Add a Procedure
When to Use
Work Orders consist of one or more Procedures, which are groups of steps or tasks needing to be accomplished before the work is considered to be finished. One adds a Procedure to a Work Order whenever a series of related, grouped tasks need to be accomplished.
Most drivers can relate to the process at an automotive repair shop. You go in with a handful of problems - for example the brakes are squeaking, and the car needs an oil change. Changing the brake pads and changing the oil are two separate procedures to be performed on the car. Each contains several tasks for completing the procedure.
Every Work Order requires at least one Procedure, each of which requires at least one Task per Procedure.
Permitted Roles
- Dispatcher
- Administrator
- Staff Assignee
Newly added Work Orders automatically create the first Procedure and its first Task for you. For simple Work Orders, all that is required is to enter a name for the procedure (Rearrange chairs, for example), indicate the type of work category, and the name of the task. Oftentimes the name of the procedure and task are the same.
You’ll need to save both the Procedure and Task by clicking the checkmark to the far right of the names.
Once a procedure has been added to the work order, additional procedures can be added by clicking the plus sign to the far right of the procedure name. Doing this adds the new procedure to the end of the list.
Once again you’ll need to enter and save the names of the second procedure and task as well as the work category.
Using a Procedure Template
Not all work consists of a single thing to do. In our earlier example of changing brake pads, that could be a series of repetitive steps performed each time brake pads are changed. This is a prime opportunity for using a procedure template.
Simply put, a procedure template is a repetitive series of tasks for a single procedure. Rather than entering all of the steps each time the work needs to be done, they can be setup once and then reused over and over.
When you want to use one of these predefined Procedure Templates rather than entering everything yourself, click on the magnifying glass to the right of the name of the procedure.
Once you see the dialog box for choosing a procedure template, just start typing into the search box. You’ll see a list of possible candidates. Simply choose the one you want and then click the green checkmark. All of the details, including tasks accompanied by attachments such as pictures or instruction manuals, are pulled into the new procedure.
If you can’t find a predefined procedure template, perhaps one hasn’t been created yet. Rather than going back to the procedure and doing it there, just click the plus sign to the right of the search box. This lets you add a new procedure template. You can also define the series of predefined tasks making up the new procedure template. Do it once, and you’ll never have to enter it all again.
After adding the procedure template, you may find that some of the included tasks don’t apply to this particular work order. Any of them can be deleted by clicking the corresponding Delete icon.