Using the Field Work Orders interface

Summary

• Create a New Field Work Order
• Take Attendance
• Enter Time
• Complete the Other Options
  • Contacts
  • Material & Billing Items
  • Material Requisitions
  • Orders
  • Recommendations
  • Documents/Photos
  • Work Address
  • Additional Files
  • Work Order Summary
• Add a Linked Work Order
• Complete the Field Work Order with Customer Signature

 

steps

Create a New Field Work Order

1. In the maestro*MOBILE main menu, press Field Work Orders.
2. On the Field Work Orders page, press the + Add a Work Order button.
3. Two choices are available to users on the Select… page: either press an existing field work order to copy the resources’ attendance (Resources) or the resources’ attendance, hours, and bonus, or press New to create a field work order from scratch.
   1. In the first situation, users are asked to specify if they want to copy the attendance of resources, or the attendance of resources in addition to hours, and bonus of an already completed field work order. This information can later be modified if needed. Users will then access the Field Work Orders page. Estimated Start and End Time must be entered if the resources’ attendance was the only data copied, and if the Display MOBILE project work order in the Employee’s dispatch grid setting is checked in the maestro* option Dispatch Model Management.
   2. If the second case is selected, users also access the Field Work Orders page, but must first fill out the fields pertaining to opening a field work order by pressing them. Required fields are marked by an asterisk in the table below.

   Fields

Field	Used to
Work Order Date*	Indicate the field work order’s date. Maestro*MOBILE defaults to the current day’s date. NOTE: Users can change the date to make it earlier or later; however, if it is a later date, technicians will not be able to enter the attendance until that date is the current one.
Start Date and End Date	Specify the work order start and end dates when creating a new work order. By default, the start date is the same as the Work Order Date. The end date is not mandatory.
Estimated Start and End Time	Select the estimated start and end times to display the field work order in the maestro* dispatch grid. NOTE: These fields are displayed if the Display MOBILE project work order in the Employee’s dispatch grid setting is checked in the maestro* option Dispatch Model Management.
Description*	Provide a short description of the field work order’s characteristics. This description becomes the work order’s name.
Project*	Select the project to which the work order is linked. This project must have been previously created in maestro*.
Customer	Display the customer linked to the project selected in the previous step.
Type	Identify the field work order type from those created in the Define Work Order Types option, accessible following menu path: maestro* > Projects > Maintenance > Work Orders > Define Work Order Types.
Original Work Order	Link the new field work order to another one for billing purposes.
Purchase Order	Take note of the customer’s purchase order number, if needed.
Reference	Specify any reference related to the field work order.
Progression State	Identify the field work order’ progress state available from the Define Progression States option, accessible following menu path: maestro* > Projects > Maintenance > Work Orders > Define Progression States. NOTE: The Available in Mobile box next to each state (in the Define Progression States option) must be checked for it to appear in maestro*MOBILE.
Comment	Take down any comment related to the field work order. Predefined sentences can also be used by pressing the Select a Predefined Sentence button.

4. Press Save Except for the customer and field work order number automatically generated by maestro*MOBILE, all information can be modified later. All users need to do is press the "Edit" heading located at the top right corner of the "Field Work Orders" page..

 

Take Attendance

1. From the Field Work Orders page, press the Take Attendance button.
2. On the Attendance page, make sure the users’ Present When "Present" is selected, the button turns green. or Absent If, however, the employee is "Absent", the "Absence Reason" page is displayed. Entering a note to justify the absence is mandatory. It is also possible to "Select a Predefined Sentence". After justifying the absence, press "Save". Resources displayed on the page depend on users’ security level. buttons are selected, as well as for all resources in attendance (employees, teams, and equipment).
3. Press + Attendance to add one or more employee(s), team(s) or special equipment if needed.
4. On the Select… page, first press the type of resource that needs to be added (employee, team, or equipment).
5. Select the appropriate resource from the displayed list; use the Search if needed by entering the first characters of the resource’s name. The resource must have been previously configured in maestro*.
6. Press the OK button located in the top right corner of the page.
   Trash Can Icon
   Unused Button
   Resource Detail
   Linked Equipment

Trash Can Icon If it was added mistakenly, a resource (employee, team, or equipment) can be deleted by pressing the trash can icon.

Unused Button An Unused button is also available for special equipment.

Users can press an employee’s name to display additional information (photo, certificates, skills, non-availabilities, etc.) The Employee page provides the possibility to add a Non-Availability.

Last, equipment linked to an employee is listed under its name, a chain icon appears before their identification.

7. On the Attendance page, press the arrow located in the top left corner of the page to save the information and return to the Field Work Orders page.
   Meters

On the Field Work Orders page, rectangular blue indicators—appearing as boxes before the name of the larger Take Attendance and Enter Time buttons — show the number of resources (expressed as a fraction) for which the attendance and time entry have been confirmed/completed (2/3, for example). These numbers represent all individuals and equipment. In short, the numerator in front of the Take Attendance heading indicates the quantity of resources in attendance and becomes the denominator in front of the Enter Time heading.

 

Enter Time

1. Press Enter Time to record information for each resource (employee, team and equipment) that was identified as present in the taking attendance step.
2. Press the checkmark next to the resource to add time. To enter time for more than a resource at a time, press the √ Select All button.
   Access the Employee Activities page

Pressing an employee’s name leads directly to the Employee Activities page. It displays all equipment linked to the employee as well as its default trade. If the employee is listed as having more than one trade, users can press the Select a Trade button to choose a different one.

3. Press the + Add Time button.
4. On the Add Time page, complete the fields in the Hours section.
   Fields of the Hours section

Field	Used to
Work Time	Indicate the time worked and spent on that field work order. The duration must be entered using the 00:00 format. NOTE: Press the arrow to the right of the field to display a drop-down menu from which you can select the time duration down to a specific time increment (that can be modified in maestro* option Dispatch Model Management).
Time	Indicate the type of rate, Regular, Overtime (Regular + 50%) or Double. NOTE: Time defaults to Regular rate. If an employee works several Regular hours and some more Overtime hours on the same work day, it requires two time entries for that date in maestro*MOBILE. To be displayed in maestro*MOBILE, the Overtime and Double time must be marked as such in maestro* beforehand in the appropriate dispatch model.
Shift	Specify the work shift.
Activity	Select the Activity that applies to the resources subjected to time entries (among those linked to the project).
Comment	Take down any comment. NOTE: If needed, predefined sentences can also be used, though they have to be previously configured in maestro*; simply press Select a Predefined Sentence.

5. Complete the fields of the Bonus section, if needed.
6. Press Save.
7. Repeat steps until time has been entered for all resources.
8. Press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page.

 

Complete the Other Options

Once attendance and time entries are completed, several options are available to users. These options are either not required or linked to the customer’s internal processes (which could make some required).

Contacts

Press the Contacts option to view the names and information of the project’s resource people.

Material & Billing Items

To indicate the use of items, press Material & Billing Items. Select the items used or those that need invoicing pressing + Add Material The "+ Add Material" option enables users to add items that were required to finish the field work order while deducting them from the inventory. It could be filters, for instance. or + Add Billing Item The "+ Add Billing Item" option allows users to add items that will be invoiced to the customer. These items are specific to the field work order and are not included in the regular inventory. Examples include plywood panels, pipes, etc. In some cases, the "+ Add Billing Item" option can also be used to add minimum fees to the work order. Items displayed are those whose status is "2 – Sale". as needed. In the Material & Billing Item, press in the Item field (or on the barcode icon to scan, identify and select the item to be added without having to search in the catalogue). On the Select… page, press the Search Item in Catalogue field or the Add Item not in Catalogue heading to indicate which items were used. The Add Item not in Catalogue option might not be displayed. An option in maestro* can force the use of the catalogue, which would result in only having the Search Item in Catalogue field available in maestro*MOBILE. To access this option, go to the Dispatch Model Management window (maestro* > Projects > Project Costing > Dispatch > Dispatch Model Management); from the Mobile tab, click the Project sub-tab and check the Force the use of the catalogue box in the Catalogue section. Catalogue items first suggested come from the default location’s inventory, in addition to Sale-type items. Maestro*MOBILE therefore initially suggests the construction project’s default inventory site. If none was determined, it goes to the inventory site specified in the General Settings. Last, if no inventory site is indicated, maestro*MOBILE lists all the catalogue’s items.   Catalogue items are logged in the company’s catalogue (product list); they can be in stock or not. The Add Item not in Catalogue option lets maestro*MOBILE users add items that have never been recorded in maestro* or listed in the inventory. Once selected, add a description or details pertaining to the item in the Description field or Select a Predefined Sentence. Enter the Quantity used in the field of the same name. Press Save. Back on the Material & Billing Items page, review the added items then press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page.

Material Requisitions

Press the Material Requisitions option to let the office maestro* users know that items will be required to complete the field work order at a later visit. The material requisitions are displayed in two tabs: Ongoing and Completed. The Completed tab displays the requisitions that have been set to the Completed status in maestro*MOBILE or the Confirmed and Closed statuses in maestro*. By default, the current requisitions are displayed. Press an ongoing requisition to see its contents or + Add a Requisition to create a new one. Validate the dates displayed in the Date Entered and Date Required fields; change them if needed. If necessary, add a photo, a document or a memo by pressing the appropriate buttons. Press Add. On the Material Requisitions page, press + Add Item. Press in the Item field (or on the barcode icon to scan, identify and select the item to be added without having to search in the catalogue). Press the Search Item in Catalogue field or the Add Item not in Catalogue If the item is not in the catalogue, users have to press "Add Item not in Catalogue". They will need to mark down the required quantity as well as a detailed description to ensure the item will be ordered or bought. Several items can be included in a material requisition. heading to select the required items. Press Save. If necessary, press Complete to change the material requisition status to Completed. Back on the Material Requisitions page, add items if needed or press Save. If an expense activity has been specified by default, it will be displayed in the Expense Activity field. If not, specify an expense activity as needed. Press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page.

Orders

From the Field Work Orders page, press on Orders. Then press on + Add an order. A new order with the Reserved status is created. By default, the order date is the current date. Select a Supplier and press on Add.   After having pressed Add, a number is assigned to the order. The project address is the one selected by default. If needed, select another address: alternative, customer, company, supplier, supplier address, or list (from the Define Addresses maestro* > Purchasing > Maintenance > Purchasing > Define Addresses table in maestro*). If applicable, press on + Add Document/Photo to attach a photo or document to the order. Press on + Add Item. In the page displayed, select a catalogue item. If needed, scan the item's bar code. Indicate the quantity and the unit cost. Press Save. When all items have been added to the order, press Save. Actives and Fully Received orders are displayed in their respective tabs. In the order summary, press on the top-left arrow to come back to the work order.

Recommendations

Press the Recommendations option to add a new recommendation or review existing ones. On the Recommendations page, select the status of the recommendations you wish to display. To add a new recommendation, press the Entered status heading, then press + Add a Recommendation. On the Recommendation Recommandations must previously be configured in maestro* through the "Define Types of Recommendation" option: maestro* > Projects > Maintenance > Projects > Define Types of Recommendation. page, first select the recommendation in the field of the same name. Select an existing Contact if needed, or enter the contact’s name in the field provided for that purpose. Log the recommendation and its details in the Description field; select a predefined sentence if needed. Press + Add Document/Photo to attach a photo or document to the recommendation. Press Save. On the Recommendations page, press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page.

Documents/Photos

From the Field Work Orders page, press the Documents/Photos option to attach documents or photos to the field work order. Press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page twice to return to the Field Work Orders page.   View the Documents and Photos topic to find out about all the features of this tool.

Work Address

Press Work Address to review or specify the work location. On the Address page, press the menu of the Work Location field to select Project, Customer or Alternative. If the work site’s location is the Project’s (which is the default selection), that address is displayed in the field below. If the selected option is Customer, its address will be displayed in the field below. If, however, the Alternative option is selected, a new page is displayed. An existing address can be chosen from maestro* by pressing the Specification field, or, an entirely new address can be entered by completing the various fields.   In the first two situations, pressing the address can show its location in Google Maps. Press Save to log the new work location and return to the Field Work Orders page.

Additional Fields

If applicable, press Additional Fields to take down any extra information required by the employer. Press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page.   If additional fields have been defined for the work order type, it will be possible to enter specific information in these additional fields using a dedicated maestro*MOBILE screen. The additional fields must be defined in the Define Work Order Types maestro* > Projects > Maintenance > Work Orders > Define Work Order Types option.

Work Order Summary

Once all options have been completed or validated, press Work Order Summary to review the field work order. That summary will be submitted to the customer before the signature, if required, or attached to the invoice. Section Description Work Order Information Displays information entered when creating the field work order: date, customer, reference, purchase order, and description. Work Address Indicates the location of the work related to the field work order. Project Displays the project to which the field work order is linked. Items Shows the items used to finish the field work order, whether these items must be invoiced or not. Labour Lists all resources (employees and equipment) that have a time entry. The hours are displayed to the right, on the corresponding lines. NOTE: Users can see if the time is regular, overtime or double, in addition to the activity associated to the resource (by pressing the resource itself or the + sign located next to the duration of the work). Work Status Indicates the work status, which is Ongoing if the work is not completed. Press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page.

 

Add a Linked Work Order

The + Add a Linked Work Order option enables users to create a new field work order, either from scratch or by copying the attendance of resources, or the attendance of resources in addition to hours, and bonus of an existing field work order. The newly created work order will be linked to the current one – the field work order from which users will have pressed + Add a Linked Work Order.

The advantage of linking work orders together is to then be able to bill the transactions of all these work orders using direct invoicing. Furthermore, work order transactions linked to the original one will be displayed in some reports, such as the Invoicing Analysis (W/O) report, for example.

To add a linked field work order:

1. From the Field Work Orders page, press + Add a Linked Work Order.
2. On the Select… page:
3. Press New and complete the fields as demonstrated in step 3 of creation of a new field work order.

or

1. First press the field work order you wish to use as model.
2. Specify the information that needs to be copied;
3. Confirm by pressing Ok, which will direct you to the Field Work Orders page of the new copied and linked field work order. The original work order remains opened with an ongoing status.
4. Complete the new linked work order fields as demonstrated in step 3 of creation of a new field work order.

 

Complete the Field Work Order with Signature

1. Press the Complete button.
2. Press Yes to the confirmation message
   or
   Press Signature.
3. Review the Work Order Summary.
4. At the bottom of the page, select the contact that will sign to confirm he/she reviewed the summary or enter its name and its email address in the Signature section.
5. Press the I Agree button.
6. Turn the device sideways if needed and let the resource person or customer sign using their finger.
7. Press the Clear button if the signature must be entered again, or press Save located in the top right corner of the page.
   The user returns to the Summary page.
8. Press the Previous arrow located at the top of the page to return to the Field Work Orders page. The field work order status is now Completed.

Once the field work order is completed, the summary can be printed, viewed in maestro*, and attached to an invoice. A copy of the summary is also emailed to the resource person when the signature is saved. Maestro* will first suggest the resource person (or contact) specified for the project. If that information is not available, maestro* will suggest the customer’s resource person. Users can also enter the name and email address of a different resource person.

 

see also

• Field Work Orders Interface
• Field Work Orders Interface Icons

 

Last modification: septembre 12, 2024