MB-900 Microsoft Dynamics 365 Fundamentals – Field Service

App Overview

Dynamics 365 for Field Service is an App for managing resources to deliver service at customer sites.

Field Service will increase first time fix rates by making sure the right resource is available, at the right time, with the right skills and the right parts.

Key Features

Below are the main features of Field Service. This is not meant to be exhaustive but a fundamental level introduction to the App’s features.

Work Orders

Work Orders is the key record type within Field Service. A work order contains the details of the work to be performed, the site where the work is to be performed, the services to be carried out, the products needed.

Resources

Resources are people, who may or may not be users, and equipment needed to deliver services. The location of Resources is held along with their skills and certifications.

Resources are scheduled against work orders to be create Bookings.

Scheduling

The Schedule Board is a visual display of all work orders, bookings and resources.

There are multiple ways to schedule work orders. A scheduler can manually schedule by dragging and dropping a work order onto a resource in the schedule board. A scheduler can use the Schedule Assistant to find time slot for the nearest available resource with the skills and other criteria specified in the work order. Scheduling can be fully automated using Resource Schedule Optimisation.

Mobile

Dynamics 365 for Field Service comes with a dedicated mobile app that is optimised for field service technicians. It is different from the Customer Engagement mobile app and is designed to provide relevant information to technicians quickly and easily.

Assets

Work Orders can be linked to Customer Assets so that the history of a serviceable item is held and can be used by the dispatcher or technician to determine the work required.

Inventory

Field Service maintains inventory levels and tracks the use of products so that technicians have the products required to deliver the service ordered. The inventory levels can be integrated with Finance & Operations.

Agreements

Agreements generate work orders based on an agreed schedule with a customer. This is Preventative Maintenance e.g., monthly inspections or annual servicing.

IoT

Connected Field Service links Dynamics 365 Field Service with Azure IoT. Using Connected Field Service, IoT Devices can generate Alerts in Field Service that can then be used to create Work Orders or even send commands to the device from within Field Service.

Using IoT with Field Service allows the device to be kept operational and fixed before it fails maintaining the customer’s operation. This is known as Proactive or Predictive Maintenance.

More Information

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/dynamics365/customer-engagement/field-service/overview

This post is part of a series for preparing and revising for the Dynamics 365 Fundamentals exam, MB-900. You can find the whole series here.