Ways AI will transform the field service industry

With rapid expansion and advancement in technology, the field service industry has come a long way over the past ten years. The industry is observing business issues being resolved faster and with minimal disruption to services. The field service industry has started leveraging Artificial Intelligence for a multitude of tasks.

AI-based applications like best field service management software now enable companies to schedule a technician who can come to check a network fault or conduct a service call for their customers. Field service companies have begun making the most of AI for different tasks, including scanning every employee’s log or identifying the right technician for the job who is closest to the customer to offer an immediate appointment. All these help businesses to uplift customer satisfaction levels.

Today, AI technology is already making an impact on the field service industry, but there is yet much more potential to explore. Here’s a look into how AI is transforming the field service industry today and what we can expect in the near future.

Schedule Optimization

In the field scheduling construction business, the lengthy scheduling process sometimes seems frustrating and time-consuming. Thus, it is crucial to automate scheduling for reducing wait times and offer customers a quicker and better experience. For instance, scheduling same-day repairs on FSM can reduce the travel time of technicians by as much as 20%. This increases the number of technician jobs completed per week by 10%.

Service leaders can determine the amount of time spent on completing a particular task and what impact different factors have on that time. The elements can include the weather of the day, the need for a technician to get access to the property, and more. Efficient FSM solutions provide all work-order information relating to customer contracts, project plans, and sketches in one place. Its integration with back-office business workflows demonstrates a remarkable reduction in running costs. Also, it enables customers to expect the technician’s arrival.

Predictive Maintenance

A washing machine would break down without any warning, and you might have no idea of how to fix it.

Similar is the case when a company’s HVAC might malfunction. Today, performance management systems  continuously monitor the connected devices and relay the information to a hub. The technicians can determine the problems quickly with this information. Thus, they can arm the right tools at the site and resolve the issues.

The real investment comes in implementing a predictive maintenance model that beware customers or companies before any inconvenient disruption in the system. With more connected devices, companies can aggregate performance history and thus enable machines to predict and prevent problems. This is what we expect AI to bring about in the field service industry.

Technician’s Efficiency

After expecting AI to bring about transformation in scheduling and maintenance, we see its significant role in improving technicians’ efficiency. The ratio of the number of work orders completed in one visit against the total number of work orders helps to determine the technician’s ability. With increased efficiency, the chance to earn more revenue for service providers also increases. Increased productivity and reduced average time taken for a given repair enhance customer satisfaction.

Personalization

The primary aspect that AI is bringing to the field service industry is the potential to offer customization from starting till the end.  AI technology can take in information about customer preferences and behavior. Let’s say; it can aggregate information like when do you prefer to schedule appointments? Is your house gated? How likely will you cancel your appointment? Do you prefer any advance notice before a technician’s arrival? Is there any specific technician you would like to request? Knowing all this information can help companies learn more about their customers. Thus, they can use AI solutions to personalize the entire service experience.

When it comes to customer experience, field service companies prioritizing AI technology for the growth of their business are likely to have an advantage in comparison to its competitors. Customer service is no longer about being kind and polite to your customers. It also demands accuracy and speed. To meet such higher expectations, it is a must to seek the help of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence.

Conclusion

AI will thus enable service organizations to create new business models where the customers will pay for uptime rather than buying or leasing the equipment from manufacturers. AI will also set predictive maintenance programs for this equipment so that they always stay in good working order.

source https://www.jbklutse.com/ways-ai-will-transform-the-field-service-industry/