Technician Scheduling

This section is designed to assist in scheduling short jobs based on the availability of personnel.

To reach it, select the toolbox icon from the main menu, or select \Operations \Technician Scheduling.

Overview

You can use either the Main Dispatch Window or the Technician Scheduling window to handle service technician jobs. Jobs which are created or updated in one window are visible in the other. Typically, control room operators might add or revise jobs in the Job Dispatch window, which person managing technician operations might work with the Scheduling window.

A job will only be visible in the Scheduling window if one or more labour (shift) entries are made in the Job Details window (and the service type is configured correctly - see next section).

Configuration

Jobs are only displayed in the Scheduling window if they belong to a service type which has been specified for display. To specify that a service type is displayed here, go to the General Configuration window, Service Types tab and change the setting Tech Scheduling / Include on tech schedule. By default, jobs of the Service service type are included.
For a Service Provider to appear in the Scheduling Window, the box "Include in Scheduling Window" must be checked in the Service Provider Detail window, Availability tab. The Service Provider will also appear in the Scheduling Window if they have ever been assigned to a job of the selected service type.
To speed up entry of labour bookings you may also want to change the Service Types setting Job Details/Schedule Jobs. If set to Provider this calculates the number of site visits/shifts required for the number of hours estimated for the job, based on the Service Provider's availability (specified in the Service Provider Detail window, Availability tab. If set to 24x7 then it is assumed that Service Providers are available at all hours and scheduled accordingly. This setting is normally only used for guards.
You can generate an automatic reminder to notify your customer when you reschedule a job. System Configuration, Service Types tab, Job Details/Notify Customer of Reschedule. Reminders are accessed by pressing this button on the toolbar above the Scheduling window.

Usage

For help on creating jobs in the Job Dispatch window, go here. Depending on your system configuration (see previous section), jobs which are created in the Job Dispatch area appear in the Scheduling window. However you do not need to use the Job Dispatch window unless you prefer to do so, as jobs can be created and updated in the Scheduling window.

Window layout

The window represents a calendar. To scroll forward or backward through the calendar, use the scroll buttons at the extreme right (top and bottom) of the calendar.

You can choose to display Saturday and Sunday by checking the Weekends box at top right. Sundays and holidays have their date shown in red. (Holidays are specified by going to \Maintenance \Smart Setup \Public Holidays).

Service Providers are listed on each day depending on their configuration (see Configuration, above). You can choose to show only those providers which have work allocated to them by checking the Booked Only box. The n/a 'Service Provider' displays jobs which have not been allocated to a Provider.

Available hours and booked hours are represented by different colours (see the key below the calendar) so that you can easily determine the workload of each provider each day.

You can change the filters at the top of the window to show only those jobs which match the filter. This makes it easy to find jobs for a customer, location, or provider. When the filter is being applied, you will also see active providers that match the filter. For example, if you choose to filter by service and customer, providers who have previously provided that service to that customer will be displayed. This makes it easy to find an alternative provider with the appropriate experience.

Creating a job.

Right click on any day and choose Add Job. You can also do this after choosing View jobs for ..

Updating a job.

Open the Daily Schedule by right clicking on the job's day and choosing View jobs for .. In the window that appears, double click on the job, or right click and choose View this Job.

Moving a job to a different day.

Open the Daily Schedule by right clicking on the job's day and choosing View jobs for .. Drag and drop the job to the date on the main calendar where you want it to take place. (Click the left button on the job, and hold the button down while you drag it. Release it over the target date)