Field service mobile app technology isn’t a new thing in the industry, especially for HVAC organizations. It’s a tool in their kit that helps them do their job faster, makes them more efficient, and keeps them connected to the back office.
With all the inspection checklists, timesheets, parts, and inventory to keep track of, mobility has taken HVAC field service software and added plenty of efficient ways for technicians and subcontractors to complete work orders. And while some benefits are apparent, such as going paperless, there are many automation and useful ways HVAC technicians can utilize a mobile field service app.
Here are five ways mobility is improving operations in the HVAC industry.
Field Service Mobile Apps Make Technicians More Productive
Mobility puts everything in the palm of your hand. Work orders, schedules, and time sheets can be easily accessible through the field service app, while the connections with inventory and parts allow an HVAC technician to requisition parts without having to drive back to the warehouse to see if they are available.
Quoting can be done straight on the job site, completed through a mobile device, and instantly sent to the customer so service can be completed quickly. Mobility takes away any paper activity a technician would need to complete, and makes it electronic, speeding up the time it takes them to finish a service call, which puts them back on the road to the next job faster.
HVAC Mobile Apps Tighten Billing Timeliness
HVAC technicians can finalize an invoice in the field, collect a signature and immediately send a completed work order with all checklists and information back to the office for review, or submit instantly to have an invoice sent. It cuts down on billing timelines, as there is less data entry of paper based work orders to be processed at the head office. Invoice that used to take days, can now be done in minutes.
Improve Data Collection
If you want to feed your HVAC field service software’s Business Intelligence module with live data from the field, you need a mobile app to help collect data that is important to you. Paper based reports and work orders take time to put into a spreadsheet and then analyze, which doesn’t allow for real-time decision making. With a field service mobile app, the connection to the head office offers the ability for the technicians to send data back instantly, show their progress on a job, while also having the ability to upload photos of jobs completed for future reference. Data is critical in field service and HVAC organizations are only as good as their most up-to-date information. If that data is weeks old, administrators and service dispatchers can’t make changes quickly to mitigate possible problems in the field.
Mobile Apps Can Help Locate Your Next Service Call
With GPS technology, field service mobile apps can route a technician to a job site using GPS mapping. When a work order is pushed from an HVAC field service software to a mobile app, routing tools will get the technician to the job site faster, minimizing travel time, while also being able to offer the customer a more accurate time of arrival.
Stronger Communication with Field Service Dispatch
Dispatchers in an HVAC organization must handle plenty of service calls, from emergency repairs to preventative maintenance calls and installations. They don’t know how the day is going to shape up, and may need to move a technician off one job to fulfill another request for service. With scheduling and dispatch tools in HVAC field service software, dispatchers can change a technician’s schedule, which will automatically update on the field service mobile app. When a technician goes to view their next service call, the new work order and all the information will be available. This gives dispatchers the chance to offer speedy solutions when an emergency call comes in.