Hook in, Hook Out System
P
Patrick Clapp
For high volume and production level workshops that have hundreds of hooks in their warehouses - knowing exactly where to go to pick up a bike can shave significant time off of their repair workflow.
It would be helpful for the new workshop 2.0 to employ a hook in, hook out feature, that allows a service writer to assign a hook to a new repair, and a mechanic to immediately reference the location of that repair. Similar to bin location - but I imagine the field for hook would reference a (true/false) so as to keep two items from being placed on a hook simultaneously.
Neil McQuillan - CEO Citrus-Lime
Workshop 2.0 – Hook In / Hook Out Feature
In high-volume production workshops, especially those handling hundreds of concurrent repairs, bikes are typically stored on ceiling hooks or racking systems within the warehouse. These workshops rely on efficient physical organisation to maintain throughput.
Currently, there is no systemised way to assign or track which hook a repair is physically located on. As a result:
• Mechanics and service writers spend unnecessary time searching for bikes during intake, repair, and collection.
• Hooks can be double-allocated accidentally, causing confusion and delays.
• Operational oversight (e.g. space planning, workflow bottlenecks) is difficult to achieve without reliable location data.
In a busy workshop environment, even saving 1–2 minutes per job compounds significantly. For a 20-repair/day workshop, a hook in/out system could save between 1 hour 40 minutes and 3 hours 20 minutes of labour per week, simply by removing the time wasted locating bikes.
Neil McQuillan - CEO Citrus-Lime
Proposed Solution
Introduce a “Hook In / Hook Out” feature within Workshop 2.0, analogous to existing bin location systems used in warehousing, allowing service writers and mechanics to assign and reference hook locations for each repair.
Core Functionality
1. Hook Assignment at Intake
• When creating a new repair job, the service writer selects an available hook from a predefined list (e.g. Hook A12, Hook B45).
• The system validates that the hook is not currently in use (true/false “occupied” flag).
• Once assigned, the hook number is displayed on the job ticket and within the mechanic’s job view.
2. Hook Lookup
• Mechanics can see at a glance where a bike is stored when they pick up the next job — no walking the floor searching for it.
• Hook numbers appear in:
• Job detail view
• Daily job list / work queue
• Printed work order labels (optional)
• API endpoints
3. Hook Release at Completion
• When a job is marked as completed or collected, the hook is automatically released (hook occupancy flag reset), making it available for reassignment.
Hook Management Screen
• We need an admin screen to create and edit hook names and to see which hooks are currently in use with direct links to the jobs occupying them. This reduces search time, prevents double-allocation, and gives supervisors instant visibility of spare capacity.
A single screen with:
1. Hook Catalogue (grid) — list all hooks, filter/search, usage status, and links to active jobs.
2. Create/Edit Hook drawer/modal — add or update hook name/metadata.
3. Bulk actions — activate/deactivate, rename prefix
Hook Definition
This defines what data is stored against a hook in the hook management screen.
Fields (Hook)
• Hook ID / Name (required, unique, e.g. “A12”)
• Zone/Row (optional; for grouping, e.g. “Aisle A”)
• Status: Active / Inactive
• IsOccupied (read-only, computed)
• CurrentJob (read-only): Job ID, Customer, Intake Date, Technician (link to Job page)
• Notes (optional, free text)
• LastUpdated (read-only, system)
S
Scott
Neil McQuillan - CEO Citrus-Lime maybe don’t call it a hook but something more generic so it makes sense to other customers such as ski and snowboard service shops too and other outdoor or non bike clients that offer high volume repair work. We have up to 200 jobs in at any one time in ski racks, snowboard racks or ski boot bin locations. And when I worked at large cycle retailers we often used storage pens not hooks, so rowing back to be a bit more generic makes it super useable across your client base beyond bike?