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Example sketch

Crew scheduling for trade businesses

The sentence it all started with

“Our field technicians learn about jobs through a group chat, and when someone calls in sick in the morning, I spend half the morning on the phone.”

This sketch is an example. We wrote the sentence; the concept was generated by an AI and edited by us; our renderer draws it.

Example sketch – not a client project

ConceptScheduling

Crew Board

Weekly scheduling for field technicians that rebuilds itself in minutes when someone calls in sick.

How we understood your problem

Weekly scheduling lives in one person's head and a group chat. When someone is out, there is no overview: which jobs are affected, who is free, who is even qualified to take over? Every absence costs a morning on the phone.

Who it's for

  • DispatcherPlans the week, assigns jobs and reacts to absences.
  • Field technicianSees assigned jobs on the phone and reports illness or delays.
  • OwnerReviews utilisation and overtime per crew.

Interface

Week

Week 42

Open jobs

3

since the 6:40 sick note

Utilisation

87%

+4% vs last week

Jobs today

TechnicianCustomerTimeStatus
JonasBoiler replacement, Lindenweg07:30–12:00on the way
MeryemMaintenance, Schulstraße08:00–10:30on site
(open)Bathroom renovation, Am Hang08:00–16:00replacement needed
TobiasCallout, Marktplatz10:00–11:00scheduled

Technicians today

  • Jonas on a job
  • Meryem on a job
  • Karl sick
  • Tobias free from 11:00
  • Aylin on leave
  • Ben on a job
Absences

Handle an absence

Affected jobs

Open2

  • Bathroom renovation, Am Hang
  • Boiler replacement, Ringstraße

Replacement requested2

  • Maintenance, Gartenweg
  • Leak, Mühlgasse

Reassigned1

  • Handover, Kirchplatz

Replacement suggestion

  • Tobias free from 11:00, 4 km away
  • Ben gas certificate, fully booked today
  • Aylin on leave, do not contact

Log an absence

Technician
Karl
Reason
sick
From
today
To
open

Save

Hours

Hours and utilisation

Hours worked per technician

212 hrsthis week

JonasMeryemKarlTobiasAylinBen

Jonas: 38, Meryem: 41, Karl: 16, Tobias: 39, Aylin: 0, Ben: 40

Overtime, twelve weeks

14 hrs−6 vs last week

22, 25, 19, 28, 31, 26, 24, 27, 21, 23, 20, 14

Changed today

  1. 06:40 Karl calls in sick
  2. 06:41 3 jobs marked open
  3. 07:05 Tobias takes over Ringstraße

Data model

Data model as a table
EntityFieldType
CrewnameText
vehicleText
Field TechniciannameText
qualificationsText
crewReference
activeYes/No
Work OrdercustomerText
addressText
tradeText
material_listFile
JobdateDate
duration_hrsNumber
statusText
technicianReference
work_orderReference
AbsencetechnicianReference
start_dateDate
end_dateDate
reasonText
Relations between the entities
FromCardinalityToRelation
Crew1:nField Technicianconsists of
Field Technician1:nJobtakes on
Work Order1:nJobis carried out in
Field Technician1:nAbsencereports

Market value

What this problem would be worth on the market: how the product could be offered if it were sold. Not our price, and not an offer.

Billed per user per technician

  • Board

    9 €

    per month · per technician

  • Most likely fit

    Board + absences

    14 €

    per month · per technician

  • With reporting

    19 €

    per month · per technician

Value grows with every technician scheduled. Office seats stay free.

Roadmap

  1. Stage 1

    Weekly board

    Plan jobs and push them to the phone. The group chat becomes redundant.

  2. Stage 2

    Absences

    Sick notes, open jobs and replacement suggestions in one flow.

  3. Stage 3

    Reporting

    Hours and utilisation per technician, exported to payroll.

Core features

  • Weekly boardAll jobs per technician at a glance, reschedule by dragging.
  • Report an absenceA sick note instantly marks the affected jobs as open.
  • Replacement suggestionShows who is free, qualified and working nearby.
  • Job details on the phoneAddress, contact and materials, without a group chat.
  • Hours overviewPlanned versus worked hours per week and technician.

Deliberately left out

  • No payroll: hours are exported to the existing payroll system.
  • No route optimisation: with few vehicles, the dispatcher plans better than an algorithm.
  • No customer portal: only worth it once internal scheduling is reliable.

What the AI does

Suggests a replacement for an absence, ranked by qualification and distance.

What the AI explicitly does not doThe AI never reassigns on its own. The dispatcher confirms every schedule change.

Integrations

  • Payroll (export)
  • Calendar subscription
  • SMS sending

Three questions we would ask you first

  1. Who may reschedule jobs: only the office, or also crew leads?

  2. Which qualifications really decide who may take on a job?

  3. Do all technicians have a work phone, or must this run on personal devices?

A sketch, not an offer. Generated by an AI, rendered by us.