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PERMISSIONS: Account Owners and Administrators can fully manage Vehicle Assignments on your account, but Regular Users must be given the Manage Vehicle Assignments permissions in the Vehicle module of their Role, AND must have "View & Update" Record Set access to both the Vehicle and the Contact.
Learn more in the Manage Permissions Reference, User Roles & Permissions, and Record Sets articles.
Fleetio lets you assign a vehicle to an Operator so you know who is currently responsible for it. When assigned, the Operator automatically becomes a watcher of the vehicle.
Vehicles not assigned to an Operator are labeled as "unassigned" and could be considered "available."
Classify Contacts as Operators
Contacts must be classified as Operators to be available as an assignee for vehicle assignments.
Classification can be designated in the Basic Information section of the Contact Profile.
NOTE: In most circumstances, a Contact can only be assigned to a Vehicle if the Contact has the Operator contact classification.
Assignments that happen as part of an Inspection workflow are an exception to this requirement. Because Inspection Workflows are automated in Fleetio Go, we OVERRIDE this requirement, allowing contacts to be assigned to a vehicle even if they are not an operator.
Bulk Manage Contact Classification
Contact classification can be changed for multiple Contacts using bulk management in the Contact List:
- Click Contacts in the Sidebar Navigation.
- Check the boxes to select the Contacts you want to change
- Then, click the More Actions drop-down button and select Update Contacts
- Choose the following values using the drop-down menus:
- Field - ‘Operator Classification’
- Value - ‘Replace with’ and ‘Yes’
- Click Continue to Review to review and accept the changes.
One Operator Limitation
A vehicle can only be assigned to one Operator at a time. Fleetio validates Vehicle Assignments to prevent overlapping assignments.
TIP: Assignments include both a Start Date/Time and End Date/Time, so you can designate multiple assignments in a single day.
How to Assign a Vehicle
You can create vehicle assignments from the Vehicle List, Vehicle Details page, or using the Vehicle Assignments Scheduler:
Vehicle List
Go to Vehicles > Vehicle List in the Sidebar Navigation. Find the vehicle you want to assign and locate the Operator column. Hover over the field to bring up the Edit icon and select it.
Vehicle Details Page
From the Vehicle Details page, click the + Add button and select Add Vehicle Assignment.
Vehicle Assignments Scheduler
PLAN AVAILABILITY: The Vehicle Assignments Scheduler is only available with Professional and Premium Fleetio plans.
The Vehicle Assignments Scheduler allows you to schedule assignments based on vehicle or Operator in a calendar view. You can easily Add, Edit, and Delete assignments, and display a summary of all assignments by day, week, and year.
Select Vehicles Assignments from the Vehicles section of the left sidebar menu to access the scheduler.
TIP: Learn more in the Vehicle Assignments Scheduler article.
Assignment Details
Once you've created an assignment using one of the methods above, complete the Assignment Details form.
- Assigned Vehicle - Depending on how you created the assignment, this field may already have a vehicle listed.
- Operator - Choose an Operator from the drop-down list.
- Start Date/Time/Odometer - These fields are optional to accommodate any past, current, or future events.
- End Date/Time/Odometer - These fields are optional to accommodate any past, current, or future events.
- Comment - Add a comment for any additional information, or use @mentioning to alert specific users to a comment.
- If you have set up Custom Fields, they will show up on the assignment form. Some Custom Fields may be required depending on your account settings.
When you're ready, click Save Assignment.
When saved, the Operator will automatically be added as a Watcher of the vehicle. Learn more below.
NOTE: Only one assignment can have a blank Start Date/Time or a blank End Date/Time per Vehicle. Fleetio considers this "since the beginning of time" or "until forever" for validation purposes.
TIP: Enter both a Starting Odometer and Ending Odometer value to see the total distance traveled for the assignment.
Watching a Vehicle Assignment
If you would like to follow Vehicle Assignment activity, you can watch the Vehicle Assignment by clicking on the Vehicle Assignment and then clicking the Watch button.
Users will be added as a watcher automatically when:
- They create a vehicle assignment.
- They are watching the vehicle AND have the Automatically Watch New Records in User Notification Settings enabled.
- They leave a comment or reply to an @mention on a Vehicle Assignment.
Users will NOT automatically become a watcher when:
- They create a vehicle assignment through an import.
- They create a vehicle assignment through the API.
- They are @mentioned in a comment and are not already watching the record.
Watchers are automatically removed as watchers when:
- The vehicle assignment is deleted
- Their vehicle assignment is deleted, removed, or expired. They will unwatch the vehicle assignment as well as the vehicle.
Inspection Workflow
Integrating your assignment processes into your Inspection Workflows can take some of the burden of keeping up with your fleet off the admins in the office.
When this option is set up, users submitting inspections will automatically be assigned to the vehicle being inspected.
TIP: Learn more in the Inspections - Workflows article.
