Using QR Codes and Barcodes with Motivity Workforce

Last Updated: Friday, January 19th 2024


Both the Android and the iOS Motivity Workforce apps come equipped with a QR code and barcode scanning feature.

This makes the process of booking out parts to a job or identifying site assets / equipment much quicker and more accurate.

Although it may seem quite mystical, the idea behind QR codes and barcodes is very simple.  The QR code pattern or barcode just translates into a series of number or alphanumeric characters.

QR / Barcoding with Parts Used

Once you have created each QR code or barcode, you will need to make sure you then enter that same number or the alphanumeric code into the Product Code or somewhere in the Product Description against the respective product in Motivity Workforce office.  

On site using the Motivity Workforce app, when you tap on the Parts Used tab, you then choose to add a part and press the scanner button on screen.

Point the camera at the appropriate QR or barcode.

If the device can identify the barcode it will automatically translate the QR/barcode into the numbers or alphanumeric letters associated with that code.

It will then search the parts database to see if any product codes and or descriptions match.

If there is a unique match it will pop up the quantity 'add' box to say how many you have used on that job.

If there are multiples that match it will let you pick which one you need.

 

QR / Barcodes on Site Equipment

Once you have created each barcode, you will need to make sure you then enter that same number or the alphanumeric code into either one of the following places on the equipment:-

  • Equipment Name  (this can be called something different depending on your Motivity configuration)
  • Serial Number
  • Custom Attributes 1-4 (From the equipment type setup)

All of the features are available when you go into the Equipment tab in the on-site stages of the Motivity app.


Adding / Registering New Site Equipment

If you're working on a piece of equipment for the first time you'll need to press the add new equipment button.

Select the equipment type to add, then on the details tab (shown below) you can press the barcode button against the field you're going to be using.

In our example we've set up an Asset No box and a button to activate the barcode / QR code scanner.

Press the button and scan the code you're going to attach to your asset.

Add New Equipment

You can also manually type the code into the box too if you prefer

Adding Codes to Existing Equipment

You'll need to have the equipment listed in the equipment tab.
If it hasn't been included on the job alread you can press the add site equipment to pick it and add it in.
Once it's in the list, tap on it and scroll across to the Details tab.
Simply press the barcode button against relevant box, scan your asset label and press save.

bqr-update-existing-equipment.jpg

Using the Barcode / QR Code Scanner to Locate Equipment

Once you've been through the process of tagging up all of your assets you can use the scanner to help you quickly locate the equipment you're working on.

This is especially useful, if like some of our customers, you're working on jobs that feature hundreds of assets listed in the app for one site.

Our example below only shows two but the process is the same.  On the equipment tab just press the barcode button at the bottom.

Then scan the asset label you're needing to work on.

bqr-equipment-list-filter.jpg

Motivity will then search through the list and filter it to show you any equipment that matches that number.

If you've got that same code used in other areas of the system (e.g. serial number) then you may get other items listed too.

Using the Barcode / QR Code Scanner to add Existing Equipment to a Job

This second scenario is useful if you're sent a job then add the site asset onto the job when you're actually working on the asset / equipment.

Press the ADD EXISTING button first.

This will then show you the list of all assets at that site.

Simply press the barcode button, scan the asset and Motivity will filter the list to only those items matching the scanned code:

bqr-pick-site-equipment.jpg

 Top Tips

Top tips before you start:

  1. You'll need to contact us to explain what you want to do so we can switch on the barcode / QR code feature and customise the settings to suit.
  2. If you are opting to use QR codes - make sure they are plain text type.
  3. When coming up with a numbering system it's best to work on a fixed length number of digits padding it out with leading zeroes.    So for the first one rather than it being 1,  it would be something like 000000001.   This helps when scanning and searching later.  If you use just 1 on it's own the search would look for code that matches '1'   e.g. 1, 10, 21, 201 etc.   Also make sure the number of digits caters for business expansion  (the number of assets you may maintain in the future).
  4. You could also include some alphabetic characters too.   That way it makes it more unique and unlikely to match any other numbering system in use - such as manufacturer's serial numbers.  This could be helpful if you store this information too in Motivity and want to exclude this when the app searches for things that match the scanned code.
  5. If you're looking to have asset labels produced, we can put you in touch with a company that has produced some for other Motivity customers.   The labels can feature company logos, contact details etc.
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