Field Service Management for companies in the plant and mechanical engineering sector
There are essentially two areas in manufacturing in which companies can use field service management software: in the servicing of their customers’ plant and machinery and in the maintenance of their own plant and machinery (asset management), such as industrial production.
Cost optimization, competitive differentiation and the use of new technologies are the topics that are currently occupying customer service in manufacturing and will continue to do so in the coming years.
From cost center to profit center
The service in manufacturing is undergoing change. Companies that use cost-intensive machines and production facilities expect round-the-clock availability. This requires regular maintenance and additional services in order to meet the high demands on productivity, efficiency and cost optimization.
During the long service life of machines and plants, after-sales service creates the necessary conditions for this through maintenance, spare parts supply and modernization. The former cost center can thus become a profit center.
Differentiation from the competition
Companies that recognize this have the opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competition through excellent service, to create competitive advantages and additional revenue potential.
This is achieved above all through the end-to-end digitalization of service processes – from customer order to billing – which creates faster and better customer service.
Use of new technologies
The complexity of plants and machines is increasing more and more. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to find qualified technicians and skilled workers or to train them accordingly.
Therefore, new technologies such as data glasses, remote support and augmented reality applications as well as knowledge management offer more and more support for on-site customer operations. Digital spare parts catalogs also play a role here.
These new technologies can be easily integrated into Field Service Management solutions and thus support the technician on site to solve a problem faster and increase the first-time fix rate.
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Maintenance of own plant and machinery / industrial production
The production facilities of companies in the manufacturing industry usually run around the clock. Their maintenance is a significant cost factor, but also critical to the company in order to avoid unplanned breakdowns and downtimes and to guarantee the longest possible service life.
In many companies, the fault clearance of their own plants and machines in production is still carried out on demand. If a machine fails, the machine operator informs the maintenance engineer or shift supervisor by telephone or in person.
Depending on the complexity of the plant or production, the subsequent or preceding production plants are also affected when a plant is shut down and can lead to the temporary failure of an entire production line.
Key figures about the exact downtime, reaction and repair times are usually not available, as documentation about them is either not available at all or only partially on paper, as the focus is on repair.
Also, the causes of downtime and downtimes are often not documented in paper-based maintenance. Without data on the downtimes and reasons for downtimes, however, improvements are difficult to make. Therefore, a first and important step is the digitalization of maintenance processes.
Digital planning and mobile maintenance
Digital resource planning of maintenance in production and manufacturing with a field service management software relieves the scheduler and improves transparency. Reaction times and thus downtimes in case of malfunctions are shortened.
Ideally, companies should not only plan their assignments digitally, but also use a mobile solution for order processing. The maintenance of production plants with the help of apps or mobile solutions makes it easier for maintenance personnel to obtain information about the order. Instead of getting a printout from the shift supervisor or printing it from a terminal, he can view the order data on his mobile device on site. The inventory management of spare parts can also be depicted on a mobile device and is therefore always up-to-date.
After repair or maintenance, the maintenance technician can enter the actual data or photos of the plant directly on his mobile device and transfer them to the ERP system. This eliminates manual transfer and potential errors.
Industry experience
The Field Service Management solutions of mobileX are used by medium-sized and large companies in the manufacturing industry with 50 or more resources. Here you will find an overview of the most important industries of our customers.