The challenges that come with managing field service companies are unique. Effectively managing the workforce on the field is one of the most significant challenges facing service companies, especially heavy equipment maintenance companies. These problems are currently being addressed by field service management solutions including easy to use equipment maintenance software and maintenance management apps. So, through this blog, an effort has been made to analyze the operational difficulties with workforce management. The benefits of equipment management software for small businesses in addressing challenges with field labour will also be covered in the blog.

Some of the prevalent problems in managing field laborers in the equipment maintenance industry.

Monitoring the productivity of the field technicians

Monitoring the production and efficiency of field staff is more difficult due to managers' limited field perspectives. Most frequently, either a gap in completed jobs or a delay in jobs being submitted on time to service managers happens. Due to the variance in workforce reporting, managers find it difficult to understand the performance and productivity of field technicians and to prepare interventions in the event of a work error.

Other concerns such as "how efficient the technicians are," "how long did he take to complete the equipment maintenance work," "how pleasant was he with the client," and "when did he check in or check out from the job," and so forth, are not addressed.

These problems can be readily resolved by small, medium-sized, and large enterprises with the use of some of the impactful heavy equipment maintenance software. It is an automation-enabled tool that connects the field technician and service manager, enabling them to collaborate more effectively. Using the same technology, managers and technicians can communicate in real-time while identifying and tracking jobs, routes, time, and feedback, among other things. Managers can gain from this in a number of ways, as the software aids in tracking and monitoring the performance of the field serviceman and helps the field serviceman submit his reports on time.

Scheduling jobs for field servicemen

Another challenging role for a service manager is scheduling jobs for field service personnel. It goes without saying that for service managers, evenly distributing jobs can be a nightmare. Furthermore, task scheduling demands accuracy to make sure that a task is given to the most qualified expert who is knowledgeable about the task and skilled in carrying it out. That means the manager must assign tasks in accordance with competence while also taking factors like technician availability, proximity to the project location, and other factors into account.

In short, in the case that the team is huge, the manager must manually manage a range of issues while limiting risk. Software for scheduling equipment maintenance steps in to help in this situation. To automate the process, it makes use of some of its data-mining capabilities. It analyses a field technician's current schedules, scans skill sets from a workforce data source, and matches the right technician to a particular project to determine a field technician's availability. Additionally, it employs GPS to track the whereabouts of the professionals so that, depending on the needs of the job, the right expert can be located nearby.

Hassle-free communication with field technicians

To make sure that the process is as efficient as possible, it is imperative to maintain real-time communication with field technicians. Field workforce management systems create an automated framework for standardized communication, providing managers with a channel to get in touch with specialists on the ground in an emergency. Generally speaking, such software can automatically send field technicians notifications about schedule and plan modifications, inventory information, client requirements, and other topics.

One of the main reasons for low labour productivity and efficiency is the lack of real-time information availability. Back-office staff members cannot continually move about looking for information. Once more, staying immobile while seeking out even trivial information may cause productivity leaks. A computerised system called maintenance management software gives real-time access to all of the data and stores it all in the cloud. Therefore, field technicians can easily access this database on their phones or other personal devices using the field service management software. As a result, it is possible to access data in real-time, such as warranty and guarantee information, service history, inventory information, and so forth, enhancing efficiency.

Conclusion

It is important to note that both slow growth and low productivity are caused by low operational efficiency. Again, for the field staff to be effective, an equipment maintenance company must integrate the proper systems or tools into its operational procedure. Therefore, increasing the effectiveness of the field personnel procedure can improve service quality and productivity.

The operating process will surely be more productive and efficient if appropriate technology is used.