Guidelines for Creating Work Types for Field Service
In the previous blog post, we discussed #132 –Create Shift Patterns: Streamline Workforce Management Effortlessly
In the world of field service management, efficiency, and standardization are essential for delivering top-notch service to customers. Work types play a pivotal role in achieving this goal by helping organizations streamline their field service processes. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the intricacies of gudelines for creating work types for field service and how they contribute to a seamless workflow. From inherited work type settings to required skills and products, auto-created service appointments, and attaching knowledge articles, we will cover everything you need to know to optimize your field service operations.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Understanding Work Types
- Required Editions for Work Types
- Inherited Values from Work Types
- Duration and Duration Type
- Required Skills
- Required Products
- Linked Articles
- Service Appointments and Work Types
- Inheritance of Duration and Duration Type
- Auto-Created Service Appointments
- Exact Appointments Setting
- Skill Requirements and Work Types
- Enforcing Skill Requirements
- Impact on Existing Work Orders
- Work Order Line Items and Skill Requirements
- Customizations to Skill Requirements
- Required Products and Work Types
- Defining Required Products
- Impact on Existing Work Orders
- Work Order Line Items and Required Products
- Customizations to Required Products
- Attaching Knowledge Articles to Work Types
- Enhancing Work Orders with Knowledge Articles
- Differences Between Work Types and Work Orders
- Availability of Linked Work Types
- Knowledge One Widget and Articles Related List
- Ensuring Current Knowledge Article Versions
1. Introduction for Guidelines for Creating Work Types
Field service organizations often deal with complex tasks that require specific skills, products, and knowledge to be completed efficiently. Work types act as templates that define the necessary components to accomplish specific tasks, ensuring consistency and accuracy in service delivery. By utilizing work types, companies can create a structured approach to handle diverse field service requests.
2. Understanding Work Types
Work types are pre-configured templates that encompass various elements required for different types of field service tasks. These templates serve as a blueprint for field technicians, guiding them through each step of a job. Work types enable organizations to standardize their service processes, reducing errors and ensuring a uniform experience for customers.
3. Required Editions for Work Types
Work types are available in both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience. However, it’s important to note that they may not be accessible in all orgs. To leverage work types, your organization must have either Enterprise, Unlimited, or Developer Editions. These editions offer access to the Field Service core features, managed package, and mobile app.
4. Inherited Values from Work Types
When you assign a work type to a work order or work order line item, certain attributes are automatically inherited from the work type. This inheritance mechanism ensures that relevant information is carried over to streamline the field service process.
4.1 Duration and Duration Type
The duration of a task is a critical factor in scheduling and managing field service appointments. Work orders and work order line items inheriting a work type will automatically adopt the duration and duration type specified in the work type settings.
4.2 Required Skills
Skill requirements play a significant role in assigning the right technician to a task. Work orders and work order line items associated with a work type will inherit the skill requirements defined in the work type’s Skill Requirements related list.
4.3 Required Products
Certain field service tasks may necessitate specific products to be used or installed. Work orders and work order line items that inherit a work type will also adopt the required products listed in the work type’s Products Required related list.
4.4 Linked Articles
Knowledge articles provide valuable information to field technicians while executing tasks. When a knowledge article is attached to a work type, any work order or work order line item using that work type will automatically include the relevant article.
5. Service Appointments and Work Types
Field service appointments are critical for managing and executing tasks on time. Work types influence service appointments in various ways, ensuring efficient scheduling and resource allocation.
5.1 Inheritance of Duration and Duration Type
Service appointments that contain a value in the Work Type field will inherit the work type’s duration and duration type. This allows for accurate scheduling, ensuring that the allocated time aligns with the specific task requirements.
5.2 Auto-Created Service Appointments
Selecting the “Auto-Create Service Appointment” option for a work type enables the system to automatically generate a service appointment when the work type is applied to a work order or work order line item. The new appointment will adopt the work type’s duration and duration type, enhancing efficiency in appointment creation.
5.3 Exact Appointments Setting
The Exact Appointments field in a work type can significantly impact appointment scheduling. When Exact Appointments are selected, the appointment’s time slot will reflect the precise duration of the work, rather than a general time window. This feature ensures accurate time management for field technicians.
6. Skill Requirements and Work Types
Skill requirements are vital for ensuring that tasks are assigned to technicians with the appropriate expertise. Work types provide a framework for defining these skill requirements and optimizing schedules based on technician capabilities.
6.1 Enforcing Skill Requirements
By using the Match Skills work rule in a scheduling policy, organizations can enforce skill requirements during schedule optimization. This ensures that tasks are assigned to technicians with the necessary skills, improving service quality and customer satisfaction.
6.2 Impact on Existing Work Orders
When adding a work type to an existing work order, the work order will only inherit the skill requirements if it didn’t previously have any. This allows organizations to update their processes without affecting past work orders.
6.3 Work Order Line Items and Skill Requirements
Work order line items, as part of a larger work order, do not inherit their parent work order’s skill requirements. Instead, they inherit the skill requirements of the assigned work type.
6.4 Customizations to Skill Requirements
It’s essential to note that customizations to skill requirements, such as validation rules or Apex triggers, are not carried over from work types to work orders and work order line items. These customizations must be managed separately for each individual record.
7. Required Products and Work Types
Certain field service tasks demand specific products or parts to be utilized. Work types streamline this aspect by defining the necessary products, simplifying task execution and inventory management.
7.1 Defining Required Products
Work types allow organizations to list the required products in the Products Required related list. This ensures that the necessary items are readily available when field technicians perform the assigned tasks.
7.2 Impact on Existing Work Orders
Similar to skill requirements, when adding a work type to an existing work order, the work order will only inherit the required products if it previously had none. This approach preserves the integrity of past work orders.
7.3 Work Order Line Items and Required Products
Work order line items inherit their required products from the assigned work type, enabling a cohesive and well-prepared approach to task execution.
7.4 Customizations to Required Products
Customizations related to required products, such as validation rules or Apex triggers, are not automatically transferred from work types to work orders and work order line items. Admins need to handle such customizations separately for each record.
8. Attaching Knowledge Articles to Work Types
Knowledge articles serve as valuable resources for field technicians, providing them with crucial information and guidance during task execution. Work types offer a mechanism for attaching relevant knowledge articles to streamline field service operations.
8.1 Enhancing Work Orders with Knowledge Articles
When a knowledge article is attached to a work type, any work order or work order line item using that work type will automatically include the linked article. This ensures that technicians have access to the latest and most relevant information at their fingertips.
8.2 Differences Between Work Types and Work Orders
While knowledge articles are beneficial for both work types and work orders, some differences exist in how they are presented and accessed:
- A Linked Work Types related list is not available on the article page layouts, preventing users from seeing which work types the article is attached to.
- In Salesforce Classic, the Knowledge One widget is not available on work types, but the Articles related list is accessible.
8.3 Availability of Linked Work Types
Despite the lack of a Linked Work Types related list, knowledge articles attached to work types are still effectively linked. This linkage ensures that the appropriate articles are associated with the correct field service records.
8.4 Knowledge One Widget and Articles Related List
To maintain accuracy, articles attached to work types do not specify an article version. When work orders and work order line items inherit an article from their work type, they receive the latest version of the article published in their organization’s default Knowledge Settings language.
8.5 Article Titles and Languages
It’s essential to consider that an article attached to a work type may display in a different title or language in the Articles related list compared to the Knowledge Lightning component. This discrepancy results from the version inheritance mechanism but doesn’t impact the content’s relevance or accuracy.
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Conclusion
Incorporating work types into your field service management strategy can significantly enhance operational efficiency and service quality. By standardizing processes, ensuring the right skills and products are in place, and providing technicians with the necessary knowledge, work types streamline task execution and lead to satisfied customers.
As you embrace these guidelines for creating work types for field service, you can expect improved resource utilization, enhanced customer experiences, and a competitive edge in the dynamic field service industry. Emphasizing standardization and efficiency will help your organization excel in delivering top-tier field service solutions.
