How to know which incidents occur most frequently in your maintenance service and take decisions

Field Service Management software such as Task4Work constitute an important advance for companies that provide regular technical maintenance services or other regular services such as cleaning or security.

Being able to record all the data arising from the provision of such services – from the initial request to any observations made by the technician or coordinator after providing a service or solving an incident – makes it possible to analyse all the information.

Thanks to Task4Work, companies with field or frontline workers can implement a true Data Analytics strategy, allowing them to detect patterns in service provision (for example: most common incidents, geographical areas and time slots with greater activity, most common repairs, etc.) and make the appropriate decisions.

In this article, we consider in detail the ways in which a comprehensive solution like Task4Work improves the profitability of field service companies.

Data Analytics and Field Service Management, an essential alliance

Although the service client very rarely sees the service company’s reports or management lists, for the rest of the actors involved in the service life cycle reporting is a fundamental element of Field Service Management software.

These reports include critical information pertaining to the service, helping the company to maintain a single and consistent image in all its lines of business, as well as to make decisions based on a single version of the information, with 100% reliability and updated in real time.

The reporting module of an FSM solution such as Task4Work includes a series of predefined lists and reports, based on the most common requirements of companies in the sector, which the user only has to execute in order to obtain the information they want. For example:

• Most common incidents
• Areas with most requests
• More and less profitable customers
• Time slots where number of requests is highest
• Technician productivity
• Most profitable service routes
• Etc.

Task4Work‘s Data Analytics capabilities provide detailed insight into the performance of service team members and contracts, and also provide customer data. This information is always up-to-date and improves decision-making at any level of the business. In addition, the user of the tool can choose to expand the detail of these standard reports, as well as build their own lists and reports thanks to very intuitive wizards and editors.

By way of illustration, see our explanatory video about the Data Analytics module of our solution.

Benefits of Data Analytics in an FSM solution

• It significantly reduces incidents. Knowing precisely which incidents are the most common makes it possible to solve them much faster when they happen, and even to prevent them. It is thus possible to eliminate recurring requests and reduce the impact of unforeseen interruptions.
• Discover common patterns in requests and incidents. Having reports that detail the most common incidents enables the business to make decisions accordingly in order to reduce the number of associated incidents (for example, increasing the frequency of preventive maintenance or ensuring technicians always carry spares of the more problematic parts).
• Generate highly detailed documentation. The service reports and listings record all completed activity resulting from service requests and serve as an important information log when faced with internal audits or legal checks, etc.
• Verify technician performance. Using service license agreements (SLAs) and access logs in conjunction with field service reports makes it easy to check the quality of work carried out by technicians and service personnel, and determine what additional resources they may need in order to achieve excellence.
• Get the service team on board and be transparent. Reports can be used to inform the services team about the progress of their task, set performance targets, and even compare with the services provided by other teams.
• Reduce costs and improve profitability. Reports and lists offer a much more detailed overview of an activity, contributing to the improvement of the processes and increased productivity on the part of the technicians. They also help speed up the resolution of incidents and reduce visits to customers, facilitating cost reduction and increased profitability.

The 3 most powerful benefits of Task4Work

Business analytics help companies to grow thanks to the detailed and reliable analysis of information, resulting in optimal decision making. But this is still far from being the day-to-day reality of many companies, still anchored in Excel spreadsheets and lacking integrated systems. However, Task4Work offers 3 powerful benefits that a spreadsheet can never bring to your business:

• Optimise all aspects of the service
• Discover new business opportunities
• Increase customer satisfaction

Thanks to our tool, users can access dashboards that leverage data by generating analytical reports, using any combination of business key performance indicators (KPIs).

These reports are easy to use and provide managers with real-time monitoring of the performance of departments, technicians and service teams. They also help them discover challenges before they become problems and identify new opportunities.

Benefits of the Task4Work Analytics module for a Field Services company

The business intelligence of the Task4Work Analytics module incorporates all the data from the service and turns it into useful information with immediate application. The provision of services improves accordingly, with metrics offering an enormous amount of detail about operations, leading to the following benefits:

• Clear business vision. Data can be collected from several different sources of information to create a comprehensive report, providing an overview of general and specific points, both commercial and service oriented.
• Identification of potential threats. The analytical reports show the gaps and potential weaknesses that need to be addressed. This may include, for example, unpaid bills, lost money, or poor employee performance.
• Understanding new trends. Employing a Data Analytics approach ensures you know what the client needs (both with regard to services and commercially) and identify future trends so as to optimise multiple operational aspects (for example, the assignment of technicians, the spare parts that are most commonly required on the go, etc.).

As we have shown, managing recurring incidents through the use of business intelligence tools is essential for the success of an after-sales service company.

The Task4Work Analytics module of Intelligence Partner’s Task4Work FSM solution incorporates specific functionalities both at the management and information analysis levels, giving coordinators a head start in assigning the right person to the job.

If you want the management and analysis of recurring cases to be one of points that sets your service business apart, contact us. We will analyse your particular circumstances and explain how to achieve it with the help of Task4Work, our advanced Field Service Management tool.

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