Configuring Field Service Crew Operations
Summarize
Summary of Configuring Field Service Crew Operations
This configuration guide enables ServiceNow customers to create, modify, and manage crews for completing work order tasks that require multiple agents. By designating crew requirements on work types and work order templates, the system automatically activates theNeeds Crewfield on relevant tasks, facilitating efficient scheduling and dispatch of crews. This functionality is essential for managing complex tasks that cannot be performed by a single agent.
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Key Features
- Needs Crew Field: Automatically enabled on work order tasks derived from templates or work types marked as requiring a crew. Dispatchers can also manually select this field on tasks in Draft, Assigned, or Pending Dispatch states.
- Field Service Crew Operations Plugin: Must be activated by an administrator. Adds the Needs Crew option to work order task forms, work type forms, and work order templates.
- Dynamic Scheduling Integration: Supports auto-assignment of crew-required tasks using new criteria and filters such as Crew Appointment Tasks, Pending Dispatch Work Order Tasks, and Agents for Crew Tasks.
- Task Filters and Constraints: Filters evaluate tasks requiring crews and schedule them automatically while preventing unassigning or double-booking agents who are part of crews.
- Crew and Skill Management: Create crews, assign skills (including equipment-related skills), add members, and designate crew leaders to ensure appropriate matching between tasks and available crew capabilities.
- Ad Hoc Task-Specific Crews: Option to create temporary crews for unique tasks when existing crews do not meet skill or availability requirements.
Configuration Steps
- Activate the Field Service Crew Operations plugin (com.snc.fsmcrewscheduling) with admin rights.
- Create crews within Field Service Management and assign relevant skills.
- Add equipment-related skills to facilitate proper crew assignment for tasks involving specialized equipment.
- Create ad hoc crews for specific tasks as needed.
- Modify crew requirements on work order tasks, including the number of agents required.
- Add agents to crews and configure crew leaders by assigning leadership roles or skills.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
Implementing Field Service Crew Operations allows customers to efficiently handle complex work order tasks that require teamwork. Automated scheduling and intelligent agent recommendations reduce manual overhead and minimize scheduling conflicts. Crew management capabilities ensure the right skills and resources are assigned, improving task completion rates and operational efficiency.
Create, modify, and enable crews and their requirements to complete work order tasks that require a crew of agents.
Once an administrator identifies the type of work that requires a crew, the requirement can be designated from the work type form and the work order template. Whenever a work order is created using the template or the work type is selected in the task that requires a crew, the Needs Crew field is automatically enabled. This field enables dispatchers to schedule and dispatch a crew for work order tasks created using the work order templates. For more information about enabling crew requirements from work order templates, see Create a work order template.
An administrator or dispatcher can select the Needs Crew option in the work order task form if a crew is required to complete a work order task. This selection can be done when the task is in the Draft, Assigned, or Pending dispatch state if a crew a crew is required to complete a work order task.
Activate the Field Service Crew Operations plugin, to add the Needs Crew option to the work order task form, work type form, and the work order templates.
Dynamic Scheduling for crew operations
- The Task Filters related list includes:
- Crew Appointment Tasks
- This filter is specific to the task that requires a crew and has an appointment window
- Crew Assignment: Pending Dispatch Work Order Tasks
- This filter is specific to the task that requires crew and is in the Pending Dispatch state.
- Agents for crew tasks
- This filter is specific to the task that requires the crew to suggest the eligible agents. The criterion selected in the filter determines what agents are recommended for the crew task.
- A constraint helps prevent unassigning the task when it requires a crew.
- The auto-assigment feature helps prevent assigning tasks to the agents who are part of a crew at the same time for which the task is set to be scheduled.
Configuration overview
- Activate Field Service Crew Operations
You can activate the Field Service Crew Operations plugin (com.snc.fsm_crew_scheduling) for Field Service Management if you have the admin role. The application includes demo data and installs related ServiceNow Store applications and plugins if they aren’t already installed.
- Create crews in Field Service Management
Create crews to assign work order tasks to a predefined group of agents.
- Add skills to a crew
Add skills to a crew so you understand what crews are correct for work order tasks that require unique skills.
- Add an equipment skill
Designate skills as equipment-related skills so that when a task that requires equipment skills is assigned, the correct equipment skills can be selected.
- Create ad hoc task-specific crews
Create an ad-hoc task-specific crew for a task if existing crews aren’t available to work on the task or the task requires specific skills.
- Update the crew requirement of a work order task
Add or update the number of agents to perform a particular type of work for a work order task.
- Add Field Service crew members
Add agents to a Field Service crew as needed.
- Configure the leader role to identify crew leaders
Identify a crew leader if one isn’t specified by the dispatcher by adding skills to the leader role.