Smart Scheduler: Dynamic Optimization Frequently Asked Questions
General
Question | Answer |
What is Smart Scheduler: Dynamic Optimization? | It's an enhancement to Smart Scheduler that lets you work with the optimizer throughout the day, adjusting a live plan rather than rebuilding it from scratch. You can reschedule paused jobs, adjust jobs already assigned, fit in urgent work, and review detailed results before applying any changes. |
Do I need to change any settings to use this? | No. No setup changes are required. If you're already using Smart Scheduler in the New Scheduler, these features are available to you. |
Is my traditional way of running Smart Scheduler still supported? | Yes. Running Smart Scheduler from the Unassigned List works exactly as it always has. These updates add new ways to run it, they don't replace the existing one. |
Is this available in the legacy Scheduler? | No. These features are available in the New Scheduler only. |
Will Smart Scheduler still respect my scheduling policy rules? | Yes. Smart Scheduler always works within your scheduling policy, whether you're running it from the Unassigned List or making adjustments on the fly. |
Rescheduling Paused Jobs
Question | Answer |
Can I use Smart Scheduler to reschedule a paused job? | Yes. Select the paused jobs you want to reschedule on the schedule board, then run Smart Scheduler as usual. |
Will a paused job get reassigned to a different technician? | No. Paused jobs are always routed back to the technician who originally worked them, since that technician typically already has the parts and context needed to finish the job. This rule is applied automatically and can't be turned off. |
Why is this useful? | It's built for the common workflow where a technician visits a site, identifies parts needed to finish a job, and the job is paused until those parts arrive. Once the parts are in, Smart Scheduler can reschedule the job for you instead of requiring manual rebooking. |
Rescheduling Assigned Jobs
Question | Answer |
Can I reschedule jobs that are already assigned to a technician? | Yes. Select the assigned jobs on the schedule board and run Smart Scheduler. |
Will this change which technician is on the job? | It's your choice. You can keep the same job lead and simply reshuffle the timing, or allow the optimizer to reassign to a different technician for the best overall result. |
Can I combine assigned, unassigned, and paused jobs in the same run? | Yes. This is especially useful for fitting critical or additional jobs into a day that already has some spare capacity. |
Adjusting Policy and Rules
Question | Answer |
Can I change my scheduling policy without leaving the Smart Scheduler flow? | Yes. On the technician and rules step of a run, you can turn Skills Matching or Location Permits on or off, adjust workload balancing, or change the travel time buffer. |
Do I need to save these changes separately? | Yes. You can update your current policy or save the changes as a new policy version. |
What if a run leaves some jobs unscheduled? | Try relaxing the relevant policy rule, such as workload balancing or the travel time buffer, and run Smart Scheduler again to compare the outcome. |
Reviewing Results
Question | Answer |
What can I see before I apply a Smart Scheduler plan? | A preview step shows exactly which jobs and technicians are included before the run starts. After the run, a results view shows wrench time, average travel time, technician utilization, and a summary of all changes made. |
What if some jobs couldn't be scheduled? | The results view lists any jobs that couldn't be scheduled along with the reason why, so you can decide how to handle them. |
Can I review the plan more than once before applying it? | Yes. You can return to the results view and the Gantt chart as many times as you like before accepting the plan. |
What happens to the jobs in a proposed plan? | They're set to Tentative by default, giving you a chance to confirm details before anything is dispatched to technicians. |
Limitations
Question | Answer |
Are there job types that Smart Scheduler can't optimize? | Yes. Crew jobs and multi-day jobs aren't eligible for Smart Scheduler runs. |
What happens if a technician doesn't have the right skills for any selected jobs? | If Skills Matching is enabled, that technician is left with an empty schedule for that run. You can run Smart Scheduler again separately to assign them job types they're qualified for. |
Can I run Smart Scheduler on a past date range? | No. The scheduling window must be set to a future date range. |