Since Eptura Asset has the operator companion inspection app that allows scanning an asset's QR code to perform the inspection, hours should be logged as well. If the architecture prevents logging hours in an inspection, then possibly having Eptura Asset generate a WO at the start of the inspection would be a feasible solution.

Use Case Story

Current State:
We operate a large campus where maintenance technicians perform inspection "rounds" twice daily Monday through Friday and once daily on weekends. During weekdays, the inspections are split between technicians and typically take 45-60 minutes per person. On Saturdays and Sundays, a single technician completes the entire route, requiring approximately 1.5-2 hours.

These rounds involve walking more than a mile across campus and visiting numerous mechanical rooms. Technicians scan QR codes at each inspectable asset using their native cell phone camera, which provides a timestamp for each inspection. However, there is currently no mechanism to capture the labor associated with a group of inspections or the overall route.

A significant portion of the labor involved in inspection rounds is the travel time between assets and mechanical rooms. While inspection completion is recorded, the labor spent performing the rounds is not.

Current Workaround:
To account for this missing labor, we created a separate "Daily Rounds" PM schedule that generates a work order each day. Technicians must then manually log their time against that work order while also completing inspections in the Operator Companion App. This creates additional administrative effort, introduces opportunities for inaccurate time entry, and separates labor data from the inspections themselves.

Desired Solution:
Enable technicians to record labor directly within the inspection workflow, either by allowing labor entry on inspections or by providing a start/stop labor tracking feature that spans an entire inspection route. This would provide more accurate labor reporting, reduce administrative burden, and ensure the true cost of inspection activities is captured within the inspection record itself.

Use Case Story: Labor Tracking for Operators Completing Inspections
Title

Enable Labor Hours and Labor Cost Tracking for Operators on Inspections Completed Through the Operator Companion App

Business Problem

Many Enterprise customers rely on Operators to perform routine inspections as part of their daily operational workflows. While the system currently allows labor hours and labor costs to be captured when a Technician performs work on a Work Order or Service Task, the same capability is not available when an Operator completes an Inspection through the Operator Companion App.

This creates a gap in labor reporting and prevents organizations from accurately measuring the total labor investment associated with inspections and preventive maintenance activities performed by Operators.

User Story

As an Operations Manager,

I want labor hours and labor costs to be captured when Operators complete inspections through the Operator Companion App,

So that I can accurately track labor utilization, calculate maintenance costs, report on workforce productivity, and include operator-performed work in total cost of ownership and asset maintenance analyses.

Current State
Technicians can record labor hours and labor costs on Work Orders.
Labor can be captured even when an Inspection is completed as a Service Task within a Work Order.
Operators completing inspections through the Operator Companion App cannot record labor hours or labor costs.
Labor associated with operator inspections is omitted from maintenance and operational reporting.
Desired Future State

When an Operator completes an Inspection within the Operator Companion App:

Labor hours are automatically calculated based on inspection duration or manually entered by the Operator.
Labor cost is calculated using configured labor rates or predefined operator cost rates.
Labor records are stored alongside the completed inspection.
Labor data is available in reporting, dashboards, exports, and analytics.
Managers can compare inspection performance and costs regardless of whether work was performed by a Technician or an Operator.
Example Scenario

A manufacturing company requires forklift operators to complete daily safety inspections at the beginning of every shift.

Today:

Operators complete inspection checklists.
Inspection completion is recorded.
No labor time or labor cost is captured.

With the enhancement:

The Operator opens the inspection in the Companion App.
The inspection requires 15 minutes to complete.
The system records 0.25 labor hours.
The Operator's configured labor rate is $32/hour.
The system calculates and records an inspection labor cost of $8.00.
Supervisors can include this cost in maintenance and operational labor reporting.
Business Value
Financial Visibility
Captures the true cost of inspections and operator-performed maintenance activity.
Improves asset lifecycle and maintenance cost reporting.
Labor Utilization Tracking
Provides visibility into time spent performing inspections.
Helps organizations balance workloads across operators and technicians.
Consistent Reporting
Creates parity between Technician and Operator labor tracking.
Eliminates manual effort required to estimate operator labor costs.
Enterprise Customer Demand
Addresses a commonly requested capability from Enterprise customers who rely heavily on Operator-led inspection programs.
Supports industries such as manufacturing, logistics, transportation, warehousing, and facilities management.
Acceptance Criteria
Operators can record labor hours when completing an inspection in the Operator Companion App.
Labor hours can be manually entered or automatically calculated from inspection duration.
Labor costs are calculated using defined operator labor rates.
Labor records are associated with the completed inspection record.
Labor data is included in reports, exports, and analytics.
Organizations can configure whether labor tracking is required, optional, or hidden for Operators.
Historical inspection data remains unchanged unless labor information is explicitly added.
Success Metrics
Reduction in manual labor-cost calculations.
Increased adoption of Operator Companion inspections among Enterprise customers.
Improved accuracy of maintenance and operational cost reporting.
Positive feedback from Enterprise customers requesting labor visibility for operator-performed inspections.

Expected Outcome: Organizations gain complete labor and cost visibility across all inspection activities, regardless of whether the work is performed by a Technician or an Operator.