Mobile workforce management is notorious for its complexities. One of the most challenging is that workers are indeed in the field. Managing a workforce of any kind is taxing, but overseeing one spread throughout a geographic footprint creates additional considerations. Technicians work independently of supervision and must be trusted to complete their work safely and efficiently. But as any field service leader knows, that’s the nature of the beast. Field service technicians and professionals are often specialized and highly skilled, and they are what makes the machine run. Here’s a quick look at field service management software and how it can benefit employees across a field service outfit.
Field service companies still using paper-based methods for work order management will understand exactly what we mean when we say communication is everything. For those companies, a scenario in which a work order is illegible, torn, lost, stained, or contains incorrect information is an unfortunate reality. With less than half of mobile workforce outfits using software for record-keeping, these mistakes happen more times than they’d care to admit. However, that’s never a problem with field service management software, because there are no papers to lose or stain.
These cloud-based solutions support digital work order management, with all employees having instant access from anywhere. That means technicians in the field and schedulers, dispatchers, and leadership can all review information simultaneously. Additions and changes appear in real-time. For instance, if a customer calls the office to say that they’ll be late getting home, that information can be sent to the technician via the field service mobile application. The same can be said for other customer comments like gate codes or parking information. These critical details help the technician do their job.
Safety is always priority #1 on the job site, where technicians use complex field equipment, heavy machinery, and power tools. It’s because of those built-in risks that mobile workforce management leadership stresses the importance of best practices in safety and security. With technicians working in the field, it hasn’t always been easy to deliver those reminders when they are most needed.
Now, field service leaders can make use of multiple embedded modules to keep their employees safer. The most obvious is the customizable work order management module. This allows leaders to create safety reminders and acknowledgments as part of the work order process. For example, you can make it a requirement that technicians acknowledge the use of proper PPE before signaling a job is in progress. Or even watch a safety video on how to perform a particularly dangerous task. Another way to ensure safety is with the time and expense management module, controlling how much time fleet drivers spend on the road.
A field service company is only as good as its first-time fix rate. So many organizations prioritize the metric when looking for areas of process improvement, but lack the insights to understand where improvements lie. A customizable work order management module can help through improved and enhanced communication, but there are plenty of other aspects to touch on when it comes to productivity through field service management software.
Technicians should have the right equipment on hand to satisfy customer needs, and that includes on-site requests during a job. If a technician doesn’t have a certain part or tool on the truck, the company could miss out on not only fixing the problem on the first visit but also on upselling an additional service. With the asset and inventory management module, that should never be a problem. This customizable module allows field service companies to keep track of stock and send the right inventory to each job. Additionally, leaders can run reports at any time to check on inventory and even create custom alerts to warn when inventory reaches a predetermined low point.
The turn-by-turn directions provided by the scheduling, routing, and dispatch module can also improve productivity. These modules track technicians’ time and keep work running on schedule. The software helps companies maximize the efficiency of a remote mobile workforce with GPS directions that update in real-time. This automatic routing technology keeps drivers on the most efficient route.
From improving the strength of your communication to managing safety and productivity, customizable software from EnSight+ is the solution your field service business needs. To learn more about what we can do for you, book your demo today.
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