European DSO grid managers are feeling the heat to do more with less. For instance, many are now expected to increase grid capacity by about 10% without compromising on quality or incurring additional employee expenses. This prompts an increased reliance on external contractors and partners, resulting in a blended workforce, which can be more difficult and complex to manage. This causes some major bottlenecks in case and work order management that stand directly in the way of achieving your goals (read more about these bottlenecks).
To eliminate these bottlenecks, you’ll need to take a more strategic approach to optimising grid development and service. This means looking at the big picture of your field service operations and leveraging digital transformation and AI to help you keep track of and manage these better.
Keep everyone up to date on case progress
Work can end up being unnecessary delayed if different workers are involved in different stages and the next person in line is not notified immediately when the first has completed their work. With potentially many different external workers, each with different systems, along with internal staff in the mix, your back office may find it challenging to keep everyone in the loop. And don’t forget that today’s customers also increasingly want to know exactly when a technician will arrive, what the current status of work is and when it is completed.
The solution is to create a single digital collaboration hub that brings together all internal and external workers, the back office and the customer. Everyone should have access to the current case status, be automatically notified of updates in real time and be easily able to communicate with each other.
Give workers what they need to be effective
It’s easier to be effective when you don’t have to waste time looking for information or trying to track down needed equipment. This requires optimised resource planning, for both human and material resources, and for both internal and external workers. For instance, real-time data makes the logistics of finding the closest equipment easier when a worker needs to make an emergency stop. It also makes it possible to more easily find a replacement for a sick worker and get the right people in the right place at the right time.
Deploying a mobile app is the best way to ensure both internal and external field service workers can easily access up-to-date information. After all, the fact they are not usually sitting at a desk in front of a computer but rather are often out in the field is implicit in the very name field service. A mobile app can also provide AI-driven support with on-site measurements, eliminating certain manual data entry and calculations that could have taken unnecessary time or resulted in errors.
Track performance and SLA compliance
What you don’t know can hurt you! Some mistakes may go unnoticed or the customer may not bother to make a complaint, but your back office still needs to be aware of them. That’s the only way you can continuously improve quality and efficiency. By following up on and addressing issues proactively, you can stop them from leading to bigger problems or complaints that could be costly.
To stay on top of performance and SLA compliance, your back office needs real-time status updates, traceable deliveries and processes, e-signatures and continuously updated documentation. This way, who is responsible for what, what processes to follow and what SLA is applicable will be clearer to everyone and those who make mistakes can be held accountable.
What you need – a case and work order management system
A powerful and flexible case and work order management platform can create a single digital collaboration hub with real-time data, mobile app support, and traceable, standardised processes. This type of technology is what you need to optimise grid development and service. That’s why we put together an entire guide on how a case and work order management systems helps DSOs do more with less. Get your copy of “Meeting the grid capacity and CX challenges of the 2020s” to learn more.