Maintenance Request Management System
Automated routing, tracking, and resolution engine for property management, fully integrated into Salesforce Service Cloud.
Value Delivered:
Reduced dispatch latency from 4 hours to 5 minutes, boosting tenant satisfaction score by 22%.
1. Project Overview
Property maintenance was bottlenecked by manual email dispatches, untracked tenant follow-ups, and duplicate contractor assignments. This project replaced manual processing with a fully automated Salesforce dispatch engine.
2. Business Problem & Goals
Core Challenge
Tenant maintenance reports were captured via scattered web forms, emails, and voicemail transcriptions. Dispatchers manually reviewed each ticket, determined contractor availability, copied details into emails, and sent them out. Contractors replied async, and tenant tracking was practically nonexistent.
Key Project Goals:
- Reduce dispatch latency to under 15 minutes.
- Eliminate double-booking and duplicate contractor orders.
- Provide tenants with automatic SMS status updates.
3. Technical Architecture
The architecture relies on standard Salesforce Case objects extended with custom contractor lookup entities. Incoming issues trigger automated Flow logic that evaluates contractor availability, issues temporary dispatches via Twilio APIs, and listens for acceptance hooks.
System Integrations Map
Mermaid Diagram Code representation:
graph TD
Tenant[Tenant Web Form] -->|Ingests Case| SF[Salesforce Case Intake]
SF -->|Trigger Flow| Classify{Classify & Scope}
Classify -->|Priority & Location| Match[Contractor Matching Engine]
Match -->|Queries CRM Data| DB[(Contractors DB)]
Match -->|Integrates API| Twilio[Twilio SMS Gateway]
Twilio -->|Sends Alert| Dispatch[Contractor Mobile]
Dispatch -->|Accepts SMS| Webhook[Twilio Webhook Listener]
Webhook -->|Updates Record| SFConnected APIs
- Twilio Programmable SMS API for dispatch and confirmation loops
- Google Maps Geocoding API to calculate contractor-to-property proximity
Component Stack
- Inbound Case Router (Record-Triggered Flow)
- Proximity Checker (Invocable Apex Action calling Google Maps API)
- Contractor Portal (Salesforce Experience Cloud lightweight landing site)
Key Design & Technology Decisions:
4. Screenshot Gallery
Main dispatch board showing live case routing statuses, contractor load, and queue latencies.
Build in Public & Timeline
Project Timeline Phasing
Aligned with operators on contractor rules and geographic limits.
Created data schema mapping contractors to service zones.
Built Flows, geocoding Apex actions, and Twilio hook handlers.
Simulated load with 50 concurrent tenant reports and SMS responses.
Migrated to production, trained dispatcher and field contractor teams.
Technical Build Journal
When contractors replied simultaneously, Salesforce API locks occurred on the Contractor Assignment record. Solved this by decoupling SMS receipt from assignment updates using platform events and queuing processors.
Rolled out to 40 field technicians. Initial feedback shows contractors love the simple SMS loop instead of logging into a heavy app.
Lessons Learned
Handling asynchronous Twilio SMS responses requires structured validation. In early test phases, typoed SMS replies stalled dispatch chains. We resolved this by adding automated pattern matching to prompt contractors to retry standard codes.
Future Roadmap
- Integrate AI-driven photo analysis to automatically identify property damage types.
- Add digital signatures in contractor mobile portal for work completion sign-offs.
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