How do you plan a work order using the planning assistant?
Created with AI.
The planning assistant finds available resources that actually match the requirements of the assignment, instead of requiring the planner to search through the schedule board manually. It does not make the decision—but it eliminates options that are not feasible anyway.
- 6 steps
- Total time: 10 min
- Preparation: 5 min
- Result: A booking for the right technician at the right time
Required tools
- Work order with completed resource requirements — Duration, skills, and territory must be specified; otherwise, the assistant has nothing to match against.
- Resources that can be reserved — Technicians, subcontractors, or equipment must exist in the system with working hours registered.
Find the right resource
1.Open the work order and start planning
You can start from the work order or from the schedule board, where the job appears as unscheduled. Both routes lead to the scheduling assistant, which works with the resource requirement associated with the work order.
2.Review the suggestions
The assistant displays resources that are available during the time window and meet the skill requirements. If you get no results, it is almost always due to one of three reasons: the time window is too narrow, the skill requirement is too strict, or no one has registered working hours that cover the period.
3.Consider travel time, not just available time
A technician may appear available on paper and still be the wrong choice because they would have to drive across the entire city. The assistant shows the travel distance—use it. This is also the argument for full optimization once the number of daily jobs increases.
4.Confirm the order
When you confirm, a booking is created with the status Scheduled, and the work order's system status automatically changes from Unscheduled to Scheduled. The technician can see the assignment in the Field Service mobile app.
After planning
5.Keep an eye on the schedule board
The schedule board color-codes the work order statuses, so you can see who is on their way, who is working, and who has finished. This is the tool for handling deviations throughout the day—provided that the technicians actually update their status as they go.
6.Reschedule if necessary
If an assignment is delayed, the booking can be moved on the board. Remember that a work order can have multiple bookings, and the work order is not considered closed until all of them have been completed or cancelled.
Discussion
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