Explore the Building Operations Console

The Building Operations Console enables you to manage all aspects of your work requests from submitting the request to closing it, all from one location. The Console shows only work that needs your attention, as the console filters requests by your role. For example, if you sign on as a work team supervisor, you will see only work requests assigned to your work team, while logging on as a business manager, you would see only requests requiring your approval. If you log on as the default supervisor (AISTART or AFMSTART), you will see all work requests and can perform all actions.

You can use the Console to process both your On Demand and Preventive Maintenance work. The Building Operations Console uses SLAs that you define using the SLA Console. See Creating Service Level Agreements Using the SLA Console.

Working from the Building Operations Console, you use simple forms to:

report problems and submit them as work requests

add data, such as locations, craftspersons, and problem types, as you work
use a floor plan to select the work's location, if your floor plans have been brought into ARCHIBUS.
schedule craftspersons and estimate their hours.
estimate the trades needed for a work request and for reserving parts.
approve and issue work
assign work requests to work orders if you choose to use work orders
update work requests with the actual hours and parts used when the work is completed.
export data to Excel or Word
export floor plans to Word

You access the Building Operations Console from the Quick-Start Home page.

Storing parts in multiple locations

By default, starting with V.23, the Building Operations Console includes the feature to track and manage parts by storage location, including the ability to create supply requisitions to transfer parts, and to generate purchase orders for parts when the inventory is low. See Storing Parts in Multiple Locations: Overview, and Opting in to Using the Building Operations Console.

Quick-Start Method

If you are using the Quick-Start method, you use the Building Operations Console by signing in as the default supervisor (AISTART or AFMSTART). The Quick-Start method uses a default SLA that auto-approves all work, and routes it to the default supervisor who manages all aspects of the work. For information on using the Building Operations Console when using the Quick-Start method, see Using the Building Operations Console - Quick-Start Method..

If you are defining your own SLAs and using a distributed workflow that has different users logging in to the console or using a mobile device, you can use this topic and the topics in this section of the Help. These topics include additional features, such as work teams, approvals, and work orders that are not part of the Quick-Start method..

Filter Ribbon

The top of the console includes a ribbon of filter options that enable you to quickly locate work.

Predefined filters. The Show list has predefined filters: These are commonly used filters that can be used alone or in combination with other search criteria. Click the Filter button after making a selection to apply the predefined filter.
Click here to see an image of the Show list of predefined filters.

Grouping. By default, the Building Operations Console groups work by status, but you can change the grouping from the Group By list to see work organized by Problem Type, Craftsperson, Work Order, or Location. When you make a selection from the list, the grouping is automatically applied. without clicking the Filter button
Click here to see an image of the Group By list.

More filter options. Click More and the filter ribbon expands to show additional filter options. Mouse over the fields to show the Select Values button; click this button and you can select the values to filter by. You can select as many criteria as you want to find specific work. For example, you could search for only On Demand work that has an estimated cost greater than $3000. Click Filter after setting these filter options to apply them.
Note: You can search for work requests having a part estimate status of 'In Stock, Not Reserved,' 'Not In Stock,' or 'Reserved.' You can review the estimates that have the status of 'In Stock, Not Reserved' and then from the Building Operations Console reserve the estimates you want to allocate the parts to. See Estimating Trades and Parts.
Click here to see an image of the More filter options.

Recent Searches: Click Recent in the Filter ribbon to see a list of your most recent searches, so you can quickly reapply them.

Advancing work using quick actions

The Building Operations Console shows all active work requests - that is, those that are not yet closed. Working from the console, you can quickly change the status of work as it progresses. Having up-to-date statuses enables you to have accurate counts of your work for each stage of your workflow. By default, the console groups work requests by their status to facilitate the work you are looking for, but you can change this to group requests by location, craftsperson, problem type, or work order.

The Building Operations Console enables you to manage work efficiently. The row for each request includes only the action buttons appropriate to the work's status. These buttons enable you to quickly update work as it moves through your workflow process. Clicking these quick action buttons presents a form that has the most commonly entered information for that action. In some cases, there is no data entry needed; clicking the button advances the status and gives you a message that describes what this action means.

The following icons give further information about an action:

If an action is required, it has a red star.
If an action has been completed, it has a green check mark.
If an action cannot be performed until another required action is completed, the action has a red stop icon . This means another action button in the row is required, and will have a red star to indicate this. Once the required action is completed, the stop icon is removed and the restricted button is enabled..

If you want to enter additional information, click the Update button for the request.

If a work requests has been estimated or scheduled, the button has a check mark to indicate that this action has been taken. For other actions, such as Issue, the action advances the work to the next status without any data entry needed. For example, issuing an approved work request moves the request to the Issued and in Process grouping.

The following shows the Building Operations Console with the quick action buttons for Approved work requests.

Bulk updating work

Often you will have multiple work requests to process at once. By selecting multiple requests that have the same status, you can select the multi-select actions to act on all the selected requests at once.

For example, click multiple Approved requests that are ready to be worked on to issue them in one operation.

If the action requires you to enter data, the form shows only the information that is likely to be the same for multiple requests.

Adding data as you work

If you don't yet have the data you need entered into the system, you can add it directly from the forms accessed from the Building Operations Console. For example, if you want to assign a craftsperson that has not yet been added, you can do so from the Select Values form for selecting a craftsperson. The Add New button is available for all data except parts and tools. These items must be added as background data.