What are the components of field service management?
Field service management usually involves sending workers or contractors to an off-site location to install, maintain or repair equipment, systems or assets. Field service managers control an organization's field resources and coordinate the work of field service professionals who provide qualified, specialized or proprietary services to clients.
Field service management activities include:
- Scheduling field service is the process of organizing employee schedules, service appointments and expected work order completion times.
- Field service dispatch management is the process of dispatch coordination, which takes place when a field service technician or specialist is sent to a work assignment.
- The management of service orders is the process of assigning and tracking service orders from creation to completion and customer billing.
- Stock management is the process of tracking parts and supplies, including product transfers, consumption, adjustments and much more.
- Managing field service contracts is the process of managing contracts with your customers and ensuring that service level agreements (SLAs) are met.
"Benefits of asset management with IBM Maximo Mobile"
Effective Mobile management solutions integrate data from Asset Management systems with remote data - including IoT and mobile devices - to help a company manage its resources.
The benefits of field service management include:
- Increased uptime: identify necessary repairs early in the asset's life cycle for always-on operations, high levels of performance and reduced downtime.
- Reducing the average repair time and improving maintenance rates: Ensure that the right technician is assigned to the job and provide them with the right data at the right time on a single platform.
- Training field service technicians: Provide technicians with remote assistance and mobile resources that help them stay safe, stay compliant, solve problems and complete work tasks efficiently.
- Reducing field service costs: Use data and insights to complete maintenance tasks at the right time and in the most effective and efficient way.
- Increased customer satisfaction: Know whether technicians are meeting internal and external customer expectations and respond promptly to requests or respond to unexpected delays.
Field service management challenges!
Maintenance technician leaders are facing many challenges, including attracting and retaining talent amid a shrinking talent pool, a low-skilled workforce, rising operating costs and a lack of technology to manage complex assets and expanding service needs. The key to managing these challenges is to employ software that can automate certain tasks to reduce pressure on your workforce, improve knowledge transfer and provide resources that support technicians in the field.
Mobile service technicians face challenges such as scheduling conflicts, the ability to obtain essential data, lack of communication about work tasks and having to make return trips. To overcome these challenges, more core system CMMS features should be available on phones and tablets, including the ability to review asset maintenance histories, access detailed technical specifications and GIS location data, examine work order information, process billing and communicate in real time.
Finally, many companies have implemented several separate solutions over time and now have several tools that don't work together. For field service management to run smoothly, it is essential to have cohesive, integrated, end-to-end solutions that are easy for field teams to use and provide dashboards that offer enterprise-wide visibility of a company's resources.
Industry 4.0 is flooded with technology, artificial intelligence and predictions, but retaining talent, keeping systems integrated and fluid, facilitating the day-to-day work of teams is also part of this journey! In fact, bring your team into the deployment, listen to their requests, their difficulties - they make all the difference between a successful deployment and on going or not.
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