An issue is a fault or concern on a vehicle that someone needs to look at: a worn tyre, a warning light, a cracked mirror. Issues are raised automatically when an inspection item fails, or by hand by anyone with permission, including a driver.
The issue list
Open Fleet Management › Issues. You need Issues › View; with View (own) you see issues assigned to you, reported by you or created by you.
| Column | Notes |
|---|---|
| No. | The issue number. Links to the issue. |
| Title | |
| Vehicle | |
| Priority | Low, Medium, High or Critical. |
| Status | Open, In progress, Resolved, Closed or Won't fix. |
| Assignee | The person it is assigned to. |
| Due | The due date, or "—". |
| Business unit | Shown only when your organization has business units. |
Filters narrow the list by status, priority, vehicle and assignee ("Anyone"). With business units, the funnel icon opens a Business unit filter. Report issue appears with Issues › Create.
Report an issue
- Select Report issue, or Report issue on a vehicle's profile or on My Fleet. You need Issues › Create and view access to the vehicle.
- Choose the Vehicle (required), enter What is wrong? (required, up to 200 characters) and optional Details.
- Choose the Priority (required, starting at Medium), optionally Assign to someone (otherwise the default assignee from Fleet settings, if one is set) and a Due date.
- Select Report issue. A toast says "Issue reported" and the issue opens.
The issue's Source is Driver when it is reported by the driver the vehicle is assigned to, otherwise Manual. Issues from failed inspection items have the source Inspection. When your organization's setting is that staff enter records, a driver cannot report an issue here unless they also hold Issues › View (all): they are told "Your organization records this for you." A sold or disposed vehicle takes no new issues: "A sold or disposed vehicle takes no new issues."
An issue takes the business unit of its vehicle.
The issue profile
The header shows the title, priority, status, number and vehicle. The detail card shows who it is Assigned to, Reported by, the Driver, the Due date, the Source, the inspection that raised it with a link and the item that failed, the Resolved on date, the Details and the Resolution. The History table lists every status change with when, from, to and the note.
With Issues › Edit on it you also see the status buttons and Edit. Edit changes the title, details, priority, assignee ("Nobody" clears it) and due date. "The selected assignee is not a member of this team." is shown if you pick someone who has left.
Statuses and allowed changes
| From | You can move it to | Button |
|---|---|---|
| Open | In progress, Resolved, Closed, Won't fix | Start work, Mark resolved, Close, Won't fix |
| In progress | Open, Resolved | Reopen, Mark resolved |
| Resolved | Closed, Open | Close, Reopen |
| Closed or Won't fix | Open | Reopen |
Pressing a button opens a box with an optional Note; select Confirm. A toast says "Status updated". The note is kept in the history, and, when the issue is resolved, closed or marked won't fix, is also shown as the Resolution. Any other move is refused: "An issue that is Closed cannot be moved to Resolved." (naming the two statuses). Resolving, closing or marking won't fix sets Resolved on; reopening clears it.
Create a work order
An open issue can be sent to Maintenance as a work order, so the repair is planned, costed and tracked there.
- Open an issue whose status is Open. You need Issues › Edit and Maintenance › Work Orders › Create; the button is not shown without both.
- Select Create work order.
- In the box, tick the Issues to include. The list shows the other open issues of the same vehicle, and the current one is ticked. Several issues of one vehicle can go on one work order.
- Check the Name (it starts as the title of the issue, or the first issue ticked), the Due date, Assign to (a member of your organization, or Nobody), the Vendor (or In house) and the Description. Leave the description empty to list the chosen issues.
- Select Create work order. A toast says "Work order #number created" and the work order opens in Maintenance.
The work order is a Corrective work order for the vehicle. At once, every issue on it moves to In progress with the note "Work order #number created" in its history, and the issue profile shows a Work order link. Only Open issues can be added: "Only open issues can go on a work order." A sold or disposed vehicle takes no new work orders.
What happens as the work order is worked in Maintenance:
| In Maintenance | Effect on the vehicle and its issues |
|---|---|
| Start | The vehicle's status becomes In shop, remembering the status it had. If another started work order already has the vehicle in the shop, it stays there until both are finished. |
| Put on hold | No change. |
| Complete work order | The vehicle returns to the status it had before (only if it is still In shop). Every issue still In progress on the work order is marked Resolved with the note "Work order #number completed". Any odometer and engine hours entered on completion are recorded as meter readings. The work order's Cost, if any, is posted as a cost on the vehicle, see Costs. Any service on the same work order is marked done. |
| Cancel | The vehicle returns to its earlier status, the issues go back to Open with the note "Work order #number cancelled" and no longer point at the work order, and any cost posted for it is removed. |
An issue that someone already moved on by hand (for example closed) is left alone when the work order completes. If the critical-defect hold applies, it is cleared as the issue is resolved, as in Critical defects; an issue that is reopened by a cancelled work order puts the hold back.
A work order created from Fleet is linked to its issues, so its origin vehicle cannot be changed in Maintenance: "This work order is linked to its origin and cannot be moved to another record."
Critical defects
A critical defect is a Critical issue that is Open or In progress. It happens when a critical inspection item fails, or when someone reports or edits an issue with priority Critical (the form warns you).
When a vehicle first gets a critical defect:
- The vehicle shows a Critical defect badge on its profile, a warning triangle in the vehicle list and a warning on My Fleet.
- The fleet managers listed in Fleet settings, and the vehicle's own manager, are notified.
- What else happens depends on When a critical inspection item fails in Fleet settings:
| Setting | Effect on an Active vehicle |
|---|---|
| Flag the vehicle (default) | Only the flag. A manager decides whether to take the vehicle out of service. |
| Take the vehicle out of service straight away | The vehicle's status becomes Out of service, with the reason "Critical defect: item". A vehicle that is not Active keeps its status. |
The flag clears by itself when no open critical issue remains on the vehicle, for example when the issue is resolved or its priority is lowered. Clearing the flag never changes the status: a vehicle taken out of service stays out until someone returns it. Reopening a finished critical issue puts the hold back.
Return a vehicle to service
With Vehicles › Edit and the permission Take out of / return to service:
- Open the vehicle and select Change status.
- Choose Active. While a critical defect is held, the form warns: "This vehicle has an open critical defect. Returning it to service overrides that hold and needs a reason."
- Enter the Reason and select Update status.
The reason is kept in the vehicle's History. Better practice is to resolve the critical issue first; returning the vehicle while the issue is still open overrides the hold, and the flag stays until the issue is resolved or closed.
Current limitations
- An issue cannot be deleted.
- Notifications about critical defects go to the people named in Fleet settings and the vehicle's manager only; the person an issue is assigned to is not notified.