Scheduler Dispatch Desk Walkthrough

What the Scheduler is for

The Scheduler is Deucalion's dispatch desk for moving office-planned work into trusted field work. It combines inspections, work orders, and scheduler tasks into one planner so office teams can:

• Triage overdue, due-soon, and unscheduled demand.
• Assign eligible field resources.
• Set exact dates, target months, booking status, duration, windows, and visibility.
• Check statutory due-date urgency and capacity pressure before dispatch.
• Bulk edit selected jobs without overwriting fields by accident.
• Shift selected jobs by a relative offset, such as +1 day or +1 week.
• Deploy ready work so assigned engineers see it in the mobile app.

The Scheduler is not just a calendar. It is the handoff point between office planning and the engineer day run.

In words: create or generate draft work; keep it at target-month level until a real date is known; assign at least one field resource; manually confirm that the assigned team meets the required crew size; check the customer arrival promise and warnings; and deploy only ready work. The engineer then opens My Day Run, acknowledges the visit, completes the work, and syncs the evidence for office review. Completion does not automatically create or suggest the next PPM visit. When recurring work is due again, return manually to Routine Maintenance or Maintenance Planner.

The Dispatch Desk layout

Open Scheduling from the admin navigation. The page opens as a full dispatch workspace, with the admin sidebar collapsed to the icon rail by default.

Step 1: Set your working view

Use the Board/Timeline/Map/Forecast switcher in the filter controls to choose the planner surface that matches the decision you are making.

Use Compact when you need more jobs on screen. Use Comfortable when you are reviewing detail. Use Full nav when you need the full admin navigation, and Rail when you want more planner space.

Click Focus mode in the page header when you need a clean planning surface. Press Esc or click Exit focus to leave focus mode.

Step 2: Start with the pipeline

The pipeline stage filters show where work sits in the office-to-field lifecycle.

Use Draft at the start of planning, Ready before sending work out, and Deployed when checking what engineers should already trust.

Click Deploy ready work to deploy the current ready slice without selecting each job manually. Use this only after you have checked filters, dates, and capacity.

Step 3: Triage the work queue

The work queue is the left-hand demand list. It stays visible beside the planner so unscheduled work is not hidden in a separate table.

Start each planning session in this order:

1. Review Overdue jobs first.
2. Review Due soon jobs second.
3. Review Unscheduled jobs third.
4. Use warning badges to find blockers before dragging jobs into the planner.
5. Select cards when you want to bulk edit, shift dates, build a run, or deploy a group.

The count below Work queue says job or jobs because the queue can contain inspections, work orders, and scheduler tasks.

Step 4: Read job cards correctly

Job cards carry operational signals. Do not rely on colour alone.

Use the due-date legend in timeline views to understand statutory urgency. Use warnings and booking status before moving or deploying a job.

Step 5: Assign work on the Board

Board view is the fastest way to turn queued demand into a planned engineer schedule.

1. Switch to Board.
2. Review the work queue.
3. Drag a job from the work queue into an engineer/day slot.
4. If the drop target is valid, the job is assigned and scheduled.
5. If the target is invalid, the drop is rejected and the planner shows a reason.
6. Use row capacity chips to avoid overloading one engineer while another has space.
7. Click a card to open Quick View when a drag is not enough.

Dragging is useful for fast assignment. Quick View is better when you need to change booking status, visibility, customer appointment state, duration, priority, or task status.

Step 6: Use Timeline for capacity and timing

Timeline view supports day and week planning.

In timeline rows:

1. Check the utilisation chip for each engineer.
2. Look for shaded non-working time.
3. Treat over-capacity days as a planning warning, especially when they overlap non-working time.
4. Use the lane sort buttons to sort by utilisation, name, or visit count.
5. Use Today, arrows, or the date input to move the timeline window.

Step 7: Use Map for geography

Map view is for route and location decisions.

1. Switch to Map.
2. Review clustered site markers.
3. Open a marker to see site, job count, engineer assignment, and acknowledgement context.
4. Use postcode-area or region filters when a cluster should be planned together.
5. Switch back to Board or Timeline after narrowing the geographic slice.

Use Map before Build day run when the real question is travel friction or postcode clustering.

Forecast is deliberately broader than the filtered planner. It covers the next 12 months across all sites you can access and does not inherit the current planner filters. Use it to understand future demand, then return to Board or Timeline to schedule real visits. The retired PPM Forecast destination redirects to this view.

Step 8: Open Quick View for one job

Click any job card to open Planner quick view in the right-side workbench drawer.

Use Quick View for small, safe edits while keeping the planner visible:

Use Full edit when you need wider operational metadata, such as access equipment, crew size, out-of-hours requirements, or deeper inspection/work-order detail.

Target-month work is planning demand. It is not deploy-ready until it has an exact scheduled date and time.

Step 9: Use named page-header workflows

The old overflow menu has been replaced by named actions in the page header.

Use page-header workflows for planner-wide actions. Use the selection dock for actions on selected jobs.

Step 10: Create a scheduler task

Use New for work that belongs in the planner but is not yet an inspection or work order.

1. Click New.
2. Add a title and task type.
3. Link a site and system when location matters.
4. Choose an assignee when known.
5. Choose Exact date when the slot is booked, or Target month when only the planning month is known.
6. Add duration and priority.
7. Save.

Scheduler tasks appear beside inspections and work orders in the work queue, board, timeline, and map.

Step 11: Bulk edit selected work

Select one or more jobs, then click Bulk edit in the selection dock. Bulk Update opens in the right-side workbench drawer.

Bulk Update is toggle based. Only enabled toggles are sent to the server.

Safe bulk-edit workflow:

1. Select the jobs.
2. Click Bulk edit.
3. Turn on only the fields you intend to change.
4. Click Preview Changes.
5. Review valid, warned, and blocked jobs.
6. Resolve blockers before applying.
7. Click Apply.

Do not enable a toggle unless you want that field changed across the selected jobs.

Step 12: Shift selected dates

Use Shift dates when selected exact-dated jobs need to move by the same relative offset.

1. Select the jobs.
2. Click Shift dates in the selection dock.
3. Choose +1 day, +1 week, or a custom day/week offset.
4. Click Preview.
5. Confirm the valid, warned, and blocked counts.
6. Click Apply shift.

Shift dates uses the same bulk-update safety path as Bulk Update. It preserves each job's time, duration, engineer, and type while changing the scheduled date.

If shifted jobs leave the visible planner range, the Scheduler shows a toast explaining where they moved. Use the toast action to jump the planner to the new range.

Step 13: Build a day run

Use Build day run when you want Deucalion to suggest an efficient route for one engineer.

1. Click Build day run in the page header, or select jobs for one engineer and click Build run in the selection dock.
2. Choose the engineer and date.
3. Review the suggested route, candidate jobs, travel estimates, and warnings.
4. Reorder stops when needed.
5. Apply the run.

The route builder scores urgency, assignment, priority, schedule-window pressure, postcode clustering, and distance. Use it as a dispatch assistant, not as a replacement for planner judgement.

Step 14: Import recurring work

Use Import recurring work for annual or 6-monthly programmes that need to become scheduler demand.

1. Click Import recurring work.
2. Upload the CSV.
3. Review the preview.
4. Choose the conflict policy.
5. Apply the import.
6. Review the generated jobs in Scheduler before deploying them.

Imported work should still be checked for exact dates, engineer assignment, capacity, and blockers before deployment.

Step 15: Batch schedule visits

Use Batch schedule visits when a site has multiple systems that need inspection visits created together.

1. Click Batch schedule visits.
2. Select the site.
3. Select the systems.
4. Choose inspection type.
5. Add assignment and scheduling fields if known.
6. Preview the batch.
7. Create the visits.

New visits enter the Scheduler as draft work. They must still pass readiness checks before deployment.

Step 16: Lock or protect sensitive visits

Use booking status deliberately.

Use Do not move sparingly. It protects confirmed or sensitive visits from accidental drag, bulk, or shift-date changes.

Step 17: Prepare work for deployment

A job is ready to deploy when it has:

1. At least one assigned engineer.
2. An exact scheduled date and time.
3. A booking status of Confirmed or Do not move.
4. An active status.
5. No blocking validation warnings.

The Ready pipeline stage shows jobs that pass these checks. Target-month, Provisional, and Date offered jobs stay in planning until the visit has an exact slot and committed booking state.

Before deployment, check:

• The engineer is correct.
• The assigned team meets the required crew size; Ready only proves that at least one field resource is assigned.
• The date and time are correct.
• Duration is realistic.
• Capacity is acceptable.
• Booking status matches the customer conversation.
• Blocking warnings are resolved.
• Sensitive visits are not included by accident.

Step 18: Deploy to the field

You can deploy in two ways.

Deployment workflow:

1. Review the batch.
2. Click Deploy ready work or select jobs and click Deploy.
3. Read the deployment preview.
4. Remove or fix blocked jobs.
5. Confirm deployment.

Deployment:

• Sets the job's deployment state to deployed.
• Records deployment timestamp and batch ID.
• Sends engineer notifications without blocking the page response.
• Makes the job appear in the assigned engineer's mobile day run.
• Starts acknowledgement tracking.

Deployed jobs show as awaiting until the engineer opens their mobile day run. After that, the planner shows acknowledgement as complete.

Step 19: Understand what resets deployment

A deployed job returns to draft when the office changes core scheduling fields, such as:

• Scheduled date.
• Assigned engineer.
• Estimated duration.

This is deliberate. Engineers should only trust deployed work that matches the latest office plan. Re-deploy the job after making those changes.

Step 20: Troubleshoot common problems

Recommended daily operating rhythm

Use this sequence at the start of each planning day:

1. Open Scheduling.
2. Check Draft.
3. Triage Overdue, Due soon, then Unscheduled in the work queue.
4. Switch to Board to assign and schedule the day's demand.
5. Switch to Timeline to check capacity, non-working time, and clashes.
6. Use Map for route or postcode clustering.
7. Use Bulk edit or Shift dates for grouped adjustments.
8. Use Ready to review deployable work.
9. Deploy the final batch.
10. Check Deployed for acknowledgement and last-minute changes.

Related guides

• Views and Navigation explains board, timeline, map, filters, URL state, and work queue grouping.
• Planning and Operations covers day runs, recurring imports, batch scheduling, drag-and-drop, and operational metadata.
• Planner Control and Capacity covers booking status, visibility windows, capacity, and forecast handoffs.
• Bulk Operations and Deployment covers selection, previews, deployment readiness, and engineer handoff.