HOMEBUILDER:  CONSTRUCTION WORKFLOW TEMPLATES

Overview of the Local Construction Workflow Templates

The concept of the workflow is to create a sequence of tasks through which a home-building process passes from initiation to completion.

The Workflow Template is the definition of a workflow that will be used to define the workflow for each of the Lots. To access, open a Lot Card and click Workflows Cue on the right-hand side Infopane.

Scheduling can be done in the following modes:

• Ends at Closing.
  • Workflow is scheduled in such a way that it should be completed at a Lot Closing Date.
• From Start Date.
  • Workflow is scheduled forward starting from a given date.
• Manual.
  • Scheduling is to be done manually or not done at all.

"Construction Workflow Templates" have a local scope, which means each Company has its own list.

To define workflow templates, open the page "Construction Workflow Templates" by searching for it or by navigating to a Roles Center (i.e., Homebuilder - Setup - Construction Workflow Templates).

"Construction" Workflow or Not?

You set a workflow as a construction workflow type in order that it appears on the site super's menu. These are accessed from the Lot - Task Operations button.

All other workflows are typically handled in the office and accessed from the Lot - Workflows button. Both can be found under the "Related" button on the Lot page.

To make the workflow to be a "Construction" type, click on the flag called "Construction Workflow".

Actions on the Page

To access, search Construction Workflow Templates.

• Workflow Tasks: navigates to the Workflow Task List for the selected template.
• Push to Lots: deploys templates to create lot-specific tasks by selecting templates, pressing Push to Lots, choosing target lots, then Push Workflows.
• Push to Models: makes the selected templates available on the Models you choose. See Push to Models below. 
• Copy to Global Catalog: copies the selected template into the global Construction Workflow Templates so other companies can pick them up. If a template of the same Code already exists in the global catalog, the system warns you that it will be completely replaced along with its Tasks and Predecessors, and asks you to confirm.
• Copy to another Workflow Template: copies the current template’s content into a different template, so you can build a variation without re-entering every task.
• Copy from another Company: transfers workflow templates from another company into the current one.
• Print: generates the Template Tasks and Predecessor report showing tasks and predecessors for the selected templates.

 

Push to Lots

This option takes your templates and sets up the Lot-specific tasks.

1. In the page "Construction Workflow Templates", select the workflow templates to push.
2. Press "Push to Lot".
3. In the page "Push Workflows to Lots", select target lots.
4. Press "Push Workflows".

Push to Models

Push to Lots creates the actual tasks on a Lot. Push to Models does something different and earlier: it records which Construction Workflow Templates are applicable to a Model. It is the step that tells the system “this workflow belongs to this house type”, so that everyone working on those Models knows which workflow set to use.

1. Open Construction Workflow Templates.
2. Select one or more templates. If nothing is selected, the action stops with “No Workflows were selected.”
3. Press Push to Models. The Push Workflow Templates to Models page opens, listing Models by Phase Code and Model Code, and showing Model Name and Elevation.
4. Select the target Models. If you have a default Phase filter set in your HomeBuilder user settings, the list is pre-filtered to that Phase or Phases; clear the filter if you need to see everything.
5. Press Push to Models on that page. If no Models are selected the action stops with “No Models were selected.”
6. The system confirms with “The selected Workflows have been pushed to selected Models.”

What the System Creates

For every combination of selected Model and selected Template, the system does two things.

1. It adds the template to the Model’s applicable workflows. A record is created linking the Phase, the Model and the Workflow Template, and carrying the template’s Construction Workflow and Décor Workflow flags. If the link already exists it is left as it is, so the action is safe to re-run.

2. It makes sure the Model has the Key Dates the workflow needs. The system reads every task of the template, takes the Start Key Date Code and End Key Date Code of each task, and creates the corresponding Model Key Date where it is missing, inheriting the Key Date’s sorting order. This is the part that is easy to overlook and the main reason to use the action rather than adding the links by hand: a workflow whose tasks are anchored to Key Dates cannot schedule correctly on a Model that does not have those Key Dates defined.

Seeing the Result

Open the Model Card and run the Applicable Workflows action. The Model Workflows page lists the templates pushed to that Model, with Workflow Code and Name, Scheduling, and the Construction Workflow and Décor Workflow flags. The Model also carries a No. of Applicable Workflows count.

To remove a workflow from a Model, delete the line on the Model Workflows page.

Where It Fits in the Setup Sequence

1. Create the Construction Workflow Template and its Tasks, including the Start and End Key Dates on each task.
2. Push to Models  —  establishes which Models the workflow applies to and completes the Models’ Key Dates.
3. Push to Lots  —  creates the actual tasks on the individual Lots.

Running Push to Models before Push to Lots is the safer sequence, because it surfaces missing Model Key Dates at the Model level, where one fix covers every Lot of that Model, rather than at the Lot level.

Copy to Global Catalog

Copy to Global Catalog takes the selected template(s) and publishes them into the Global Construction Workflow Templates catalog (see Global Construction Workflow Templates, below), so other companies can pick them up from there. For each template it copies the Name and Scheduling setting, every Task, and the Task Predecessors; any Key Date (and its Key Date Category) that a Task uses as its Start or End Key Date is copied into the global catalog too if it is not already there, so a company that later brings the template in also gets the Key Dates it depends on.

Copy to another Workflow Template

Copy to another Workflow Template works on one template at a time, the template currently selected. It always creates a new template rather than changing an existing one, unlike the other actions on this list. Running it opens a small dialog asking for a New WF Template Code and a New WF Template Name; both are required, and neither can match the Code or Name of a template that already exists (Name is checked without regard to case), or the action stops with an error naming the conflicting template. Once confirmed, the new template is created with the same Scheduling and Construction Workflow / Décor Workflow settings as the source, together with a copy of every Task and Task Predecessor, giving you a complete, independent starting point rather than an empty template.

Copy from another Company

Does what it says. This action is useful when you create a new company and need to copy all workflow templates from another Company.

Print

This action prints the report, which shows the tasks of the selected workflow template and their task predecessors.

Why Choose Global or Local scope for your workflows?

If you have the same templates, tasks, etc. for each company, choose to use the Global tables instead of the Local ones (both listed below).

When in doubt choose local. You can always copy from one company to another or create your new company from a template company (if you have created one).

List of Global Pages:

• Global Construction Workflow Templates.
• Associated Pages:
  • Global Key Date Categories.
  • Global Key Dates.
  • Global Key Date Templates.

List of local Pages

• Construction Workflow Templates.
• Associated Pages:
  • Key Date Categories.
  • Key Dates.
  • Key Date Templates.

Global Key Date Categories

To define Global Key Date Categories, open the page "Global Key Date Categories" by searching it or by navigating to a Roles Center (i.e. Homebuilder, then Setup, and lastly select Key Date Categories).

• "Global Key Date Categories" have global scope, which means once setup in one company, they are available for use in all companies.
• Global Key Date Categories get pushed to local companies on pushing Global Construction Workflow Templates to Lots.

Global Key Dates

The define Global Key Dates, open the page "Global Key Dates" by searching it or by navigating to a Roles Center (i.e. Homebuilder - Setup - Global Key Dates).

• "Global Key Dates" have global scope, which means once setup in one company, they are available for use in all companies.
• Global Key Date Categories get pushed to local companies on pushing Global Construction Workflow Templates to Lots.

Global Key Date Templates

The define Global Key Dates, open the page "Global Key Date Templates" by searching it or by navigating to a Roles Center (i.e. Homebuilder - Setup - Global Key Date Templates).

• "Global Key Date Templates" have global scope, which means once setup in one company, they are available for use in all companies.
• The page Global Key Date Templates has an action "Key Dates".

Global Key Date Template Items

Action "Key Dates" opens the page "Global Key Date Template Items" which allows for defining which key dates belong to the template.

The page "Global Key Date Template Items" has the following actions:

• Add Key Dates.
  • Action "Add Key Dates" opens the page with a list of all key dates (retrieved from Global Key Dates). To add key dates to the template, select them and press "Add Key Dates".
• Copy to Key Date Template.
  • Action "Copy to Key Date Template" creates a new global key date template and copies selected key dates to it.

Global Construction Workflow Templates

To define global workflow templates, open the page "Global Construction Workflow Templates" by searching for it or by navigating to a Roles Center (i.e., Homebuilder, then Setup, and select Global Construction Workflow Templates). "Global Construction Workflow Templates" have a global scope, which means once set up in one company, they are available for use in all companies.

The page has the following actions:

• Workflow Tasks.
• Print.
• Push to Lots.

Note that Push to Models is available on local Construction Workflow Templates only. Global Construction Workflow Templates offer Workflow Tasks, Print and Push to Lots. To make a global template applicable to a Model, first bring it into the company — using Copy from another Company on the local Construction Workflow Templates page, or by pushing the global template to lots in the target company — and then run Push to Models from the local list.

Workflow Tasks (Global)

On the page Global Construction Workflow Templates, click Workflow Tasks Action to open Workflow Tasks. The page allows a user to define tasks for a selected workflow. To establish dependencies between tasks, a user defines task predecessors (none or many) for each task in the list of workflow tasks.

Each task can be assigned with Start Key Date Code and End Key Date Code.

At the time a task starts for a Lot, the Actual Date of the corresponding Lot Key Date (determined by "Start Key Date Code") will be assigned with the task Start Date. At the time a task gets completed, the Actual Date of the corresponding Lot Key Date (determined by "End Key Date Code") will be assigned with the task Start Date.

When the workflow for a Lot gets scheduled or re-scheduled, the "Scheduled Date" for Lot Key Dates will be assigned with scheduled start and completion dates for the respective tasks.

Print

This action prints the report, which shows the tasks of the selected global workflow template and their task predecessors.

Push to Lots

This action allows a user to instantiate workflows (Job Tasks and dependencies between them) for specific Lots using selected workflow templates.

1. In the page "Global Construction Workflow Templates", select the workflow templates to push.
2. Press "Push to Lot"
3. In the page "Push Workflows to Lots", select target lots in target companies.
4. Press "Push Workflows".