With that in mind, field service software developers have tried to find ways to keep up with the demand of service organizations. They understand the need to get technicians to their job sites on time, with the proper tools, parts and information. It’s why resource routing tools in field service management software have been developed. It takes regular field service scheduling software and gives it an injection to speed up service delivery.
Fieldpoint developed their resource routing tool to enhance scheduling and dispatching. It was simply— get the right technician, with the right skills to the right appointment. Along the way, we also wanted to check off other important criteria that field service organizations are needing, including:
- Ability to reroute technicians in emergency situations
- Optimize routes to reduce travel times
- Manage the entire technician pool in one interactive, real-time map
Here is how Fieldpoint has achieved this objectives in our field service management software.
Finding the Right Technician
Finding the right technician can mean many different things. Are we talking skillset, nearest to the job site, or best fit for the schedule? Whatever the reason may be, Fieldpoint’s resource routing tool will find the best technician for the job. First, you can narrow down technicians using skillset search functions. Make sure the technician has the right training, the right tickets and certifications before scheduling. That will improve first-time fix rates dramatically.
With your list of technicians, plot them on the routing map and see all their planned scheduled appointments. Get a detailed look at what their day looks like already and what route they are taking. Insert the new appointment and optimize the route to reduce travel times. Or in the case of an emergency, find the technician nearby in real-time, and reroute them quickly to the call.
Finding the right technician is a critical step in dispatching, as customers want the technician who is going to fix their issue. While being late is a turn-off for customers, so is having to reschedule a second call because the wrong technician was sent who doesn’t have the skills to complete the work.
Optimize Each Technician’s Schedule
In today’s field service environment, field service organizations need to take more service calls in a day. It’s one of the ways they are producing more revenue, as competition grows, and expectations grow even higher. Because of that, a special focus has been placed on dispatchers to sneak in as many new calls as possible. The problem is, technicians are losing valuable time sitting in their vehicles driving from site to site. Poor route planning can have technicians driving across town multiple times in a day, rather than having service calls in the same area grouped together. It can be difficult without a map to see where each call is located and to make those decisions.
Fieldpoint took those concerns and addressed them with the visual map, showing the location of each appointment. It also shows the route each technician will take, so if new calls come in, you can see which technician is driving by on the way to another call. This allows for quick adjustments to be made and for that technician’s schedule to be changed to address the new call.
In order to take more calls, however, the routes need to be optimized. So Fieldpoint has added route optimizing tools that show the exact distance travelled and how many minutes and hours a technician will be in their vehicle that day. It’s a visual way to see exactly how much travel to your organization is paying for. And more importantly, how many extra time can be freed up and new calls added in.
Route optimization has many benefits, such as:
- Reducing technician idle and drive times
- Reducing fuel costs
- Reducing vehicle repair costs brought on by increased millage
- Increase service efficiency
It’s not just a buzzword to optimize, not when you’re talking dollars and cents and money is being driven away by technicians who are crossing routes to get to appointments.
Ready for Emergency Calls
Emergency situations happen and can come in at any time. If you have that customer under a contract for service, you need to get someone there fast. The problem is, without knowing where your technicians are, it can be challenging. With Fieldpoint’s resource routing tool, it’s easy to see multiple resources and schedule one for those emergency situations. Who is the technician nearest to the call? Simply reroute them there and get a resolution fast.
And if that means having to take another appointment off their schedule, Fieldpoint makes it simple by allowing rescheduling options. Reassign an appointment to another technician, and instantly their route is changed with the new appointment. Perform optimization and your field service team will deliver top quality service without missing a single call. All because of Fieldpoint’s field service management software’s new resource routing tool.
It’s All About Real-Time Field Service Operations
In today’s on-demand, fast pace world, it’s all about being in real-time. Dispatchers are making real-time decisions without real-time information and that has drastic effects on service delivery. With Fieldpoint’s field service scheduling software, it’s putting real-time information in the hands of people who make real-time decisions. Dispatchers will know:
- Where their technicians are on the road
- What route they are taking to the next call
- What their route is for the entire day
Try our field service scheduling software today and see how you can better optimize your routes and have great control in scheduling your technicians.