Dispatcher Training Sandbox Workflow¶

Before You Start¶

Sandbox Access

Training accounts:

Username	Password	Role
`dispatcher1`	`dispatcher1`	Dispatcher
`manager1`	`manager1`	Manager

You can also log in with any Scott Recycling employee email using password training.

This is a safe copy of our real system. Nothing here affects production — no emails send, no texts go out, no GPS updates push to Samsara. Practice freely.

The sandbox resets periodically from a fresh copy, so don't worry about "breaking" anything. The system is pre-loaded with real route history, truck schedules, customer pickups, fleet vehicles, and driver records — everything you need to practice.

You can also generate additional practice routes on demand using the Generate Sandbox Pickups wizard (see below).

Sandbox Limitations

Because this is a training copy, some live integrations are disabled:

Samsara GPS tracking — Routes won't update in real-time. You can see historical data and explore the buttons, but "Push to Samsara" won't actually send.
SMS/Email notifications — Buttons exist but messages won't deliver.
Google Maps routing — Date suggestions in the Add a Note wizard may not calculate travel times.

Everything else works normally — you can create, edit, and explore all records.

Sandbox Training Data Guide¶

The sandbox is a copy of our real system with additional training-specific routes inserted. You'll see both training routes (described below) and real historical data — this is intentional. Learning to navigate a system with real data is part of training.

Dates Refresh Weekly

Training route dates are refreshed automatically. Draft routes always appear next week, and in-progress routes always appear today, regardless of when you log in.

Generate Sandbox Pickups (On-Demand)¶

In addition to the pre-loaded training routes below, you can generate your own practice routes using the Generate Sandbox Pickups wizard:

Go to Scott Recycling → Operations → Generate Sandbox Pickups
The wizard opens with these options:

Field	Default	What It Controls
Start Date	Tomorrow	First date to generate routes for (weekdays only)
Number of Days	5	How many weekdays to generate routes across
Routes per Day	3	Number of truck routes created each day
Min Stops per Route	3	Minimum customer stops on each route
Max Stops per Route	5	Maximum customer stops on each route

Click Generate Pickups — the system creates draft truck schedules with random stops from real customers
Generated routes are named with an "SB-" prefix (e.g., "SB- SBT-1") so you can easily distinguish them from the pre-loaded training routes

When to Use the Generator

Use the generator when you want fresh routes to practice with — especially after you've already explored the pre-loaded training scenarios below. You can generate routes for any date range and practice the full dispatch workflow: reviewing routes, checking capacity, optimizing, rescheduling stops, and using the wizards.

Generated Routes vs. Training Routes

Generated routes use random customer assignments, so they won't have the specific scenarios (over capacity, direction conflict, over hours) that the pre-loaded training routes have. Use the pre-loaded routes for the guided exercises below, and generated routes for free-form practice.

Draft Routes for Next Week¶

These are training routes with pre-loaded stops, ready for Exercises 5, 6, 7, and 9. Find them by going to Operations → Truck Schedule or Operations → Scheduling and looking at next week's dates.

Finding Training Routes

The sandbox has many routes. The training routes are the ones with stops loaded and the drivers listed below. Use the search bar to filter by truck name (SBT-1, MOR-1, PUL-1) and look at next week's dates.

Route Name	Truck	Driver	Stops	Scenario
RT- SBT-1 (next Monday)	SBT-1	Kable West	5 stops	Over capacity — 13 projected boxes on a 12-box truck. Capacity Status = Critical.
RT- SBT-1 (next Tuesday)	SBT-1	Kable West	4 stops	Clean route — normal load, good for exploring the basic form.
RT- MOR-1 (next Wednesday)	MOR-1	Jonathan Putman	5 stops	Direction conflict — one stop goes the opposite direction from the rest. Check Direction Coherence %.
RT- MOR-1 (next Thursday)	MOR-1	Jonathan Putman	3 stops	Light day — room for additional pickups if a CSR asks.
RT- PUL-1 (next Friday)	PUL-1	Devin Sutphin	4 stops	Over hours — total trip time is 11.5 hours (exceeds 10-hour limit). Is Over Hours = True.

Special data on these routes:

The Monday SBT-1 route has a Fixed Appointment on one stop (10:00 AM, ±15 minutes)
The Monday SBT-1 route is at Capacity Critical (13 boxes / 12 capacity)
The Friday PUL-1 route is flagged Over Hours (11.5 hours total trip time)

Today's In-Progress Routes (Dispatcher Dashboard)¶

Open Dashboards → Dispatcher Dashboard to see today's active routes. The sandbox includes real historical routes that were in-progress when the database was copied, plus training routes. You'll see routes for several drivers:

Driver	Truck	What to Look For
Kable West	SBT-1	3 stops, En Route, no alerts. A clean route to explore.
Jonathan Putman	MOR-1	3 stops, En Route. Look at the pickup stages — one stop is in a different stage than the others.
Devin Sutphin	PUL-1	3 stops, En Route. Practice opening the route and reading the fields.
Brandon Collins	SBT-2	4 stops, Behind schedule with a Critical alert. This route has mixed pickup stages — examine the delay and alert fields.

Critical Alert Route

The Brandon Collins SBT-2 route has a critical alert and behind-schedule status. Use it to practice reading alert levels, delay minutes, and pickup stage progression — exactly what you'd see on a real dispatch day when a driver is running late.

Flagged Customers¶

The sandbox contains 220+ real flagged customers from production. These are customers with notes in the flaggedForAttentionComment field — typically customers who are closed, no longer want service, or have special conditions.

To find flagged customers:

Go to Customers & Sales → open any customer list
Search or browse for customers with the flag icon
Open the customer record and look for the flag/attention fields
Read the comment to understand why they're flagged

Examples you'll find:

Customers marked as permanently closed
Customers who use a competitor
Customers with special pickup instructions
Customers who asked to be removed from contact lists

Why This Matters

In production, you'd check if any customer on a route is flagged before pushing to Samsara. A flagged customer might mean "don't schedule" or "call before arriving."

LTL Shipments¶

LTL records are available for Exercise 11. Go to Operations → LTL Calendar to find them:

LTL Pickup	Date	Status	Notes
XPO Logistics	Next Monday	Pending	Training LTL — standard third-party pickup
Old Dominion (ODFL)	Next Tuesday	Pending	Training LTL — meeting required (someone must be on-site to sign BOL)
FedEx Freight	~1 week ago	Completed	Reference example — see what a finished LTL looks like

The sandbox also contains real historical LTL records you can browse for additional examples.

Training Path Overview¶

Complete these exercises in order. Each one builds on the previous. Plan for about 4 hours total.

#	Exercise	What You'll Practice	Time
1	Navigate the Dispatcher's View	Operations menus, Dispatcher Dashboard, key screens	15 min
2	Understanding the Truck Schedule	Every field on the route form explained	25 min
3	Understanding Customer Pickups	Every field on the pickup record explained	20 min
4	Understanding the Dispatcher Dashboard	Dashboard columns, color coding, alert system	15 min
5	The Truck Schedule Calendar	FullCalendar views, route cards, the map tab	15 min
6	Read a Truck Schedule	Hands-on: route forms, timing, direction, capacity	15 min
7	Work with Customer Pickups	Hands-on: pickup stages, statuses, service windows	15 min
8	Monitor the Dispatcher Dashboard	Hands-on: real-time monitoring, alerts, quick actions	15 min
9	Route Actions & Wizards	Push to Samsara, Optimize, Reschedule, Call Off, Change Truck/Driver	20 min
10	Communicate with Drivers	Dispatcher notes, text/call buttons, messages, barcode labels	10 min
11	LTL Shipments	Less-Than-Truckload scheduling and tracking	10 min
12	Handle Real-World Scenarios	Putting it all together with realistic situations	20 min

Exercise 1: Navigate the Dispatcher's View (15 min)¶

Goal: Learn where everything lives. Dispatchers use three main areas: the Operations menus, the Dispatcher Dashboard, and the Fleet app.

Steps¶

Log in at the sandbox URL as dispatcher1 / dispatcher1
You should see the main Odoo dashboard with app icons
Open the Scott Recycling app — this is your home base
Click the Operations dropdown in the top menu bar. You'll see:
- Customer Pickups — individual pickup stops on routes
- Scheduling — the scheduling management view (kanban with Draft / In-Progress columns, shown below)
- Truck Schedule — your main calendar (FullCalendar with map)
- Tractor Trailer Calendar — OTR/long-haul routes (same interface as Truck Schedule, filtered to tractor trailers only)
- LTL Calendar — third-party Less-Than-Truckload shipments
- Driver Messages — dispatcher-to-driver messaging
- Generate Sandbox Pickups — wizard to create practice routes with random stops (sandbox only)
Click the Dashboards dropdown in the top menu bar. You'll see:
- Fleet Overview — fleet-wide capacity and utilization
- Dispatcher Dashboard — your real-time route monitoring screen
- Daily Overview — daily summary
- Truck Location Map — map view of truck positions

Dispatcher Dashboard showing active routes The Dispatcher Dashboard — your real-time route monitoring screen

Scheduling Kanban view The Scheduling view — kanban columns for Cancelled, Completed, None, Draft, and In Progress routes

Click Customers & Sales — you also have access to:
- All four call queues (A, B, C, D)
- Prospect Queue and Key Accounts
- Full customer records
Go back to the main dashboard and open the Fleet app — this is where you manage trucks and drivers

Your Daily Screens¶

As a dispatcher, you'll spend most of your time on these three screens:

Screen	When to Use It	How to Get There
Truck Schedule Calendar	Planning routes, reviewing the week ahead	Operations → Truck Schedule
Dispatcher Dashboard	Monitoring active routes during the day	Dashboards → Dispatcher Dashboard
Customer Pickups	Looking up individual stops, troubleshooting	Operations → Customer Pickups

Checkpoint¶

Where is the Dispatcher Dashboard?
Where are the three calendars?
Where do you see customer pickup records?
Where is the Fleet app?

Exercise 2: Understanding the Truck Schedule (25 min)¶

Goal: Learn what every field on the truck schedule form means. This is the central record for a daily route — everything about a driver's day is captured here.

A truck schedule represents one truck's route for one day. It contains every pickup stop, all timing information, capacity tracking, direction analysis, and driver communication. Open any truck schedule from Operations → Scheduling or by clicking a route on the calendar, and follow along.

Route Lifecycle¶

Every truck schedule moves through these stages:

Draft → In-Progress → Completed
                  ↘ Cancelled

Status	What's Happening
Draft	Route is planned but not yet active. Stops can be added, removed, or reordered.
In-Progress	Route is live — the driver is on the road. The system tracks actual times and delays.
Completed	All stops are done and the driver has returned. Performance data is locked in.
Cancelled	The entire route was cancelled. All pickups on it are also cancelled.

Draft to In-Progress

Routes automatically change from Draft to In-Progress on their pickup date via a daily cron job. You can also manually start a route.

Route Status (Real-Time)¶

Separate from the lifecycle status, the Route Status field shows what's happening right now while a route is in progress:

Route Status	What It Means
Not Started	Pickup date has arrived but driver hasn't departed yet
En Route	Driver has left the warehouse and is heading to the first stop
On Time	Driver is progressing through stops on schedule
Ahead	Driver is ahead of schedule
At Risk	Driver is slightly behind — could recover or could worsen
Behind	Driver is significantly behind schedule — dispatcher attention needed
On Lunch	Driver is on their lunch break (pauses ETA calculations)
Completed	All stops finished and driver has returned

Header Fields¶

At the top of the form you'll see the route's identity and assignment:

Field	What It Means	Example
Name	Route identifier — auto-generated from the truck's dispatch name and pickup date	"RT- SBT-1 - 2026-02-23"
Truck	The vehicle assigned to this route. Determines capacity limits and Samsara tracking.	"Freightliner/M2/C896HR {40}"
Driver	The employee driving this route. Auto-fills from the truck's assigned driver but can be changed.	"Kable West"
Dispatch Location	The warehouse this truck departs from and returns to. Pulled from the truck record.	"Sunbright Warehouse"
Region	Geographic area this route serves. Determines which customers can be assigned.	"Sunbright TN"
Pickup Date	The date this route runs. One truck gets one route per day.	"02/23/2026"
Status	Lifecycle stage: Draft, In-Progress, Completed, or Cancelled.	"Draft"
Route Status	Real-time progress indicator (see table above). Only meaningful when In-Progress.	"On Time"

Action Buttons¶

Route Action Buttons The action buttons at the top of every truck schedule

Across the top of the form, you'll see buttons for managing the route:

Button	What It Does	When to Use It
Push To Samsara	Sends the full route (all stops with addresses and sequence) to Samsara GPS. The driver sees it on their Samsara app.	Day before the route runs. Push again after any changes.
Optimize Route	Re-sequences stops using Samsara's road-network optimizer. Considers shortest total drive time, road conditions, and turn restrictions.	After adding/removing stops, or when direction coherence is low.
Change Truck	Opens a wizard to assign a different truck to the entire route. Recalculates all timing and capacity.	When a truck is in the shop or unavailable.
Change Driver	Opens a wizard to assign a different driver. Validates their Samsara driver code.	When a driver calls in sick or is reassigned.
Cancel Schedule	Cancels the entire route and all pickups on it. Requires a reason. Irreversible.	Last resort — when the whole day's route can't run.
Download Labels	Generates a PDF with barcode labels for every box on every stop.	Morning of the route — driver needs labels for scanning at pickup sites.
Send Labels	Emails the label PDF to the driver.	When the driver needs labels on their phone/tablet.
Call Off Pickups	Opens the bulk cancel/move wizard (see Exercise 9).	When you need to cancel or reschedule multiple stops at once.

Timing Fields¶

These fields track when the route should happen vs. when it actually happened:

Field	What It Means	Example
Scheduled Route Start Time	When the driver is planned to depart the warehouse.	"08:00 AM"
Scheduled Route End Time	When the driver is planned to return to the warehouse.	"04:30 PM"
Actual Route Start Time	When the driver actually departed. Set by the driver portal or Samsara.	"08:12 AM"
Actual Route End Time	When the driver actually returned.	"04:45 PM"
Driver Start Time	The standard departure hour for this driver (from system settings). Used as the baseline for "on-time departure" calculations.	8.0 (= 8:00 AM)
Total Trip Time	Total time for the route from warehouse departure to warehouse return, in hours. Includes drive time + stop time.	"8.5 hrs"
Total Trip Time (hh:mm)	Same value in hours:minutes format for easier reading.	"8:30"
Return Trip Time	Estimated drive time from the last stop back to the warehouse, in hours.	"1.5"
Return ETA	Predicted time the driver will arrive back at the warehouse. Updates as the route progresses.	"4:30 PM"
Is Over Hours	Warning flag. True if the total trip time exceeds the daily maximum (typically 10 hours). Signals DOT compliance risk.	True / False

Lunch Break Tracking¶

The system tracks driver lunch breaks because they affect ETA calculations:

Field	What It Means
Lunch Start Time	When the driver started their lunch break.
Lunch End Time	When the driver ended their lunch break.
Lunch Duration	Planned lunch duration. Defaults to 30 minutes (0.5 hours).
Is On Lunch	True if the driver is currently on lunch. While true, ETA calculations pause.
Lunch After Pickup	Which pickup the driver completed before taking lunch. Helps dispatchers know where the driver is.

Capacity & Weight Fields¶

These fields track how full the truck is and whether there's room for more:

Field	What It Means	Example
Truck Capacity	Maximum number of boxes the truck can hold. Box trucks = 12, tractor trailers = 48.	12
Projected Boxes	Total estimated boxes across all stops (from CSR estimates at scheduling time).	10
Actual Boxes	Boxes actually collected so far (updated as driver completes stops).	6
Remaining Capacity	How many more boxes the truck can hold: Truck Capacity minus Actual Boxes.	6
Capacity Status	Color-coded indicator based on utilization.	"OK" / "Warning" / "Critical"
Capacity Warning	True if actual boxes reach 80% or more of truck capacity.	True / False
Box Variance	Difference between actual boxes collected and projected boxes. Positive = more than expected.	+2 or -1
Total Pickup Weight	Combined estimated weight (lbs) across all stops on this route.	8,500 lbs
Total Estimated Boxes	Sum of estimated box counts from all stops.	10
Total Actual Boxes	Sum of actual box counts from completed stops.	6

Capacity Status levels:

Status	Meaning	Action
OK	Under 80% capacity	Normal — room for more if a CSR asks
Warning	80–99% capacity	Caution — check before adding stops. Route may fill up.
Critical	100%+ capacity	Overloaded — remove or reschedule stops immediately

Capacity Forecast

The Capacity Forecast field projects whether the truck will be OK, Tight, or Over by the end of the route based on remaining stops. A route showing "OK" capacity now could forecast "Tight" if upcoming stops have large estimates.

Direction & Routing Fields¶

The system groups pickups by compass direction from the warehouse. A well-organized route has all stops going in the same general direction.

Field	What It Means	Example
Primary Direction	The most common compass direction of stops on this route, calculated from the warehouse.	"NE" (Northeast)
Primary Quadrant	Broader grouping of the primary direction into four quadrants.	"North"
Direction List	Comma-separated list of all directions represented on this route.	"NE, NE, NE, E, SW"
Direction Coherence %	Percentage of stops in the primary quadrant. 100% = all stops go the same way. Lower = less efficient.	"80%"
Has Opposite Directions	Warning flag. True if any stop goes in the opposite direction of the primary direction. A NE route with a SW stop triggers this.	True / False

Direction Conflicts

When Has Opposite Directions is true, the route has a stop that's geographically opposite to the rest. This means the driver has to backtrack, wasting hours. Use the Change Truck button on the misplaced pickup to move it to a route going in its direction, or use Optimize Route to let Samsara find a better sequence.

Alert & Monitoring Fields¶

These fields power the Dispatcher Dashboard's alert system:

Field	What It Means	Example
Delay (Minutes)	How many minutes behind schedule the driver is, based on actual vs. scheduled arrival times.	25
Delay Display	Human-readable delay text.	"25 min late"
Alert Level	Severity of the current situation. Drives dashboard color coding.	"None" / "Warning" / "Critical"
Alert Message	Human-readable description of all current issues on this route.	"25 min behind \| 1 missed pickup"
Has Missed Pickup	True if the driver skipped a stop (customer closed, couldn't access, etc.).	True / False
Missed Pickup Count	Number of stops that were skipped.	1
Needs Attention	Master flag — true if anything on this route requires dispatcher action (delay, missed stop, capacity, over hours).	True / False
Last Critical Alert Sent	Timestamp of the last critical alert email sent to the dispatcher. Prevents alert spam.	"2026-02-18 14:30"
Alert Acknowledged	True if the dispatcher has acknowledged the alert (clicked "Acknowledge Alert").	True / False

Alert Level thresholds:

Alert Level	Trigger	Dashboard Color
None	No issues, on time	Green
Warning	15–29 minutes behind schedule	Yellow
Critical	30+ minutes behind, or missed pickup, or over capacity	Red

Performance Metrics¶

After a route is completed, these fields capture how it went:

Field	What It Means
On-Time Departure	True if the driver departed within 10 minutes of the scheduled start time.
On-Time Completion	True if the route was completed within 15 minutes of the scheduled end time.
Total Delay (Minutes)	Cumulative delay across all stops (sum of individual stop delays).
Avg Minutes/Stop	Average time spent at each stop. Useful for identifying unusually slow or fast stops.
Departure Variance	How early or late the driver departed compared to the scheduled start.
Progress %	Percentage of stops completed (completed stops / total stops × 100).

Predicted Completion¶

Field	What It Means
Predicted Completion Time	Estimated time the driver will finish the route, recalculated as stops are completed.
Predicted Status	Forward-looking status: On Track (will finish on time), At Risk (might be late), or Will Be Late (projected to exceed scheduled end time).

Samsara GPS Integration¶

These fields connect the route to Samsara for GPS tracking:

Field	What It Means
Samsara Route ID	The route's unique identifier in Samsara's system. Set when the route is pushed.
Samsara Route Key	Internal key for API communication with Samsara.
Samsara Route URL	Direct link to the route in Samsara's dashboard. Click to see the route on Samsara's map.
Pushed to Samsara	True if the route has been successfully sent to Samsara.
Show Push Button	Controls whether the "Push to Samsara" button is visible (hidden after successful push unless changes are made).
Force Manual Pickups	When true, the dispatcher manually controls stop order even after pushing to Samsara.

Samsara in Production vs. Sandbox

In production, Samsara provides real-time GPS tracking, route optimization, and driver ETA updates. In the sandbox, the Push to Samsara button exists but won't actually send data. All other fields work normally.

Dispatcher Notes¶

Field	What It Means
Dispatcher Notes	Free-text field visible to the driver on their portal. Your direct communication channel to the driver for this route.
Dispatcher Notes Updated	Timestamp of the last edit. Helps the driver know if there are new instructions to read.
Is Dispatcher	System flag — true if the current user has the dispatcher role. Controls which buttons and fields are editable.

Rescheduling & History¶

Field	What It Means
Is Rescheduled	True if this route was rescheduled from a different date.
Reschedule Count	How many times this route has been rescheduled. A high count may indicate planning problems.

Route Tabs¶

At the bottom of the form, you'll find tabs with detailed data:

Pickups Tab — Shows each stop with:

Column	What It Shows
Sequence	Stop order (1, 2, 3...)
Customer	Link to the customer record
City / State	Pickup location
Estimated Boxes	Box count from the CSR estimate
Estimated Weight	Weight from the CSR estimate
Direction	Compass direction from the warehouse
Direction Conflict	Warning if this stop conflicts with the route's primary direction
ETA Status	On Time, Early, Late, or At Risk
HOO Status	Whether the ETA falls inside, barely inside, or outside the customer's business hours
Samsara State	GPS tracking state: Scheduled, En Route, Arrived, Departed, Skipped
Scheduled Arrival / Departure	Planned times for this stop
Actual Arrival / Departure	Real times recorded by the driver

Route Logs Tab — Shows the step-by-step route timeline:

Column	What It Shows
Stop Name	Customer name or "Warehouse" for departure/return
Stop Number	Order in the route
Scheduled Departure/Arrival	Planned times
Actual Departure/Arrival	Real times
State	Scheduled, En Route, Departed, or Skipped
Arrival Status	Not Reached, Reached On Time, or Reached Late
Delay (Minutes)	How many minutes late to this specific stop
Delay Display	Human-readable delay text

Logs Tab — Shows a history of all changes made to this route (who changed what, when).

Checkpoint¶

You should be able to answer:

What's the difference between Status (lifecycle) and Route Status (real-time)?
What does "Direction Coherence %" tell you, and why does it matter?
What's the difference between Projected Boxes and Actual Boxes?
When does Capacity Status change from OK to Warning to Critical?
What triggers a Warning alert vs. a Critical alert?
Where do you write notes that the driver can see?

Exercise 3: Understanding Customer Pickups (20 min)¶

Goal: Learn what every field on a customer pickup record means. Pickups are the building blocks of every route — each one represents one stop where the driver picks up material from a customer.

A customer pickup is a single stop on a truck's daily route. It belongs to one truck schedule and tracks everything about that stop — timing, weight, boxes, service window, direction, and the driver's progress through the pickup workflow. Open any pickup from Operations → Customer Pickups and follow along.

Pickup Stages (Workflow)¶

Every pickup moves through these stages as the driver works the route:

Expected → Arrival → In Progress → Next/End
                                 ↘ Cancelled

Stage	What's Happening	Driver Tasks Created
Expected	Scheduled and waiting for pickup day. No driver interaction yet.	None
Arrival	Driver has arrived at the customer's location.	Meet contact, locate materials, verify box count, take photos, get signature
In Progress	Driver is actively loading material onto the truck.	Label all boxes with barcodes, load onto truck, photo of boxes on truck, verify customer satisfaction
Next/End	Loading is complete. Driver is moving to the next stop or heading back to the warehouse.	Box statuses updated automatically, customer notification email queued
Cancelled	Pickup was cancelled. A cancel reason is required.	None

Driver Task Checklists

At each stage transition, the system automatically creates a task checklist for the driver on their portal. The driver must complete all tasks before advancing to the next stage. Tasks include photos, signatures, box labeling, and satisfaction verification. This ensures consistent documentation at every stop and protects both the driver and the company.

Arrival Status (Timing)¶

Separate from the stage, the arrival status tracks whether the driver arrived within the scheduled window:

Status	Meaning
Pending	Driver hasn't arrived yet — pickup is still upcoming
Not Reached	Scheduled time has passed but driver hasn't arrived
On Time	Driver arrived within the scheduled arrival window
Reached On Time	Confirmed on-time arrival (after departure)
Late	Driver arrived after the scheduled window
Reached Late	Confirmed late arrival (after departure)

Core Pickup Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Customer	The company being picked up from. Links to the full customer record.	"ABC Electronics"
Pickup Date	The scheduled date for this stop.	"02/23/2026"
Truck Schedule	Which route this pickup belongs to. Links to the truck schedule record.	"RT- SBT-1 - 2026-02-23"
Truck Assigned	The vehicle making this pickup.	"C896HR {40}"
Driver	The driver assigned to this route. Auto-fills from the truck schedule.	"Kable West"
Lead	The CRM lead/opportunity that generated this pickup. Created when a CSR schedules via Add a Note.	"Lead #1234"
Region	Geographic region, pulled from the customer record. Determines which trucks can serve them.	"Sunbright TN"
State	Customer's US state, pulled from the customer's address.	"Tennessee"
Stop Number	Position in the route sequence (1st stop, 2nd stop, etc.).	3
Sequence	Ordering value used to sort stops. Lower number = earlier in the route. Can be changed to reorder stops.	30

Weight & Box Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Estimated Weight (LBS)	Expected weight from the CSR's estimate when scheduling. Used for route capacity planning.	1,500 lbs
Actual Weight (LBS)	Real weight after pickup. Computed from individual box weights.	1,650 lbs
Estimated No. of Boxes	Expected box count from the CSR estimate.	3
Actual No. of Boxes	Real box count after the driver loads.	4
Remainder E-Waste Weight	Total remaining e-waste weight after sorting (computed from box contents).	200 lbs
Assorted E-Waste Weight	Weight of unsorted/mixed e-waste materials.	150 lbs

Timing Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Scheduled Arrival	When the driver should arrive at this stop, based on route optimization.	"10:30 AM"
Scheduled Departure	When the driver should leave this stop to stay on schedule.	"11:15 AM"
Actual Arrival	When the driver actually arrived (recorded by driver portal or Samsara).	"10:42 AM"
Actual Departure	When the driver actually left.	"11:20 AM"
En Route Time	Travel time from the previous stop to this one.	"45 min"
ETA	Estimated time of arrival, updated as the route progresses.	"10:35 AM"
Current ETA	Recalculated ETA based on the driver's current progress and position.	"10:50 AM"
ETA Variance (Minutes)	Difference between scheduled arrival and current ETA. Positive = arriving later than planned.	+12
ETA Status	Summary of the arrival forecast.	"On Time" / "Early" / "Late" / "At Risk"
Delay (Minutes)	How many minutes behind schedule the driver arrived at this stop.	12
Delay Display	Human-readable delay.	"12 min late"
Stop Duration (Actual)	How long the driver actually spent at this stop, from arrival to departure, in hours.	0.75 (= 45 min)
Duration in Hours	Planned duration at this stop based on the number of boxes and loading conditions.	0.5 (= 30 min)
Additional Time	Extra time (hours) added by the CSR for difficult loading situations, multi-floor buildings, etc.	0.5

Service Window (Hours of Operation) Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
HOO Start	Customer's business hours start time in 24-hour decimal format (8.0 = 8:00 AM).	8.0
HOO End	Customer's business hours end time (17.0 = 5:00 PM).	17.0
HOO Status	Whether the driver's ETA falls within the customer's business hours.	See below
Fixed Appointment	If true, the driver must arrive within ±15 minutes of a specific time. These take absolute priority in routing.	True / False
Appointment Time	The exact arrival time for fixed appointments.	"02/23/2026 10:00 AM"
Appointment Window (±min)	Acceptable variance from the appointment time. Default is 15 minutes.	15

HOO Status values:

HOO Status	What It Means	Action
Inside	Driver is projected to arrive during business hours.	No action needed.
Risky	Driver will arrive but close to the edge of business hours — might run over.	Monitor closely. Warn the driver to prioritize this stop.
Outside	Driver is projected to arrive outside business hours. Customer won't be available.	Reschedule or reorder the route so this stop is hit earlier.
Unknown	Business hours not set for this customer.	Ask the CSR to update the customer's hours of operation.

Fixed Appointments vs. Service Windows

A service window (HOO) is the customer's general business hours — the driver should arrive sometime within this window. A fixed appointment is a hard commitment to a specific time (±15 minutes). Fixed appointments lock the stop's position in the route and the optimizer won't move them. CSRs need manager approval to set fixed appointments because they reduce routing flexibility.

Direction Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Direction	Compass direction from the warehouse to this customer. Calculated from GPS coordinates.	"NE" (Northeast)
Direction Quadrant	Broader grouping: North, East, South, or West.	"North"
Direction Bearing	Precise bearing in degrees from the warehouse (0° = North, 90° = East, etc.).	45.2°
Direction Conflict	True if this stop's direction opposes the route's primary direction. A SW stop on a NE route triggers this.	True / False

Samsara GPS Tracking¶

Field	What It Means
Samsara State	GPS tracking state from Samsara.
Samsara Stop ID	Unique identifier for this stop in Samsara's system.
Live Sharing URL	Link to real-time GPS tracking for this stop.
Pushed to Samsara	True if this stop has been sent to Samsara.

Samsara State values:

State	Meaning
Scheduled	Stop is in the route plan but driver hasn't started heading to it yet
En Route	Driver is actively driving toward this stop
Arrived	Driver has arrived at the customer's location
Departed	Driver has left the customer's location
Skipped	Driver skipped this stop (customer closed, can't access, etc.)

Other Pickup Fields¶

Field	What It Means
Is Forced	True if a CSR overrode the scheduling algorithm to force this pickup onto a date or route. Forced pickups bypass capacity and time checks. Logged for manager review.
Force User	The user who authorized the forced pickup.
Is Special	True if this customer has special handling requirements (hazmat, HIPAA destruction, etc.).
Cancel Reason	If cancelled, explains why (customer closed, material not ready, rescheduled, etc.).
Requested Pickup Date	The date the customer originally asked for, which may differ from the actual scheduled date if that date wasn't available.
COR Status	Certificate of Recycling status: Sent or Not Sent.
Notes	Free-text notes about this specific pickup visible on the route.

Pickup Action Buttons¶

From a pickup record, you can take these actions:

Button	What It Does	When to Use It
Reschedule Date	Opens a wizard to move this pickup to a different date. If routes exist on the new date, you can assign it directly. If not, a new CRM lead is created.	Customer asks to reschedule, or the route is too full.
Change Truck	Opens a wizard to move this pickup to a different route (same or different date). Shows capacity info for the target route.	Stop doesn't fit geographically or the route is overloaded.
Cancel Pickup	Cancels this pickup with a reason. The pickup is removed from the route and timing is recalculated.	Customer cancels, location inaccessible, material not ready.

Customer Pickup Form A customer pickup record in form view — showing fields, action buttons, and the Arrival stage badge

Checkpoint¶

You should be able to answer:

What's the difference between Stage (workflow) and Status (timing)?
What happens at each stage transition (what tasks does the driver see)?
What does "Fixed Appointment" mean and how is it different from a service window?
What does "HOO Status: Risky" mean and what should you do about it?
What does "Direction Conflict" on a pickup tell you?
What does "Is Forced" mean and why is it logged?

Exercise 4: Understanding the Dispatcher Dashboard (15 min)¶

Goal: Learn every column and feature of your real-time monitoring screen — the command center for active routes.

The Dispatcher Dashboard is a tree view showing all active truck schedules sorted by urgency. Routes needing attention float to the top. Go to Dashboards → Dispatcher Dashboard and follow along.

Color Coding¶

Rows are color-coded for instant visual scanning:

Color	Meaning	Example
Red	Critical alert — 30+ minutes behind, missed pickup, or over capacity. Take action now.	Driver is 40 min late with a skipped stop
Yellow	Warning — 15–29 minutes behind. Watch closely, may recover or may worsen.	Driver started 20 min late but is progressing
Green	On time or ahead of schedule. No action needed.	Driver is hitting all stops on schedule
Blue	Driver is on lunch break. ETAs paused during lunch.	Driver started lunch at 12:30 PM
Gray	Route not started yet. Waiting for the driver to depart.	Draft route for tomorrow

Dashboard Columns¶

Column	What to Look At	Why It Matters
Alert Level	None, Warning, or Critical	Tells you which routes need attention first
Alert Message	Human-readable description of the problem	Explains exactly what's wrong ("25 min behind \| 1 missed pickup")
Needs Attention	True/False flag	Master flag combining all alert conditions — if true, investigate
Driver	Who's driving	So you know who to call or message
Truck	Which vehicle	Identifies the route at a glance
Route Status	Not Started / En Route / On Time / Ahead / At Risk / Behind / On Lunch / Completed	Real-time progress indicator
Progress %	Percentage of stops completed (e.g., 3/5 = 60%)	How far through the route the driver is
Current Stop	Which stop number the driver is at or heading to	Tells you where the driver is in the sequence
Delay (Minutes)	How many minutes behind schedule	Quantifies the problem — 5 min is different from 45 min
Missed Pickups	Number of stops that were skipped	Skipped stops need rescheduling
Projected Boxes / Actual Boxes	Estimated vs. collected box counts	Capacity tracking — are estimates accurate?
Capacity Status	OK / Warning / Critical	Is the truck getting full?
Departure Variance	How early or late the driver departed	Late departure usually means the whole route runs behind
Predicted Status	On Track / At Risk / Will Be Late	Forward-looking — will this route finish on time?
Is Over Hours	True if the route exceeds the daily hour limit	DOT compliance concern

The Alert System¶

The system automatically checks all active routes for problems:

Check	Trigger	Alert Level
Driver behind schedule	15–29 minutes late	Warning
Driver significantly behind	30+ minutes late	Critical
Missed pickup	Driver skipped a stop	Critical
Truck over capacity	Actual boxes ≥ truck capacity	Critical
Route over hours	Total time exceeds daily limit	Warning

In production, a cron job runs every 5 minutes to evaluate these checks and update alert levels. When a critical alert fires, the dispatcher receives an email notification. The cron is disabled in the sandbox, but all alert fields are pre-populated in the training data.

Quick Actions from the Dashboard¶

Click any route on the dashboard to open it. From there, you have quick action buttons:

Action	What It Does	When to Use
Call Driver	Opens the phone dialer with the driver's number	Need immediate verbal contact — urgent route changes, safety issues
Text Driver	Sends an SMS to the driver's phone	Quick non-urgent updates or instructions
Acknowledge Alert	Marks the alert as seen and being handled	You've assessed the situation and are taking action — prevents repeated notifications
Start Lunch / End Lunch	Starts or ends the driver's lunch break timer	Driver reports they're taking or finishing lunch — pauses ETA calculations
Add Dispatcher Note	Posts a message visible on the driver's portal	Route instructions, warnings, priority changes

Checkpoint¶

You should be able to answer:

What does each color mean on the dashboard (red, yellow, green, blue, gray)?
What's the difference between Warning (15 min) and Critical (30 min) alerts?
What does "Needs Attention" mean?
What's the difference between "Route Status" and "Predicted Status"?
What does "Acknowledge Alert" do?

Exercise 5: The Truck Schedule Calendar (15 min)¶

Goal: Learn the FullCalendar interface — your primary tool for planning and reviewing routes.

Steps¶

Go to Scott Recycling → Operations → Truck Schedule
You'll see a FullCalendar view showing route blocks on each day

The Truck Schedule Calendar — each block is a route. Click to see details.

Calendar Views¶

Switch between views using the buttons in the top-right:

View	Best For
Month	Big-picture planning — which days are heavy vs. light
Week	This week's detail — how many routes per day
Day	Single day focus — see all routes for today
List	Scrollable list of all routes

Switch to Month view and scan the calendar:
- Each colored block is one truck's route for that day
- The block shows the region code and total weight
Switch to Week view and find the busiest day

The Schedule Dialog (Route Detail)¶

Click on any route block on the calendar — a dialog opens with two tabs:

Pickup Details Tab:

Column	What It Shows
Step #	Stop order (1, 2, 3...)
Order ID	Link to the pickup record
Customer	Link to the customer record
City / State	Pickup location
Boxes	Estimated box count
Weight	Estimated weight
Special	Flag for special handling
Miles	Distance from previous stop
Duration	Drive time from previous stop
Start / Arrival / Departure	Scheduled times for each stop

The bottom row shows totals: total boxes, weight, miles, and time for the whole route.

Map Tab:

Click the Map tab — you'll see:
- A Leaflet map with the full route drawn
- Blue "W" marker = warehouse (start/end point)
- Numbered color markers (1, 2, 3...) = each stop in order
- Blue polyline = the driving route
- Turn-by-turn directions listed below the map
Click "Open Truck Schedule" at the bottom of the dialog to jump to the full route form

Practice¶

Open Monday's SBT-1 route (5 stops, over capacity) — review the Pickup Details tab. Does the stop order make geographic sense?
Open the Map tab for the same route — can you follow the route visually?
Open Wednesday's MOR-1 route — this route has a direction conflict warning. Can you spot the problematic stop?

Checkpoint¶

Can you switch between Month/Week/Day/List views?
Can you click a route block to see the schedule dialog?
Can you read the Pickup Details tab (stops, boxes, weight, timing)?
Can you view the route on the Map tab?

Exercise 6: Read a Truck Schedule (15 min)¶

Goal: Apply what you learned in Exercise 2 by reading real truck schedule forms. Now you'll look at actual routes and interpret the fields.

Steps¶

From the calendar, click a route block and then click "Open Truck Schedule" (or go to Operations → Scheduling and open a route directly)
Open a multi-stop route — try Monday's SBT-1 (5 stops, over capacity) or Wednesday's MOR-1 (5 stops, direction conflict)

A truck schedule form — route details, action buttons, and pickup list

Practice¶

Open these three routes and compare them:

Monday's SBT-1 route (over capacity) — Check the capacity fields:
- What's the Projected Boxes count? What's the Truck Capacity?
- What's the Capacity Status? (Should be Critical — 13 boxes on a 12-box truck)
- Is there room to add another stop?
Wednesday's MOR-1 route (direction conflict) — Check the direction fields:
- What's the Direction Coherence %?
- Is Has Opposite Directions true? Which stop is the outlier?
- Read the Dispatcher Notes — they explain the problem.
Find a completed route — use Operations → Scheduling, filter to "Completed" or "Done" status, and open a recent route. Check the Route Logs tab:
- Which stops show "Reached On Time" vs. "Reached Late"?
- What's the Delay (Minutes) on the late stops?
- Was the route an on-time departure? Check On-Time Departure.

The Dispatcher Notes field — visible to the driver on their portal

Checkpoint¶

Can you read capacity (projected vs. actual vs. remaining)?
Can you identify a direction conflict by looking at the direction fields?
Can you find the route logs showing scheduled vs. actual timing?
Can you find and read the dispatcher notes?

Exercise 7: Work with Customer Pickups (15 min)¶

Goal: Apply what you learned in Exercise 3 by examining real pickup records.

Steps¶

Go to Scott Recycling → Operations → Customer Pickups
Browse the list — each row is one customer stop on a route

Practice¶

Open 5 different pickup records and examine them:

Find a pickup in Expected stage — this is an upcoming stop that hasn't happened yet. Check:
- What's the HOO Status? Will the driver arrive during business hours?
- What's the Direction? Does it match the other stops on the same route?
- Is it a Fixed Appointment?
Find a pickup in Next/End stage — this is a completed stop. Check:
- What were the Scheduled vs. Actual arrival times?
- Was the driver on time or late? Check the Delay field.
- How does the Actual Weight compare to the Estimated Weight?
Find a pickup with Direction Conflict = True — what direction is it going compared to the route's primary direction?
Find a pickup with Is Forced = True — who forced it? What does that tell you about how it was scheduled?
Check the HOO Status across several pickups — find one marked "Risky" or "Outside." What should the dispatcher do about it?

Checkpoint¶

Can you distinguish between Stage (workflow position) and Arrival Status (timing)?
Can you check whether a pickup will arrive during business hours?
Can you identify forced pickups and understand what that means?
Can you compare estimated vs. actual weight and box counts?

Exercise 8: Monitor the Dispatcher Dashboard (15 min)¶

Goal: Use the Dispatcher Dashboard to monitor today's active routes and practice responding to alerts.

Steps¶

Go to Scott Recycling → Dashboards → Dispatcher Dashboard
You'll see today's in-progress routes with color coding

Practice¶

The sandbox has today's in-progress routes on the dashboard — use them:

Find the Critical alert (red) — look for the Brandon Collins SBT-2 route:
- What's the Alert Level? (Should be "Critical")
- What does the Alert Message say?
- What's the Route Status? (Should be "Behind")
- Open the route and read the fields — what can you learn about what went wrong?
Find the training routes — look for Kable West (SBT-1), Jonathan Putman (MOR-1), and Devin Sutphin (PUL-1):
- What's the Alert Level on each? (They should all be "None" — running on time)
- What's the Route Status? (Should be "En Route")
- Compare a clean route (no alerts) to the critical Brandon Collins route — what's different?
Practice reading dashboard columns:
- For any route, find the Progress %, Current Stop, and Predicted Completion Time
- Check the Departure Variance — positive means late departure, negative means early
Practice writing a Dispatcher Note:
- Open any training route and find the Dispatcher Notes field
- Write: "TRAINING: Test note from dispatcher training"
- Remember — in production, the driver sees this immediately on their portal

Checkpoint¶

Can you find the Dispatcher Dashboard and read the color coding?
Can you identify routes by alert level and explain the difference?
Can you read the alert message to understand what's wrong?
Can you write a dispatcher note?

Exercise 9: Route Actions & Wizards (20 min)¶

Goal: Learn the tools you use to modify routes — push, optimize, reschedule, reassign, and cancel.

Push to Samsara¶

Before a route goes live, it needs to be pushed to Samsara for GPS tracking:

Open a truck schedule in Draft status
Find the Push To Samsara button at the top
In the sandbox, this won't actually send (Samsara is disabled), but in production:
- Samsara receives the route with all stops, addresses, and sequence
- Samsara's AI optimizes the stop order based on real road networks
- Each stop gets a Samsara Stop ID and live tracking URL
- The route becomes trackable in real-time
- The driver sees the route on their Samsara app

Push Early, Push Often

Push routes to Samsara the day before they run. The driver will see the route on their Samsara app when they start their shift. If you make changes after pushing, push again to update. There's no harm in pushing multiple times.

Optimize Route¶

Find the Optimize Route button on a truck schedule
This re-sequences the stops using Samsara's road-network optimizer
The optimizer considers: shortest total drive time, road conditions, turn restrictions
Fixed appointments are respected — the optimizer won't move them
After optimization, the stop sequence and ETAs are updated

Change Truck (Route-Level)¶

Swap the entire route to a different truck:

Open a truck schedule → click Change Truck
Select a new truck — the system recalculates all timing based on the new warehouse location
Confirm — all pickups on the route switch to the new truck
Use when: a truck is in the shop, needs maintenance, or is better suited for another region

Change Driver¶

Swap the driver on a route:

Open a truck schedule → click Change Driver
Select a new driver — the system validates their Samsara driver code
Confirm — the route is reassigned
Use when: a driver calls in sick, is on leave, or needs to be reassigned

Reschedule Pickup Date (Pickup-Level)¶

Move one pickup to a different day:

Open a customer pickup record → click Reschedule Date
The wizard shows the current date and route
Enter a new date
If routes exist on the new date, you can assign the pickup directly
If no routes exist, a new CRM lead is created for re-scheduling
The old route is automatically recomputed (timing, capacity, direction)

Change Truck (Pickup-Level)¶

Move one pickup to a different route:

Open a customer pickup record → click Change Truck
Select the target truck schedule (can be same or different date)
The wizard shows capacity info for the target route so you can verify it fits
Confirm — the pickup moves and both routes (source and target) are recomputed

Call Off Pickups (Bulk Cancel/Move)¶

Your power tool for managing route problems:

Open a truck schedule → click Call Off Pickups
A wizard shows all pickups on the route with checkboxes
Select the pickups you want to handle
You can:
- Cancel Selected — removes them from the route with a reason
- Reschedule Selected — opens the reschedule wizard for each
- Move Selected — moves them to a target route
Use Select All to quickly select every pickup
Use when: driver calls in sick mid-route, truck breaks down, half the route needs to move

Cancel Schedule¶

Last resort — cancel an entire route:

Open a truck schedule → click Cancel Schedule
Enter a reason (required)
All pickups on the route are cancelled
The CSR team will need to reschedule affected customers
This is irreversible — use Call Off Pickups to selectively move stops if possible

Practice¶

Open a truck schedule and count all the action buttons across the top
Open a customer pickup and click Reschedule Date — explore the wizard (you can cancel without saving)
Open a truck schedule and click Call Off Pickups — see the list of stops with checkboxes
Try writing a cancel reason (you can cancel the wizard without actually cancelling)

Checkpoint¶

Do you know the difference between Push to Samsara and Optimize Route?
Can you find and open the Reschedule Date wizard on a pickup?
Can you find the Call Off Pickups wizard on a route?
Do you know when to use Change Truck vs. Change Driver vs. Cancel Schedule?

Exercise 10: Communicate with Drivers (10 min)¶

Goal: Learn every communication tool available to dispatchers.

Dispatcher Notes¶

The most common and important communication tool:

Open any truck schedule
Find the Dispatcher Notes field
Type a message — this is visible on the driver's portal for this route
The Notes Updated timestamp tells the driver when new instructions were posted

Use dispatcher notes for:

Route instructions ("Customer at Stop 3 said use the south loading dock")
Road warnings ("Bridge out on Route 11, take the detour via I-81")
Priority changes ("Do Stop 4 first — they close at 3 PM")
Box count corrections ("Stop 2 has 8 boxes, not 3 — CSR confirmed")
Customer-specific info ("Stop 5 customer flagged — outstanding invoice. Proceed with pickup but notify dispatch after.")

Driver Messages¶

A structured messaging system between dispatchers and drivers:

Field	What It Means
Route	Messages are tied to a specific truck schedule
Message	The text content of the message
Sender Type	Driver or Dispatcher — identifies who sent it
Message Type	Text (normal), Quick Reply (short response), Alert (important), or SOS (emergency)
Priority	Low, Normal, High, or Urgent
Is Read / Read At	Whether the recipient has seen it and when

Access driver messages via Operations → Driver Messages or from within a truck schedule record.

Text / Call Driver¶

From a truck schedule form:

Text Driver — sends an SMS to the driver's phone (disabled in sandbox)
Call Driver — initiates a phone call through the system (disabled in sandbox)

In production, use these for urgent, time-sensitive communication that can't wait for the driver to check their portal.

Barcode Labels¶

Drivers need labels for each box at every stop:

Open a truck schedule → click Download Labels — generates a PDF with barcode labels for all stops
Click Send Labels — emails the PDF to the driver

Labels include: customer name, pickup date, box number, and barcode for scanning at the warehouse when boxes are received.

The Chatter¶

Like all Odoo records, truck schedules have a chatter (message log) at the bottom. Use it for:

Internal notes that the driver does NOT see (use "Log Note")
Tracking history of changes made to the route
Tagging other dispatchers or managers with @mentions

Dispatcher Notes vs. Chatter

Dispatcher Notes = driver-facing. The driver sees these on their portal. Chatter = internal-only. Only Odoo users see these.

Put driver instructions in Dispatcher Notes. Put internal discussion in the Chatter.

Practice¶

Open a truck schedule and write a dispatcher note: "TRAINING: Test note from dispatcher training"
Find the Download Labels button — click it to see the label PDF
Scroll down to the chatter and post a log note: "TRAINING: Reviewing this route for dispatcher training"

Checkpoint¶

Do you know the difference between Dispatcher Notes (driver-facing) and Chatter (internal)?
Can you find the Text/Call Driver buttons?
Can you download barcode labels for a route?
Do you understand the four driver message types (Text, Quick, Alert, SOS)?

Exercise 11: LTL Shipments (10 min)¶

Goal: Understand Less-Than-Truckload shipments — pickups handled by third-party trucking companies.

What Is LTL?¶

When a pickup is too far for our trucks or requires special transport, we use a third-party trucking company. These are tracked separately as LTL Pickups.

Steps¶

Go to Scott Recycling → Operations → LTL Calendar
Browse the LTL records — the sandbox has three training LTL pickups:
- XPO Logistics (next Monday) — Pending, 12 pallets. Standard LTL.
- Old Dominion (next Tuesday) — Pending, meeting required. Someone must be on-site to sign the BOL.
- FedEx Freight (~1 week ago) — Completed. Good reference for what a finished LTL looks like.

The LTL Calendar — third-party shipments on a calendar view

LTL Pickup Fields¶

Field	What It Means	Example
Pickup Description	Short description of the shipment.	"XPO Logistics — Datacenter Decommission"
Customer	The customer being picked up from.	"ABC Electronics"
Pickup Date	Scheduled date for the third-party truck to arrive.	"02/24/2026"
Trucking Company	The third-party company handling the shipment (e.g., XPO, Old Dominion, FedEx Freight).	"XPO Logistics"
Trucking Phone	Contact number for the trucking company — call if the truck is late or there's a problem.	"(800) 555-1234"
Pro Number	The trucking company's tracking number (like a shipping tracking number). Required to mark as complete.	"PRO-2026-001"
Invoice Number	Our invoice number for this shipment.	"INV-5678"
Shipper	Who arranged the shipment.	"Scott Recycling"
Box Count	Number of boxes, pallets, or containers.	12
Status	Current state of the shipment.	"Pending" / "Completed" / "Cancelled"
Truck	If one of our trucks is involved (e.g., meeting the LTL truck at a customer site).	"C896HR {40}"
Driver	Related driver if a truck is assigned.	"Kable West"
Verified By	Which Scott Recycling employee verified the pickup happened — required to mark as complete.	"Summer Benedict"
Is Meeting Required	True if someone from Scott Recycling must be on-site when the third-party truck arrives (e.g., to sign the BOL, supervise loading, verify material).	True / False
Assigned Employees	Staff assigned to handle or meet the LTL pickup.	"Kable West, Summer Benedict"
Attachments	Documents related to the shipment (BOL, photos, receipts).	—
Notes	Additional instructions or details about the shipment.	"12 pallets from datacenter decommission"

LTL Status Flow¶

Pending → Completed
       ↘ Cancelled

Completing an LTL¶

To mark an LTL as complete, two things are required:

The Pro Number from the trucking company (their tracking/reference number)
A Verified By employee who confirmed the pickup happened

Without both, the system won't let you mark it complete.

Checkpoint¶

Do you know the difference between a regular pickup and an LTL pickup?
Can you find LTL records in the system?
Do you know what a Pro Number is and why it's required?
What does "Meeting Required" mean on an LTL pickup?

Exercise 12: Handle Real-World Scenarios (20 min)¶

Goal: Put it all together — use everything you've learned to handle realistic dispatcher situations.

Scenario 1: Morning Route Review¶

It's 7:00 AM. Before the drivers head out, you need to review today's routes.

Do this:

Open the Truck Schedule Calendar and look at routes for next week
For each draft route, check:
- Are all stops going in a consistent direction? (Check Direction Coherence % — Wednesday's MOR-1 has a problem!)
- Is any truck over capacity? (Check Projected Boxes vs. Truck Capacity — Monday's SBT-1 is at 13/12 boxes — Capacity Critical!)
- Is any route over hours? (Check Total Trip Time — Friday's PUL-1 is 11.5 hours)
- Are any drivers on leave today? (Check the route warnings)
Open the Dispatcher Dashboard — you should see today's in-progress routes. Which one needs attention first? (Hint: look for the red/critical alert)

Scenario 2: Driver Calls In Sick¶

Kable West calls at 6:30 AM — he can't drive today. His route (SBT-1) has 5 stops.

Do this:

Find Kable's route in the Truck Schedule
Check the stops — do any have Fixed Appointments or tight HOO Status?
Click Change Driver — who could take over? Consider:
- Does the replacement driver know the area?
- Are they already on another route today?
If no driver is available, use Call Off Pickups to reschedule the stops that can wait, and Change Truck on individual pickups to move urgent stops to another route

Scenario 3: Truck Breaks Down Mid-Route¶

Jonathan Putman calls from MOR-1. He's completed 2 of 5 stops and the truck won't start.

Do this:

Open Jonathan's route and check which stops are completed (stage = Next/End) vs. remaining (stage = Expected)
Check Fleet — which trucks are "In Service" and not on a route today?
Options:
- If a backup truck is available, send it to the driver's location
- If not, use Call Off Pickups → select remaining stops → Move Selected to another driver's route
Add a Dispatcher Note: "MOR-1 breakdown after Stop 2. Remaining stops moved to [new route]. Maintenance notified."

Scenario 4: Customer Calls — "Where's My Pickup?"¶

A customer calls: "Your truck was supposed to be here at 2 PM and it's 2:45."

Do this:

Search Customer Pickups for their company name
Check the pickup's ETA, Delay (Minutes), and ETA Status fields
Open the truck schedule for their route — check:
- What's the Route Status? (Behind? At Risk?)
- What's the Current Stop number? How many stops before this customer?
- What's the Predicted Completion Time?
Now you have a realistic ETA to give the customer
If needed, use Text Driver to ask for a status update

Scenario 5: CSR Asks "Can We Fit One More Pickup on Friday?"¶

A CSR wants to add a pickup to an existing Friday route.

Do this:

Open the Truck Schedule Calendar and find Friday's routes
Click the route to see the schedule dialog — check:
- Projected Boxes vs. Remaining Capacity — is there room?
- What Direction are the current stops going? Does the new customer fit geographically? (Would it cause a Direction Conflict?)
- What's the Total Trip Time? Is there time for another stop without going Over Hours?
If it fits: tell the CSR to schedule it (the Add a Note wizard will auto-assign to this route based on region and date)
If it doesn't fit: suggest a different day or truck, and explain why (capacity, direction, or time constraint)

Scenario 6: Route Has Opposite Directions¶

Open Wednesday's MOR-1 route — it's flagged with Has Opposite Directions = True and low Direction Coherence.

Think through:

Open the route and look at each stop's Direction — which stop is going a different direction from the rest?
Check the Direction Conflict flag on each pickup — which one is True?
Is there another route on the same day going in that stop's direction? (Check the calendar for Wednesday)
Use Change Truck on the misplaced pickup to move it to a better route
After moving, check Direction Coherence % on both routes — it should improve

Know Your Trucks¶

When reviewing routes, you need to know the trucks, their capacity, and who drives them. Here's a quick reference for the most common vehicles:

Truck	Dispatch Name	Driver	Capacity	Type
C896HR	SBT-1	Kable West	12 boxes	Box Truck
C441HR	SBT-2	Ronnie Pearson	12 boxes	Box Truck
C448HR	MOR-1	Jonathan Putman	12 boxes	Box Truck
M574HV	—	Blake Hamby	48 boxes	Tractor Trailer
Ryder Rental	PUL-1	Devin Sutphin	12 boxes	Box Truck (rental)

Full Fleet Documentation

For complete vehicle fields, vehicle states, driver assignment history, Samsara integration details, and service tracking, see the Fleet Management Guide.

What the Driver Sees¶

Understanding the driver's experience helps you communicate effectively. When you write a dispatcher note, send a message, or update a route — this is what the driver sees on their end.

The Driver Portal¶

Drivers access their daily route through a mobile-friendly web portal. They don't use the full Odoo interface — their view is purpose-built for the cab of a truck.

Key driver pages:

Page	URL	What It Shows
Home	`/driver/home`	Landing page with route summary for today
My Route	`/driver/my-route`	Full day's route with all pickups — the main view drivers live in
Pickup Detail	`/driver/pickup/<id>`	Detail page for a specific stop (tasks, photos, signature)

Driver Portal Route Page The driver portal — route header, START ROUTE button, warehouse departure card, and quick message buttons

Route Page Layout¶

The main route page (/driver/my-route) is what the driver sees all day. From top to bottom:

1. Route Header

Truck name, date, and dispatcher name
Status badge showing real-time route state: Not Started, In Progress, On Time, Behind, On Lunch, or Completed
Current stop progress — e.g., "Stop 3 of 12"
Delay indicator — if the driver is behind, this shows by how much
Estimated completion time — when the driver should finish the route

2. Dispatcher Notes (Yellow Alert Box)

Your dispatcher notes appear in a prominent yellow box near the top of the page. Drivers see these immediately — they can't miss them. When you update the notes field, the change appears the next time the driver refreshes.

3. START ROUTE Button

Before the driver leaves the warehouse, they tap START ROUTE. This:

Changes the truck schedule status from Draft/Not Started to In-Progress/En Route
Records the actual route start time
Begins ETA calculations for all stops

4. Box Tracking Section

Shows the driver their progress:

Projected boxes vs. Actual boxes collected so far
Capacity warnings — if the truck is getting full, the driver sees it here
Helps the driver flag to dispatch if actual counts don't match projections

5. Pickup Stop Cards

Each stop is shown as a card, sorted by sequence. Every card shows:

Element	What the Driver Sees
Stop number	Position in route (1, 2, 3...)
Customer name	Company name
Address	Full address with a Google Maps Navigate button — tapping it opens turn-by-turn navigation
Expected boxes	CSR's estimated box count
Actual boxes	Updated after loading (if different from estimate)
Timing info	Scheduled arrival window and current ETA
HOO window	Customer's business hours so the driver knows if they're arriving in range
Action buttons	ARRIVED (blue), LEAVING (purple) — these advance the pickup stage

Completed stops show a green "Completed" badge and are pushed to the bottom of the list.

6. Lunch Break Button

A dedicated Take Lunch button starts a 30-minute lunch countdown. While active:

The route status changes to "On Lunch"
All ETA calculations pause system-wide
The lunch start time is recorded
A countdown timer shows remaining break time

When the driver taps End Lunch, ETAs resume calculating from the new time baseline. The lunch duration is recorded on the truck schedule.

Driver Task Checklists¶

This is the part that ensures documentation at every stop. When the driver taps ARRIVED at a stop, a task checklist appears that must be completed before they can advance to the next stage.

Task types the driver sees:

Task Type	What the Driver Does	Example
Answer (Yes/No)	Taps Yes or No to confirm a condition	"Is all material accessible?" / "Are there any hazards?"
Upload Files (Photos)	Takes and uploads photos from their phone camera	Photo of material before loading, photo of boxes on truck
Description (Text)	Types a free-text description	"3 extra monitors not on the manifest"
Customer Signature	Hands the phone to the customer to sign on a signature pad	Proof of pickup — customer confirms material was collected

The driver cannot advance to the next stage until all required tasks are complete. This is enforced by the system — there's no way to skip tasks. This is why you'll always have photos, signatures, and confirmations for every stop.

Tasks by stage:

Stage Transition	Typical Tasks
Expected → Arrival	(No tasks — just tap "Arrived")
Arrival → In Progress	Meet contact, locate materials, verify box count, take photos of material, get customer signature
In Progress → Next/End	Label all boxes with barcodes, load onto truck, photo of boxes on truck, verify customer satisfaction

Driver Quick Messages¶

The driver portal has a messaging panel with pre-built quick message buttons for common situations:

Quick Message	What It Sends to Dispatch
Running Late	Alerts you the driver is falling behind
Traffic Delay	Explains the delay is traffic-related, not a stop issue
Customer Not Ready	Material isn't ready — driver is waiting or may need to skip
Need Help	Non-emergency request for dispatcher assistance
SOS (red button)	Emergency — triggers an immediate alert to dispatch. Use is logged.

In addition to quick messages, the driver can type custom text messages. All messages are tied to the specific truck schedule and visible in Operations → Driver Messages.

Dispatcher Monitoring Page¶

As a dispatcher, you also have a dedicated monitoring view at /dispatch/monitor that shows:

All active routes with real-time status
Driver progress through stops
Photos uploaded by drivers at each stop (viewable at /dispatch/photos/<pickup_id>)
Message threads with each driver (at /dispatch/messages/<schedule_id>)

This is a lightweight alternative to the full Dispatcher Dashboard — useful for quick checks without navigating through Odoo menus.

Why This Matters for Dispatchers¶

Dispatcher Notes are front and center — the driver sees them in a yellow alert box at the top of their screen. Write clear, actionable instructions.
Stage changes are driver-driven — when you see a pickup move from Expected to Arrival, that means the driver tapped the button on their phone. It's happening in real-time.
Google Maps Navigate — drivers tap the address to get turn-by-turn directions. If an address is wrong in the system, the driver gets sent to the wrong place. Verify addresses on new customers.
Task checklists are mandatory — the driver can't skip photos or signatures. This means every completed stop has full documentation. If a customer disputes a pickup, the photos and signature are in the system.
Quick messages tell you what's happening — "Customer Not Ready" means the driver is waiting and the stop may take longer. "Traffic Delay" means ETAs for all remaining stops will slip. Adjust your monitoring accordingly.
SOS is urgent — if you see an SOS message from a driver, respond immediately. Call the driver. These are reserved for real emergencies (safety issues, accidents, confrontations).
Box tracking helps you anticipate — if a driver reports more actual boxes than projected, downstream stops may push the truck over capacity. Watch the box tracking section on your dashboard.

Flagged Customers¶

Some customers have flags that affect how you dispatch their pickups. When you see a flagged customer on a route, open their record and check the Attention tab.

How to Check for Flags¶

Open a customer pickup on a route
Click the Customer link to open their record
Look for the Attention tab — if it exists, there's a flag
Read the flag details before making dispatch decisions

Flag Types and What They Mean¶

Flag Type	Example	Dispatch Impact
Payment issue	Outstanding invoice over 90 days	Do not schedule new pickups until resolved. Existing pickups may need to be held.
Site restriction	Loading dock under construction	Include specific instructions in dispatcher notes for the driver.
Schedule restriction	No pickups before 10 AM	Verify the stop's ETA falls within the allowed window. Reorder if needed.
Safety concern	Aggressive dog on premises	Alert the driver via dispatcher notes. May need to call customer first.

Always Check Flags Before Dispatching

The sandbox has 220+ real flagged customers from production data. When reviewing routes, make it a habit to check if any stops are flagged — especially before pushing a route to Samsara.

How Pickups Get on Routes (Auto-Assignment)¶

As a dispatcher, you'll notice new stops appearing on routes throughout the day. Here's how that happens:

The CSR Workflow¶

A CSR takes a customer call and opens the Add a Note wizard on the customer record
In the wizard, the CSR selects a truck and date for the pickup
The system creates or finds an existing truck schedule for that truck + date combination
A new customer pickup record is created and assigned to the route
The pickup gets a sequence number (added to the end of the route)
Route timing, capacity, and direction metrics are recalculated automatically

What Dispatchers See¶

A new stop appears on a draft route's pickup list
Capacity numbers update (projected boxes increase)
Direction coherence may change if the new stop is in a different direction
Total trip time is recalculated

What to Watch For¶

Capacity creep — CSRs adding stops throughout the day can push a route from OK to Warning to Critical
Direction conflicts — a new stop might go in the opposite direction from the rest of the route
Over hours — adding stops increases total trip time, potentially pushing past the daily limit
Fixed appointments — if the new stop has a fixed appointment, it may conflict with existing timing

Morning vs. Afternoon

Most CSR-scheduled pickups land on routes in the morning. Review your routes again around noon to catch any additions that may have changed capacity or timing.

Tractor Trailer Calendar¶

The Tractor Trailer Calendar (Operations → Tractor Trailer Calendar) shows OTR/long-haul routes separately from local box truck routes.

Same interface as the Truck Schedule Calendar — FullCalendar with month/week/day/list views
Filtered to tractor trailers only — vehicles with Is Tractor Trailer = True
OTR routes are typically longer (multi-day), higher capacity (48 boxes), and cover greater distances
Use this calendar when coordinating with Blake Hamby or other OTR drivers

The regular Truck Schedule calendar shows only box truck routes. Both calendars use the same underlying truck schedule records — they're just filtered views.

Quick Reference¶

Pickup Stages¶

Stage	Driver Action	What You See
Expected	Nothing yet	Upcoming stop, no driver interaction
Arrival	Tapped "Arrived"	Driver is at the location
In Progress	Tapped "Start Loading"	Driver is actively loading
Next/End	Tapped "Leaving"	Loading complete, moving on
Cancelled	—	Cancelled with reason

Alert Levels¶

Level	Trigger	Dashboard Color	Action
None	On time	Green	Monitor normally
Warning	15–29 min behind	Yellow	Watch closely, may recover
Critical	30+ min behind, missed pickup, or over capacity	Red	Intervene immediately

Capacity Status¶

Status	Utilization	Action
OK	Under 80%	Room for more stops
Warning	80–99%	Check before adding
Critical	100%+	Remove or reschedule stops

What To Do When...¶

Situation	Action
Driver calls in sick	Open route → Change Driver to a backup. If no backup, use Call Off Pickups to reschedule or move stops to other routes.
Truck breaks down	Check Fleet for available trucks. Change Truck on the route, or use Call Off Pickups to move remaining stops. Add dispatcher note. Notify maintenance.
Customer cancels	Open pickup → Cancel Pickup with reason. Route timing recalculates automatically.
Customer calls — "Where's my pickup?"	Search Customer Pickups for their name. Check ETA, Delay, and Current Stop on the route. Provide a realistic ETA.
Route is over capacity	Check which stops can be moved. Use Change Truck on individual pickups to move to a route with room.
Direction conflict on route	Find the conflicting stop (Direction Conflict = True). Use Change Truck to move it to a route going in its direction.
CSR asks "Can we fit one more?"	Check Projected Boxes vs. Remaining Capacity, Direction of the new stop, and Total Trip Time. Give a yes/no with reasons.
Route is over hours	Check if any stops can be removed or moved. Consider splitting the route across two trucks.
Driver sends SOS	Respond immediately. Call the driver. Assess safety. Notify manager if needed.
Fixed appointment at risk	Reorder stops so the appointment stop is prioritized. Use Optimize Route or manually adjust sequence.

Knowledge Check¶

Test your understanding of dispatcher concepts. Answer these on paper or discuss with your supervisor.

Multiple Choice¶

A route shows Capacity Status: Warning. What does this mean?
- a) The truck is empty
- b) The truck is 80–99% full
- c) The truck is overloaded
- d) The capacity is unknown
The Dispatcher Dashboard shows a route in yellow. What's happening?
- a) The driver is on lunch
- b) The route hasn't started yet
- c) The driver is 15–29 minutes behind schedule
- d) The route is completed
A pickup shows HOO Status: Outside. What should you do?
- a) Nothing — it will sort itself out
- b) Reschedule or reorder the route so this stop is hit during business hours
- c) Cancel the pickup
- d) Call the customer to extend their hours
What's the difference between Dispatcher Notes and the Chatter?
- a) They're the same thing
- b) Dispatcher Notes are visible to the driver; Chatter is internal-only
- c) Chatter is visible to the driver; Dispatcher Notes are internal-only
- d) Both are visible to the driver
A route has Direction Coherence: 60% and Has Opposite Directions: True. What does this mean?
- a) The route is well-organized
- b) Some stops go in the opposite direction from the rest, causing backtracking
- c) The route has too many stops
- d) The GPS data is incorrect

Scenario Questions¶

It's 7:00 AM. Kable West calls — he can't drive today. His SBT-1 route has 5 stops, including one fixed appointment at 10:00 AM. Walk through your decision process. What buttons and tools do you use?
A customer calls at 2:30 PM: "Your truck was supposed to be here at 2:00." How do you find out where their pickup is and give them an accurate ETA? What fields do you check?
You're reviewing tomorrow's draft routes. RT-MOR-1 shows Projected Boxes: 13 and Truck Capacity: 12. The route also has a stop with Direction Conflict: True. How do you fix both problems?
The Dispatcher Dashboard shows a route in red with a critical alert and significant delay. What are the first three things you do?
A CSR asks if they can add a 4-box pickup to Friday's RT-SBT-1 route, which currently has Projected Boxes: 9, Truck Capacity: 12, and all stops going NE. The new customer is located to the SW. What do you tell the CSR, and why?

Answer Key

Discuss your answers with your supervisor. There's often more than one right approach — the goal is to show you understand the fields, the tools, and the decision-making process.

Dispatcher Shadowing Guide¶

After completing the sandbox exercises, spend a day shadowing an experienced dispatcher. Use this checklist to make sure you observe all the key activities.

Morning Routine (7:00–8:00 AM)¶

Watch how the dispatcher reviews today's routes on the Truck Schedule Calendar
Observe the pre-departure checklist: Are all drivers assigned? Are routes pushed to Samsara?
See how the dispatcher checks for overnight changes (new pickups added, cancellations)
Note how direction conflicts and capacity issues are resolved before drivers depart
Watch how dispatcher notes are written for each route

Mid-Morning (8:00–10:00 AM)¶

Watch the Dispatcher Dashboard as routes go live
Observe how the dispatcher monitors departure times and departure variance
See how the first alerts are handled (late departures, missed stops)
Watch how the dispatcher communicates with drivers who are running behind
Note how new pickup requests from CSRs are handled during active routing

Midday (10:00 AM–1:00 PM)¶

Observe how lunch breaks are managed (which drivers take lunch when)
Watch how capacity changes as drivers complete stops (projected vs. actual boxes)
See how the dispatcher handles a customer call ("Where's my pickup?")
Note how the dispatcher prioritizes multiple alerts at the same time

Afternoon (1:00–4:00 PM)¶

Watch how end-of-route monitoring works (return ETAs, predicted completion)
Observe how the dispatcher handles a route that's going to be late
See how completed routes are reviewed (Route Logs, timing data)
Watch how tomorrow's draft routes are reviewed and adjusted

End of Day (4:00–5:00 PM)¶

Observe the daily wrap-up: Are all routes completed? Any outstanding issues?
Watch how the dispatcher communicates end-of-day status to the manager
Note any lessons learned from the day's routing

Questions to Ask¶

"How do you decide which alerts to handle first when multiple routes are yellow/red?"
"What's your process when a driver calls in sick last minute?"
"How do you handle it when a CSR wants to add a stop that doesn't fit?"
"What do you do differently on heavy days vs. light days?"
"What's the most common mistake new dispatchers make?"

Wrap-Up Checklist¶

After completing all exercises, you should be comfortable with:

What's Next?¶

Shadow an experienced dispatcher — use the Shadowing Guide above to structure your observation day
Review the Scheduling a Pickup guide to understand the Add a Note wizard that CSRs use to create pickups
Review the Call Queues guide to understand how customer calls lead to pickup requests
Review the Fleet Management Guide for complete vehicle and driver reference
Start monitoring live routes with your supervisor watching
Ask your supervisor if you have questions about anything you saw in the sandbox

Remember: The sandbox is always available for practice. Come back anytime you want to review routes, explore the wizards, or prepare for a busy dispatch day. Use Operations → Generate Sandbox Pickups to create fresh routes whenever you need more practice data.