Auto-dispatch capture jobs by driving distance
Captera auto-dispatches survey sites by assigning each one to the nearest available operator, measured by Google driving distance rather than straight-line miles. It skips operators on a day off or at their daily job cap, prefers an operator already working nearby that day, and sends the work order on acceptance and again the morning of capture.
How auto-dispatch picks an operator
Dispatch starts from two facts: where each operator is based and where each site is. For every unassigned site, Captera requests the driving distance from each eligible operator through Google, then ranks the candidates. The shortest drive wins unless batching applies. Three rules decide who is eligible:
- Days off. An operator is never booked on one of their regular days off.
- Daily caps. Each operator has a maximum number of jobs per day, set as an organization default with per-operator overrides. Auto-dispatch never goes past it.
- Batching. If an operator already has a site within about ten miles that day, Captera prefers them, so nearby same-day jobs end up on one route instead of two.
Why driving distance beats straight-line distance
A map pin twelve miles away can be a forty-minute drive once bridges, highways and one-way grids are involved. Survey margins live and die on windshield time, so Captera ranks operators by the road, not by the crow. Fewer wasted miles means lower mileage cost, more sites per day for each operator, and earlier arrival windows for the sites themselves. Captera also tracks mileage, so you can see the effect in your reports rather than guessing at it.
What happens after a site is assigned
When the operator accepts, Captera sends the work order with the scope of work and the compensation. On the morning of the job, a 6am email and an in-app notice deliver the same brief again, so the operator arrives with the current details. On site they clock in, the app verifies they are actually there, and the deliverable-driven checklist opens. That part of the workflow is covered on the offline field capture page.
When the operator submits, the job moves into QA review and the client is emailed a compliance report with the completed checklist. See capture QA and compliance reports for how that works.
Dispatch stays in your control
Auto-dispatch handles the routine assignments so dispatchers can spend their time on the exceptions: a site that needs a specialist, a client who asked for a particular operator, or a day when someone calls in sick. Any assignment can be changed by hand, and the scheduling calendar and live map show the whole network at a glance.
If you run a capture network for several clients, Captera can do all of this under your own brand. Read about white-label survey networks, see how Captera pricing works, or learn who builds Captera.
Frequently asked questions
- How does Captera decide which operator is nearest to a site?
- Captera asks Google for the real driving distance from each eligible operator's home base to the site, then ranks operators by that drive. Straight-line distance is only a fallback. A site across a river or a mountain pass therefore goes to the operator who can actually reach it fastest by road.
- Does Captera auto-dispatch respect days off and workload limits?
- Yes. Captera never auto-assigns a site to an operator on one of their days off, and it never exceeds the daily job cap. The cap is set once for the organization and can be overridden per operator, so a part-time operator can take two sites a day while a full-time operator takes five.
- What does batching nearby jobs mean in Captera?
- Batching means Captera prefers an operator who is already working a site within roughly ten miles on the same day. Instead of sending two operators to neighbouring sites, the second job joins the first operator's route, which cuts drive time and mileage while keeping each operator inside their daily cap.
- Can a dispatcher override an automatic assignment in Captera?
- Yes. Auto-dispatch in Captera is a starting point, not a lock. Dispatchers can reassign any site to a different operator, move it on the scheduling calendar, or run auto-dispatch again after operator availability changes. Every assignment change is recorded, so the office can always see who moved what and when.
- When does the operator receive the job details?
- Captera delivers the work order, or brief, twice. The operator receives it when they accept the job and again at 6am on the morning of capture, by email and in the app. The brief carries the scope of work and the compensation, so nothing has to be re-explained by phone.
See Captera on your own sites
Tell us about your capture program and we will walk you through dispatch, field capture, QA and reporting.
More about Captera
- Captera overviewOverview of Captera: dispatch, offline capture checklists, QA and automatic client compliance reports.
- QA & complianceDeliverable-driven checklists, QA review and the automatic client compliance report.
- Field captureThe installable, offline field app: clock-in verification, checklist, Field Guide and queued submissions.
- White-labelRunning the platform under your own brand with per-client guides, checklists and site fields.
- PricingHow pricing works and how to request a quote.
- AboutWho builds Captera, where it is based, and why it exists.