WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS OF INSTALLATION AND SERVICE-MAINTENANCE PROCESSES?

It is not uncommon for the coronavirus pandemic to reduce or even stop the operations of companies involved in installation, service and maintenance. Many of these companies, however, took advantage of the unexpected “quiet time” to improve their business.

We have received quite a few requests for digital transformation of installation and service-maintenance processes.

The biggest problems of the companies were:
• unavailability of data on the field,
• slow feedback on performed tasks,
• incomplete field data,
• lack of transparency when planning,
• problems with unforeseen emergencies.

Unavailability of data on the field

This is the #1 problem. Installers and service technicians do not have complete information about customers and tasks (contact person, contact number, address, what needs to be done), so they often contact the office. At first glance, this does not seem time consuming, but if the company has 10 service teams and if due to “operational problems” each team contacts the office only 2 times (and each call lasts only a few minutes), this means at least one hour/day that the office staff spends communicating with the field (so that the fieldwork can run smoothly). If we recalculate, it is at least 5 hours/week or. 20 hours/month…

Slow feedback on performed tasks

Once the fieldwork is completed, the team must fill out certain documentation. These are usually work/service/installation tasks, handover lists, complaints, travel orders, etc. They provide key data for invoicing and operations (customer data, task data, time spent, route, materials used, signatures…). These forms must be waited for at least until the end of the working day when the teams return to the company’s headquarters. At best, the data is processed the next day, but it is not uncommon for incomplete forms to be processed even later.

Incomplete field data

In a hurry, it often happens that the forms are incomplete, which means that the back office has to deal not only with the processing of documentation but also with the search for accurate data. Sometimes it even happens that the documentation gets misplaced. In such cases, data processing is further extended… All this can be solved by digitalizing the fieldwork: the data is entered on site, the mandatory fields ensure that ALL key data is entered, and the back office gets all the necessary documentation at the end of the task.
Lack of transparency when planning
If all the previous points referred to the field part of business processes, this refers mainly to the back office. The person in charge of planning tasks has a great responsibility to distribute work among their employees on the field in the most optimal way possible. In doing so, he must take into account the knowledge & competencies of employees, the scope of tasks and, of course, the location. If there are fewer teams, it is easier to consider all the factors. It gets complicated when there are a lot of teams. In such cases, optimization programs have already become almost a necessity.

Problems with unforeseen emergencies

Everyone who has ever had to deal with fieldwork is aware of its unpredictability.
• Is the team stuck in a traffic jam?
• Is there a delay due to road work?
• Did the client cancel the appointment?
• Has an emergency intervention been opened that cannot wait until the next day?

What do you do when such events take place?

If your work is done “on foot,” then the first thing the field team does is contact the back office. They then respond as soon as possible and give instructions so that the field team can continue working. In the case of using our solution, such events are resolved faster and smoother. Teams on the field are kept informed of any changes in the daily plan (and of course have access to all updated data & forms), and the back office has an insight into what is happening on the field 24/7.

We have introduced you to the TOP 5 problems that companies have contacted us about recently. Do you recognize yourself in the descriptions and do you face similar challenges? Contact us and together we can come up with the best solutions for you.