This informs office employees about which components are most frequently utilized and when they should anticipate restocking.
3. Scheduling and dispatching
Supervisors have comprehensive insight into the performance of field service executives, which aids in task scheduling. FSM software can automate the whole scheduling process with a centralized hub for day-to-day operations. Executives are automatically alerted of the nature and location of their next task once it has been arranged. This eliminates work duplication and ensures that the proper executive and tools are on hand when and where they are needed.
Smart scheduling: Allows dispatchers to make last-minute changes to schedules while techs are automatically updated. For allocating new work, technicians are also sorted by competence, availability, and other factors.
Text alerts: In this case, text notifications are customer-facing and may be used as a service reminder as well as a message that a technician is on the way or that the appointment has to be rescheduled.
4. Ongoing billing and service-based billing
When you manage a field service firm, you rely on a variety of income sources, the most common of which are fee-for-service and service contracts. Each of these tasks necessitates tracking, administration, and payment processing. Each of these can be difficult to manage—fee-for-service may necessitate invoicing, mobile app payments, and more; service contracts may necessitate functional billing and recurring revenue management. Add in-warranty repairs or maintenance, and the processes for each of them need having the correct information at the right time.
When it comes to choosing a field service management software that works for you or your company, all of the factors stated above are critical. Well, while you are deciding which product to go with you might as well want to check out how efficient field service management software is.