Field service glossary

Plain-language definitions of the field service management terms used across Clokizi and the industry.

Asset

An asset is a piece of equipment or installation that a field service company services — such as a boiler, an elevator or an HVAC unit — tracked with its own history of interventions and maintenance.

Audit trail

An audit trail is the chronological, tamper-resistant record of every action taken on an intervention — who did what, when and where — used for accountability and compliance.

Backlog

A backlog is the accumulated set of interventions that are approved but not yet scheduled or completed, representing outstanding work waiting for capacity.

Capacity planning

Capacity planning is the process of matching available technician hours to expected intervention demand, so a team is neither overloaded nor idle.

Checklist

A checklist is a structured list of steps or verifications a technician must complete during an intervention, ensuring every job is done consistently and nothing is skipped.

CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)

A CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) is software that centralises equipment data, maintenance schedules and work orders to keep assets running and extend their lifespan.

Condition-based maintenance

Condition-based maintenance triggers an intervention only when monitored indicators — such as vibration, temperature or wear — cross a defined threshold, rather than on a fixed schedule.

Corrective maintenance

Corrective maintenance is the repair work carried out after an asset has failed or malfunctioned, to restore it to working order.

Customer portal

A customer portal is a self-service web space where clients can request interventions, track their status, view reports and access their service history without phoning the provider.

Digital work report

A digital work report is the structured record a technician completes at the end of an intervention — describing the work done, parts used, photos and time spent — replacing the paper service slip.

Dispatch board

A dispatch board is the central screen where a dispatcher sees all open interventions and available technicians at once, then drags and drops jobs onto the right person and time slot.

Dispatching

Dispatching is the act of assigning the right field agent to each intervention, based on availability, skills and location, and sending them the job details.

Downtime

Downtime is the period during which an asset is out of service because it has failed or is being repaired, halting the production or activity that depends on it.

Dynamic scheduling

Dynamic scheduling automatically re-optimises the day’s interventions in real time as conditions change — a cancellation, an urgent call or traffic — reassigning jobs to keep technicians productive.

E-signature

An e-signature is a customer’s signature captured digitally on a technician’s device at the end of an intervention, confirming the work was completed and accepted.

Escalation

Escalation is the process of moving an intervention to a higher level of expertise or authority when it cannot be resolved at the current level or risks breaching its SLA.

ETA (estimated time of arrival)

ETA (estimated time of arrival) is the predicted time a technician will reach the customer site, calculated from their current location, route and traffic conditions.

Field service management (FSM)

Field service management (FSM) is the coordination of a company’s field operations — planning, dispatching, tracking and proving interventions carried out by mobile technicians at customer sites.

First-time fix rate

First-time fix rate is the share of interventions resolved on the first visit, without a return trip. It is a core field service KPI: a higher rate means lower costs and happier customers.

Gantt planning

A Gantt planning view shows interventions as horizontal bars along a timeline, one row per technician, making it easy to spot gaps, overloads and scheduling conflicts.

Geofencing

Geofencing draws a virtual boundary around a customer site so field service software can automatically detect when a technician enters or leaves, triggering check-ins or alerts.

GPS check-in

A GPS check-in records the technician’s location and time when they start an intervention, verifying they are physically on-site.

Incident

An incident is an unplanned event — a breakdown, fault or safety issue — reported to the service team, which usually triggers an intervention to resolve it.

Inspection

An inspection is an intervention whose purpose is to examine an asset or site against defined criteria — often for safety or compliance — and record its condition rather than repair it.

Intervention

An intervention is a single field job assigned to a technician — such as a repair, an inspection or a cleaning visit — with a scheduled time, a location and an expected outcome.

Invoicing

Invoicing is the process of billing a customer for a completed intervention, itemising labour, parts and any call-out fees into a document to be paid.

Job costing

Job costing is the tallying of all costs attributed to a single intervention — labour, parts, travel and subcontracting — to measure its true profitability.

Lone worker

A lone worker is a field technician who carries out an intervention alone, without direct supervision or a nearby colleague, and therefore requires specific safety measures.

MTBF (mean time between failures)

MTBF (mean time between failures) is the average operating time between two breakdowns of the same asset, used to gauge reliability and plan preventive maintenance.

MTTR (mean time to repair)

MTTR (mean time to repair) is the average time it takes to restore a failed asset to working order, measured from the moment the fault is reported to the completed fix.

No-show

A no-show is an appointment the customer misses or where nobody is on site to grant access, forcing the technician to leave without completing the intervention.

Offline mode

Offline mode lets a field app keep working without an internet connection — recording check-ins, photos and reports locally — then syncs everything automatically once connectivity returns.

Predictive maintenance

Predictive maintenance uses sensor data and analytics to forecast when an asset is likely to fail, so an intervention is scheduled just before the breakdown rather than on a fixed calendar.

Prestation

A prestation is a defined service a company sells and delivers on site — such as “window cleaning” or “boiler maintenance” — used to standardise pricing and reporting across interventions.

Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance is planned, scheduled upkeep carried out before equipment fails, as opposed to reactive repairs made after a breakdown.

Proof of work

Proof of work is the evidence that an intervention actually took place — photos, notes, signatures and timestamps captured on site — used to resolve disputes and reassure customers.

Purchase order

A purchase order is a document a company issues to a supplier to authorise the purchase of parts, materials or services at an agreed price and quantity.

Quote (estimate)

A quote is a priced estimate a provider sends before an intervention, detailing the expected work, parts and cost so the customer can approve it in advance.

Recurring service (visit plan)

A recurring service is an intervention that repeats on a fixed schedule — for example a weekly cleaning or a monthly maintenance visit — generated automatically from a visit plan.

Resolution time

Resolution time is the total time from when an intervention is reported until the problem is fully resolved and the asset is back in service.

Response time

Response time is how long it takes to begin acting on an intervention after it is reported — typically measured until a technician is assigned or arrives on site.

Route optimization

Route optimization computes the most efficient order and path for a technician’s interventions, minimising travel distance and time across the day’s stops.

Route sheet

A route sheet is the list of interventions a field agent must complete during their day. On paper it offers no proof and no live tracking; field service software replaces it with a mobile schedule.

Service contract

A service contract is a recurring agreement in which a provider commits to maintain a customer’s equipment over a period, usually bundling scheduled visits, response times and pricing.

Service level agreement (SLA)

A service level agreement (SLA) is a contractual commitment on service quality — typically a maximum response or resolution time for an intervention.

Service request

A service request is a customer’s formal ask for an intervention, which the provider reviews and, once approved, turns into a scheduled work order.

Service window

A service window is the time slot promised to a customer during which the technician will arrive — for example “between 9am and 12pm” — rather than an exact appointment time.

Skills-based routing

Skills-based routing assigns each intervention to a technician whose certifications and expertise match the job’s requirements, not just the nearest available person.

Spare parts inventory

Spare parts inventory is the stock of components a field service company keeps to carry out repairs — in a warehouse or on technicians’ vans — tracked to avoid both stockouts and overstock.

Subcontractor

A subcontractor is an external company or worker to whom interventions are delegated. Field service software lets you assign, track and prove subcontracted jobs alongside your own teams.

Technician utilization

Technician utilization is the share of a field agent’s paid working hours actually spent on billable interventions, as opposed to travel, waiting or idle time.

Time & attendance

Time & attendance is the tracking of when field agents start and finish work. Linked to GPS check-in, it turns intervention timestamps into accurate hours worked.

Timesheet

A timesheet is the record of hours a field agent worked over a period, broken down by intervention, used for payroll, cost analysis and customer billing.

Warranty

A warranty is a commitment that covers the repair or replacement of an asset within a set period, meaning qualifying interventions are carried out at no cost to the customer.

Work order

A work order is the document that authorises and describes an intervention: what needs to be done, where, for which customer, and by when.