Milcom TaskManager in Depth

The Milcom TaskManager™ is grouped in two modules that can be customised according to the company's wishes and needs: 

• A PDA module where it is possible to register machine and man hours, allowances, equipment use and production resources as well as giving a status of predefined tasks. 
• A web module, which apart from the possibilities of the PDA module also enables the administration of users, customers, tasks and product catalogues as well as giving a comprehensive view of the employee registrations, that can be accepted/rejected. 

The Milcom TaskManager™ can be accessed both from a mobile device or from a PC, giving everyone in the organization access to the same time and task management system. This will allow management a complete overview of all the organization's records.

	PDA Module

The Milcom TaskManager™ is designed so all users - regardless of IT-user level, can use the solution easily and straightforward. The Milcom TaskManager™ recognizes that people rarely work in the same way. Most of the system's functions can be operated in 3 different ways: Using the PDA stylus, via buttons on the PDA or from a PC.

All users can learn to operate the Milcom TaskManager™ in less than 2 hours.

The Milcom TaskManager™ PDA solution uses a local database, which guarantees good response times and provides the best user experience. Thus, it takes no more than max 30 seconds to make a record in the Milcom TaskManager™.

The Milcom TaskManager™ PDA solution gives users access to all relevant tasks, wherever the user may be. With the PDA solution, the employee can: 

• Record working hours spent on a specific task
• Register machine hours and other resources that are spent on the task
• Record allowances and expenses such as salary increments, diets and mileage expenses (both time and distance)
• Record consumption of spare parts and equipment
• Record overtime, time off, leave and sickness
• From an individual task list, the employee can select the next task to work on. The task is then transferred to a working day and the time spent on the task can be recorded
• Lay orders back in the pool
• Mark a task as completed
• Write notes to each task
• Modify all registrations
• Manage favorite lists, which gives the user quick access to the most frequently used records
• See an overview of today's time registrations allocated by the tasks
• Get an overview of the total number of registered hours for the week grouped by days
• Lock today's records, and thus demonstrate that records are ready for approval.

Each user can use any PDA attached to the system and still have his own records available. The user can also switch between the PDA and web solution as required.

	Web Module

The Milcom TaskManager can also be used from a desktop PC. The web-based registration feature gives users the same opportunities as the PDA. Registration via the web can be used by those employees who do not have a PDA.

The web module is designed to provide an overview of large amounts of data and facilitate the work routines in the approval of records and monitoring of tasks. The solution can be configured so that data instead is processed in the finance system. In this case, one or more of the system's functions can be hidden.

The web module in Milcom TaskManager™ allows you to create and maintain the system's master data (such as account plans, roles and access rights) provided that such information will not be used directly from the finance system.

The solution is primarily designed so that data can be maintained either by the Milcom TaskManager™ or through the finance system. Thorough knowledge of the many functions of the web module can be achieved in one day.

In the web module's interface, the administrative employee is able to:

• Approve, reject and correct user registrations
• Maintain the nomenclature used for registration
• Get an overview of the records for individual users or a group of users
• See details for individual records
• Create reports for individual users' time recording
• Manage users, groups and roles
• Organize users in departments so that department managers only see and approve their own employees' registrations

The vast majority of organizations choose to use the approval process of the Milcom TaskManager, but it is possible to tailor the process according to individual needs.

The Milcom TaskManager™ can be integrated with most finance systems on the market through a standard module, and it is therefore possible to use the finance system's existing task management module with Milcom TaskManger™ and transfer tasks automatically to the Milcom TaskManager™. Tasks can also be created and allocated directly by Milcom TaskManger.

The Milcom TaskManager server ensures that all active tasks are sent out to those employees who must perform them. Tasks are sent to the PDA when the employee wants it, either through the phone in the PDA, through wireless network or via a direct cable connection to a PC (a 'cradle'). Data is stored locally on the PDA and is therefore always available to the user.

On the PDA, the employee has an overview of all tasks and can continuously record the consumption of resources and equipment. Once registrations are completed, they are sent back to the Milcom TaskManger server. If the employee has completed a record, it can be approved and locked in the web module by an administrative employee. The recording is then automatically transferred to the finance system and can be included in budgetary control, payroll and for invoicing purposes.