Have you thought about how Computer Aided Dispatch could help your Field Service business?
What is Computer Aided Dispatch?
Computer Aided Dispatch is simply a highly informed method of dispatching or scheduling your fleet of vehicles (and personnel). It involves people in a dispatch center having the ability to easily view and understand the status of all units being dispatched or scheduled. It provides displays and tools so that the dispatcher has an opportunity to handle calls-for-service as efficiently as possible.
Why use Computer Aided Dispatch for Field Service?
Computer Aided Dispatch is often associated with emergency communications dispatchers, call-takers, and 911 operators in centralized, public-safety call centers. However, it can also be utilized by the Field Service industry to reduce the time it takes to schedule a field service appointment, while reducing travel times and fuel consumption. So if reducing costs is important to your business, why wouldn’t you use Computer Aided Dispatch?
How does it work?
A Field Service Computer Aided Dispatch system can built in a few ways but here are the basics:
- A Server or Cloud based server is used to store all of the data on where the vehicles are at or scheduled to be
- This server is also loaded with the customer’s data such as address and phone number
- The office staff or dispatch center can access all of that data.
- The office staff can therefore see schedules of all of there vehicles current and upcoming appointments and the status of those current appointments
- This helps them make informed decisions about scheduling upcoming appointments
- Once scheduled the individuals in the field are notified via SMS/Text Messaging, Radio/Phone Calls, or appointments are loaded with address info and details to a tablet or smart phone.
How does an Intelligent Computer Aided Dispatch system work?
It will of course have all of the above but in addition an intelligent one will have many of the following:
- Recommendations based upon distance from current as well as upcoming appointments
- Skills/Departments of each tech so that only properly skilled techs get recommended for scheduling
- It can also load recurring appointments into and unscheduled list to notify the office recurring/regularly scheduled appointments needed to be scheduled as Unscheduled Appointments
- Those Unscheduled Appointments can fill in open time slots based upon recommendations of availability when the tech/crew will already be in the area.
These are just some of the way a Computer Aided Dispatch system can help in the Field Service industry.