User Guide

Maintenance Board

The Maintenance Board is where fleet maintenance needs become available jobs. A fleet posts a case to the board; service providers see it on a list or a map, with the unit, the location, the priority and the estimated value, and accept the ones they want. Accepting opens the Billing Workbench and the job is theirs.

About This Guide

This guide covers the Maintenance Board in RoadBays — how a fleet publishes work to it, and how a service provider finds, evaluates, and accepts that work. It is written for both sides: fleet maintenance coordinators putting jobs out, and shop managers and mobile technicians picking them up.

You do not need to read it end to end. Use the table of contents to jump to the screen you are on.

How to read the instructions

TermMeaning
Bold textThe exact name of a button, tab, field, or menu item as it appears on screen. Example: click Accept.
Numbered stepsDo these in order. Each step is one action.
NoteBackground information that helps the step make sense.
TipA faster or better way to do something.
ImportantSomething that will cause a problem if you skip it.

What the Maintenance Board is

Think of the whiteboard in a shop, with the jobs that need doing written on it — except this one is shared between a fleet and the service providers who work for it, and it knows where every truck actually is.

The board solves a specific and expensive problem: the dry run. A service provider drives out to a unit that has already been fixed, or was never where the paperwork said, or needed a part nobody mentioned. Publishing the job with its real location, its priority, and its description means the provider knows what they are accepting before they get in the truck.

The two sides

Who you areWhat you do here
A fleetPublish cases to the board so service providers can see and accept them. You do that from the case itself, not from this screen.
A service providerBrowse available jobs on the board or the map, check what each one involves and where it is, and accept the ones you want. Accepting opens the Billing Workbench so you can start pricing immediately.

Two ways to look at the same jobs

ViewBest for
Board ViewA sortable table of every available job with all the detail — priority, status, dates, estimated cost. Best for working through a list and for comparing jobs.
Map ViewThe same jobs plotted where the units actually are, with a list down the side. Best for answering "what is near me?" and for planning a route.

Filters are set separately on each view, so you can have the board filtered one way and the map another.

Publishing a Job (Fleets)

Jobs reach the board from cases. Nothing appears here that a fleet has not deliberately posted.

Posting a case

  1. Open the case.
  2. On the Case tab, tick the Maintenance Board checkbox.
  3. Click Save Header.

The case is now visible to service providers on the board. Untick the box and save again to take it back off.

What to fill in before you post

A job with blank fields is a job providers will skip, because they cannot tell what they would be taking on. Before you post, make sure the case carries:

FieldWhy it matters here
PriorityDecides which tier the job appears under and where it sorts. Providers scan by priority first.
Repair DescriptionThe only description a provider gets. Say what is actually wrong.
Repair ReasonLets providers filter to the kind of work they do.
Latitude and LongitudeWithout coordinates the job cannot appear on the map at all. Use Refresh beside Latitude on the case to pull the unit's position.
Location DescriptionWhat the coordinates cannot say — "back lot behind the fuel island", "shoulder of I-94 eastbound, mile marker 312".
Est Arrival and Est CompletionWhat you are expecting. These show on the board and turn amber once they have passed.
ImportantA case with no coordinates appears on Board View but is invisible on Map View. Since many providers work the map first, that job may sit unnoticed. Always click Refresh beside Latitude on the case before posting.
TipWrite the description for a stranger. The provider reading it has never seen your fleet, does not know your abbreviations, and is deciding whether to drive an hour on the strength of that one sentence.

The Board View

Board View is a table of every job currently available, sorted by priority and then by how long it has been waiting — so the most urgent, longest-waiting work is at the top.

The numbers across the top

PillWhat it shows
Available JobsHow many jobs are on the board.
Total ValueThe combined estimated cost of all of them.
Priority 1-3How many are urgent.
Priority 4-6How many are moderate.
Priority 7-10How many are routine.
NoteThese count everything on the board, not just what your filters are showing. They are the size of the opportunity, not the size of your current list.

Reading the table

ColumnWhat it shows
Case #The case number. Click to open the job in full.
UnitThe unit needing work.
CustomerThe fleet that posted it.
ServiceThe service being requested.
PriorityA colored P badge — red, amber, or green.
StatusWhere the case currently stands.
Repair ReasonThe category of work.
DescriptionWhat is wrong. Long text is shortened — hover to read all of it.
LocationThe location description the fleet wrote.
AddressThe street address, with a map pin that opens turn-by-turn directions in a new tab.
Est ArrivalWhen the fleet expects a provider on site.
Est CompletionWhen they expect the job finished.
OpenedWhen the case was raised.
Est CostThe estimated value of the job.

The last column holds View, which opens the job, and Accept, which takes it.

Overdue dates

Est Arrival and Est Completion turn into an amber badge with a warning triangle once the date has passed. On a board full of available work, those are jobs somebody was expecting to be underway already.

TipAn amber date on an unaccepted job is an opportunity. The fleet expected a provider by now and does not have one — a call offering to take it today is usually welcome.

Filtering

The filter bar sits above the table. Every filter applies immediately.

FilterWhat it does
PriorityAll, 1-3 (Urgent), 4-6 (Moderate), or 7-10 (Routine).
CustomerOne fleet. The list is built from the jobs actually on the board.
StatusOne case status.
Repair ReasonOne category of work — the fastest way to see only the jobs you are equipped for.
Opened FromOnly cases opened on or after this date.
Opened ToOnly cases opened on or before this date.

When any filter is active the bar turns blue and a badge on the Clear button shows how many are set. Click Clear to reset them all.

NoteThe filter bar changing color is a deliberate reminder. It is the answer to "why am I only seeing four jobs?" — you have a filter on that you forgot about.

The search box above the table searches every column at once, and is the quickest way to find a job when you know almost anything about it.

Priority

Every job carries a priority from 1 to 10, set by the fleet. RoadBays groups them into three tiers and colors everything — the badge, the row edge, the map pin, the sidebar card — to match.

TierPriorityWhat it means
Urgent1 to 3A unit is down or about to be. The fleet is losing money every hour. Red.
Moderate4 to 6Needs attention soon but is not stopping the truck. Amber.
Routine7 to 10Scheduled work that can be fitted in. Green.

In Board View, urgent and moderate rows are also tinted, so the shape of the board is readable before you read a single word.

TipThe board sorts by priority and then by how long a job has waited. A routine job near the top of its tier has been sitting there a while — those are often the easiest to win, because nobody else has bothered.

The Map View

Map View plots the same jobs where the units actually are. It is the view that answers "what is near me, or near where I am already going?"

ImportantOnly jobs with coordinates appear on the map. A job the fleet posted without a location shows on Board View but not here, so check both before concluding there is no work available.

The map

  • Each job is a colored dot — red, amber, or green by priority.
  • Jobs close together group into a numbered cluster. Click a cluster to zoom in and break it apart.
  • Use the controls in the top right to zoom, or the locate button to center the map on where you are.

The job list

Down the left side is a card for every job currently shown, with a count at the top and a color legend. Each card shows the case number, priority, estimated cost, unit, customer, repair reason, and the start of the description.

Click any card and the map flies to that job.

TipWork the list rather than the map when you are scanning. The cards carry the cost and the description, which the dots do not — use the map to judge distance and the list to judge whether the job is worth it.

Job details on the map

Click a dot to open its details: the service and estimated cost, the case number and priority, the customer, the unit and VIN, the repair reason, the description, and the address. Three buttons sit at the bottom:

ButtonWhat it does
DirectionsOpens turn-by-turn directions to the unit in a new tab.
ViewOpens the full job.
AcceptTakes the job. Same as accepting from the board.
NoteThe popup stays open when you click elsewhere, so you can open several and compare them side by side before deciding.

Map filters

FilterWhat it does
PriorityAll, Urgent, Moderate, or Routine.
CustomerOne fleet.
Repair ReasonOne category of work.
Description SearchFree text against the job descriptions. Type "tire" to see only tire work.

The map and its job list both update as you filter, and the count at the top of the list follows. As on the board, the bar turns blue with a count when filters are active.

TipDescription Search is the most useful filter on this screen. A mobile tire truck typing "tire" turns a hundred-pin map into the five jobs worth driving to.

Accepting a Job

Accepting claims the job and starts the billing for it in one step.

Before you accept

  • Read the full description, not the shortened version in the table.
  • Check the location and how far it is — use Directions from the map popup or the pin in the Address column.
  • Check the Est Arrival date. If it has already passed, the fleet is waiting.
  • Check the estimated cost against what the job will actually take you.
  • Open the job with View if anything is unclear.

Accepting

  1. Click Accept, either on the table row or in the map popup.
  2. Check the case number in the confirmation.
  3. Click Accept & Open Workbench.

The case is marked as accepted by you, and the Billing Workbench opens with the unit and the job details already filled in.

ImportantAccepting is a commitment. The fleet sees your name against the case immediately and stops looking for anyone else. Only accept work you can actually get to.

What happens next

  • The job leaves the board — other providers no longer see it as available.
  • The fleet sees your name on the case as the accepting facility.
  • The Billing Workbench opens with the estimate ready to build.
  • From here it is an ordinary repair: build the estimate, get it approved, do the work, invoice it.

See the Billing Workbench guide for everything that follows.

TipPost a case note as soon as you accept, saying when you expect to be on site. The fleet has just handed you a unit they cannot use, and a two-line note buys a lot of goodwill.

Common Workflows

A fleet putting a breakdown out to the network

  1. Create the case for the unit and describe the fault plainly.
  2. Set the Priority honestly — 1 to 3 only if the unit is genuinely down.
  3. Click Refresh beside Latitude to pull the unit's position, and add a Location Description.
  4. Set Est Arrival for when you need somebody there.
  5. Tick Maintenance Board and click Save Header.
  6. Watch the case for an accepting facility, and check back if nobody takes it.
TipIf an urgent job sits unaccepted, look at it the way a provider would. Is the description clear? Is the estimated value realistic for the drive? Those are usually the reasons nobody has picked it up.

A mobile technician finding work for the afternoon

  1. Open the Maintenance Board and switch to Map View.
  2. Use the locate control to center on where you are.
  3. Set Repair Reason, or type into Description Search, to narrow to work you are equipped for.
  4. Work the sidebar list, checking cost and description on each card.
  5. Click a card to fly to it and judge the distance.
  6. Open the popup, click Directions to confirm the drive, then Accept.
  7. Post a case note with your ETA.

A shop working the board each morning

  1. Open Board View and read the pills for the size of what is available.
  2. Filter Priority to 1-3 and take anything you can genuinely reach today.
  3. Clear the filter and scan for amber Est Arrival dates — jobs already past their promised date.
  4. Filter by Repair Reason to the work you specialize in and pick up the routine jobs to fill the schedule.
  5. Accept each one, which opens its workbench ready to price.

Troubleshooting

What you seeWhat to do
A case I posted is not on the boardCheck that Maintenance Board is ticked on the Case tab and that you clicked Save Header afterwards.
My job shows on the board but not the mapThe case has no coordinates. Open it and click Refresh beside Latitude to pull the unit's position, then save.
Hardly any jobs are showingCheck the filter bar. If it is blue with a number on the Clear button, filters are active — click Clear.
The map is empty but the board has jobsOnly jobs with coordinates appear on the map. Also check the map filters, which are separate from the board filters.
The job count on the map is lower than Available JobsExpected. The pills count every job on the board; the map count only counts the ones with coordinates that match your map filters.
I clicked Accept and nothing happenedAccept opens a confirmation first. Click Accept & Open Workbench in it to complete the acceptance.
Accepting failed with an errorSomeone else may have accepted it first. Reload the board and check whether the job is still listed.
A job vanished while I was looking at itAnother provider accepted it, or the fleet took it off the board. The board only shows work still available.
The map will not loadSwitch to another tab and back — the map sizes itself when the tab is opened. If it is still blank, reload the page.
I accepted the wrong jobContact the fleet through the case as soon as possible. Accepting is not self-service reversible, and they have stopped looking for anyone else.
Description is cut off in the tableHover over it to see the whole thing, or click View to open the job.

Glossary

TermMeaning
Maintenance BoardThe shared board of fleet maintenance work available for service providers to accept.
Available jobA case a fleet has published to the board and nobody has accepted yet.
Board ViewThe table of available jobs with full detail.
Map ViewThe same jobs plotted at the units' locations.
Priority tierThe grouping of priorities 1-10 into Urgent (1-3), Moderate (4-6), and Routine (7-10).
ClusterA numbered circle on the map standing for several jobs close together. Click it to zoom in.
Est CostThe estimated value of the job as the fleet recorded it.
Total ValueThe combined estimated cost of every job on the board.
AcceptingClaiming a job. Marks the case as yours and opens the Billing Workbench.
Accepting facilityThe service provider who accepted the job. Shows on the case for the fleet to see.
Dry runDriving out to a job that turns out not to need doing, or not to be where it was said to be. The problem the board exists to reduce.

Need More Help?

If something in Maintenance Board is not working the way this page describes, email support@roadbays.com or submit a question from the Help page.