In technical services, a well-defined workflow ensures that every job progresses clearly and predictably. Creating statuses and adopting standardised processes helps keep the whole team aligned and reduces waiting times and interruptions.
What are statuses?
A status is a label that defines the current situation of a job or visit. Common examples include: ‘Pending’, ‘In progress’, ‘Waiting for materials’, ‘Completed’ or ‘Invoiced’. Each company can customise its statuses according to its working methods.
Benefits of using statuses
- Progress visibility. A Kanban board lets you see at a glance how many jobs are at each stage. This makes it easier to allocate resources and detect bottlenecks.
- Internal communication. When a technician changes a job’s status, the office team receives a notification. This means everyone knows whether a job is ready for the next stage or requires attention.
- Process standardisation. Defining statuses encourages every job to follow a common path: receipt of the request, assignment, visit, follow-up, closure, invoicing, etc.
- Traceability. Status changes are recorded, providing a complete history of every job. This is useful for audits or for analysing process efficiency.
How to design a status workflow
- Map your current process. Make a list of the stages a job passes through from the time it enters the system until it is invoiced and closed.
- Group similar stages. To keep things simple, avoid creating a status for every microtask. Group actions that can be regarded as part of the same stage.
- Define triggers. Determine which event prompts the move to the next status: completing a visit, approving a quotation, receiving materials, etc.
- Assign responsibilities. Establish who is responsible for moving a job from one status to another: the technician, supervisor or administrator.
- Review and adjust. As you use the system, you will be able to identify statuses that add no value or missing stages. Adjust the workflow based on your team’s experience.
Complementary processes
- Notification rules. Configure automatic alerts when a job changes status or remains at the same stage for too many days.
- Associated checklists. Link checklists to each status to ensure that all requirements are met before moving forwards (for example, checking that photos have been taken, the job sheet has been signed and the materials have been recorded).
- Integration with invoicing. Moving to ‘Completed’ or ‘Accepted’ status can trigger an invoice or generate a job sheet for the customer.
Conclusion
Defining clear statuses and keeping them on an accessible board contributes to more transparent and efficient job management. Combined with well-defined processes and automatic notifications, statuses become a powerful tool for organising field work and ensuring that projects progress smoothly.