Acting quickly in an emergency, like the one we’re immersed right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is vital. Unlike other industry areas, field service is generally considered an essential service. This means they’re expected to deliver an emergency response in a timely manner. In other words, your field service company cannot afford to stop working in these times.
On the contrary: it’s precisely field service companies in many different areas (medical, energy, maintenance…) the ones fighting to keep the world running during the coronavirus outbreak. In disasters such as this one, there are important key points you can’t miss in order to accelerate emergency response times. Here’s a few tips you should consider!
Protect your team
A common point in emergencies of any kind is that they usually require the development and establishment of new protocols. These protocols are created to make sure technicians can stay safe while working in risky areas during an emergency response.
Whether it’s repair, maintenance or installation work, ensure your team is properly protected. To do so, integrate these safety protocols into the standard workflow as soon as possible. When your technicians know their safety is your priority, it makes a great difference. In this sense, communication is of the utmost importance to keep the team on the same page.
Speed is key
It goes without saying that speed is the key element in an emergency response. With the appropriate field service management tool, you can bring the best people for the job up to speed in no time, and have them deployed in the necessary area in just a few hours.
Measure your response
The impact of a disaster like the coronavirus pandemic we’re living now can be really far reaching and long lasting. This is why the ability to escalate your emergency response measures accordingly is so important.
As the disaster evolves, the demands will do so. There’ll be a need for different technicians depending on the kind of job, with urgent calls probably on the rise. If you’re already using a field service application like Synchroteam, this situation is luckily a bit easier to manage.
You can assemble new teams of workers and assign incoming tasks to them in a few minutes. Plus, in case the technicians themselves are impacted by the emergency (as it could happen during the pandemic), the software also helps you find replacement technicians among your staff easily.
Ensure your compliance
Whether it’s the usual business or a time of emergency response, field service installation and maintenance tasks are fundamental to keep basic industry assets up and running. Even in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, you should be able to guarantee compliance during your work, as the regulations change and evolve through time.
Don’t forget to gather data
Natural disasters, emergencies and pandemics call for immediate action. They are not the time to be revising tons of data and decide what you could use that information for. During an emergency response, data must be collected, that’s for sure: but it must also be forwarded to the right people, on the spot.
Powerful field service management apps include analytics and reports modules, and even an API that lets you connect with other services. With these tools you can quickly collect field data for later analysis, while allocating those precious resources where they’re most needed.
Curious about how Synchroteam could help your field service business thrive? Download the free demo now!
Image by Highway Patrol Images
