Equipment on tasks

A task carries the machines it needs the same way it carries crew. You say which machine types the task requires and how many, then, separately, assign the actual units or people that fill those slots. The demand shows on Crew planning and in the crew and equipment reports.

Where to find it#

Equipment lives in the Equipment column, which is hidden until you show it (right-click a column header, then Add or show columns…). You fill it from the Crew & equipment popup rather than by typing in the cell. Any of these opens the popup:

• press Shift+F2 on a task's row;
• right-click the row, then Crew & equipment…;
• click into the task's Equipment cell (a character you type there starts the popup's search);
• click the ▾ button at the right edge of an active Crew cell, or press Alt+↓ while typing in one. This works even when the Equipment column is hidden.

Types and quantities#

In the popup's EQUIPMENT section, type in Add equipment… to pick one of your company's machine types, then set the quantity with the − and + buttons or by typing a number. Mark a line you can't fill yet with its ? button (still to find), the same idea as ? on a crew line. A type your company doesn't list can still be added to this one task.

The popup's CREW section works the same way. Type in Add a trade or person… to pick one of your company's trades or a person from the roster, then set how many with − and +. Type a number first, such as 2 carp, to add two at once. Picking a person adds a line for their trade, or one more on the line already there when it is full, and fills it with them. Someone who is off, away or retired is listed with the reason and can't be picked, and someone already on the task reads <name> is already on this task. The Crew cell then reads as if you had typed it, such as 2 Carpenter. You can still type crew straight into the Crew column; see Crew planning.

Pasting and importing#

You can still paste a whole list from a spreadsheet, or bring one in with an import, for example 135 Excavator, 2x Haul Truck, Roller?. Unlike crew, a leading bare number is part of the machine's name: 2 Roller is one machine type called "2 Roller", not two rollers. Write 2x Roller for a quantity.

Assigning units and people#

Each required line has a button to fill it: + Assign machine for equipment, + Assign person for crew. The picker lists your own group's people or machines first. Other groups are folded under an "Other groups" line that opens when you click it or search. A machine that is down, or a person who is away, is shown but can't be picked, with the reason beside it (for example Retired, or down until a date).

When you fill a slot with a roster person who is linked to a login, they are also added to the task's Assigned To, so the task shows up in their My tasks. A roster name with no login fills the slot but is not added.

+ Assign person books a person for the whole task. To book someone for only some of its days, use the People page. The popup counts people by the day: a crew line reads its fewest-staffed day, such as 2 of 3 filled · unfilled on 1 of 5 days, and a chip names a partial booking's days, read-only, such as Worker 015 · Mon–Tue. Unpicking a person in the picker removes every booking of theirs on that line.

If you pick a unit that is already assigned elsewhere in this project on overlapping dates, the popup warns you, naming the other task and its dates. It never blocks you: two machines can share a yard on paper. The warning only covers this one project. To see a unit booked on two projects on the same day, and which machines sit idle, open the Resource assignments report; see Crew and equipment reports.

Type versus unit#

135 Excavator names a type of machine; 2x in front of it is the quantity the task needs. Assigning two specific units fills both slots. The type line is never a count of machines you already have on hand. That count comes from your company's fleet on Roster & equipment.

Tools#

Tools are a plain checklist of what the crew should bring, not equipment: nothing tracks them. Show the hidden Tools column (it is listed under Crew, people & equipment in Add or show columns…) and type a comma list, such as Level, String line, Form oil. The task's pane on Work lists the same tools under Tools needed, with an Add a tool… field. Tools reach crew links and print on the crew handout.

• A task lists up to 20 tools of up to 60 characters each; a repeat is ignored.
• Once the column is shown, it prints in the grid, copy and paste, CSV, Excel and PDF. Hidden, as it starts, it changes no export.
• CSV and Excel imports have no Tools field, so a re-imported export comes back without them.
• A tool you need to track, for availability or conflicts, belongs in equipment instead.

Applying and copying#

Apply saves the popup's changes to the task; Ctrl+Enter (or Cmd+Enter) applies and Esc cancels. With several rows selected, a button that reads "Apply to 3 selected rows" (your count) copies the equipment types and counts to every selected row; the named people and machines stay on the row you opened.

Copying or duplicating a task keeps its required crew and equipment, and its tools, but drops the people and machines filling its slots; its Assigned To stays. A project template, and a copy of a whole project (Make a copy…, or New project from this in History), drop both, so a copied project plans clean: it doesn't book last year's crew on day one.

Who can use it#

Typed and pasted equipment works everywhere, including local mode and the demo. Assigning specific units and people needs a connected company with a fleet and a roster. Field accounts see who and what is assigned, and the tools, read-only, in the task pane on Work. See Who can see and do what.

Good to know#

• A task holds up to 12 machine types, and up to 99 of each.
• A task can have up to 40 people and machines assigned.
• Removing a type that has machines assigned asks whether to release them too (Release or Keep).
• Share links carry the type and trade names, never anything that identifies a record behind them.
• Tasks that genuinely share machines can be joined in a coverage set, so the machines are counted once.