The Klipboard Field Service Glossary

Machine Availability is a term typically used to describe the operational effectiveness of assets and machinery. Machine Availability Rate is the percentage of time equipment is available divided by the maximum time it should be available in the event there wasn't any downtime for repair or unplanned maintenance.

 

Here's an example of a Machine Availability Rate:

Operating Time/Planned Availability = Availability %
450 mins / 500 mins = 90% availability

Medical Equipment Servicing are the services provided by Field Service Engineers who specialise in maintaining healthcare and Biomedical equipment for their clients. Often this equipment is found in hospitals, Emergency Wards and Specialist Clinics. The performance of the equipment directly affects the quality of care for patients, this is why it's vitally important for these businesses to use Field Service Engineers who can ensure downtime is kept to a minimum and the machines operate at peak performance.

 

Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) scheduling plays a crucial role in keeping the availability of medical assets at the highest rate. For more on how PPM schedules are vital for Medical Servicing Businesses check out our article.

Mobile forms are digital forms created to be used on mobile phones and tablet devices so Field Service Engineers and Technicians can collect data in the field. They provide Field Service business provide a consistent and easily accessible way of gathering information and completing jobs. The data collected can be used to build reports or feed into other tools to give insight into your business and better support your customers.

For more on how Mobile Forms can benefit Field Service businesses, check out this article.

 

A mobile form should be easy to complete on all devices and be adaptable to different industries. A Lift Engineer will need to record different data to a Fire Safety Consultant for example, but they both will need to be able to log data at their client’s location.

 



 

A Mobile Workforce is the term used for team members who operate on location at their client's sites rather than an office or physical location. Technology plays a huge part in how a Mobile Workforce can access the information they need and how they can communicate with stakeholders and colleagues. Affordable and reliable technology has helped digitalise the activities of a mobile workforce with mobile phones and tablets.

A smart scheduling system is required for Field Service businesses who need to complete planned preventative maintenance and react swiftly when they are required for a call-out.

Typically Mobile Workforce Scheduling updates the team in real-time so Field Service businesses can allocate engineers or technicians to jobs who are both available and local to the job.

Many scheduling software systems offer a drag and drop schedule and dispatch function. This is particularly helpful for management teams who have multiple engineers who need to attend.