Tasks¶

Tasks turn paper checklists, such as start-up checks, quality inspections and standard operating procedures, into checks that operators complete in the Operator Interface.

Task lists come due with each schedule, on a timer, or on demand, and operators can add notes or readings. Every Task is recorded as completed, missed or pending, which gives you an audit trail by station and operator.

How it works¶

Tasks need no signal from the machine. They need an operator at a screen and the Tasks set up in Admin.

Tasks are grouped into Task lists. Each list has a trigger that decides when its Tasks are due and how they are grouped for the operator. A list only reaches the stations where it is included. Operators see how many Tasks are pending on the Operator Interface's production screen, and complete them on its Tasks screen. The screen, the tile colours and the steps are described on Operator Interface.

Other systems can start a list or a single Task, and complete Tasks, through the API. See API and SDK.

When Tasks are pending and when they are missed¶

Every Task in a list follows the list's trigger. A list cannot mix triggers.

Trigger	When its Tasks become pending	When they are missed
Each Schedule	Once per production schedule, shortly after the schedule's actual start: when the operator starts it, or at the planned start for a schedule that starts automatically. A schedule that is planned but not started has no pending Tasks. See Gantt & Schedules.	When the schedule ends or is deleted, when another production schedule is started on the station while it is still running, or when the schedule is moved to another station, without the Tasks being completed.
Timer	At every fire of the list's cron pattern, in the plant's time zone. The fire is the deadline. Available Before Deadline sets how long before the deadline the Tasks become pending. For example, a weekly check due on Friday at 17:00 can become available only from Friday morning.	When the deadline passes without the Task being completed.
On Demand	When the operator starts the list, for example the checks to do during a breakdown. Every Task in the list becomes pending, and the operator completes each one. The list can be started again straight away.	Never for time. A run is only missed if it is still open when its Task is deleted, its list is removed from the station, or the station is archived. So nothing stays pending for ever.

Starting a list by hand¶

Any list, whatever its trigger, can be started by the operator with Start this List. This runs the checks outside their normal cycle. A run started this way is an On Demand run: it has no deadline, it is never missed for time, and it is recorded in Task History as On Demand. A Task that is already pending keeps the instance it has.

An Each Schedule or Timer list still becomes pending on its own:

If the scheduled instance becomes pending while the manual run is still open, the run becomes the scheduled instance. It keeps its place on the Operator Interface, takes the schedule or the deadline, and is recorded under that trigger, with the time the list was started as its Created At. It is missed like any other scheduled instance if it is not completed in time.
If the scheduled instance is already open when the list is started, that instance is the one the operator completes.
If the scheduled instance has already been completed, the manual run stays On Demand.

A Task in two lists¶

A Task can belong to more than one list. It then follows each list's trigger and must be completed separately in each. Completing the breakdown-checklist copy does not complete the daily-checks copy, even a second later, and the Task counts twice towards the station's pending count while both are open. Use this for a check that belongs in two contexts.

Set it up¶

Turn on Tasks. Tasks are turned on for each account by Output Industries. Contact support to have them turned on. When Tasks are off, the Tasks admin pages, Task History and the Tasks screen in the Operator Interface are hidden. Turning Tasks off changes nothing about existing Tasks, and turning them back on restores everything.
Create Task lists. On the Task lists admin page, create a list for each checklist, and choose its trigger: Each Schedule, Timer (a cron pattern, with how long before the deadline the Tasks become available) or On Demand. See Tasks.
Include the lists where they apply. Include each list on the Account, Plant, Station Group or Station form. No list reaches any station until it is included somewhere.
Create the Tasks. Give each Task a title and a description, add it to one or more lists, and set its order in each list. Turn on Require Notes for Tasks where the operator must record a reading or a comment, such as a dew point or gun hours. See Tasks.
Put the Operator Interface at the station. See Operator screens and Operator Interface.
For Each Schedule lists, the station needs production schedules. See Scheduling.

Where you see it¶

Operator Interface: the number of pending Tasks on the production screen, and the Tasks screen where operators complete them.
Task History: every instance of every Task with its status, the station, the operator who completed it and any note. You can filter it by list and date range, and export it to CSV.

Metrics¶

Each Task instance is counted once per Task, per list and per station, and has exactly one of the three statuses below.

Tasks completed¶

count

The number of Task instances that were done, with who completed them and when.

Notes A Task that requires notes is only completed when the operator submits the note. The note is kept with the completion and shown in Task History.

Tasks missed¶

count

The number of Task instances not completed before their deadline, or before their schedule ended.

Notes
- Timer: the deadline passed without a completion.
- Each Schedule: the schedule ended, was deleted, was moved to another station, or had another production schedule started after it on the station, without a completion.
- On Demand (including lists started by hand): only when the run was still open when its Task, its list or the station's assignment was removed.
- Task History shows when each Task was missed, in Missed At.

Tasks pending¶

count

The number of Task instances that are due now and not yet completed.

Notes A Task is pending while it is neither completed nor missed: its deadline has not passed, its schedule is still running, or its list has been started and the Task not yet completed. This is the number every pending indicator shows, on the Operator Interface and elsewhere.