In this final excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we break down the budgeting and division of labor...
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Dec 03, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In this final excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we break down the budgeting and division of labor...
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
How Many Work Orders Do You Typically Receive in a Month?
It seems that keeping projects on budget isn't a pressing concern. However, organizations can still improve budgeting at the margins. We asked respondents "How much time would you estimate each field technician spends managing/administering work orders vs. actually performing the work?"
One-quarter of all respondents replied that field technicians spend between 15 and 30 minutes performing administrative work. A slightly smaller proportion (19.48%) of field technicians replied that they spend between 15 and 30 minutes on administrative work. One-third of managers replied that field technicians spend that amount of time doing administrative work.
How Much Time Does Each Field Technician Spend on Managing / Administering Work Orders vs Actually Performing the Work?
Managers think that field technicians spend a minimal amount of time on administrative work than the field technicians themselves. This difference is illustrated more boldly when we examine the rate of respondents that think field technicians spend more than two hours on administrative work. Almost 7% of managers think field technicians spend more than two hours on administrative work. But almost, 16% of field technicians report spending more than two hours on administrative work.
Managers have a different idea than field technicians about the amount of time technicians spend on administrative and work- order management tasks relative to their service tasks. For the Field Service industry in particular, time is money, and any excess time spent on administrative work relative to servicing the work order in question is lost time and therefore lost money.
Bridging this gap using technology and better collaboration can help field technicians see eye to eye with managers about how much time is lost to paperwork and other similar activities.
Are You Looking to Invest in New Technology for Your Service TeamS Post-COVID-19?
Change happens. The question is, will your business be flexible enough to manage through the change. To ensure you can, addressing the needs of the field service teams, continuously examining business processes to look for efficiency gains and improving your technology are key to the continuity of servicing your customers when change occurs.
Field Service remains a vital part of our infrastructure. Allowing employees to focus on the job at hand while increasing productivity to satisfy the needs of their customers should be the goal of any organization. It's clear, however, that many organizations are not prioritizing technology investments in the near future.
It is unwise to buy technology for the sake of having shiny new tools. Yet, companies can still reevaluate their current platforms. If tools in use today are not providing the efficiency needed to service customers and keep field technicians from spending inordinate amounts of time doing administrative work, it may be time to consider a new solution.
IS YOUR BUSINESS READY TO MANAGE THROUGH CHANGE?
Change happens. The question is, will your business be flexible enough to manage through the change. To ensure you can, addressing the needs of the field service teams, continuously examining business processes to look for efficiency gains and improving your technology are key to the continuity of servicing your customers when change occurs.
Field Service remains a vital part of our infrastructure. Allowing employees to focus on the job at hand while increasing productivity to satisfy the needs of their customers should be the goal of any organization. It's clear, however, that many organizations are not prioritizing technology investments in the near future.
It is unwise to buy technology for the sake of having shiny new tools. Yet, companies can still reevaluate their current platforms. If tools in use today are not providing the efficiency needed to service customers and keep field technicians from spending inordinate amounts of time doing administrative work, it may be time to consider a new solution.
In this feature, we analyzed budgeting and division of labor.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can subscribe to our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard and get instant access to this white paper as well as our monthly selection of premium resources.
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Field Service Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/field-service-management
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Nov 26, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In the third excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify we discuss the resources and technology investments for field service....
In the third excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify we discuss the resources and technology investments for field service....
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
We asked respondents what resources are currently being provided to enhance the work and on-site performance of their service teams. Nearly 60% of field technicians replied with "online self-paced education (60%)," "peer-to- peer mobile communication tools (55%)," or "mobile technology (57%)."
Very few field technicians (13%) report using augmented reality (AR) software, and fewer than one-third (31%) report leveraging in-person classroom resources.
What Resources Are Being Provided to Enhance Team Performance
How Would You Rate the Mobile Technology You Are Using to Service Your Customers?
Responses to these questions can provide organizations with a better understanding of the types of resources technicians may need moving forward. A venture capital firm's survey found that 80% of the global workforce is deskless1. And, despite these workers' reliance on mobile devices, they rarely seem to be considered when it comes to new technology advancements.
For example, just 5.48% of our field technician respondents feel their mobile technology is "excellent." And, while a majority (54.79%) feels their mobile technology is "good, it gets the job done," a further one-quarter say their mobile technology is "average and just OK."
Are You Looking to Invest in New Technology for Your Service TeamS Post-COVID-19?
Technology investments might be in order, given those challenges. But, 62.9% of managers and above said "no investments planned" when asked if they are looking to make investments in new technology to support their team post pandemic (though we may again here consider the pandemic to equate with any future upheaval organizations may encounter).
How Much Are You Budgeting for New Technology to Support Your Service Teams post COVID-19?
To help determine the types of investments that may help technicians, we asked them to rank,in order of importance, the features they need from their mobile application in the field. Two-thirds (62%) or more of the respondents felt work order information, communication with customers, and maintenance procedures and knowledge base were "very important."
While customer communications and work order information are likely available to field technicians currently, it seems that their tools may be lacking the ability to pass down the organic knowledge base. When a 25-year veteran technician retires, does their domain knowledge leave with them?
Technology decision making must take into account non-traditional forms of data, such as institutional knowledge, in order to provide field technicians with the information and skills they need to succeed.
Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss how to measure field service readiness.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.
If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Digital Transformation @ www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Nov 19, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we provide an analysis on how to measure field service readiness...
In this second excerpt from a recent white paper published by Appify, now available at Field Service News, we provide an analysis on how to measure field service readiness...
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
How field technicians rate their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other service equipment is especially crucial as all must now adopt additional, more stringent workplace safety protocols. Seventy-two percent (72.6%) of field technicians and managers rate the quality of the PPE they use to service their customers as "good" or "very good," an encouraging sign.
This suggests field technicians and management have a shared understanding of what makes for effective PPE.
How Would You Rate The Quality of the PPE You Are Using to Service Your Customers?
How Would You Rate The Quality of Equipment You Use to Service Your Customers?
How Ready Are Your Service Teams to Service Customers Post COVID-19?
Many respondents don’t feel that the pandemic will impact their field readiness. We asked respondents to rate how ready service teams will be to go on-site to service customers post COVID-19. Field technicians responded, on average, with a rating of about 8.3.
IMPROVING WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY
The current societal disruption may very well cause ongoing changes to the types of work orders technicians service. When people stop using hotels en masse, there is less of a need for maintenance. Textile factories have likely seen an uptick in machine usage due to the demand for cloth masks. Those machines will need more frequent attention than they did in the past.
We may see spikes in work orders for industries that previously relied on only semi-regular maintenance visits. Other industries will demonstrate a marked drop in demand for their equipment.
Currently, field technicians see about 50 orders or fewer in one month. Forty-four percent of field technicians report receiving fewer than 50 work orders in one month.
How Ready Are Your Service Teams to Service Customers Post COVID-19?
There is a range of time frame durations for these work orders. More than one-third (39%) of field technicians have work orders stretching over multiple days, 35% have work orders that last one day, and 25.97% have work orders that last a few hours.
How Long Does It Take to Complete a Work Order?
The volume of these orders and the duration they last may shift dramatically in the coming months. How organizations respond to changing demands will likely dictate future success.
Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss resources and technology investments for Field Service.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Field Service Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/field-service-management
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Nov 12, 2020 • Features • White Paper • field service management • Leadership and Strategy • Appify
In a new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Appify we analyze the impact of change within the modern field service organization...
In a new series of excerpts from a recent white paper published by Appify we analyze the impact of change within the modern field service organization...
Want to know more? Field Service News Subscribers can access a White Paper on this topic on the link below.
If you have yet to subscribe click the button below to join 30K of your field service management professional peers and subscribe now to access this content and our entire premium content library now!
Data usage note: By accessing this content you consent to the contact details submitted when you registered as a subscriber to fieldservicenews.com to be shared with the listed sponsor of this premium content Appify who may contact you for legitimate business reasons to discuss the content of this white paper, as per the terms and conditions of your subscription agreement which you opted into in line with GDPR regulations and is an ongoing condition of subscription.
Many in the Field Service industry started their company with nothing but a toolbox and sporadic house calls. Some remained a solo operation, and others went on to work for large companies, such as DuPont or Canon. People who started with nothing but a wrench are now running profitable service companies or managing massive service teams within enterprise organizations.
These people, and the organizations for which they work, service everything from grocery store refrigerators to hospital MRI machines. And, when the pandemic hit, the industry felt the repercussions. Grocery store rushes meant more frequent refrigerator repair trips. Restaurants shutting down meant fewer trips to fix a fryer or stove.
The pandemic is just one example of societal upheaval the Field Service industry may encounter. And, any time an event impacts the way society at large uses these pieces of equipment, the industry must adapt.
We hope this report illuminates possible strategies and solutions for your organization as we all navigate through these unprecedented times.
About the Survey:
To understand just how people are coping with the current challenge, we polled more than 250 individuals in the industry—field technicians and company owners alike—from a variety of companies around the world to take the pulse of the industry.
We classify mid-market businesses as those that employ 50-500 people. Enterprises employ more than 500 people. Nearly 41% of respondents work for an enterprise-sized firm, and 58.98% of respondents work for either a mid-market or enterprise-size company.
Fifty-five percent of respondents are individual contributors or team leads. This group also includes respondents who have labeled themselves engineers. The group will be referred to as "field technicians" throughout this report.
Who Are the Business Process Decision Makers?
Parsing who is responsible for business process decisions—decisions ranging from how teams are dispatched to newly developed Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) guidelines—is the first step in mitigating any issues that hamper the delivery of services.For example, though 41% of respondents list themselves as individual contributors, 36% of respondents are themselves responsible for business process decisions. Thirteen percent of respondents are either C-level or owner or president of their company, but 25% of respondents say business owners or CEOs are responsible for business process decisions.
A slightly larger proportion of C-level people make business process decisions than there are C-level respondents in the survey. This isn't terribly surprising. Many businesses rely on executives and higher-level contributors to guide the organization forward. But, in an industry where field technicians have intimate knowledge of the job at hand, it seems reasonable to wonder whether they should have a larger say in business process decision making.
As organizations attempt to improve their decision making, they will often be tempted to purchase fix-it-all technologies and spend budget on tools that they feel will help them solve every issue. Despite the urge to fix everything at once, Field Service companies might instead determine one or two concerns to address and work their way forward from there.
BUSINESS PROCESSES AND DATA ACCESSIBILITY WITHIN FIELD SERVICE
Assuming companies have enough data to make intelligent decisions, reviewing business processes regularly should be high-level priorities for companies that wish to become more efficient.
More than one-third (31%) of respondents report that they review business processes every six months or even less frequently.
And what of the data used to inform business processes? It will be difficult to affect positive change with poor or inaccessible data no matter how frequently a company reviews its processes.
How Often Does Your Company Review Business Process Used to Service Your Customers?
A majority (53%) of field technicians rate the quality of their accessible data as either "good" or "very good." Fifty-nine percent of those in managerial roles believe their data is "good" or "very good."
At the other end of the spectrum, nearly 14% of field technicians rate their data as "poor" or "very poor." Companies will likely improve their business process decision making by coming to a better understanding of what makes poor data, poor and eliminating that information from their internal data sources.
How Would You Rate The Quality of Your Accessible Data?
It will be difficult to weed out low-value data if that information is not first accessible. Only one-quarter (26%) of field technicians describe their work-order data as "accessible through one single application."
Nineteen percent of field technicians describe their work-order data as either "accessible but inaccurate" or "inaccessible."
Another challenge exists. A majority (55%) of field technicians say their data is accessible but either through "a couple of apps" or "many apps."
How Would You Describe the Overall Accessibility to Work Order Data Which Enables You to Provide Services to Your Customers?
For Field Service organizations, data enters their systems in the form of manual data entry, paper transactions or mobile device data capture. Data types include information from invoices, work orders, parts, inventory, equipment- maintenance data, and so on. If managers and field technicians alike must jump from one application to the next to manage all of this information, it is likely they will encounter more errors and lower efficiency standards than if everyone had data accessible in one place. Technicians rely on mobile devices in the field.
But what if they enter a poor cellular coverage zone or the Wi-Fi on the jobsite goes down? What if the data input while offline doesn't sync when the device is able to connect to the network again?
Ensuring data is accurate requires a variety of different systems and devices to communicate, on and off-line. Doing so is impossible without a flexible solution that can integrate these sources and limit data-quality and accessibility issues.
Look out for the next feature in this series coming next week where we discuss how to measure field service readiness.
However, www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below. If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and you can access the white paper instantly upon completing the registration form!
Further Reading:
- Read more about Leadership & Strategy @ www.fieldservicenews.com/leadership-and-strategy
- Read more about Field Service Management @ www.fieldservicenews.com/field-service-management
- Find out more about Appify @ appify.com
- Follow Appify on Twitter @ twitter.com/AppifyInc
Field Service News is published by 1927 Media Ltd, an independent publisher whose sole focus is on the field service sector. As such our entire resources are focused on helping drive the field service sector forwards and aiming to best serve our industry through honest, incisive and innovative media coverage of the global field service sector.
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