Tracking and Editing Dispatches

Dispatch Change History

Access full audit logs—including who created, edited, completed, or closed a dispatch, alongside precise timestamps—by clicking the Dispatch Change History button at the bottom of any dispatch.

• When one person creates a Dispatch, and someone else is Dispatched as a Resource to that Dispatch, and yet another someone edits the Dispatch, how does L2L keep track of all that? 

• By whomever is logged into the System each step of the process, whether from their mobile device or computer. The person who creates the Dispatch is not necessarily the person who is Dispatched as a Resource to perform the work. Likewise, neither of the above may make subsequent edits to the Dispatch: complete checklists, add Actions & Components, answer Dispatch Questions, etc. 

• Notice in the screenshot below that the person who created the Dispatch is not the same person who was Dispatched as a Resource in one of these examples. When you open the Dispatch and then click on the 'Dispatch Change History' button at the bottom of the page, you will see all of the detailed history for this Dispatch: who created it, when it was created, who made each edit and addition, who Completed and Closed the Dispatch, etc., as well as all corresponding times. 

The complete history and life and times of a Dispatch is at your fingertips! 

Editing or Changing Dispatch Types Half Way through a Dispatch

You may notice that you are able to edit a dispatch after it has been created such as changing the Dispatch Type, Area, Line, Trade, Machine, Tooling, Status, Reason, or Product.

Only change a dispatch type if it was created in error. Never change a Code Red to a Code Yellow simply because equipment is partially operational; instead, create a follow-up Code Yellow to preserve historical downtime data, questions, and attachments.

• This feature is for when a Dispatch was created using the wrong Dispatch type; not for when you worked on the event as one Dispatch and now you want to move it to another.

  • For example, you have a Code Red and have done the necessary Code Red work and there is still some stuff to be done but the machine is back up, so you want to move it to a Code Yellow. In this instance, you should create a follow-up Code Yellow Dispatch, not change the Dispatch Type to a Code Yellow. This will make the entire Dispatch from start to finish a Code Yellow, losing the valuable information about the Code Red Dispatch. Changing from one Dispatch Type to another also does not attach the necessary documentation or dispatch questions.

NOTE:  When you make and save these changes if you have any designated Dispatch Questions, Documents, and/or Attachments that are associated with the new changes you have selected, they will NOT be updated in the original dispatch.

Unexpected Downtime

You're looking at the Operator Portal. Wow! Where did that downtime come from? You look through all the currently open Dispatches. There are no Code Reds.

• Look at the dispatches for the line that seems to correspond with the amount of downtime reflected in the Op Portal to check Dispatch Change History.

• Pull up the Dispatch you think might be responsible for the displayed downtime. Open the Dispatch and scroll to the very bottom of the page. See that button labeled, "DISPATCH CHANGE HISTORY"? Click on that button and you will see every change made to the Dispatch. 

• If the Dispatch Type has been changed from a Code Red to a non-downtime incurring Dispatch Type, this is likely the Dispatch that caused the downtime accrual. It's difficult to spot at the Operator Portal because there are no currently open Code Red Dispatches. Keep this in mind if you find yourself in that situation. The Dispatch TYPE may have been changed at some point.

*Note: if this does occur, this is an excellent opportunity for coaching your teams so they understand the impact. Not only of changing the type of Dispatch, but also why it is a best practice to stay on top of open Dispatches. 

*Another item of note: if your leaders are working remotely, if you have a large influx of new employees, if communication on off shifts is less than ideal, a site setting is available to restrict the ability to change the Dispatch Type to only people with Administrator accounts in L2L. 

As always, do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or to have that site setting enabled to restrict who is able to edit Dispatch Type after the Dispatch has been created.