Using the Dispatch Board

The Dispatch Board is used to manage appointments. You can choose which appointments to view and the order in which to view them using filters and the sorting drop-down list. You can choose to display activity appointments. If you are using the Job Scheduling in Service Management module, you can choose to display job appointments on the Dispatch Board.

Choose Cards > Service Management >Dispatch Board.

To quickly access an appointment or service call from the Dispatch Board, select an appointment in the scrolling window and zoom on the Work ID field.

Managing appointments using dispatch board filters

Permanent filters: You can set permanent filters using the Preferences button on the Dispatch Board.

By selecting the Preferences button, you can choose to see any combination of date range, technician ID, technician team, call type, appointment status, service area, and two user-defined fields. You can choose to display service calls, activities, and jobs in your permanent filter. If you choose to include service calls, you can choose to include completed, closed, and MCC calls. Global filter preferences can be selected in the Dispatch Board Filter Preferences window if the Allow User Editing checkboxes are marked in the User Profile window.

You may have established Dispatch Board viewing preferences during setup. These filters will be active when you first open the Dispatch Board. You can change these filters from the Dispatch Board using the Preferences button. The settings are made for the user ID currently signed in, overwriting the preferences established during setup.

• Temporary filters
  You can temporarily filter Dispatch Board data two ways: using the filtering fields on the Dispatch Board or using the query button. If you're using the filter fields on the Dispatch Board, mark the appropriate checkboxes and enter information in the fields. For instance, if you only want to view a single technician's appointments, enter the technician in the Technician ID field. Once the Dispatch Board is closed, the filter preferences are cleared. You can also use the Clear button to clear the filter preferences. The second way to set temporary filters is using the query button attached to the Date field. Enter the filter information in the Query window. Use the query feature to temporarily view a subset of appointments. Once the Dispatch Board is closed, the filter preferences are cleared. To set a date range, use the query button instead of setting a date range from the Dispatch Board's Preferences button.
• Sorting option
  You can display appointments by the sorting option selected from the drop-down list in the lower left corner of the Dispatch Board. You can sort appointments by date scheduled, work ID, priority, service area, and technician. Sorting by date scheduled works best when used with a date range since no sorting will occur if you're viewing appointments scheduled for only one day. Also, when sorting by priority, you must have at least two appointments assigned a priority for sorting changes to take place.

Timestamping a call from the dispatch board

1. Choose Cards > Service Management >Dispatch Board.
2. Select a service appointment in the scrolling window.
3. Click the clock button in the Work ID field. The Time Stamp window opens. The disabled gray fields display the service call ID, user ID, service call date, and the date and time the call was opened.
4. Click the clock button in one of the user-defined fields to stamp the system time in the field. You can also manually enter a date and time in a field.

Printing the dispatch board list

The Dispatch Board List contains all information displayed on the Dispatch Board. The report is sorted per the sorting option selected on the Dispatch Board.
The appointment types you choose to display on the Dispatch Board are the same types that will print on the Dispatch Board List.

1. Choose Cards > Service Management >Dispatch Board.
2. Choose File > Print.
3. Choose Dispatch List.

Batch printing workorders

You can batch print workorders for appointments displayed on the Dispatch Board. One workorder prints for each appointment. The workorders are sorted per the sorting option selected on the Dispatch Board. The appointment types you choose to display on the Dispatch Board are the same types that will print on the workorder.

1. Choose Cards > Service Management > Dispatch Board.
2. Choose File > Print.
3. Choose Workorders.

The workorder that prints from the Dispatch Board is not the same as the workorder that prints from the Service Call window. If you modified the Service Call workorder, you may also want to modify the Dispatch Board workorder.