Handle an emergency work order

An emergency call doesn't wait for an opening in the schedule — it has to go somewhere in an already-full day. The goal is to slot it in with the least damage to everyone else's appointments, not to find a perfectly empty gap that probably doesn't exist.

Steps

1. Create the work order from Work Orders (or from the customer's record if they're already in the system) and mark its priority as Emergency. Priority is what makes it stand out on the board and in scheduling checks.
2. Open Dispatch and look for the nearest available technician — by location and by skill/certification match for the equipment involved, not just whoever has the next open slot.
3. Assign it. Thermal checks drive time and certifications the same as any other assignment; a conflict warning here means it will genuinely bump something else, so weigh that before overriding it.
4. If assigning it means pushing another customer's appointment, message or call that customer before the tech shows up late — the schedule shows you the conflict, it doesn't handle the customer conversation for you.

After it's assigned

Emergency work orders show up on the technician's app the same way as any other job, flagged by priority. Nothing further to configure — the priority flag is what keeps it visible on the board until it's closed out.