First-time fix rate: what it measures, and what it misses
How to calculate it
First-time fix rate = jobs resolved on the first visit ÷ total jobs completed × 100
Agree the definitions before comparing teams or partners:
- What counts as resolved: work done, or work done and accepted?
- Which jobs are excluded: planned multi-visit work, customer cancellations, jobs blocked by the customer?
- Over what period is a return visit counted as a repeat: 7 days, 30 days?
What drives it
- Preparation: confirmed access, the right parts and completed prerequisites.
- Skills: the right engineer for the job type.
- Information: the scope, history and requirements before arrival.
- Process: a runbook that includes every check the reviewer will need.
What it misses
First-time fix rate counts visits, not causes. A job can be done perfectly and still need a return trip because a photo was missing, a test was not recorded or the site contact did not sign. Those revisits are not a skills problem; they are a record problem, and they are one of the five costs of unproven work.
Record the cause of every repeat visit so you can separate:
- failed preparation (access, parts, prerequisites);
- incomplete work;
- incomplete evidence or a missed acceptance check.
Each needs a different fix.
Benchmarks need boundaries
The Service Council’s 2013 field-service study reported a 77% first-time fix rate across 226 respondents. It is a historical average across different industries and definitions, not a target for any particular operation. Your own trend, measured consistently, is more useful than any external benchmark.
How FortyFive helps
FortyFive helps improve first-time fix by giving engineers the requirements and runbook before they arrive, and by guiding them to capture the evidence each criterion needs before they leave site. Recording the cause of each revisit against the job shows which ones were avoidable. See how a job moves through FortyFive.
Sources
- Service Council, Field Service Efficiency: Strategies for Improvement, Sumair Dutta, August 2013: 77% first-time fix rate, n=226.
Last updated · FortyFive
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate first-time fix rate?
Divide the number of jobs resolved on the first visit by the total number of jobs completed in the period, and multiply by 100. Define clearly what counts as resolved and which jobs are excluded.
What is a good first-time fix rate?
It depends on the work. A Service Council study in 2013 reported an average of 77% across 226 respondents, but rates vary widely by job type, sector and how the measure is defined.
Can a job be fixed but still need a revisit?
Yes. If an acceptance check was missed or the record was incomplete, someone may have to go back even though the work was done correctly. Those revisits are part of the cost of unproven work.
What improves first-time fix rate?
Better preparation (access, parts, prerequisites), engineers with the right skills, clear runbooks and capturing the evidence the reviewer needs before leaving site.
Related terms
The cost of unproven work
The cost of unproven work is the time, money and working capital lost when field work is completed but cannot readily be approved and paid, because the record of what was done is missing, incomplete or disconnected from what was agreed.
Field service runbook
A field service runbook is the set of steps, checks and required evidence for a type of field job, given to the engineer before and during the work so that every visit meets the same standard and can be accepted against it.
Digital site report
A digital site report is the record of a field visit captured on a phone or tablet while the work happens: what was done against each required check, with photos, test results, readings, time, location and sign-off.
See how FortyFive proves the work.
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