How to create and import jobs & routes in Dispatch

Modified on Fri, 12 Nov, 2021 at 10:08 AM

How to create and import jobs & routes in Dispatch

If you need a Dispatch Introduction, we suggest you start here.

Jobs

What is a Job?

A job is a task or a set of individual tasks to be performed by the worker. For example:

A delivery
A repair/service to be performed somewhere
A route to follow for a delivery/repair/service

Creating Jobs

You can create a new job in different ways:

From the Dispatch panel

To create a job from the Dispatch panel, click on the + Job button

From the map

To create a job directly from the map, right-clicking on the location and selecting Create new Job (here)

Both options will bring up the Add Job window where you can add and edit the details for the job. Depending on the option selected above, some fields are pre-populated.

Job name	Is the name of the task. You can input here anything you want.
Location	Shows the location for the job. You can type an address in the field or pick the location directly from the map with the Pick Job Location context menu.
Scheduled	Used to set a date for a Job. Jobs with a scheduled date only show up on that date. Jobs without a scheduled date show up every day. This information is sent out to workers when a job is dispatched. If the worker does not have the Dispatch app installed on his mobile phone/tablet, the link to connect will show up.
Assigned to	Lets you pick a worker for unassigned jobs and for assigned jobs it shows the worker.
Status	Planning: the job won't be sent to the worker yet. Dispatched to worker: the job will be sent to the worker right after saving the job.
Progress	These options will become available if the Status dispatched to worker is selected. Not started: the default state of a dispatched job. Active: This status is achieved when the user click on Start in the Dispatch app. Completed: when the worker completes the job in the Dispatch app.
Discussion	This section allows workers and operators to add information to the Job as progress is made.
Custom fields	This option will be available if Custom Fields have been added to dispatch jobs.

Importing Jobs

If you want to import jobs in batch mode, you can do this by selecting Import jobs from the advanced menu

You will be able to see the TXT format file from the CSV formatting help link in the window below:

Download a sample of a CSV file to import jobs here.

Routes

What are routes?

Routes are a collection of individual jobs into a single group.

Creating a route

1. To create a route, select Route under the Create menu in the Dispatch window.

2. Under Details you can find several fields very similar to the ones required for a single job.

3. Under Jobs, it is necessary to have at least two jobs to make a route.

A third job will enable the Optimize button.

You can create a new job by right-clicking on the map

You can also create a job just by typing the address

Or you can use + Job button on the Jobs panel to add a job individually.

4. When you click on Save, the job will be displayed on the Worker panel.

The route statistics will be available when you hover the mouse over the route card.

Importing Routes

You can import routes too. For that purpose, include routename parameter at the end of your CSV file as shown in the picture:

Download a sample of a CSV file to import routes here.

Important Notes

There are several important things to be aware of when using the routes feature.

Routes must contain a name and 2 or more Jobs to be saved. If you cannot save your route, check that you fulfill all the criteria to create one. Standalone jobs can still be created and managed in the usual way.
Routes can only be assigned to one worker. If you are trying to drag jobs that have different workers assigned, the Dispatch panel will not allow you to add them. Remove the worker from the job, or alter the worker assigned to the route.
When deployed to a device, routes are deployed as a list of jobs. Routes are a feature designed to help operators in FleetMotus deploy and manage many jobs at once.