Field Service Management is an important branch of management that involves the utilization of the tools and resources to better serve field service call center customers. Field service is generally defined as the use of resources by customers or vendors that require immediate field service assistance. This definition excludes onsite management but typically defines operations including call answering, pick up, delivery and dispatch. It also involves a management system that supports field service processes including routing, dispatching, allocation and staffing. In short, Field Service Management seeks to optimize onsite customer service by reducing operational costs and meeting regulatory requirements.
One of the key benefits of field service management is its focus on efficient utilization of available resources. Rather than hiring employees and then train them to do unneeded tasks that do little to benefit the organization, field service management focuses on the tools and resources to best serve customers. For instance, one company has a fleet of approximately 200 maintenance technicians. The company's field service management solution automatically identifies mechanical problems and assigns qualified technicians to work on each problem, in order to keep track of who is where on any given day.
Another important benefit of effective field service management is the reduction in training costs to employees and the avoidance of costly enrollment bonuses for retirees. When technicians are assigned to work on site instead of in a lab, they spend less time doing monotonous and boring tasks such as making repairs or diagnosing machines. Rather, they spend more time performing the necessary jobs to keep the company's property running smoothly. As a result, companies save thousands of dollars every month in labor costs and avoid the financial loss, which can come from having to pay out claims to injured field workers. In addition, because the workforce is trained to perform their job duties, there are significantly fewer incidences of on-the-job injuries, which can cause long-term health and safety issues.
Due to improved patient care and less on-the-job injuries, more field technicians are choosing to perform their job duties through the use of onsite computer systems, rather than in a lab. According to a survey conducted by the American Society for Life Safety, an industry organization focused on electronic medical records and patient care, almost 80 percent of field technicians agreed that their level of experience has been enhanced through the use of electronic billing and invoicing. In addition, the survey found that most life safety experts believe that electronic billing will reduce the amount of errors made in current and future life safety software.
Invoicing is another part of field service management that benefits companies by allowing them to quickly and accurately bill their customers. With the introduction of a third party inventory management system, companies no longer have to wait for their technicians to complete their job of bill collection. With an onsite inventory management system, technicians are immediately notified when a claim is made and when they should collect the vehicle or have the vehicle sent for collection. This streamlined process benefits companies by saving them time and money by avoiding extra man hours, as well as preventing the unnecessary cancellation of services. The most advanced onsite inventory management systems can integrate with automatic bill collection, which means that bills are electronically delivered to the customer and received by the technician once they have been collected.
Companies working in the life science field face numerous unique challenges. According to the American Society for Life Safety, an industry organization dedicated to electronic medical records and patient care, the use of onsite inventory management systems can help improve company property protection, health care quality, and overall customer satisfaction. Most FSM companies use sophisticated technology to manage their client information. These advanced systems often include advanced imaging systems to identify unusual or missing body parts, which can be valuable to law enforcement agencies or the medical field. Other advanced technologies help increase onsite inventory management and the detection of potential problems before they become major disasters. By utilizing onsite inventories and the scanning of patient files, companies working in the life sciences field can help improve their customer relations by providing an accurate and timely image of the health of their clientele.