Set up categories of requests for faster dispatching and better reporting
Assigning a type to requests—HVAC, lighting, janitorial, etc.—helps you manage them more efficiently. Request type can convey key information at a glance, such as the level of urgency, the required skills, and the nature of the problem.
Just as importantly, request type information increases the value of your historical data. Separating requests by type allows you to answer important questions about operations in your facilities. Which problems are most common? Which take the longest to resolve? Which are increasing in frequency over time? Answering these questions allows building staff to get out of a reactive mode.
The list of available request types can vary by location. So, for example, if only some of your buildings have elevators, you can remove the “Elevator maintenance” request type where it isn’t relevant.
Setting up request types
The first step in managing request types is to set up the request types that are relevant to your organization. To create, edit, or delete request types, do the following:
- Go the the settings page–click on the gear icon in the upper right:
- Click on “Customization” in the sidebar.
- Click on the “Request Types” tab.
On this page, you will see a list of request types currently available to your organization.
Adding new request types
To add a new request type, click the “Add new” button. There are several fields to fill out:
- Name (required). This is the name of the request type that appears in the user interface. It will be visible to occupants (if you give occupants access to Tikkit), so choose something short and easily understandable.
- Icon. You can assign a unique icon to each request type to make them easy to identify at a glance in the user interface.
- Locations. Optionally choose a list of locations to add the new request type to. Adding locations here is much faster than editing the locations themselves individually.
- Default. If a request type is marked as default, then it will automatically be added to new locations when they are created (you can always remove it from a new location later if you don’t want it). Choosing sensible defaults greatly speeds the creation of new locations.
Click “Create” to create your new request type. Keep in mind that you need to actually add it to locations to use it.
Create a list of default request types
Most locations have a standard list of base request types: plumbing, lighting, HVAC, security, etc. When you set up request types for your organization, mark the standard ones as defaults so that they will be added to new locations automatically.
Editing existing request types
To edit an existing request type, go to the request type overview page, and click on the name of the request type that you wish to edit.
Deleting a request type
To delete a request type, go to the request type overview page, and click on the name of the request type that you wish to delete. On the next screen, click the “Delete request type” button. Confirm that you want to delete the request type.
Note that deleting a request type will not affect any existing requests that have that type assigned. Deleting a request type simply removes it from all locations and makes it unavailable for assignment to future requests.