Dynamic Multi-Criteria Task Assignment in Field Service Management: A Proximity-Skill-Priority Optimization Framework

Field service management (FSM) has been faced with the need to efficiently assign tasks to technicians in field service operations (FSOs). The problem of inefficient task allocation has led to either an over utilization or an under utilization of the organization’s workforce and resources across cities and states. This study focuses on developing a resource-efficient multi-criteria algorithm (Proximity-Skill-Priority, PSP algorithm) for optimized field service task management. A mathematical modelling approach was used to design a unified score that takes into consideration the proximity of the technician to the task location, the skillset of each technician and the priority level of the task at hand while ensuring effective workload balance to ensure unbiased task assignment. The study used adaptive weighting coefficients to ensure that real-time adjustments are made when there are varying time conditions. The model was evaluated through a simulation experiment and benchmarked against three single-rule baselines: Proximity-First, Skill-First, and Priority-First assignment. The performance of the algorithms was measured in a 100-run simulation conducted on a synthetic dataset that is parameterized with the attributes of technicians, task priorities, and geospatial information. The lowest average response time and travel distance were achieved by Proximity-First and Priority-First rules, whereas Skill-First produced the highest first-time-fix-rate surrogate at the cost of substantially higher travel and response values. PSP produced a more balanced trade-off: it improved first-time-fix performance when compared to the proximity-first and priority-first heuristics. At the same time, it balances the severe travel penalty observed under Skill-First assignment. Statistical analysis using Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests shows that there are significant differences in operation across the different algorithms for the evaluation metrics. These findings show that PSP is best interpreted as a compromise strategy that balances service quality and operational efficiency rather than maximizing any single metric in isolation.