How do you prioritize which equipment problems to tackle first in the field?

1 Assess the urgency and impact

The first step to prioritize your equipment problems is to assess how urgent and how impactful they are. Urgency refers to how quickly the problem needs to be solved, while impact refers to how much the problem affects the performance, safety, or revenue of the equipment or the customer. You can use a simple matrix to rank your problems based on these two criteria, and assign them a high, medium, or low priority. For example, a problem that is urgent and impactful would be a high priority, while a problem that is neither urgent nor impactful would be a low priority.

3 Compare and balance the priorities and scores

The third step to prioritize your equipment problems is to compare and balance the priorities and scores you assigned in the previous steps. You can use a simple formula to calculate the final ranking of your problems, such as:

Final ranking = (Priority x 2) + Score

This formula gives more weight to the urgency and impact of the problem, but also considers the availability and feasibility of the solution. You can then sort your problems from highest to lowest final ranking, and plan your actions accordingly.

4 Communicate and coordinate with stakeholders

The fourth step to prioritize your equipment problems is to communicate and coordinate with the relevant stakeholders, such as your manager, your team, your customer, or your supplier. You should inform them of your prioritization process, your expected timeline, and your resource needs. You should also listen to their feedback, concerns, or suggestions, and adjust your plan if necessary. You should also update them regularly on your progress, challenges, or changes.

5 Review and revise your priorities

The fifth step to prioritize your equipment problems is to review and revise your priorities as you work on them. You should monitor the status, results, and outcomes of your actions, and evaluate if they solved the problem effectively and efficiently. You should also check if there are any new or emerging problems that need your attention, or if there are any changes in the urgency, impact, availability, or feasibility of the existing problems. You should then update your priorities and scores accordingly, and repeat the previous steps if needed.

6 Learn and improve your skills

The sixth step to prioritize your equipment problems is to learn and improve your skills as a field service engineer. You should reflect on your experience, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and seek feedback from others. You should also look for opportunities to enhance your knowledge, skills, and tools in troubleshooting and problem-solving. You should also share your best practices, tips, and lessons learned with your peers and colleagues, and learn from their experiences as well.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?