Issue Management Overview

What is Issue Management?

While Tasks are for assigning planned work, Issues are used to report unplanned problems, defects, or observations that need to be tracked and resolved.

For example:

• Task: "Clean the spill in Aisle 4" (Actionable work assigned to someone)
• Issue: "Water is leaking from the ceiling in Aisle 4" (A logged problem that needs investigation and resolution)

The Issue module acts as a centralized ticketing system for your operational problems, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

Key Concepts of Issues

• Categories & Custom Fields: Issues are grouped by Category (e.g., Plumbing, Electrical, Safety Hazard). Each category can have its own unique set of Custom Fields (like "Severity Level" or "Equipment Serial Number") that reporters must fill out.
• Workflow Statuses: Issues move through a defined lifecycle (e.g., Open -> In Progress -> Resolved). Access to change these statuses can be restricted to specific roles.
• Priority Levels: Visual indicators (Low, Medium, High) help teams prioritize which problems to tackle first.
• Progress Tracking: A 0-100% progress slider allows teams to show exactly how close a problem is to being fully resolved.
• Attachments & Media: Robust support for attaching photos, videos, and documents to both the issue itself and individual activity log comments to provide evidence of the problem and the fix.
• Public QR Reporting: Generate QR codes for specific sites, resources, or issue categories. Anyone with a smartphone can scan the code to report an issue without needing an Algus account.
• Origin Traceability: If an issue was discovered during an inspection, it remains permanently linked to that inspection report via a clickable origin badge.

The Issue Lifecycle

1. Reporting: An issue is logged (via the app, web, or public QR code). Details like location, site, and photos are attached.
2. Triage: Management reviews the new issue, categorizes it correctly, updates the priority, and assigns it to a team or individual.
3. Investigation/Action: The assigned team investigates the problem. They update the progress slider and may create Tasks linked to the issue to handle the physical repair work.
4. Resolution: The problem is fixed. Status is updated, and completion evidence (like photos) is uploaded via the Activity Log.
5. Closure: The issue is marked as closed, preserving the resolution data in the historical log.

Real-World Operational Scenario

Scenario: Reporting & Resolving a High-Risk Facility Water Leak

• Context: A night shift security guard notices a ceiling water leak above an electrical panel.
• Workflow:
  1. The guard scans a nearby site QR code on mobile and submits a high-priority issue "Ceiling Water Leak - Panel B".
  2. The EHS director receives an immediate alert and creates a corrective repair task assigned to the plumbing team.
  3. The plumbing team fixes the leak, attaches photo evidence of the repaired pipe to the Issue Activity Log, and marks the issue Resolved.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary difference between a Task and an Issue?

A Task represents planned, actionable work assigned to a person, whereas an Issue represents an unplanned defect or problem requiring triage and resolution.

Can an issue be created directly from an inspection?

Yes. When a defect is recorded during an inspection, an issue can be automatically or manually created, inheriting the site, resource, and inspection origin badge.