Updating Assignment Layer - Override by Workers

[mackenzie_firstname]

Hey there 🙂 

Recently we have been having some issues updating our assignment layer manually - namely, switching the status from Declined to Cancelled. 

• We cancel our assignments using a Web App rather than Workforce, as the nature of our work means that we need to retain the declined date and comment. We simply switch the status to Cancelled. 

Recently (this week) we have noticed that the assignments revert back to Declined when/if the worker is logged in. 

We have also had the same issue trying to update our Workers layer, and have been asking the workers to delete and reload the map as a workaround for now (based on the following post: Solved: Re: How do I update existing worker information in... - Esri Community). However asking them to do this for each declined assignment is a bit too manual.

Has anyone else experienced issues trying to update the Assignment/Worker layers recently, and are there any plans to disallow the worker to override the dispatcher edits in the future? 

Thank you 🙂 

Mackenzie

[mackenzie_firstname]

Hey @CraigGillgrass . 

So far we are still unable to update the Assignment layer - I have done some testing on this issue using both the Beta and Normal versions of ArcGIS Workforce (Android and iPhone devices, respectively). This is what I have found:

• Changing the status to Cancelled using a Web App reverts back to Declined
• Clearing the assignee using the Workforce web app (making Unassigned) reverts the status back to declined
• Cancelling the assignment with the Workforce web app reverts the status back to declined

The status is reverted almost instantly if the worker is logged in. If they are not on the app, the status will revert as soon as they log in or open up the app.  

So far, the only solution I can find is to ask the advisor to remove the project from their Workforce app, wait for me to change the status (using either a Web App or the Workforce web app), and then reinstall the project once this is done. However, this is not a feasible solution as they would have to do this several times a day while out in the field. 

I also tried updating the description of the assignment to see if that would revert back to the original description. The description appears to stay the same when viewed on the Workforce web app, but does not update on the worker's mobile apps. 

I do notice that syncing both the devices generated an error.

• iPhone - Sync Errors: Unable to synchronise replica
• Android - Sync errors: Service error code 500

Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to Cancel the declined assignments. 

[CraigGillgrass]

Hello @mackenzie_firstname unfortunately, this is a by-product of the move to offline support in Workforce and by design. This is due to the same underlying behavior that also causes the Mobile Worker information to not be update-able after the Worker has signed in.

Short of asking your Workers to remove the downloaded project from the device each day; there's no other way to handle this.

It is something we're looking at solving with the move of Workforce into Field Maps. But we do not have a solution planned within the Workforce app.

Craig

[mackenzie_firstname]

Hey @CraigGillgrass, 

Is there any update on this issue? Now that the move of Workforce to Field Maps has been pushed back, I expect it will be some time before this issue is solved. 

When a sync error occurs on our worker's device, this means that they will not receive any new assignments, and we can't update the assignment on our system at all, until they reload the map or uninstall/reinstall the app. It also means that our reporting has become inaccurate, as syncing pauses as soon as the app is closed. 

Although there is a workaround (reinstalling the app or reloading the map), this often takes a few tries to clear the error, and some users are experiencing it almost daily. Reloading the map is also not ideal as it clears the completed list on Workforce, affecting workers in the field when they need to refer to their jobs. 

We have recreated our project from scratch, and removed our offline capability on the project in hopes that would help, but unfortunately it has not. 

Has there been any development into solving this issue? Or have any other users reported the same experience? 

[CraigGillgrass]

@mackenzie_firstname there hasn't been any work on this; I'll see what we can do with it but I'm concerned this may be due to a limitation in Sync and may not be something we can resolve.

Let me see what I can do and if we can devote some time to look at this. Craig

[mackenzie_firstname]

Thanks Craig, that would be great! If you have any further suggestions or ideas, let me know. 

[ahagopian_coj]

Hello!  I know your reply is a bit old but has there been any movement/update on this?  We are also having sync issues and the only way I have found to fix them is to unregister the worker's replica database.  Then the app is forced to make a new copy and they can sync again.  It is very frustrating when it is 3 am and the worker runs into sync issues just trying to get the new job list or mark one as complete.