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NET ZERO AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FOR INSTALLATION COMPANIES
11 April 2023 · Ron de Langen
NET ZERO AND THE FIELD SERVICE CHALLENGE
In order to achieve the climate agreement and the 'Paris goals', many European countries have taken measures to replace energy production from fossil fuels with environmentally friendly alternatives, such as energy production from wind, sun and hydroelecticity.In the Netherlands, a start has been made on moving houses and residential areas away from natural gas. For existing houses, this means replacing most of the central heating boiler with a heat pump. Currently, more than 400,000 central heating boilers are sold every year. According to net zero focus organisations, up to 70 percent of natural gas can be saved with a hybrid heat pump. This also significantly reduces CO2 emissions.
In an appeal to the government, the associations Techniek Nederland, Natuur & Milieu and Netbeheer Nederland demand that at least 100,000 hybrid heat pumps be installed annually from 2024 if the Netherlands is to achieve its climate targets. According to several organisations, one to two million hybrid heat pumps could be installed by 2030. To boost the market, an additional subsidy of 600 million euros would be needed, the advocacy groups say.
A huge turnover potential for many installers. In contrast, many questions are still unanswered, because according to Techniek Nederland, there are enough installers to cope with the increasing demand. As field service managers it's obvious that installation, preventative servicing, and reactive maintenance require different skills and available parts. Training and skills retention remains a challenge for the wider field service industry.
As an installer moving to new product lines, how do you deal with the efficient retraining of your staff? How do you ensure that you retain your heat pump mechanics when they're in high demand? How can you save costs when installing a hybrid heat pump? How can you improve the customer experience? How can you further expand and better market your services? How do you stay ahead of the competition?
NOW IS THE TIME FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
"Digital transformation is the introduction of digital technology to transform services or businesses by replacing non-digital or manual processes with digital processes, or by replacing older digital technology with newer digital technology."Which processes are still carried out manually in your company? How new is the digital technology you use? Is it efficient and effective enough to support new consumer demand?
Digital transformation happens for conscious reasons. Reasons that stem from a certain vision and usually also have to do with the survival of the organisation and/or the development of new markets. It is also important that the commitment of management and employees is cultivated and that resources and budgets are released.
A core team should drive your digital transformation. It will shape the transformation by, among other things, describing a roadmap that corresponds to the vision and related goals. This roadmap will probably also describe a different organisational structure and processes that will lead to a culture change.
FOCUS: FIELD SERVICE AND THE INSTALLATION INDUSTRY
Field Service Management software works to control and optimise field service operations. Embedded real-time route planning systems help surveyors, technical service, and installation teams and experts to optimally plan and coordinate accurate appointment windows and linked appointments.Discover more solutions in the Installation industry:
TECHNOLOGY FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
In addition to a clear strategy for digital transformation, you need the right technologies. It can help answer many questions.FLS – FAST LEAN SMART develops award-winning dynamic scheduling, route optimisation and mobile job management solutions that enable digital transformation to achieve all-new levels of productivity and customer engagement.
Most job and repairs management software includes some form of field force scheduling capability, however, none offer truly cost-optimised appointment booking and scheduling that comes close to the accuracy and efficiencies that can be achieved with FLS VISITOUR. It integrates seamlessly with your CRM and ERP, including Dynamics 365.
FLS VISITOUR produces the most accurate planning of appointments and routes that use actual traffic-based driving speeds for every road segment. With our real-time appointment scheduling and dynamic in-day re-optimisation, FLS VISITOUR can save your field service 30-50% of driving time which translates into more jobs achieved, more time with customers, and reduced fuel use and CO2.
Skills and materials rules maximise sooner attendance, first-time fix rates, and customer experience is optimised with support for 24x7 self-service, automated messaging, and live ETA. The solution also minimises no-access rates and is operative-friendly thanks to intelligent real-time optimisation, including same day and rapid response.
DISCOVER THE BENEFITS OF FIELD SERVICE AUTOMATION FOR YOUR INSTALLATION OPERATIONS
Gain an understanding of tools to improve the field experience for your workforce, book a short demo or contact us at info@fastleansmart.com.Read more:
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11 reasons to professionalise your Route Planning