Written in the report, and then forgotten
On the spring service the engineer notes a noisy fan motor on a condenser, a drain pan with standing water and a corroded coil on an older cassette. He writes it into the report. The report goes to the client. Nobody at your end prices anything, and the client's facilities manager, busy with other things, does not ask. In July the fan motor fails during a hot week, and the client asks why nobody told them.
You did tell them, in paragraph six of a PDF.
Findings with no owner
Engineers are good at spotting problems and not paid to sell. The office assumes engineers will flag anything urgent. Reports carry the findings, but a report is not a quote, and nothing moves a finding from a report to a proposal to a job.
Facilities managers are also busy people receiving reports from many contractors. A finding in paragraph six of a PDF competes with everything else in their inbox. A separate, priced proposal is something they can forward and act on.
- Findings are free text in reports, not separate items.
- Nobody is responsible for pricing findings.
- Clients receive reports but no proposal to act on.
- Unanswered proposals are not followed up.
- The same finding appears on report after report.
The cost of unconverted findings
Remedial work you could have done, at a sensible time, goes undone or goes to someone else. Breakdowns that were predictable arrive in the busiest weeks. Clients feel let down. And your engineers stop noting defects in detail, because nothing ever happens when they do.
Proposals delivered promptly also help clients. Facilities managers need something they can put in front of a budget holder, with photos and a clear price, not a line in a report.
The defects queue we build
- In the engineer's app, each finding is recorded as its own item against the unit: description, severity from your scale, photos, and suggested parts or work.
- Findings land in an office queue grouped by client and site, with the unit history attached.
- An estimator prices each finding from your price book and supplier lists, grouping related items into one proposal where it makes sense.
- The client receives a clear proposal with photos, the engineer's description, severity and price, and can approve online or ask a question.
- Approved items become jobs, ideally combined with the next planned visit to save a trip.
- Unanswered proposals are followed up on a schedule you set, and repeated findings are highlighted on the next report.
| Stage | Today | With the queue |
|---|---|---|
| Finding recorded | Prose in a report | Separate item with photos and severity |
| Pricing | Nobody's job | Estimator's queue |
| Client decision | Not asked | Proposal with online approval |
| Scheduling | Separate visit if at all | Combined with the next visit |
| Follow-up | None | Scheduled reminders |
Severity and recommendations come from your engineers' judgement. The queue makes sure each one reaches the client as a decision.
Findings that turn into decisions
Clients get proposals they can act on, with evidence. Facilities managers can forward them to budget holders without rewriting. Your engineers see findings acted on, which encourages good reporting. Predictable failures get fixed at a time that suits everyone rather than in a heatwave.
Engineers also stop carrying defects in their heads from visit to visit, wondering whether anything was done about them. The next time they attend, the unit's history shows the finding, the proposal and the client's answer.
Over a year, the queue shows which clients approve work, which do not, and which findings recur, which is useful when you review contracts.
Does this happen in your business?
- Defects are noted in reports but not priced.
- Clients have had breakdowns you had already reported.
- Nobody follows up unanswered proposals.
- Engineers have stopped writing detailed findings.
- The same defects appear on report after report.