PlumbingBossPro Blog — Dispatch & Scheduling

Splitting the Repair & Drain Van From the Water Heater Van

With one van, dispatch is simple: everything goes on the one van. With two, you have a choice. You can split by area, by day, or by type of work. A lot of plumbing shops end up splitting by type: one van runs repairs and drains, and another runs water heaters and maintenance. Here is why, and how to dispatch it.

Why Split by Type of Work

Routing each van well, as covered in Setting Plumbing Route Order by Hand: When the Dispatcher Knows Better Than the Map, is easier when each van's day has a consistent shape. Splitting by type gives each van a predictable rhythm.

• The repair and drain van runs many short calls: faucets, toilets, clogs, leaks, disposals, main line cleaning. It carries the drain machine and a broad stock of repair parts. Its day is unpredictable, so it needs room.
• The water heater and maintenance van runs fewer, longer jobs: tank swaps, tankless installs, softener installs, yearly flushes, backflow tests. It carries a dolly, venting parts and flush gear. Its day is more predictable, so it can be booked tighter.

Mixing the two on every van means every tech carries everything, every day has a long job in the middle of it, and nobody has room for the emergency.

Setting It Up

In PlumbingBossPro the split is simple. Employees are assigned to vans, and every job is assigned to a van. There is no special mode. You decide which kinds of work go to which van and stick to it when booking.

Some shops write it down as a short rule for the office:

• Van 1, Repairs & Drains: service calls, leaks, clogs, main lines, hydro-jetting, camera inspections, fixtures, disposals.
• Van 2, Water Heaters & Maintenance: water heater replacements, tankless installs, PRVs, softeners, yearly flushes, backflow tests.

Your service list is where these services are defined, so whoever books the call can see right away which van it belongs to.

Dispatching the Split Day to Day

On the board, filter by van to see each one's day. Route each van on its own from the shop. A pattern that works for many shops: the repair van goes Closest First to stay near the middle of town for emergencies, and the water heater van goes Furthest First so it ends the day near the shop to unload old tanks.

Each tech logs into the tech app with the company login and their PIN and sees only their own list. The repair tech is not distracted by tomorrow's tankless install, and the water heater tech does not get pinged about a clogged toilet.

When the Split Bends

The split is a default, not a law. It bends all the time:

• A no-hot-water emergency might go to the repair van if it is closer, so a tech can diagnose and shut down a leaking tank. The replacement then goes to the water heater van.
• A slow day on the water heater van can absorb a few repair calls nearby.
• A backed-up main needs the drain machine, so it stays with the repair van even if the water heater van is closer.

Moving a job from one van to another on the board is quick, and the job moves from one tech's phone to the other's.

The Waiting List Feeds the Maintenance Van

The water heater and maintenance van is the natural home for recurring work. Yearly water heater flushes, softener service and backflow tests are set by minimum days between visits and appear on the Waiting List map when due. The maintenance van's light days are a good time to clear them, grouped by area. See The Waiting List Map: Scheduling Recurring Plumbing Work That Came Due.

Equipment on the Card Helps Both Vans

Every property keeps its equipment list, and the tech sees it on the job card. For the water heater van, that means seeing “Water Heater - Tank (Gas) · 50 gal · Natural Gas · installed 2014 · Garage” before arriving, so the right replacement is on the truck. For the repair van, it means knowing where the sewer cleanout or main shut-off is before stepping out.

Growing Into a Third Van

When you add a third van, the split usually gets finer. Some shops add a second repair van, split by area. Others add a commercial or restaurant van for grease-line jetting and property manager work. The approach is the same: decide what kind of work goes where, assign jobs to vans, filter and route each one.

Two Vans, Two Rhythms

Splitting repairs and drains from water heaters and maintenance gives each tech a day that makes sense and gives the office room for emergencies. To see how van assignment, filtering and routing work together, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing dispatch software page.