Field Service is the area of customer service in which technicians rectify faults on site or carry out maintenance and installations at the customer's premises. It is to be distinguished from other areas such as self-service or remote service. Field service management is the strategic planning of technician deployments and resources in field service.
Despite increasing digitalization, not all customer service problems can be solved via hotline or chat. Field service therefore remains an important part of any service department. Field service technicians travel to the customer if faults cannot be resolved remotely. What options are there to make field service more efficient?
1. always assign the right technician to a job!
Due to the growing complexity of products, the provision of After-Sales-services is becoming increasingly difficult. Their technicians have different qualifications and are therefore not equally suitable for every application.
Repairs are generally among the more difficult field service jobs, as the possible sources of faults are very diverse. Maintenance However, maintenance work should be carried out with the help of predefined checklists and thus based on clear instructions. It therefore makes sense to assign repair jobs to experienced technicians and have maintenance services carried out by newer employees.
In addition to the type of application, the type of machine is also decisive. Thanks to a suitable Skill management a service manager should have an overview of the experience of his employees in handling different types of machines. This information must of course be taken into account when assigning orders.
In order to do justice to these factors in field service, thought should be given to the design of suitable processes and the use of appropriate software solutions. The right software solution should be able to combine information about business rules, calendar information, maps, skill levels of your technicians and other live data to help you plan effectively. In this way, you can ensure that the most suitable technician with sufficient expertise and the right tools and spare parts are always at the customer's door.
2. drive forward automation in field service!
Service automation is an important cornerstone for the success of a company. Simple tasks in particular do not necessarily have to be carried out by employees. It is also worth thinking about automation strategies in field service and doing away with Excel spreadsheets and paper. This can avoid a number of problems. Important documents and information are lost less frequently and are not distorted by transcription errors. In addition, performance becomes more measurable and you receive a wealth of data that you can use for optimization.
Centralized access to information and experience from colleagues enables technicians to perform their tasks better. Activities can be comprehensively recorded and documented using a mobile device. This also helps the next colleague who is confronted with a similar problem and can access previous data and solutions. Today's software solutions already fill various reports, checklists and reports semi-automatically.
3. integrate the different systems!
There are countless tools that you can use in your after-sales department to work faster and more effectively. As a rule, each tool has its own specific advantages. It is important to bring these data and processes together in one place so that technicians do not have to jump from one application to the next. This not only saves time, but also reduces the number of sources of error.
Of course, complete integration of all data and functions is not usually possible. Take the time to think about where and how integration can be implemented. There is usually always room for improvement. Modern field service management systems offer interfaces to most specialized applications and help to drive data integration forward.
4. optimize the delivery times in Field Service!
In addition to the correct allocation of orders and documentation of activities, the provision of after-sales services itself should of course also be optimized. The faster your technicians can complete orders, the more capacity you have available in your department. You should therefore think about suitable strategies for carrying out services without unnecessary loss of time and at optimum cost. The following ServiceLobby articles are also helpful in this regard:
How do I shorten the installation times of machines and systems?
This saves you costs when installing machines and systems!
Efficient implementation of preventive maintenance in after-sales
5 Use the data offered by the Internet of Things!
These days, there is an incredible amount of data available about machines and systems. If this data can be used profitably, it can create a real advantage. Predictive maintenance and Condition monitoring offer additional opportunities to improve your service and even open up completely new areas of business. The traditional customer service business will face completely new challenges in the age of Industry 4.0. Always keep up with the times so that you don't miss out on important trends. Big data innovations can significantly improve the predictability of your service in particular.
6. deliver high-quality and standardized service!
Customers want to be able to rely on the consistently high quality of your customer service. Suitable processes for Quality assurance should therefore be established and taken seriously by management. This means that services can be compared independently of the individual technician and are no longer provided solely at the customer's own discretion. Your customers should not have the feeling when making a purchase that it is a game of chance as to whether a technician will come by this time and do a good or bad job. This also ensures a higher recognition value and improves the reputation of your company.
7. relieve the burden on Field Service through your office staff!
Providing after-sales services in the field is comparatively time-consuming and costly. It therefore makes sense to spare your employees unnecessary assignments in their usually strictly scheduled daily routine. A well-organized remote service frees up capacity in the field service team so that they can react more quickly and efficiently when field service calls are actually necessary.
There is also nothing worse than having to put off a customer with a half-finished solution because the next construction site is already waiting. So think about how you can save your service technicians business trips. In addition to your own hotline, you can also Self-service-solutions and Chatbot technologies can be used. Smart glasses are also becoming increasingly widespread in the service sector.
Field service management is a very important area of responsibility, especially in mechanical engineering. Your field service technicians have far more intensive contact with the customer than your hotline staff. If you can come up with good processes in field service, you will increase customer satisfaction and reduce your costs.
