Maintenance Planner Setup & User Guide

Last updated: August 5, 2026

How-To Guide: Getting Started with the Maintenance Planner

The Maintenance Planner replaces the legacy Resource Calendar on August 12, 2026. Designed as an interactive, desktop-optimized scheduling timeline, it streamlines team schedules, eliminates double booking, and automates backlog management using AI-driven planning.  

1. Access & System Setup

Accessing the Planner

  • Navigation: The Maintenance Planner can be accessed temporarily via the Dispatch menu, as well as directly from the Scheduler or Work Orders sections.  

  • Permissions: Access permissions mirror those of the Scheduler module.

  • Device Support: The platform is optimized strictly for desktop displays and is not supported on tablet or mobile devices.  

Configuration Requirements

  • Assign Trades: All resources (technicians/mechanics) must have an assigned Trade to appear in the Maintenance Planner views.  

  • Shift Boundaries: Defining shifts in the user setup displays visual shift boundaries (gray bars) on the calendar, highlighting standard working hours and helping flag off-shift assignments.  

2. Navigating the Triage Page

The Triage Panel on the right side of your screen acts as a central hub for managing unassigned work.  

  • Backlog: View open, unassigned dispatches, upcoming work orders, and scheduled events.  

  • Past Due & Conflicts: Track past-due activities and identify resource double-bookings in real time.  

  • Triage Filtering & Search:

    • Click the 'Edit' button under the search bar to change your triage filters.

    • Use the built-in search bar to quickly locate specific activities.  

  • Note: The Triage panel defaults to showing activity from the last 90 days.  

3. Calendar Filters and View:

  • Filters for the Calendar view:

    • Create saved filters

    • Select Trades, Resource Categories or Resources; Select a status as well as Event Types you want to see on the Calendar.

  • View:

    • Choose the fields you want to see on the card.

    • General Display:

      • Show shifts (and edit shifts from here)

      • Show capacity indicator: How many hours of their shift are scheduled versus remain?

      • Darken Weekends: Grey out weekends so you don't inadvertently schedule over it.

  • Warnings:

    • The warnings will pop up to let you know if a resource is at capacity, is unavailable, etc.

4. Manual Scheduling & Multi-Resource Assignments

  • Drag-and-Drop: Drag card assignments directly from the Triage backlog panel onto a technician's timeline on the calendar.  

  • Multiple Resources: To assign a task to more than one technician, drag the card to the first technician, open the card details, and manually add additional resources.  

  • Card Customization: Customize cards to display relevant details, such as dispatch IDs, status, or truncated text.  

5. Automated Bulk Scheduling with Draft Plan (AI)

The Draft Plan tool uses AI to automatically distribute backlog work onto technician timelines based on trade skills, availability, shifts, and capacity.  

How to Draft a Plan:

  1. Click Draft Plan to open the setup panel.  

  2. Lock Resources: Specify any "Locked Resources" whose current schedules should remain unchanged.  

  3. Provide Context: Enter custom instructions in natural language (e.g., "Resource X is new and needs 2–3 hours of low-level work" or set custom capacity limits).  

  4. Generate: Click Generate Plan. Suggested additions will appear on the calendar with a distinct gradient border outline.  

  5. Review & Finalize: Review the plan summary. You can Accept the schedule to finalize it, provide feedback to Adjust, or click Re-generate.  

6. Visual Indicators & Warnings

  • Card Outlines:

    • Gray Dotted Outlines: Indicate scheduled events without an attached dispatch number.  

    • Gradient Outlines: Indicate unconfirmed, AI-generated schedule proposals.  

  • Lockbox: Signifies that the scheduled date is fixed. On a locked row, you can drag the card to assign a resource, but that drag will not reschedule it to a different day.

Warnings & Overlaps: Warnings flag scheduling attempts made outside of assigned shift boundaries, during periods marked as unavailable, or when a technician is fully booked.  

7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How are reactive dispatches without a due date handled?

A: Reactive dispatches without a set due date will still appear in the Triage backlog panel. To prevent reactive items from extending indefinitely across the calendar view, they automatically default to a 1-hour duration estimate, which you can manually edit as needed.  

Q: Can I modify fixed/recurring schedules directly in the Maintenance Planner?

A: You can move individual instances of an event on the timeline. However, permanent changes to fixed schedule logic must still be updated within the main Scheduler module.  

Q: Why can't I filter my resources by lines or machines?
A: Filtering resources directly by line or machine is not currently supported in this initial release, but expanded filter options are planned for future updates.