Work streams and zones

Overview#

Zones are territories made of ZIP codes. A job's zone comes from its address. A work stream is one dispatcher's slice of the work, defined by business units, zones and technician teams. When a dispatcher picks a stream for their shift, the board, the unscheduled list and their scheduling actions narrow to that stream. You can leave streams optional or require every dispatcher to pick one.

All of this lives on one settings page, along with technician profiles (team, zones, business units, home base) and certifications.

Before you start#

• You need Settings › Dispatch Board › Zones, Move-up & Work Streams access: Owner, Admin or Dispatcher.

• Only an Owner or Admin can turn Require dispatchers to work one stream on or off. Owners and Admins are never bound to a stream.

• Business units come from your company setup. If you have none, streams use zones and teams only.

Steps#

Add zones#

1. Go to Settings › Dispatch Board › Zones, Move-up & Work Streams.

2. In Zones, type a New zone name (for example "North Oakland") and its ZIP codes, separated by commas.

3. Click Add zone.

4. To edit, change the name or ZIP list in the table and click Save. Click Deactivate to retire a zone, or Reactivate to bring it back.

5. A ZIP code can belong to only one active zone. If you list a ZIP that another zone has, you'll see "ZIP 48083 is already in North Oakland."

Set up technician profiles#

1. In Technicians, for each person:

   • Team: a free-text team name, for example "North crew". Work streams use it.

   • Home latitude and Home longitude: where drive times start when there's no earlier job or live position. The AI dispatcher's "stay near base" rule also uses it.

   • Tick the zones and business units they usually work.

2. Click Save on that row.

Create work streams#

1. In Work streams, enter a New work stream name, for example "Downriver service" or "Install BU".

2. Fill in at least one of:

   • Teams (comma-separated): which technicians' rows show.

   • Business units: tick one or more.

   • Zones: tick one or more (add zones first).

3. Click Add work stream.

4. Rules for what's in a stream:

   • A job is in the stream when it matches every business unit and zone dimension you set. A dimension left empty doesn't filter.

   • A technician's row shows when their team matches the stream's teams, and their zones and business units (if set) overlap the stream's.

5. Click Deactivate or Reactivate next to a stream to turn it off or on.

Choose whether streams are required#

1. At the top, in Move-up and work streams, an Owner or Admin ticks Require dispatchers to work one stream.

2. Click Save. You must create at least one stream first, or you'll see "Create a work stream before requiring dispatchers to pick one."

Pick a stream on the board (dispatchers)#

1. Open Dispatch › Dispatch Board. Once per shift, TradesWork asks Which work are you dispatching this shift?

2. Click a stream. When streams are optional, you can also click All work.

3. The toolbar button shows your stream's name. Click it any time to switch.

4. When streams are required and you haven't picked, the button reads Pick a work stream and the board stays empty until you do.

Settings that change this#

• Settings › Dispatch Board › Zones, Move-up & Work Streams: everything on this page, plus move-up settings and certifications.

• Settings › Dispatch Board › Board & Skills: skills and hours, which work alongside zones in Suggest.

• Settings › Operations › Branches: branches narrow the board separately from work streams.

Tips#

• Suggest ranks technicians higher when they work the job's zone (+) and business unit (+).

• Zones also group member visits on Schedule › Recurring Visits.

• With streams required, scheduling a job outside your stream is refused with "That job isn't in your work stream (…)". Owners and Admins can always see everything.

• Your pick lasts for the company day. Tomorrow you're asked again.

• Certifications at the bottom of this page block assignment when they've expired. Name other credentials exactly like the skill a job type requires.

Troubleshooting#

• "Pick at least one business unit, zone or team." Cause: the stream has no filter. Fix: tick or type at least one.

• "There's already a work stream with that name." / "There's already a zone with that name." Fix: use a different name.

• "Give both latitude and longitude for the home base." Fix: fill in both, or clear both.

• A technician never shows in a stream. Cause: their Team doesn't match the stream's teams, or their zones or business units don't overlap. Fix: update their profile.

• The board is empty for a dispatcher. Cause: streams are required and they haven't picked one, or their stream was deactivated mid-shift. Fix: click Pick a work stream.

• No checkbox to require streams. Cause: you're a Dispatcher. An Owner or Admin changes that setting.

FAQ#

Do zones decide which technician gets a job automatically? No. They feed Suggest and the AI dispatcher, and they group member visits. You still choose.

Can a job be in more than one stream? Yes, if it matches more than one. Streams can overlap.

Is this the same as online booking ZIP codes? No. Online booking service areas are set in Settings › Communications › Web Appointments.

Coming from ServiceTitan#

• Same: zones built from ZIP codes, business units and technician teams.

• Different: work streams give each dispatcher desk a named slice of the board, picked once per shift, and can be required. Zones also power technician suggestions and member-visit grouping.

• Where it lived: ServiceTitan's zones and dispatch board settings map to Settings › Dispatch Board › Zones, Move-up & Work Streams.