As more people switch to electric vehicles, the need for EV charge point maintenance is increasing. With the help of FSM software, maintaining EV charge points has become simpler and hassle-free, supporting a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Additionally, corporations and SMEs are investing in charging stations and EVs as part of the CSR initiative. Based on the data collected by the Consolidated Analysis Centre survey, the number of people purchasing electric cars has risen.
As a result of this changed mindset, government and private property owners worldwide are changing their mindset too. For instance, numerous charging stations are being installed in various public spaces. Today, you will find it in the parking lot of residential and commercial properties.
As more EV drivers hit the road, excellent customer service and the dependability of EV charging stations will become more crucial.
One of the most significant downsides of switching to EVs is the EV charger maintenance and installation, due to a lack of infrastructure.
As part of the servicing, electrical equipment and components are examined, tracked, repaired, and replaced. Additionally, it ensures that the charge point will safely disconnect itself if there is ever a problem with the equipment.
In this blog, we will discuss two things. The first are the current challenges. The second is how software integration can resolve all the complicated tasks of EV charge point maintenance for EV installers.
What are the current challenges of EV charge point maintenance?
The road to EV charge point installation is dotted with its own bumps and dips. However, with every challenge, comes an opportunity.
1. Managing onsite repair with immediate assistance
Like any vehicle emergency, customers will require immediate service when their electric vehicles break down or malfunction. Even though the nature of these ad-hoc repair requests is subjective, they are urgent and require immediate consultation and repair.
As a company that provides this service, it must assess the situation and dispatch a representative to resolve the issue immediately. However, given the distance, it is not possible to send assistance right away. Also, finding the right technician suitable for the task is a time-consuming task that most companies encounter.
2. Preventative maintenance of electric vehicles
Electric motors have fewer moving parts than internal combustion engines, but they still require regular maintenance and inspection. Battery maintenance and health monitoring are the most crucial among the others.
However, one of the current challenges is updating customers and sending them timely notifications about their battery parameters and status. It is mandatory that all of your customer-owned vehicles receive preventative maintenance updates at once. By doing so, it increases customer service efficiency with fewer emergency repairs and sudden breakdowns.
3. Battery charging or swapping stations
Having fully outfitted and meticulously maintained battery swapping or charging stations is essential as the number of electric vehicles increases. At such stations, you must ensure that the appropriate technicians are available 24/7 with the required skills and equipment.
Even though this is a general topic, finding a station for battery swapping and charging is still an impossible task. According to global complaints, consumers cannot find these stations when they are needed the most.
These challenges have given rise to new opportunities for installers that are leveraging FSM software to handle EV charge point maintenance.
How can field service management software improve EV maintenance?
1. Automated preventative maintenance
A consumer with an electric-based vehicle will require constant EV charge point maintenance to avoid unexpected hiccups. As was already mentioned, preventative maintenance is essential for the longevity of customers’ charging equipment. However, the difficulties of this maintenance can be significantly decreased by integrating FSM software.
Did you know that the entire planned preventive maintenance programme can be automated and streamlined using the software? By using the software, you can:
- Automate vehicle condition updates sent to customers
- Notify customers of nearest charging points and access to qualified staff
- Implement work schedules with employee milestone-based triggers
- Set up job checklists for quality assurance
- Enhance operations by gathering customer feedback
2. GPS-enabled location services
Earlier, we discussed how difficult it is to quickly dispatch personnel to emergency locations. This challenge can be quickly addressed with a FSM solution. The FSM software is able to identify the exact location of the nearest technician to solve the issue.
By doing this, you can avoid the possibility of a dissatisfied customer leaving a negative review on your business page. This helps employees save time and effort while lowering travel costs.
3. Prioritise tasks
A technician has a full day’s worth of work to do. The ability to prioritise tasks and complete the most crucial ones first can become challenging for the employee at times. A FSM software can assist in resolving these difficulties.
From the beginning to the end of a work order, the software enables workflows to be optimised. With the ability to alter job statuses and checklists, jobs can be scheduled, assigned and dispatched based on their urgency. This makes it simpler to prioritise incoming work orders.
4. Streamlined scheduling
When the information is dispersed without centralised management, scheduling appointments becomes challenging. Hence, to overcome manual errors and disappointed customers due to missed appointments, FSM software is the ideal solution.
This software makes it simpler to streamline operations. The software, for instance, has the ability to schedule automatic appointments that notify all parties, including customers and employees during a maintenance check. It can also prevent scheduling conflicts like double bookings or missed work orders.
5. Automated invoices and reports
Running a premium company operation like maintaining EV charge points is a business with various high-end customers. Hence, sending out invoices and monthly-based reports need 100% accuracy.
An FSM software has the capacity to automatically generate invoices and reports for each client based on accurate data. This is possible because the FSM software stores all information in a centralised location.
One central location can store information like inventory details, customer service history, and other crucial information like pictures, addresses, and descriptions. This entails making very few mistakes and maximising productivity. By utilising FSM software, your employees can independently send out invoices and reports to their clients.
6. Inventory management
EV charge point maintenance requires expensive, highly sophisticated equipment. This necessitates inventory control of the materials, equipment, and parts so that GPS-enabled FSM software would be the best choice.
The FSM software uses telematics technologies to give businesses complete control over every piece of equipment’s location. As a result, your employees have quick and straightforward access to all the information they need to complete a specific task.
Additionally, you cannot run out of products. Hence, it is crucial to maintain up-to-date stock information to place additional orders as needed. During an emergency, you cannot tell your clients, “Sorry, we cannot perform this task because the equipment is unavailable.” Through the software, you can prevent this issue.
7. Improved communication and efficiency
There is a lot of confusion when it comes to EV charging. They key lies with good communication. The FSM mobile app empowers technicians with everything they need on the field, thereby enhancing productivity. More importantly, it enables effective communication with all stakeholders involved.
The FSM software allows technicians to view job specifics, assets, checklists, documents, notes, and other related information. They can also add notes in the field and update the job status. As a result, responding to emergencies is also significantly simpler.
8. Accelerate company growth
The result of all the aforementioned benefits is business expansion. Regardless of how many clients you onboard, the software can handle each of them without experiencing any challenges. Isn’t this what all businesses want?
Remember, technology can be a game changer as you take your business to new heights. Hence, if you want to hasten the expansion of your business, invest in a field service management software. By using FSM software, you can exploit economies of scale with low operating costs, greater productivity, and higher customer satisfaction.
The final takeaway
With accelerating demand for EV charge point maintenance, adopting a FSM solution is a matter of when not if for installers.
What do you think about implementing FSM software to enhance your business operations after reading this far?
You can improve and achieve customer satisfaction in many ways:
- Lowering operating costs
- Reduce margin of error
- Enhance communication
- Improve productivity
- Increase compliance
Given the current way the economy is developing, we recommend you invest in FSM software. A suitable platform is i4T Business. It is a premier software with specialised features that can be experienced first-hand; you can sign up here. With the anticipated future demands, it is a wise decision to invest FSM solution for EV charge point maintenance,
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With our cutting-edge technology and in-depth knowledge of how the Field Service Management sector operates, the i4TGlobal Team loves to share industry insights to help streamline your business processes and generate new leads. We are driven by innovation and are passionate about delivering solutions that are transparent, compliant, efficient and safe for all stakeholders and across all touch points.
