How Integrated Scheduling and Mobility Can Maximize Technician Utilization and Reduce Time from Service Delivery to Invoicing

Field Service, Service Contract Management

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Last updated Feb 10, 2020 at 4:12PM | Published on Jan 31, 2017 | Field Service, Service Contract Management

by Rich Smart, President, Fieldpoint Service Applications

The service delivery model in most HVAC enterprises consists of a dispatch team and a services delivery team of technicians. Very often the choice of technician to schedule each work order is at the discretion of the dispatcher, who has limited tools to select the appropriate resource. Using a graphical scheduling tool, that can empower the dispatch team with the knowledge of skill sets, certifications, possible route optimizations based on call priorities, is an excellent way to gain operational efficiencies and increased utilization from the technician pool available.

There are many tools in the marketplace that can assist in this process. The additional opportunities regarding operational efficiency are the seamless and real-time interaction with the mobility tool used by the technicians in the field. Immediately after the scheduling team has assigned the work orders, they appear on the mobile app of the field resources.

The field is now poised to deliver their services in an entirely optimized approach. The real-time collection of arrival times and completion, as well as parts and expenses incurred, eliminates the need for multiple contacts in the office to update call status saving both time and money. Further providing almost immediate access to the billing/accounting team to close out completed calls and get the invoices to the clients accurately and as close to the time of service delivery as possible. This in general terms reduces payment cycles and increases overall cash flow to the business.

The connectivity and harmony of transition of the dispatch team and their tools, the field resources and their tools allows the enterprise to perform more work with the same pool of resources in the most time efficient and profitable manner possible. Thereby saving the HVAC provider operational cost, increasing customer satisfaction, and reduced downtime as well as increasing cash flow. A huge win for the partnership between enterprise and customer, as well as internal administration and operations within the organization itself.