The typical repair procedure has two problems — the information is too detailed to be used in the field and it fails to start at the beginning.
According to an article on the Electrical Construction & Maintenance website, when faced with a thick procedure manual during a repair, technicians are apt to just ignore it.
The key is to provide only the necessary steps in sequential order. Don’t include five pages with every detail on how to remove a particular assembly. Simply writing “remove X assembly” is enough.
In some situations, it’s a good idea to include references to appropriate support documentations and videos. Videos are an especially great idea if technicians can access them with mobile devices that are multifunctional and have Internet access.
Sure, companies can load specific field service software applications on mobile devices, but for most service providers every day poses new challenges to accessing solutions to product issues.
This means having access to the Internet is the key to success. Why? Because firms can be online for customer-part stocking levels, equipment datasheets and contract entitlement information plus have access to internal and external product and procedure resources.
Photographs and videos also are good for documenting equipment. That is critical when dealing with an equipment failure. Everything needs to be documented before disturbing the evidence.
Technicians shouldn’t have to stop and think about what needs to be documented. The repair procedure needs to contain a precise “as found” data sheet for each piece of equipment. The data sheet should include more details for the most complicated or critical equipment, the Electrical Construction & Maintenance article recommends.
The data fields must be in the same order as the natural data collection order. Putting all steps in speed sequences makes the process smoother and reduces the chance of mistakes.
Field services companies also have to consider how measurement equipment is picked up and set up. Use a stopwatch to determine the most efficient sequence for critical equipment. Every minute adds up.
Source: Electrical Construction & Maintenance: Good Repair Procedures Part 4 & Electrical Construction & Maintenance: Good Repair Procedures Part 5, November 2012