The Smoothing feature in FieldInsight helps you carry over incomplete maintenance tests into the next scheduled period. This is useful when technicians are unable to finish all planned tests in a given month, ensuring nothing is missed.
It is also especially useful if you want technicians to complete only a portion of the tests at a time, rather than completing everything in one visit or one month. Smoothing allows the remaining tests to roll forward into the next generated job, making the workload easier to manage across multiple service periods.
What Smoothing Does
When smoothing is enabled, any incomplete tests from one period are automatically included in the next generated job for that contract category.
For example:
If a contract has quarterly, 6-monthly, or 12-monthly tests
And technicians do not complete all scheduled tests in May
Then when the next job is generated in June, those incomplete tests will be carried over
This helps when work needs to be spread out over time, instead of expecting all tests to be completed in a single job.
Before You Start
To use smoothing, you first need to enable it in your Plant Maintenance settings.
Enable Smoothing in Settings
Go to Settings
Navigate to Asset Manager
Select Plant Maintenance
Open Calendar
Turn on Enable Smooth
Once enabled, FieldInsight can carry incomplete tests forward based on the maintenance frequency.
Apply Smoothing to a Contract Category
After enabling the global setting, smoothing must also be turned on within the contract itself.
To enable smoothing on a maintenance contract:
Open the relevant maintenance contract
Go to the Periodic Rules tab
Find the category you want smoothing to apply to
Tick the Smooth checkbox for that category
You can choose which asset categories should use smoothing, depending on how your contract is structured.
How It Works
Let’s say a category includes:
6-monthly tests
12-monthly tests
Other periodic maintenance tasks
If technicians do not complete all tests scheduled in May, those incomplete items will appear again when jobs are generated for June.
This is particularly helpful if you prefer technicians to work through the test list gradually, completing some items first and returning to the rest in future visits.
Example
Open the contract
Go to the Jobs tab
Select Menu
Click Generate Jobs
Open the generated job
Go to Assets > PPM
Here, you’ll see the list of tests included in the job.
If some tests were completed in the previous month and others were left incomplete:
The completed tests remain visible as completed
The incomplete tests are carried forward into the next generated job
This gives technicians full visibility of:
What has already been completed
What still needs to be done
Important Note
Even if the contract does not show any planned tests for the current month, FieldInsight can still generate a job with relevant tests when smoothing is enabled.
That is because the system is pulling through unfinished tests from the previous period.
Frequency Rules
Smoothing follows the maintenance frequency set on the contract:
3-monthly tests are spread over 3 months
6-monthly tests are spread over 6 months
12-monthly tests are spread across the full year
This ensures incomplete maintenance work continues to flow through future job generations until it is completed.
Benefits of Using Smoothing
Smoothing helps you:
Avoid missing incomplete maintenance tasks
Let technicians complete tests in smaller, more manageable portions
Spread workloads across multiple visits or months
Keep technicians informed about outstanding work
Maintain continuity across scheduled maintenance periods
Better manage long-term recurring maintenance contracts
Summary
To use smoothing in FieldInsight:
Enable Smooth in Settings > Asset Manager > Plant Maintenance > Calendar
Enable the Smooth checkbox for the required category in the contract’s Periodic Rules
Generate jobs as usual
Any incomplete tests from the previous period will be included in the next job