There are many jobs in this world that can only be performed remotely. Any issue you have with your HVAC system, plumbing, or home in general requires a field service technician to pay you a visit; considering the fact that there are approximately 127.59 million households in the U.S., that could translate to a lot of travel time. As such, a dependable and efficient vehicle is a must.
Tools Of The Trade
All field service technicians have two main tools at their disposal, regardless of the industry they’re involved in. Whether they’re coming to install fiber optic cables, eliminate your pest problem, or repair your concrete driveway, they will have a handheld device that allows them to report information back to the company’s headquarters (such as what parts were needed and how long the job took) and a vehicle.
The device varies; because replacing a laptop can cost a business $47,000 on average, many turn to rugged laptops and tablets that can endure a multitude of environments. Though the company’s vehicle of choice can be a sedan, a truck, or a van, it should always be diesel. In fact, there were roughly 8 million diesel-powered passenger vehicles in the U.S. in 2016. Let’s find out why.
Examining The Efficiency Of Diesel
If your business must factor in travel time during their routine daily operations, optimization becomes the ultimate goal; the more you can improve and increase efficiency, the faster your techs will reach their customers, and the more customers you’ll be able to see in any given day. This applies to plotting routes — which must take traffic and any possible delays into account –, considering weather conditions, and figuring out the best way to hit your scheduled visits in an order that doesn’t waste time.
There are many algorithms, AIs, and other technologies (such as geofencing) that can assist in these situations, but a classically overlooked area is the type of fuel you’re relying on. Container trucking companies and even marine vessels have been relying on diesel for decades to get from Point A to Point B due to their remarkably efficient internal combustion: on a single tank of fuel, diesel engines can power a vehicle between 400 and 800 miles. This means fewer breaks to fill up the tank, and less money being spent on gas in general. Though diesel does cost more per gallon than gasoline, the fact that you’ll be filling up far less makes up for this additional expense.
Field service management depends on efficiency in order to be effective; if technicians take too long to get to their jobs, customers will lose loyalty and the company will lose money. Diesel is one small but important piece of the puzzle that could tip the scale in the opposite direction.
