Approving and Rejecting Work Requests

If an approver rejects a request using the Building Operations Console, the system sustains the work request by returning it to the requestor. In this way, requestors can add detail to a request and resubmit it, and estimators and schedulers can also revise their earlier work. This process is more efficient than having to close a rejected work request and have the client resubmit a new one.

A work request that is in the Rejected status and is awaiting the action of a step completer (such as Estimator or Scheduler) can be edited or canceled by the Supervisor.

Note: When you reject a work request, this action does not save any changes that you as the approver make. Instead, the approver should enter Comments that let the requestor know what changes need to be made before re-submitting the request.

The action buttons in the console guide you through the steps that a work request requires. If you want to see the workflow steps for a request and who must perform them, click on the Work Request Code in the grid to access the Work Request screen. Expand the History section. You will see the required workflow steps that have been completed, those that are pending, and the order of the steps. In the below example, the Edit and Approve step is an initial approval, and the Manager Approval is a second confirming approval. This request also has an estimation approval that has already been completed.

Working from the Building Operations Console, if a work request has a confirmation or edit and approve workflow step, you have the option to reject the work. If you reject a request, it is not archived, but instead is returned to a prior step and / or status. This gives the person who submitted the request, estimated it, or scheduled it the opportunity to make changes and resubmit the request. As the Approver, you also have the option to cancel the request if you don't want the requester, estimator, or scheduler to have a chance to resubmit the request.

Note: Approvers cannot reject work requests in bulk. The ability to reject a work request and send it back to another user is not available from the multi-select Approve action in the Building Operations Console. You reject work requests when working with a single request.

This feature is available only from the Building Operations Console, not from the Process-Navigator based legacy screens for approving and rejecting work requests. See Rejecting or Canceling Work Requests from the Building Operations Console.

You can approve a single request or multiple requests at once. However, you can edit a request before approving it only when working with a single request. When approving multiple requests at once, you can enter only comments and the comments must be the same for all requests.

Procedure: Approve or reject a single work request from the Building Operations Console (edit and approve step)

Note: When approving a request, any changes that the approver makes to the request parameters will only be saved when the approver clicks the Approve button.

1. In the Requested group or in the Assigned to Work Order group, locate a request that has the Approve button. These are the requests that have an SLA that requires an edit and approve step, and the approval has been assigned to you.
2. Click Approve in the row for the request. The full form for editing the request details appears.

   

3. Make changes as needed. For example, you can change the Problem Type or Description to ensure that the work is routed correctly. You can also change the account, division and department for the work.
4. Optionally, enter comments that support your decision in the Comments box.
5. Do one of the following:
   
   • To approve the request, click Approve.

     The request is routed through the system based on its governing SLA, and is no longer shown in your queue for approval. Some possible actions are:

     • sent to another employees' queue for estimation or scheduling.

     • sent to a supervisor's queue to be assigned to a work order
     • sent to a financial or facility manager for a second approval to confirm the initial approval
   • To reject the request, enter Comments that let the requestor know what changes need to be made to the request, and click Reject. When rejecting a request, the Comments are required. Comments are the only field that is saved when you reject a request. If you happen to make other changes before rejecting, changes other than Comments are not saved.

     The system returns the request to a prior status or step. See Rejecting or Canceling Work Requests from the Building Operations Console.

Procedure: Approving or rejecting multiple requests at once

To approve or reject multiple requests:

1. Select the check boxes for the requests, and then select Approve from the multiselect actions at the top of the console. These actions appear when you have selected multiple requests having the same status.

   

2. Click Approve.

   The Approve Work Request form appears.

   

3. Enter comments to support your decision, and then click either Approve or Reject.
   • If you reject the request, the system returns the request to a prior status or step. See Rejecting or Canceling Work Requests from the Building Operations Console.
   • If you approve it, the request is routed to the next step as determined by its SLA as described above in the procedure for approving a single request.

Procedure: Approving, rejecting, or canceling work requests that have a confirmation approval.

Confirmation approvals include the ability to approve or reject the work, but without the ability to edit the request.

To approve, reject, or cancel work when there is a confirmation approval:

1. From the Building Operations Console, select Approve in the row for the work request that has the confirmation approval.
2. The Approve work request form appears.

   

3. Do one of the following:
   • To approve the work, enter comments and click Approve. The work advances to the next workflow step.
   • To reject the work, select the user to whom you want to return the work, enter your comments that help the person receiving the returned request understand what information is needed, and click Reject.
   • To Cancel the work, click Cancel Work Request. The work is archived.

Procedure: Approving or rejecting a single request from a mobile device:

Note: When approving a request, any changes that the approver makes to the request parameters will only be saved when the approver clicks the Approve button, and syncs the device.

1. From the Requested screen, tap the request.

   The Approve Request screen appears.

   

2. Make changes as needed. You can change the location or Problem Type.
3. Enter comments to support your decision by tapping in the Comments box, entering your comments in the screen that appears, and tapping Apply.
4. On the Approve Request screen, tap the Approve or Reject button at the top of the screen.

Procedure: Approving or rejecting multiple requests, adding only comments:

1. Tap the check marks for multiple requests, and then tap the check mark at the top of the screen.
2. Tap Approve from the menu.

   The abbreviated Approve form appears. This form has only the Comments field.

3. Tap the Comments box, enter comments to support your decision, and tap Apply.
4. Tap the Approve or Reject button