Field services during the pandemic: how technology helps you adapt

With the arrival of COVID-19, the extension of preventive measures and the imminent "new reality" that spread around the world, companies quickly began reassessing how to enable remote work and rethinking their offices, plants and stores to meet social distancing rules and other safety precautions. But for field service workers, who cannot work from home, the "office" is the outside world, in different places throughout each day.

These workers handle repairs, maintenance, installations and deliveries at specific sites, either individually or as part of a team. They often have to enter clients' homes, stores or offices, interacting with clients and colleagues. In the middle of a pandemic, that carries a high risk of infection and transmission both inside and outside our organization.

Many companies decided to focus on "contactless" service, introducing new processes around payment handling and receipt signing, for instance. While those are important changes to make in the short term in order to stay profitable, it is also important to map out a long-term strategy, grounded in trends that were already deepening before COVID-19 and that will matter even more in this new normal. We are talking about measures that improve cost and operational efficiency and strengthen your people. 

The first approach would be to think about what steps could be added to the current work process to protect staff. But the sharper question is what steps, processes and entire tasks can be removed from the flow through better use of technology. 

Below are three ways to approach the workflow quickly and efficiently.

1- Minimize field interaction through remote work

Digital enablement, through smart devices and purpose-built apps, is a way to use fewer workers in the field and minimize handovers. Apps can be designed to easily make use of the phone's camera to share video and upload images, according to your specific needs. Solutions like these support better health and safety during a pandemic, since people would no longer need to be near each other and exposure to others would fall. It is also an opportunity to map out new internal strategies for capitalizing on staff skills. 

2- Reduce working hours with more automation and oversight

Bringing in automation systems is a natural evolution for companies in the digital age. In the world of field service software solutions, the use of artificial intelligence and big data is among the most valuable assets in terms of profitability.  These are the technologies driving the shift in paradigm that helps raise staff productivity and pushes companies to become even more efficient operationally. 

3- Adjust processes specifically for the pandemic 

In a crisis, creating new ways of working and adjusting processes to precautionary rules and health measures is not enough. Implementing processes and managing tasks is vital. And for that, technology is the best possible answer, making it possible to organize tasks and resources, plan timings and estimate costs.

Some examples include adding scan codes to record the equipment staff use and produce a real-time digital inventory from a central system, which can then schedule upcoming trips based on that information. 

Do not assume that applying these solutions requires investing heavily in technology: with good implementation, they can be delivered simply through an app on a smart device. That way, thanks to technology, field service companies can plan their working days days in advance and even match tasks to the workers who have everything they need to complete them properly and on time.

The essential thing for being ready for anything is to plan and prepare the field service business for the future, setting a long-term strategy that allows quick action when needed.  In a context of limited resources and cost-cutting measures, as the "new normal" is, technologies like GoDoWorks's are strategic allies for staying operational and delivering the quality of service clients expect.