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The dispatch board

Read the board, understand the columns and timers, and know which calls stay on it.

For
DispatcherService advisorAdministrator
Hosting
Any hosting
Devices
All devices
Business
Towing

Checked against Pop Street Dispatch 0.1.0

The board shows every open tow call and every call that changed in the last 24 hours, with your drivers and trucks beside it. You will be able to see at a glance what waits, who is moving and which call needs attention.

Before you start #

You need the dispatcher, advisor, manager or owner role, or an integration key with the dispatch scope.

Steps #

The Dispatch board in the web console with the Dispatch board menu item, the columns from New to En route, the New column, the Live badge and the New call button.
The board with demo calls.
  1. Open the Dispatch board.
  2. Read the columns from left to right: Scheduled, New, Dispatched, En route, On scene, Loaded, Done (delivered and completed calls) and Cancelled.
  3. Watch the New column. Priority decides the order: urgent first, then high, then normal, and within a priority the oldest call comes first. Other columns list the most recent change first.
  4. Read the timer tone on a new call. Normal up to 10 minutes. Amber after 10 minutes. Red after 20 minutes.
  5. Read the drivers list. Each driver shows one of three states: available (on shift with no active call), busy (on a call) or off duty. Each driver also shows the truck, whether the driver is clocked in, the current call and the last known position.
  6. Read the trucks list. A truck shows its plate, its inspection and insurance dates, and a blocked message when an open critical defect keeps it off the road.
  7. Search the board by call number, caller, vehicle, pickup, drop-off, driver or account.

What stays on the board #

  • Every call that is still open (anything except completed or cancelled).
  • Completed and cancelled calls for 24 hours after their last change.
  • At most 300 calls on screen, newest first.

Where driver positions come from #

The board uses the driver's phone position. When the phone has been silent for more than 180 seconds and a truck tracker reported within the last 600 seconds, the board shows the tracker. A driver who is off shift shows no position.

Live updates #

The board updates itself when a call is taken, assigned or changes status. See "The live board feed".

Technical details
  • GET /tow/board returns calls (each with tone and column), drivers, trucks and the server time as now. It reads up to 600 calls and the board rules keep up to 300.
  • A scheduled call is stored as new with a flag, and the API shows it as scheduled.
  • Delivered and completed calls share the Done column.

If something goes wrong #

  • The board is empty: no call is open and nothing changed in 24 hours.
  • A driver shows no position: the driver is off shift, or the phone has sent no position since the shift began.
  • A truck shows blocked: see "Assignment rules".