The Klipboard Field Service Glossary

Scheduling Software is used to help businesses optimise job management, employee scheduling or project management. With Klipboard Scheduling Software you are able to effortlessly track where your team should be, view the expected time they will be working on a job or project and control costs.

Job Scheduling Software is widely used in almost every industry and is particularly prevalent in Field Service where the need to track engineers, schedule and dispatch them to client locations is a daily task.

 

What are the key benefits to using Scheduling Software?

Real time visibility of your team’s workload is a key reason people turn to Scheduling Software. To ensure you meet your client’s expectations and never miss a job or service, you’ll need to be aware of your team’s availability.



Being able to categorise jobs allows for greater visibility. Creating and manage custom categories allows you to assign these to jobs of a specific type, or if that job uses specific tools or equipment, therefor you’ll know who is available and whether certain equipment is available also.

Service automation is the delivery of a service in an entirely automated manner. In terms of software and field service management software it means you’re able to log in and make all the changes and amendments you wish, creating a self-service experience.

Netflix entertainment streaming service is a very successful example of service automation. Uber taxi ordering service changed the way we book a cab with a similar self service model.

Service Call Management Software helps business more efficiently mange the lifecycle of a service request and allows businesses to track the progress of the job. Without Service Call Management Software a service business can lost revenue due to missed jobs and human error.

What is service call software in Field Service?

For field service businesses, Service Call Management Software or Field Service Management (FSM) software helps businesses deliver onsite servicing and maintenance jobs while effectively managing their team’s workload.

Features commonly found include schedule & dispatch functions, job details, inventory management and field service job quoting and invoicing.

For more on this check out our article. What is FSM software?

A Service Call is the term used when an engineer, technician or team member visits the location where a piece of equipment, asset or group of assets requires servicing, maintenance or inspection.

What does a service call include?

A service call will include the costs of the labour and time for the service, they will also insure travel costs and potentially the costs for parts or disposal of equipment. 

What is the average service call?

The average service call fee depends entirely on the work carried out. For home owners or landlords this could be around £50-£100 per hour for an electrician or plumber. 

Larger scale businesses will most likely have an ongoing agreement with a Field Service business and a contractual agreement for a certain number of call outs or an agreed fee for a service call.

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a part of a contract that defines actually what will be delivered by the service provider for a job, project or on-going contractual obligation.

What should be included in a SLA?

A well crafted SLA should include the following:

• It should clearly state the objectives of the services provided


• It should describe in detail the service deliverables


• The SLA will define the standards of service


• It should state how those standards will be measured


• It should provide opportunities for review and adjustment of the deliverables


• The customer should have the right to terminate the agreement when performance falls below agreed standards 

Service Order Management is how businesses manage the end to end lifecycle of a service request. This may include the process of receiving a request, tracking a job and fulfilling a customer request.

What are the steps in service order management process

To effectively manage a service order request a business will need to well organised and have customer details quickly on hand. Here’s the steps taken when a service order is raised:

• Customer identifies an issue


• Information from the customer is gathered and entered into a system


• A quote is raised if one is required


• A new job record is created if a service visit is required


• An engineer or technician is assigned to the role


• Information of the repair or service is gathered on location


• The office has real time visibility of job progress


• The customer is notified of the status when the job is completed


• Reports are created from the details gathered onsite


• Invoice sent to customer upon completion

Service Tracking Software is how Field Service businesses are able to optimise the job management of their field teams. It allows them to schedule and dispatch their engineers or technicians to their customer’s jobs, while keeping all the client details, job information and work history in one system. 

Software systems like Service Tracking software, job scheduling software are often refereed to as FSM (Field Service Management) Software.

What is FSM software?

Field Service Management (FSM) software helps businesses deliver onsite servicing and maintenance jobs while effectively managing their team’s workload. Features commonly found include schedule & dispatch functions, job details, inventory management and field service job quoting and invoicing.

For more on this check out our article. What is FSM software?

Sertiization refers to businesses using their products or services to sell the outcome as a service as opposed to a single transaction. 

What are the benefits of Seritization?

It’s widely acknowledged that a Servitization model encourages manufactures and service providers to take ownership and more responsibility for their products. They are responsible for the outcome and the impact of the product, rather than simple selling it.

Smart Machines, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way Field Service business are able to predict equipment failure and extends the lifecycle of assets.

Smart Machines allow for greater visibility of what’s happening with their client’ assets. Sensors in sophisticated machinery send information back to the engineer to give them details about the condition of the equipment.

For more on this check out our article: Will Smart Machines replace Field Service Workers?

Spare Parts Management is a strategic component of service management. It ensures the right parts are made available to engineers and technicians when they are required. Without an effective Spare Parts Management strategy, assets and equipment could experience unexpected downtime when a part fails and is not immediately replaced.

Klipboard’s Inventory Management System allows engineers to see the stock levels of parts even when they are across multiple locations. Each location in your Inventory Management is displayed in real time so you’ll know what’s available. 

A subcontractor is an individual or business that are hired to perform some part of the overall obligations of the main stakeholder’s contract.

Types of subcontractor

Domestic - A subcontractor who is employed by the main contractor and is contracted to repair or inspect equipment or execute on agreed work forming part of the main contract.

Nominated - When architects, chief stakeholders or supervising officers make the find selection and approval of subcontractors, these are named contractors.

Named - These are essentially the same as domestic subcontractors as they are selected by the main contractor on the project. 

A Supply Chain is effectively the activities required by an organisation to deliver goods, products or a service to the customer.

What are the supply chain steps? 

In simple terms a supply chain is simply a sequence of steps taken by several parties to delivery a product or a service, here are the steps common in a supply chain:

• Obtaining raw materials


• Refining or manufacturing materials into a workable material or part


• Assembling parts into products


• Selling the product to the end user or customer


• Delivering the product to the customer 

 

Sustainable Maintenance is the process taken to ensure the lifecycle of assets or equipment is extended by preventing any unexpected downtime or part failure.

The goal of Sustainable Maintenance is similar to Planned Preventative Maintenance. By regularly servicing and inspecting equipment, engineers are able to predict when it might fail and ensure it remains operational for longer.