Smart Dispatch Overview

Smart Dispatch is FieldAx’s built-in assignment optimization engine. It automatically matches the right engineer to every job and builds the most efficient daily routes, saving dispatchers hours of manual scheduling work every day.

Complete Optimization Cycle #

The Smart Dispatch process in FieldAx:

Open Dispatch Board  →  Click Optimize  →  Configure Settings  →  Preview Workloads  →  Run Optimization  →  Review Results  →  Commit Changes

Understanding Smart Dispatch #

What It Does #

Smart Dispatch runs in two phases:

Phase 1 — Engineer Assignment

1. Checks skills required for each job
2. Filters engineers by your skill match threshold
3. Assigns the closest qualifying engineer to each job

Phase 2 — Route & Time Scheduling

1. Reorders each engineer’s daily jobs for efficiency
2. Calculates start and end times based on travel from home location
3. Preserves original calendar dates — only times change
4. Flags any jobs that cannot fit within the workday

---

Benefits of Smart Dispatch #

Operational Efficiency #

1. Eliminates manual scheduling — runs in seconds
2. Minimizes total travel distance per engineer
3. Fits more jobs per engineer per day
4. Right engineer assigned first time, every time

Customer Satisfaction #

1. Appointment windows reliably honored
2. Fewer repeat visits from skill mismatches
3. Accurate arrival time estimates
4. Consistent, professional service delivery

Dispatcher Control #

1. Full preview before any changes are committed
2. Manual override available on every assignment
3. Conflicts flagged for human review — never auto-overridden
4. Re-run as many times as needed before committing

---

Two Routing Modes #

Shortest Route #

1. Best for jobs with no fixed customer appointment times
2. Reorders jobs to minimize total kilometers driven
3. Starts from each engineer’s home location
4. Typically increases jobs completed per engineer per day

Time Windows #

1. Best when customers have confirmed appointment slots
2. Sequences jobs to honor original booking commitments
3. Auto-calculates realistic travel time between visits
4. Flags appointment slots that cannot physically be kept

Run Bulk Optimization #

Use Bulk Optimization to optimize all jobs across a region and date range in a single operation. Run this at the start of each day or when planning ahead.

Opening the Assignment Optimizer #

From the Dispatch Board

1. Navigate to the Dispatch Board from the FieldAx main menu
2. Locate the top toolbar
3. Optimize Click the
4. The Assignment Optimizer panel opens on the right

Configure the Optimization #

Required Settings #

Region

1. Select the geographic region to optimize
2. Only regions assigned to your user profile will appear
3. Jobs and engineers outside this region are not affected

Date Range

1. Set Date From and Date To
2. For daily planning, set both to the same date
3. For forward planning, span multiple days

Skill Match %

1. Minimum skill match required for an engineer to be considered
2. Recommended default: 80%
3. Raise to 90–100% for specialist or critical equipment jobs
4. If no engineer qualifies, system retries at 0% and warns you

Routing Mode

1. Select Shortest Route or Time Windows
2. See Smart Dispatch Overview for guidance on which to choose

Preview Workloads #

Click Preview before running. Review the proposed distribution before committing.

Preview Screen Shows

1. Total jobs in the selected region and date range
2. Number of available engineers
3. Projected job count per engineer
4. Engineers at or near full capacity

Run the Optimization

1. Run Optimization Click
2. Progress indicator displays while the engine runs
3. Do not navigate away while optimization is in progress
4. Results appear automatically when complete

Review and Commit Results #

The Results screen shows every processed job with a status badge.

Result Badges

1. REASSIGNED — moved to a better-matched or closer engineer
2. KEPT — original engineer was already the best match
3. CONFLICT — job cannot fit in the workday; needs your review

Per-Engineer Detail

1. Click any engineer name to expand their full proposed schedule
2. Each job shows assigned start time, end time, and skill match %
3. Use the engineer dropdown to override any individual assignment

Committing

1. Commit Click
2. All changes save to the Dispatch Board immediately
3. Engineers see their updated schedules in real time

To discard all changes, click Discard. The board returns to its previous state with nothing saved.

Dispatch Urgent Jobs #

Use Per-Job Dispatch when one to ten urgent jobs arrive mid-day and need an engineer assigned immediately, without running a full bulk optimization.

Dispatch Process #

From the Dispatch Board

1. Select the job(s) using the checkbox next to each job — up to 10 at once
2. Dispatch Click the
3. The Per-Job Dispatch panel opens
4. Review the recommended engineer for each job
5. Click Confirm to accept, or use the dropdown to select a different engineer
6. Job is added to the engineer’s schedule with a calculated time window
7. Dispatch Board updates immediately

Recommended Engineer Details #

For each job, FieldAx displays:

1. Engineer name
2. Distance from the job site
3. Skill match percentage
4. Proposed start and end time

Fallback Behaviour #

If no engineer meets the configured skill threshold:

1. System automatically retries with a 0% threshold
2. Best available option is shown with a low-match warning
3. Skill match score is always visible so you can make an informed decision
4. You retain full control — confirm or override before dispatch

Handling Conflicts #

A conflict is flagged when a job cannot be scheduled within an engineer’s working day given the travel time involved. Conflicts are warnings, not errors — the job remains on the board until you resolve it.

Common Causes of Conflicts #

1. Engineer’s day is fully booked with no travel gap remaining
2. A time window slot is too early given the engineer’s current location
3. Combined travel time pushes the last job past end of working day

Resolving a Conflict #

Option 1: Reassign Manually #

1. Locate the CONFLICT badge in the Results panel or Dispatch Board
2. Click the engineer dropdown on the conflicted job
3. Select an engineer with available capacity
4. System recalculates the time automatically

Option 2: Move to Next Day                  #

1. Open the conflicted job record
2. Update the scheduled date to the following day
3. Re-run optimization for that date if needed

Option 3: Contact the Customer #

1. Identify the customer and appointment window
2. Call to advise of the delay and agree a new time
3. Update the time window on the job record
4. Re-run optimization or dispatch manually

Conflict Scenarios #

Scenario 1: Over-Capacity Engineer #

Situation: One engineer has 9 jobs flagged as conflicts after optimization.

1. Check if a skill bottleneck is causing over-allocation
2. Reassign non-specialist jobs to other engineers
3. Move lower-priority jobs to the next available day
4. Consider widening the region to include engineers from an adjacent area

Scenario 2: Unmovable Customer Appointment #

Situation: A plant shutdown window cannot be rescheduled.

1. Prioritize this job first in the engineer’s day
2. Manually set it as the first assignment regardless of optimization
3. Re-run optimization with this job excluded or pre-assigned
4. Use Time Windows routing mode so the system respects the slot

Scenario 3: Same Job Conflicts Repeatedly #

Situation: A specific job keeps getting flagged across multiple runs.

1. The region may have insufficient engineer capacity for that day
2. Check whether the job requires a rare skill held by one engineer only
3. Consider moving the job to a day with better availability
4. Widen region filter to include engineers from adjacent regions

Smart Dispatch Best Practices #

Follow these practices to get the most from Smart Dispatch every day.

Daily Dispatch Workflow #

Start of Day

1. Run bulk optimization before engineers begin their routes
2. Use Preview to check for overloaded engineers before committing
3. Resolve all CONFLICT flags before committing
4. Commit by 8 AM so engineers receive updated schedules on time

During the Day

1. Use Per-Job Dispatch for urgent jobs that arrive mid-day
2. Do not re-run bulk optimization after committing unless significant changes occur
3. Monitor the Dispatch Board for late-running jobs that may affect downstream appointments

End of Day

1. Review any jobs that were not completed
2. Move unresolved conflicts to the next available date
3. Note recurring conflicts — these often indicate a skill or capacity gap

Skill Match Threshold Guidelines #

90–100%

1. Critical equipment repairs
2. Specialist certifications required
3. High-value or SLA-governed customers

70–89%                

1. Standard service and maintenance jobs
2. General inspections and routine visits

Below 70%

1. Last resort only
2. Review the assignment manually before committing
3. Inform the engineer of any skill gaps before dispatch

Routing Mode Selection #

Use Shortest Route when

1. Jobs have no fixed customer appointment times
2. Goal is to maximize jobs completed per engineer per day
3. Running reactive or routine maintenance across a wide area

Use Time Windows when     

1. Customers have confirmed 2–4 hour arrival windows
2. Missing the window risks the customer relationship
3. Managing planned maintenance at industrial or manufacturing sites

Troubleshooting Common Issues #

Optimize button not visible #

1. Confirm your user role includes Dispatcher permissions
2. Contact your FieldAx administrator to check role assignments

No engineers appearing in results #

1. Check that engineers are assigned to the selected region
2. Verify engineer work calendars include the selected date
3. Lower the skill match threshold and re-run

All jobs showing as CONFLICT #

1. The selected date may have insufficient engineer capacity
2. Check for public holidays or mass time-off in the region
3. Widen the date range or include engineers from adjacent regions

Times look unrealistic after optimization #

1. Verify engineer home location coordinates are set correctly
2. Check that job site addresses are complete and geocoded
3. Contact your FieldAx administrator to review travel speed configuration

Related Articles

1. Get Ready for Scheduling with Dispatch Board
2. Add Skills to Service Engineers
3. Set Up Regions
4. Troubleshooting Assignments