User Roles and Basic Concepts
đź“‘ User Roles and Basic Concepts
Maintella brings together everyone involved in field engineering. This page explains the main user roles and the core concepts that tie the system together.
> 💡 Organization scope: Everything you do in Deftify happens within your organization’s environment, with one exception: field engineers can be assigned tasks from anywhere, even if they’re external contractors. This design makes it easy to bring in help without setting up accounts or IT projects.
đź‘Ą User Roles in Maintella
đź› Field Engineers
Who they are: People working hands‑on with assets (they might be from your company or external contractors).
How they access Maintella: They receive secure access‑key links.
Why no passwords/accounts: We deliberately avoid requiring field engineers to have user accounts or passwords. This means you can send a contractor a task without asking their company to create and manage accounts.
Example:
An OEM needs a contractor to replace a part on an EV charger in another country. Instead of onboarding them as a user, they email a secure link to the task.
🧠Remote Engineers
Who they are: People coordinating and directing field engineers, typically from within your organization.
What they do: Assign tasks, monitor progress, and make decisions on what work should be done.
Example:
A remote engineer reviews sensor data from an IoT backend and assigns a diagnostic workflow to a local contractor.
đź“ť Workflow Admins
Who they are: Documentation specialists or team leads who design workflows.
What they do: Create, edit, and publish workflows so that field engineers follow the right steps.
Example:
A workflow admin updates a maintenance workflow to add a new safety step before technicians open a cabinet.
🔑 System Admins
Who they are: Organization managers of Maintella.
What they do: Decide who can access what, set up integrations with other systems, and manage the organization’s environment.
Example:
A system admin connects Maintella to the company’s asset management system to automatically sync asset data.
đź“š Core Concepts
📦 Asset
Definition: The physical equipment or installation you manage in Maintella.
Example: A charging station, a vehicle, or a piece of industrial equipment.
đź“‹ Workflow
Definition: A step‑by‑step process that guides field engineers through tasks.
Example: A “Quarterly Filter Replacement” workflow that lists tools, steps, and reporting fields.
âś… Task
Definition: A specific assignment given to a field engineer, derived from a workflow and tied to an asset.
Example: A task for “Replace filter on asset #42” that follows the workflow’s steps.
đź”— How They Fit Together
System admins and workflow admins set up the environment and workflows. Remote engineers assign tasks to field engineers. Field engineers complete tasks on assets — all tracked within your organization.