Visit plans and standalone activities

This article explains when to schedule a grouped visit plan from a visit template and when to schedule one standalone activity. It is intended for managers planning work in the scheduler.

Note

Required role: Manager

Choose the right scheduling method

• Visit template: Choose this when several activity types share a cadence and are performed together. The template groups the activities into one visit.
• Standalone activity: Choose this when one activity must be planned on its own and is not part of a visit template.

Visit templates are managed in Organisation Settings > Visit Templates. Templates contain an activity list, not fixed job counts. For each visit date, the Control Schema determines the starting count.

Schedule a grouped visit plan

Use a template when the activities should be scheduled together.

1. Open Scheduler and select Plan visit.
2. Drag a template from the Planning sidebar onto the required day.
3. In New Visit, set the location, date, start and end times, and choose the Assignees.
4. Adjust the job counts for each activity under Jobs by Activity, if required.
5. Press Schedule.

Important points about templates

• The activity list is fixed for that occurrence. You cannot remove an activity type, but you can set its jobs to zero for that visit only.
• An activity backed by a rotation plan cannot be reduced below the number of points selected by that plan.
• Work set to zero receives no job on this visit, but it remains due for future planning.
• You can add an ad-hoc job by selecting Add job, choosing an activity, selecting Choose location, pressing Add job in the Ready to add card, and then selecting Schedule. This is not available while the visit repeats.
• Pre-filled assignees without access to the selected location are removed. If no assignee remains, choose one before Schedule becomes available.

Schedule a standalone activity

Use this method when one activity needs its own visit rather than being grouped with a template.

1. Open Scheduler and select Plan visit.
2. Expand Free Activities in the Planning sidebar and drag the activity onto the required day.
3. In New Visit, set the location, date, start and end times.
4. Review Needs review. It is on by default; switch it off if the completed visit does not need a check.
5. Choose the Assignees.
6. Press Schedule.

Outside month view, you can instead select To plan, open a recommendation card, and use the same New Visit form. The card can pre-fill the date, location, activity types, suggested times and assignee.

Standalone scheduling checks

• Only active organisation members with access to the selected location can be assigned. There is no competency filter.
• Schedule remains disabled until a location, date and at least one assignee are set. Either both times or neither time must be entered.
• The end time must be after the start time and no later than 23:59 on the visit date. Work that runs past midnight must be planned as a second visit on the following day.
• Schedule is also disabled when the organisation does not work on the selected date, the building is closed, or the Jobs by Activity estimate is loading or has failed.

Schedule repeated grouped visits

Recurring visits are available for a template-based visit when the same grouped work must be planned repeatedly.

1. In New Visit, switch on Create recurring visits.
2. Set the Frequency, Repeat every value from 1 to 12, and Number of occurrences from 2 to 100.
3. Review the projected dates and job totals.
4. Press Schedule.

Recurrence disables per-activity amounts and hides Add job. Each generated date receives the amount calculated by the Control Schema. Dates that are already in the past are omitted, so fewer visits may be created than requested.

Understand what happens after scheduling

• The planner recalculates due work for the dates shown. A recurring activity appears again on its next due date automatically.
• A scheduled visit can cover an activity for its frequency period, so that activity may no longer appear under To plan.
• Cancelling a visit leaves its activities due, so they return under To plan after the planner refreshes.
• Skipping a visit does not automatically offer the same visit again. The skipped visit still holds its date or visit block, so it must be planned manually if needed.