Genuine Mobile Field Service Application!

The PFIM Mobile Apllication for Technicians is a genuine mobile application for Android and iOS. Unlike many “Mobile Applications” that are really just web browsers and cannot operate offline – our Mobile App for Technicians can perform the majority of operations without an internet connection. This is important for field service teams that require an app that works in areas without internet connectivity or when internet access is unavailable (eg. no mobile data / wifi or mobile network providers are down during load shedding).

Computerized Job Card System

Instead of job card books or paperwork that can be lost and misplaced an electronic format is more efficient and can be managed and worked on by multiple people without having physical access to the documents. Job cards can be re allocated through the mobile application while technicians are in the field without any further communication. All this happens while responsibility and ownership is maintained and progress is visible throughout the system for management and reporting.

Log calls and create job cards from your mobile device (or the service desk)

Typically job cards are created from calls logged by staff in the office based on requests from customers because their equipment fails or requires maintenance. As a true field service app – calls can also be logged by technicians on the mobile applications when they are on call outside of office hours (breakdowns and callouts). The system is configured to automatically generate a job card from a call out which is assigned to the technician that logged the call.

Service (preventative/pre-emptive/planned maintenance) job cards can be generated by the system

Service (preventative/pre-emptive/planned maintenance) job cards can be generated by the system and allocated to technicians. Usually equipment on the site is automatically linked to the job card along with a pre specified service schedule that lays out the tasks that need to be performed on each piece of equipment.

Regular synchronization with the server keeps everybody in sync.

At regular intervals it is recommended that technicians synchronise their devices in order to upload their work that has been completed to the system and download any new job cards that have been allocated to them. The technician is then presented with his or her list of job cards.

Barcode scanning from the field service app on the mobile device

Barcode scanning from the mobile device removes finger trouble when entering the incorrect serial number, it is also quicker and because the mobile app records the means by which equipment is identified it proves that the barcode was scanned – that the specific equipment was identified and maintained. Without this feature it can be argued that a technician simply marks the equipment as serviced without locating the equipment.

Navigate to location

Navigate to location – easy and efficient means of making use of current technology to get your teams on site as quickly as possible even factoring into account traffic in the case of Google maps or Waze. The customer locations and sites can be recorded in the system by the office staff as either a GPS location or street address. This is then used by the mobile application.

Physical sign off on the device

Physical sign off on the device lets your customers sign the job card in a paperless manner – proof of delivery is now available from the system to be emailed or printed with ease. Customers are preferring this manner of sign off and your carbon footprint is reduced.

Check in and check out feature

Check In / Check Out is the ability to snap a photo of the site or snap a selfie to prove that the person pictured was at the location recorded by the device’s GPS at the specified date and time. This can be used to satisfy customer inquiries or internal questions that need to establish the whereabouts of teams. The system provides this information in a concise and intuitive manner using a map that shows the location of the colour coded last check in or check out with the recorded date and time. If the record is older than 18 hours then the date and time section is presented in an area with a red background. If the location of the record is more than 1 kilometre from the customers location then a dashed red border is shown around the card. This is often displayed in the operations department for easy monitoring of mobile teams.

Faults detected are logged in the field service app

In the case of service jobs – faults that are detected by technicians can be logged in the application. These are immediately visible in the service desk. Photos can be uploaded to provide proof and a clearer picture of the fault or issue. The photos are also great for before and after comparisons or to attach to a quotation for your customer to see first hand what you are quoting on.

The field service app has a knowledge base

The system’s knowledge base can be populated with common fault symptoms and prescribed processes to rectify them. Technicians can access this knowledge base from the application to quickly rectify problems.

Quotations for repairs or replacement

Quotations can be initiated by the technician right from the application. This allows the technician to detail what work is required in addition to what spares may be required. While it is possible to complete the quotation inside the mobile application it is also possible for the office to take over a quotation if they need to finalise pricing or to check that all aspects of the quotation have been taken care of. The quotation can then be emailed to the customer.

Link customer equipment from the system

In the case of job cards where equipment has not been linked either by the office or by the system it is still possible for the technician to link the equipment after identifying it. This is to maintain a complete service history for the equipment. This service history becomes important when considering repair or replace decisions.

Create equipment that does not exist from within the field service app

Create equipment in the system directly from the mobile application and maintain an asset register for your customers. Updates to locations and other data can be performed on the device.

Select the appropriate service or commissioning schedule

Select the appropriate service or commissioning schedule from the system where a schedule has not been linked to the job card the technician can select from the list of schedules that are available in the system. The list is initially filtered to schedules that are specific to the type of equipment being maintained but can show all schedules where this is required. Lists of schedules can also include commissioning schedules or any other processes that may be required.

Technicians are led through the maintenance schedule

Where equipment and schedule(s) have been linked – the application will guide the technician through each task that needs to be performed according to the linked schedule. Measures and results are captured against each task. These results can be reported on to provide a service report for the customer and charted to determine trends. A result can also trigger other maintenance tasks that may be required in a case where a minimum or maximum threshold is violated. All thresholds can be configured according to your requirements and specifications.

View service history for a piece of equipment from the field service app

Technicians using the mobile application have access to the service history for equipment that has been maintained by the system. Previous job cards where equipment has been maintained are displayed to provide a history of faults or problems to help technicians understand more about the equipment.