Dispatching in FieldEdge is simple and easy: Click, hold, and drag your Work Order to the Technician you want. 

However, most of the time, Technicians are not going solo on the job. 

Most Technicians work with a buddy, or might be training your latest new hire! Either way you look at it, there is a need to schedule multiple technicians for these cases. 

In this week’s blog, we will dive into everyone’s favorite hot topic: How to Schedule a Work Order with Multiple Technicians

Different Methods

There are currently two different methods of scheduling multiple technicians:

• Multi-Tech 
• Crews

Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Today we’ll dive into which method may be best for your company. 

Crews

Have you ever scrolled down on your Dispatch Board and found some technicians under the category of Crews?

Crews are technicians grouped together that are working on the same project. When you click on the picture of a Crew, you can see who all is inside of that Crew.

The person at the top of the list (who is also the name shown on the Dispatch Board) is the Primary Technician, while the others underneath them are the secondary technicians (helper technicians). 

With Crews, the Primary Technician handles everything for the other technicians. This means they are responsible to handle the Work Order completely for the other Technicians. 

Although this sounds perfect, that is a Crew’s disadvantage. 

The Downside to Crews

As mentioned, Crews sound too perfect to be true, and that is the case on why there is a downside to using Crews. Crews are your “perfect world scenario” option. 

Picture this: 

It’s your average Tuesday around 2pm. Your company made a Crew of the following Technicians above for a job that day: 

• Roger (Primary Technician) 
• Prince (Helper Technician) 
• Ric (Helper Technician) 

Roger and his helpers have been on an install since 12pm, however a call has come in to the office.

An emergency has occurred, and Prince needs to be taken off the current install to hop on another site immediately.

The issue: Roger needs at least 3 people on this Work Order in order to complete the work in time. 

This is where the major hang up with Crews starts. 

Crews do not account for most real world scenarios. 

We understand that more often than not, technicians bounce around from job to job to help each other out. With Crews, this can be a hassle. Not just for the technician, but it can be a nightmare for the office to correct.

Crews were designed for all the Technicians to stay together at all times..

In the scenario we presented, that entire Crew would need to be broken up and put back together with that new technician included. 

This requires the primary technician to place the work order in pending, all technicians back out of the work order, have the office un-assign the work order,  break up the Crew, put to the Crew back together, re-assign the Work Order, and have the office reach out to the technicians they are clear to go back in.

If you think that was a lot to read, imagine doing it day in and day out. That process can wear thin on everyone involved. 

Don’t worry though, there is another option for scheduling out multiple technicians that are way better suited for these types of scenarios! 

So, What are Crews Good for Then? 

After reading that, you are most likely completely deterred from Crews in general. However, Crews 100% have an advantage to them. 

Remember, Crews are perfect world scenario tools. This is why they are EXCELLENT for training opportunities. 

Think about when you hire a new technician. You typically have that technician shadow a senior technician. 

Crews would be a wonderful tool to use for these opportunities. 

This way your senior technician can train your new hire on the job, while also handling the big hitters of the FieldEdge app for the new hire, and your new hire can learn everything they need to know (all while giving the senior technician the main responsibility for the work). 

Multi-Tech Method

So, let’s say your company still needs to schedule multiple technicians but now know that Crews are not the way for you. This is where the Multi-Tech method comes into play. 

For the Multi-Tech method, you will still have a Primary Technician and helper technicians. However, the stakes for this method are not as high as the other. 

The Primary Technician will still be responsible for the work, but you no longer have to worry about breaking up a Crew.

 Now, Technicians can simply place the Work Order in Pending while backing out of the Work Order, and the work can be unassigned from them in the office if needed. 

Using the Multi-Tech Method 

1. To start using the Multi-Tech method, start by dragging and dropping a Work Order on to a Technician.
   1. It is important to note: Whomever you are placing the Work Order on first will be the Primary Technician. 
2.  Next, locate that same Work Order in your Assigned List. 
3. Drag and drop that same Work Order on to whomever will be a Helper Technician
4. Remember to select “Add Assignment” instead of “Reassign Technician” 
   1. Reassigning the Technician will take this work off of someone else and reassign the Work Order. You are wanting to add on additional Helpers.

     5. Repeat this process to keep adding on more Helper Technicians 

On the Dispatch Board, you will now see the same Work Order on multiple technicians.

Now your technicians (and your office) can work without the worry of an intense process of breaking up a Crew! 

Different scheduling methods got you down? Don’t worry – it can be a lot, and we’re here to help. Reach out to us for a free discovery call today on how we can assist your office with better dispatching.

Learn how we can help your business transition into FieldEdge workflows that best perform for you. Our team at Powerhouse Consulting Group is a certified partner with FieldEdge. We will work with you to understand your workflow, audit your FieldEdge settings, and can provide hands-on training for your team.