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Use a Checklist on a Work Order

Checklists appear on a work order once you start it. Each item is a row you mark complete as you do the work — adding a pass/fail call, a reading, a note, or a photo depending on the item's result type. Required items hard-block the work order from being completed (or sent for approval) until they're done.

This page covers attaching a checklist manually if auto-attach didn't fire, completing items, overriding frequency limits, and what to do when something blocks completion.

Before you start​

  • The work order exists, has a unit, and you have the work_orders.edit permission.
  • The work order is started — for technicians, the Checklists card shows "Start the work order to view and complete checklists." until the status moves out of unassigned/pending. Supervisors see the items immediately. Once started, checklists are visible in ongoing, paused, and waiting_approval.
  • The Checklists feature is enabled for your account.
  • To attach a checklist manually, you also need checklists.create. To detach, you also need checklists.delete. The endpoint check is work_orders.edit, but the buttons that drive both actions are gated by the corresponding checklist permission so the UI doesn't show controls a user can't use.

Attach a checklist manually​

Most checklists auto-attach when the work order is created. Use the manual attach when nothing auto-attached, or when you need an extra checklist on top.

  1. Open the work order and scroll to the Attach Checklist card near the bottom.

  2. Pick the checklist

    Select a checklist from the Select Checklist dropdown. The dropdown only lists active checklists you haven't already attached. Each option shows the item count in parentheses.

  3. Attach it

    Select the green Attach Checklist button.

The checklist appears as a new card with all its items. The version you attach is a snapshot — later edits to the template won't change this work order's copy.

Complete an item​

  1. On the work order, find the item's row in the checklist card.

  2. Open the completion form

    Select the Complete button on the right of the row. An inline form expands below the row.

  3. Record the result

    What you fill in depends on the item's Result Type:

    • Pass / Fail — pick Pass or Fail.
    • Text — type your note in the box (up to 5000 characters).
    • Numeric — type the value. Decimals are allowed.
    • Photo — for required photo items, first take or upload a photo using the camera button on the row. If you submit Mark Complete with no photos on a required photo item, the page reloads with an error and the item stays incomplete. Optional photo items can be completed with no photo.
    • None — just confirm.

  4. (Optional) Add notes

    Use the Additional Notes field for context — model number serial captured in a photo, an exception, conditions found.

  5. Submit

    Select the green Mark Complete button at the bottom of the inline form.

The row updates: the task name strikes through, the result is shown, and the row records who completed it and when.

Add photos to an item​

Photos can be added at any time, before or after completion.

  1. Select the camera button on the item's row. A photo panel expands.
  2. Drag and drop, paste, or select Choose files to upload one or more photos.
  3. The badge on the camera button updates with the photo count.

Photos belong to the specific item, not to the work order in general — so they show up next to the item on the printed/PDF service report.

Undo a completed item​

If you marked something done by mistake (or before doing it):

  1. Find the item — completed items show an Undo button instead of Complete.
  2. Select Undo.

The item flips back to incomplete. The previous result and timestamp are cleared, but uploaded photos are kept.

Frequency-restricted items​

Items with a Max Frequency (days) can't be re-completed too soon on a different work order for the same unit. The row shows a warning like "This item was completed 45 days ago. Minimum frequency is 90 days." and the Complete button is disabled with a tooltip showing the same message.

A user with checklists.override_frequency sees the Complete button enabled and an extra Override frequency restriction checkbox in the inline completion form. Tick it to allow the completion; the override is logged in ChecklistItemAuditLog with the action completed and override_frequency = true in the new values.

Strict refrigerant (EPA) items​

When the Compliance feature is on, an item flagged as a strict refrigerant obligation has an extra rule: it can't be marked complete unless either

  • a refrigerant charge line on the same work order is linked to this checklist item, or
  • a user with checklists.override_strict_refrigerant_checklist has applied a compliance override for this work order.

The inline completion form makes this explicit. If neither condition is met yet, the form shows a yellow warning "EPA: this is a strict refrigerant obligation. Add a refrigerant charge line on this work order linked to this checklist item before marking it complete." with a Go to items button that scrolls to the items table and opens the regulatory charge picker. Once a satisfying charge is added (or the override applied), the warning turns into a green confirmation and the Mark Complete button activates.

The server enforces the same rule via WorkOrderComplianceTransitionGuard::assertChecklistItemMayComplete(). See Compliance overrides for the supervisor-side flow.

Detach a checklist​

If the wrong checklist auto-attached:

  1. On the work order, find the checklist's card.
  2. Select the red × in the top-right of the card header.
  3. Confirm the "Remove this checklist from the work order?" prompt.

The checklist and all its items (including completed ones, with their notes, results, and any attached photos) are removed from this work order. The template itself isn't affected. Detaching requires work_orders.edit server-side; the × button only renders for users who also have checklists.delete.

What happens next​

  • Once every required item is done, you can submit the work order for approval or complete it directly.
  • Optional items don't block completion — but they will appear blank on the service report.
  • Each completed item is permanently logged with the user, timestamp, and result. The next time the same unit gets a work order, the Last completed badge picks up from this entry.

Troubleshooting​

The Complete or Submit button on the work order says "Required checklist items are incomplete."

You have a Required item that hasn't been completed yet. Scroll to the Checklists card and complete every item with a red Required badge.

If a required item genuinely doesn't apply this time (e.g., the equipment doesn't have that component), an admin with checklists.bypass_required_items can complete the work order anyway. The bypass is logged.

You tapped Mark Complete on a photo-required item and the page reloaded with an error.

Required photo items are enforced server-side: TuffOps lets you tap Mark Complete, but if no photo is attached the page reloads with "This item requires at least one photo before completion." and the item stays incomplete. Tap the camera button on that row, upload at least one photo, then submit Mark Complete again.

An item shows an old completion date from a different work order, even though I haven't done it on this one.

That's the frequency badge — it shows the most recent time anyone completed this item on any work order for the unit. It's informational on items that haven't been completed yet on this work order, and turns into a restriction only on items that have a Max Frequency (days) set.

The Checklists card says 'Start the work order to view and complete checklists.'

By design — checklists only render once the work order is in Ongoing. Start the work order (the green Start Work button at the top of the page), then the checklists will appear.

The checklist auto-attached, but it's the wrong one.

Detach it (× in the card header), then attach the right one manually. To stop the wrong one from auto-attaching to future work orders, see Assign a Checklist to Units or Models.