Field service companies generate vast amounts of data from various sources such as work orders, equipment service records, and customer feedback. But, simply collecting data is not enough. The real challenge lies in making sense of the data and using it to make informed decisions. This is where data visualization comes in. Field data visualization is a technique used by field service companies that uses visual representations of the data to help people understand complex information quickly and easily.
‘A picture tells a thousand words said, Frederick R. Barnard
It is an effective way to convey large amounts of information, making it an essential tool for field service companies looking to improve their operations. According to Bain & Company, companies that leverage data visualization are 5 times more likely to make swift decisions and 3 times more likely to execute them effectively than their competitors.
With the power of data visualization techniques at their fingertips, field service companies can gain real-time insights into their operations and harness the derived data to make informed decisions.
In this blog post, we will explore how data visualization can help field service companies to improve their operations.
Ways to Use Data Visualization to Measure and Track Your Field Service Operations
Following are the ways in which data visualization helps field service business operations.
Pinpointing the “golden eggs” through visual data representation
The first step in using data visualization to measure and track your field service operations is to identify your key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs can include metrics such as:
- First-time fix rate
- Average response time
- Mean time to repair
- Customer satisfaction ratings
- Technicians’ productivity
By using visualization tools, you can create field service dashboard that tracks these KPIs over time, allowing you to quickly identify trends and patterns.
Utilizing for divvying up resources and scheduling
Data visualization can also be used to optimize resource allocation and scheduling. By analyzing data on job duration, travel time, and technician availability, you can create more accurate schedules that minimize downtime and maximize productivity. For example, you could use a heat map to visualize which areas have the most service requests, allowing you to allocate resources more effectively.
In addition, visual data fields can help you identify which technicians are over or under-utilized, allowing you to adjust schedules and assignments accordingly.
Keeping an eye on technicians’ performance like a hawk
Monitoring technician performance can help identify areas where individual technicians may need additional training or support. By visualizing data on metrics such as job completion time, and customer feedback, companies can easily identify top-performing technicians and those who may need additional training or support.
For example, you could create a data visualization dashboard that shows the average time it takes each technician to complete a job, allowing you to identify technicians who may need additional training on specific types of equipment.
Scrutinizing customer feedback
Customer feedback is a valuable source of information for field service companies. Data visualization can be used to analyze customer feedback and identify areas where improvements are needed. By analyzing data on metrics such as response times, customer satisfaction scores, and repeat service calls, companies can identify areas where they are excelling and those where they need to improve.
Data visualization can also help companies to identify patterns in field service management trends. For instance, if sudden increases in customer complaints occur, the data seen concerning specific changes in the support staff, reveals correlations and potentially identifies the underlying causes.
Different graph types and visualization tools are used in fsm
Gantt charts: It is used to visualize the schedule of work orders for large service projects and optimize the scheduling of technicians.
Heatmaps: Identify patterns in the data related to technician, customer, and equipment locations and deploy resources accordingly.
Bar charts: It helps to compare the performance of technicians or teams based on metrics such as response time, completion rate, or customer satisfaction.
Scatter plots: Identify correlations between different service metrics, such as the number of service calls and the time it takes to complete them.
Interactive data visualization dashboards: Provide a comprehensive overview of the company’s operations, including work order status, technician performance, and equipment utilization, and monitor progress in real-time.
These types of graphs and tools are used based on the field service company’s needs and the nature of the data they collect.
Final words
Data visualization can be a powerful tool for improving field service operations, but it’s not a magic bullet. It’s important to remember that the insights gained from data are only as good as the quality of the data itself. So, before you start creating flashy graphs and charts, make sure you have a solid understanding of the field service data you’re working with and its limitations.
With the right field service management app in place, data visualization can be a game-changer for field service operations, enabling organizations to achieve their business goals and stay ahead of the competition. With that in mind, happy visualizing!
