The Value of Field Service
• Preventative Maintenance
• Fast Response
• Technical Competence
• Employee Training 

By Tom Klunk, Director of Field Engineering Services, Tyco Electronics
and Joe Porter, Product Marketing Manager, Tyco Electronics

Everybody knows the importance of changing the oil in your car every 3,000 miles.
As important, without a preventative maintenance program for your equipment
you will definitely pay a much higher price for not properly maintaining your
equipment.

This is one of the many ways a field service engineer can assist you in
reducing your down time and costs. With scheduled preventative maintenance
on your applicators, terminators and wire processing equipment and the periodic
calibration of hand tools insures a good termination. Also, a scheduled
maintenance program prevents premature wear, therefore your equipment
lasts longer and performs more consistently. Scrap and rework costs can
quickly escalate when tooling is out of specification. 

It is also very important to have immediate access to a field engineer
when your equipment unexpectedly goes down. You can't afford to wait.
Lost time means lost money. A field service person who is locally
positioned is invaluable.

The next important attribute you must look for in a service technician is how
quickly can this person get your machine back in operation. The ability to
quickly trouble shoot a problem only comes from years of experience. Make
sure you know their past work experience before contracting their services.
Knowledge of both the product being processed and the machine itself is very
critical.

An experienced field service engineer is one who has knowledge of the latest
equipment technology and is capable of recommending the proper equipment
for the required levels of current and future production growth.

The key to having the most cost effective process is to match the volume
of production with the proper level of equipment automation. The field service
technician needs to become an integral part of your manufacturing engineering
team to insure you the highest levels of process efficiencies are obtained and
maintained. This definitely is an asset an experienced field service engineer
offers. 

Beyond improving equipment efficiencies is how can you improve the
productivity of the worker. Without a well trained work force the best equipment
will not be utilized to the fullest extent. The field service engineer has the
expertise to insure your set up personnel and operators are made aware of how
the machine functions and how to effectively set up and operate the machine.
This training is best conducted at the time of installing the machine. As you
add new people to your work force, it is also critical to have these workers
immediately trained. Proper training helps reduce the frustration and anxiety
of learning a new skill and will reduce the learning curve. Also, scrap and
rework costs should be reduced.

These training programs can be tailored to your specific needs and can be
conducted on site or at the equipment manufacturers site. 

Some of the other services a field service engineer can perform includes:
maintaining your spare parts inventory, insures limited down time,
providing training on inspection techniques, and providing documentation
for tractability to support your facilities' ISO and QS requirements.

One stop shopping is becoming a common phrase used for promoting
many types of products and services. In the world of field services one
stop shopping is also something you need to consider. A service technician
who has the capability of maintaining most of your application tooling and
equipment can save you administration costs and reduce the time you
spend in managing your plant's equipment maintenance program.

The field service engineer, as you have seen, can be a valuable asset to you
and can become an integral part of your manufacturing team. If you are in
need of reducing your manufacturing costs and improving your facilities
efficiencies, the field service engineer is a resource you should utilize.

For further information on Field Service Engineers,
contact www.tycoelectronics.com