Dispatch Operations Guide

This guide covers everything you need to know about using TradeKitt’s dispatch system to manage field operations, from creating jobs to tracking technicians in real time.

Using the Dispatch Board

The dispatch board is the command center for field operations. It provides a real-time view of all dispatch jobs, technician locations, and job statuses.

Board Views

The dispatch board offers several views:

• List view — all jobs in a sortable, filterable table
• Calendar view — jobs plotted on a daily, weekly, or monthly calendar
• Map view — jobs and technician locations displayed on a geographic map

Creating a Dispatch Job

To create a new job from the dispatch board:

1. Click New Job.
2. Select the customer (or create a new customer record).
3. Choose the job type (repair, installation, maintenance, inspection, etc.).
4. Set the priority level:
   • Low — can be scheduled at convenience
   • Normal — standard scheduling
   • High — should be handled same-day if possible
   • Urgent — requires immediate attention
5. Add a description of the work needed.
6. Set the scheduled date and time block.
7. Add any required skills (e.g., HVAC certification, electrical license).
8. Assign a technician or let smart dispatch handle it.
9. Save the job.

Job Status Workflow

Every dispatch job moves through a defined status workflow:

Status	Description
Created	Job has been created but not yet assigned
Assigned	A technician has been assigned to the job
En Route	The technician is traveling to the job site
In Progress	Work is underway at the job site
Completed	The job has been finished
Cancelled	The job has been cancelled

Every status change is recorded in the dispatch status log with a timestamp, creating a complete audit trail for each job.

Filtering and Search

Filter the dispatch board by:

• Status (assigned, in progress, completed, etc.)
• Priority (low, normal, high, urgent)
• Technician
• Service zone
• Date range
• Job type

Smart Dispatch and Auto-Assignment

Smart dispatch is TradeKitt’s intelligent job assignment engine. Instead of manually matching technicians to jobs, smart dispatch analyzes multiple factors to recommend or automatically assign the best technician.

How Smart Dispatch Works

When a new job is created (or when you click Auto-Assign), the engine evaluates available technicians based on:

1. Skill match — does the technician have the required skills at the required level? A job requiring “Advanced HVAC” will prioritize technicians with Advanced or Expert HVAC skills.
2. Service zone — is the technician assigned to the zone where the job is located?
3. Proximity — how close is the technician to the job site based on their current GPS location?
4. Workload — how many jobs does the technician already have scheduled for that day?
5. Availability — is the technician clocked in and not already on another job?

Auto-Assignment Rules

Configure auto-assignment rules under Dispatch > Settings > Auto-Assignment:

• Fully automatic — jobs are assigned to the best-matched technician without dispatcher intervention
• Suggest only — the system recommends a technician, but a dispatcher must confirm
• Manual only — auto-assignment is disabled

You can set different rules based on job priority. For example, urgent jobs might auto-assign while normal jobs require dispatcher confirmation.

Assignment Notifications

When a technician is assigned a job (manually or via smart dispatch), they receive a real-time notification through:

• Push notification on the mobile app
• In-app notification on the web dashboard
• WebSocket event delivered via the dispatch gateway

Route Optimization

Route optimization calculates the most efficient order for a technician to visit multiple job sites in a day, reducing drive time and fuel costs.

Using Route Optimization

1. Select a technician from the dispatch board.
2. View their scheduled jobs for the day.
3. Click Optimize Route.
4. The system reorders the jobs to minimize total travel distance.
5. Review the optimized route on the map.
6. Apply the optimized order or adjust manually.

Route Factors

The optimization considers:

• Geographic distance between job sites
• Scheduled time constraints (jobs with fixed appointment times)
• Job priority (urgent jobs are prioritized)
• Estimated job duration

Service Zones and Technician Skills

Defining Service Zones

Service zones define the geographic areas your business covers. To create a zone:

1. Navigate to Dispatch > Service Zones.
2. Click Add Zone.
3. Name the zone (e.g., “North Metro”, “Downtown”, “East County”).
4. Define the zone boundary.
5. Save the zone.

Assigning Technicians to Zones

Each technician can be assigned to one or more service zones:

1. Navigate to Technicians and select a technician.
2. Under Service Zones, select the zones this technician covers.
3. Save the changes.

The dispatch engine uses zone assignments to ensure technicians are only assigned jobs within their coverage area.

Managing Technician Skills

Skills ensure the right technician is matched to each job:

1. Navigate to Technicians and select a technician.
2. Under Skills, add relevant skills with proficiency levels:
   • Beginner — basic understanding, needs supervision
   • Intermediate — can handle standard work independently
   • Advanced — handles complex work, can mentor others
   • Expert — top-level proficiency, handles the most difficult jobs
3. Save the changes.

When creating dispatch jobs, specify required skills so the dispatch engine can match appropriately.

SLA Tracking

Service Level Agreements define how quickly your team must respond to and resolve jobs. TradeKitt monitors SLA compliance automatically.

Setting Up SLA Policies

Configure SLA policies under Settings > SLA Policies:

1. Create a policy (e.g., “Standard”, “Premium”, “Emergency”).
2. Define targets by priority level:

Priority	Response Time	Resolution Time
Low	48 hours	5 business days
Normal	24 hours	3 business days
High	4 hours	24 hours
Urgent	1 hour	4 hours

3. Assign the policy to customers or job types.

Monitoring Compliance

SLA compliance is checked automatically every 5 minutes. The system:

• Calculates elapsed time for in-progress jobs
• Compares against the applicable SLA targets
• Records violations when targets are breached
• Sends notifications to dispatchers and managers

SLA Reports

View SLA metrics under Reports > SLA Compliance:

• Compliance rate — percentage of jobs meeting SLA targets
• Average response time — mean time from job creation to technician en-route
• Average resolution time — mean time from job creation to completion
• Top violators — technicians or job types with the most SLA breaches
• Violation acknowledgement — dispatchers can acknowledge violations with notes explaining the circumstances

Real-Time Tracking

TradeKitt provides real-time visibility into your field operations through multiple channels.

Technician Location

When technicians have GPS enabled on the mobile app, their location is updated in real time:

• View all active technicians on the dispatch map
• See each technician’s current status (available, en route, on a job)
• Click a technician to see their current job details and next assignment

Live Job Updates

Job status changes are broadcast in real time via WebSocket connections (Server-Sent Events for the web app):

• Dispatchers see status changes instantly on the dispatch board
• Managers can monitor job progress from the dashboard
• Events are delivered across all API instances for horizontal scaling using Redis pub/sub

Status Log

Every dispatch job maintains a complete status log showing:

• Each status transition (with timestamp)
• Who made the change (technician, dispatcher, or system)
• GPS coordinates at the time of the change (if available)
• Any notes attached to the status update

Access the status log from the job detail screen.

Dispatcher Role

TradeKitt includes a dedicated dispatcher role for team members who manage the dispatch board but don’t need full admin access.

Dispatcher Permissions

Dispatchers can:

• View and manage the dispatch board
• Create, assign, and update dispatch jobs
• View technician locations and schedules
• Monitor SLA compliance
• Access the dispatcher dashboard with operational metrics

Dispatchers cannot:

• Modify commission rates or billing settings
• Access financial reports
• Manage user accounts
• Change system configuration

Setting Up Dispatchers

To create a dispatcher account:

1. Navigate to Users > Add User in the admin dashboard.
2. Set the role to Dispatcher.
3. Enter their name and login credentials.
4. Save the account.

Dispatchers log in at the same URL as admins and see a dispatch-focused dashboard and sidebar.

Tips for Effective Dispatching

• Use smart dispatch for routine jobs and reserve manual assignment for special cases
• Monitor the SLA dashboard throughout the day to catch potential violations early
• Keep service zones up to date as your coverage area changes
• Review route optimization suggestions before each day starts
• Encourage technicians to update job status promptly for accurate real-time tracking
• Use the map view during busy days to visualize technician distribution and identify coverage gaps

Next Steps

• Admin Guide — configure dispatch settings and SLA policies
• Technician Guide — share with your field team
• Customer Portal — let customers book appointments
• Integrations — connect field service management tools