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Using the SM Dispatch Board

The SM Dispatch Board schedules work orders as trips, tracks technician availability, and monitors work-order status through the life cycle. Day-to-day use is dragging work from the left query pane onto a technician and time/date to create a trip.

Trimble topic: About Using the Dispatch Board. Setup is separate: Setting Up the SM Dispatch Board.

Before you start​

  • Boards configured in SM Dispatch Board Setup (standard or custom queries assigned to the board).
  • Work order already exists before creating trips.
  • Technician must be Active in PR Employees and not marked Do Not Use for the customer or service site (SM Technician Preferences).
  • Optional work schedules in SM Technicians drive availability warnings only (they do not block scheduling).

Open and views​

  1. Service Management → Programs → SM Dispatch Board.
  2. On the Dispatch Board Selector, pick a board → Launch.
  3. Choose view: Hourly, 1 Day, 3 Day, 1 Week, 2 Week, or Choose Dates. Hourly shows time slots; Day/Week show date columns.
  4. Navigate dates with Previous / Next, Today, Go To Date (Hourly/1 Day, or start date for multi-day). Choose Dates uses begin/end fields.

Schedule a trip​

  1. Left pane: work-order query results.
  2. Drag a work order onto a technician + time (Hourly) or date (Day/Week). Creates a trip with status Open (light-blue bar).
  3. Hover a query work order for a summary; double-click opens SM Work Orders.
  4. Default start time: Hourly = the time slot (for example 09:00); Day/Week = blank. You can override and move the bar.
  5. Blank estimated duration: hover still shows 1 hour until a real duration is entered.
  6. First technician on the first trip becomes the work-order lead tech if the header lead is blank. Agreement/PM trips can default Assigned Tech from SM Service.

Toolbar: Customers → SM Customers (query right-click Open Customer); Service Site → SM Service Sites (right-click Open Service Site); Call Handler → SM Call Handler.

Trip status and edits​

Status codes 0 Open (default for unscheduled/unassigned) through 7 Completed. Lowering status clears that status’s date/time. In Progress date/time must be before Completed.

  • Status In Progress does not by itself change Scheduled Start Time, but changing the In Progress date/time moves the bar (hourly slot).
  • Multi-Day Trip: all-day each day from Scheduled Date through Scheduled End Date; enables Scheduled End Date and hides Scheduled Start Time and Estimated Duration. Editing Scheduled Date shifts End Date to keep duration.
  • If Scheduled Date is before Open Date, Open Date snaps to Scheduled Date and Open Time to 00:00.
  • Closing a work order: trips with status > 0 become 7-Completed; 0-Open trips are deleted.

Other board actions (right-click / Trip Date Picker): notify, set unavailable time, hold/release scope, reassign, change duration, copy/assign, transfer, update trip status.

Overbooking and unscheduled / unassigned​

  • Overbook and “not scheduled to work” are warnings only; save is allowed. Already-scheduled warning lists work order, trip #, and estimated duration.
  • Scheduled but unassigned, or unscheduled and unassigned: cannot change status or send electronic notifications. Can still open the trip, work order, customer, service site, and create POs.
  • Hourly view: drag-drop is blocked if there is no Scheduled Start Time and no In Progress Time, even with a Scheduled Date. No technician → enter time in SM Trips. Technician assigned → right-click In Progress and use Trip Date Picker.
  • Trimble placement wording differs slightly between pages (Unassigned row vs column when date is set and tech is blank).

Key SM Trip fields​

Work Order; Trip (N/New/+); Assignment (F4; F5 SM Assignments); Description (60); Details; Status; Multi-Day Trip; Scheduled Date / Start Time / End Date; Estimated Duration; Technician; Reason (HQ Reason Codes) + Notes; Status Detail date/time pairs from Open through Completed (pairs required; Notified fields enable only at that status or higher).

Notes​

  • Related: SM Trips; SM Work Orders; SM Customers; SM Service Sites; SM Call Handler; SM Assignments; SM Technicians; SM Technician Preferences; PR Employees; HQ Reason Codes; SM Dispatch Board Setup. Same forms area also covers scopes on hold, technician sorting, quick reference, and technician unavailable time.