Sometimes a work order needs to be repeated on a specific schedule. For instance, a technician might need to install new equipment every Monday for the next four weeks. This article provides a detailed guide on how to set up recurrence for a work order.
Setting Up Work Order Recurrence
To begin, you must first plan the initial work order for a technician.
Go to Services in the left navigation panel and select Planning.
Plan the work order for the technician.
On the planning slot, for the work order you wish to repeat, simply right-click and select Work Order Planning recurrence.
This action will open the recurrence creation page, On the page, above it, you will find the Planning slot definition and work order time consumption, and below it is the recurrence configuration section.
Planning Slot Definition
This section displays the planning details of the original work order, including:
The technicians the work order is planned for.
The date and start time of the work order.
The duration of the work order.
All recur work orders will use this information. They will all start at the same time and are planned for the same technician as the original work order.
Work Order Time Consumption
This section shows the time metrics associated with the technician.
Estimated time of the each work order.
Already Planned time of the work order.
Future planned time generated from the recurrence schedule.
Total planned time (the sum of the recurrence and the original planned time).
Configure the Work Order Recurrence
The bottom section of the recurrence creation page is where you define the pattern and duration of the repeating work order. You have two main options for setting the recurrence: Fixed Recurrence or Free Date Recurrence. It is set to fixed recurrence by default, but you can toggle the button to switch to Free Date Recurrence.
Fixed Recurrence
Fixed Occurrence allows you to plan tasks on a structured, automated schedule(daily, weekly, or monthly). By default, the option is set to None.
You must choose either Daily, Weekly, or Monthly to set your recurrence, depending on how you want the work order to repeat. Each choice has specific options to configure.
Daily Recurrence Options
Repeat every X Day: Repeat the work order based on the number of days you specify in the options field. For example, if you enter three, the work order will be planned for the technician every three days.
Allow weekend and holidays: Check this box to include weekends and holidays in the recurrence schedule if necessary.
Ending On X date or after (X) occurrences: You must specify when the recurrence should end.
If you choose a specific date, the work order planning will end on that date.
If you choose after a certain number of occurrences, the work order will end after it has recurred that number of times. (e.g., set it at 5), the work order will repeat every three days for a total of 5 times.
Note that X is the number or date you enter into the field box.
Weekly Recurrence Options
Repeat every X week: This will repeat the work order based on the number of weeks you specify. For example, if you enter 2, the work order will be planned for the technician every two weeks.
Repeat on X Day(s): Select the days within that week (Monday to Sunday), on which the Work Order (WO) will be planned.
Allow weekend and holidays: Check the box to include weekends and holidays if necessary.
Ending On X date or after (X) occurrences: Specify when the recurrence should end, either on a specific date or after a certain number of occurrences.
Monthly Recurrence Options
Day X of every X Month: This will repeat the work order on your chosen day of every specified number of months. For example, if you enter Day 1 of every 1 month, the work order will repeat on the first day of every month.
Occurrences: This option allows you to select a specific ordinal position and day of the week, such as (first, second, third, fourth, last), and (Monday to Sunday) of every X month. For example, if you choose second, Monday of every 1 month, the work order will be repeated and planned every second Monday of every month.
Note: You can use either the Day X of every X month option OR Occurrences, but not both. Choosing one will grey out the other.
Allow weekend and holidays: Check the box to include weekends and holidays if necessary.
Ending On X date or after (X) occurrences : Specify when the recurrence should end—either on a specific date or after a certain number of occurrences.
Note: If the curved arrow on the page is blinking, click the arrow icon to update the Future Planned Time and Total Planned Time.
X is the number or date you enter into the field box.
Free Date Recurrence
Free Date Recurrence allows you to manually select the specific days in any month and year you want the work order to recur.
Toggle the button from fixed to Free date recurrence.
Three calendar months will be shown on the page. The first month is the current month, followed by two months in advance.
Select the days in those months you want the work order to recur.
Navigation:
To move forward or backward by a month, click on the forward or backward arrow icon on any of the month headers.
To select another year, click the month header itself. This will change the calendar display from month/day view to year /month view, allowing you to select your desired month in any year. You can then use the header arrows to move forward or backward by year.
Finalizing and Saving the Recurrence
Once you have configured your recurrence using either Fixed or Free Date recurrence. Click Save. The work order will be repeated or recur for all the dates you have specified.
You can now check the planned board for the days you configured. You will see that the work order has been successfully planned for those days at the exact time and duration, for the same technician, automatically repeating the work order.