First time fix rate: what it means, how to calculate it and how to avoid a second visit
A technician is standing at a boiler that will not start any more. The cause is found quickly, but the part is in the warehouse. The technician makes a new appointment, the customer is without heating for two more days, and the company pays for two trips for one repair.
Published by Abdelhay Rahou (opens in a new window)5 November 20269 min read
What does first time fix mean?
First time fix means that a problem is solved on the first visit: the technician leaves and the installation works, without a second trip. The first time fix rate is the share of interventions where that succeeds. The figure comes from the world of industrial maintenance, but it fits any service company with technicians: an installer, a heating company, a water treatment firm.
What a second visit costs
- A second trip, and a slot in the schedule that was meant for another customer.
- A customer who is left longer without heating, hot water or softened water.
- Phone calls to the office to make a new appointment.
- Hours that are hard to charge for. Who pays for the trip for a part that was forgotten?
- A technician who has to rearrange their day.
Calculating the first time fix rate
First time fix rate = interventions solved on the first visit / all interventions you count × 100
A worked example, not a benchmark: of 40 completed breakdowns in a month, 6 needed a second visit for the same problem. The first time fix rate is then (40 − 6) / 40 × 100 = 85%.
The figure only means something if you agree in advance what you count. A definition to adapt to your company:
| Situation | Counts as a second visit? |
|---|---|
| The part needed was not in the van | Yes |
| The diagnosis on the phone was wrong, the technician brought the wrong materials | Yes |
| The technician could not solve it, a colleague comes back | Yes |
| The same breakdown comes back within a period you choose yourself, for example 30 days | Yes |
| The part has to be ordered from the manufacturer | Yes, with that reason noted |
| An installation planned over several days | No |
| The customer first wants a quote for the repair | No |
| The customer chooses a later moment themselves | No |
| The customer was not at home | Count separately: no work was done |
Four rules to keep the figure fair:
- Measure breakdowns separately. Counting maintenance and breakdowns together muddies the figure.
- Note the reason for every second visit, from a short fixed list. The percentage says how many, the reason says what you need to tackle.
- Keep the definition the same for a whole year. If you do change it, say so next to the figure.
- Compare with your own previous months. A figure from another company is counted differently.
How this figure fits alongside the other figures of your technical department is explained in KPIs for a technical department.
The causes of a second visit, and what you do in advance
| Cause | What you do before the visit |
|---|---|
| The part is missing | Set down per type of intervention and per kind of unit which parts are usually needed, and compare that with the van the day before |
| Wrong diagnosis on the phone | Ask fixed questions when the call comes in, and ask for a photo of the rating plate and of the error code |
| Unfamiliar installation | Read the history: previous breakdowns, parts replaced, the last report. Put what matters in the instructions |
| Missing instructions or access | Note the access, the key, the contact person on site and what was agreed last time |
| Skills | Give the breakdown to a technician who knows that unit, or send two people for a difficult job |
| Too little time scheduled | Schedule a duration that suits the work, with room to look for the cause |
What belongs in the van is covered in van stock. Why the history belongs with the unit is explained in service history per installation. How to set down a way of working that every technician can follow is in writing a work instruction.
The questions when the call comes in
A good diagnosis starts on the phone or in the email. Always ask the same questions:
- Which unit is it about? Brand, type and serial number, or a photo of the rating plate.
- What is the unit doing, or what is it not doing? Is there an error code on the display? Ask for a photo of it.
- Since when? Has anything changed, such as a power cut, work in the house or an earlier repair?
- What has the customer already tried?
- Where is the installation, who will let the technician in, and is a key or code needed?
- Has everything stopped, or is there a safety risk?
Keep it short. Someone who calls with a breakdown mainly wants to know when somebody will come.
An example: a water softener that no longer regenerates
A water treatment firm receives a report: a customer’s water softener no longer regenerates. When taking the call, the office colleague asks for a photo of the rating plate and of the display. The photo shows an error message the technicians know.
The planner opens the installation’s file. The control head has been repaired once before, and the report states which part was replaced then. The planner gives the intervention to the technician who knows that type of unit best. In the instructions, the planner notes that the unit is in the basement and that the neighbour has the key, and adds the part that is usually needed for this breakdown.
The day before, it turns out that this part is not in the van. The warehouse gets it ready, and the technician sets off with what they need. If a second visit is still needed, the technician notes why.
Short video · 0:30
Morgen een interventie, maar waar ligt het juiste onderdeel?
U ziet de voorraad van elke bestelwagen en van het magazijn, en zet het onderdeel klaar voor de bestelwagen van de technieker.
Video in Dutch, with Dutch captions
All short videos (in Dutch)How it works in Digitalnatie Service Suite
Before the visit
- The pre-departure check: in the overview of the intervention record, it lists what stands in the way of a repair in one visit (technician, parts, safety, condition of the installation) and the recommended order in which to resolve it. It only gives known causes, never a percentage or a prediction.
- Parts: parts readiness compares, for every scheduled intervention, the parts needed with the stock in the technician’s van. Each intervention is ready, at risk, missing parts, blocked or without data. Parts templates set, per type of intervention and per product category of the installation, which parts are required, recommended or optional. You request what is missing as a replenishment from the same screen.
- History: the file of an installation brings together its interventions, its maintenance history, its breakdowns, its materials and its documents. The health screen shows, among other things, the most common and the repeated breakdowns.
- Instructions: when you create an intervention, the description is meant for what the customer reports, the access, the keys and the contact person. An optional intervention template fills in the type, the team, the duration and the instructions. Later, you change the instructions by editing the intervention’s details. In the technician app, the technician reads them with the assignment.
- The right technician: a technician’s record shows their skills. On the schedule, the planner assigns the intervention to a technician, by drag and drop or through the scheduling window, where they also enter the estimated duration in hours.
When the first visit is not enough
- When finishing the work, the technician chooses the result: fully completed, partially completed, waiting for parts or follow-up needed, with a reason for rescheduling. Any result other than fully completed sends the intervention back for rescheduling.
- At the office, the intervention moves to to reschedule, waiting for parts or follow-up required. The list of interventions has a view of the interventions waiting for parts.
- From the intervention record, you create a follow-up: a new intervention linked to the first one.
Good to know:
- First time fix is not recorded today: in the reports, that figure shows that no data is available. Until then, you count it yourself. In the list of interventions, filter on breakdowns only and on a period, and export the list to a CSV file. Mark in it which interventions needed a second visit, and why. The result and the linked follow-up are on the intervention record.
- Parts readiness is not recalculated automatically when the parts arrive in the van: run the assessment of the intervention again.
- In the app, a technician only sees their own previous interventions on an installation. Put what they need to know from the history in the instructions.
Assignment and the day schedule are covered on the planning and service orders page.
Frequently asked questions
What does first time fix mean?
First time fix means that a problem is solved on the technician’s first visit, without a second trip. The first time fix rate is the share of interventions where that succeeds, usually calculated over the breakdowns of a month or a quarter.
How do you calculate the first time fix rate?
Divide the number of interventions solved on the first visit by the number of interventions you count, and multiply by 100. Agree in advance what you do not count, such as work planned over several visits or a later moment the customer chooses themselves. Also note the reason for every second visit.
What is a good first time fix rate?
There is no figure that applies to every company: it depends on the type of work, the units and how you count. So compare with your own previous months, per type of work. Above all, look at the reasons for the second visits, because that is where you see what you can improve.
Does a planned second visit count as a missed first time fix?
No, if the work was planned over several visits from the start, such as an installation over two days. A later moment the customer chooses themselves does not count either. A second visit because a part was missing or the diagnosis was wrong does count.
Does Service Suite measure first time fix?
Not today. In the report, that figure shows that no data is available, because it is not recorded. You count it yourself, from an export of the list of interventions and the result on each intervention record.