Introducing Grid View in Dispatch Console - Ideal for Quick Appointments
The Dispatch Console is the heart of Zoho FSM where the bulk of service appointment scheduling and dispatching takes place. Here, the dispatcher has at their disposal all the information required to assign the right technician to the service appointments based on availability, proximity, and skill. The Dispatch Console comprises of the following views:
- Gantt: It provides a timeline view of the service appointments. Each service appointment is represented by a horizontal bar that spans the duration of the service appointment, making it easy to see when jobs start and end. Thus, it provides you with a real-time view of the progress of service appointments.
- Map: Each work order or appointment is represented by a marker on the map, making it easy to visualize where service calls are located. Technicians' locations are tracked in real-time using GPS, allowing dispatchers to see where each technician is at any given moment. This allows for real-time tracking and efficient resource allocation.
- Calendar: Here, you can view all the appointments to which service resources have been assigned, Holidays in the organization, and the Time Off taken by the resources. You can view all the service appointments on a day irrespective of the service resources or territories. You can also see the details using the Month, Week, Day, and List views.
In addition to these, we are introducing a new view - Grid
In the Grid view of the Dispatch Console, you can view all the service appointments assigned to a service resource on each day. This enables you to assess technician availability, allowing for informed job assignments that maximize efficiency. This view also enables you to make deductions such as the resource utilization for a day, territory-based work density, etc.
Why a new view?
It has spawned from the need to have a different calendar view where the dispatcher can see the prominent details of the appointments at a glance. Although the Gantt view also provides a comprehensive view of the appointments, as the size of the service appointment bars is proportionate to the duration of the job, it is sometimes difficult to quickly grasp appointment details. The user will also have to scroll to view all the appointments. Thus, a new view was created by combining the desirable elements of both the Gantt and Calendar views.
Optimal Job Assignment
As the Grid view gives you a clear picture of the service appointments assigned to a service resource for a day, you can assign new jobs to them based on their workload. Click on a cell in the Grid that corresponds to the day for which you want to schedule the appointment. In the Create Appointment overlay, choose the work order for which you want to create the appointment, modify the necessary details, and click Schedule or Schedule and Dispatch to continue.
Apart from the availability-based assignment, the filters in this view also facilitate skill and territory-based assignments.
Skill-based Assignment
This ensures the right technician is assigned to the right job based on their specific skills, qualifications, and experience. This can reduce the time spent on service calls and minimize the need for follow-up visits. Customers are more likely to be satisfied when their service requests are handled by qualified professionals who can address their specific needs.
Territory-based Assignment
This ensures that technicians are dispatched to jobs within their designated areas, optimizing travel time, reducing costs, and improving service efficiency. With this, organizations can not only leverage technicians' familiarity with the area but also minimize travel distances, leading to faster response times and lower fuel costs.
Comprehensive View of Appointments
To quickly view an appointment's details, simply hover over the entry. For a more comprehensive look, hover over the entry and click on 
. A bird's-eye view of the grid view also lets you assess the statuses of the service appointments as indicated by the color of the header of each entry.
. A bird's-eye view of the grid view also lets you assess the statuses of the service appointments as indicated by the color of the header of each entry.
Filter And View Relevant Information
Apart from skill and territory, there are other filters to fetch the desired data:
- Using the Service Resources List, filter the appointments based on whether they are assigned to an agent or crew.
- If you want to see the entries based on Scheduled/Actual Date/Time, choose Schedule or Live from the Appointment Date/Time filter.
- Use the Time Range filter to choose a Day, a Week, or 4 days for which you want to see the service appointments.
- If a service appointment does not belong to the territory chosen in the Service Resources List, then the service appointment entry will have grey background with an orange tip on the top left corner.
