Multi-Step Jobs
Why multi-step jobs exist
A routine service — oil change, tyre rotation, brake pad replacement — happens in one bay with one technician from start to finish. A single-step job handles this perfectly.
But a full panel repair is different. It starts with a technician pulling the damaged panels (Disassembly). Before any repair work begins, an estimator needs to write the repair order (Estimate). Parts are ordered (Parts Order). Only when parts arrive does structural repair begin. Then it moves to Paint Prep, then to the Spray Booth for Paint Application, then Reassembly, then QC, then final detailing.
Each of these stages:
- Requires a different skill (general mechanic, estimator, certified spray painter, QC inspector)
- Happens in a different bay (workshop bay → spray booth → finishing bay)
- Has a different expected duration
- Cannot start until the previous stage is complete
A standard single-step job cannot model this. A multi-step job can.
What a step contains
Each step in a multi-step job has its own:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | What this step is (e.g., “Paint Application”) |
| Required skill | Which technician skill is needed (e.g., Spray Painting) |
| Bay | Which bay this step happens in |
| Technician | Who is assigned to this step |
| Estimated duration | How long this step is expected to take |
| Status | Pending → In Progress → Complete (or Skipped) |
| Completion tags | Specific markers that must be set before the step closes (e.g., “panels_removed”, “estimate_written”) |
Phase gating
Steps in a multi-step job are gated — a step cannot start until its predecessor is complete (or explicitly skipped by a controller).
This prevents:
- Paint application starting before panel repair is done
- QC being marked complete before assembly is finished
- A vehicle leaving the workshop before the road test is signed off
Completion tags add a further check: a step cannot be marked complete until all required tags have been confirmed. For example, the “Parts Order” step cannot close until the “parts_ordered” tag is set.
Built-in presets
BayWise Scheduler includes three repair presets to save setup time. Each is a pre-built sequence of steps that you can apply to a job and then customise.
Body Minor — Dent & Paint
For dent repair and minor paint correction jobs.
| # | Step | Skill | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paint Prep | Surface Prep | 1.5 hrs |
| 2 | Paint Application | Spray Painting | 2 hrs |
| 3 | QC | General | 0.5 hr |
| 4 | Final Detailing | General | 0.5 hr |
Body Major — Collision Repair
For full collision damage repairs requiring structural work and ADAS recalibration.
| # | Step | Skill | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disassembly | Body Assembly | 2 hrs |
| 2 | Estimate | Body Estimating | 1 hr |
| 3 | Parts Order | General | 0.5 hr |
| 4 | Structural Repair | Frame Straightening | 4 hrs |
| 5 | Paint Prep | Surface Prep | 2 hrs |
| 6 | Paint Application | Spray Painting | 3 hrs |
| 7 | Reassembly | Body Assembly | 2 hrs |
| 8 | ADAS Calibration | ADAS Technician | 1.5 hrs |
| 9 | QC | General | 0.5 hr |
| 10 | Final Detailing | General | 0.5 hr |
Mechanical Major
For major mechanical jobs spanning diagnosis, parts, repair, and quality checking.
| # | Step | Skill | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diagnosis | Diagnostic | 1 hr |
| 2 | Disassembly | General | 1 hr |
| 3 | Parts Order | General | 0.5 hr |
| 4 | Repair | Master | 4 hrs |
| 5 | Reassembly | General | 1 hr |
| 6 | QC | Diagnostic | 0.5 hr |
Presets are starting points, not rigid templates. You can add, remove, or reorder steps when applying a preset to a specific job.
Auto-start behaviour
Auto-Start Next Step is a global workshop setting (per location) that controls step transitions across all multi-step jobs. When enabled, BayWise immediately sets the next step to “In Progress” the moment the current step completes. When disabled, every next step waits in “Pending” until a controller or advisor manually starts it.
This is not a per-step or per-preset toggle — it applies to all step transitions at the location. Configure it in Settings, then Operations, then Auto-Start Next Step.
Completion tags (sign-off gates) override Auto-Start. Even when Auto-Start is enabled, a step with a completion tag will wait for the sign-off before the next step activates. This allows you to mix automatic flow with deliberate quality checkpoints within the same job.
Viewing multi-step jobs on the calendar
Each step in a multi-step job appears as a separate card on the calendar grid, in the row of the bay it is assigned to. The cards for the same job are linked — you can see at a glance which steps are complete, in progress, and pending.