1. Service Management Time Slots

2. Overview
Time slotting allows call center personnel to easily schedule the starting time of new service Work Orders based on the availability of Time Slots for a given day, Service Category, and Branch.
This functionality would typically be used for residential service calls where the customer appointment would be made first, and the Technician assignment could be made at the same time or later.
When the Time Slot Wizard is launched from New Call 2, the dispatcher/call center staff will be shown the next available Time Slot with an option to select it, ask for the next available Time Slot or limit the search based on selected days on or after the specified effective date. Once selected, the Time Slot will be stored in the Work Order Technician tab, and set the Work Order’s Scheduled Date and Scheduled Time. The user will be prevented from changing the scheduled Date or Time of any Work Order Technician line where the Time Slot is set.

3. Time Slot Overview Technician Time Slot Tab
The available ‘inventory’ of Time Slots is maintained by the system based on the information entered in your system. The following chart shows how the Time Slot inventory is calculated for each day and Time Slot. Once the available Time Slot Inventory for a particular date range is set, the system will calculate the available Time Slot inventory for each day/Time Slot.
Technician
Time Slot Tab
Increase Time Slot Inventory for regular work days.
Technician
Unavailable Tab
Reduce Time Slot Inventory for sick and personal days.
Time Slot
Exceptions Tab
Increase or Reduce
Time Slot Inventory for bad weather, etc.
Work Order
Technician Tab
Reduce Time Slot Inventory for assigned Time Slot (canceled Tech lines returned to available inventory)
+ 10
- 2
+ 3
- 6
Current Available Time Slot Inventory
For December 17, 2012, Time Slot HVAC1
10 – – 6 = 5
In this example, 5 Time Slots are Allocated on the 17th (via the Work Order Technician Tab).

4. Time Slotting Setup – GL Reporting Period
The GL Reporting Period enables the day of the week calendar used to manage Time Slots. Your controller/accounting department needs to keep these records maintained at least 6 months into the future.

5. Time Slotting Setup – Time Slot Viewer
This viewer defines your firm’s Time Slots. Each Time Slot will reference a specific Service Category, Branch (if used), and Start/End time.
Time Slot Id: Must uniquely identify this Time Slot. Formulate these Id’s so that they are meaningful to your call center personnel. For example, the first HVAC slot of the day could be HVAC1. If your firm has Branches implemented, you would need a first HVAC slot defined for each Branch: HVAC1-B1, HVAC1-B2, and so on.
Time Slot Name: Briefly describes this Time Slot (ex, HVAC 8:00 – 11:00am Branch B2).

6. Time Slotting Setup – Time Slot Viewer
Start Time: End Time: These fields define the duration of the slot. The Start Time will set the Work Order’s Scheduled Time. The Work Order’s Estimated Hours continue to default from the Work Code.
Branch Id: If Branches are implemented, this field should be completed if Time Slots should be maintained by Branch (recommended).
Service Category Id: The Service Category this slot pertains to. This field is highly recommended.
Time Slot Summary:
These fields provide a snapshot of the selected Time Slot for the ‘As Of’’ date. The user may change the As Of date to look at a different date.
Slot capacity is dynamically calculated by adding the slot(s) listed on active technician records, subtracting slots if these techs are Unavailable, and then +/- the number specified on the Time Slot’s exceptions Tab (if the Work Code is not specified).
Slot availability is dynamically calculated by subtracting instances of Time Slot on the Work Order Technician from the slot capacity.

7. Time Slot Exceptions Tab
The Exceptions lower tab enables the user to make adjustments by adding to or subtracting from the slots available via the Technician Time Slot and Unavailability Tabs. For example, on a hot day or holiday, extra techs might be called in for HVAC slots.
Date: The date the adjustment will take place.
Work Code Id: If this adjustment should apply to a specific Work Code, enter it here. Work Code-specific adjustment will not appear on the Time Slot Summary above.
Qty: The number of slots to add or subtract (negative). For example, on a hot day, ‘nocool’ Work Codes could have their quantity increased, and PM Work Codes could be decreased.
Reason: The reason the adjustment is being made (e.g., weather).
User Id: The user recording the adjustment. This field is maintained by the system.

8. Time Slot Technicians Tab
The Technicians lower tab displays the active Technicians linked to this Time Slot via the Time Slot tab on their Technician record. You may double click on a line to access the Technician record.
The system consults the Technician’s Unavailable Tab to determine if he or she is available (Yes) or unavailable (No) for the As Of date specified in the Time Slot Summary above.

9. Time Slot Work Orders Tab
The WorkOrders lower tab displays the Work Orders this Time Slot has been allocated to on the As Of date specified in the Time Slot Summary above. You may double click on a line to access the Work Order.

10. Technicians Record Time Slot Tab
The Technician’s Time Slots lower tab adds to the Time Slot Inventory.
Add one line for each Time Slot this tech is normally able to fulfill. Check each of the days this Technician will normally be available for work on this Time Slot.
The Clone Lines button makes maintenance of the Technician Time Slots child table easier. When you click the tab, a selection window will appear, allowing you to select a technician to clone the Time Slot entries from. These lines will be added to the Time Slots tab of the technician you are editing.

11. Technicians Record Unavailable Tab
The Technician’s Unavailable lower tab reduces the Time Slot Inventory.
Use the Unavailable lower tab to specify the days a technician is unavailable for regularly scheduled work due to vacation, illness, company holidays, or other reasons.
The Clone Lines button makes maintenance of the Technician Unavailable child table easier. When you click the tab, a selection window will appear, allowing you to select a technician to copy from. For example, use a ‘company holiday’ technician to copy the current holiday unavailable days from. These lines will be added to the Unavailable lower tab of the technician currently being edited.

12. New Call 2
The Time Slot Wizard may only be accessed from New Call 2. First you will want to identify the Client Site and Equipment the call is for. In the following example, we have entered the first few characters to the street address, and clicked Find Site. Here we have located our caller, the Chen residence.

13. New Call 2
Our next step is to select the Equipment, Service Category (defaults from the Equipment), and Work Code, and Work Requested. If Call Scripts are implemented on your system, they should also be completed.
Clicking this button will launch the wizard to select an available Time Slot for the selected Service Category and Branch.

14. The Time Slot Wizard
The Wizard will display the next available Time Slots for the applicable Branch, Service Category and (optionally) Work Code. Since the Wizard is aware of the current system time, only Time Slots that have not yet expired and have not been fully allocated will be displayed.

15. The Time Slot Wizard
The Advanced Search fields allow you to limit or extend the Time Slot search based on the information the customer provides.
To only look for Time Slots on particular days, check one or more fields by double-clicking. The On or After and On or Before date fields allow you to expand or reduce the list of available Time Slots.
Click the Apply Settings button to apply the customer’s criteria to the list of Time Slots. In this example, we have limited the days to Thursday and Friday.

16. The Time Slot Wizard
To select a Time Slot, click to highlight it, then click the Select Time Slot button.

17. New Call 2: Time Slot Selected
Our Time Slot Id, Date and Time Scheduled have all been set.
At this point, we can also assign a Technician directly or create the Work Order as Unassigned, and use the Dispatch Board to assign a Tech. In this example, we will use the Add WO button to create the work order as unassigned.

18. Classic Dispatch Board
Here, the call has been assigned to Jay Gatsby.
Notice that the Time Slot Wizard can also be used from the Classic Board for an existing Work Order to schedule or reschedule the Time Slot.
Note: If a Time Slot is selected, the Date and Time Scheduled cannot be changed by the user.

19. Tips on Using the Time Slot Wizard
Suggest An Appointment
Many users prefer a weekend appointment, but will be willing to take an one on a weekday if it suggested. Discuss the best way of doing this with your service coordinator to even out your scheduled work and better serve your customers.
Cancel An Appointment
If your customer cannot keep the appointment, set the Tech Line to Canceled (which restores the Time Slot to the available inventory).
Reschedule An Appointment
If your customer calls to reschedule an appointment, use the Time Slot Wizard from the Classic Board (in the lower pane once the WO is selected) to reschedule the appointment to a different Time Slot.
Emergency – No Time Slots Available
A Time Slot is not required to create a New Call. An emergency call may be scheduled without specifying a Time Slot. Discuss the procedures for doing so with your Service Coordinator.