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I realize that MaintainX isn’t designed so much for project management, but has anyone figured out some work around for how to structure things where it could work well enough for such a task?

 

Here is the scenario: Multi tenant office building and we are constantly doing renovations of office spaces. The usually involves removing a couple walls, adding in a couple new walls, replacing some doors, new lighting, carpet, paint, etc. 

It’s far from a standard ‘work order’ but it is also equally as far from needing yet another software for construction management.. I avoid spreadsheets when possible.. 

The problems in this I’m looking to solve is really scheduling and task tracking to ensure we are on schedule and not forgetting anything.. 

Thanks

Sounds like you may want to try using procedures to track these projects. You can create procedures per work order individually or you can create templates then mix and match them to better define the project. If you mark fields as required, any work order with that required field can’t be closed until that field is filled out, making tasks harder to forget. The required field is also great for QA sign-offs.

I’ve recommended adding a feature to MaintainX that allows work order grouping for projects like these. Having separate work orders is more in-line with the standard workflow of the app than working in procedures, which can involve a lot of scrolling when they get long enough. No luck yet but one workaround suggested was to create new categories for specific projects. It’s not a bad alternative if you don’t mind the clutter in your list of categories.

Interesting point.. I guess I could maybe adapt the procedures function for this.. 

Its a lot about integrating the scheduling for a renovation project into our normal workflow. If I break out the projects to a separate tool (like a spreadsheet), I can see where I could easily create conflicting schedules.. 

The scenario really is just a typical project scheduling issue. We’ve got to demo a space, get the framing done, make sure the electricians and HVAC are coming in right behind that, and that we have the drywallers scheduled for post rough inspection.. The only thing I could think of is separate work orders for every one of those tasks, but it sounds like you’re recommending a single work order for the renovation project and then setting up mandatory “procedures” that cover all those aforementioned steps. 

 

@ctc1111 Yeah, these are just workarounds we’ve come across or been suggested by MaintainX using what’s available at the moment. But I totally get what you’re saying. We get some huge facilities expansion projects once in a while that involve several weeks/months of work split between various contributing parties (both internal and external)- and I agree, they definitely should be in separate work orders given the magnitude of what goes into each individual job. 

For situations like these, I think the most consistent workflow would be for work orders to have a hierarchy function much like asset parent-child relationships. A single master work order explaining the general scope, purpose, etc., assigned to whoever’s managing the project, then any associated jobs can be created separately and then assigned/linked to that master work order as needed.

That system combined with a Gantt view would really kick things into gear and make MaintainX a far more streamlined project management tool.

Maybe some day. 😬

@ctc1111 The first thing that comes to mind is use categories.

Create a category for Project A.

Then use that as a filter on your Work Order views to show only the jobs for that project.

In the premium subscription I use, the calendar only shows the W/Os on the due date, which isn’t great for planning.  Not sure if the workload view could be used for better information.

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