Field Service Asset Management: It's Time To Automate The Field Force

By Damien Moriarty, International Delivery Manager, Retriever Communications

Field service automation has opened the door to tools and processes that improve efficiency and customer service. The new systems have driven changes in the way field resources are managed. Curiously though, the focus is still on the back office rather than the field service management tools that technicians need to get the job done correctly and efficiently. This prevents the true gains of an effective system from being realized.

The back office focus is an easy trap to fall into, especially if the new management system for field service operations is approached in the same way as an ERP, CRM or an Asset Management system. While these systems are predominately used in the office, field service (as the name obviously suggests) is not. Since the scope and complexity of the problem are different, and with the field users often outnumbering the office users approximately 40 to 1, savings of just 12 minutes a day would yield the same results as a full-time office resource. Imagine what an extra job a day would save? Below are three ways field service providers can ensure effective field force automation.