Today many field service organizations still rely on legacy systems and business processes when managing oilfield operations. Remote locations limit the visibility into field activities and manual processes impede efficiency, customer service and profits. Paper tickets and disconnected systems often lead to incorrect data entry and increases the likelihood of errors, delays in planning, scheduling and billing.The new age customer is now armed with new technology which is forcing the oilfield service industry to radically transform the way it conducts business. Mobility and access to information is crucial in giving oilfield service companies the competitive advantage. Field service organizations must take field service beyond scheduling technical appointments and closing customer complaints to become truly customer focused.
Did you know, with many oilfield service providers, the secret to a healthy cash flow is in how fast you can get an accurate invoice to the customer? A study shows that sending an invoice to a customer 5 -10 day earlier than usual can increase a company’s cash flow by over $200,000 for every 10 million in annual revenue.
To ensure corporate objectives are met and ensure the success of the field force, an automated field service solution integrating technicians, technology, and customers is the answer.
Here are a few ways in which an automated Field Service solution can boost productivity, efficiency, and obtain real-time data to inform business decision-making.
4 Key Benefits of an Automated Field Service Solution
Mobility is key:
The key to digitizing the oilfield is mobility. It is absolutely imperative to connect teams and ensure field engineers have real-time access to information anytime and anywhere. Automated field solutions allow field technicians to update records and tasks and add attachments offline. Features such as automatic prompts remind technicians to record compliance information. This allows managers to stay up-to-date with service compliance requests and get a heads up on safety protocols.
Integration with business processes:
A digital oilfield service software enables a holistic and comprehensive approach to field service. The solution enables seamless integration into existing business processes such as inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), or enterprise resource planning (ERP). The technology addresses the needs of multiple stakeholders within the organization.
Real-time availability of information:
By facilitating a real-time flow of information between field personnel and their managers via processes and workflows, service organizations can improve tracking, communication, collaboration and reporting. The field service ticket application enables a user to login and creates the service ticket at rig locations with the last updated information. This helps to reduce time spent on manual data entry, automate cross-functional processes, and to turn raw data into actionable business information that supports and enhances analysis and forecasting activities.
Business line approval workflows:
If a field ticket is in paper format, the field engineer would have to wait to be back in the office to scan the ticket and then submit it with the invoice as a supporting document to his supervisor. If a field ticket is electronically created, then the user uses the approved field ticket information to submit it with an invoice as a supporting document and send it to the supervisor. Any disputes are handled by phone, email, etc. If necessary, once disputes are resolved, a corrected digital field ticket is revised and sent to the supervisor for approval. Business line approval workflows improve the reviewable and approval ability, to create an Invoice.
Let’s also look at some of the measurable benefits of this technology. A study shows that companies save anywhere between US$5,000 to US$20,000 per field service personnel per annum by improving resource utilization, thus optimizing the field service. It is also reported that companies using a digital oilfield service solution for their field workforce have a 40 percent decrease in distance driven per job, a 75 percent reduction in overtime, and a 47 percent increase in the rate of jobs completed each day.
An automated field service solution allows field personnel to electronically manage work orders, inventory details and track job statuses remotely using mobile devices. Office personnel can track the current job stage of a field operator, have the ability to send changes to jobs or any required information directly to the technician. Similarly, ticketing information is sent to the office electronically in real-time, eliminating paperwork and time-consuming data entry. With both the office staff and the field personnel having real-time access to the same information, discrepancies in billing and customer complaints can be eliminated.
These improvements aren’t just about technology. This is essential to boost the organization’s overall productivity, delivering quality customer service, empowering field service reps to make sound decisions and improving the bottom line.
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