HEARTLAND FIELD SERVICE SOLUTIONS

Field service is any service work that is performed outside of company property, usually at your client’s location. When clients using your systems require installation, maintenance, or repair, field service technicians are dispatched to carry out the job off-site. Your clients are therefore present as the field service work is completed, allowing you to build an increased level of trust and customer satisfaction.

A field service technician is a member of your staff who will most commonly carry out installation, maintenance, or repairs at a client’s location. They’re highly skilled workers who are specialized in your systems and processes. Field service technicians will often be the ones tasked with initially investigating an issue and giving recommendations as to the best path forward for the client. If the best course of action is a field repair, then they’re also the ones tasked with resolving problems by carrying out the work then and there.

A field service engineer has a slightly different role to a field service technician, taking an overall, bigger picture view of the field service work required. This view encompasses planning and strategy, alongside carrying out any actual installation or maintenance work for the client. While their role is similar to a field service technician, field service engineers must also possess excellent communication and management skills on top of their technical knowledge. Their role in the organization is to keep systems operating seamlessly and efficiently for a number of clients.

A field service coordinator’s role is entirely focused on the planning and implementation of all field service jobs required by your clients. Rather than a technical role, a field service coordinator is a management role in which they are tasked with monitoring field service jobs across a subsection of your organization. Usually based at a centralized office or warehouse location, they will organize the field service work and then provide support to technicians. A field service coordinator may be based on-site, but their influence extends into the field as they provide oversight to all technicians on the books.

Field service management is the multi-level planning and implementation of field service jobs required by your clients. It requires a holistic view of your entire organization including field service staff and clients themselves. Field service management is a sometimes overlooked, yet critical process for the success of your organization. By getting your field service management system and processes in place, you will see benefits such as increased staff expertise, greater field service work efficiency, and ultimately a better experience for your clients.

The most important aspect of field service management becomes the field service software implemented by your organization. Field service management software allows your business to efficiently oversee all aspects of field service project management. From managing each of your unique client’s needs to ensuring staffing resources are always met, effective field service software will help with all aspects of field service work. Effective field service software offers assistance by automating processes and streamlining communication within your organization, as well as to external clients.

A field service action is a maintenance procedure that offers repairs for relatively minor defects that may not be critical to safety or overall performance. Often compared to a safety recall, a field service action is more of a recommended action rather than a critically important action that must be undertaken immediately. The difference is at your discretion, often coming down to the risk vs reward of the problem’s effect on safety/production and how much it will ultimately cost to fix.

A field service action item is a list entry of any repairs required, which has been sent to clients. Usually separately listed per product or by individual clients themselves, they show staff which field service job needs to be carried out and that item’s level of priority. As field service action items aren’t as serious as product recalls, while it’s recommended to complete the job, the priority is commonly left up to the client themselves.