Working with work blocks

Create, configure, and manage work blocks — the individual units of work that make up your project schedule.

A work block is a single piece of scheduled work — "Grade parking lot", "Install storm drain", "Pave south lane." Each block has a duration, crew assignment, and date range. Blocks are the atoms of your project schedule. Everything else — dependencies, critical path, recast, dispatch — operates on blocks.

Creating a work block

Open a project and go to the Timeline tab
Click Add Block (or double-click on the timeline)
Enter a descriptive name — be specific enough that the foreman knows exactly what to do
Set the duration in working days
Assign a crew from the dropdown (shows available crews by type)
Set the start date (or let it cascade from dependencies)
Click Save — the block appears on the timeline

Block properties

Name — what the work is
Duration — how many working days (respects your work week and holiday calendar)
Crew — which crew performs the work
Start/End date — when the work is scheduled (can be pinned or calculated)
Status — Not Started, In Progress, Completed
Completion % — tracked manually or via field app check-ins
Notes — instructions, materials needed, access information for the crew
Equipment — specific equipment assigned to this block

Editing blocks

Click a block on the timeline to open its detail panel. Edit any property directly. Drag the block to move it to a different date. Drag the right edge to change duration. Changes trigger recast if dependencies or constraints are affected — the rest of the schedule adjusts automatically.

Completion tracking

Track block completion by updating the percentage manually in the detail panel, or let the field app update it based on foreman sign-off. Completed blocks turn a muted color on the timeline. The project's overall completion percentage is calculated from its blocks — each block contributes proportionally based on its duration.

Pro tip

Write block notes as if you're briefing the foreman who's never been to the site. Include access directions, material delivery timing, coordination with other crews, and anything unusual about the site. Notes that say 'Grade lot' don't help — notes that say 'Grade lot, access from south gate only, water main runs along east boundary — keep 10ft clear' prevent problems.

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The project timeline

Visualize and manage your entire project schedule on the timeline — create blocks, set dependencies, assign crews, and watch the schedule respond to changes in real time.

Managing crew assignments

Assign crews and equipment to work blocks, handle reassignments when plans change, and keep a clear record of who did what on every project.

Block dependencies

Link work blocks so one can't start until another finishes — creating the logical sequence that recast uses to calculate your schedule.

Parallel work blocks

Schedule overlapping work blocks to compress project timelines — when crews can work simultaneously without interfering with each other.