ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘scheduling-software’ CATEGORY

Freight Transport Association (FTA) is transforming its Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) by deploying FAST LEAN SMART (FLS) real-time automated software to introduce a new, more efficient work scheduling process in conjunction with Microsoft Dynamics 365.  

 

We live in a world of instant results. Seamless, efficient and accessible service has become the new norm and unless yourorganisation adopts dynamic scheduling you may just fall behind the increasing expectations of the modern consumer argues Field Service Insights’ Michael Blumberg...

The ability of Field Service Organizations (FSOs) to deliver  an optimal customer experience depends in a large part to their ability to effectively schedule their Field Service Engineers (FSEs).Scheduling of Field Service Engineers if a critical success factor in optimizing customer experience. Ultimately, this requires FSO to make the highest and best use of resources to obtain the highest and best outcome for themselves and their customers. In other words, outcomes that result in high first-time fix rate, customer satisfaction ratings, and profitability for the FSO.

Smaller businesses using five or fewer technicians may be able to manage scheduling effectively enough to operate a successful business. However, an increase in the number of employees, the number of customers, or the number of service requests can quickly disrupt the flow of business. With each new addition, the complexity of scheduling grows exponentially. This is because each addition brings a host of related attributes. For example, a new technician means identifying a new skill set, adding another vehicle, identifying a different route, stocking more parts, and redistributing servicecalls. Multiply times two - or twenty and a logistical nightmare quickly ensues.

At issue, end-customers increasingly expect a high level or responsiveness example, one that provides them with visibility into their FSE’s route and schedule, and one that provides a high level of certainty of when their FSE will arrive onsite. Using manual scheduling or basic dispatch software will not result in this outcome. It is virtually impossible to remain competitive in the field services environment using manual scheduling and spreadsheets, which can cost mangers 20% of their workday. Further, incorporating even a single change, such as adjusting for a driver who calls out, can have a domino effect on the overall schedule, wasting additional time by the scheduler and downtime as other technicians wait for reassignment.

Dynamic Scheduling software offers a host of benefits and there are several factors which should be considered when evaluating scheduling software options. Some core functions include resource scheduling, dispatching, route planning, work order management, SLA compliance tracking, parts inventory management, forecasting, integration with other systems, and reporting just to name a few.

The table below shows which outcomes are typical for organizations that use dynamic scheduling applications:

REDUCTION IN:	INCREASE IN:
Labor costs	Procedural consistency
Scheduling/re-scheduling costs	Customer satisfaction
Fuel costs	Availability of resource usage reports
Inventory costs for parts	First-time fix (FTF). SLA Compliance/Onsite response time

While the most common reason for not replacing an existing field service management system is cost, efficiencies gained from a technology-based system often negate that argument. Further, companies using dynamic scheduling can gain a 20% - 25% improvement in operating efficiency, field service productivity, and utilization. Other reasons to consider a change are opportunities for growth, more accurate and reliable data, flexible and scalable scheduling, and positive impact on KPIs.

With a seemingly infinite choice of features, identifying a workforce and scheduling management platform that is cost-effective and offers what you need without unnecessary add-ons that don’t add value can be a challenge. Most systems offer a customizable range of features and benefits appropriate to your industry, size, and business objectives.

A benchmark survey by Blumberg Advisory Group indicates that advanced tools like Dynamic Scheduling software allows companies to perform more efficiently and effectively by optimizing scheduling and associated functions. Companies that use these tools also are more likely to have an SLA compliance rate of 90% or higher. Field service workers scheduled through an automated process are also more likely to complete five or more calls per day, at a utilization rate of 85% or higher.

 

"It is virtually impossible to remain competitive in the environment using manual scheduling.."

 

In addition, companies that utilize advanced tools are more likely to be able to manage and schedule a higher volume of service events. For example, half (49%) of the companies surveyed that use advanced receive at least 500 service request calls per day, and about half of those companies (26%) receive 1,000 service calls per day.

They are also more likely to have a higher ratio of FSEs to schedulers than companies who do not use w technology. In summary, Dynamic scheduling software offers clear advantages to field service organizations regardless of the industry, services, revenues, or number of field service workers.

Automated technologies provide enhanced functions beyond the capabilities of the most adept schedulers and other manual approaches. Being able to get the best qualified FSE to the customer site at the right time, relies not only on identifying a knowledgeable technician and the necessary parts but ensuring they get to the customer site within the timeframe promised. Using a scheduling software system can make this happen while simultaneously adjusting the calls, routes, and ETA’s of other field service workers to maintain responsiveness and avoid jeopardizing schedules.

The business intelligence collected and stored in these systems allows FSOsto make better decisions about what inventory and tools to carry, equipment to be repaired or replaced, routes that should be developed or changed, and other factors that influence the bottom line.






More and more field services organizations recognize this need and adopting dynamic scheduling platforms, leaving businesses that do not provide these increasingly expected and desired services struggling to compete.

You can download the whitepaper, Creating an Uber-like Service Experience: Benchmarks and Best Practices in Field Service Scheduling, here.

 

Richard Pratley left behind the beaches, scenery and weather of New Zealand to head-up SimPRO’s UK arm. Seven months into his new role, he spoke to Field Service News Deputy Editor Mark Glover about apprenticeships, health and safety and the state of the service sector in his homeland...

So isolated is New Zealand it was one of the last lands to have human settlement. As well as avoiding human interaction for so long more, it has also avoided the shockwaves spread from the global financial market. Seemingly exempt from the volatile effects of the recession, it is now seen as a ‘rock-star’ economy, immune to the peak and troughs of the downturn.

Investment in apprenticeships, particularly field service apprenticeships however has taken a hit here in the UK, globally and even New Zealand and the sector currently faces a discrepancy in new entrants joining the sector. Richard Pratley, Managing Director at SimPRO UK and a New Zealander is well placed to comment on the issue, which he did as a recent guest on the Field Service News podcast.

I asked him what challenges both countries – New Zealand and the UK – are facing in field service. He was forthcoming on the current employment imbalance. “I think the biggest one [challenge] is the skills labour shortage and how it’s impacting our industry,” he says. “Finding good people and keeping good people is getting increasingly harder.”

He suggested that New Zealand is reacting to the disparity, but it may be too late to plug the current gap. “A lack of investment in apprenticeships is a common trend across both geographies and I think we’ve underestimated how strong apprenticeships were,” he offered.

“Certainly, from a New Zealand perspective, it’s now well-recognized, and there is some heavy investment going in, but of course, it’s all a little bit too late. It’s not going to help us right now but it will help us in a few years’ time.”

“I think the biggest challenge is the skills labour shortage and how it’s impacting our industry...”

Richard headed up SimPRO’s New Zealand office for three years before relocating to these shores to take up his current position at the firm’s UK arm and he tells me there’s never been a better time to adopt an operational software platform or operational job management system.

But with a wide range of outfits to choose what should a service firm be looking for? “The thing we’re trying to do is to get more billable hours and more out of the existing workforce,” Richard says. However, I wonder if owner-based companies, used to ‘pen and paper’ procedures can find the change to a cloud-based OS rather overwhelming?

“Certainly, in New Zealand - and I’m guessing it’s the same in the UK too - there are a lot of large established service businesses that are owner operated,” he says.

“They have been run for a number of years and at some point, that individual may be looking to retire, and have some sort of exit strategy. The challenge is, that without some sort of systemisation, it’s all in somebody’s head and that’s a very difficult thing to get out.”

One area of work traditionally associated with pen and paper (and clipboard) is health and safety. Legislation and regulation require a strong paper trail, something that can be a laborious – yet important process.

Surely then, the cloud-based software in job management systems can assist in this? “We have a number of workflows and tools within apps that allow technicians to do those risk assessments on their devices, to record those results and to actually make some health and safety decisions before they go ahead and do any part of a job,” Richard says.

He pauses slightly before saying: “And I think that’s fundamentally important.” 

You can listen to the Field Service Podcast with guest Richard Pratley here.

 

By implementing an advanced scheduling system and mobility technology from ClickSoftware, Carglass improves customer service and speed of on-location repairs and replacements

Servicing eight hundred thousand customers every year, Carglass, the leading vehicle glass repair and replacement company in Germany, relies on its branch and mobile technicians to provide top-notch service to its customers. Carglass has selected ClickSoftware’s mobile service optimisation suite to automate the scheduling of appointments and the resource management of technicians, enabling the company to quickly service customers on-location, resulting in faster, more efficient customer care.

After observing the fast and successful deployment of ClickSoftware’s solution at Belron in the UK, Carglass decided to roll out the scheduling system in Germany.

“We are always focused on improving our customers’ experience. By optimising our scheduling system with ClickSoftware, we will be able to better assign our technicians to remote job requests quickly and efficiently, saving our customers’ time, gas, money and frustration. Rather than our customers having to drive to one of our Service Centers, we are now able to send a mobile technician to their specific location,” said Ronald Hoff, Project Manager Operations at Carglass GmbH. “The ClickSoftware solution streamlines this process and the benefits will be realised from the business side down to the customers’ experience. Most importantly, we will be able to roll it out to technicians quickly to reap the benefits.”

In the old model, schedulers used manual charts to assign mobile technicians their job assignments each day. ClickSoftware’s established service chain optimisation algorithms will now allow Carglass to streamline business processes across its mobile technicians. If Carglass receives a request for an on-location repair, the scheduler can assign that job instantly to the mobile technician best suited for job requirements. If a second on-location repair request comes in, the scheduler can prompt that same mobile technician to next complete this new job or assign it to another mobile technician who may be closer to the location or have a more appropriate skillset. Concurrently, branch technicians at the Service Centers continue to service customers who need their cars fixed.

“The improved customer service that Carglass will now be able to provide by automating and optimising the scheduling system is significant and an important factor in keeping a competitive edge,” said Dr. Moshe BenBassat, Founder and CEO of ClickSoftware. “By matching individual mobile technician’s skills and location, Carglass will be able to increase the speed and number of mobile requests. We look forward to continuing to build our relationship with Carglass and Belron.”

 

ALS Environmental has selected Paragon routing and scheduling software to plan collections and deliveries of water, earth and air samples for testing at its specialist laboratories. The analytical services company has installed Paragon's Multi Depot software at its Coventry headquarters for optimising the transport of hundreds of samples a week using its fleet of 3.5 tonne temperature controlled vehicles.

Paragon's routing and scheduling software enables ALS Environmental to plan the routes for all its vehicles and drivers centrally across all the company's depots as a single planning task. The software adjusts depot boundaries dynamically to ensure calls are routed from the most suitable depot according to fleet availability and the geographic spread of orders on the day.

"Paragon enables me to plan all our collections and deliveries across the UK quickly and efficiently so it is a critical part of our operation. Without the software it would take hours to plan the routes and we wouldn't be able to provide the high level of service we offer our customers. We import all the jobs directly into Paragon and then the routes and schedules are generated automatically. We print the routes for our drivers directly from the system, so there is no further data entry to do," says Shaun Millington, Transport Controller, ALS Environmental.

ALS Environmental is part of the ALS group - one of the world's largest and most diversified analytical testing service providers operating across 55 countries. The company is one of the UK's leading providers in its field that offers an extensive range of accredited analytical services for water, land and waste monitoring. The company provides its customers with accurate, legally defensible, analytical data.