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Swale Heating Ltd, the largest independent heating maintenance provider in the South East has successfully replaced the software which runs it’s business with the market leading Optimatics from Aeromark.

Swale Heating who look after more than 130,000 properties and directly employ over 280 Engineers, sought to replace it’s multiple systems with fully integrated market leading software that offered the very best in advances in technology.

Steve Parish, Chief Information Officer at Swale said “Swale has seen considerable growth over the last 5 years and we recognised in 2015 that we needed to invest in the very best software and mobile technology to prepare us for the next 10 years. Following a market search, we identified Optimatics as being the transformational product we were looking for and we built a team with Aeromark to implement the replacement system”.

The new service management software not only replaces a number of existing legacy systems in one application, but also streamlines all the processes within the business into agile workflows. As a result, Swale expects to achieve an increase in productivity for the engineers through improved scheduling and far better statutory compliance especially with associated record keeping, whilst further improving its customer service experience and “first time fix” rates.

 

“The system has some really clever technology especially related to parts sourcing. Once the Engineer has diagnosed the fault at the click of a button on their tablet the mobile app opens up an exploded diagram of the boiler, the part is identified and the app then sends the order to be automatically price and availability checked against all Wolseley UK depots . Depending on the travel time to fetch the part and the cost, the system seamlessly orders the part for immediate collection. We expect this feature alone to improve our first time fix rates considerably” said Steve.

One of the other key benefits of the system is the way that reporting is delivered. Whilst the product is delivered via Software-as-a-Service providing all the benefits of this modern technology, the architecture provides for a real time on-site database for management reporting.

 

Phil White IT Manager at Swale said “The way Aeromark deliver their reporting is really useful. The core application is Web based but we have a real time mirrored copy of the data on site which allows us unrestricted access to all the data. This means that in no time at all we were able to build our own report suite which delivers exactly what we need, which will allow us to deliver information the business demands in the future”.

 

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We all know that customers are vital to any business, but they are increasingly so for a field service one writes Rachel Pullen of Leadent Service Cloud...

Customer satisfaction plays a key role in determining the success of your organisation, and connecting with your customers throughout their journey has never been more important, particularly now, when a positive customer experience is not just anticipated, but expected.

Luckily for us, technology is on our side and it’s made closing the loop of customer feedback that little bit easier. Field service management software allows us to talk to customers when they want and how they want, letting them choose the time, location and channel that is most convenient to them. It allows us to not only track feedback but action it.

If a field service organisation looks at the key issues affecting customer satisfaction they can often improve these factors with field service technology – transforming the mundane and often frustrating customer experience, into a social one with real time information and updates. Creating a ‘closed-loop’ feedback system gives businesses the ability to continue the conversation, whereas more traditional methods would end the conversation, or not start one at all.

By investing in a closed-loop style model, you not only differentiate yourself from your competitors, but maintain your customer’s loyalty, whilst in turn attracting new customers.

Follow our 5 key steps below to see how you can close the loop and improve your customers experience: 

Get to know your customers

In order to follow-up in a personal way, you need to know who the customer really is, as well as when and how to contact them. Having that information allows you to provide customers with the additional follow-up they want.

Be sociable

Don’t be afraid to use non-traditional methods such as social media. What once was a sales and marketing platform, is now a meeting place and can become a key part of your customer experience.

Automate for the win

In order to be truly effective, any customer satisfaction system should be automated to ensure you can make a swift follow-up. Instead of getting information and taking action days or even weeks later, an automated system collects customer’s feedback and alerts you in real-time when action is needed. This is the key to an optimised closed-loop system and can prove to be a critical feature when dealing with unhappy customers.

Transform your mindset

Closing the loop aims to give long-term improvements. By having a customer-centric mindset, closing the loop will ultimately solve the internal issues that are causing the customer problems in the first place. Don’t forget, this is not about simply tracking feedback, it’s about transforming your overall customer experience and building customer loyalty.

Take some action

Whilst traditional satisfaction surveys aim to collect measurements for things that you and your company care about; such as employee performance, or service speed, a closed-loop system will generally use open-ended questions that focus on the things that your customer cares about, and more importantly things that you can action.

By using the latest field service management tools, gathering customer feedback is easier than ever before. They help to create the loop, meaning you are able to learn from each interaction that you have with your customers. You can then use what you have learnt to improve your service, as well as what you offer, to keep you ahead of competitors.

The key message? If you start and end with the customer and keep them informed at every step of the way, then you’re onto a winner.

The future is clear – businesses who don’t embrace customer experience and close the loop will undoubtedly be left behind.

If you would like to find out more about how you can improve your customer experience using award winning field service software then visit www.leadentservicecloud.com

 

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Intelligent traffic signs provider, Swarco Traffic Ltd, is saying good riddance to whiteboards and complex Excel spreadsheets...

The company is implementing SC5.1, the latest iteration of Tesseract’s service management software, in a bid to revolutionise its asset and field service management and boost efficiency.

Swarco is responsible for keeping drivers informed and traffic moving, by way of smart parking guidance signs, directional signs, speed warning signs and smart motorway information boards. Swarco’s tailor-made traffic management solutions are used by city centres and motorways nationwide, including major shopping centres like Westfield in London and the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

With more than ten thousand signs across the UK, Swarco relies on a hardworking team of engineers to maintain the signs and remedy faults. At present, Swarco has dedicated staff using whiteboards and an Excel planner to manage its engineers’ schedules and ensure that sign maintenance and repairs are carried out efficiently and on time. However, the process is manual and time-consuming.

 

The other problem is that Swarco does not always have access to GPS coordinates for each sign, which leads to difficulties directing engineers to the exact location of the equipment.

“Tesseract is going to give us automation, immediacy and visibility,” says Berony Abraham, Operations Director for Swarco. “The new system will automatically allocate work according to skill set and location, direct engineers to exactly the right place using GPS, and let our customers log in and report faults. Several of our largest clients have already expressed interest in this.”

Swarco looked at a variety of different solutions before selecting Tesseract. “We went with Tesseract because it’s UK-based, really simple and easy to use, and the staff are so helpful,” says Berony. “It’s also more or less off-the-shelf. In other words, you can use it straight away without having to spend ages customising it.”

 

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Nick Shipton, Dynamic Resource Scheduling Executive, Kirona explains the importance of understanding your providers own roadmap for development when selecting a field service management solution...

The last piece I wrote for FSN focused on how I believe it’s important to utilise a scheduler that is flexible enough to allow for an organisation to cope with the different types of demand whilst still enabling customer expectations to be met and being as efficient as possible regarding how that demand is dispatched to the workforce.

For a leading field service scheduling software vendor ensuring that the software we provide ticks all these boxes is a challenge. We need to be certain that we are meeting our customer’s expectations by providing not only excellent support and service but also an innovative roadmap that keeps them engaged and moving forward on the solution ensuring they maximise their ROI and continue to deliver further efficiencies.

However there is also the need to look to new markets and prospects whose needs may differ from those of our core business.

The key is that we need to look at the solution as an enabler that enables our customers to retain a position that is at the forefront of their markets, whether that is in giving them a commercial edge or in the case of our customers in the public sector enabling them to cope with the additional strain on services, cuts in budgets and yet still give their customers the best possible service.

 

At Kirona we of course have a roadmap looking at the short, medium and long-term but for me its key that we look outside of our own internal team to drive the content of these, especially in regards to the short and medium term roadmap.

The long term roadmap is more strategic but still contains some customer consultation.

We have an excellent internal team on both the scheduling and mobile products who are constantly looking at new features driven by their own knowledge of our technology, the knowledge of our customer base and knowledge of new advances in our field.

However it’s very important that we don’t get too carried away before trying to understand whether our innovation is relevant to the customers and prospects needs.

Quite often you’ll find that exciting new features in products are great for the Sales Team as they look good in demos but when it comes to the day to day operations we find that users never see the benefits they were expecting.

For this reason at Kirona we always look to use the excellent forum of our user group to both plot and direct our roadmap.

Over half of our roadmap is fed by ideas and requirements from our current user base, and we also ensure that in every update we have between 30% and 50% of customer lead enhancements as this is key to ensuring that the product stays relevant for our customers, as listening to our customers is key and one of the main reasons we have such great customer retention and satisfaction.

Coming back to my original point, how do we as a software company ensure that what we offer gives the customer the flexibility they need in the product, and ensure that we as a company don’t go down a route that only offers a solution to a niche market.

For the answer to that question it’s about ensuring that we are selling into a diverse range of markets, but with the caveat that we always sense check whether any new market and new functionality for that market could be used across our customer base.

This extends further when you then look at our user group, which five years ago was exclusively public sector organisations and from that sector almost primarily housing repairs, whereas now we have representation from retail, healthcare, utilities, central government and facilities management organisations.

 

The important point for us as a software company is that all these different sectors are using the same suite of products just configured to suit their own needs and requirements, and from our customers point of view they get to see how other organisations are not just using the software in a different way but also that actually the goals and requirements of organisations from different sectors are not too far away from their own.

So in conclusion I feel it is very important that when looking for software its key that you don’t just look at the solution itself, you need to ensure that the solution isn’t getting stuck in a cul-de-sac and the provider is challenging themselves, their customers and their prospects to offer you a future.

 

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With a raft of large platform providers including Salesforce, IFS, Oracle and Microsoft all now offering embedded field service solutions within their wider platforms is there still a market for specialist best-of-breed solution providers? We take a look at the arguments for both stand alone and integrated solutions....

Alongside the question of which type of scheduling engine is correct for your organisation (dynamic, assisted, optimised etc etc), there is also the additional consideration of whether you should opt for a solution that is stand-alone/best-of-breed or one which is fully integrated within your other core business solutions such as an ERP or CRM system?

There are valid arguments made for both sides and, as with every new introduction of technology within a business environment, careful consideration needs to be made as to what will fit best with your existing solutions and your future plans, as ultimately every organisation is unique and will have unique requirements.

However, let’s briefly look at the pros and cons of both stand-alone and integrated solutions.

The case for implementing a standalone/best–of-breed scheduling solution:

The first and perhaps most obvious of these is that the implementation of a standalone system is not necessarily tied into the complete overhaul of business-wide working processes - implementing a scheduling engine really should be viewed as a business not IT exercise.

This means that on a one off basis, implementation and training can generally be swifter than implementing a more encompassing solution such as an ERP.

However, if a company is intending to roll out an entire suite of stand-alone products then the time to implement each will greatly outweigh the time it would take to implement one overall system.

 

The one key area where traditionally best-of-breed solutions have been viewed as often being the more superior option has been in terms of degree of fit.

Generally a best-of-breed solution will have been purchased to fit a particular requirement or need (i.e. mobile workforce scheduling in this instance) and you may well find that certain companies have developed a strong feel and understanding for specific industry verticals – meaning an implementation can often be as close to out-of-the box as possible if you find a company that has worked within your sector and therefore has a feel for some of the nuances of your market.

This leads us to another big benefit of choosing a standalone option in that there is a wider amount of choice available to you.

Firstly, many vendors that also offer their solution as a part of an integrated platform such as IFS or Oracle, will also offer their Field Service Management tools as standalone as well.

So when looking at a standalone option you are able to select across the entirety of the available marketplace, from the well known industry leaders through to smaller vertical specialist providers.

Of course such a wide range of choice can also be a challenge in it’s own right.

And whilst smaller standalone solutions may have perhaps more flexibility and a better understanding of your business, it is important to understand their position in terms of business security - no matter how good their solution you will need some level of ongoing support, so you need to know they will be around for at least the amount of time you intend to use their solution for.

 

The flip side of this is that of course with a stand-alone provider, in a worst case scenario there is always the fact that walking away from a solution that hasn’t delivered all that was promised is potentially less painful than if you have opted for an integrated solution that sits across a number of different divisions within your organisation.

The case for implementing integrated systems:

When we look at the benefits of integrated systems, again there are a number of key arguments as to why this approach has merits.

Perhaps the biggest and most important of these is the easy flow of data across different business units. In an age of Big Data, such seamless transition of data from one business division to another can help deliver a 360 degree view of a customer – something that is seen as the holy grail of business today.

For example, the ability for a sales representative to see that a client has had a number of call outs for service orientated support could open up opportunities for up-selling an improved service package. Similarly, an engineer on-site could potentially see an opportunity for selling some consumable items whilst undertaking a service call and could place this information directly into a CRM directly from his mobile application – something which is relatively easily achieved in many platforms and something which could be a much more cumbersome process with multiple systems in place.

 

Another perfect example of the importance of visibility across a platform could be that if an engineer arrives at a site where the client’s SLA period has expired. All too often such information can be overlooked resulting in that engineer’s work essentially being given away for free.

A second significant benefit of the integrated approach is that many companies will find adoption of new systems a lot easier at the end-user level due to familiarity of the tools.

Platforms that have various functionalities across different business units are likely to have a fundamental terminology, nomenclature, shared short cut buttons, and similar menu configurations etc.

This concept also, of course applies to the support IT departments are able to deliver.

It is far less demanding for an IT team to deliver support across one platform than various stand-alone solutions. Similarly it can also mean that support from the platform vendor is directed to one location, and often one specific account manager rather than having to have multiple vendor support channels in place.

Again such familiarity can improve issue resolution dramatically and this is also an important factor in terms of upgrading a system. With a selection of stand-alone solutions in place your IT department may face an unmanageable stream of continual updates and bug fixing patches, whether you are on a Cloud system or On Premise.

With a platform approach, the vendor is likely to help ease the burden of so many updates by combining many system wide tweaks in each new iteration.

 

One final consideration is that as mentioned above, whilst the implementation of one standalone solution may be swifter, the implementation of a business-wide system ultimately will be more efficient in terms of man-hours allocated to implementation in the longer term.

So in summary, whilst standalone may be more suitable in terms of degree of fit, a fully integrated package is ultimately likely to be more effective in terms of time, cost, resources, and project management in the mid-to long term.

However, a standalone approach does allow you to spread the cost and resources required for implementation and given the ability for scheduling engines to provide clear, tangible ROI within a generally short time frame, best-of-breed solutions could be the right option for those companies looking for direct improvements in the short term.

 

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Improving first-call/visit resolution rates can be challenging and frustrating for field service organisations, because there are so many factors and variables that prevent technicians from completing a repair on the first visit.

This great infographic from Astea highlights the importance of getting them right... 

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Want to know more? Download the white paper that accompanies this infographic here

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John Cameron, General Manager, Trimble Field Service Management gives his expert insight into how companies can best make the shift away from manual processes to automated...

Field service companies of all sizes will be at different stages in their scheduling journey. Some will be very experienced with using scheduling automation whilst others are still using manual, paper-based systems to schedule work. Surprisingly, there are many field service businesses out there today that are still at the manual stage and looking to automate their processes for the first time.

With so many advanced scheduling solutions on the market today, it can be a daunting task knowing what type of technology and level of sophistication would be the best fit for a business, as well as how to tackle challenges around change management.

According to Aberdeen Group, 44 per cent of field service managers regard planning and scheduling to be the greatest opportunity for investment. The benefits realised by fully automatic scheduling and optimisation tools are undeniable; allowing the scheduling algorithms to automatically manage resources in the most efficient way not only improves productivity but allows the dispatcher to concentrate on other, more valuable tasks.

[quote float="left"]44 per cent of field service managers regard planning and scheduling to be the greatest opportunity for investment.

However, the change from paper to automatic scheduling is a jump too far for many. A stepped approach or journey is a more sustainable way to manage the business change and ensure that a field service business achieves its primary objective – getting the right technician to the right place at the right time with the tools to do the job, first time.

 

The following article explains the various scheduling strategies as steps, allowing businesses to select the stage that best describes its current operation and identify the goal for its future scheduling needs.

 1.     Paper-based

A dispatcher can typically manage 15-20 technicians via a paper based system. Whilst many service organisations still use paper-based processes today, this is field service scheduling at the simplest level and it can quickly start to fail when volume, complexity or volatility increases.

Often a day’s schedule is forced to change, due to such circumstances as a new high priority service request comes in, a job overruns or a technician gets caught in traffic and arrives late. When circumstances like this happen it becomes very difficult to reconfigure the schedule for the rest of the day, given the number of dependencies, geographic distances and demands of each individual piece of work.

2.     Manual Scheduling

Manual scheduling is characterized by ‘drag and drop’ features whereby a dispatcher can easily drag and drop work orders and tasks onto technicians’ calendars and dispatch work out to them electronically. Typically the system will do some automatic checks once the task is dropped. For example, to check if the technician allocated to a job has the skills to complete it. Manual scheduling offers a more automated and predictive solution to a paper-based system, helping businesses to save time and improve accuracy.

However, as human intervention is heavily involved, it can prove difficult to manage complex scheduling processes via this system.

3.     Intelligent Advisor

A Semi-Automatic scheduling service is invoked by a user, to start an automated process. Although this scheduling system is automatic, it still requires some level of human interaction, which is something few vendors provide yet many businesses prefer as it allows them to maintain some level of control and trust.

[quote float="right"]Having decision making tools built in to a scheduler can also help to alleviate a lot of headaches experienced by a field service manager.

Having decision making tools built in to a scheduler can also help to alleviate a lot of headaches experienced by a field service manager.

 

For large field operations, emergency jobs often come in that need to be added to the day’s schedule so having a tool that advises on the impact of what adding this job in will have before it is assigned can help to prevent the de-railing of a field service operation. Often known as a ‘what-if’ tool or an ‘intelligent advisor’, such a feature allows dispatchers to make quick, informed decisions to keep the best possible quality of the schedule.

For these reasons, transiting from a manual to semi-automatic system is recommended instead of diving head first into a fully automatic process.

4.     Automatic Scheduling & Real-Time Optimization

Some companies may not have the time or resources to drag and drop work orders into manual and semi-automatic systems and check all the details. It can also prove difficult to keep on top of scheduling all of the in-day emergency tasks. Fully automatic scheduling takes the intuitive nature of automated scheduling even further. Such a tool quickly and easily builds schedules automatically and dispatches work to technicians out in the field based on pre-defined parameters. The process completely eliminates manual intervention.

A Case in Point: Pacific Telemanagement Services (PTS)

PTS achieved a 95% job completion rate and 75% productivity increase transitioning from manual to automated scheduling.

The company operates a fleet of 90 mobile workers who service pay phones and pay internet kiosks, as well as perform freezer cleaning and maintenance for their ice cream distribution company, Arctic Express. Until recently, it was using a manual scheduling process to assign tasks each day, which lacked efficiency and productivity suffered as a result.

[quote float="left"]We used to just throw a group of tickets at our technicians in an assigned region to see what they could get done in a day...

“We used to just throw a group of tickets at our technicians in an assigned region to see what they could get done in a day. Each morning they would print out a list of their tasks, then spend a half hour planning routes based on their own knowledge of the area. We saw that this way was not always most efficient,” said Justin Keane, Chief Operating Officer of PTS.

 

The company tried using a map feature to sequence the stops but this took an hour a day for each regional hub, and as they manage 8 regional hubs, it took 8 hours a day to build the routes.

PTS implemented Trimble’s cloud-based scheduling solution to help it improve the efficiency of its scheduling process and raise the productivity level of its workers. By transitioning from manual to semi - automatic scheduling, PTS has been able to cut 3 hours a day spent on routing per dispatcher to about 45 minutes a day — a productivity saving of 75%, or about 9 hours per week. Furthermore, technicians no longer have to plan their own routes, saving an additional 90 hours per week of their time so that they can spend it on completing more jobs per day.

 

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Resource Type: White Paper
Published by:  Field Service News (sponsored by IFS)
Title Standing alone or part of a bigger picture?

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Click here to download the white paper

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By downloading you agree to the T&Cs listed available here

Synopsis:

The benefits of adopting a scheduling solution for field service companies are well documented. Increases in efficiency and productivity are matched by clear and tangible return on investment, whilst enhanced service delivery standards lead to greater customer satisfaction.

However, scheduling solutions come in a number of different flavours including manual, semi-automated and fully dynamic plus there is the consideration of whether to opt for an integrated scheduling engine or a stand alone 'best-of-breed' solution. So which is best for your organisation?

Overview:

For those that have already implemented a scheduling tool as part of their field service delivery, whether it be a fully dynamic system or something simpler that is designed to assist a human dispatcher rather than fully automate the dispatch process, it is almost certain that there will have been some important savings made in key performance areas.

However, there is another perhaps equally important argument for implementing some form of scheduling tool – the impact it will have on a company’s ability to deliver the highest levels of service excellence.

We live in an age where service is absolutely a key differentiator between similar competing brands.

It is certainly fair to say that the consumer of these early few decades of the twenty first century is more empowered, more knowledgeable and far more demanding than ever before.

 

But does this translate across from our consumer lives into our working environments?

We have already seen the consumerisation of technology within the working space and very simply the mind-set of many is “If Amazon can guarantee to deliver products to me within 60 minutes for no extra charge why can’t my service provider improve his Service Level Agreements (SLA) so I can expect an engineer on site within hours rather than days?”

So in a world of high customer expectations can field service companies afford not to assess their own scheduling set up and see what solutions are available?

Almost certainly not because they can be assured that their competitors most likely will be doing so at some point in the near future, such are the clear benefits identified in any given case study on the implementation of a scheduling solution.

However, scheduling solutions come in many different flavours and across the following pages we shall look at some of the considerations field service companies must take into account when selecting a solution that is right for their organisation.

This white paper looks at:

• The different types of scheduling engine available
• Selecting which is right for your organisation
• Stand alone solutions versus integrated
• What differentiates scheduling engines?
• What advancements should we be looking for in a scheduling engine?

 

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Click here to download the white paper

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As part of FieldAware’s current mobility campaign Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, caught up with Steve Mason, Chief Revenue Officer with FieldAware, to get his insight into what to expect from mobility as tool in modern field service... 

KO: So why focus on mobility?

SM: With advancements in field service management software going hand-in-hand with the mobile evolution, the focus in service operations is quite firmly now on the field worker themselves.

This is quite right too. The technician or engineer has long been the face of the organisation and often the only direct contact a customer will have, so the customer experience they are able to deliver counts for a great deal.

The technician needs a mobile solution which helps them to do their job in the best possible way. The workflow to and from the back office has to be seamless as this quick and easy access to information enables better decision-making and ultimately improved resolution.

Through integration with other back office systems the field worker has access to the job history and customer records allowing for a more detailed understanding of not only the task at hand but also what has happened before and why.

Knowledge of the different elements of the task are often fundamental in the delivery of service excellence and turning up to site with this information at hand or having access to it, as we know from business or personal experience, delivers an improved customer experience.

KO: We hear too much about companies investing in fsm solutions and not maximising the value – what do you recommend?

SM: From working with a range of companies, who are either looking at developing their mobile strategy or starting out from scratch, we’ve found that there are some common principals.

Ease of integration is key. You don’t need to have to think about changing your whole field service solution. Extending the life of current systems is all important so look at mobile solutions which will leverage and expand their use.

Implementation needs to be as quick and straightforward as possible. A lengthy implementation process will defeat its objective. So being up and running in days, not months, should be the realistic goal - delivering a much faster ROI.

Any mobility solution should be easy to use. Overly-complicated systems will be bypassed and worked around or ignored all together. The easier to use, the quicker the adoption and the better the ROI.

All mobility software needs to be agile and able to move with the next generation of mobility. Developments are moving fast, so providers keeping their solutions up to speed is important.

It is crucial for any mobility solution to work across mixed digital devices.  The apps will need to work across different operating systems too.

Vitally, mobility is about the anytime, anywhere access to information and it is essential that your solution makes it as easy as possible to achieve this.

KO: What next for mobility?

SM: We’re excited about embedded communications in mobility, as with customer expectations higher than ever, the ability to streamline the service process and deliver faster, better service creates a richer customer experience.

Real-time communication technology, combined with field service automation solutions will bring service businesses an entirely new way to communicate across the organisation and with customers.

As an example, innovative collaboration tools improve task completion through real-time contact with remote experts through a smartphone or tablet, for improved first-time resolution rates. These capabilities are akin to augmented reality without the prohibitive costs of the hardware. Remote experts can assist multiple technicians, so speeding up the completion and accuracy of the work, while balancing the cost of an organisation’s service delivery.

At FieldAware we see this as a game changer for any company focused on enhancing the customer experience.

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Want to know more? Click this link to download FieldAware's latest white paper 'Making the move to mobility' now

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