10 Ways Digital Form Automation Can Supercharge Field Service

In the fast-paced world of field service, efficiency is king. Traditional paper forms can be a major roadblock, slowing down technicians, hindering communication and causing data headaches. According to a Service Council survey, more than half of the technicians surveyed report feeling overwhelmed by paperwork. The constant battle with paperwork impacts their productivity, creates risk of errors and slows down the entire service process.

The good news is there is a better way: forms for digital work instructions. Integrating forms into field service workflows can streamline work, allowing field technicians to focus on solving problems and delivering exceptional service.

What are Forms for Digital Work Instructions?

Digital work instructions with data-capturing forms are more than just digital versions of paper documents. They can empower your business to collect, analyze and leverage valuable insights to optimize processes, improve quality and gain a deeper understating of operations.

In the latest CareAR^® Experience Builder release, we introduced forms automation, a game changer for using digital work instructions. Experience Builder enables you to create interactive, step-by-step instructions for customers and technicians. The latest update also allows you to collect valuable data from your users.

Forms are a versatile tool that can serve many purposes, such as collecting user information, completing process steps, gathering technician feedback, or confirming learning and training.

How do Forms for Digital Work Instructions Work?

The form element in Experience Builder is simple to use. Embed forms into a page at critical workflow points to collect user information. Customize your form by choosing from seven field types, including radio buttons, drop-down lists, and open text fields. Add photos and video capture required fields to forms for even richer reporting.

Mobile-friendly forms empower technicians to capture data on-site, such as job details, equipment conditions, and completed tasks. Submitted form data is accessible in the CareAR Admin Portal and can be emailed or transferred to your system of record via webhook.

The Benefits of Forms for Digital Work Instructions for Field Service

By incorporating forms into your digital workflows, you can empower your field technicians to deliver faster response time, better service delivery and happier customers.

Cost Savings:

Every minute saved translates to a quicker job, happy customer, and healthier bottom line. Outdated paper forms and manual data entry are productivity black holes. Integrating forms into workflows automates critical steps within your processes. Eliminating delays and getting the right resources to work at the key time in a workflow equals money saved.

Boosted Speed and Efficiency:

No more lost paperwork or data entry errors. Digital forms capture information instantly and accurately, saving your technicians valuable time and effort while providing maximum security.

Improved Accuracy:

Data errors can lead to delays, rework, and customer dissatisfaction. With forms, data is captured directly into the system. Accurate data translates to fewer errors and faster resolutions.

Forms for Digital Work Instruction in Field Service Action

Field service is all about building trust and exceeding customer expectations. Here are just a few ways adding forms to your digital work instructions can be a hero in your field service operations.

Inspections and reports

Say goodbye to waiting for inspection results and reports. With digital forms, data syncs automatically.

• Conducting Standardized Inspections:  Pre-defined forms ensure consistent data collection during equipment inspections, maintenance checks, or safety audits.
• Capturing Visual Evidence:  Integrating photo capture allows technicians to document findings effectively, improving accountability and claim resolution.
• Generating Reports: Automated report generation saves time and ensures standardized, accurate documentation for customers and internal record-keeping.

Customer interaction and communication:

Imagine technicians resolving issues on the spot, armed with all the necessary information provided in digital work instructions forms. Enhanced collaboration on data with customers promotes transparency with stakeholders.

• Delivery or Service Confirmation: Capture delivery or service confirmation on service completion forms, streamlining the process and providing sign-off of service.
• Sharing Service Updates: Technicians can share photos, reports, and service updates directly with customers through the app, enhancing communication and transparency.
• Collecting Customer Feedback:  Feedback forms integrated into the app allow technicians to gather valuable customer insights on the spot, improving service quality.

Inventory management:

Data from forms is automatically captured, allowing real-time updates between technicians, dispatchers, and back-office team. Real-time updates allow for informed decision making, which saves unneeded costs.

• Ordering New Parts: The form can facilitate direct ordering of needed parts from suppliers, minimizing downtime and delays.
• Recording Equipment Details: Serial numbers, condition assessments, and maintenance history can be captured for each equipment unit, enabling better asset management.

Safety and compliance

Forms can be pre-configured to adhere to specific industry regulations. This reduces the risk of errors and fines.

• Safety Checklists: Ensure protocol compliance and identify potential hazards by including a safety checklist form.  To avoid safety violations, technicians must complete the fields before proceeding with work.
• Incident Documentation: Capture incident documentation in real time.  Use camera capture to upload pictures, videos, and data for instant visibility to allow for faster response times, better resource allocation and the ability to proactively address potential issues before they escalate.

Getting Started with CareAR Experience Builder

Experience Builder allows service organizations to build and publish multimedia instructions that guide their users. The drag-and-drop interface enables you to create visually appealing content without the need for extensive technical skills or excessive costs.

Integrating forms into your digital work instructions could not be simpler using CareAR Experience Builder. Add Forms at critical steps in your workflows to collect feedback from on-site technicians.

By integrating forms into your digital workflows, you can streamline processes, improve efficiency, and gain insights and analytics from your technical site visits. Take your field service to the next level. Start your digital transformation today:

Learn more about CareAR Experience Builder