Microvellum Knowledge Network

Project Finishes On Reports

I'm trying to figure out the best way to include a section on the Work Order Summary that will list the finishes for the project.

For example, what I'd like to see at the top of the work order would be a simple table.

Designation
Finish
PL1
Wilsonart 10776-60 'Kensington Maple'
PL2
TBD
WD1
Cherry Veneer - Stain: Match Wilsonart 7957K-78 'Zanzibar'
PNT1
PG Maple - Paint: Sherwin-Williams SW 6203 'Spare White'
PNT2
PG Maple - Paint: TBD

The intent behind this is to be able to quickly identify if a WO is missing color/material information. It's not uncommon for a large company with dozens of active projects (or even a smaller company with a few active projects) to create a work order for a room that is looking to be installed in a few weeks, and then realize approved materials/finishes have not been received. Or in many cases, the PM hasn't distributed that information... "What? PMs aren't getting the information to engineering on time? That's unheard of!!" Right... We've all been there.

In our case, something like this would be a visual cue to help us catch and track down missing information before we hand off WOs to production... avoiding the, "We can't cut this because we don't have approved materials," scenario.

So, what would be the best approach for something like this?

My initial thought was User Defined Project Properties, but depending on the size of the job, you could have a dozen or more colors. And, it would be harder to list only the colors that are only included for that WO. I wouldn't want someone to hold up a work order on PL1 cabinets because PL2 still says "TBD", even though there aren't any PL2 cabinets in that WO.

I'm thinking now about Project Wizard variables - one Project Wizard component per color - with variables set up that could be brought into the report. I think it would be easier to include several fields that are populated by the engineer setting up the spec groups. If a color/species is missing they would just enter "TBD".

To take it a step further - is there a way to include an image if available? (This part may be more wishful thinking than anything.)

It's been awhile since I've had to get into reports and spec groups to that level, but is there anything I'm not thinking of to make this work the way we want? Any advice would be appreciated!

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