In this systematic approach to drawing two interlocking chain links I start with a rectangle as the base shape. Pretty simple. All the action starts with the first line off of the base shape. I give these lines the value of c (clockwise) or cc (counter clockwise). I found that if half of the lines are c and the other half are cc, then when I have completed the systematic drawing of the chain links, the two chain links are not interlocked. Then I start with a base shape that has an odd number of sides: a triangle. When all the lines are c, the result is a knot. When half (rounded to the nearest whole number) are c and the remaining are cc the knot is untied… I don’t really understand how this happens or why but I can observe different patterns with varying base shapes and varying ratios of c to cc.
At Grainchek we are working hard to untie the knot of time tracking. What are the variables that affect a user’s interest in tracking time? Why do I track time inaccurately? If we adjust the parameters within Grainchek’s time tracking system what is the outcome? It’s different than observing odd and even polygons become links and knots but some of the mystery is similar!
This is an important screen in the Grainchek app. As Grainchek users, we spend our day on this screen generating content by posting events to projects.
Example: Carpentry project
For my carpentry projects I select the first project I’ll be working on and tap the Start button as I walk out the door of my home. After I have started my car the mileage shows up so I open a note on the Travel task and enter “Odometer: 127245” and press the paper airplane button to generate the event. The event card at the top of the screen updates and shows the Travel event including the odometer reading. When I arrive, as I walk on the job site I take a picture under the Travel task again. This means the last three events combine to document that I started my day and traveled to work.
As I step on to the job site I don’t know exactly what task I’ll be performing first but I’m on site and tracking billable time. As I check in with the different crews and superintendents I learn that we need additional flashing tape so I set up in the office to generate a PO for the materials. I send out the PO to the vendor and with Grainchek take a picture of my lap top screen under the Material Management task. This documents that from the time I posted the Travel task as I entered the job site until this moment, I am tracking this time toward Material Management. The card updates at the top of the Task screen.
On this particular project I pre-fabricate the overhangs whenever I have free time. Before I can get started on this task today, I get a response email from the vendor explaining that we can expect the extruded aluminum profiles today and the flashing tape will arrive on the same truck. I head back to the office to order rivets and stainless screws for assembling the aluminum window trim. When the PO has been sent, I take another Grainchek photo of the laptop and another event is generated tracking time toward Material Management. This second event accumulates time starting the first time I posted to Material Management ending the second time.
After sending the second PO I am able to begin framing the overhangs. At break time, I use Grainchek to take a picture with the “Framing” task. I take a photo of the framing I’m working on then begin my break. During my 15 minute break I’m going to sort through my Grainchek feeds. When it’s time to go back to work, I tap the “Break” task without a photo or a note. This generates a simple Break event with a duration of about 15 minutes.
I continue framing the overhangs but soon get a phone call request to review a Cabinet Vision issue at a local cabinet shop that hires me to operate their production software. I post another photo using the Framing task. The cabinet shop is a different customer and a different Grainchek project. I need to decide which Grainchek project I want to use to track the travel time I’m about to do. For my purposes it makes the most sense to track it to the cabinet shop so I select the Cabinet shop project. In Grainchek this brings me to the list of tasks with a card at the top detailing the last event I posted to this project 2 days ago. If I tap the travel task, Grainchek will calculate back to the last event until this moment and report that I have been traveling for 2 days. If this happens I can edit the event but instead I am going to press the Start button to reset tracking of time for the Cabinet Shop project.
I arrive at the cabinet shop. Using the Travel task in the Cabinet Shop project I take a Grainchek photo of the shop floor full of cabinets as I enter. This documents a Travel event and technically begins tracking billable time to the Cabinet Shop. I operate the Cabinet Vision software to reflect changes the customer has requested. As I wrap up my work and generate the production documents the shop manager asks me to track this time separately from the other work I do for them because it is a CR to the customer. In Grainchek I make a new task in the Cabinet Shop project called “Kitchen CR”. To complete my billable time I take a Grainchek photo of the work station using the Kitchen CR task.
I return to the framing job and press the travel task to complete my Cabinet Shop time. As I walk back onto the framing job site I switch Grainchek projects back to the framing project and press the Break task to track the time I spent traveling and at the Cabinet Shop as non billable time for the framing project.
I continue tracking my day always using the task that best describes what I am in the progress of performing or done performing before starting a new task. I finish the day out trying to find an efficient sequence for fabricating the extruded aluminum window trim. As I walk off the site I take a Grainchek photo of the sample window trim assemblies completing my billable time to the framing project.
As I am driving home I get a call from the architect on the framing project. I have shared a Grainchek feed with him and he noticed the photo of the extruded aluminum trim assembly. We discuss the challenges and options and he agrees to supply a detail. He posts an event to a Grainchek feed that he has shared with me for the purpose of unofficial dialogue. This event has a photo of the pre-proposed sketch and brief description. He uses the “Window” task so that both he and I can sort discussion based on the task name.
As I arrive home I make note of the odometer reading with my final travel task event of the day. During the evening I can review the feed that includes all the events of the day. Those with whom I have shared feeds of my projects can check in anytime to see the progress I have recorded.
Sub feeds are important tools Grainchek uses to collect events from other feeds. One way a Grainchek user can organize a day into an itemized bill starts with building a feed that contains all events with no start and end date possible called a General Feed. Then a separate feed, maybe called Billable, will not include any tasks. The Billable Feed will only contain sub feeds: one for every billable category. When setting up each new sub feed the user will select the user’s own profile, the project and the General Feed. Then only the tasks for this billable category will be selected. Each sub feed will accumulate the time spent on only the billable tasks it is setup to collect. The Billable Feed will accumulate the time from all sub feeds. In order to itemize a single day the General Feed start and end dates are set to the day to be itemized. In the Billable feed, each sub feed will accumulate the events for that billable item for the one day that the General Feed is set to include.
As Grainchek users, we use feeds to collect events that we generate and sub feeds of events. Understanding how feeds and sub feeds work will help users organize their time tracking events and feeds that have been shared with them.
Grainchek users will use feeds different ways and one user will use different feeds in different ways. Some projects will be set up solely for the purpose of collecting feeds and reporting the accumulated time. A project for collecting feeds from friends might never have any actual events posted and the feeds will be made up entirely of sub feeds. Other projects will be heavy in local content not having any sub feeds. The feeds for this project might contain events from specific time periods or a dynamic time period. Some feeds in may only look at specific tasks. Determining who the feed is intended to be shared with also determines what information is collected and from what time period. All of these variables and scenarios are managed here in the feed settings.
