It is difficult to imagine how things were done before the advent of the Internet and smartphones, but the world moved along. What was field service like before mobility? Michael Israel, EVP of Jolt Consulting Group, has over 40 years of field service management experience, and he puts things in perspective.
Recording and Reporting Work: Then
“Many years ago, field technicians recorded the work they did by paper. Originally, the forms were carbon paper with carbon copies between each page,” Israel recalls. When technicians filled out paperwork, they often left a copy with the customer, then sent one or more copies back to the office, perhaps one to billing, one to service management, maybe even one copy to engineering. With so many departments involved, efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness suffered. After all, imagine filling out forms all day. How often might you make a mistake?
“Things didn’t change very much for several years” Some companies moved away from traditional paper methods to optical-character cards. A technician filled out the form, which was usually contained in a book (think: paper receipts or phone message pads, for those who worked in restaurants or as secretaries). When technicians filled out the cards, a carbonless paper copy was left in the book for the technician on the next call to view. Israel notes the completed optical cards were scanned to gather data, and then perhaps returned to a billing administrator to determine if the service was billable or covered under a warranty or maintenance contract.
Finally, the “Brick” came onto the scene. In the late 1980s, Motorola introduced a mobile device that field technicians could use. Technicians filled out their work on the device (with a tiny keyboard, Israel points out). Once they synced up with the company through a landline modem, they could report their work to the company.
There were certainly variations in the process across companies and industries, but the bottom line was essentially the same: most of the work was reported on paper, and the process was time consuming, tedious, and error prone.
Recording and Reporting Work: Now
Now, mobile devices make it easy for field technicians to receive, record and report their work. Mobility makes it possible to fill out documentation on a smart device and immediately send it via the Internet to the office.
Dispatching, Communicating, and Collaborating: Then
Before mobility, dispatchers communicated with field service technicians by landline. When a customer called in, dispatchers couldn’t check a screen for the closest technician. Instead, they looked at a blackboard, a whiteboard, or cards or paperwork to determine which technician to give the work to. It was labor-intensive. Israel notes, without mobility, dispatchers waited to physically make contact with technicians, either by technicians calling in or dispatchers luckily getting through to a technician.
When the “Brick” came along, technicians “didn’t have to wait for a dispatcher to tell them what the next job was because they could potentially download information from the Brick,” says Israel. Regardless, the progression from paper to rudimentary Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) still needed a landline to connect.
Dispatching, Communicating, and Collaborating: Now
Mobility changed the game of dispatching and communication. Not only can dispatchers and technicians reach each other at any time, but technicians can see their work laid out for them daily. Some organizations use mobile workforce management software that allows them to map out a technician’s day, including breaks. Before mobility, a technician didn’t know from one hour to the next where they might be headed.
On top of this, other mobile tools like GPS now make it easy for technicians to find their next job. It also makes it easier for dispatchers to choose the closest, qualified technician for a job. Without an easy way to communicate, collaboration was difficult. Now, “mobile capabilities make it easier to share tribal knowledge because less-experienced technicians can collaborate with other technicians and use video to speed diagnostics and repair”, Israel says.
Data Tracking and Record Keeping: Then
In the early days before mobility, paper controlled just about everything. Israel recalls the “complicated paperwork” that required technicians take plenty of time to complete. The paperwork weaved its way from desk to desk. When optical-character cards joined the scene, it was a little easier: “The cards would be fed into a scanner, read, and the information put into a database.” The Brick also made it simpler by allowing technicians receive and download information to and from the Brick. Still, there was “no system in the background checking to see if the data was entered correctly.”
Data Tracking and Record Keeping: Now
With mobility and the Internet, data tracking and record keeping is simpler. “Now the system can tell you if a part number is wrong,” Israel gives as an example. Similarly, receiving and sending data to and from the field is immediate and much more accurate, allowing technicians to quickly access information such as part availability, service history, entitlement status, etc. Overall, mobility elevates customer service: Technicians are more efficient, accurate, and timely.
Mobility changed field service. If you are interested in mobile options for your company, reach out to Jolt Consulting Group for more information, or contact DataXoom about business-specific data plans.
This guest post is courtesy of Samantha Williams, marketing assistant at Jolt Consulting Group, a leader in field service management and technology consulting.
The post Guest Post – How Has Mobility Altered Field Service: Then and Now appeared first on DataXoom.