Dispatch Schedule

About This Program

The Schedule Screen is the heart of Keystone Dispatch. It is designed to give the maximum amount of information while keeping the display uncluttered. The interface is designed to give quick access to the repetitive tasks of a dispatcher, with minimal pop-up screens and typing.

Using This Program

Selecting Data

The Keystone Dispatch screen has been designed to maximize the space on the screen for order information. This is accomplished by relying on sliding menus, function keys and right-click functions. The sliding menus work by moving the mouse over the menu bar, which causes the menu to slide out. Moving the mouse off the slide-out will cause it to shrink back to the side.

By clicking on the pushpin in the top-right corner of the slide-out, the menu remains fixed in position and will not slide back.

Selecting Dates

Keystone Dispatch allows selecting of a specific date, date range, or even time slot within a date. Clicking the Today button will automatically show all orders for today. If this list proves too long to manage, selecting the Next button allows the dispatch to limit the screen to showing orders for the next 2, 4, 8 or 24 hours. If there are any future-dated orders, these can be selected, allowing the dispatcher to look ahead. The final option is to click the button near the NEXT: entry, which allows the dispatcher to view a specific time window for any current or future date and time.

Selecting Plants

Keystone dispatch allows for both centralized and de-centralized dispatching even within the same office by allowing each user to select which plants’ orders appear on their schedule. Keystone also supports Plant Groups – allowing users to align plants by geography or business unit.

Selecting fields

The information on the schedule screen can be customized in many ways. One of the most popular is determining what information should appear on each line. By default, the Plant, Will-Call Status, Customer, Order, Job, Mix, Quantity Ordered, Quantity Shipped and Next Order time are active. Additional fields are available by clicking on the field selection icon in the top-left corner immediately to the right of the Order Dates slider. Any field on the list can be added or removed by checking or un-checking the box, respectively.

Changing field location

The default layout for Keystone Dispatch is not the only view available to the dispatcher. By clicking on a column heading and dragging it to the new desired location, the column locations change to the desired view. In the example to the right, the fields are aligned, the dispatcher wishes to move the Qty Ordered field immediately next to the Job Id. By clicking on the Qty Ord box and holding the mouse down while moving to the left, the field moves with it. Green arrows indicate the current selected position of the field. If this is the desired location, simply release the mouse button.

Changing order sequence

Keystone Dispatch lists orders by plant and next loading time by default. You can change this default by clicking on the first header, then shift click eash following header. For example, if you click on Customer, then shift-click on Job ID, orders will be sorted by customer, then job.

Colors

Status Colors

The background color of a status column is used to indicate whether a truck is late in a particular status. It is also used to indicate a truck that is pre-ticketed for another load. The background colors indicate the following:

Background Color	Explanation
Normal	On-time
Yellow	Less than 5 minutes late
Red	5 or more minutes late
White	Pre-ticketed