Downtime is a common challenge in industrial field services. It can happen when a critical piece of machinery breaks down, halting productivity and causing frustration. There are many reasons why downtime happens, even with meticulous planning. Some of the most common challenges are inaccurate time and attendance records, manual scheduling processes, and the absence of field service automation software.

Many field service businesses still use manual management processes. This is a major obstacle to sustained productivity because it involves a lot of repetitive tasks.

As of 2020, 25% of field service organizations were found to rely on spreadsheets for job scheduling, while the remaining portion continued to utilize whiteboards and other manual techniques. The greater the reliance on manual processes, the higher the likelihood of unnecessary downtime resulting from scheduling conflicts, communication breakdowns regarding job requirements, etc.

Field workers may have to make repeated trips to the same location, which can be inefficient and frustrating for both customers and workers. This can lead to customers switching to other providers and workers looking for new jobs.

Manual administrative processes can lead to lost productive hours due to last-minute schedule changes, cancellations, and modifications. This can be a challenge for field service businesses, but automation can help to reduce downtime and improve efficiency.

Projected with a CAGR of 11%, the field service management market is expanding rapidly. Considering this trajectory, the FSM market, evaluated at approximately $3 billion in 2020, is anticipated to surge to $5.1 billion by 2025.

With the rapidly changing digital landscape, evolving customer demands, and increasingly complex products and services, competition is on the rise. To maintain a competitive advantage, businesses that have adopted field services automation software witnessed a 49% increase in employee productivity. Heightened productivity increases output and simultaneously, downtime is reduced.

In this article, we will explore these often-overlooked causes of downtime and discuss how field service automation can help to improve operations and productivity.

1. Inaccurate time and attendance record

Ensuring accurate time and attendance records is critical for effective scheduling and resource allocation. If employees are not accurately tracked, it can be difficult to know who is working when and where. This can lead to missed appointments, delays in project completion, and even safety hazards.

2. Manual scheduling processes

Manual scheduling processes are also a common cause of downtime. When scheduling is done manually, it is easy for mistakes to be made. This can lead to employees being scheduled for the wrong tasks, or for tasks to be scheduled at the wrong time. This can lead to downtime and lost productivity.

3. The absence of efficient task-tracking systems

Downtime can also be caused by the lack of effective task-tracking systems. When there is no way to track the status of tasks, it is difficult to know where problems are occurring. This can lead to delays in project completion and lost productivity.

How Can Field Service Automation Help?

For business managers, recognising the significance of streamlined processes and adaptable technology becomes imperative to ensure sustained operational excellence and a competitive edge in the market.

By addressing these issues, organizations can improve their operations and productivity and reduce downtime.  Here are some tips:

• Use an accurate time and attendance tracking software to calculate employee hours.
• Automate scheduling processes to reduce the risk of errors.
• Implement a task-tracking system to keep track of the status of projects and tasks.
• Train employees on how to use the systems properly.

There are a myriad of benefits that the software you adopt may provide. Here are two major benefits of field services automation that can show an instant effect on your workers’ productivity.

Real-time monitoring

Utilizing real-time monitoring through field service management software proves instrumental in curtailing downtime. It achieves this by amplifying operational efficiency and responsiveness. It can benefit different segments of the field service management, including:

• Accurate Time and Attendance:
  Real-time monitoring ensures precise timekeeping by preventing buddy punching and reducing time theft through location tracking, while also minimizing errors and boosting timesheet transparency to reduce disputes.
• Enhanced Location Tracking
  Convert employees’ devices into tracking tools. Personalized tracking, like creating virtual site boundaries, ensures attendance. Collect real-time data for schedule adherence.
•  Efficient Data Collection from the Field:
  Employees can send notes, tasks, signatures, and images through the app. Personalized forms are also available. This data can be accessed instantly or used to generate automated reports.
• Flexible Schedule Adjustments:
  An employee schedule dashboard enables schedule adjustments based on activity and location monitoring. Swift task reassignments, driven by completed work or urgent priorities, minimize idle time.
• Effective Communication:
  In-app communication features like calls and messages facilitate instant connections between field workers and managers. This streamlines troubleshooting and guidance, expediting issue resolution without extra site visits.
• Real-time Data Input and Administrative Efficiency:
  Real-time data input and updates in the field management software reduce administrative delays. This ensures accurate information even in cases of discrepancies. Comprehensive reports add to administrative convenience.
• Insights for Balanced Workloads:
  Ultimately, the software’s insights prevent overloading workers, which could lead to long-term reduced productivity.

By implementing these strategies, businesses can efficiently manage field services, minimize downtime, and ensure better productivity.

Workflow automation

Workflow automation is another catalyst for downtime reduction, harmonizing operations, and optimizing resource allocation through sophisticated field service management software. These features of automation would prove vital in minimizing downtime:

• Eliminates manual paperwork
  Workflow automation can eliminate the need for manual paperwork by digitizing all of the data that is used in the field service process. This can speed up administrative workflows and reduce the risk of inaccuracies.
• Insights Identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies
  The collation of task completion metrics, attendance patterns, and performance data overall helps generate comprehensive reports. These reports give insights for pinpointing bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Hence, administrative time is saved by having to manually go through all data sheets or papers to find lags.
• Third-party integration
  Seamlessly integrating payroll functions with third-party software systems means that everything is end-to-end coordinated. This integration knits together tasks, from job execution and documentation to payroll processing in a comprehensive ecosystem.
• Streamlines administrative tasks
  Workflow automation can streamline administrative tasks by automating repetitive tasks, such as scheduling appointments, creating work orders, and tracking expenses. This can free up time for field service technicians to focus on their work.
• Improves communication
  Workflow automation can improve communication between field service technicians and managers by providing a centralized system for tracking work orders and communicating with each other. This can help to resolve problems more quickly and prevent downtime.

• Increases visibility
  Workflow automation can increase visibility into the field service process by providing real-time data on the status of work orders and the location of field service technicians. This can help managers to make better decisions and to prevent downtime.

Such an approach fosters not only expedited administrative cycles but also bolsters accuracy by diminishing potential data mismatches or oversights. As a result, workflow automation with proactive monitoring adds another layer of refinement to your business.

Conclusion

It’s good to keep in mind that the operational procedures set in motion during your business’s early stages might no longer be suitable as your operations expand. What once seemed manageable with a smaller team can evolve into complexities with growth. 

Traditional methods no longer find relevance in today’s field service landscape. Approaches like paper-based work orders, manual scheduling on whiteboards, and dispatching via radio communication are relics of the past. 

To effectively analyze work patterns and address gaps, integrating data from various systems is crucial. Thus, incorporating automation into your operations can boost productivity and align your business for optimal performance within its current scope.