ISAK Fire Protection — Engineering Department

What needs your attention

Overdue & urgent0

Needs attention0

Due this week0

Standard Operating Procedure

Design Tracker — Manual & Daily SOP

This tracker is the single source of truth for every fire-protection design project from intake to approval. It records where each project stands, who owns it, what it's waiting on, and whether it's on schedule. Everything autosaves in this browser, and all dates run on Central Time (Chicago) so everyone sees the same day and clock.

▶ Do this every working day

Open the Dashboard first. It's the landing tab. Work it top to bottom.
Clear "Overdue & urgent." Every red item is past its due date. Open it, finish it, or reschedule it — nothing should live here for long.
Work "Needs attention." Fill in missing intake items, submit or approve delay reasons for any missed deadline, and unstick projects that have sat too long in one stage.
Scan "Due this week." Confirm each upcoming deadline is realistic and staffed. Reschedule now if it isn't.
Advance your projects. As real work happens, move each project to its correct stage — dates stamp automatically.
Keep intake honest. New projects should reach "Ready to design" quickly; if they can't, the missing item is the blocker to chase.

The five stages

Every project lives in exactly one stage. Moving a project between stages automatically stamps the relevant date, so keeping stages current keeps your metrics and deadlines accurate.

New

New Projects — Intake & DesignA project enters here as soon as its drawings are completed — intake info comes from the PM or Designer. Requirements are gathered and design work happens until it's submitted for review.

Submitted

Submitted for ReviewOut to the client & AHJ. Stamps the Submitted date. Waiting on a decision.

Revision

Revisions NeededComments came back. Rework is scheduled with its own start / due dates.

Fab List

Approved · Producing Fabrication ListDesign is approved; the fabrication list is being produced.

Approved

ApprovedComplete. Stamps the Approved date and closes the cycle.

Adding & setting up a project

When a project enters the pipeline: a project is placed in the New Projects stage as soon as its drawings are completed. That trigger and the intake details come from the PM or Designer — the tracker isn't the source of the drawings, it records the project once they're done.

The PM provides the tentative rates for the work.
The PM or Designer provides the take-off list.

Once that information is in hand, set the project up in the tracker:

Go to Pipeline → Add project and give it a name.
Open the project (click the ▸ row) and fill in the details: project name, structured address, AHJ, system type, and the submittal method.
Assign a designer. The first time a designer is assigned, today's date is stamped as the Original entry date automatically.
Work the intake checklist until the project is Ready to design.

Submittal method changes the field you see: Online shows a website, Email shows a submittal email, Paper shows a copies count.

Intake checklist & "Ready to design"

A New project is Ready to design once its required intake items are checked. New-project rows are tinted green when ready and red when something's still missing, so you can spot blockers at a glance.

Three items are per-project "if needed" — Downpayment, Hydrant Flow, and Design Survey. Whoever enters the project decides whether each applies. Click the cell to cycle it:

— Not needed — doesn't block readiness.

! Needed — now required before the project is ready.

✓ Done — the needed item is complete.

Which items are required for "Ready to design" is configurable in Settings → Ready to design requires (the three "if needed" items are always governed per-project, not by that list).

Scheduling & deadlines

Design work is scheduled with a Start date and Completion date; revisions use their own Revision start / due dates. The Completion date is the design deadline the tracker measures against.

On the Calendar, drag a bar to reschedule, or drag its edges to resize the window.
A project is overdue when today passes the completion date and design isn't finished; it's late if it finished after the deadline.
When a designer misses a design date they're notified on the Dashboard and on the project. The designer must open the project and submit a valid reason for the delay and how much more time they need (a requested new completion date). This goes to an admin for approval — on approval the new date becomes the deadline; a rejected reason must be revised and resubmitted.

Missed-deadline workflow: Designer submits reason + requested time → status shows Pending approval → an Admin approves (optionally setting the new deadline) or rejects with a note. The project stays flagged until an admin approves.

Reading the Dashboard

Overdue & urgentPast-due design and revision deadlines, worst first.

Needs attentionMissing intake, delay reasons to submit or approve, and projects stalled too long in a stage.

Due this weekDesign and revision deadlines landing in the next 7 days.

"Stalled" uses the threshold in Settings → "Stalled" after (days) (default 14). The same threshold drives the Metrics stalled count.

Designers see a personal Dashboard showing only projects assigned to them; managers and admins see all projects.

Roles & what each can do

Capability	Designer	Manager	Admin / Exec
See projects	Own only	All	All
Add / edit projects, import	—	✓	✓
Delete projects	—	✓	✓
Schedule & reschedule (calendar/dates)	—	✓	✓
Submit a delay reason & requested time	Own	✓	✓
Approve a delay / extend the deadline	—	—	✓
Manage user passwords	—	✓	✓
Manage users, settings, reset data	—	—	✓

Designers work their own queue: they can update intake, files, and move their projects through stages, but they can't delete projects or change the schedule.

Files, data & settings

Attachments live on each project by category (design inputs, drawings, calculations, submittals, and more).
Everything autosaves to this browser. Use Export CSV / JSON for backups or reporting, and Import JSON to restore.
Settings (admin/exec) manages organization names, the designer list and colors, system types, readiness requirements, the stalled threshold, and users.
Access is enforced in this browser for record-keeping — it is not hardened security.

Quick answers (FAQ)

When does a project get added to the tracker?

As soon as its drawings are completed. The PM or Designer brings the intake info: the PM provides the tentative rates, and the PM or Designer provides the take-off list. The project is then created in the New Projects stage.

Where did this date come from? I didn't type it.

Dates stamp automatically as a project moves: assigning a designer sets the original entry date, moving to Submitted stamps the submitted date, and moving to Approved stamps the approved date. You can still open the project and override any date by hand.

Why can't I edit the schedule or delete a project?

You're signed in as a Designer. Designers manage their own intake, files, and stage moves, but scheduling (dates and calendar drag) and deleting projects are limited to Managers and Admins/Execs.

A project I know exists isn't showing up.

Two common reasons: (1) Designers only see their own projects; (2) a search term or filter is active in the Pipeline — click reset filters to clear them.

Everything's checked, but it still says "Not ready."

One of the per-project "if needed" items (Downpayment, Hydrant Flow, Design Survey) is set to Needed but not Done, or a required item under Settings → Ready to design requires isn't checked yet.

What's the difference between overdue and late?

Overdue means today has passed the completion date and design isn't finished. Late means design finished after the deadline. Either way the designer submits a reason and requested time, and an admin approves it.

I missed a design deadline — what do I do?

Open the project's Design deadline panel, write a valid reason for the delay, and enter the new completion date you need. Click Submit reason for approval. It goes to an admin; if approved, your new date becomes the deadline. If rejected, revise and resubmit.

How does an admin approve a delay?

Admins open the flagged project, review the submitted reason and requested date, and click Approve (which can set the new deadline) or Reject with a note. Until an admin approves, the project stays flagged on the Dashboard.

How do I reschedule a design?

Open the project and edit its Start / Completion dates, or on the Calendar drag the bar to move it (or drag its edges to resize). Scheduling is a Manager/Admin action.

Did my work save? Where is the data stored?

Everything autosaves to this browser as you go — there's no save button. For a backup or to move data to another computer, use Export JSON, then Import JSON on the other browser.

What time zone are all the dates in?

Central Time (Chicago) for everyone, regardless of where a person or their device is. Timestamps in activity logs show a "CT" label.

How do I add a new designer?

Admins/Execs: Settings → Designers → + add designer, give a name and pick a color. Then link a user account to that designer in the Users section.

When does a project count as "stalled"?

When it has sat in its current stage longer than the threshold in Settings → "Stalled" after (days) (default 14). Stalled projects appear under the Dashboard's "Needs attention."

Glossary

AHJ: Authority Having Jurisdiction — the local body that reviews and approves the design.
Hydrant Flow: Water-supply flow-test data used to size the hydraulic design.
Design Survey: Field survey of the site gathered before design begins.
Downpayment: Initial payment that may be required before design starts.
Scope of Work: The agreed description of what's being designed.
PM: Project Manager — provides intake info, tentative rates, and (with the Designer) the take-off list.
Take-off list: Itemized list of materials and quantities pulled from the drawings; provided by the PM or Designer.
Tentative rates: Preliminary pricing for the work, provided by the PM.
Ready to design: All required intake items are complete, so drawing can start.
Fab List: The fabrication list produced once a design is approved.
Cycle time: Days from designer assignment to approval.
Design time: Days from assignment to submission.
Approval turnaround: Days from submission to a decision.
Idle work-days: Weekdays a designer has no scheduled drawing.
Stalled: A project sitting in one stage past the stalled threshold (default 14 days).

Daily routine by role

Designer

Check the Dashboard for your overdue and due-this-week items.
If you missed a deadline, submit a reason and the extra time you need for admin approval.
Advance each project you finish to its next stage.
Complete any missing intake on your new projects.
Upload drawings and calcs to the right file category.

Manager / Admin

Clear team-wide Overdue; admins approve or reject submitted delay reasons.
Unstick stalled projects; rebalance the schedule on the Calendar.
Confirm this week's deadlines are staffed.
Assign designers to new intake and keep readiness moving.