What’s new in Version 1.3
- Users ability to search through the Work Orders by their descriptions or ID.
- Work Order filter panel added nesting the new filters to be added over time.
- New “Labour hour” field has been added to the service editable based on the user permission.
- New “Assignee” field has been added to the service editable based on the user permission.
- New “Asset” field has been added to the service editable based on the user permission.
- “Assigned to” filter has been added to the work order list.
- “Request type” filter has been added to the work order list.
- Improved Keyboard behaviour on both Android and iOS.
- Overall user experience improvements such as more readable font size (larger and sharper), navigation and design.
- Bug fixes and performance improvements.
Modules
Depending on which BuildingIQ services to which your organization has subscriptions, you can see up to three different modules within the BuildingIQ mobile app. If you have a subscription to more than one service, then you will see a navigation bar at the bottom of the app that will enable you to quickly tap and navigate between their respective modules within the app.
The two primary service modules are Service Center and Comfort. The third module is Activity Stream, which is an activity stream that gives a combined view of events that have happened within the two primary modules.
If your organization only has a subscription to a single BuildingIQ service, then you will see that module by default in the mobile app. You will not need to navigate to it, and no bottom navigation bar will be shown.
Service Center Module
The Service Center module within the BuildingIQ Mobile App enables you to submit service requests for review and action by the facilities team at your site, and to check the status of previously submitted requests. It also enables facilities personnel to easily see and act on service requests that have been assigned to them as they move around the site.
List View
The primary screen of the Service Center, which is called the List view, shows a list of all service requests that have some relationship to you. If you’re not part of the facilities team, then it would show service requests that you have previously submitted. If you’re part of the facilities team that handles the service requests, then this would also show service requests that are assigned to you for action. If you’re an Administrator of the system, then it would show all service requests that have been submitted.
The service requests that are shown in the List view are sorted chronologically from newest to oldest, according to the time at which the last significant action was taken on each request. Initially, they are sorted by the time at which they were first submitted. But as significant updates are made to the requests—such as when their status changes from Submitted to In Process, or from In Process to Completed—then the timestamp used to order the request in the List view is updated to use that of the most recent update. So, for example, if you submit a new service request, and then a previously submitted request has its status changed, then the request submitted longer ago would appear above the newer request in the List view because something happened on the older request more recently.
As is the case in many mobile apps today, you can refresh the contents of the List view screen at any time by pulling down on the list and then releasing it to update the contents.
Filtering the List View
At the top of the List view screen is a row with filter buttons that can control what is shown in the List view. These filters are Request Status, Urgent, and Assigned to (depending on the user permission and role), Request type.
Tapping the Request Status filter will show a list of all the possible statuses a service request could have, and which can be selected to narrow down the service requests shown in the List view to only those whose current status match the selections. To select a status filter, tap on one or more corresponding checkboxes within the status filter list, and then tap the white checkmark icon in the upper-right corner of the top green app bar to save your selections. By default, if no selections are made in this filter list, then all requests are shown in the List view regardless of what their current status is.
Tapping the Urgent filter will show only those service requests that have their priority set to Urgent (in contrast to the more typical Normal priority).
Tapping the Request Type filter will show a list of all predefined types, and which can be selected to narrow down the service requests shown in the List view to only those whose current type match the selected. To select a request type filter, tap on the preferred request type, and then tap the white checkmark icon in the upper-right corner of the top green app bar to save your selection.
Tapping the “Assigned to” filter show the list of all user under your organisation. You can look up the user from the search box and tap on its row to see all the work orders assigned to that specific user.
Tapping the “Assigned to” filter show the list of all user under your organisation. You can look up the user from the search box and tap on its row to see all the work orders assigned to that specific user.
Please note that only the Admin users see have the permission to see this filter. Tenants are only able to filter to “Assigned to me”.
Tapping the Assigned to me filter will show only those service requests that are currently assigned to you for your attention or action. Typically, only facilities personnel have tickets assigned to them. Also, if a service request is assigned to you, a small gray icon of a person will display in the upper-right corner of the request, so you can easily distinguish these from requests when viewed in the List view without the assignment filter on. This is particularly useful for Admins who see all service requests but want to be able to distinguish which are assigned to them within the broader list.
And if you have selected any filters, then a green Clear command will be displayed on the right side after the last filter in the filter button row, so you can quickly undo all filters that are currently applied with a single tap.
Work Order Search
At the top of the Work Order list view screen, you can tap the “Browse work orders” or the search icon, to search through the work orders by the description or ID. If required, you are able to apply filters to the results list.
Filter panel
At the top of the Work Order list view screen, you can tap the filter icon to be navigated to the filter panel displaying all the available filters to be set and applied to the list of work orders.
Submitting a New Service Request
Submitting a new service request is fast and easy.
In the lower-right corner of the List view, you will see a large green circle with a plus (‘+’) sign in the middle of it. Tap this to begin creating a new service request.
The screen for creating a new service request is intentionally minimal so that service requests can be entered quickly and easily from mobile devices.
You will select the Location for your service request, which is typically the name of the building for which you are requesting the work. If Sub-locations are defined for the building (typically these are rooms or areas in the building), then you will be able to select a sub-location as well.
Then you will choose a Request Type from the list of predefined types.
You will choose the Priority level, which is either Normal or Urgent (typically you just leave it as the default Normal unless it’s something that requires immediate action).
Then you are able to assign the service request using the Assignee field to the right user in your organisation (Admin users only).
You are able to tap the Asset field to see the list of all predefined assets to choose from and assign it to the work order.
Then you will enter the details of your request in the text area supplied for such. Try to include as much useful detail (e.g., what needs fixing/doing, exactly where it needs to be done, etc.) as you can so that action can be taken by facilities personnel without requiring further follow up.
And finally, you can attach several photos to make it even clearer what needs doing and where. Note: depending on the size of the photos and the speed of your connection, photos may take up to 30-60 seconds to upload.
Once you are done choosing values for the required fields, the Submit Request button at the bottom of the screen will turn green, and you can tap it to submit your request. That’s it!
Upon successful submission of your request, you will see a brief message telling you it was submitted successfully. And then soon thereafter you will see the new request appear at the top of the List view (assuming there are no filters set that would exclude it from being shown).
Viewing Service Request Details
To see more details about a service request, or to update it, tap on it within the List view and you will then be shown the Service Request Details screen.
If you wish to see the history of the status field of the service request, tap on the first field labeled Status. A status timeline panel will open below that show the exact times and dates at which the request was originally submitted, as well as any changes to its status since then. If you are part of the facilities team, then you also can change the status of the ticket merely by tapping on its corresponding value within this timeline panel (note that the change is saved as soon as you tap, no additional confirmation is necessary).
If there are any photos attached to the service request, then you will see thumbnail images displayed for each in the Photos field. To enlarge a photo for easier viewing, tap and hold your finger on its thumbnail image. It will display enlarged for as long as you hold your finger down on the thumbnail, and then will return to normal as soon as you lift your finger from the screen. If you wish to remove the photo, then merely tap it once and a popup menu will be displayed that will enable you to remove or replace it.
If you wish to add any photos to the service request, then tap one of the gray camera icons. You will be able to take a new picture, or select an existing photo from the camera roll on your device.
If for any reason you need to edit the Description, Asset or Assignee within the service request, click on the edit icon (looks like a pencil) in the top-right corner of the green top application bar. Complete your edits, and then click on the checkmark icon in the same location where you tapped the edit icon to save your changes. For the Asset and Assignee fields, once the edit icon is clicked, the current value will be underlined and set to the edit mode ready to be tapped and edited through the related list.
And finally, if you wish to view comments that have been added to the service request after it was initially submitted, or you wish to add new comments, then scroll to the History / Comments section at the bottom of the screen. If any comment is longer than one line, then a Read more command will be shown beneath the comment, and tapping on it will show the entire comment. To add a new comment, click on the green icon with a ‘+’ in the middle of it in the upper-right corner of the History / Comments section. Note that comments are in chronological order, with newest at the top.
To navigate from the Details screen back to the List view screen, click on the back icon (‘<’) in the upper-left corner of the green top app bar.
Comfort Module
If enabled by the facilities team, the Comfort Module enables occupants within a building to give the team feedback on how comfortable they feel within various areas of the building (e.g., too hot, too cold, just right). In a very real sense, the occupants become a living, breathing sensor network that can help the team pinpoint trouble spots before they become bigger issues.
If you wish to enable and use the Comfort Module, please contact us at worksitesupport@buildingiq.com for details about how to set it up and use it.
Activity Stream Module
Much like activity streams found in Facebook or LinkedIn, the Activity Stream within the app gives a consolidated view of everything happening within the building. This module, and the bottom navigation bar, automatically show up if you have both the Service Center and Comfort modules enabled within the app. Tap the Activity icon in the bottom navigation bar to access it.
In this module, you will see a chronologically sorted, interleaved view of comfort reports and service requests. Thermometer icons in comfort reports and wrench icons within service requests help to quickly distinguish them from one another when viewing the stream.
Tap the My Activity option at the top of the screen to see only things that pertain to you: service requests created or assigned to you in the Service Center module, or comfort reports you have submitted in the Comfort module. You can tap any service request here to see its additional details, where you can also add photos or comments to the request.
If you tap the All Activity option at the top of the screen, you will see not only those things that pertain to you, but also additional things such as comfort reports submitted by other building occupants (although anonymized for privacy). This helps you have a broader view of what’s happening within the building. System Admins will also see all service requests within this screen.
