Schedule Optimization: Avoid Your “Southwest Moment of Service”

You can’t turn on the tv or radio over this holiday season without hearing of the travel woes of millions of Americans due to the Southwest flight cancellations. Led by severe weather, the problem has been exacerbated by outdated scheduling software. 

As CNN reports, “Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson explained that the company’s outdated scheduling software quickly became the main culprit of the cancellations once the storm cleared.”

The terrible weather – cold, blizzard conditions over much of the United States at a holiday time – resulted in pilots and other crew members being stranded. Southwest’s crew schedulers were forced to work at a fever pitch to attempt to reschedule, matching available crew with aircraft that were ready to fly. 

“The process of matching up those crew members with the aircraft could not be handled by our technology,” Watterson said. Southwest ended up with planes that were ready to take off with available crew, but the company’s scheduling software wasn’t able to match them quickly and accurately. 

At ServicePower, we understand. And while we focus on the schedules and service of field service workers who typically come to consumers’ homes, such as technicians and insurance adjusters, the concept is the same.

Unforeseen weather problems. Traffic nightmares. Sick technicians who become unavailable for scheduled work. Consumers who have a change of plans. The list of things that can wreak havoc on a schedule is long.

These issues are at the heart of our real-time, AI-based schedule optimization solution. While sometimes a “set-it-and-forget-it” solution is the best answer, it most definitely is not in the world of delivering exceptional service to consumers.

We deliver the best possible outcomes for your field service and customer service teams by ensuring that the best technician, with the right parts and information, at the least cost, is always dispatched for the job within the least amount of time. And “real-time” means that we adjust schedules throughout the day, accounting for unexpected disruptions, such as a major traffic jam.

ServicePower's schedule optimization software leverages AI technology to optimize your complex service schedules in real-time based on configurable, business-driven constraints. Combined with real-time route optimization, your field workers are set up for success every time.

Southwest hasn’t called us. Yet.

But make sure the Southwest catastrophe doesn’t happen to you. Contact us to learn how ServicePower can help transform your field service experiences.

Real-time, AI-based schedule optimization for field service management – so you don’t experience your own Southwest moment of service.