In field services, the name of the game is efficiency. Field service companies deal with multiple accounts and work requests often spread across entire cities or counties, with different maintenance teams running simultaneously. Unfortunately, the manual, paper-based systems that so many field service companies still use have a tendency to create bottlenecks.
In today’s field services landscape, having a powerful work order management system isn’t merely a luxury; it’s an absolute necessity. Companies that don’t embrace the latest innovations in work order software face operational challenges that could affect not only their employees’ productivity but also potentially customer satisfaction and even the bottom line.
Why manual work order systems are not an effective way to manage work orders
Outdated processes are one of the most common causes of communication silos — breakdowns in communication that happen when different employees and teams aren’t on the same page. And unfortunately for field service teams, these breakdowns aren’t just detrimental but potentially catastrophic.
Some of the most common breakdowns that happen with paper work orders include:
- Lost paperwork: One of the biggest risks with a paper work order process is the possibility of the paper getting lost. If a customer signs a paper work order, there’s probably only one copy (maybe two, if you use carbon paper).
- Delayed status updates: When you work with paper work order requests, information stays with whoever is holding the paper in their hands. The central office won’t get a status update until the employee returns and files the work order away.
- No historical record: Record-keeping for maintenance history with paper work orders is dated and inefficient. Keeping rooms full of filing cabinets is a huge drain on resources, and that’s before you even consider having to sort through files to find what you need. Although it’s possible to digitize paper forms after the fact, it’s still a time-intensive process that’s prone to human error.
But just because paper-based work orders were the way things were done in the field services industry for so long, that doesn’t mean it has to remain the status quo. Today’s technology offers far more efficient ways to manage tasks than pen and paper, largely powered by cloud-based solutions. A cloud-based approach is not only more efficient for employees in the field but also improves coordination between teams and with the head office.
InCheq: A work order software solution to help you more effectively manage maintenance work orders
For field service companies looking for a platform to help them more effectively manage their work orders, look no further than InCheq. InCheq bills itself as a “fully automated maintenance and service platform” to help businesses accomplish their goals “with seamless automation.” It’s a flexible, powerful solution that can be customized to the needs of a variety of businesses across sectors and industries.
One reason InCheq is such an effective work order management system for maintenance tasks is that it was built by business leaders for the challenges they face.
“InCheq wasn’t developed by a boardroom full of MBAs trying to solve theoretical problems,” explains Brianna Van Zanten, VP of Customer Success at InCheq. “Our leaders saw the challenges that boots-on-the-ground employees have struggled with and wanted to come up with real solutions to help them achieve their goals for business efficiency and productivity.”
Chief among these challenges was creating a platform that was genuinely useful for users, but also intuitive enough that it would be easy to adopt.
“If a platform feels like more work for employees or makes them feel like they’re jumping through hoops to track work orders and maintenance requests, they’re probably not going to use it,” explains Van Zanten. “This is why creating something that’s user-friendly is key to success and greater adoption.”
This mindset is what inspired InCheq to create a flexible interface that allows users to manage their tasks through a variety of methods, including push notifications, QR code scanning, or beacon-based prompts, depending on the nature of their task and the structure of their workplace.
“With field services, getting a push notification to confirm work order completion can go a long way in making record-keeping more efficient and accountable,” says Van Zanten.
InCheq is the ideal work order management system for field services companies
If you are looking to move away from the dated inefficiencies of paper-based work orders and move into the future with the best work order management system, consider InCheq today. For a field services company, the level of automation, user-friendliness, and communication InCheq enables can help solve some of the breakdowns that are typically caused by manual processes.
