Punchlists, now integrated into XForms

 What is a punchlist?

Some people call it “discrepancies”.  Some call it “deficiencies” or “issues”.  In construction and commissioning, and how we refer to it at XForms, a punchlist is basically a way of identifying a problem, giving it a priority level, and assigning responsibility to someone to get it resolved.   

Punchlist tightly integrated into Cx App

In XForms, we’ve tightly integrated punchlist creation and resolution into the platform.  Here’s how it works:

• A field tech identifies an issue with either something specific to a device/piece of equipment being commissioned, or a general issue not directly related to a specific device (like housekeeping, safety, etc)
• Using the XForms Cx mobile app, the field tech creates the punchlist record, enters some information about what the problem is, priority level of getting it resolved, who is responsible, etc. Photos and draw layer on top of photos is also supported, so the punchlist record can contain this sort of detail.
• On the web reporting side, the punchlist record appears in the…wait for it…Punchlist screen.  From here, the commissioning manager(s) can view these details, print the punchlist record to PDF and share it with others, change the priority level, and mark the record as completed and/or closed.
• Back on the mobile app, punchlist records that are marked as either completed will appear on the mobile app dashboard.  When the field tech verifies that the issue has been resolved, they can quickly mark the record as closed.

Enter a punchlist/discrepancy using the mobile app

With XForms Cx Mobile, you can start a punchlist from 3 different places:

• From the punchlist menu (for recording general issues not related to a specific device or piece of equipment)
• From a device’s “forms” screen
• Directly from a commissioning form

Here’s some screenshots of an iPhone showing you the 3 different areas where you can start a punchlist record:

Fill out your punchlist info

If you start a punchlist from a device’s “forms” screen or directly from within a commissioning form, XForms will auto-populate the punchlist form with your device’s header information.  This includes:

• Project #
• device_id (a.k.a. tag_id)
• device description
• system code associated with that device
• Punchlist originator (i.e., the user entering the info)
• Date reported
• Geolocation of where the punchlist is being filled out

From here, the field tech can enter other details, such as:

• The responsible party for the discrepancy/issue/punchlist
• Expect4ed completion date
• Priority level
• Detailed description
• Photos that can be drawn on top of

Here’s what this form looks like on an iPhone:

View and manage punchlist records from a dashboard

When a field tech enters a punchlist record in the field, it will automatically appear on the Cx reporting web app.  From here, an admin or Cx manager can:

• View the punchlist details
• Print the punchlist to PDF and share it with others
• Edit some details of the punchlist record (e.g., priority, responsible party, expected completion date)
• Mark a punchlist as either completed or closed, along with the respective dates

Here’s a screenshot of what that looks like:

Get your field techs to verify that the issue was resolved

XForms uses simple “Completed” and “Closed” switches to denote when a punchlist item has been fixed/resolved, and when it has been actually verified to be resolved.  You can see these simple toggles in the screenshot above.

On the mobile app, a field tech can very quickly view their punchlist dashboard and filter it to only show items that have been open but completed but not verified.  Then they can tap on the punchlist record and mark it as closed once they have verified that the issue has been actually resolved.  Here’s a screenshot of what the punchlist dashboard looks like on an iPad.

An end-to-end loop for punchlists, integrated elegantly into XForms

Little by little, our XForms Cx platform keeps improving.  Slow and steady, methodically and thoughtfully. We prefer to add functionality and features into our software like this, always thinking about the simplest way to do something without adding unnecessary complexity to the system, even if it takes longer to develop and roll out. After all, we believe that the busy folks using the software prefer something that just works, and is simple enough to understand without a giant learning curve, and something that takes as little time as possible to actually use, so that they can focus on other more important tasks at hand.

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