Who this is for
Dispatchers and shop managers who want to understand how MetaFleet decides which technician to offer a job to — and what happens when no one is available.
What you'll learn
What makes a technician eligible, the four factors used to rank them, how the optional AI-assisted ranking layer fits in, how the automatic offer-and-escalate flow works, and which settings you control.
The short version
- When an order needs a tech, MetaFleet builds a ranked shortlist of eligible techs.
- It offers the job to the top candidate with a "Job Available" alert + push notification.
- If they don't accept in a few minutes, it offers the next-best tech, and so on.
- If no one accepts, it escalates to the lead dispatcher to assign manually.
- Shops can turn on AI-assisted ranking for a smarter shortlist with a plain-language reason per tech — it always falls back to the standard ranking if needed.
Who's eligible (the gates)
Before ranking, MetaFleet filters to technicians who can actually take the job. For an automatic offer, a tech must be:
- Clocked in — only on-shift techs get auto-offered a job.
- Locatable — the tech must have a recent location on record (used for distance).
- Within range — within your shop's max assignment distance (75 miles by default, configurable).
- In the order's service area — automatic offers only go to techs whose primary or secondary area matches the order.
Out-of-area or off-shift techs are never auto-offered a job — but you can still pick them yourself in the Assign Technician window. See Manually Assign a Technician.
The four ranking factors
Eligible techs are ranked by these factors, in order of importance:
Availability
Free techs come first. The order is: Available (no active job) → Wrapping up (finishing paperwork) → Busy on-site → En route to another job.
Skill match
Techs whose service-type qualifications cover what the job needs rank above those who don't. Each tech has service-type qualifications (Repair, PM / Inspection, Towing) plus the specific repair types they handle. A skill gap doesn't always hide a tech, but it pushes them down the list.
Distance
Closer to the vehicle ranks higher. Distance — not service area — is what decides proximity in the ranking.
Workload fairness
Among otherwise-equal techs, whoever has logged fewer hours this week ranks higher, so jobs spread evenly across the crew.
Where skills are set. A tech's service-type qualifications live on their profile, on the Services Provided card (in Edit mode). Tick the Service Types they can take — Repair, PM / Inspection, and Towing — and pick the repair types they handle. A tech with no service types selected won't be offered matching jobs.
The Services Provided card on a tech's profile — service-type qualifications and the repair types they handle.
You see this same ranked shortlist whenever you open the Assign Technician window — with each tech's shift, service area, distance, ETA, and status.
The ranked candidate list — the same shortlist the automatic offer works from.
How the offer and escalation flow works
The job is offered to the top tech.
They get a "Job Available" alert in the app plus a push notification on their phone.
If they don't respond, it moves on.
After the escalation window (about 5 minutes by default), MetaFleet offers the job to the next-best tech — and keeps going down the list. A tech who was already offered the job won't be re-offered the same one.
If no one takes it, it comes to you.
When the list is exhausted, the lead dispatcher gets an "Assign Tech Now" alert to step in and assign someone manually.
AI-assisted ranking (optional)
Shops can turn on an extra AI-assisted ranking layer that sits on top of the four factors. When it's on, MetaFleet reads the job and each tech's signals — availability, skill match, distance, ETA, and workload — and returns a ranked shortlist with a short plain-language reason for each tech (for example, why one tech edged out another). The dispatcher can read that reasoning, plus a one-line summary, in the technician info window.
It can't strand a job. If the AI ranking is unavailable or returns anything it can't use, MetaFleet automatically falls back to the standard rule-based ranking — so the shortlist and the offer flow keep working exactly as described above. This layer is off by default; ask MetaFleet if you'd like it enabled for your shop.
What you can configure
- Max assignment distance: How far a tech can be from the vehicle and still be eligible. Default 75 miles.
- Escalation window: How long to wait for a tech to accept before offering the next one. Default 5 minutes.
Both live under Account Details → Dispatch settings.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "No technician available" on an order | No clocked-in, in-area tech within range | Assign manually — you can pick off-shift or other-area techs in the Assign Technician window. |
| A tech never got offered a nearby job | They were clocked out, had no recent location, or were out of area | Confirm they're clocked in; auto-offers only go to on-shift, in-area techs. |
| Jobs keep escalating to the dispatcher | Escalation window too short, or thin coverage in that area | Lengthen the window in Dispatch settings, or assign manually. |
FAQs
Does service area decide the ranking?
No — service area decides who's eligible for an automatic offer; distance decides the order. An "Out of Area" tech can still be assigned manually.
Will a tech without the right skills ever be offered the job?
Skill-matched techs always rank higher. A skill gap pushes a tech down the list rather than always removing them.
How do a tech's skills affect the ranking?
Techs whose service-type qualifications cover what the job needs rank above those who don't. Set each tech's service types and the repair types they handle on their profile, under Services Provided.
What does the AI-assisted ranking change?
It re-orders the shortlist using the same signals and adds a short plain-language reason per tech that you can read in the technician info window. It's optional, off by default, and always falls back to the standard ranking if it's unavailable — so it never blocks a job from being offered.
Can I change how the factors are balanced?
The default uses strict priority (availability, then skill, then distance, then workload). Some shops opt into a weighted mode that blends distance and workload — ask MetaFleet if you'd like it enabled.
How fast does it escalate?
About 5 minutes per step by default; you can change the window in Dispatch settings.