Yacht maintenance work primarily consists of recurring tasks. Some of them are more important and require more attention. Others are less important and can thus be done in a more timely manner. In any case, it’s important to categorize tasks based on their importance level. And the best way to do this is by tagging them accordingly.
In this article, we give a short intro to the priority feature of PlanM8. We explain where the button is located, how to indicate the priority of new periodic tasks, and how to adjust the importance of existing tasks. Let’s get started.
Indicating the importance of tasks
The priority button helps PlanM8 users mark the importance of upcoming tasks. By doing so, the crew knows which tasks need quick and critical attention, and which are less important.
Users with owner’s permission roles can create new tasks and indicate their level of importance by selecting from several options that are depicted in colors. You can see the priority indication on the top-right corner of upcoming periodic tasks.
Each color indicates a different level of importance:
- Red (Critical tasks) - These are tasks directly related to the vessel's insurance and are therefore a priority. When attending to critical tasks, the crew is prompted to be particularly attentive and collaborative with all involved parties.
- Orange (High-importance tasks) - These are tasks related to the essential systems of your vessel. This can include engine services, generators, electrical supply systems, and steering gear. They are not critical, meaning that there is some lead way to their attendance, but if not completed in a timely manner, they may affect the vessel’s warranty.
- Green (Moderate-importance tasks) - Moderate-importance tasks are related to non-essential systems, like fresh water pumps, water filters, lifeboats, and air conditions. Not attending to them will probably not cause immediate damage to the vessel, but more to the experience of the people onboard.
Add priority to new periodic tasks
The process of choosing the priority level of new periodic tasks is simple. From the app’s dashboard, click on Components. From here, select the component of the system you want to create a task for.
Once the component is selected, tap on Periodic Tasks to see all the tasks, their description, priority, and triggers.
Tap on NEW PERIODIC TASK to create a new recurring assignment. If this is the first time you’re creating a task, our software will walk you through the steps you need to follow.
After you briefly read through the slides, add all relevant information to the task and select its level of priority. To do this, click on the priority bar. From there, a box will pop up prompting you to select the importance of the task.
Once you indicate the level of importance, click on Ok and continue creating the task (add description, trigger rules, etc). Finalize the creation of the new task by clicking on SAVE PERIODIC TASK.
Edit the priority level of existing periodic tasks
To edit the priority of existing periodic tasks, start by following the same steps as before. Fro the dashboard, go to Components, select your component, and tap on Periodic Tasks. From there, find the task you want to adjust, and tap on the three vertical buttons located on the right side. Then, click on Edit.
From there, you can start making adjustments. Tap on the Priority bar and change the task’s importance level as you deem necessary. Then, click on Ok.
Similar to the previous example you can now tap on SAVE PERIODIC TASK to finish and save the adjustments you made.
Benefits of task prioritization
- Ensures insurance coverage - By tagging important tasks as critical, the crew is more attentive to their execution. More notes and photos can be added to the task to enrich the history of its attendance, thus ensuring proper insurance coverage.
- Indicates the order of task execution - By tagging tasks in a particular order of importance, the crew is able to prioritize certain tasks on busy days. This way, critical tasks are always attended in a timely manner which leads to improved workflow.
- Timely cross-departmental communication - Upcoming critical tasks may require the communication of multiple parties. For example, the engineer may need to be in direct communication with the captain of the vessel. In this case, both parties can prepare accordingly, saving both time and potential hassle.
Improve planning and task overview - In the Planning section, tasks are always positioned according to their priority level. Critical tasks are placed on top, followed by high-importance tasks, with moderate tasks placed at the bottom. This gives a better overview to the crew and improves overall planning. Note that overdue tasks are placed above all newer tasks; this can affect the order of priority in the Planning section.