About Dispatch Sets
The Capacity IQ® Transport application uses certain parameters to determine how to assign transport jobs appropriately and efficiently.
The administrator can enter values for each of these parameters to create a dispatch set.
The values of the parameters within a single dispatch set work together to determine the appropriate assignment of jobs.
For each campus, only one dispatch set at a time can be enabled.
Dispatch sets are saved and can be reviewed later if there are questions about how specific transport jobs were assigned.
When a transporter completes a job, all available jobs that are within the transporter's assigned zones and/or sections are assessed a dispatch value (DV) based on the weighting and values listed in the active Dispatch Set.
Using the transporter's current location (typically based on the destination of the transporter's previously completed job), the Capacity IQ® system gives each pending job in the queue a dispatch value based on criteria such as that employee's current location and retained equipment.
The following are the parameters used to assign jobs. Click the text to view the detailed information.
Proximity Match Values (PMV)
The Proximity Match Values parameter is one of the parameters used to determine transport job assignments.
When this parameter is used, then how close the transporter's current location is to the origin of a job is considered a factor in assignment.
Administrators can assign weight to each type of proximity match to indicate how important each proximity match is to job assignment.
For example, if a transporter has just completed a transport job in the room where another job is to begin, then the transporter is already at the location. If room proximity has a high value, this match between transporter and job would receive a higher rating. The transporter who is already in the room would most likely be assigned the job.
If there is no request starting in the room where the transporter completed the previous job, but there is a request in the zone, then that match between transporter and job would receive a higher rating than a match between that transporter and other jobs in other areas and the transporter would most likely be assigned the job.
TransportTracking continues to review transporters' current locations against the location, zone, unit, section, floor, building, or campus of the job's origin to ensure that the closest available transporter is assigned to the job, if proximity is an important factor within the dispatch set.
Auto-Location Assessment-Minutes After Becoming Avail
The administrator can configure a setting to automatically assess where an employee might be physically at a certain number of minutes after that employee enters Avail (Available) status.
For example, if an employee is in Location B, the transport job is completed, and the employee's status becomes Available, how many more minutes would the transporter logically be in Location B before being out of that location, but still in ? Then how many minutes would the transporter be in before being out of that , and in ? The system administrator enters a number of minutes for location, zone, unit, section, floor, building, and base location. This figure is used to determine the transporter's current location.
If a job enters Pending status and its origin location is within the same zone or section as an employee's current location, the proximity of employee location to job origin location would weigh positively in the assignment of the job.
For example, suppose an employee completed a job in Location B and then went into Available status. After five minutes, the employee's current location would be updated to be the zone in which Location B resides. If another job enters Pending status, the job's origin is in that zone, and the employee is eligible to take the job, then the employee will be notified about the job (as it is assumed that the employee is currently within the same zone as the job's origin).
Weighted Job Priority (WJP)
A priority is assigned to each location as a destination (destination priority) and to each location as an origin (origin priority).
For each transport job, the destination priority and the origin priority are used to determine the overall job priority.
The job receives the highest of the two priorities. (Usually the lower the priority number is, the higher the priority is. In general, a priority 2 is higher than a priority 5.)
For example, if the destination location of the job has a destination priority of 5 and the origin location has an origin priority of 2, then the job is given a priority of 2.
The administrator can set a weight value for each priority in a dispatch set.
Priorities with higher weight values are weighted higher than those with lower weight values.
The administrator might give priority number 5 a weight of 7, but give priority number 1 a weight of 10.
The weights are used in calculations of a job's dispatch value (DV) to determine which transport jobs should be assigned next.
A job's priority is weighted against the priorities of other jobs. For example, a transport job with a priority of 1 (with a weight of 10) is given greater precedence than a job with a priority of 5 (with a weight of 7).
Automatic Job Priority Upgrade
Administrators can configure a setting so that a job that has been in Pending status longer than a certain period of time can be upgraded automatically to a more important priority.
This option to upgrade priorities automatically can prevent less important jobs from waiting too long when there are multiple more-important jobs coming in to the queue.
The administrator can select the amount of time and the priority to which a job will be upgraded after that time period.
The most important level of priority that can be designated in this situation is 1. Only supervisors with special permissions can assign a priority of 0 to a job through the IVR.
Example - The priority "5" has a weighted value of "2," but the priority "3" has a weighted value of "8." The administrator has indicated that if a priority "5" job does not receive a response for 60 minutes, it should become a priority "3" job automatically so that its importance increases and it does not continue to go unattended. If a priority "5" job has received no response for 60 minutes, that job automatically changes to a priority "3."
Equipment Possession Matrix (EPM)
Transporters might need equipment, such as a wheelchair or stretcher, to complete a transport job.
They might already have this equipment in their possession from the previous job and patients who are to be transported might also have equipment with them.
If equipment matching is enabled in the active dispatch set, transporters are required to enter an option on the IVR to indicate which equipment they already have with them. In addition, requesters are always required to indicate the equipment that is needed for a job. If equipment matching is enabled, requesters are required to indicate which equipment the patient already has.
The administrator can assign a value to each combination of what the transporters has, versus what the patient has, versus what is needed for the request. These values are in the Equipment Possession Matrix. An example follows.
Example of Equipment Possession Matrix
Notes About the Example
All Types means the transporter has access to all types of mode of travel equipment. The transporter might be starting a shift or finishing a transport job in an area where all modes of travel are easily accessible.
The All Types and Patient Has Mode of Travel: Yes combination has a low value. However, the All Types and Unknown combination has a high value. When a transporter is equipped to handle any request and a patient has a specific need, it is better to assign that transporter to another patient whose needs are unknown. It would be better to match a patient with a specific need to a transporter who has the exact piece of equipment needed.
The matrix attempts to match the patient's mode of travel to the codes for the equipment that a transporter has access to or possesses.
Recommended highest value to set: 10.
Appointment Factor (AF)
Some transport jobs are scheduled in advance and are considered appointments. Other requests are on-demand, meaning that the request is made at the time that the transport is needed rather than in advance.
To give a job that was created as a pre-scheduled appointment precedence over an on-demand job, the administrator can set an appointment factor.
The appointment factor gives slightly higher weight to an appointment than to an on-demand request that has the same origin and destination.
If appointments should be weighted higher than on-demand jobs, then an administrator can enter an appointment factor on the Dispatch Sets>Set page.
This appointment factor will be multiplied by the weighted job priority values, resulting in a higher dispatch value.
If the appointment factor should not be used, then the number 1.0 should appear in the Appointment Factor box.
When the weighted job priority is multiplied by 1.0, its value does not change and appointments and on-demand jobs are treated the same as far as dispatching is concerned.
To give a higher priority weighting to a pre-scheduled appointment, enter a value of 1.1 through 3.0.
The appointment factor is only used for patient transport jobs, not for item transport jobs.
If a patient transport job was initially in Pending status and then was changed to an appointment, the appointment factor is not applied to that job.
Dispatch Value (DV)
From the values contained in the active dispatch set, each transport job receives a Dispatch Value (DV) calculation when a transporter is being considered for a job assignment. At that point, all transport requests that an employee may be eligible to do are given a DV, with the job having the highest DV being offered to the employee for their next assignment.
The transporter's assumed current location will determine the Proximity Match Value (PMV).
The job priority will determine the Weighted Job Priority value (WJP).
The equipment the transporters indicate that they retained, in combination to what has been requested, will determine the value assigned by the Equipment Possession Matrix (EPM) (if equipment matching is enabled as part of the current active dispatch set).
Finally the Appointment Factor (AF) is applied from the current active Dispatch Set to complete the following calculation:
Dispatch Value (DV) = PMV + EPM (OR default EPM value for item jobs) + (WJP * AF)
Jobs with a status of Assist are always weighted higher than all other jobs. Priority 0 jobs are weighted lower than assist jobs, but higher than all other jobs.
To weight all non-Assist and non-priority 0 jobs after the Proximity Match values, the Weighted Job Priority, the Equipment Possession Matrix, and the Appointment Factor are set for every job, the dispatch value can be determined relative to a transporter. For each transporter:
Proximity match value is determined based on the transporters' current location and the job's origin.
Weighted job priority value is determined by the job priority.
Equipment possession matrix (EPM) is based on the equipment needed for the job and the equipment that patient already has weighted against the equipment that the transporter already has (such as a wheel chair).
Note
Item transport jobs do not have modes of travel. Therefore, the EPM value for item jobs is 0.
Patient transport jobs usually have an EPM value of 1 through 10. An EPM value of 0 for item jobs results in item jobs having consistently lower dispatch values than patient jobs.
The item jobs are therefore only offered to transporters when no patient jobs are waiting in the queue.
If equipment matching is enabled in a dispatch set, the administrator can set a default Equipment Possession Matrix value for item transport jobs (for example, 5). The default EPM value for item transport jobs helps to equalize dispatching of item transport jobs and patient transport jobs. The dispatch value calculation for an item job will include the default EPM value instead of 0.
Appointment Factor is the value that the administrator sets to determine the weight of a job that began as an appointment.
The following calculation is done: Dispatch Value = Priority Matching Value + Equipment Possession Matrix (OR default EPM value for item jobs) + (Weighted Job priority x Appointment Factor).
The transport job with the highest dispatch value is next in line to be played over the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system for a transporter to accept.
Include Assist/Priority 0 Outside of Fixed Assignment
If the Include Assist/Priority 0 Outside of Fixed Assignment setting is enabled, then transporters with fixed assignments can be considered for assistance and Priority 0 transport jobs that are outside their assigned sections and zones. This can be helpful when there are high-priority jobs and jobs that require multiple transporters in non-exclusive sections and zones where not many transporters are currently assigned.
Enabling the setting allows transporters with fixed assignments to be considered for these types of jobs in other sections and zones so that they can help in these situations.
When this setting is enabled, all assistance and Priority 0 jobs will be included in the dispatch logic when a fixed assignment transporter is being considered for a job.
Dispatch Sets and Dispatch Monitoring
In the Capacity IQ® Transport application, the Proximity Match Value (PMV) Weighted Job Priority (WJP), Dispatch Value (DV), and Equipment Possession Matrix (EPM), values are visible in the Dispatching Monitor with all other transport jobs considered for an individual employee.
This assists a supervisor in determining why one job was offered to an employee over others.
The factors in the current dispatch set that were calculated for each job at the time of assignment are clearly displayed.
Different values in the dispatch set will result in different dispatch value calculations on available jobs, leading to potentially different dispatching behaviors.
Depending on the desired outcomes, administrators may create and enable different dispatch sets to achieve specific behaviors.
For example, a dispatch set may be created and enabled for the overnight transport group that has few jobs and few employees. (For each campus, only one dispatch set at a time can be enabled.) With few employees covering a small number of transport requests, proximity might not be a significant factor. As such, the overnight dispatch set might have all Proximity Match Values (PMV) equal to 1. This would decrease the weight of proximity, while using Weighted Job Priority (WJP) as its strongest factor. In short, the dispatching would strictly be based on priority, with proximity being neutralized.