Working With Multiple-Appointment Jobs
You can create multiple Appointments for Jobs, and assign single or multiple Resources to those Appointments.
In Job records, overall duration values are specified in the Scheduled Duration field, and start times for Appointments are defined in the Scheduled Time field. Default durations for new Appointments are defined in the Default Appointment Duration setting. If the Default Appointment Duration setting does not contain a value, the Estimated Service Duration field value in the associated Job record is used.
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Scheduled Duration field values do not include durations for Appointments in aborted states, such as Canceled or Rejected. Duration values for Appointments in other end states, such as Finished or Incomplete, are included.
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At dispatch, Jobs with Estimated Service Duration values that are longer than the Default Appointment Duration setting value are automatically split into multiple Appointments. A confirmation dialog box appears and shows Appointment details such as start and end time and durations. Dispatchers can accept the automatically created Appointments, or choose to create multiple Appointments manually. Although automatically created multiple Appointments should not conflict with nonworking hours and previously scheduled Appointments and Events, the first Appointment starts at the time set at dispatch, even if during nonworking hours or at times that overlap with other Appointments and Events.
Maximum Appointment durations can be set to the Default Appointment Duration value, or can be of shorter and varying lengths. When technicians have existing Appointments during days and times that overlap Jobs that are scheduled for the same dates, shorter durations are set to avoid conflicts and prevent scheduling outside the defined shift until the full Estimated Service Duration value is met. In cases where the Estimated Service Duration field value in the associated Job record is less than the Default Appointment Duration setting value, the Estimated Service Duration field value in the Job record is used.
By default, available working hours for selected Resources are searched for the 12 weeks after the scheduled starting dates and times for Jobs. In cases where the total available working hours for selected Resources within that 12-week period are less than the Estimated Service Duration field value, only a partial group of Appointments is created. The hours scheduled in the temporarily created Appointments (plus any hours scheduled in previously created Appointments for the same Job if applicable) are subtracted from the Estimated Service Duration value to calculate the number of remaining hours, which are left unscheduled. If no available working hours are found within the 12-week search window, scheduling fails. If error messages appear and inform you of this issue, your system administrator can configure a longer search window to resolve the issue.
Appointment durations are calculated as follows:
• If the Default Appointment Duration setting contains a value, the Estimated Service Duration field value is used to calculate successive Appointment durations.
• If the Estimated Service Duration field value is greater than the Scheduled Duration field value, and the difference between the two values is greater than the Default Appointment Duration setting value, the Default Appointment Duration value is used.
• If the Estimated Service Duration field value is greater than the Scheduled Duration field value, and the difference between the two values is less than the Default Appointment Duration, setting value, the difference value is used.
• When Scheduled Duration field values are equal to or greater than Estimated Service Duration field values in Job records, and you create multiple appointments, successive durations are set to the Default Appointment Duration setting value.
When the Dispatch Job Dialog Content setting is enabled and set to Appointment Form Only or Appointment and Job Forms, and dispatchers update Duration field values in the Dispatch Job dialog box, durations are calculated differently, as follows:
• The first Appointment uses the user-defined duration, even if in conflict with Appointments for other Jobs or outside the working hours for the Resource.
• The maximum duration of the remaining Appointments is the Default Appointment Duration value and does not conflict with Appointments for other Jobs or fall outside of the working hours for the Resource.
• If the updated Duration value is shorter than the remaining duration for the Job, even in cases where the remaining duration is shorter than the Default Appointment Duration value, multiple Appointments are still created.
• If the updated Duration value is longer than or equal to the remaining duration for the Job, even in cases where the remaining duration is longer than the Default Appointment Duration value, multiple Appointments are not created.
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• You can cancel individual Appointments in multiple-Appointment Jobs without affecting overall Job status, as long as you do not cancel the final Appointment scheduled for the Job. When you cancel all Appointments for a Job, its status returns to New.
• When you create one or more Appointments for a multiple-Appointment Job, and then assign the Job to another Resource, the Multi-Resource Calendar appears.
• When you update Status values for primary Resource Appointments to Incomplete, the same value is applied to other Appointments for the Job, and a confirmation box appears and asks you to confirm the change.
• Align Appointments is not supported for multiple Appointments assigned to a single Resource for a Job.
• If you reschedule grouped multiple Appointments, the changes apply to all Appointments for the associated Job.
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