The Current State of Field Service Management During COVID19

1. WHITE PAPER The Current State of Field Service During Covid-19 The Challenges, The Safeguards and The Opportunities

2. INTRODUCTION FIELD SERVICE MANAGEMENT Covid-19hasusheredinanewworldfor everyone. Foroneofthefewtimesinrecent history, thewholeworldhastofacea challengethattrulyaffectseveryperson’s life. Masks, tests, handsanitizers, andother itemshavebecomeadailydiscussionpoint onsocialmedia, news, andconversation. ZoomcallsandMicrosoftTeammeetings havereplacedthe “watercooler” chats. Manyofficeshavebeenreplacedbykitchen tables, backporches, andinsomecases, the livingroomcouch. Thesearejustafewofthetypesofimpacts weareallfeelingpersonally. Froma “business”perspective, wehavemore complexissuessuchastightsupplychains, liability, safety (ofbothemployeesand customers), alongwithanotherhostofnew complexities.

3. WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE FIELD? Onefieldthathasbeenadversely affectedbytheeffectoftheCovid19 pandemicisfieldservicemanagement. At the moment, most field service organizationsarefacedwithamajor challengeofhowtoprovideexcellent customer service while prioritizing customerandteammembersafety. In thinkingthroughthecurrentsituationand makingeffortstoplan, itisimportant MAIN CHALLENGES thattheseorganizationshaveaclear understandingofsomeofthesafeguards, Keepingpeoplesafe thatcanbeundertakentocounterthese Pacingchangedueto regulation challenges, andopportunitiesahead. Communicatingsafety guidelines Field service, by nature, involves interactionbetweenacustomerwho requiresserviceandafieldtechnician Corporateliabilityand definingrisks whoperformsthatservice. TheCOVID19 pandemichaspresentedchallengesfor Maintaincustomer satisfactionlevels thefieldserviceindustry, whohaveto stayinbusinessas“essential”business FindinganFSMsoftware thatfacilitatesefficiency partners. Here are some of the challengesoffieldserviceduringthe COVID-19globalpandemic.

4. Field Service Challenges During COVID-19 1 Keeping all stakeholders safe Stakeholdersinthiscontextrefertoemployees, customers, contractors, andotherpartiesinvolvedinafieldserviceinteraction. Personalcontactisunavoidableinthefieldserviceindustry. Regardlessofthevaluethatthefieldservicesaddtothecustomer's qualityoflife, theirsafetyisimportant. Techniciansandotherstaff arealsoexpectedtostaysafeinthecourseofexecutingtheirtasks. Currentsafetymeasureslikecontactlessprocesses, temperature checks, personalprotectiveequipment (PPE), andsocialdistancing aresomeoftherecommendationsthatfieldserviceenterpriseshave toincorporateintotheirbusinessoperations. 2 Pacing change due to regulation Fieldserviceenterprisescanonlyoperatewhentheymaketheir operationssubjecttotheregulationandguidancethatcontrolthe industry. Compliancehasalwaysbeenanissueintheindustry, but theimpactofthepandemichasmadeitextremelyimportant. Organizationsthatoperateacrossstatelinesareespecially vulnerablebecauseregulationsoftendifferfromstatetostate. Responsetimesinthefieldserviceindustryarenowshorter, and enterprisesthatcannotcopearebeingleftout. Thedynamicsof customer-technicianinteractionshavechangedascustomerslean towardsenterprisesthatincorporateadequatesafetymeasuresinto theirbusinessoperations.

5. Field Service Challenges During COVID-19 3 Communicating safety guidelines Giventhatfieldserviceoperationsarelargelypeople-oriented, safety-basedcommunicationandfieldservicecoordinationisamajor challenge. Ensuringthatcustomersunderstandthesafetymeasures beingtakentoprotecttheirsafetyandthatofyourfieldstaffis critical. Itrequiresthoughtful, clear, simplecommunicationsvia easilyaccessiblechannelsandplatforms. 4 Liability (corporate) and defining risk CorporateliabilityintheCOVID19periodshouldnotbetakenlightly. Whenfieldserviceenterprisesdonotproperlyhandletheserisks, the possibilityofcorporateliabilitiesensuringishigh. Itisimportantthat filedserviceorganizationsworkwithavailablelegalresourcesto understandrisksandprocessesthatcanlimitthisliability. Regulationsvaryfromstatetostateandnewlegislationisconstantly beingproposed. Onlythelargestfieldserviceorganizationswillhave theresourcestohaveaclearunderstandingoftheserisks. Mostwill havetorelyonoutsidelegalcounselmakesurethattheyare adequatelyprotected. FACT: Afieldservicemanagementsoftware isproventodrasticallyreduceoreliminatemany ofthesechallenges, whileincreasingcustomer satisfaction.

6. Field Service Safeguards During COVID-19 RegardlessoftheadverseimpactofCOVID19, thefieldserviceindustrymust continuetomeetserviceneedsoftheircustomers. TheCenterfordiseaseControl (CDC) hasissuedguidanceforbusinesstocontinueoperationsintheCovid19 environment. Strictadherencetothesesafeguardshasprovidedalifelinetofieldservice operatorsthatwouldotherwisehavebeenforcedtocloseshop. Sincethese guidelinesarefluid, itisbesttoresearchthemostrecentguidanceat https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/guidance-list.html. AsofthispublishingsomeoftheareaswheretheCDCisofferingguidance include, theuseofPersonalProtectiveEquipment (PPE), socialdistancing, workplacesanitationandmore. BeyondtheCDC’srecommendationstherearealso somecommonsenseactionsthatcompaniescantaketohelpensurethesafetyof theiremployees, Theseactivitiesinclude: Educationandtraining Effectivelycommunicatingupdates Accuratedocumentation Organizejobsandcustomerdata  SanitizeEquipmentDaily Don'toverscheduleresources  SOFTWARE FOR SAFETY FSMsoftwarewillhelpyou dispatch, scheduleand automateprocesses FSMsoftwarefacilitates efficiency FSMsoftwaredrivesrevenue andcustomersatisfaction

7. Field Service Safeguards During COVID-19 Thedynamicsofbusinessoperationsinthefieldservice Education and Training: industryoftheCOVID19erahaschanged. Thishasmadeitimperativethatfield serviceenterpriseseducateandtraintheiremployeesonnewregulationsand safetymeasures. Fieldservicemusttraintheirstaffonthenecessaryprecautions andproceduresforfieldoperationsfortheirspecificindustry. Trainingontheuse ofprotectiveequipmentsuchasgloves, masks, tissues, andsanitizersbyfieldstaff shouldberegularlydone. Socialdistancing, theuseofsanitizersandthe disinfectionofvehicles (wherenecessary) aresomeofthesafetymeasuresthat employeesshouldbetrainedon. Manyfieldserviceorganizations Accurate Documentation: haveaprocessthatrequiresasignaturetoconfirmwork completiontoconfirmthatthecustomerissatisfied withtheworkperformed. Youmightwantto consideralternativemethodsthatdon’trequire thetouchingofpens, clipboards, styluses, ordevices. Onealternativemethodisgiving technicians’ digitalrecorderstodocument theworkdoneand/orhavethecustomer confirmverballythattheworkwas completedtothesatisfaction. Another alternativemightbetoemailarequest forconfirmationthatthecustomercan replytowiththeirconfirmationofsatisfaction.

8. Satisfyingthecustomeristhesolereason Effectively Communicating Updates: whyfieldservicecompaniesareinbusiness. Effectivecommunicationwith customersmakesiteasierforenterprisestoachieveincreasedcustomer satisfaction. Customersneedtobeintheloopaboutappointments, changesin operations, andsafetymeasurestobetakenbyboththemselvesandthe technicians. Thiscaneffectivelybecommunicatedviaautomatednotifications, for example. Theaimistoprovidepromptandreliableinformation. Anenterprise'sfirstpointofcontactwithitsclientswhoseadherencetothetrends necessitatedbythepandemicwillgoalongwayinsellingyourenterprise. Moreover, theiractionsofomissionorcommissionwillimpactbusinessoperations positivelyornegatively (increasedcustomersatisfactionorunnecessarylitigation andliability). Thuscommunicatingeffectivelyisagreatsafeguardthatcanbeused inthefieldserviceindustryduringCOVID19. Keyinformationonthingsliketheshortesttravelrouteexpecteddurationofthe repair, constantremindersofbasicsafetymeasures, andthelatesthealthupdates needtobecommunicatedclearly. Thiscanbedoneusingpushnotificationsviathe fieldserviceappandtextmessages. Whileprovidingpromptfield-based informationenhancesemployees' efficiency, relayinghealthupdatesfromcredible sourcesliketheWHOandtheCDCeliminatesmisinformation, whichisequallyas dangerousastheCOVID19virus.

9. Ifthe Equipment Sanitization: Thesereviewswillhelpcreatean equipment used by a effective strategy that service drives technicianinexecutingtasksare incrementalimprovementtoward sharedbydifferentmembersofthe businessobjectivesdespitethe serviceteamorcomeintocontact changesintheindustry. Besureto withpeopleatthecustomersite, spendtimedecidinghowbestto thisequipmentmustbesanitized executetherevisedplans. Agood betweenuses. Healthprofessionls planwilldonogoodifneveris arenowtellingusthatthatthe communicatebeyondthehome risksofinfectionviaobjectsand office. Oncecommunicated, spend toolsareminimal, butthisisany timevalidatingthattheprocessyou easyprocessthatmighthelpin createarebeingfollowedinthe stoppingthetransmissionofthe field. Thiswillgoalongwayin diseaseanditsetsagoodexample ensuring that field service foryourservicetechstoremain companiescanstilloffertheir diligent. Italsoshowsthatyouare servicesefficientlyandstayin takingstepstoprotecttheirsafety business during the COVID19 pandemic. Thefield Learn, Replan, Execute: serviceindustryisinundatedwith changes that have caused widespreaddisruptions. Thebest waytostayafloatinthisseaof change is for field service enterprisestoconstantlylearn fromtheirexperienceduringthe pandemic. Reviewsplansbasedon new-foundknowledge.

10. Field Service Opportunities During COVID-19 Thesecretbehindasuccessfulbusinessisitsabilitytotakeadvantageofthe opportunitiespresentinanybusinessenvironment. Alothasbeensaidofthe challengesthattheCOVID-19pandemichasgeneratedinthefieldservice industry, howeverthereareopportunitiestoimpresstheclienteleandboost customersatisfaction. Manyfieldserviceorganizationsarefindingthatthe environmentcreatedbyCovid-19isallowingthem, orinsomecasesforcing themtomakelongplannedprocessimprovementthatwerepreviously delayed. Automated Notifications (safety measures, customer side) Customers take their field service appointmentsseriouslyandwanttobe constantlyupdatedaboutthem. Automated notificationspresentanopportunityto impresscustomersinspiteofthecurrent challenges. Theyareenabledbylocation trackingandartificialintelligencetokeep customersupdatedaboutaspectsoftheir appointments. Forinstance, changesin scheduleandsimilarinformation. Deploying automatednotificationseffectivelyshows professionalismandgreatregardforyour customers. Italsomakesforseamlessfield serviceoperationsthatenhancecustomer satisfaction.

11. Field Service Opportunities During COVID-19 Present Questions / Forms Pre Call Mobile Checklist Theseformsensurethatcustomerswho Withthesechecklists, itiseasier needfieldserviceareinsafehands. for safety procedures like Theformsaresimplydesignedto temperaturechecksandwashing confirm that the field ofhands, amongothers, tobe service techniciansarenotinfectedbycovid effectivelyadheredtobyfield andthattheyobservedthestipulated technicians. Itisessentiallyato- safety measures like do-listthatisstructuredina temperature checks, amongothers. Thereisalso mannerthatiseasytofollow. roomtodetermineiftheequipment Notes, pictures, and even being used adheres to screenshotscaneasilybeadded. safety proceduresandisfitforuse. Thebestpartisthatitispaperless andconvenientforfieldservice Bread Crumbing technicians. Customerswillbe impressedbythehighstandards Breadcrumbing provides the metconcerningsafetyprocedures opportunitytobuildtrustbetweena whileexecutingfieldservicetasks. fieldserviceenterpriseanditsclientele. Itallowseasytrackingoffieldservice technicians/teamsbycapturingtheGPS locationoftheirhandhelddevicesand alsoenablestheeasiermanagementof fieldstaffsinceeverytimetheyuse theirdevices; theGPSlocationsare captured. Breadcrumbing helps enterprises handle issues more effectivelyastheycaneasilyverify thesesitesandhandlesuchpromptly.

12. Post-Call Survey Job Rejection APostCallSurveyisanothergreatway Going by the new safety toimpressfieldservicecustomersin standardsoccasionedbythe the course of executing pandemic, notallfieldservice business operations. Theyaremostlyautomated processeswillbeconsidered anddesignedtogetfeedbackaboutthe safe. Insuchinstances, such qualityofserviceofferedbytechnicians field service jobs can be toacustomer. Inthecontextofthe seamlesslyrejectedusingthe pandemic, enterprisescanensurethat functionalitiesaffordedbythe their safety measures are field service strictly management adheredtobythepartiesatthesite. softwareinuse. Confirmationsthatthestipulatedsafety measuresweretakencanbesent. This Dependingonthenatureofthe includesphotosandevenscreenshots jobs (risks, compliances, and too. Welldesignedpost-callsurveyswill safety), itcanberescheduled serve to impress customers withanewchecklistforamore and increasetheirsatisfactionastheyrest appropriatetimeorsetof assuredthattheirsafetyisparamount hands. giventheeffortmadetoensurethat safetymeasuresaretaken. Location Logging Thisisoneofthemoreobviousbenefitsofusingfieldservicemanagement software. Particularlythetypethatcomeswithageolocationfeature. Sites withCOVID19exposureareeasilynotedwithlocationlogging. Italsoallows enterprisestoknowtheexactlocationoftheirtechniciansandanalyzetheir statusatalltimes. Thisway, theycankeepthemclearofareasthatpresent highrisksofCOVID19exposure. Italsofacilitatesautomatic-checksetsfor safetychecksinthecourseoffieldoperations. Thisway, fieldservicejobsare betterassigned, andallpartiesinvolvedaresaferforit.

13. Gosiger – Addressing the Challenge GosigerdistributesandservicesCNCmachinesincludinglathes, mills, grinders, andotherrelatedequipmenttomanufacturers. ThisnewCovid-19 environmentforthefieldserviceorganizationhascausedGosigertoconsider twoimportantthings: Howtokeeptheiremployeessafeandhowtoensure theircustomersareservedsafely. Thesearetwosidesofthesamecoin. Gosigerhasimplementedproceduresandprocessestovalidatetheseissueson bothsides.Inordertomeetthesegoals, Gosigerisrequestingtheircustomers validatethecurrentsituationateachlocationtobevisited. Beforeaservicevisitismade, asurveyformissenttothecustomertogather relevantinformationfromthecustomerinreferencetoCovid-19casesor exposure. Customersareaskedtosimplyconfirminwritingthattherehave beennoconfirmedCovid-19casesintheareathattheservicetechhasbeen workinginthelast14days. Iftherehasbeenarecentcase, theform continuestogatherinformationaboutmeasuresthathavebeentakento sanitizetheareaandtoquarantineexposedemployees. Untilthisisconfirmed theservicevisitisput “onhold”. InternallyeachGosigeremployeegoesthroughasimilarvalidation. Employees completeaself-evaluationthatconfirmsthattheemployeedoesnothavea feverandthattheyarenotcurrentlyexperiencinganysymptomsofCovid-19. Inbothcasestheformsareself-reportedbutinsomeinstances, their customersdorequireadditionalmeasuressuchastemperaturechecksatthe entrypointtothebuilding.

14. Inadditiontotheseconsiderationsatacustomer’sfacility, Gosigerhasalso hadtodealwithhowtheymonitortheirownstaff. Thepreviouslymentioned employeeself-surveysalsoapplytoemployeesworkingintheGosigeroffices. ThisismonitoredtightlyandenforcedbytheHRdepartmenttoensure compliance. Gosigerbelievesthattestingisanimportanttoolinkeeping employeesandcustomerssafe. Butaccesstotestingandturnaroundtimefor resultshascomewithsignificantchallenge. Gosigeroperatesin13+ states whichaddstothecomplexity. Inmanycases, testresultresponsetimeshaveimproved, butearlyon, a responsetimeofasmuchas2weeksfromthetimeanemployeewasaskedto getatesttothetimethatresultsaremadeavailablewasnotuncommon. In thesesituationsitcouldverywellmeanthattheemployeemighthavecycled throughtheexposurebeforetheresultsareevenknown. Astestingis becomingmoreavailableanyonethatmeetstheCDCguidelineof15minutes ormoreexposurewithin6feetofsomeonethatisconfirmedpositivetoCovid -19isaskedtogetatestbeforereturningtowork.Fieldtechniciansare typicallyinthe “field”. Thatisjustthenatureoftheirjob. Butwhereitispossible, Gosigerhastried tomaintainflexibilitywithsupportandofficepersonnel. TheGosigercall centerrepresentativesandpartssupportpeoplehavebeenworkingfromhome sincetheearlydaysofthepandemic. Becausethesegroupsweremostlyvery experienced, theGosigerteammembershavebeenabletocontinuetoserve customersfromhomewithoutsufferingsignificantqualitychallenges.Long term, however, thereisaquestionastowhetherthisissustainable. As employeesretire, andnewemployeesjoin, itisunclearwhetherthese positionscanbepermanentlyconvertedtowork-from-homepositions.

15. Newemployeesneedtraining, theyneedcoaching, andtheyrequirehelp. Can thissupportbeeffectivelygiveninawork-from-homeenvironment? These decisionsdonotneedtobemadetoday, buttheyareatthetopofmindas Gosigerconsiderswhatthefuturemayhold.Anotherareaofconsiderationfor Gosigerandotherfieldserviceorganizationsismanagingchangesinbusiness levels. ManyofGosiger’scustomersweredeemed “EssentialBusinesses” fromthe beginningofthepandemic. Butdemandforservicehasbeenmorevolatile thanusualinthepastseveralmonths. CostsforthingsincludingPPE, Cleaning supplies, andlatenoticeschedulingchangesneedtobeconsideredinthisnew workingenvironment. Callcentercostsduetomorecustomerswanting contactlesssupportarealsoincreasing. Gosigerisnotwillingtocompromise onemployeeorcustomersafety, butthesechangeswillforcecompanieslike Gosigertoconsideralternativestocurrentpricingmodelstomaintain profitabilityifthecurrentsituationpersistsandbecomesthe “NewNormal”. GosigerutilizestheIFSFieldServiceManagementsolution tosupporttheirbusinessprocesses. Thissolution, implementedbyIFSPartnerProV, isflexibleinthatnew workflowandnewformscanbeeasilyintegratedintothe businessprocess “onthefly”. Thisflexibilityhasbeen helpfulinrespondingtothesenewCovidchallengesand, becausetheydonotrequirecodechangesandother updates, canbedonequickly. ThesolutionenablesGosiger tobuild, track, andmanagealloftherelatedCovid activitiessothattheyhaveconfidenceinthesafetyoftheir employeesandtheircustomers.

16. CONCLUSION Thefieldserviceindustryisoneofseveralwhichhavebeenforcedtoadaptto theglobalpandemic. Fieldserviceenterprisesareconstantlylookingto negotiatethechallengestheyfacebyadheringtosafeguardsstipulatedby healthprofessionals. Thankfully, amidthechallenges, therearestill opportunitiesthatfieldserviceenterprisescanleverageduringCOVID19. WrittenandProducedby: RogerO’Connor RobertHancock Gosiger ProVInternational

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