Essentially, field service mobile apps are the eyes, ears, and mouth for dispatchers into the technician’s movements in the field. Dispatchers love the advanced scheduling tools they get with dispatch software, including:
- Full calendar views for each technician
- Skillset search
- Real-time GPS location
- Route optimization tools
But without the field service mobile app to support the effort of the dispatcher, it leaves plenty to be desired. Let’s look at some of the ways field service dispatch software and the field service mobile app work together.
Dispatch Software is for … Dispatching
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that field service software is used for dispatching. It’s one of the most critical parts of any field service organization. Getting the right people, with the right skill set, to the right job. But dispatch software has its limits if you’re just going to be using paper-based work orders and still need to phone ahead or message a technician about every job. The objective is to get rid of the whiteboards and Outlook scheduling options and replace them with an automated system.
That’s where a field service mobile app complements the dispatch software. Dispatchers can assign appointments to technicians and immediately push the work order to their mobile devices. The technician simply opens their mobile app, checks their work orders, and accepts the next service appointment on their list. You hate to make it sound that easy, but that’s the point of using the two together. Furthermore, if changes happen to the technician’s schedule, the dispatcher can make changes and push them to the mobile app. So, if the third appointment on their schedule is moved to a different time and another added, the technician will see the changes on their phone and not need to call dispatch for an explanation. They simply move on to the next call.
Real-Time Mobile Tracking
Now that the dispatcher has scheduled the technician in the field, they may want to know where that technician is. Or they may want to know where they are in terms of the service call. Have they arrived on-site, are they still traveling, or have they started the repair? That’s important information to know, especially if new calls are coming in and the dispatcher is trying to get more calls on their schedule. Or to ensure the technician isn’t running behind.
Technicians who use the field service mobile app will be sending back real-time updates on their location and status of the service call. Through the routing tools, dispatchers can see where the technician is on the road as their mobile app pings back their GPS location. And on-site, the technician will use workflow buttons that will constantly update the field service dispatch software with status updates. Knowing where they are on the road and during a call is important for further scheduling.
Dispatch Software and Field Service Mobile App Full Access
Dispatchers have plenty of knowledge in their field service dispatch software. Not only can they see every work order, every schedule, and every customer, but it’s that information that they make decisions on. Dispatchers can see which technician worked on a previous service call for a customer. They can see how long the call took, which parts were needed, and any solution notes left. So, wouldn’t that be great information for the technician to also have? The answer is, of course, it would
With the field service mobile apps, technicians get the same access to all that quality information, straight from their mobile device. Technicians can access field service dispatch software from their mobile app and lookup service history. They can find solutions other technicians found the same problems. This will reduce repair times if the solution has already been recorded. It’s also good for the technician to pull up contract information, or if needed, quoting the information on the job site for the customer. If you’re going to give full access to one group, why not give it to all? Information is power, and by giving out information to those who need it, you’re empowering your entire workforce.
Going Mobile Means Automating Processes
We’ve talked about getting the work order to the technician in the field quickly, but what about the other way? Technicians need to get their work orders back to the head office to be processed. Invoices and reports need to be generated. But you don’t want to slow down the process coming back with a bunch of manual processes. It’s the reason you got field service dispatch software in the first place. With the field service mobile app, however, you’re getting an automated machine. As fast as your technician can collect a signature and close a work order, an invoice can be generated and sent to the customer.
They won’t even get off the job site and the customer will be looking at a bill or a report that needed to be sent. The levels of automation that can be designed can have things like invoicing and reports done as soon as the work order is closed. That’s because with rates and pricing built into the field service dispatch software, and with an integration to an accounting system, invoices can be sent through at lightning-fast speeds. Checklists for compliance reports can also be emailed back as soon as they are completed for an automated field service experience.
Put Dispatch Software And Field Service Mobile Apps Together
Don’t go with just one. You have to have the other. Field service dispatch software and the field service mobile app belong together. It’s a relationship that builds trust throughout your entire service department. One side always knows what the other is doing. They both have complete access and they can automate many of the processes that took up plenty of time before. If you’re looking at a field service dispatch software solution, make sure it comes with a field service mobile app solution as well.