First-time fix rate

First-time fix rate is the share of jobs that are resolved on the first visit. In field service, it is one of the clearest measures of how well a job was prepared, because a second visit costs travel, a technician's time, and the customer's patience.

Formula

First-time fix rate = jobs resolved on the first visit / total jobs that needed a visit × 100

Worked example

A service team completes 250 jobs in a quarter.

• 200 are resolved on the first visit.
• 30 need a second visit because the technician did not have the right part.
• 12 need a second visit because the fault was diagnosed wrong.
• 8 need a second visit because a specialist was needed.

First-time fix rate: 200 / 250 = 80%.

The breakdown of the 50 return visits is more useful than the rate. Here, missing parts cause 60% of them, so van stock and pre-visit planning are the first place to look.

What drives it

Return visits usually have one of a few causes:

• Missing parts. The technician diagnoses correctly but does not carry the part.
• Wrong diagnosis. The fault is not what the call suggested, or the first fix does not hold.
• Missing skill or information. The technician has not seen this machine or fault before and lacks the manual, the wiring diagram, or the history.
• Customer-side issues. The machine was not accessible, the contact was absent, or the customer needed to approve extra work.

Each cause has a different fix. Better questions at intake, a look at the machine's history before the visit, and van stock based on what jobs actually use all help. So does giving technicians on site access to what earlier visitors recorded on the same machine.

Pitfalls

Unclear definitions. Does a job count if a second visit was planned from the start, such as an installation over two days? Does a fix done by phone, before anyone travels, count? Does a job count as fixed if the same fault returns a week later? Decide and write it down.

Short follow-up window. If the same fault returns two days after the visit, the first fix probably did not hold. Many teams count a job as a first-time fix only if no related call follows within a set number of days.

Closing too early. If technicians are judged on the rate, jobs may be closed as fixed and reopened as new jobs. Link repeat calls on the same asset to the original job so that this shows up.

Hiding remote fixes. Remote diagnosis that solves the problem without a visit is a good outcome. Depending on the definition, it can either inflate the rate or disappear from it. Track it separately.

Comparing different work. A team that does mostly routine maintenance will have a higher rate than one that handles complex breakdowns. Compare like with like.

How it connects

First-time fix rate affects response and resolution times promised in an SLA, because a second visit adds days. It depends on spare parts planning and on the quality of work order history. And it is a direct measure of whether knowledge from one visit reaches the next. See Why maintenance knowledge gets lost at the machine.