On-time arrival rate is the percentage of field service visits where the technician arrived within the arrival window promised to the customer.
How to calculate on-time arrival rate
On-time arrival rate = Arrivals inside the promised window ÷ Total arrivals × 100
Say your crews made 300 visits last week and 252 arrived inside the window. The rate is 252 ÷ 300, or 84%.
Two details make the number honest:
- Use the window the customer was told. If dispatch quietly moves a window and does not tell the customer, measure against the original.
- Report it by position in the day. Split it by first job, second job and so on. The overall average hides where the problem is.
Why it matters for scheduling
On-time arrival rate is the visible result of every scheduling decision before it. A missed window usually traces back to one of two causes:
- The previous job ran long. The job duration estimate was too short or too uncertain.
- The drive did not fit. The slot was sold without calculating travel from the previous job.
Both causes compound through the day. A late first job makes the second job later, and so on. That is why the rate is usually highest on the first job and lowest on the last. If your rate falls sharply after midday, the issue is in how the day was built, not how fast the crews drive.
The second cause is the one booking can remove. CrewLink checks travel feasibility before a slot is offered, with the drive computed from where the truck will actually be. A slot the drive cannot support is never sold. The practical steps for tighter, kept windows are in How to shrink your arrival window.
A common mistake
Improving the number by widening windows. Moving from two-hour to four-hour windows will raise on-time arrival rate without changing anything in the field. Customers notice. Always report the rate next to average window width.
Related terms
- Arrival window is the promise being measured.
- Travel-feasible scheduling removes slots the drive cannot reach.
- Dispatching is where late days get rescued, at a cost.
Common questions
Is early arrival counted as on time?
By the strict definition, no, since the customer may not be ready. Some companies count it separately. Decide the rule and keep it consistent.
How is on-time arrival different from schedule adherence?
On-time arrival measures arrivals against the customer's window. Schedule adherence measures the whole day, including start and finish times, against the plan.
What causes a low on-time arrival rate?
Usually short job duration estimates, travel that was not calculated at booking, or both. Split the rate by job position in the day to see which.