An essential component of property management services for community associations is maintaining their common areas through routine maintenance, minor and major repairs, and capital improvements. The challenge lies in tracking all this work, including work locations, approved amounts, the RFP process, vendor selection, estimated costs, and job status. To address this challenge, the CiraNet Management/Board Portal offers the Maintenance Work Order module to effectively track and manage all maintenance jobs, from bidding to completion. This Tip Sheet serves as an introduction to using this valuable tool.
Table of Contents
- Maintenance Work Order Overview
- Utilizing the Maintenance Work Orders Interface
- Maintenance Work Order Access
Maintenance Work Order Overview
All open community association business action items should be detailed in either a Project/Task, a Maintenance Work Order, or both to ensure that expectations are communicated between the board and management. Work Orders are useful internal management tools for ensuring that employees provide the service expected by the board. A work order typically progresses as shown below:
A work order typically progresses as shown below:
Users can manage projects using Projects/Tasks and launch or link multiple Maintenance Work Orders. However, while board members can create Projects/Tasks, only internal users can create and manage work orders.
Utilizing the Maintenance Work Orders Interface
The Maintenance Work Order module is nested in the My Work Queue node under Community Management and can be accessed in both portfolio and community views. The work orders are housed in one of two tabs: Open Work Orders, the default view, or Closed Work Orders. Both lists are presented in a grid format. As noted above, internal users can manage work orders, including opening, editing, and closing/completing them. In contrast, executive users (board, committee, and constituent users) can merely view them, provided they have been granted that access.
The Open Work Orders interface provides the status of each work order, which can be listed as an Initial Request, Approved, Out to Bid, In Progress, or On Hold.
Some of the key data elements found in the grid and work order form are defined below:
Category
A short description of the type of work to be performed (e.g. repair, remove, replace, new installation, scheduled visit, or provide estimate).
Created
The date the work order was created or entered (also referred to as "Entered On." The date is set automatically and cannot be edited.
Manage Documents
Clicking on the paper clip icon reveals the Manage Documents user interface. Any documents already attached to the task will be visible in the interface. If there are documents attached, the number of attachments will be noted in blue next to the paper clip (see example below for one attachment).
The user can do the following in this interface:
- Click on the File Name to download/view the document.
- Click on the trashcan icon to remove any document (note that a user can only remove documents that they added).
- Click on any of the Attach buttons to attach a new document. The user can upload multiple file types (e.g. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe - pdf, picture - jpg, etc.).
This feature can be used to attach addition information such as pictures and executed proposals.
Overall Job Description
Overview description of the work to be performed (click the symbol to expand the view to see the overall job description).
Priority
The priority of the work defined as:
- Emergency - urgent (e.g. water leak from common area pipes into a residential unit)
- High - high priority work to progress ahead of normal and low priority jobs
- Normal - work to be contracted and completed in the normal course of duty within a reasonable time frame
- Low - low priority with no time sensitive nature to the work
Reference
The specific lot / unit, common area / lot or amenity within the association (e.g. Building #3, Unit # 228).
Reference Type
The description of the location of the work as follows:
- Property - a lot / unit in the community (e.g. a resident's condominium unit)
- Common Area - a community association common area (e.g. a park)
- Commercial Lot - a commercially designated lot in the association (e.g. a retail establishment in the community)
- Amenity - a common community association amenity (e.g. pool or clubhouse)
- Other
Status
The status assigned to the work order. The status can be set to:
- Initial Request - initial request or documentation of a work order project
- Approved - approval to proceed with the solicitation process after the initial request
- Out to Bid - request(s) for proposals have been submitted to prospective vendors; waiting on proposals for evaluation, negotiation and selection
- Completed - the work has been completed
- Canceled - the work order was canceled; no work was completed
- In Progress - the vendor has been selected with an accepted proposal and the work is ready to progress, or the work is in progress
- On Hold - the proposed work is on hold pending an action, issue, or time frame
Work Orders are defaulted to a status of Initial Request when first created or entered.
Vendor
The name of the vendor selected to perform the work.
Vendor Estimate
Amount of the overall work proposal (i.e. total) provided by the selected vendor.
Work Order #
A unique identification number used to differentiate work orders. This number is automatically assigned by the CiraNet application.
Maintenance Work Order Access
Maintenance Work Orders can be accessed from the following locations in the CiraNet application:
- CiraMail. From the Actions menu, navigate to the Start option, then choose Create Work Order.
- Invoice Approval Screen. Click on the Work Orders icon to access existing Work Orders or create a new one.
- Maintenance Work Orders Module. On the main page, click the Add New Work Order button at the top right corner of either the portfolio or community view.
- Projects/Tasks. From the Action button, choose Create Work Order.
- Property View. From the Account node, select Work Orders and click on the option to Add New Work Order, Which is located on the top right-hand side of the page.
- Vendor Management Module. Users can create a Work Order from a vendor line item by clicking Action and selecting Generate New Work Order.