About Tasks

Configuring Tasks and incorporating them into your workflow can increase business process compliance and assist in workflow auditing.

You can create several types of Tasks, all of which appear on the Task List. To create Tasks:

• Configure Task Groups for your Chartering and Operations workflows.

• On the Task List, click +.

• Add Tasks to the Tasks panel.

• On the Task & Alert Rule Set List, create Rule Sets that define Tasks and Alerts to appear on the Tasks panel of a workspace.

The panel can include Tasks of the following statuses: 

• High Priority Tasks are highlighted with red.

• Unread Tasks are in bold.

• Not Started

• In Progress or Follow Up

• Completed or Canceled

• Not Started, should be In Progress (followed by the number of days until the Task is due)

• Overdue or Overdue (In Progress), should be Completed (followed by the number of days the Task is overdue)

• Task Groups are in italics.

For Tasks with attachments,  appears. Attachments linked to a Task will appear on other Voyages with the same Task. This is particularly useful when the document attached is applicable to all Tasks of the same kind across voyages.

Global and Workspace-Specific Tasks

As your business grows and your processes change, you can customize where and how your team manages Tasks. On the Task form, the Object Type field enables you to configure a Task to appear on the Tasks panel of a specific workspace or be globally available in the Task List.

1. Create or open a Task.

2. In the Object Type field, select one of the following and then, if applicable, enter information for the workspace where you want the Task to appear:

   • Global

   • Cargo: Enter the Cargo ID.

   • Time Charter: Enter the Vessel Name/Code and TC Code.

   • Voyage: Enter the Vessel Name/Code and Voy No.

   • Voyage Estimate: Enter the Estimate ID.

   • Vessel Vetting (when configuration flag CFGEnableVettingWorkflow is enabled)

Tasks in Chartering

Chartering Tasks help to ensure that every Fixture has been properly processed before fixing the business and performing the Operations hand-over. A Task-based workflow can reduce confusion between a Chartering team and an Operations team, by ensuring that everything is complete.

COA Nomination Tasks are copied to their Cargoes or VC Ins.

Tasks in Operations

Voyage Tasks are an everyday part of an operator's workflow. They are even more useful when combined with Voyage Templates. Voyage Templates may be set either by the Chartering team when fixing the voyage or by the operator after the voyage has been fixed. When a Voyage Template is added to a voyage, the linked Task Group is automatically populated.

Task Compliance

Tasks are only useful if they are used effectively. You can use several features related to Task compliance:

• The Task List gives an administrator, a super user, or a manager a global overview of all Tasks in the system. You can sort and filter on all Tasks delegated across the system, including Tasks from Cargoes, Estimates, and voyages.

• The Report Designer offers a Task data table when you click Show All Tables. From this data table, you can build a custom report with Task details and do your own sorting and filtering. You can set a Scheduled Task to email this report on a periodic basis to ensure timely compliance (for more information, see the Messaging Service Manual).

Adding or Editing a Task

User must have the Task and Alert Rule Set List permissions found in the Data Center Access Rights in the Other category.

To add a Task:

1. Click ... and then click Add Task.

   

2. Complete the fields:

   • Keep the Status up to date.

   • Categories are defined on the Task Categories form.

   • Set the Priority.

   • To assign a Task to a specific user, enter an Owner.

   • Nomination Tasks copied from their COA have a Basis of Load Laycan Start.

     • If the Load Laycan Date changes, the Task Start Date and Due Date move along with it, retaining the Offsets.

     • When you add another Nomination Task to a Cargo, its Basis is None, but you can change it to Load Laycan Start.

   • To open the Attachments form, on the Task toolbar, click Attachments.

• To open a Task, in the panel, do one of the following:

  • Double-click the Task text.

  • Right-click the Task and then click Open.

• For Tasks that have been created using a Rule Set, the following fields can be edited:

  • Task Name

  • Category

  • Priority

  • Description
    Edited values appear in blue text and are not dynamically updated the next time the rule is evaluated as true. To remove the manual override and allow automatic updating to continue the next time the rule is evaluated as true, type Backspace and then Enter.

Adding the Tasks from a Task Group

To add all the Tasks from a Task Group to a Cargo/VC In, Estimate, or Voyage:

1. Click ... and then click Add Task Group.

2. Select the Task Group.

Marking a Task as Read or Unread

To mark a Task as read, right-click it and then click Mark as Read. It will no longer count toward the orange badge on the panel button.

You can also mark a Task as unread, to remind yourself to complete it later. Right-click the Task and then click Mark as Unread.

Updating the Status of a Task

To update the Status of a Task, do any of the following:

• To mark the Task as Completed, double-click its icon.

• Right-click the Task and then click In Progress or Complete.

• While editing the Task, update its Status.

You can also update the Status of one or more Tasks from the Task List.

Deleting a Task

To delete a Task, do one of the following:

• On the Tasks panel, right-click the Task and then click Delete.

• On the Task toolbar, click Delete.

About Alerts

Managers can configure error or warning Alert messages to be sent to users, all of which appear on the Alert List.

To create Alerts, on the Task & Alert Rule Set List, create Rule Sets that define Alerts to appear on the Tasks panel of a workspace.

The panel can include Alerts of the following types:

• Error - Prevent Saving: Cannot be acknowledged; prevents workspace saving until the error is corrected

• Error: Cannot be acknowledged

• Warning - Not Acknowledgeable: Cannot be acknowledged

• Warning - Acknowledgeable: Can be acknowledged

• Warning - Acknowledged: Moves to the bottom of the panel

For Alerts with attachments,  appears.

Assigning Alerts

To assign an Alert to a user:

1. On the Tasks & Alerts panel, right-click the Alert and then click Edit.

   

2. Select an Owner and then click OK.
   Note: Cargo Alerts cannot be assigned.

3. Save the form associated with the Alert.

Tutorial: View a List of Alerts Assigned to You

Acknowledging a Warning Alert

To acknowledge a warning Alert, do one of the following:

• Double-click .

• Right-click the Alert and then click Acknowledge.

Hiding or Showing Tasks and Alerts

You can hide all Tasks or Tasks that are not relevant at the moment, from your view of the panel on all workspaces. Click ... and then select one or more of the following:

• Hide Tasks

• Hide Tasks Until Start Date

• Hide Completed Tasks

In the Voyage Manager, associated Cargo Tasks and Alerts are hidden by default. To show them, click ... and then clear Hide Cargo Tasks & Alerts.

Viewing Task & Alert Rules

To view the rule that defines a Task or Alert, right-click the Task or Alert and then click View Tasks & Alerts Rule.