Recording Work Time in Workflows Can Work

It's actually a good idea to report work time (start and completion) in workflow systems (attendance records). For example, when working outside the office it's easy to just send a notice (Work time starting now!) by smartphone.

This type of reporting is often performed in batches of several days. And this means incorrect work time data is accumulated in the company. It's important to have employees get used to reporting each morning and each night, when coming into the office, when going home without returning to the office, when working from home, etc. This is why utilizing the workflow system, which employees access everyday, is a good idea.


<Tasks>
1. Report Start of Work, 2. Confirm Out-of-Office Work, 3. Report End of Work

[Work Attendance <Direct Returns>: "1. Report Start of Work" screen]

Learning BPM Through a Simple Absence Registering Workflow

Registering absences are best handled on Cloud computing workflow systems (SaaS). When an employee can't leave the house because of illness or a cold, he/she can just click a few buttons of a smartphone and let the company know. The boss can approve the registering from outside the office. It'll automatically go to HR and accounting.

If you think BPM is a difficult theory, we suggest you start with a simple business process, like forms for registering absences. (BPM: Business Process Management)

<Tasks>
1. Register Absence, 2. Approve Absence, 3. Confirm Absence

[Absence Register <Revise> : "2a. Revise Absence Register" screen]

Inspection Workflows Should Be Connected to Repair Workflows

If a problem is found in the course of inspections, something has to be done. Let's take yesterday's "Workflow for Sending On-the-Scene Photo Reports" and add a task for repairs.

A Workflow for Sending On-the-Scene Photo Reports

A company's property under fire prevention measures may include automobiles, construction equipment, and fire prevention facilities, and some companies manage their inspection records with photos. With the accelerating spread of wireless connection today, people can take photos on the spot via smartphone, and send them back to the office right then and there. And the boss may be able to ask an employee to make a re-inspection, while the employee is still at or near the site.

Ringi Process–The Official Approver Gives Comments After the Quick Approval

In our previous article, "When You Want ANYBODY to Give You That Approval," we presented a way to speed up the ringi process. This workflow, of course, will make them go faster, but at some point a board member may think it necessary to run it by the official approver.

So today's workflow:

When You Want ANYBODY to Give You That Approval

Sometimes you don't care who approves the project you send in a ringi process; you just want it approved as soon as possible.
This is often the reality in everyday business and a real demand in workflow systems. An easy way to solve this is to give more people the right to approve things.