Simplifying Work Order Management

Job sites often rely on outdated paper tickets and legacy systems to track vehicles, equipment, and billing. Field technicians have to fill out different paper forms which can get lost, illegible, or incomplete. This leads to missed billing opportunities, revenue loss, and inefficiencies in payroll and equipment tracking. This is data chaos for your daily operations—especially when they rely on disconnected systems. Not a great time.

Inefficiencies in Manual Job Scheduling

Job scheduling that is manually tracked in Google Sheets can also create inefficiencies and data inaccuracies. Materials and tools often go missing due to a lack of tracking, leading to wasted resources and delays. Timesheet management is cumbersome, and operational data needed for decision-making is siloed or unavailable. With Knack’s no-code platform, you get faster deployment, reduced costs, and the flexibility to adapt the application to your unique business needs.

Introduction to Knack’s Flexibility

Traditional packaged field service software often forces you to adapt your processes to fit the tool. Knack flips the script by allowing the tool to adapt to your processes. Let’s dive into the core capabilities of our field service management application from both the field supervisor and field technician perspectives. As a field supervisor, your jobs dashboard is your command center.

Field Supervisor Dashboard Features

You have instant access to work orders—create, assign, and monitor tasks effectively. You also have the ability to communicate in real time with your team. This is found through the messages and notifications section. Then there’s the shift swap request section. This allows you to approve or decline shift changes with a single click.

Creating Work Orders: Step-by-Step

To create a new work order, you can navigate to the Work Orders tab and click on “Create Work Order.”

Step two: Fill out the necessary details—title, description, priority level, due date—and assign it to a team member.

Utilizing Checklists for Job Management

You can also attach images or any other files if needed.

Step three: Choose a checklist template to ensure all required steps are followed. If a suitable template doesn’t exist, you can create your own inside Knack.

Managing Shift Swaps Efficiently

In the Shift Swap Request tab, you can view all pending requests. For example, if John wants to swap a shift with Sally, you’ll see the details right there. With a click, you can simply review the request and click approve or decline. The process is made really easy.

Importance of Communication in Operations

The system automatically notifies the employees involved, keeping everyone in the loop. Communication is key. With our integrated messaging system, you can send updates or receive notifications about urgent issues. Messages are tied directly to work orders, ensuring context is always clear.

Field Technician Dashboard Overview

Now let’s look at it from the field technician’s perspective. Go to the employee dashboard to display work orders, notifications, and shifts. You can filter the work orders by time frames like this week, next week, and later.

Task Management for Field Technicians

Work orders are grouped by status. Technicians can view and complete assigned tasks. You can set this up by filtering the page display for the logged-in user. Field technicians can filter tasks, complete work order checklists, and add photos to document completed jobs.

Documenting Job Completion

Click on a work order to see all details—description, images, priority, and location. Page rules in Knack ensure technicians only see their own work orders.

Access Control for Technicians

To restrict access:

• View the table displaying work orders.
• Filter the data source to show only those assigned to the logged-in user.

This ensures that each technician only sees relevant tasks.

Setting Up Page Rules for User Access

Navigate to the Rules tab for the Work Orders page. Add a rule that restricts access. If the logged-in user role is not equal to “technician,” redirect them to a different page—like a dashboard or an error message page.

Advanced Access Control Features

You can add additional rules for other roles like managers or admins. Use display rules to highlight urgent tasks or specific users. Add filters or search options to help techs find jobs fast.

Finding Work Orders Quickly

Technicians can:

1. Use filters/search to find work orders.
2. Attach images for proof of completion.
3. Document job completion with images using file fields in the table.

Integrated Messaging for Updates

Grid properties allow image fields to be displayed. Use the messaging system to send updates, ask questions, or report issues directly from the work order.

Real-Time Notifications Management

Go to the Notifications tab to view a list of updates, sorted newest to oldest. Urgent items are highlighted so nothing gets missed.

Managing Shifts and Requests

On the “My Shifts” page, you can:

• View shifts grouped by day
• Submit shift swap requests
• Accept or decline requests from colleagues

Benefits of Knack for Supervisors and Technicians

With Knack field service management:

• Supervisors and techs benefit from real-time updates
• Communication is seamless
• Custom workflows match your business
• Mobile accessibility is excellent

Integrating External Tools with Knack

With Knack Flows, integrate with Google Drive, Slack, or email. Automate notifications and file uploads as part of your workflow.

Streamlining Operations with Integrations

These integrations save time and ensure your team has what they need when they need it—without learning another system or toggling between tools.

The Power of Knack

Knack is your all-in-one, no-code platform for work order management. Combine a built-in database, a user-friendly interface, and Knack Flows for streamlined, connected operations.

Thanks for watching—we’ll see you in the next one.