For HVAC enterprises that take on a multitude of different services, the need for collaboration on multiple levels is a must for their success. Installation projects, break/fix repairs, and preventative maintenance service calls are all being handled by the same pool of technicians, or are being outsourced to subcontractors, to get jobs done quickly.
It can put real stress on a field service organization’s pool of technicians who could be pulled in many different directions. One day they could be doing an inspection on an HVAC unit on top of a hospital, the next day they are installing one in a new office building, perhaps taking over for another employee who started the job.
With more and more service calls coming in, the collaboration between all departments in an HVAC organization is a must, as things can change at a moment’s notice. It’s made many in the HVAC space turn to an HVAC field service management software to enhance their ability to collaborate on projects and service, offering a real-time look the schedules of technicians and subcontractors, the timeline for projects, and the schedule of preventative maintenance calls coming ahead.
How HVAC field service software is a real-time collaboration tool
For dispatchers, a busy service department could be pulling their resource pool thin, which isn’t necessarily a terrible thing if your technicians are all on service calls and earning billable hours. But if an HVAC enterprise hasn’t adopted an HVAC field service management software yet, getting the needed resources to a job site could be a daunting task.
Even more so if your installation projects and daily service departments aren’t in direct communications, but share the same pool of technicians, as any changes to schedules could throw off a customer’s service call, or cause delays on a project.
It’s a real cause for concern for many HVAC enterprises, as real-time incidents in the field can sometimes not be answered with real-time decisions at head office. Project managers can’t just start routing technicians who are scheduled for service calls to a new job without first checking with the service manager to see if someone else is available.
With field service scheduling software, however, your entire service organization can collaborate on all service calls, and not only share the same pool of resources but also get technicians and subcontractors the information they need to catch them up to speed should they be pulled away from one job and put on another.
Work orders, checklists, parts and equipment requirements can all be sent directly to a technician’s field service mobile app, allowing the technician to change jobs on a moment’s notice, without having to call in to dispatch and get updates on their changed schedule or the work they will be doing.
Living in field service management software is living in the present and the future
When both sides of an HVAC enterprise are speaking the same language, collaboration on projects and service calls is made easier. For dispatchers who have an HVAC field service software powering their service department, it means they can make decisions in real-time, on the fly, while also keeping an eye on the future of their service. Decisions made today could have lasting impacts on the future of projects and services being offered, however, with a full view into a technician’s schedule, dispatchers who are forced to make a critical decision can be confident that a decision made today, won’t have harmful effects down the road.
If your HVAC enterprise is going to collaborate on projects and service with the same pool of technicians, having an HVAC field service management software offers real-time ability to work together and will make that collaboration easier. At the end of the day, what matters is the projects get completed on-time and on-budget, customers are receiving prompt service, and first-time fix rates are high on maintenance calls. There are enough challenges already in the field, so there is no need for there to be one working together in your head office.