In a perfect world, a field service business would operate without any hiccups. Its fleet vehicles would run perfectly, equipment would never malfunction, and materials would arrive on time every time. But here in the real world, that’s not always the case. Unplanned downtime is bound to happen at some point, and its effects on the business can be devastating.
In today’s blog, we’ll take a closer look at a few ways that unplanned downtime can impact your business. We’ll also discuss how field service software like EnSight+ can mitigate at least some of that risk.
Let’s start with the most obvious outcome of unplanned downtime. Any time you aren’t operating at full capacity, your field service business is leaving money on the table. It’s also important to recognize that this lost revenue can be classified as both one-time and cascading. One-time lost revenue accounts for the money lost when workers aren’t able to complete a customer visit. Cascading lost revenue occurs when that one missed opportunity causes cancellation of services in the future. For example, a customer on a recurring monthly service contract may opt to cancel if unplanned downtime routinely persists.
Like a lot of other industries, field service is a people business. Relationships and reputation can make or break a company. Unplanned downtime is a common culprit for companies having to reshuffle customer appointments. Whether it’s the result of problems with a vehicle or machinery. One of the surefire ways to damage your customer’s perception of your company is by being late or missing appointments.
There’s no doubt that unplanned downtime is bothersome for a field service business owner or supervisor. Also, let’s not forget about the frontline employees. Having your schedule completely upended with little notice doesn’t sit well with many people, and employees aren’t likely to hang around if it’s something that happens regularly. When that happens, it introduces an entirely different set of problems around employee turnover that can have an equal (or worse) impact on a business’s revenue and reputation.
EnSight+ is a field service software that offers a comprehensive approach to mobile workforce management. Through the modules we can custom build for your field service business, we’re able to minimize unplanned downtime and the lingering effects we talked about earlier.
According to results of a roadside repair bench-marking study published in 2019, roadside truck breakdowns occur every 10,000 miles. It’s true that the wear-and-tear on an 18-wheeler is different than a pickup truck or utility van, but the point remains that these vehicles are far from indestructible. The best way to ensure you’re getting the most out of a fleet vehicle is by performing preventive maintenance, and EnSight+ can help.
Our fleet management module allows you to set custom alerts based on milestones like mileage and time. It also works seamlessly with our work order management module, so tasks are created and assigned to mechanics to ensure proactive maintenance never slips through the cracks.
Other modules embedded within the EnSight+ cloud-based solution to prevent unplanned downtime include asset and inventory management and scheduling, routing, and dispatch. With asset and inventory management, your business’s leaders can easily keep track of all stock to ensure the right tools and equipment are available and in working order for technicians. Additionally, the scheduling, routing, and dispatch module uses GPS capabilities to provide real-time turn-by-turn directions that get technicians to jobs faster and more efficiently.
If unplanned downtime has been a problem for your field service business, we want to hear from you. Contact us today to book a demo of the EnSight+ solution.
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