I use the automated dispatching system at the heart of Command Post 3000 to get the show on the road in the morning. I start with a blank slate for the construction phase I'm interested in, with all the calls for that department arranged on the left side of the dispatch board. I can add or subtract men from that dispatch configuration if I need to improvise to adapt to changing conditions, and I can just as easily allocate subcontractors to a project as I can my own employees, scheduling them as far into the future as I care to commit my forces.

Well, my dispatch board doesn't often look like this, because my calls tend to be long ones (including multi-day projects), but today I'm covering dispatching for one of my teammates who normally handles warranty service on installed equipment. It's no big deal switching gears with Command Post 3000, because the interface is consistent for all users, regardless of how they've customized it. If I'm out sick or on vacation, the other coordinators and dispatchers can just as easily cover for me, and get everything where it needs to be, on time.

The boss has authorized me to alter dispatch configurations so that I can change the labor loading on my dispatch boards to suit rapidly changing conditions. In volatile periods, I sometimes change the labor loading daily, but Command Post 3000 keeps up with all of my "on-the-fly" customizations with ease.

Getting a handle on warranty status and equipment aging is the key to tracking future leads and potential service calls during slow seasons.You have a complete listing on your customers' installed equipment, which is critical during ordering of material or parts for your them. You can save them money and increase your sales. The system allows you to insert pictures of the installed equipment as a historic record of its condition, which defuses heated fingerpointing as to the original state of the equipment.