A busy service organisation must allocate the limited resources of personnel and spare parts to the rectification of customer faults and problems in such a way that response times are within reasonable limits, inventory levels are not excessive and staff utilisation is maximised.

To achieve this an effective monitoring mechanism must be in place to ensure that all resources can be located and allocated to solve faults, outstanding problems are resolved rather than forgotten, contract revenue is commensurate with the real cost of providing service and service histories are available for analysis of repeat problems, production of maintenance schedules and so forth.

The Stamina Service Management System was designed especially for the service industry, and provides a total solution for service organisations, automating areas like contract administration and call logging, streamlining day to day information to evaluate the performance of every aspect of their business.

Any mixture of contract and casual do-and-charge customers can be processed by the system, with contracts providing full or partial cost coverage based on parameters you establish with your contract types. The system can also process fault and repair servicing to hardware and equipment, as well as general consulting and hotline support servicing.

In an active calling environment, service calls are logged directly onto the system as a fault is reported over the telephone, along with the date and time of the call, caller and details of the problem.

Service personnel, or Tech Reps, can then be dispatched to these calls as they become available. Online status displays can be used to determine not only where each Tech Rep is, but also who is actually trained on the faulty equipment.

When a call is finished, the Tech Rep calls back to the office with details of the repair, actual fault, materials used and probable cause. This "clears" the call, and allows the Tech Rep to be assigned to his next job.

The system then calculates actual response time, which can then be compared against target, and downdates stock levels held by the Tech Rep if appropriate.

An invoice for the work is also generated, using fixed contract rates (which may be zero), or standard market rates for T&M calls.

Alternatively, the Tech Rep may be unable to complete the repair, possibly having to wait for parts or take the equipment back to the workshop.

In either case, the current status of the job can be updated so that everyone is informed, possibly by way of a "current situation" screen deployed in the service centre.

Jobs from the Service Management System can also generate Jobs in the Job Costing System if appropriate, providing extended capabilities of cost tracking that are especially useful for major workshop repairs over a long period of time.

Equipment and module swapping may also be performed, where a "pool" of equipment is kept ready as hot standby’s for faulty equipment. A pool component or entire machine can then be sent to the customer, and faulty one returned to the workshop or manufacturer for repair. When fixed, this may be placed in the pool or swapped out to the customer so they retain their original equipment.

All these facilities may also be used in a passive calling environment, where calls are logged, but Tech Reps have a work schedule made up for all of their calls the following day or week, rather than being dispatched in a dynamic, online environment. A combination of both approaches can be utilised if appropriate.

In terms of contract management, the system allows for individual items to be covered with a contract, or multiple contracts to be aggregated into a complete service agreement. Set rates for travel and repair labour can be set, specific components covered or excluded for comprehensive "free" service coverage, and the contract period can also be set, along with the next type of contract for progression.

A contract billing process can then be run at regular intervals to generate contract invoices for all services which need renewal. Cyclic contract billing can also raise additional charges for usage, say, every month, even though the contract period is for a year.

As costs for each call, service and agreement are recorded in details, extensive enquiry and reporting facilities are available to highlight profitable and problem areas of your business.

For example, profitability can be determined by machine types or agreement numbers, and the performance of individual service items can be examined down to the level or all service calls made. Performance of each type of equipment can also be examined, showing average days between calls, average expense/revenue/profit per call, average turn around time etc.

The performance of Tech Rep’s can also be examined, showing average response time, travel time etc, and if necessary a break down of any call can be obtained, along with usage and stock levels of any stock that may be held by the Rep, and the profitability of a Tech Rep can also be determined.

Stamina Service Management will ensure that your customers receive the highest levels of service possible, and that you are fully aware of profitable and less-profitable areas so that well informed business decisions can be made.

Click for Service Management System Flow Chart