CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. — Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced it has added Automated Dispatch and Electronic Repair Order (RO) functions to the fixed-operations module in its dealership management system (DMS) software.

The upgrade enables hands-free, customized and flexible dispatching along with a more open electronic RO system, according to the company.

“In many service departments, dispatchers are still manually assigning jobs, with most of their time taken up with figuring out who’s available to work, balancing workloads and monitoring progress to make sure the jobs get completed in a timely manner,” said Mike Esposito, president and CEO of Auto/Mate. “An automated dispatch system greatly frees up a dispatcher’s time to focus on increasing efficiency and productivity, which, in turn, increases profitability.”

The new system allows dispatchers or service managers to pre-set technician skill levels and a maximum number of repairs they can handle at one time, according to Auto/Mate. Based on pre-sets, the system automatically assigns repair jobs as they come in and monitors the progress of all vehicles in the shop. Managers are alerted if there are problems or if repairs are taking too long.

The system allows dispatch functions to be molded to the processes already in place within each service department, while the electronic RO upgrade provides technicians with access to information about the vehicle and customer. The system automatically clocks technicians in and out, and enables them to add electronic notes to ROs or request parts electronically.

Users also can perform a manufacturer inquiry from within the system any time an RO is brought up on the screen, according to Auto/Mate. All items will be displayed in a screen that can be added to the RO, while all open recalls are displayed and automatically highlighted so they won’t be missed.

The upgrade also includes a ticker widget that scrolls along the bottom of managers’ screens. It displays whether a tech is not assigned a job or currently working, or if a job is taking too long, among other things.

For more information, visit www.automate.com.