The F-Tag module is also called the Issue Tracker, because tracking each tag is at the heart of the process. An F-Tag moves through four stages:
Open
Pending Verification
Overdue
Close
The stages usually follow this order, with some links between them. The example below shows how an F-Tag moves through the stages in a real situation. For a description of each status, see What is the status inside F-Tag?
Stage 1: Create the F-Tag
An issue arises and an employee raises an F-Tag. The employee enters the required information and sets the due date to 3 days from now.
Tag status: Open
Stage 2: Submit the F-Tag
A newly created F-Tag is saved as Open. It is saved but not yet sent for verification, so it is not submitted. You must submit an open F-Tag to move it to the next stage.
Click Submit, next to the Attach button (in both the side window and the detail view).
The F-Tag becomes available for analysis and feedback.
Tag status: Pending Verification
Stage 3: Verify the F-Tag
The responsible person now analyses the issue. A new Mark as Complete drop-down menu becomes available.
Good to know: the Default Assignee field on the create form sets the person responsible for the issue. You can choose an assignee each time you create an F-Tag, or set up default assignees based on priorities and pillars.
The menu has two options:
Mark As Complete | Confirms that the issue has been dealt with and solved. The F-Tag is closed and its status changes to Close. |
Send Back | The assignee sends the F-Tag back with a reason. |
Tag status: Close (when marked as complete) or Open (when sent back)
Good to know:
The Add Reason field is required. The Send Back button stays greyed out until you enter a reason.
After a tag is sent back, its status changes to Open. To submit it again, edit the F-Tag to change the assignee, then submit it.
Sending a tag back is called a User Re-Assignment. See What is user Re-Assignments and how to edit them?
Stage 4: Overdue
The assignee may not be able to analyse and act on the issue in time. If the F-Tag is still in Pending Verification after its due date, its status changes to show that the problem was not resolved in the time set by the creator.
Tag status: Overdue
Good to know: the tag in the picture shows the Overdue status together with the Submit button. When a tag is sent back after its due date, it shows as Overdue while it is open. This flags the tag as urgent. The tag must be submitted again each time it is overdue or sent back (re-assigned).
Stage 5: Close
When the issue has been dealt with, the assignee on record marks the F-Tag as complete.
For important, urgent issues, sending an F-Tag back (a User Re-Assignment) can cost valuable time and delay the fix. To prevent this, you can limit the number of re-assignments. See What is user Re-Assignments and how to edit them?
More ways to move a tag
Kanban Board: tags appear as cards in status columns. Move a card to another column, for example from Open to Pending Verification, to update its status.
Tier escalation: if a tag needs more support, escalate it to another tier (Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3) with a comment. The members of that tier receive an email.
Workflows: administrators can customise statuses, transitions and who may move a tag in the Workflow builder, so your facility's statuses may differ from this example.
Next steps
If a similar issue comes up again, or an issue needs more than one person's attention, you can clone an existing F-Tag instead of creating one from scratch. See How to clone an F-Tag?