Why put a work order on hold?
Putting a work order on hold is a useful feature, especially if you send notifications to your customers. It allows you to provide a more precise time window for the visit, which helps improve customer satisfaction.
For example, if a work order is scheduled within a large time window (such as 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), putting it on hold allows the system to narrow it down to the smallest compatible time window defined in your Settings > Time slots (e.g., 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.).
☝️ Note: If multiple compatible time windows are available, AntsRoute will select the one listed highest.
Priority rules during optimization:
- Confirmed work orders are given the highest priority.
- On-hold work orders come next.
- Planned work orders have the lowest priority.
So, if certain work orders cannot be included in a route (due to, for instance, agent working hours), planned work orders will be the first to be excluded, followed by on-hold work orders, and lastly confirmed work orders.
How to put a work order on hold?
You can place a work order on hold from any of the four tabs in the “Organize” module. Here's how to do it from the “List of work orders” tab:
- Go to the “Organize” module.
- Click the “List of work orders” tab.
- Use the date selector to choose the day the work order is scheduled.
- Find the work order, click “…”, then select “Put on hold”.
💡 Work orders that are on hold appear in yellow in the schedule.
☝️ Good to know: You can also put all work orders of a route on hold in one action, from the “Agenda” or “Routes” tab. Here's how to do it from the Agenda tab:
- Go to the “Organize” module.
- Click the “Agenda” tab.
- Use the date selector to choose the relevant day.
- Tick the checkbox for the route whose work orders you want to put on hold.
- Click the “Put on hold” button.
How to cancel the on-hold status of a work order?
To remove a work order from hold, you can also use any of the tabs in the “Organize” module. Here’s how from the “List of work orders” tab:
- Go to the “Organize” module.
- Click the “List of work orders” tab.
- Use the date selector to choose the work order’s scheduled day.
- Find the work order in the list, click “…”, then select “Remove hold”.