How are HVAC Systems Transforming the Industry for More Service Calls?

HVAC service software is transforming the HVAC industry by eliminating challenges like late technicians’ arrival, poor task visibility, and improper insight into staff strength. Read on to learn more.

No more late arrival of technicians, poor allocation of staff to client sites, delayed service delivery, or task planning with laborious spreadsheets. Yes, that’s what the new face of the HVAC industry looks like, all thanks to cutting-edge HVAC field service management software. The software is aiding the industry in automating the processes of assigning the right technicians to the right job site.

It provides businesses with a real-time view of overall team efficiency and productivity. Thus, helping them strategically handle all loopholes before they start impacting workflows. These robust capabilities contribute to the widespread recognition of the HVAC service software market, expecting to grow to $2060.5 million by 2028.

Read on to explore how HVAC field service management software helps optimally allocate resources, maintain service quality, and facilitate better engagement between managers and technicians.

Why Do the Contractors Need HVAC Systems? Get the Answer!

The HVAC industry is known to manage everything from creating dynamic job schedules to ensuring prompt service delivery through trained technicians. However, with ever-growing client demands, the industry is facing several complexities.

For instance, most contractors in this industry find it difficult to assess their field service engineers‘ visits to the task site, the probability of a first-time fix rate, and the completion of the service delivery tasks. Moreover, HVAC companies lack insight into their technicians’s availability and cannot assess their arrival and departure times. This shapes difficulties in delegating tasks as managers lack the essential information they need like technicians’ locations, availability, and task statuses.

However, HVAC systems can effectively address these challenges by providing real-time technician tracking. That means managers can instantly track their employees’ location with just a glance of the software. They can get visibility over their 100+ field staff, letting them enable streamlined scheduling, efficient task delegation, and prompt issue resolution.

Intriguing Facts on the HVAC Industry The U.S. HVAC service market is expected to extend from $25.6 billion in 2019 to $35.8 billion in 2030. There can be an increase of 13% in HVAC mechanic and installer jobs between 2018 and 2028. North America, being the global HVAC software market, can witness the fastest growth over the coming years. The HVAC software market, which is valued at around US$ 624.7 million in 2021, is estimated to reach US$ 1.5 billion, growing at a CAGR of 7.9% by the end of 2032.

Still, in doubt about the magnificence of the HVAC system, read this blog on How Does HVAC Service Software Power Up Businesses for More Contracts?

 

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Exactly How HVAC Software is Transforming the HVAC Industry

Owning to the challenges of scheduling the right technician to the right task site, HVAC software brings advanced capabilities to transform the industry by leaps and bounds.

1. It Simplifies Routine Tasks of Job Scheduling

In this time and age, running HVAC operations without using the HVAC software can be challenging. Because managers usually juggle calls to confirm technicians’ availability for scheduling their jobs, which takes an average of 20% of their workday. However, with the right HVAC software in place, managers can gain in-depth visibility of their field staff.

They can learn their team’s current strength, their location, and task statuses. This helps them with better job allocation and adjust task schedules on the fly. With a comprehensive view of all scheduled tasks and workforce strength, they reduce the chance of double booking and missed appointments.

What’s more?

HVAC field service management software like TrackoField allows HVAC managers to access unified schedule templates. On those templates, managers fill out the required details like time slots and days for employees. This wards off overlapping shifts, often leading to conflicts and confusion within the organization. Also, it lets you swap shifts to resort to unexpected changes caused by unplanned leaves. Thus letting you ensure adequate coverage to meet operational demand.

2. It Ensures Efficient Remote Task Assignment

Gone are the days when managers used to communicate with their staff over calls. Today, they just access a centralized platform like the HVAC system and over there, manage, organize, and update tasks for their executives.

These systems come with a colorful calendar, wherein, managers specify the month’s tasks with task type and time duration for each employee. Thereby, they share gentle reminders to each employee about their current and next tasks. With a planned task or to-do list, the team turns up to work more efficiently and productively.

If you want more features like self-task allocation – TrackoField can help with this too. That means you can enable your field technicians to create and distribute tasks to fellow team members. This feature works well when you cannot free yourself up from other administrative tasks.

The best part? When you choose TrackoField’s HVAC field management software, you have flexibility in adding ad-hoc tasks, without messing with the already set routine. Look at the picture to learn how technician Ravi Kumar’s ad-hoc tasks are effortlessly added without hindering the current task workflow.

3. It Provides Timely Updates on Technicians’ Locations

When there is no visibility of field staff, it gets difficult to track staff progress. For instance, you cannot monitor how much distance your employees have traveled and how many unscheduled breaks they have taken. Without adequate visibility, you cannot even hold your employees accountable for their performance. You have to invest your time in phone calls and messages to communicate and get updates on your technicians’ locations and task progress. Overall, you cannot assess what’s happening on the field, which disturbs the further procedure of creating shifts for your employees.

Not to fret, you can overcome all these issues with the right HVAC field service software. The software provides real-time insight into technicians’ locations. You are notified of where your employees are and the progress of their assigned tasks. This helps you assess that every team member is proactively conducting their specific jobs from the prescribed locations. Also, letting you learn about all the happenings on the field. In case you spot any discrepancies, you can quickly take action and ensure that employees are not diverting from their task sites.

4. It Auto-fetches Employees’ Clock in/out

There is nothing worse than witnessing frequent practices of proxy or fake attendance marking among HVAC technicians. It costs you time, money, and maybe even the customer in the long run. Any inconsistency in the documented attendance records can be quite frustrating, adding to your workload stress. And you may not focus on enhancing customer experience.

But, don’t worry. There is a way to simply weed out the prevalence of buddy punching and time card manipulation. And it’s none other than using the best HVAC field service management software. With TrackoField, you can create a geofence around your specific task site and get notified when your staff is entering or exiting these zones and even automate shift marks in/out as per geofences.

With this, you can better utilize how many hours employees have dedicatedly spent on the site. Thereby, you can ensure a reliable and tamper-proof method of time tracking.

5. It Offers Seamless Scanning Support

No need to turn pages and scroll to the end of your inventory management spreadsheets. The HVAC software with scanning technology allows technicians to scan and update spare parts information to their central system in real-time.

It automates data capture, limits manual entry errors, and ensures real-time updates. Thus, letting technicians accelerate HVAC workflow seamlessly. As the software streamlines the documentation process and inventory management, you can focus on higher-level tasks that drive on-field productivity.

6. It Ensures Customer Satisfaction through First-time Fix Rate

The happier the customers are with your HVAC service, the more likely they are to call you back for further services. However, delayed service delivery, inaccurate ETAs, and technicians’ repeated visits may interrupt your business from delivering five-star customer service. That’s why you must focus on providing and ensuring exceptional service. 

Here is how the HVAC systems like TrackoField help you enhance your FTFR. The software provides a complete insight into technicians’ availability. Moreover, with TrackoField, you get notifications on every ins and outs and task-related updates. Even your technicians get alerts to critical information or schedule changes, allowing them to plan and deliver services more effectively. This leads to enhanced customer satisfaction and increases the chance of higher FTFR. Explore what FTFR is 👇

What is the First-time Fix rate? The first-time fix rate shows the total percentage of time a technician resolves the issue for the first time, without additional visits. FTFR = Number of first-time resolutions/ Total number of interactions x 100

According to Aberdeen Group, companies should have 89% FTFR or more for enhanced customer satisfaction. However, if the FTFR score is 56% or less, then you must start implementing strategies to improve your FTFR.

7. It Provides In-depth Performance Data

Do you know what’s so fascinating about field service management software? Well, it’s the HVAC systems’ data-driven dashboards that display specific KPIs and metrics. These KPIs come in many forms like on-duty vs actual working hours, distance traveled reports, and target vs achievement reports.

Let’s explain them a bit! On-duty vs Actual Working Hours- It evaluates how effectively employees utilize their working hours. Distance Traveled Reports – It shows the miles/distance traveled by employees while on duty. Target vs Achievement Reports – This brings you an accurate insight into the target completed against the allocated tasks.

Analyzing these metrics allows HVAC managers to dig deeper into the causes of inefficiencies within the procedure. This enables them to strategize better for optimized resource allocation and enhanced productivity.

That’s not it, centralized data provided by the HVAC management software helps in identifying absenteeism patterns, sites visited by technicians, the average number of work orders, idle time detection, the number of tickets raised, etc.

8. Streamlines Payroll Computation and Disbursement

Running payroll becomes a daunting task when you use manual methods to calculate employees’ total working hours and convert them into payroll hours. It only consumes your time and energy and you’re left with a mountain of responsibilities like tracking employees’ hours, filing taxes, and maintaining documents. At a certain point, it becomes a challenge to handle that much data and calculation.

Well, guess what? You can easily automate the entire procedure of payroll calculation and disbursement with the help of the best HVAC software. The software auto-compiles employees’ working hours, overtime, time off, and PTOs (if any) to calculate employees’ accurate salaries. It eliminates the scope of manual errors and double entries, letting you disburse accurate payouts to employees.

9. Facilitates Better Communication for Smooth Engagement

HVAC software acts as a catalyst, bolstering real-time collaboration between the managers and the technicians. It provides a consolidated platform for team members and managers to share task-related updates. HVAC technicians, by accessing this catalyst, can simply upload essential documents, bills, files, and invoices on the go, eliminating the need to carry physical files between job sites.

Besides, it enables field managers to access all essential documents shared by other team members in one place, reducing the need for multiple touchpoints. Moreover, you will get chat and voice support to share the most important message in a few seconds. This lets you ensure an organized operation with streamlined communication and smooth engagement.

10. Lets You Train Employees per their Productivity Levels

The world is experiencing a labor shortage, and the HVAC industry is not an exception. Due to low confidence and limited knowledge repository, HVAC technicians look for better occupations. However, you can bridge employee skill gaps when knowing what obstacles they are facing.

Still wondering, how?

The god sent HVAC service software like TrackoField provides target vs. achievement reports, letting you evaluate how many employees have completed their assigned targets.

Besides, these reports help measure employees’ productivity and gaps in service delivery. This way, you can pinpoint the potential reasons behind lower productivity. For instance, if productivity is hampered due to employees’ lower efforts, you can hold them responsible and reassign tasks to more experienced staff. Additionally, you can train your underutilized employees and reward the hard-working ones with perks and extra compensation.

How Does the HVAC Software Aid Your HVAC Technicians’ Specifically?

The HVAC Software streamlines field operations by allowing employees to clock in/out, request a day off, submit expense claims, and access job details, reducing the need for multiple office visits. Discover how the HVAC service software benefits technicians.

1. Provides Access to Complete Itinerary

An itinerary typically consists of employees’ daily schedule, i.e.,

• Details of appointments, meetings, or tasks 
• Specific time slots
• Locational information (addresses)
• Client information
• Estimated travel time to reach the location
• Scheduled breaks
• Emergency Contact
• Specific instruction related to the task

Upon having their itinerary with them, technicians eliminate the need for frequent calls to managers and can focus solely on their tasks without interruptions. They can simply assess their itineraries and proceed efficiently.

2. Ensures Remote Attendance Marking Capability

Employees are provided with geocoded attendance marking, location-based visual verification, and biometric app login to mark their attendance online.

But what are they? Let’s find out:

Geocoded Attendance Marking: Enable employees to simply clock in/out from their specific task locations via their mobile apps. Location-based Visual Verification: Let employees capture images of themselves present on the field and share them with managers. These images consist of geo-coordinates and timestamps that managers assess for validating purposes. Biometric app login: Employees access their mobile apps, simply place their fingerprints on the biometric scanner and mark their attendance.

All three attendance methods capture latitude and longitude to confirm employees’ locations. Employees upon leveraging them, translate their travel and idle time into accelerated productivity.

3. Offers Fast-track Expense Reimbursement

Employees submit expense claims to get reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. However, for that, they often travel to the office, causing delays in reimbursement, and increased dissatisfaction. Well, HVAC management software reduces these inefficiencies by streamlining expense tracking and reimbursement.

The software lets employees upload their bills digitally. This is how it maintains a daily record of travel allowance. Additionally, it enables you to set spending limits to prevent employees from adding extra claims. Hierarchical managers review and validate these expenses, ensuring smooth reimbursement and timely payments to employees.

4. Generates Accurate Payroll Data

Employees can easily access their payslips anytime anywhere with just a few clicks. Thereupon, they can view all the earnings, and expenses made. The software by calculating employees’ payroll , lets them find any discrepancies to get them rectified by reporting to the managers.

This improves job satisfaction by reducing payroll anxiety among employees and giving them better control over their payroll data, for leasing, loans, and personal records.

5. Let Them Self-allocate Tasks

A quality-driven HVAC field service management software like TrackoField gives you the power to pick certain employees for self-task allocation. For instance, you can choose Zehan, who will create and assign tasks to himself and other team members. This not only reduces the administrative burden but also shapes a sense of responsibility among field employees.

Moreover, it leads to reduced downtime as employees self-allocate tasks, instead of waiting for longer to get the same. During circumstances like urgent requests and unexpected delays, employees can adjust tasks accordingly.

Transform Your HVAC Business with HVAC Service Software like TrackoField

TrackoField’s HVAC field service management software simplifies routine tasks and provides in-depth performance analysis. It works as a shield against time theft, inefficiency, and idle time, thanks to its robust features and functionalities like:

• Ad-hoc task allocation
• Task progress monitoring
• Automated clock in/out
• Speedier expense reimbursement
• Scanner support
• Data-driven dashboard
• And much more

Besides, the software comes with a mobile app, helping HVAC technicians to automate and manage their tasks cohesively. This way, the software lets HVAC managers and technicians work together to enjoy streamlined operations, enhanced productivity, and improved workflow.

Want to learn more about TrackoField?

Sign up to use it for free and discover more about the possibilities of running the software.

FAQs

• How do HVAC Repair Technicians Use HVAC Software?

  HVAC repair technicians use HVAC software equipped with a mobile app to mark attendance, access task details, raise expense claims, generate payslips, and sef-allocate tasks. This lets them reduce office visits and streamline productivity.

• How does HVAC software help in transforming the HVAC industry?

  The HVAC software helps transform the HVAC industry by enabling managers to create job schedules, track technicians’ locations, auto-fetching employees’ clock in/out, and streamline payroll computation and disbursement. This allows managers to automate the processes and better manage their field force.