In 1829, Sir Robert Peel famously declared, “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.” Peel understood that true efficiency in law enforcement wasn’t about how well officers reacted to incidents, but how well they prevented them from happening in the first place.
This idea—measuring success by the absence of problems—has profound implications for the field service industry today. If your service teams are measured primarily by the number of service calls or response times, you might be focusing on the wrong metrics. Like Peel’s police force, true field service efficiency should be judged by how well problems are prevented, not by how often your team is called into action.
Proactive Field Service
Traditionally, many service organisations have operated in a reactive mode—fixing things only after they break. While this approach ensures constant activity and keeps teams busy, it doesn’t necessarily lead to customer satisfaction or long-term success.
Smarter service organisations are shifting their focus to proactive, preventive maintenance, which reduces the likelihood of breakdowns and minimises costly downtime. By embracing preventive strategies, your field service teams can avoid the “firefighting” mode that’s all too common with service organisations.
The benefits of preventive maintenance are clear:
- Fewer emergencies: Problems are caught before they escalate, meaning your team can avoid costly, last-minute repairs.
- Less customer disruption: Preventive service ensures machines and systems operate reliably, leading to fewer interruptions for customers.
- Improved resource allocation: By reducing unplanned interventions, your team can focus on delivering value, not just scrambling to fix problems.
Just as Peel saw the absence of crime as the ultimate sign of police efficiency, the absence of service issues should be your goal in field service management.
What Really Defines Field Service Success?
Traditionally, field service success has been measured by visible, reactive metrics—how fast your team responds to breakdowns, how many service calls they make, or how often they’re on-site. While these metrics are easy to track, they may not paint the full picture of your team’s performance.
In a proactive field service model, success isn’t about being busy. It’s about keeping systems running smoothly and without disruption. Here are key metrics that can help you gauge this shift:
- Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): A longer MTBF indicates fewer breakdowns, meaning your preventive maintenance is effective.
- Service call reduction: Fewer emergency calls demonstrate that your team is anticipating and preventing issues.
- First-time fix rate: Resolving issues on the first visit reflects efficiency and solid preventive preparation.
- Predictive Maintenance Accuracy: How often does your team correctly identify and address issues before they become urgent? The more accurate your predictions, the fewer emergencies your customers will experience.
By focusing on these proactive measures, your team will begin to define success in terms of reliability and system uptime, rather than how often they’re called into action.
The Paradox of the “Busy” Field Service Engineer
In field service, as in policing, there is a paradox: the more efficient your team becomes at preventing problems, the less visible their work becomes. For many organisations, this can be a difficult shift. After all, we’re used to associating value with tangible actions—service calls made, repairs completed, and problems solved.
Throughout my career, I’ve often noticed this paradox in field service organisations. The most highly respected engineers are often those who are constantly rushing from one site to another, working long hours to fix machines that seem to break down regularly. They’re seen as heroes, always available and tirelessly dedicated to their work.
Customers value their commitment, and colleagues often seek their advice. However, there’s a hidden truth in this scenario: it’s often these very engineers who are creating the majority of problems in service delivery.
While their dedication is admirable, their focus on reactive work instead of preventive measures can lead to a cycle of breakdowns and repairs. By continuously patching up machines without addressing the root causes of the issues, they inadvertently perpetuate the breakdown-repair cycle.
Moreover, they tend to resist efforts to shift towards a reliability-centred service model. Retraining these engineers can be a challenge, as they see themselves as indispensable and may obstruct efforts to move towards preventive maintenance. It’s a paradox that many service managers must address: the most visibly busy engineers are often slowing down real progress in service efficiency.
This is the challenge facing many service organisations today. How do you move away from glorifying the “busy” engineer and instead create a culture where prevention is the true measure of success?
The Invisible Hand of Field Service Building Customer Trust
Robert Peel’s police force relied heavily on public trust to be effective. In field service, trust is also crucial—customers need to know that their systems are being taken care of, even when they don’t see your team on-site regularly.
A key part of building this trust is proactive communication. Just because your team isn’t making frequent visits doesn’t mean your customers should be left in the dark. Regular updates on preventive measures, system health reports, and reminders of the value you’re providing in keeping their systems running can go a long way in maintaining a strong relationship.
By shifting from visible intervention to behind-the-scenes care, you not only improve customer satisfaction but also differentiate your service from competitors who are still focused on reactive metrics.
Continuous Improvement Through Data-Driven Insights
Like any effective system, preventive field service requires continuous improvement. Peel’s police force relied on feedback from the community to stay effective, and your field service teams should rely on data to continuously refine their approach.
Data analytics, predictive analytics, and real-time device data are critical tools for anticipating failures before they happen. Equally important is a robust feedback loop from your customers. Regular performance reviews, customer satisfaction surveys, and post-service evaluations will help you understand where preventive measures can be improved and where more visibility may be needed.
The New Standard for Field Service Efficiency
Just as Sir Robert Peel envisioned a policing system where success was measured by the absence of crime, field service organisations should strive to be judged by the absence of problems, not the frequency of their interventions.
By shifting your focus to prevention, building customer trust, and redefining the metrics of success, you can create a field service organisation that thrives on proactive efficiency. It’s time to embrace a new standard, where the best service is the one that quietly keeps everything running smoothly in the background.
