Tasks and SOPs

The Tasks module makes sure recurring work - vaccination rounds, biosecurity checks, cleaning, feed changes, weight sampling - is scheduled, assigned, and verifiably done, with completion recorded in the same audit trail as everything else.

Three ideas fit together: an SOP is a reusable checklist, a task is one assigned piece of work, and a schedule template plans a whole lot at once. Open Planning > Templates to switch between Schedule templates and Feed templates; both template types now share one section.

SOPs

An SOP (standard operating procedure) is a reusable checklist - the steps to follow for a given job, such as a Newcastle vaccination or a house clean-down. A manager writes it once, giving it a name, the scope it applies to (a flock, a house, or a site), and the steps. Open Planning > SOPs > New SOP. In Procedure details, enter a name and SOP code, choose Applies to, and optionally set a default assignee role. Add each instruction under Checklist, in the order it should be done. Leave Required checked for steps that must be completed. Use + Add note for extra instructions and Create SOP to save.

Editing an SOP creates a new version, so a task always records which version was followed.

Each checklist line keeps Required beside the red Remove action. Instructions support multiple lines. Select Needs a reading to set optional Lowest acceptable and Highest acceptable limits; leave both blank when a reading is required but no acceptable range is specified. Reading controls have their own row below the full-width instruction, with the two limits sharing the available width equally. Use + Add step at the end of the last line to extend the checklist.

Open an SOP to see Adherence - how the work it describes is actually going. It shows what share of its tasks were completed once they came due, how many of those were finished on or before the due date, and how many are still open past theirs. Beneath that, two lists name the tasks behind any problem: required steps recorded as not done, and readings that fell outside the range their step asks for. Each entry links straight to the task. Skipped tasks stay in the picture but never count as missed, and cancelled tasks are left out of the rates. If you have reworded a step in a later version, the tasks completed against the old wording are called out separately rather than counted as clean. Adherence is visible to managers and owners; a worker who only sees their own assigned tasks does not see it.

Tasks

A task is a concrete piece of work: do this SOP, in this scope, by this date. Each task has a due date, an optional assignee, and a status - open, completed, skipped, or cancelled. A task can be assigned to a specific worker, or left in a shared pool for whoever picks it up.

Workers see their tasks on their device, work through the checklist, add any required photos or readings, and mark the task complete - from the task list or from the task's own detail page. Completing a task can carry an optional note, and skipping or cancelling requires a short reason; the outcome and any note show on the task's status panel. Completion records who did it and when.

Review

Open Planning > Review for the backward-looking counterpart to the calendar: what was completed in the last seven days and what is still open past its due date, across every SOP.

Each completion shows when it was finished, whether it was late, how many of its checklist steps were done, and anything worth a second look - a required step recorded as not done, a reading outside the range its step asks for, or a checklist recorded against a wording the SOP no longer uses. Every row links to the task. Beneath it, Missed lists the tasks still open past their due date, longest overdue first.

Review covers the whole organization, so it is visible to managers and owners. A worker who only sees their own assigned tasks works from the Tasks tab instead.

Planning calendar

Open Planning > Overview to see due tasks, withdrawal-clear dates, and feeding-phase changes for the selected month. On a phone or tablet, the calendar is a chronological agenda: each day shows its full item titles and links to the day or task. On a laptop, the same items appear in the month grid. Use Previous, Today, and Next to move between months.

Schedule templates

A schedule template packages a whole sequence of tasks into a day-by-day plan - for example a "Broiler 42-day standard protocol". Each item in the template is set as a number of days from placement rather than a fixed date.

Create one from Planning > Templates > Schedule > New template. In Template details, enter its name and code, then choose an Operation type and Category. Choose All operation types for a reusable farm-wide plan. Under Scheduled tasks, give each task a title and set Days Offset: 0 means the placement day, 7 means one week later. Time starts at 08:00 for a new task. Open Time, enter the hour and minute in 24-hour format, then choose Set time. Choose All day to remove the due time. Escape or clicking outside cancels changes not yet applied. The Required checkbox beside the red Remove action is checked for new tasks. Uncheck it to allow the task to be skipped. Use + Add task to extend the plan, then Create template.

Every task needs a title; an untitled task is not silently left out. Correct the message beside a task before saving. Day offsets must be whole numbers of 0 or more. Create and new-version forms keep unsaved values on this device for your account and organization; choose Restore or Discard when returning. Once submitted, do not create the same template again: a queued template syncs automatically and this page returns to the list (or the template when revising) when its confirmation arrives. If the queued message remains after syncing, open Planning > Templates > Schedule to check the result before creating another template.

When you apply a template to a lot, PoultryDesk reads the lot's placement date and generates every task with the right due date, assignee, and checklist. You plan the protocol once and apply it at placement, instead of scheduling each task by hand.

Open a lot and its Planning tab to see which plans are applied, the full list of its tasks, and - once some of those tasks have come due - a Schedule adherence summary for that lot. It reads the same way as an SOP's Adherence, but across every plan on the lot: what share of the lot's scheduled tasks were completed, how many were on or before their due date, and how many are still open past theirs, followed by the tasks behind any required step recorded as not done or reading outside its range. Skipped tasks count as due but are never missed, and cancelled tasks are left out of the rates.

Feed templates describe a feeding program rather than a task schedule. They live beside schedule templates under Planning > Templates > Feed so reusable plans are easy to find without mixing their fields or permissions.

To create a feed template, choose New feed template, enter its name and Operation type, and optionally choose a Breed. For each feed phase, enter a name, its End day, and Daily feed in grams per bird. The first phase starts on day 1; each later phase starts after the previous one ends. The day range appears above each phase. Daily water is optional, in litres per bird; leaving it blank means no water target for that phase. Link a Feed item from inventory when available. Use + Add phase to extend the program, then Create template. Description and phase notes open on demand.

Use + Add note under a phase for its instructions. End days must be whole numbers and cannot come before that phase starts. Daily feed must be more than 0 and no more than 500 g per bird; an optional water target must be more than 0 and no more than 5 L per bird. Invalid values are explained beside the field and prevent submission. Changing an earlier end day also checks the next phase's range.

Feed templates retain unfinished values on this device for your account and organization. Restore or discard them when you return. After submission, Queued offline means the template is already recorded on this device; do not submit it again. The page returns to the list, or the template being revised, when its sync confirmation arrives. If it remains on the queued message after syncing, check Planning > Templates > Feed before starting another submission.

What you get

• A task list per person and per lot, with due dates and status.
• Completion records tied to the worker, the device, and the SOP version followed.
• Per-SOP adherence: completion and on-time rates, plus the tasks behind every missed required step and out-of-range reading.
• A Review board covering recent completions and anything still open past its due date, across every SOP.
• Completion KPIs for owners, and a full audit trail alongside every other entry.

See also

• Health and withdrawals
• Tracking inventory
• Lots and where to find them