Field Service

Staying up-to-date with compliance for field service can be a challenge for any field service company. Severe penalties for not complying with industry regulations for companies specializing in fields such as HVAC, utility and industrial maintenance can include fines of tens of thousands of dollars per violation and even have your licenses to operate revoked. In addition to severe financial loss, damage to a company’s reputation can also occur.

In this guide we will cover the main points of field service compliance. This includes OSHA compliance, EPA compliance and more. We will also explain the importance of documentation when it comes to field service compliance and how a good Field Service Management Software can make life easier for managers when it comes to compliance.

What Is Field Service Compliance?

There are a number of compliance regulations in place today for field service companies. Most of them are designed to protect the workers of field service companies, the environment, their customers and their clients. These compliance regulations in addition to rules and regulations for field service companies also regulate the way in which any field service company would document and manage their work, and also how a company can be licensed to carry out work for their clients.

At its core, field service compliance ensures that:

• Workers operate in safe environments
• Services are delivered according to quality standards
• Ensure that the company complies with the rules and regulations governing the services it offers to clients and government bodies.
• Documentation is accurate, accessible, and audit-ready

Proactive compliance management using  Field Service Management Software, is much better than waiting for a problem to occur in order to handle it. In the end, avoiding unnecessary risk for your business is the ultimate goal for any company in the field service industry.

Why Field Service Compliance Regulations Matter

Regulations must be enforced by a body such as a regulatory body. The consequences for a company of failure to comply with a regulation could be very severe. Such as: thousands of dollars per violation for non-compliance with OSHA requirements; the improper disposal of hazardous materials or waste could result in severe penalty by EPA; the license to do business could be revoked for companies that require a license; severe liability for work related injuries to employees or for environmental damage caused by activities of the company; and finally the contractor’s contract could be terminated by the client if they require the service provider to be compliance certified.

Some of the biggest penalties for non-compliance with OSHA requirements are fines of tens of thousands of dollars per violation.

• EPA fines for illegal handling of hazardous materials as well as for creation of waste.
• Loss of operating licenses in regulated industries
• Liability for worker injuries and environmental damage.
• Contract termination by clients who require compliance certification

Also in many industries, such as healthcare, oil and gas, utilities and manufacturing compliance gives customers confidence that you can do the work required to complete a service contract. The ability to provide required certification and a complete compliance document package can mean the difference between getting a contract to do routine field service work and losing that contract to a competitor.

Key Regulatory Areas in Field Service Compliance

1. OSHA Compliance in Field Service

The Occupational Safety of Field Service Work is Managed by OSHA: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for the creation and enforcement of workplace safety and health for the United States and Canada. For the Field Service organization, several key safety standards and practices have to be followed in order to keep employees safe during the performance of field service work.

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) standards
• Lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures for equipment maintenance
• Confined space entry protocols
• Fall protection requirements
• Electrical safety standards
• Hazard communication (HazCom) for handling chemicals

In addition to required documentation for workplace injuries and illnesses, employers must also maintain a record of all workplace safety inspections conducted by OSHA inspectors. These inspections can be routine scheduled inspections or unannounced unscheduled inspections. A  Field Service Reporting Software  can be used to document and track all of these work related events for field service companies.

2. EPA Compliance for Field Service Workers

EPA compliance for Field Service Workers in Various Industries. For various industries that include workers who come into contact with refrigerants, chemicals, hazardous waste and environmental sensitive areas, there are numerous EPA regulations that apply to their work. These include:

• Section 608 of the Clean Air Act - A EPA regulation that requires all service technicians that handle refrigerants in air conditioning, refrigeration and HVAC units to become certified.
• RCRA or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – Hazardous waste disposal by companies in the field service industry and its proper disposal.
• Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure the extent of any oil spill that may occur at a facility that stores oil and develop a plan to prevent such a spill from entering surface water and clean up any spills that do occur.
• Stormwater discharge regulations

Technician training. Ensure all technicians are fully trained in the use of chemicals and hold the relevant certifications to utilize specific products as well as to enter customer’s homes. Accurate and complete records of all chemicals used. Document how each chemical is stored, used and disposed of. Document any incidents that may have potential to harm the environment and maintain for future EPA compliance issues to avoid potential large fines as well as environmental clean up.

3. Field Service License Compliance

Many Field Service Trades are licensed at the Company and Technician level. DreamzCMMS can track the following trade license holders:

• Trade licenses (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, general contractor)
• State-specific certifications
• Manufacturer or product-specific certifications
• Insurance certificates and bonding requirements

Even the most well-meaning organization can allow licenses to expire because the large number of required certifications can be difficult for a field-based workforce to keep track of. But DreamzCMMS  can track all of the required certifications and send reminders when they are due to expire. Technicians will be reminded of the upcoming renewal even when they forget themselves.

4. Data Privacy Compliance in Field Service

More and more digital data is collected by field service companies about their customers and their work. This data is collected by means of mobile apps, IoT-sensors and connected equipment. As a result, there is a growing need for data privacy compliance in field service. Especially for companies that service customers in Europe, it is necessary to comply with the rules set forth by the GDPR. In the US, companies that collect and use personal information of their customers will need to comply with the rules set forth by the CCPA. In the health care industry, there is also a growing need for compliance with the rules set forth by the HIPAA for companies that store, process and use personal and health related information of their customers.

Field service companies must ensure:

• Customer data is collected with proper consent
• Data is stored securely and access is role-restricted
• Breach notification protocols are in place
• Data is not retained longer than necessary

By choosing the right field service management software that includes the appropriate security and compliance features, the risk of data privacy related failures can be greatly reduced.

Field Service Safety Compliance: A Non-Negotiable Priority

DreamzCMMS highlights additional ways your organization can comply with data privacy laws and many industry specific regulations to successfully operate a field service company, and in addition explore Field Service Safety Compliance, which for a mobile workforce is non-negotiable for protecting your employees and customers alike. Many companies involved with field service have employees that are constantly traveling between job sites, some exposing them to heights, confined spaces, around live electrical parts and heavy machinery as well as exposure to hazardous materials to name a few. So it is very important for your organization to foster a culture of compliance around safety. Building such a culture of compliance around safety at your field service company is not just about distributing a manual on safety and calling it a day. In reality, many processes and systems of operation must be put in place that foster an atmosphere of compliance above all else. In order to do this, there are a few practices that are considered non-negotiable and crucial in creating such a culture.

Building a culture of safety compliance at your company does not have to involve just distributing safety information to your service personnel. The information must be followed to keep your technicians safe from injury. To establish a culture of safety compliance, there are several steps to follow.

• Pre-job safety checklists completed before work begins
• Real-time hazard reporting so field teams can flag risks immediately
• Regular safety training tied to specific job types and environments
• Documented safety audits that demonstrate due diligence

The Jobsite Photo Feature in DreamzCMMS captures images of site conditions, steps taken to complete a job safely, and any hazards encountered by Field Technicians while performing work. These images are stored as part of the visual audit trail for each completed job, to be used during future inspections, or in the case of an incident.

Compliance Documentation in Field Service

If compliance is your end goal for your field service, documenting your compliance in field service is the means to an end. Most companies using Field Service Management systems, store a variety of documents relating to work done at customer jobsites. Many of these documents are required by technicians to complete work, while others are completed by the technician as part of the normal process for completing work. Below are a few examples of the types of documentation typically found in a Field Service Management system.

• Work orders with technician signatures and timestamps
• Safety inspection reports
• Chemical usage and disposal logs
• Equipment calibration and maintenance records
• License and certification copies
• Incident and near-miss reports
• Training completion records

It can be easy to miss a few steps when carrying out a number of jobs every day. And then those paper work sheets can get lost and lead to delays whilst staff try to hunt for them. It also makes it impossible to carry out an audit and provide compliance quickly as all paperwork is stored in different locations. Using Field Service Management Tools such as digital work orders for all your field service jobs can prevent errors and ensure that all documentation is stored in one place and is therefore searchable by all staff anywhere, anytime.

Field Service Time Tracking Software: Prove You Charged Out Correct Hours of Work. Whether you bill by hour, send parts and labor or by contract, proving the correct hours of work have been spent on the correct jobs you have performed is crucial to compliance. As Work Orders with Field Service Management Tools such as JobTracker’s work orders, the field service technician’s hours of work are linked to the jobs and work orders in real time as they are tracked by the time tracking software. Later still, when reviewing the jobs that you and your field service workforce completed, online work orders provide easy verification of the work hours billed.

Field Service Compliance Best Practices

Compliance is an important aspect of running a successful field service organization. For many businesses, there are a number of different regulations that need to be complied with, relating to the specific type of work being carried out. In this article, we are going to outline the biggest steps that need to be taken in order to ensure that your field service organization is meeting the necessary compliance for your type of work.

1. Build Compliance Into Your Workflows

By making compliance a natural part of your business processes it becomes embedded into your workflows and gets done as part of your normal way of working. This can include things such as work order check lists, work package documentation and sign off processes for tasks completed as part of standard work.

2. Leverage Technology for Compliance Management

By using Field Service Management Software such as DreamzCMMS, compliance in field service is greatly managed in real time and automated to send reminders and to manage all documentation and records.

3. Track Certifications and Licenses Proactively

Remember licenses and certifications for your workers by setting up your CMMS to remind you when they are up for renewal. Do not send a worker out to a job where he or she does not have the proper qualifications to complete the work.

4. Invest in Ongoing Training

Industry compliance requirements change over time and it is crucial for your organization and your employees to receive on-going training on the latest changes to OSHA requirements, EPA requirements and any other industry specific compliance requirements that pertain to your organization.

5. Use Field Service Compliance Software

When choosing a software package to manage your field service compliance, it is wise to select a system that is specifically designed with the maintenance and field service operations in mind. DreamzCMMS is a Field Service Compliance Software that is great for companies of all sizes, across a wide variety of industries. The platform is designed to enable your business to effectively manage and track compliance. The software provides documentation, tracking of assets and inventory, scheduling of maintenance, and the ability to generate compliance reports in real time. One of the biggest advantages of the system is that everything is found in one simple to use platform, unlike many other systems on the market that can require the use of multiple different programs and create silos of information. The use of DreamzCMMS can save a lot of time by eliminating the need for many manual processes.

6. Make SLA Compliance Part of Your Compliance Strategy

SLA Compliance Made Easy With CMMS is a vital post to learn how field service teams can ensure that they are meeting their service commitments and at the same time remain fully compliant with industry standards.

Final Thoughts

Compliance for field service companies is complex. But by having the right processes, training, and technology in place, it can also be a competitive advantage for innovative companies. Treatment of compliance as an operational value, to be embedded into all aspects of work and activities for a company, is crucial in ensuring that your organization is able to comply with changing regulations and standards that affect your field service operations.

The field service companies that will thrive in an increasingly regulated environment are those who recognize that compliance is an core value that must be a part of every work order, every technician’s job on a day to day basis, and every interaction with clients.Are you interested in seeing how DreamzCMMS can improve your compliance management? Book a Free Demo today to see how other field service organizations are keeping up to date with their compliance, ensuring they are audit ready and are able to service their customers better than the competition.