Understanding ghost blocks

What ghost blocks are, when they appear on the dispatch board, and how to resolve them — bridging the gap between the project schedule and daily dispatch.

Ghost blocks appear on the dispatch board when there's a gap between what the project schedule says should happen and what's actually been dispatched. They're visual reminders that work exists in the schedule but hasn't been assigned to a crew for a specific day. Ghost blocks prevent work from falling through the cracks.

When ghost blocks appear

A work block in the project schedule spans today's date but hasn't been assigned to a crew
A work block was scheduled for today but the crew assignment was removed
A multi-day block is partially complete — the remaining days show as ghost blocks until re-dispatched
A block was moved on the project timeline but not updated on the dispatch board

Identifying ghost blocks

Ghost blocks appear as semi-transparent or dashed-border blocks on the dispatch board. They show the project name and block name but lack the solid color and status indicators of dispatched blocks. They're visually distinct so dispatchers can scan the board and immediately see what needs attention.

Resolving ghost blocks

Click the ghost block to see its project details and current status
Assign a crew and equipment if missing
Click Dispatch to send the assignment to the field
The ghost block becomes a regular dispatched block with full status tracking

Pro tip

Check the dispatch board for ghost blocks at the end of each day when reviewing tomorrow's plan. A ghost block for tomorrow means work is scheduled but not dispatched — a crew might show up expecting to know where to go and find nothing in their app. Zero ghost blocks for tomorrow means every scheduled block has a crew and a dispatch.

Preventing ghost blocks

Ghost blocks are a symptom of a gap between scheduling and dispatch. They decrease when project managers assign crews at scheduling time (not just dispatch time), when dispatchers review the next day's board daily, and when the weekly dispatch planning session covers the full week ahead rather than just tomorrow.

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The dispatch board

Your command center for daily field operations — see every crew's assignment, dispatch work, track progress, and manage the day from a single view.

Working with work blocks

Create, configure, and manage work blocks — the individual units of work that make up your project schedule.

The project timeline

Visualize and manage your entire project schedule on the timeline — create blocks, set dependencies, assign crews, and watch the schedule respond to changes in real time.

Managing crew assignments

Assign crews and equipment to work blocks, handle reassignments when plans change, and keep a clear record of who did what on every project.