Field Engineer Management
AIS Internal Management System - SMS Communications
As part of the development of our internal project management / support system system, we implemented a web based text messaging tool that could be used to contact members of our off-site technical team. The system can broadcast to individual team members or can send out general announcements to groups.
This tool is especially useful in allowing staff who are office based to pass on brief messages to our field technicians in circumstances where telephone conversations are not possible or unsuitable. It is AIS policy to keep phone conversations with field engineers to a minimum as our clients would not appreciate being charged for an engineer's time that was spent talking on the phone about matters relating to other clients. It also has the added advantage of allowing engineers to choose when to receive information and therefore not be disturbed during complex technical procedures.
Also, due to the nature of many of our technical support visits it is not always possible to predict how long a member of staff will be on a client's site. When a new job comes in the details can be broadcast to ALL relevant field engineers. The job can then be "accepted" or "picked up" by the most appropriate engineer who is available, nearest or has the correct equipment with them. By replying to the message our systems are automatically updated notifying our office staff who has accepted the job and the estimated time of arrival. This system has saved hours of valuable chargeable time every week that had previously been spent on the phone.
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