The Graphic Time Chart button enables you to toggle between the graphic and text display of the workorder list. The graphic view is designed to work best with the Technician/Date/Time and Date/Technician/Time sort orders.
When you start the dispatch board, the text version of the Work Orders is displayed. To switch to the graphic time chart, simply click on the Chart button.
When the button is depressed, the Work Orders are displayed in a graphic format. To switch back to the text version, simply click on the Chart button again.
The length of the bar in the Time Chart corresponds to the hours on the Work Order's Tech tab. The length of the bar is rounded to the nearest quarter hour.
For each WorkOrder, the following information appears at the left of the time chart (when you position the cursor over the time block for a Work Order, the status line displays additional information for that workorder):
Date Scheduled | Technician | Client Site Alpha |
The column following Client Site Alpha may either be blank or contain dashes (----) or stars (**).
---- Dashes indicate that the work orders for the next technician begin
** Stars indicate that a call is in conflict (regardless of the sort order selected)
Blanks indicate an additional call(s) for the same technician that is not in conflict
When the Work Order List is displayed in the Graphic Time Chart mode, the following steps can be implemented to change the Time Scheduled of a dispatch:
1. Using the left mouse button, click once on the dispatch you want to reschedule.
2. Using the left mouse button again, click on the time (on that Tech's time line) you want to reschedule the dispatch.
3. The caret is now located at the time you want the dispatch to begin. Using the right mouse button, click on the caret to actually reschedule the dispatch.
By using the Graphics and Available Hours views together, you can easily resolve conflicts and schedule unassigned calls.
1. Verify that the Graphics view is displayed in the lower half of the dispatch board, and the Available Hours view appears in the upper half.
2. Click on the dispatch on the lower half of the board that you wish to reschedule to a different tech/day.
3. With the left mouse button depressed, drag the dispatch from the Graphics view to the desired cell of the Available Hours table in the upper portion of the screen and then release the mouse button.
4. SAM Pro will ask you to confirm the charge; press Yes and the dispatch will be rescheduled/reassigned. You will be warned if you assign a work order to an inactive technician.