How to leverage Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service for preventative maintenance

Maintaining operational efficiency and minimizing downtime is critical for businesses managing assets and equipment. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service offers powerful preventative maintenance tools to streamline processes, ensure timely interventions, and support long-term asset health. With built-in features and customizable enhancements through the Microsoft Power Platform, it’s adaptable to meet a variety of maintenance needs. This guide will walk you through how to use D365 Field Service for preventative maintenance, covering its native tools, common use cases, and advanced functionalities.

Preventative maintenance involves scheduling regular servicing to prevent equipment failure and ensure assets operate efficiently and safely. Dynamics 365 Field Service automates and manages these workflows, reducing manual effort and improving reliability.

Organizations using Dynamics 365 Field Service for preventative maintenance typically fall into two categories:

• Service providers: Companies that perform preventative and reactive maintenance on customer assets (e.g., HVAC systems, industrial equipment). Agreements often include billing components for these services.
• Internal maintenance teams: Businesses that maintain assets (e.g., vehicles, machinery) that use in-house technicians. Agreements can be simplified to exclude billing features, making setup more efficient.

Properly configuring agreements is the foundation of effective maintenance. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Configure the agreement

Navigate to the Agreements section under the service menu.

Create a new agreement and specify the following:

• Service account: Links the agreement to the location and assets requiring maintenance
• Duration: Define start and end dates. For internal maintenance, set an extended duration (e.g., 50 years)

Step 2: Define agreement booking setup

Set up the Agreement Booking Setup record to control work order generation. Key configurations include:

Work order settings:

• Enable auto-generation of work orders (used by 99% of organizations)
• Define how far in advance work orders are created (e.g., 30 days)

Scheduling settings:

• Automate technician bookings or assign them manually
• Specify the estimated maintenance duration (e.g., 15 minutes or 4 hours)

Step 3: Establish booking recurrence

Customize the Booking Recurrence to set maintenance frequency (monthly, quarterly, or yearly):

• Specify intervals (e.g., every 3 months): Avoid weekend or holiday conflicts by scheduling for the next business day
• Irregular intervals: Configure unique schedules, such as every 5 months or biannually

Step 4: Add incident types and tasks

Create the Agreement Booking incident record(s) to associate with the incident type(s).

Define Incident Types to outline maintenance requirements:

• Include necessary products (e.g., filters, oils) to ensure technicians are fully equipped.
• Add service tasks or checklists (e.g., “Inspect brake levels, fluids, and electrical systems”).

Tie incidents to multiple assets for large systems with individual components (e.g., fire suppression systems in high-rise buildings).

While Dynamics 365 Field Service offers strong native functionality, some businesses require advanced features. Our experts provide customization services to enhance preventative maintenance capabilities.

When maintenance occurs earlier or later than planned, the native system doesn’t automatically reschedule future work orders. We have customized the system to:

• Calculate the time difference between actual and scheduled maintenance dates
• Automatically adjust future booking dates to ensure accurate schedules

For assets requiring usage-based maintenance (e.g., hours run, miles driven), Rand Group can customize your system by adding Asset Meters to Dynamics 365. A practical example: a construction company tracks engine usage with a meter. When an engine approaches 900 hours of runtime, the system sends an alert to schedule maintenance before the 1,000-hour mark. This minimizes downtime and avoids inefficient calendar-based scheduling.

How asset meters work:

Step 1. Define a meter

• Set the unit of measure (e.g., miles, hours)
• Input usage data manually or automate it with IoT devices or Microsoft Copilot

Step 2. Set preventative maintenance schedules

• Create schedules tied to meter readings (e.g., “Service every 1,000 hours”)
• Configure alerts (e.g., notify at 100 hours before maintenance is due)

Step 3. Enable alerts and automation

• Generate proactive alerts as assets approach maintenance intervals
• Automatically create work orders based on meter thresholds

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, organizations can efficiently manage preventative maintenance, whether using native features or our custom enhancements. With automation, geolocation, and flexible configurations, it reduces administrative burden and boosts productivity.

If you’re ready to take your preventative maintenance strategy to the next level, contact us today to explore how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service can transform your operations. Whether your goal is to implement native features or you need custom enhancements, our expert team is here to help you streamline processes, reduce downtime, and maximize asset performance.