Understanding Equipment-Centric Scenarios That Benefit Field Service Outcomes

The equipment-centric approach to the field service industry is one where there is an expert-level approach to complex telemetry, equipment, and regulations. Knowledge of assets in real-time allows for greater optimization of performance.

There is a growing need to find a balance between data science and operational expertise when looking for insight into data. These insights can lead to proactive service and maintenance, contributing to revenue generation. Yet, more than a simple analysis of the data is needed, as business equipment-centric scenarios mean optimizing asset performance through greater analysis.

Increased productivity means an increase in revenue and profits. However, when there is an unplanned interruption, an asset can quickly become a problem for customer revenue. The equipment-centric scenario helps to prevent these issues by having a preventive maintenance policy in place, and it gives organizations the ability to extrapolate intelligence that will make the preventive maintenance model easier to predict. This, in turn, makes product maintenance more viable by avoiding unnecessary maintenance calls.

Equipment-Centric Service Calls

Data-driven service calls mean that accounts can be monitored remotely by an internal field-based employee with expertise, avoiding unnecessary service calls. According to the white paper, “Four Service Scenarios That Can Be Aligned by Service-Centric Thinking,” from Field Service News and Gomocha, “there is a need for context when looking for insight within data, and that context is likely to be found in those with deep-level subject matter expertise…”

Sending technicians to sites with this knowledge beforehand means leveraging data to provide clarity for field service teams and those working remotely. Remotely assessing inventory enhances the ability to make deliverables on time and effectively. In addition, this equipment-centric approach enhances and expedites spare-parts usage, and which consumables are either needed or at fault and need replacing.

Sending service technicians to sites with accurate data obtained through asset understanding means avoiding future faults in the field.

Questions to Consider When Developing Your Organization’s Equipment-Centric Strategy

According to the Gomocha and Field Service News white paper, an equipment-centric approach is part of a strategy that uses all assets in the field, and facilitates faster remote work for better outcomes at a reduced cost. The equipment-centric case poses the following questions:

  • Are they able to receive data from their assets in the field?
  • Do they have the capability to monitor this data in real-time and draw meaningful, actionable insights from them?
  • Does the organization have the personnel, structure, and resources to move beyond simply providing maintenance ahead of failure and to begin optimizing asset performance? How big a value proposition would this be for their customers?
  • Do their field service teams have industry-leading subject matter knowledge? Is this a widely known fact in their industry?
  • Are their FSM systems suitable for proactive service models of scheduling technicians and parts?

Once these questions are answered, it is significantly easier to understand what to put in place in your organization’s equipment-centric plan. In addition, it allows for a real-time understanding of both assets and needs.