Daily Guides for Shop Teams

Introduction

A shop day has a shape: people arrive, somebody works out who is on what, the work moves, and progress gets recorded so tomorrow can be planned. This is that day in order, with a pointer to the guide for each part.

If you are new and only read one page first, read this one. Everything below is a short version of a fuller guide.

Your Day, In Order

1. People Check In

Attendance is how Building Swell knows who is actually here. You do not have to check somebody in before giving them work, because assigning them checks them in, but a morning sweep of who is in and who is absent is the fastest way to start. See Attendance.

2. Open Build

Build is the shop floor screen: every active order, the stages on it, and who is working each one. Click the hard hat icon at the bottom left, or tap the Build circle in the bottom bar on a phone or tablet. See Build.

3. Assign the Crew

Put people on stages. You can do it one at a time from the Assign panel, jump straight in from an order card, or use batch mode to cover several stages and people at once. Anyone marked out of office carries a clock beside their name, so you find out before you assign them. See Daily Team Planning.

4. Let the Work Run

Time is recorded against the work as people go, which is what makes the timesheets come out right at the end of the week without anybody reconstructing the day from memory. See Tracking Time.

On the floor itself, QR codes save most of the typing. Scan a person, scan the order, and they are checked into that station. Scan an order to pull up its drawings or its details. See Using QR Codes.

5. Update Progress

Progress is the part that pays off tomorrow. A stage marked done moves the order along, and a stage put on hold tells everyone why the work stopped without a phone call. See Stage and Project Progress.

6. Set Up Tomorrow

You can assign people who have not clocked in yet. The assignment waits for them and they see their work as soon as they check in. Departments can also do this automatically as people arrive. See Daily Team Planning.

Tips

• Assign before people arrive, not after. A crew that walks in to work already on their name loses no time at the start of the shift.

• Update progress as it happens. Catching a whole day up at 4pm is where the errors come from.

• Use the QR codes. They exist because typing on a phone in a shop is slow and gets things wrong.

• Check the clock icons. They are the difference between a plan and a plan that survives contact with who actually turned up.

FAQ

Do I have to check people in before assigning them?

No. Assigning somebody checks them in for you.

Somebody came in who was marked off. Can I still give them work?

Yes. The clock beside their name is information, not a lock.

Can I plan tomorrow today?

Yes. Assign people who have not clocked in and the work waits for them.

Conclusion

Check in, open Build, assign the crew, keep progress current, and set up tomorrow before you leave. Each step has a fuller guide behind it, and the video below walks the whole day end to end.

Video walkthrough

Walkthrough for Daily Shop Management