Tasks

< Previous section | Table of Contents | Index | Next section >

Tasks are lists of instructions needed to carry out planned maintenance. For example, you might create a task describing everything that should be done for monthly maintenance on a forklift truck. This task might include such details as:

The personnel who are usually assigned to the job
The expected time to perform the job
The materials that are usually required
Estimates for labor and materials costs
The tools that will be needed
Templates for purchases that might be associated with the task
Any extra lead-time that might be needed in order to prepare for the job
Step-by-step instructions for the job or a checklist of things that should be done

Often the same task can be applied to several units. For example, if your organization has several forklift trucks of the same model, the task describing monthly maintenance can be applied to each of the trucks. Similarly, a task describing yearly inspections on heating ducts might be appropriate for every space in each of your buildings.

MainBoss uses the information in task descriptions to create work orders. For example, MainBoss can automatically create work orders calling for monthly maintenance on each of the company's forklift trucks, using the personnel, materials, and other information from the task description. The work orders generated in this way can be edited afterwards, if necessary; for example, if one of the people normally assigned to a task will be on vacation the next time that task is scheduled, you can edit the work order to assign the job to someone else (or perhaps to reschedule the job to a date when the regular worker will be back from holiday).

Important: Tasks can also be used as standard (boilerplate) work orders. For example, you might create a task defining everything that should be done when changing the muffler on a vehicle. MainBoss makes it easy to create a work order directly from such a task, saving you the trouble of typing up such a work order yourself. For more, see Work Orders Created from Tasks.

For information on viewing task records, see Viewing Tasks. For information on creating and editing task records, see Editing Tasks. For information on printing tasks, see Printing Tasks.