Skip to end of metadata
Go to start of metadata

You are viewing an old version of this page. View the current version.

Compare with Current View Page History

« Previous Version 125 Next »

Table of Contents

Pages

Purpose

The Scheduling module of MetaField allows Schedulers to assign Work Orders, which contain one or more Work Items, for a particular project to a technician or multiple technicians. The creation of a Work Order begins in the Scheduling area.


Working with Scheduling

Permissions

Your administrator will grant you permission to Scheduling. Depending upon the permission level you were given, you will be able to view all Work Orders OR you will be able to view, modify and create Work Orders.

Filter Panel

You can filter what work orders are seen based on several fields found in the filter panel at the top of the screen. Once you have applied your filtering, you must select Search for these screens to refresh with work orders matching your criteria.

Tip

For filters that allow selection of one or more options, selecting the filter so it is highlighted and selecting the space bar on your keyboard will populate all available options in a dropdown list. 


Filter

Description

Project Owning Region
  • Filters based on Project Region
  • Allows selection of one or more office

Project Owning Office

  • Filters based on the Project office

  • Allows selection of one or more office

  • Can filter on work orders that do not have an owning office assigned

Technician Office

  • Filters based on the office assigned to specified technicians

  • Allows selection of one or more office

Technician

  • Filters based on assigned Technician

  • Allows selection of one or more Technicians

Project Manager

  • Filters based on the Project Manager responsible for oversight of the work order being done

  • Allows selection of one or more Project Manager

Project Name
  • Filters based on Project Name
  • Only available under Pending Field Actions

City

  • Filters based on the City entered in the Work Order

  • Allowed to type in a partial city name

Work Order Number

  • Filters based on the system assigned Work Order number

  • Allows partial matches

Recurrence No.

  • Filters based on the system assigned Recurrence number

  • Allows partial matches

Work Item

  • Filters based on work item(s) assigned to a work order

  • Allows selection of one or more work items

Start Date / Time
End Date / Time

  • Allows you to search for only Work Orders within a specific Date / Time range

  • Not entering a Start / End Date will return all work orders within the given time range

  • Not entering a Start / End Time will return all work orders within the given date range

  • Available in List View Only. Filters do not carry over when navigating to the other views

Technician Availability

  • Only available in the Technician View

  • Filters technicians displayed by the filter that is applied:

    • Scheduled

    • Free

    • Free With Generic Users

Work Order Times

  • Allows you to filter on just As Available work orders, or just Scheduled work orders

  • Default filtering will return All work orders

Status

  • You can filter on one or more status selection

  • To select a status click on the color coded box before the status name

  • Work orders will appear in the calendar and technician views shaded to match the status filter box

Overdue
  • Shows work order records that have not been completed past the assigned start date - are overdue
Missing Linked Forms
  • Shows work order records with work items that require tracked forms where no link to that form exists yet

Currently Selected Project

  • Filters based on the selected project to the left of the filter panel

Unassigned Work Orders

  • Allows you to hide unassigned work orders

Work Order Statuses 

Status

Explanation

Updates to Work Order

Draft

Work Orders that have been created but not yet sent to the Technician

  • Scheduler can update work order

  • Edits to work order are not sent to the Technician

Submitted

Work Orders that have been sent to the Technician for consideration

  • Scheduler can update work order

  • Updates to certain fields will trigger an email message

Accepted

Work Orders that have been Accepted by the Technician

  • Scheduler can update work order

  • Updates to certain fields will trigger the Work Order to be resubmitted to the Technician and trigger an email message

Declined

Work Orders that have been rejected by the Technician

  • Typically used if the technician can't perform the work

  • Scheduler can update the Work Order

  • Upon updating the Work Order it is resubmitted to a Technician and trigger an email message

Canceled

Work Orders that have been Canceled.

  • Scheduler can update work order but typically canceled work orders will remain on the schedule as canceled for tracking purposes

  • Canceling a work order will trigger an email message to all technicians assigned

Complete

Work Orders that have been marked Completed by the Technician

  • Scheduler can view the Work Order

  • Scheduler can copy the work order but, editing is prevented

Overdue

Not an actual status, but a filtering criteria so the scheduler can filter on work orders that have not been Declined, Canceled or Completed by their scheduled date/time.

  • N/A

Missing Linked FormsNot an actual status, but a filtering criteria so the scheduler can filter on work orders that require a linked form, but that link does not exist yet.

Saving Filters

If you find that you are often filtering based on the same criteria, you can save your filter choices for use later. To save filter options, chose your criteria and select Save. Then provide a name for this filter selection.

Once you have saved your filter options, you can access a saved filter by clicking on the filter dropdown.

Time Zones

Choose the appropriate time zone for the projects you are scheduling. When you create a Work Order it will automatically assume the times entered are based on the time zone currently selected. The Field users will see the time according to the time zone on their device.

Project Selection

All work orders are assigned to a project. Before scheduling a work order a project must be selected so the system knows what project to apply the work order to. Select the magnifying glass to open the project search window. Select one of the recent projects or filter on one or more of the search criteria and select search. Once a project is selected you can begin adding work orders to it.

Adding a Work Order

To add a new Work Order, make sure the desired project is populating in the upper left of the screen. Select Add Work Order for Current Project. Use this button if you are intending to create multiple work orders for a given project.

Select Add Work Order for Different Project if you would like to add a work order to a project that is not the current selected project. Use this button if you are intending to create a single work order for a given project. You will be prompted to select a different project from the project search screen. After a different project is selected you will be able to add the work order. After adding the work order you are returned to the main scheduling page and the selected project remains the same.

complete the appropriate fields in the Add New Work Order screen. Note that some fields are required.

Field

Description

Default WBS
  • This section will only be visible if there are active WBS elements defined in Administration
  • This is not required
  • The drop down values are defined under WBS in Project Administration
  • The values selected here will be the default WBS fields filled in on the forms for the Work Items selected below (unless defined otherwise below)
  • These selections apply to both DIY and Discrete forms

Work Item

  • Choose one or more work items to be completed for a specific date and time range
  • Scroll to find Work Item(s) or use the search bar to quickly find Work Item
  • The list of Work Items is maintained by your MetaField Administrator
  • This is a required field
  • If default WBS values are defined above and a work item has different values then those default values, they can be selected in the work item's row

Work Item Order

The order in which your Work Items appear is controlled in Administration.

Require Form Tracking
  • Indicates if the work item should have a completed form tracked against it
  • Defaults from the Require Linked Form setting on the Work Item record managed in Administration
Linked Forms
  • Contains a (clickable) link to the related form completed as a result of performing the work for that work item

Address

  • This will default to the Project Address but can be overridden as necessary

  • Identify the address where the work should take place

City

  • This will default to the Project City but can be overridden as necessary

  • Identify the City where the work should take place

State / Province
  • This will default to the Project City but can be overridden as necessary

  • Identify the State / Province where the work should take place

Postal Code
  • This will default to the Project City but can be overridden as necessary

  • Identify the Postal Code where the work should take place

Location

  • Optional field that allows you to enter a location specific to the work to be performed

  • Field technicians will be able to view the Location entered here when accessing their Work Orders

Recurring

  • Select this box when the same work occurs across multiple days

  • If selected, Ends On, How Often, and Repeats Every fields are also required

As Available

  • Select this box when the work does not have a set start and end time

  • Technician will be notified that the work should be preformed on the selected date only

  • If this is selected, then select a more granular time of the day if necessary from the following options: 
    • All Day (default selection)

    • Morning

    • Afternoon

    • Evening

    • Overnight

Start Date / Time / Duration

  • Enter the starting date and time for when this work is to be performed. Provide a duration for the work

  • Start Time and Duration are required fields unless you select As Available

Is Free / Is Certified / Previously Scheduled on Project

  • Select one of these options will filter the list of Technicians

Click the Space bar to view all the Technicians available

FilterDescription
Is Free

Filters list to Technicians who are not previously scheduled during the same time frame

Not available when you choose "As Available"

Is Certified

Filters list to Technicians who hold the necessary certification(s)

Previously Scheduled on ProjectFilters list to Technicians who have been scheduled for a Work Item for the selected job.

Technicians (data grid)

  • Select Add Technician and type in the desired technician who will be performing or overseeing the work

  • All Active Technicians as well as generic users are available for selection

  • Select Save

  • Repeat this action to add multiple technicians to the work order

  • This is a required field for every status except Draft

    Work Orders with Multiple Technicians

    The status of a work order assigned to multiple technicians can be updated for each technician, or for all technicians on the order. A dialogue prompt will ask you to specify when making updates.

Requested Date and Time

  • Enter the date and time the Work Order was requested

  • This is an optional field

Requested By

  • Enter the person who requested the work

  • This is an optional field

  • Distribution lists can be referenced when selecting names to be added to this field

  • Project contacts can be referenced when selecting names to be added to this field
  • Information will be available for the Field Tech in Field > My Assignments as well as on work order emails

Phone Number

  • Enter the phone number of the person who requested the work

  • This is an optional field

  • Information will be available for the Field Tech in Field > My Assignments as well as on work order emails

Notes for Technician

  • Optional field that allows you to enter additional notes for the technician

  • Field technician will be able to view these Notes when accessing his Work Orders

Notes for Scheduler

  • Optional field that allows you to enter additional notes for the scheduler

  • Field technician will not be able to see these notes

Submit to Technician(s)

  • Use this button to save your work order in the status "Submitted"

  • Field Technicians assigned will be notified once the Work Order is saved

Save as Draft

  • Use this button to save your work order in the status of Draft

  • Field Technicians assigned will not be notified of this Work Order until the status is updated from Draft

Warnings Upon Saving a Work Order

You may see three different warnings when saving a Work Order.

Warning

Explanation

Technician Double Booked

If a Technician has already been assigned a Work Order that overlaps the current Work Order, you will receive a system prompt.

You can still save the Work Order. The prompt is for informational purposes only.

Technician Does Not Have Necessary Certification

In Administration, Work Items can be associated with one or more certification groups (with one or many certifications within each group). If the Technician you are scheduling a work order for does not hold the certification(s) within one of the associated certification groups assigned to that work item, you will receive a warning message.

You can still save the Work Order. The prompt is for informational purposes only.

Technician's Certification Has Expired

If the Technician has the necessary certification for the Work Item, but the expiration date has passed, you will receive a warning message.

You can still save the Work Order. The prompt is for informational purposes only.

Editing an Existing Work Order

After a work order has been saved, a Scheduler can edit the work order by selecting the item from the calendar, list or technician view. However, once a work order has been saved as Complete the item is no longer editable.

When editing a recurring work order, you can select to edit the single instance or the whole series.

Likewise, when updating the status of a work order that has been assigned to multiple technicians, you can select to Update Selected or Update All.

The project associated with a work order can be changed as long as the work order is in Draft status.

Copying an Existing Work Order

After a work order has been saved, a Scheduler can copy the work order by selecting the item from the calendar, list, or technician view and click on the Copy Work Order button. This action copies the contents of the work order, but clears the dates and times. You have the option to copy the work order to the same project or a different project.

Viewing Your Schedule

MetaField allows you to view your schedule in multiple ways depending on personal preference. The three distinct views are: Calendar, List, and Technician. To switch between these different views, select the Calendar, List, or Technicians button. Each view has its own set of features and functions that may make one more preferable, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

  • As Field Technicians are Accepting, Completing or Rejecting Work Orders, the calendar and list views refresh.
  • Schedulers can optionally us a monitor in portrait mode if they prefer to have a "taller" versus "wider" view of the scheduling screens (calendars, grids, etc.).

Calendar View

Calendar View

Use / Description / Features

Month

  • Allows you to view the calendar for a selected month

  • Toggle between months using the arrow icons on each side of the Month above the calendar

  • Click within a Day to add a work order for that day with the As available checkbox pre-selected

  • Click on the link to the left of the calendar to navigate to the week view for the selected week

  • Click on the link in the upper right corner of a day to navigate to the day view for the selected day

  • Click on an existing work order to open for editing

  • Click and drag an existing work order to move it to another date

Week

  • Allows you to view the calendar for a selected week

  • Toggle between weeks using the arrow icons on each side of the date range above the calendar

  • Click within the As Available area for a Day to add a work order for that day with the As available checkbox pre-selected

  • Click and drag within a given day on the calendar to add a work order for that day with Start Time and Duration pre-populated

  • Click on the link in the header of the calendar to navigate to the day view for the selected day

  • Click on an existing work order to open for editing

  • Click and drag an existing work order to move it to another date / time

Day

  • Allows you to view the calendar for a selected day

  • Toggle between days using the arrow icons on each side of the date above the calendar

  • Click within the As Available area to add a work order for that day with the As available checkbox pre-selected

  • Click and drag within the calendar to add a work order for that day with Start Time and Duration pre-populated

  • Click on an existing work order to open for editing

  • Click and drag an existing work order to move it to another time

List View

  • When a Work Order end date and time has past the current date and time, the Work Order times will display shaded in red in list view.

  • When navigating to the list view from a different view, the date range will be pre-filtered based on the page you were navigating from. For example if you navigated to the list view from the Calendar > Month view, the filters and corresponding results will be for the month you just navigated from.

  • Hover over the map pin icon in the grid to see location information.

Button / Feature / Function

Description

Print Selected Work Orders

  • Generates a work order report in PDF format for the work orders selected from the search results grid

  • Work Orders will show on the report in the same order that they display on the screen. To change the sort order, select one of the columns on the List view grid

Print All Work Orders

  • Generates a work order report in PDF format for all work orders in the search results grid

  • Work Orders will show on the report in the same order that they display on the screen. To change the sort order, select one of the columns on the List view grid

Change Status

  • Allows you to update the status of multiple work orders in a batch

Change Technician

  • Allows you to update the technician of multiple work orders in a batch

  • Changing Technicians in a batch for work orders assigned to multiple technicians is not allowed

Refresh

  • Refreshes the results grid so recently updated work orders are reflected accordingly

  • Performing any kind of update on the list view will automatically trigger a refresh

Technician View

  • Hovering over a scheduled work order displays the scheduled work items inside the work order.

  • Unassigned work orders are listed on the top row of the technicians grid so they can easily be assigned to the appropriate technician. You can also hide unassigned work orders by applying the Hide Unassigned Work Orders filter in the filter panel.

  • Orders can be dragged and dropped in the technician view as well!
  • Hovering over a blank cell will display a pop up of the technician for that row (helpful if the technician column is no longer visible)

Technician View

Use / Description / Features

Today
  • Can be used to bring day view to display the current dates schedule
  • Can be used to bring week view to display the current weeks schedule

Week

  • Allows you to view the calendar for a selected week

  • Toggle between weeks using the arrow icons on each side of the date range above the calendar

  • Click within the technicians grid to add a work order for a selected technician for a given start date

Day

  • Allows you to view the calendar for a selected day

  • Toggle between days using the arrow icons on each side of the date range above the calendar

  • Click within the technicians grid to add a work order for the selected technician for a given start date and time

  • Click within the As Available area to add a work order for the selected technician for a given day with the As available checkbox pre-selected

Work Order Email Messages

In Administration for each user their is a field for an Alert Email. If this field contains a valid email address, the Technician will receive an email each time a new Work Order is submitted to them. Additionally, if certain items are updated by the Scheduler, the Technician will also receive this updated information via email. 

Changes to the following fields will trigger an email message:

  • Technician(s) (multiple technicians assigned or work order reassigned)

  • Start Date / Time

  • End Date / Time

  • Location

  • Address

  • City

  • Work Items

  • Requested By

  • Phone Number

  • Notes for Technician

  • Work Order / Recurrence Number

Deleting a work order that is in the status of Assigned or Accepted will also notify the Technician that the event has been cancelled. However, if you'd like to keep the work order on the calendar for tracking purposes, the canceled status should be used instead.

Reassigning a work order to a different technician will notify the original technician that the work order has been reassigned.

Pending Field Actions Queues

Upon saving specific field transactions this system may automatically insert a Pending Field Action if future work needs to be performed. These Pending Field Actions display in the Pending Field Actions tab of Scheduling. A Scheduler can create a Work Order based on one or more of these Actions. Pending field actions are broken up by context. You can see the count of items after each context area on the screen. You can filter the Pending Field Actions by choosing various criteria in the top panel and then choose the Search button. Selecting Clear will remove any filter selections. Commonly used filters can be saved for later use.

Creating a Work Order for Multiple Pending Field Actions

If there are multiple activities you want your field staff to perform on a job site based on more than one Pending Field Actions, you can select all of the items you want to schedule and then choose the Add Work Order button.

  • You can remove a Pending Field Action by selecting creating Add Work Order or by choosing to delete the item by selecting the Delete icon.

  • Review the details in the notes column to help you when adding a work order for the pending field action.


Pending Field Action

Explanation

Density Tests

  • When a failing density test is saved in the system, a Pending Field Action is added to perform a retest. If a retest is later performed for the failing test, the Pending Field Action will be removed.

  • When creating a Work Order from this action:

    • Density Test - Retest Work Item will default

    • Technician will default to the Technician assigned to the failing density test

    • Notes for Technician will prepopulate with the type of test, test number, original Technician and tested date

    • All default values may be changed by the scheduler as necessary

  • When an Activity form has the "Density Test - Soil Nuclear Gauge" form setting, and requires a retest (Retest = Yes), the form will fall under Density Tests

Concrete / Grout / Mortar Samples

  • When a concrete, grout or mortar sample is saved in the system, a Pending Field Action is added to retrieve the sample

  • If there are field cure specimens, multiple pending field actions will be added (standard cure vs. field cure)

  • When creating a Work Order from this action:

    • C / G / M - Specimen Retrieval Work Item will default

    • Technician will default to the Technician assigned to the originating Sample record

    • Notes for Technician will prepopulate with sample type, Sample and Set numbers, original Technician and cast date

    • All default values may be changed by the scheduler as necessary

Activity Open Discrepancies

  • When an Activity is saved with a discrepancy, a Pending Field Action is added to review the discrepancy for resolution

    (Note: This assumes that the Form was configured to use Discrepancy management field settings. See Form Designer - Field Settings for more information) 

  • When creating a Work Order from this action:

    • Activity - Discrepancy Resolution Work Item will default

    • Technician will default to the Technician assigned to the originating Activity record

    • Notes for Technician will prepopulate with associated Group and Form name, Activity number for the discrepancy and original Technician

    • All default values may be changed by the scheduler as necessary

Sample Tracking Samples

  • When a Sample Tracking sample has been identified as needing to be retrieved, a Pending Field Action is added

  • When creating a Work Order from this action:

    • Sample Tracking - Specimen Retrieval Work Item will default

    • Technician will default to the Technician assigned to the originating Sample Tracking record

    • Notes for Technician will prepopulate with Sample Type, original Technician and Sample date

    • All default values may be changed by the scheduler as necessary

Deleting / Moving Records in Administration

Sometimes a Technician will add records for the incorrect project. These records can often be adjusted (moved to the correct project or deleted) in various Administration screens. Note that if a Work Order is created from a pending field action and the originating action is later moved or deleted, the work order or pending field action will remain unchanged in the system. You will need to manually update these records.

  • No labels