Dispatch map

ServiceDesk provides two different means for viewing and manipulating your ScheduleList. The first is your visual DispatchMap, showing each item from the schedule in its precise relationship of time and geography, and allowing editing of each item as needed. The second is textual instead, and allows the editing, obviously, of textual details. This is discussed in the next section.

You may note your map does not include a lot of geographic detail. There is a reason for this simplicity. A dispatcher needs an instant and broad overview of the entire service area, showing in one glance the relative location and times of all jobs scheduled for a given day. He or she does not, on the other hand, need a detailed display of city streets.

There may be lines defining odd-shaped cutouts or divisions between otherwise open areas within your map. In those service areas that encompass mountains, rivers, or other large zones with no roadways across, it will sometimes happen that housing developments lie geographically close along either side of such obstructions (i.e., a very short distance apart as the crow flies), but that driving between such locations involves much distance because of the need to go around the intervening obstruction. By representing these non-traversable areas on your map, ServiceDesk allows you to see in an instant that two otherwise close locations may not, in terms of driving, be close at all.

Some maps are particularly large. In this case you can use the arrow keys to pan around. Plus, you can use the map's 'Overview' mode (press and hold the spacebar) to view the entire map, reduced as necessary to fit into one screen. This mode is particularly helpful for getting an instant look at how all your jobs layout for a day, though there is less detail in the information provided (versus full-scale mode), and you cannot edit in this mode.

For larger maps there will be a mini-map in the top right corner showing which part of the map you're currently viewing. You can turn this off in the Settings Form CtrlF1.

If you'd like your on-screen map more condensed (so you can view more of it within a single screen), or enlarged (for better, more close-up resolution), it takes only about an hour of work for us to make the conversion. We'll be happy to do it for you free of charge, so long as you make the request within a reasonable time after your purchase date. Other small changes may be made as well. Just ask.

In terms of displaying information from your schedule, you'll find your map shows each of your scheduled appointments in two context:

1. Graphically on the map (each within a tiny rectangle, and with connecting "route-lines" drawn between any of multiples for an assigned tech)

2. As a text item (typically within the screen's peripheral area) within a set of segmented quadrants, one for each tech, showing in list format the jobs that are assigned to each.

You can pan back to the original position on the map by hitting the Home key. Press it once to move to the "home" position, and again to move back into whatever viewing space you were viewing previously (this is most useful, obviously, if you have a large dispatch map with many different pan positions).

There are several ways to view your Map. The most simple is to press F5. This produces a direct, unadorned display of your map. Alternatives are to use the ItemLocate feature from either a Callsheet or JobsCurrent form, where you right-click on any address within its appropriate text box. In this case your map will display with the selected location flagged in red. The purpose is to show you the relative location of a job you are attempting to schedule. The DispatchMap defaults to showing the current day. You can move forward and backward days with the PgUp or PgDwn keys. You can also use the FirstPage/LastPage QuickKeys here. CtrlPgUp returns you to current day if you're looking at the past. CtrlPgDn returns you to the current day if you're looking into the future. As still another method of selecting the day displayed, you may simply press C on your keyboard (for 'C'alendar) and the system will show a small calendar on which you may rapidly select any date wanted.

If you have several technicians, the DispatchMap may occasionally be too cluttered to properly distinguish a single tech's routes. If you want to see only a single tech's route, right-click on the tech's name (in the list section, above his list of jobs) to hide all but that tech's routes. Press Esc to return to normal view.

Want to know more about or edit a job from within the DispatchMap? Use Ctrl/Right-Click, on either the position of the job on the map or the list item for the technician. ServiceDesk will display that item's JobRecord allowing you to view more details and change them if necessary. Please do not forget this feature, it's very, very handy!

To view a reference of a particular job on the ScheduleList, ShiftRight-Click that job in the DispatchMap.

A final element within the map is a feature called the Appointment Density Graph. The purpose of this tool is to visually show indication of how heavily loaded you are with appointments throughout each hour of the day.

For example, if a quick view of the graph shows you're already heavily loaded for the morning hours, but that you're light in the afternoon, you'll know without further analysis that it may be wise to urge a caller toward scheduling for the afternoon.

To view the Appointment Density Graph, press the D key on your keyboard while the DispatchMap is displayed. You'll see this tool appear in the screen's lower right-hand corner. Press the D key again (or hit Esc) to hide the display. As you'll see, it's a fairly typical graph, but configured to show the overall appointment load for each hour of the day, with the vertical axis indicating number of appointments involved during each hour.

As you view your map and see how a day's jobs are geographically distributed you will then decide which jobs will be dispatched to which technicians. Your decision on each needs to be communicated in some manner to ServiceDesk so it can register the assignment.

This is accomplished by left-clicking on the job's graphic representation. In response ServiceDesk will display a small box that shows each tech in your roster. If you've held down the mouse button after clicking it on the job in question, you can simply drag the pointer until the wanted tech is highlighted, then release the button; instantly, that tech is selected. If you did a full click on the job (i.e., pressed the button then released it), you can simply click again on the wanted tech.

That's it, for assigning any job to any given tech within ServiceDesk. It's just that simple. And, naturally, you can re-assign (using identical means) whenever wanted.

Of course, outside circumstance may slightly complicate this process. There are sometimes jobs that definitely must, for one reason or another, be done by a particular tech, while others may be done by whichever technician is most convenient for scheduling.

ServiceDesk signifies the distinction of these two scenarios like this:

• Definite (meaning the assigned tech must remain as assigned) assignments are displayed entirely in the color-code for the assigned technician, in both graphic and list representations.

• Tentative (meaning the assigned tech can change to any other) assignments, the second line of the graphic representation remains red, as does the city abbreviation within its list representation.

If you need to change an already set status, Ctrl Click on the job's graphical representation to toggle it.

Besides re-assigning, it often happens that you'll want to re-sequence jobs.

• Drag and drop method: In the list section of the Dispatch map you can drag and drop jobs into whatever order you like or even to other technicians.

• Right clicking on location reference of job: Just right-click on the reference and you'll see a little mini-list showing each of the assigned tech's assigned jobs for that day. Click again within that list at the new position where you want the job moved to, in terms of sequence.

CALL NUMBERS FROM THE MAP

right-click on a job's list representation and ServiceDesk will dial the number for you. It may seem like a small thing, but such convenience feels substantial when the need arises.

As a matter of incidental interest, you should know that any time an appointment is added to the ScheduleList (or even a modification saved), the entire list is automatically sorted into a logical sequence based on dates and times. If from the DispatchMap you want ever to manually invoke this process (suppose you've place a number of jobs out of proper sequence and want in one simple operation to get them back, for example), simply press Alt-S.

The DispatchMap also shows the status of each such job. It can show if the job has been dispatched to the tech, whether the tech has arrived at the job and whether they finished there, etc. It even indicates whether the expected PostVisitReport has yet been filed. These status changes can be accomplished automatically if you are using SD-Mobile.

The most critical such need is for you to keep track of which jobs you've actually dispatched to the assigned tech, and which you have not. To understand how this works, suppose yours is an office where the technicians come into the office each morning, and each receives a stack of tickets (or invoices), which constitutes their then pending set of assignments. As you give any particular technician their stack, hit F5 to bring up the ServiceDesk DispatchMap. Go to the TechList area, and look at the list of jobs for the technician involved. Confirm that the first item in the list is the same as the first invoice in the stack you're about to hand them. Now, using your mouse, do a Shift/Left-Click on that listing. This will cause a check mark to appear just to the left of the listing, which is the visual confirmation that item has actually been given to the tech. Proceed to the next invoice and do the same.

When you're done, you will have handed the technician a stack of invoices that conforms perfectly with the list under their name in the DispatchMap, and all items in that particular list will have a check mark next to them—the visual, at-a-glance confirmation (for anyone in your office who happens to check) that these particular jobs have indeed been given to the technician.

If you use any of the automated methods for dispatching instead, the system will automatically volunteer to do this checking off for you. If jobs to a technician's schedule during the day, the absence of a check mark next to that appointment's reference will serve as a visual reminder that the task still needs to be done.

All in all, this checking off of the fact that a job has actually been given to the involved technician is very important (unless, of course, yours is a one-man shop). We highly encourage you to use it.

And then there's more—that you may optionally want to use.

If, in addition to keeping track of whether each of a day's jobs have actually been dispatched to their assigned techs, you also want to keep track, throughout the day, of where each tech is in his assigned route, we also have facility for that.

• If your techs are using SD-Mobile, arrival and departure times of jobs are automatically recorded.

• If you're going the manual route and having technicians call in to report arrival and departure times: when a technician calls in their arrival at a job, just locate its reference under their name in the DispatchMap, and do a mouse Ctrl/Left-Click on it. This will cause a double-right arrow to appear, in place of the check mark that had formerly been there to indicate the job was dispatched. Based on this symbol, anyone in your office can glance within the DispatchMap and instantly determine where that technician is at the moment. When he calls in later to indicate he's done and leaving, do an Alt/Left-Click on the same reference. This will change the check-off symbol to a double-down arrow, signifying their completion there. And so on.

STATUS UPDATES SHOW ON MAP TOO

You'll notice when a job's status change, the visual representation on the map also changes.

Here are some other statuses jobs can have, these can be set manually or through automated means if you are using SD-Mobile.

Normally, your appointments will be placed into PostVisitReportCompleted status (Job Finished or not) as an automatic consequence of doing the report and not from any separate effort you'd make independently in the DispatchMap. We mention it here solely to give you a full understanding of these different statuses (in a job's graphic representation, incidentally, this status is indicated with grayed-out background, darker gray if the job is finished).

Another benefit in logging your technicians' arrivals and/or departures (whether manually or automatically with SD-Mobile) is when you're later doing PostVisitReports, each job's start and/or end times are already there, and so don't need to be manually entered.

If a technician is threatening to be late to a job, ServiceDesk's Arrival-On-Time Sentry will automatically start flashing that job's reference. This should bring office personnel's attention to the matter to assure the situation is handled.

As mentioned elsewhere, we know it's a common method of most servicers not using a software to give each of their technicians a stack of assigned work-order/invoices each morning. This stack essentially constitutes the technician's job list. If any additions or other changes occur during the day, most servicers will simply call the technician, and communicate such matters. While this may describe the more common situation, we know that many other servicers work differently. With ServiceDesk, we handily accommodate a many other methods.

In general, these methods are all designed to address the situation where you want to dispatch jobs to technicians who are not physically in the office. Hence, the category of functionality is sometimes referred to as "remote dispatch."

SD-MOBILE

Again, if you are using SD-Mobile dispatching is done automatically. When you assign a job to a technician and it is scheduled it will automatically show up in their job list on their mobile app.

To begin this discussion, we want to note a couple distinctions.

• First, please note the difference between batch-dispatching a whole-day's roster of jobs to a technician, versus dispatching jobs individually.

• Second, please note that, regardless of which such method you use, the process will be initiated from the technician's list area in the DispatchMap.

Regardless, it you're wanting to batch dispatch (defined as sending information regarding all of a technician's appointments, for a given day, that are not already checked off as having been dispatched), to initiate the process you need simply click on the technician's name within the DispatchMap. At this point you'll be presented with a selection of options regarding the method of transmission you want to use. Simply choose the method and proceed.

If wanting to dispatch individual jobs, by contrast (which might arise, for example, if you added-on a job later in the day, after having already batch-dispatched the majority of a tech's work), the process is initiated by doing a Ctrl-Alt/Rt-Click on the job's list representation (as found under the tech's name, in other words). Again, the system will present you with a list options, asking you to choose the method of transmission you prefer. Simply make your selection and proceed.

In regard to the various methods, most are self-explanatory. You can try each and review the result, to decide which will work best for any of your particular situations. In regard to any printed output, please note that you can either print locally and then put the paper in your fax machine as a method of transmitting to the technician, or, when presented with the printer-selection box, you can select your machine's internal fax, and fax directly—and thus avoid getting involved with paper at all.

In specific regard to the option for AlphaNumeric, we should explain a few details regarding the underlying mechanics. If you're doing alpha-numeric paging, presumably you must have some kind of software package via which the process is managed. Most of these have a method of interfacing with other programs (such as ServiceDesk , for example) via which the other program can request that a particular page (having particular text contents, etc.) be sent out. The typical method is that the paging program looks periodically (such as once every minute, for example) within a particular folder, on the hard drive, to see if any files, properly formatted for paging instructions, are there. For each such file that it finds, it creates and sends a page accordingly, then deletes the file. Thus, the task for any other program (again, such as ServiceDesk) is simply to create the particular kind of file, and in the particular place, that the paging software will look for. That's what ServiceDesk will do for you when you select the option under consideration here—so that within a minute or so of having done so, your paging software should take over and duly transmit the relevant job information to the assigned technician's pager.

If you you're not using paging software that has this capability, it's likely that at least it provides you with a context where you can type a message that you want to have sent to your technician. ServiceDesk helps you here as well, with an option to copy dispatch information into the Windows Clipboard (if you'll recall, the Clipboard is simply an invisible place that can temporarily hold any text that's placed into it). Thus, if you want to dispatch via a paging system where you're required to type in text, all you need to do is select the "Copy into Clipboard" option in regard to the job you're wanting to dispatch. At such point ServiceDesk will invisibly place the dispatch information into your Windows Clipboard. Now all you have to do is go to the place in your paging system where normally you'd type a message. Now just press Ctrl-V on your keyboard (the universal Windows command for Insert). Wala! The information should appear and you can send your fax.

Another option is to send the dispatch information directly via email. For this capability to work, your computer must be equipped with an internally-installed email client that is MAPI-compliant (such as Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora). It won't work with a web-based account such as Hotmail. At any rate, when you select the email option ServiceDesk will immediately locate any properly installed MAPI-compliant email account as is defaulted on the local machine from which it's running, and use it to email the dispatch information to your tech. It's virtually a one-click deal, and very convenient.

As a final matter directly concerning remote dispatch, we want to mention that some companies have wanted to advance their operations toward a system that we'll here call "On-Demand Dispatch." What this refers to, basically, is a system where only one job is dispatched to each technician at a time. When any technician finishes a job, he informs the office, which in turn determines which job would next suit the overall needs situation best, and dispatches that one to him. Thus, the office remains in much more active management of the overall schedule situation, and is probably much more able to offer near immediate response to customers calling in for service. We mention the concept here, in particular, because you can see that if this is the kind of thing you wanted to do, ServiceDesk would be very ideally suited for it.

Having just introduced the term/concept of "on-demand dispatch," we're going to do our best to confuse by discussing a different on-demand concept. This one stems from the fact that we've had a number of clients that did not want to print invoices for each job as each job is created (which, you've probably gathered by now, is the typical ServiceDesk-related method). Instead, they've wanted to schedule the jobs, create the JobRecords, and so on, but leave it with no actual ticket printed until immediately before giving the technician his set of jobs (at which time, they finally print the tickets (aka invoices), so they can give the tech the stack that's involved in his assignments for the day.

If you think about it, it's obvious this is not properly a subject of "remote dispatch," but we're nevertheless discussing it at conclusion of this section because the method for batch-printing a stack of invoices as applicable to a tech's route, in such circumstances, is accessed from precisely the same context as the various methods for remote dispatch (we say it's not "remote," because if you're giving the tech a stack of invoices, he must be physically present in your office). In fact, it's just another item in the list of options. A few notes about using this method:

1. You'll want to change the default in the Create Job/Sale form to the second option, rather than the first (i.e., so the automatically offered default from that context will be to create the job but not print the invoice, instead of doing both).

2. You may be like one of our clients and take the on-demand invoice-printing concept to its logical conclusion—not only are you not keeping printed tickets on-hand in connection with new jobs pending their hand-off to a technician; in addition, you further refrain from hanging onto tickets he's returned with for the sake of giving it back to him when he returns to a job for second or third visits. Instead, you'll also print fresh tickets on such pre-existing jobs when they're part of your tech's roster (thus he has a fresh ticket each time).

3. If you've taken step 2, you should additionally invoke the solution we've created to deal with the fact that, when it's not the first visit you're sending the tech out on, the fresh invoice that you're giving him should not look like an up-front, no-work-has-yet-been-done kind of ticket. Instead, it should show the work that's already been done, parts ordered and used, etc. (please contrast this less common scenario with what's more typical, where managers send technicians back with the same up-front-printed invoice that he originally used, and on which he's hand-written this kind of work-done info). We've accommodated this need by creating an option which makes it so, when you specify printing of a tech's invoices from the DispatchMap, the system checks to see, on each involved job, if there's been earlier visits. If so, it will use a FinishedForm for any such particular invoice (in this context you might think of it as an "interim" form), rather than the standard, up-front variety.

If you don't want to hang onto and manage invoices prior to immediately before handing them to your techs as they head out on their work, this system can work very well. Really, it's a matter of preference whether you want to do it this way or use more traditional methods. As with anything else, there are pros and cons both ways.

Some of our clients have wanted to charge variable service call rates, with the actual amount varying based on the customer's distance from headquarters. We refer to this as the system for Miles-Determined S.Call Rates.

As the first element in this system, you may notice that whenever you do an Item-Locate operation to the DispatchMap (i.e., by right-clicking on a customer's address line from either a Callsheet or JobRecord), the system will indicate estimated road mileage to the location in the title bar at the top of your DispatchMap. This will always occur, regardless of whether you want to use Miles-Determined S.Call Rates or not.

As the second element, if you want to have the system calculate an actual service call amount for you, based on some formula and the estimated distance, you must provide the formula. To do this, you simply need to create a file/document that contains three numbers:

• the maximum number of miles that you wish to have included in the base service call amount

• the actual dollar amount for that base

• and the incremental amount that you want to charge for each additional mile beyond the base allowance

These three numbers, essentially, should be created as the text within a simple document (using Word or any other text editor), each on its own line, and the result saved (in 'Text Only' .txt format) to a file called MileageRates, to be located within the \sd\netdata folder on whichever drive is being used as your FileServer.

In other words, if you were wanting to include a distance of 15 miles in a basic service call rate of $60, plus charge an additional $1.50 for each mile beyond that distance, you'd want to create a document with this text:

Example of MileageRates.txt

15

60

1.50

When ServiceDesk starts up, it looks for this file. Upon finding it, it reads the data, and whenever you do an ItemLocate to the DispatchMap, besides showing you the estimated distance from headquarters in the title bar at top, it will also show you the Miles-Determined S.Call Rate that results from applying your provided formula values.

At the end of each day, you'll may want to print a hard-copy list of all the day's jobs. It's particularly useful, indeed, to take this list home so you can, if needed, locate a tech working on late jobs (or confirm that someone who calls in on an apparently missed appointment was indeed on the list). To print such a list, press AltP from within the map. This will print a list for the day as presently displayed.

In conjunction with this entire-schedule printing feature, there is still another option that a very few people might want to use. Instead of printing the schedule onto paper, you can instead print (save) it to a file. From there you can import the data into a spreadsheet program (or merge it into a form-letter type setup within an word processing program) to make whatever separate use of the information that you may want (the particular client for whom we made the feature likes to print a daily route sheet, for his techs, onto which they are required to account for mileage to and from every job, time in transit, and similar details). If you have use for the feature, you'll notice this 'Print to File' option is offered on the SelectPrinter form when in the context of printing a whole-day schedule.

In regard to the particular keyboard commands or mouse-sequences that are required for all of these functions, please remember that there is a very nice command summary that's part of the MainMenu, designed as a resource via which you can easily remind yourself of the particular method that's needed to access any feature. It can be accessed directly from within the MainMenu (naturally, under 'Command Summary') or, if you're already in the DispatchMap, just do a right-click in any empty space on the map. The appropriate section of the MainMenu's Command Summary will pop into view for you, thus providing instant reminders of whatever particular action you were attempting to remember. This is another "Cheat-Sheet."

Bear in mind there are many scheduling tricks that cannot be done from directly within the DispatchMap because they require direct textual editing, as available only from within the ScheduleList form itself. These tricks (among other items) are discussed in the next section.