About Bundle Task

What is a Bundle Task?

Let's assume a technician needs to take 120 meter readings in the same small geographic area (e.g. a neighbourhood), all in the same timeframe (e.g. a single day, single afternoon, etc). Each of the 120 tasks are only a minute or two in duration, the "travel" between each job is minimal (walking from one property or set of meters to the next). Schedulers want to be able to define and create a single task that consists of the 120 child-tasks that can be scheduled once, with a single duration (2-3 hours in this example) and executed as the assigned technician sees fit (order or job execution does not necessarily matter).

Bundled Tasks provide the ability to group multiple individual Work Tasks into a single piece of work. A task bundle can be both scheduled and executed as one, saving both time and effort for Dispatchers and Field Technicians, while still respecting the constraints and planning on each individual task.

A Bundle Task can include tasks from Work Orders.

Creating a Bundle Task

It is possible to connect existing work tasks to a Bundle Task. The bundle is created from the Work Tasks overview screens. It is possible to add additional tasks to an existing Bundle as long as the Bundle Task status is below Work Done.

When Work Tasks are bundled, the duration will be calculated automatically based on the duration of each individual task included. Let's assume you include 3 Work Tasks, each with a duration of 15 minutes, the bundle task duration would be 45 minutes. The calculated duration can be adjusted if required.

Each task included in a bundle will be excluded from scheduling.

Note: It is not allowed to bundle work tasks from different companies on the Work Tasks page. You cannot add work tasks from other companies to an existing work task. When child work tasks connected to bundle tasks belong to different sites and you do not have access to the sites of those work tasks, you will not be able to see them.

Planning and Scheduling

When a Bundle Task has been created, it is possible to define resource demands for person, crew and tool, a bundle task address and planned start and finish dates. The Resource Demands from the individual tasks are not inherited and will be excluded from demand planning and scheduling. The bundle can then be assigned to a resource for execution. Once assigned, it is possible to transfer the bundle to mobile for execution.

Assignments

Work Assignments are created for the resources that are allocated to perform the task bundle. These assignments can be executed in IFS Cloud Web or be transferred and executed in the mobile clients.

Status handling

The Bundle Task status drives the status of the included tasks. Work Assignments in the connected work tasks will be cancelled when bundled. More detailed information about Status Handling.

Time Reporting and Distribution

Time reporting on a Bundle Task will create work task transactions on the Bundle Task, which will be the reference to the work task transactions created on the connected work tasks. The Bundle Task Transaction will however not have accounting lines and will not be transferred to finance. Time reporting can be done from IFS Cloud Web or from the mobile clients.
It is possible to decide how reported time should be distributed to the connected work tasks. Three options are available:

The default distribution method is controlled by setting the Object Property BND_TASK_COST_DIST to either EQUAL, MANUAL or PERCENTAGE.

For more detailed information about time reporting, you can refer Report Time On Bundle Task

Material Handling

Already planned material requirements and returns on connected work tasks can be issued or returned on the Bundle Task.
Transactions will be created directly on the connected work tasks, the same as on an individual Work Task. Material issue can be done from IFS Cloud Web or from the mobile clients.

Material Preparation on Bundle Task

When a bundle task is created, you cannot continue by planning and preparing material information on the bundle task level. On bundle task, you will only be able to handle the already planned and prepared materials on the connected tasks.

To view information from the Return to Inventory assistant, the login user needs to have site-specific access, which can be granted using the Site per User page.

You can also view information about each part from the inventory register in IFS/Inventory. 

When the required material is issued, a cost line will be created with transaction source Inventory and Cost Type Material on the connected work tasks.

Expenses and External Cost

Expenses and External Cost can be reported on both, the individual tasks and on the bundle task itself.

Summary of Bundle Task

Once a bundle has been executed it is possible to view a summary of transactions which include: