How to use tasks on a work order

Tasks are the basic building blocks of a Work Order, indicating the particular steps to be accomplished by a technician.

The Tasks tab of a Work Order can be used to add, update, or take further action on a Task. The many features built into this tab give organizations versatility and efficiency in the use of Tasks. This article explains the basics of utilizing the Tasks tab, from updating and completing Tasks for a Work Order to configuring the tab to fit the needs of your organization.

Add Tasks to a Work Order

There are multiple ways to add a Task to a Work Order, ranging from using Procedures to add multiple Tasks at once, to adding predefined Tasks from the Tasks module, to listing an Asset as a Task, to adding new Tasks unique to the Work Order. The best method to use depends on the end goal an organization has in mind for the individual Tasks and for the Work Order as a whole. Refer to the following steps for instructions on each method:

Add Tasks from a Procedure

Procedures are made up of Tasks, so if you would like to add a certain set of Tasks to a Work Order, it may be beneficial to add a Procedure to the Work Order with the desired Tasks already defined. To add a Procedure to a Work Order (along with its attendant Tasks):

• Access theDetails tab of the Work Order. At the top of the Details section of the tab, click the dropdown arrow for the Procedure field to open the Procedure Lookup.

• Select the desired Procedure(s) and clickApply.
• Save the Work Order. The Tasks defined for the chosen Procedure will now populate on theTasks tab of the Work Order.

Use the Add Task Button

TheTasks sub-tab will appear by default when accessing the Work Order Tasks tab. This sub-tab provides several action buttons with which you can add Tasks to the Work Order. The first of these is the Add Taskbutton (without ellipses). This button allows you to create a single Task defined specifically for this Work Order.

• Select the Add Task button on the Tasks sub-tab.

• This will create a new Task in the Task list below. In this record, type in the Task Description.
• Because this new Task is unique to this Work Order (i.e. it was not populated from another record in the system) no additional information will populate for the Task.

Use theAdd Header button to add headings for a group of Tasks. This could be useful if you would like the list of Tasks divided into different checklists.

Use the Add Task... Button

The Add Task... button allows you to choose a Task that has already been defined in the Tasks module, and add it to the current Work Order. This option gives greater control to administrators, allowing them to define Tasks as needed before they are added to Work Orders. It also allows them to define standard Tasks that need to be consistent across multiple Work Orders.

• Select theAdd Task... button on theTasks sub-tab.

• This will open the Task Lookup dialog. In the View window of the Lookup, there are several options to guide you to the desired Task(s):
  • Tasks: This view will show individual, predefined Tasks. Choose as many Tasks as desired, and clickApply to add them to the Work Order Tasks tab.
  • Task Groups: This view will show groups of Tasks. Task records that exist in the Tasks module can be assigned to a Group, usually based on a specific area (e.g. Grounds Tasks, Kitchen Tasks, Roof Tasks, etc.). These predefined groups are an easy way to add multiple Tasks at one time, or select specific Tasks from within a Group to add to the Work Order.
  • Meter Readings: Selecting this view will display two options to choose from - Meter 1 Reading and Meter 2 Reading. Choosing one of these options would simply add a meter reading Task to the Task list, indicating that the technician should read the meter of the Asset tied to the Work Order.
  • Specifications (for Asset/Location): This view will show any Specifications that are tied the Asset associated to the current Work Order. As with the Meter Reading Tasks, choosing one of these options will add a specification reading Task to the Task list.
  • All Specifications: As opposed to the previous view, this option will display all Specifications defined in the system, not just those tied to the current Asset.

Specification and Meter Reading Tasks display the current value for the Asset associated with the Work Order. Once technicians record a Final Reading in fulfillment of the Task, only the new readings will display, thus avoiding confusion between the values.
You can require that readings be recorded for pre-defined tasks, meter reading tasks, and specification reading tasks before these tasks can be marked as complete on the work order.

• Once a Task has been added by clicking Apply in the Tasks Lookup, it will display in the Tasks tab along with any other predefined information (such as the current Meter Reading for the associated Asset).

Use the Add Asset Button

TheAdd Asset button will list the chosen Asset as a Task in the Task list. This feature is helpful when a single Work Order needs to be performed on multiple Assets. Technicians could then use the Task list to keep track of progress as they go, while at the same time adding necessary notes to individual Assets along the way.

• Select theAdd Asset button on theTaskssub-tab.

• This will open the Asset Lookup. From here as many Assets as desired can be selected.
• Click theApply button to add the chosen Assets to the Tasks tab.

Specification and Meter Readings will not display the current value from the Asset record for Assets added via theAdd Assetbutton.

How to Remove Tasks from a Work Order

To remove a Task from the Tasks tab, simply click the indicator for the Task(s) you wish to remove, and select the Removebutton.

How to Fail or Complete Tasks

We have already mentioned several action buttons available on the Tasks tab. These were used to add Tasks to the Tasks tab or to remove them. The remaining action buttons allow you to take a further action on a Task already added to a Work Order. This section will also describe the Permissions available to control who has the ability to take these actions on Tasks.

Action Buttons: Complete All and Action Dropdown

• TheComplete All button is a one-click option to completing all Tasks listed on the Tasks tab.

• Clicking theAction dropdown button will display several options, allowing you to Complete Tasks, mark Tasks as Not Applicable, Fail Tasks, or mark Tasks as Incomplete. You can choose to apply these actions to all Tasks, or only to those whose corresponding check boxes are selected.

• By default, when any Task is marked as Completed, Failed, or Not Applicable, the logged-in user's initials will automatically populate into the Initialsfield for that Task. This feature helps improve tracking of readings and assessments, but can be disabled in Preferences.

Some organizations require all Tasks to be completed on a Work Order before the Work Order can attain a status of Completed, Closed, or Finalized. This setting can be enabled/configured in the Work Order Preferences. A validation is in place in the Complete/Close dialog that will not allow users to save a Work Order in a specified status (Complete, Closed, or Finalized) ifany Tasks remain unfinished.

Permissions for Task Actions

Administrators can restrict who has the ability to take certain actions on Tasks. If the logged-in user's access group does not have permission to remove Tasks, the Remove button will not be available to them on the Tasks tab. Two more permissions can also restrict access to global actions via the Action control, disabling users from either (1) marking allTasks or (2) marking selectedTasks as Complete, N/A, Failed or Incomplete. These permissions can be adjusted in the Access Groups Rights tab (in the Work Order module, Edit category of rights).

Additional Task Tab Options: Documents, Special Instructions, and the Labor Report

The Tasks tab provides three sub-tabs (in addition to theTasks sub-tab) that enable technicians to view or input more data in relation to Tasks. These include theDocuments,Special Instructions, andLabor Report sub-tabs.

Documents Sub-Tab

TheDocuments sub-tab displays any documents that have been associated with the current Work Order, or with the Procedure tied to the current Work Order. Technicians can select a document and click theView button to view additional information that may be helpful in completing the Work Order Tasks.

For more information on using the Documents module, as well as how to add documents and attachments in other modules, check out the Documents, Files and Attachments article.

Special Instructions Sub-Tab

TheSpecial Instructionssub-tab contains a single textbox that can be used to manually input any additional information that may be pertinent to the Work Order Tasks. If Special Instructions are defined on a Procedure or an Asset, they will populate onto associated Work Orders as well.

Labor Report Sub-Tab

Technicians can use theLabor Report sub-tab to log important information concerning their work, including manually-entered or predefined text and Failure Analysis fields. Technicians can also create a follow-up Work Order from this sub-tab. These options are also available on the Complete/Close dialog. Any data added here will appear on the Work Order Report/Printout as well.

Task Tab Configuration: Field Display, Task Images, Reading Lookups, and Requiring Readings Before Completion

There are many fields available that technicians can use to record data gathered in the completion of a Task. The data that should be recorded will of course depend on the processes in place at your organization. The following items explain how the Tasks tab can be tailored to suit your needs.

Tasks Tab Field Display

Administrators can use Task preferences to determine which fields should display for each record on the Tasks tab. This featurebetter supports varied business processes, and results in an easier-to-read Tasks tab display, ensuring the most important data is prominent to technicians. To set the fields that should display:

• Access the Work Order Preferences from the Tools menu.
• Click the dropdown arrow for theCategory field, and select the option forWork Order Task Settings.

• The Preferences for this Category all pertain to the fields that will display in the Tasks tab, including Time, Initial Reading, Condition Rating, Reading Tool, Craft, and Images.

Add Images to Tasks

One of the Preferences mentioned above determines whether images can be added to individual Task records on the Taskstab. Up to two images can attach to each Task line on a Work Order, supporting additional documentation of specific Tasks. These images are viewable from the Work Order Report/Statement as well. The availability of two images per task allows for before and after images for each Task. To enable this feature:

• Access the Work Order Task Settings as shown above, and select the Preference entitled Images to Upload onto Work Order Tasks?.
• In the dialog that appears, set the Current Value to None to disable the feature,Oneto allow the uploading of one image per Task, andTwo to allow the uploading of two images per Task.

• Once this Preference is set, we can return to the Tasks tab, where each Task listed will include fields for Image 1 andImage 2. Select the Task to which you would like to add an image.

• Ellipses (...) buttons will appear in the Image fields. Click these buttons to add a images.

• The Attach Image dialog will appear. From here, you can either upload a file or take a snapshot with the camera native to your device.
• Once the desired image has been added, select the Apply button. Repeat these steps for the second image if necessary.
• Any added images will now appear upon accessing the Tasks tab. They will also be included on the Work Order Report/Printout if the Preference has been set to enable this.

Add Lookup Tables to Reading Fields

The Initial Reading and Final Reading fields can be configured with Lookup Tables for any Tasks or Specifications defined in their respective modules. Typically, companies use this functionality to define an acceptable list of readings for text based specifications, such as qualitative assessments for cleanliness, paint condition, etc. This gives greater control to administrators by letting them set parameters as to what values can be entered for the readings.

This feature will only work for Tasks added from the Tasks or Specifications modules. To dd a Lookup table for reading fields in Work Order Tasks:

You will notice that the below instructions describe how to add Lookup Tables for Tasks that have been defined in the Tasks module. The same process also applies to Specification Tasks, as the functionality for adding Specification Lookup Tables was designed to mirror the Task Lookup Table functionality.

• Access the Tasks module.
• Select the desired Task from the Tasks List. The Details tab will display by default.

• On the right hand side of the WorkCenter is the Work Order Task Lookup section. Click the checkboxes for the Use Lookup Table for Reading Initial/Final.

• Click the dropdown arrow for the Lookup Table field(s) to select the Lookup Table that should be used to populate Initial and/or Final Readings for the Task. The options available in the dropdown are all defined in the Lookup Table Manager (Tools>System>Lookup Table Manager...). You can also create custom Lookup Tables within this tool and add them to Tasks as desired.
• Save the Task.

Once Lookup Tables have been defined for a given Task in the Task module, we can add this Task to a Work Order using theAdd Task... button as described above. To add a value from the selected Lookup Table:

• Select the Task added from the Tasks module. Dropdown arrows will appear for the Reading (Initial) and Reading (Final) fields.
• Clicking the dropdown arrows for these fields will display the Lookup Table that was defined in the Tasks module.

Require readings before completing a task

You can require users to record a reading before marking a work order task as complete. To do this, select the Require Reading Value for WO Task checkbox on the Asset Meter, the Specification Details, or the Task Details pages.

This checkbox is hidden by default on all three pages. To use this feature, you must unhide the checkbox for each desired page using the Forms Manager.

When this requirement is enabled, the option to complete the work order task is hidden until a final reading is given. Entering a final reading allows you to complete the reading task or use the Complete All functionality.

Using Tasks on a Work Order can be a great enhancement to the overall efficiency of your organization's work flow. To continue digging into the great features of the Work Order module, please refer to these additional Knowledge Base articles:

• Work Order Basics: How to Create and Manage
• How to Assign a Work Order