Occupations define the roles your crew members fill — Operator, Oiler, Foreman, and so on. They drive labor cost tracking: each occupation carries its own rate and cost in your [Rates & Resource Management — article pending] setup, so getting your occupation list right is the foundation for accurate job margins.
Key Concepts
- Occupation: A role label assigned to crew members (e.g., Operator, Oiler, Foreman). Occupations determine which rates and costs apply to a crew member on timecards, crew assignments, and crew resource groups.
- Usage indicators: The Crew Members and Resource Groups counts displayed next to each occupation. These show how many crew members currently hold that occupation and how many crew resource groups include it. An occupation can only be deleted when both counts are zero.
How It Works
Open Settings → Occupation Management from the sidebar. You'll see a table listing all occupations in your account.
[Screenshot: Occupation Management page showing the table with Name, Crew Members count, Resource Groups count, and action icons]
- View your occupations — The table shows each occupation's name, how many crew members have it assigned, and how many crew resource groups include it.
- Create an occupation — Click Create Occupation. Enter a name (e.g., "Foreman") and save. The new occupation appears in the list and is immediately available for crew assignments and resource groups.
- Edit an occupation — Click the pencil icon on any row. Update the name and save. The change applies everywhere the occupation is referenced.
- Delete an occupation — Click the delete icon on a row. If no crew members or resource groups use it, the occupation is removed and a success message appears.
- Deletion blocked — If the occupation is in use, deletion is blocked. The error message tells you exactly why — for example, "Cannot delete: 5 crew members have this occupation" or "Cannot delete: Used on 3 resource groups." Reassign those crew members or remove the occupation from those resource groups before trying again.
[Screenshot: Delete blocked error message showing association counts]
Permissions & Access
Occupation Management requires the Account Settings permission, which gives users access to settings and tools for your Ribbiot account. If you don't see it in the sidebar under Settings, ask your account administrator to enable Account Settings on your profile.
Tips & Best Practices
- Set up occupations before building crew resource groups: Occupations need to exist before you can add them to crew resource groups in [Rates & Resource Management — article pending]. Create your full occupation list first.
- Check usage indicators before deleting: The Crew Members and Resource Groups counts tell you at a glance whether an occupation is safe to remove. If either count is above zero, you'll need to reassign before deleting.
- Keep names consistent with your payroll system: If your payroll or HR system uses specific role titles, match them here. This keeps labor cost data clean across timecards, billing, and reporting.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Q: I can't delete an occupation — what do I do? A: The error message shows what's blocking deletion. Reassign crew members to a different occupation (in Managing Users) and remove the occupation from any crew resource groups (in [Rates & Resource Management — article pending]) before trying again.
Q: I created an occupation but it doesn't show up when adding to a crew resource group — why? A: The occupation should be available immediately. Try refreshing the page. If it still doesn't appear, confirm the occupation was saved successfully by checking the Occupation Management list.
Q: Can I merge two occupations into one? A: Merging is not available. To consolidate, create the occupation you want to keep (if it doesn't exist), reassign all crew members and resource groups to it, then delete the old one.
Q: What happens to timecards if I rename an occupation? A: Existing timecards retain the occupation data they were submitted with. The updated name applies to new timecards going forward.
Related Articles
- [Rates & Resource Management — article pending] — Set up rates and costs for crew, equipment, and misc resource groups using occupations
- Divisions, Occupations, and Branches — How divisions, occupations, and branches are structured in your account
- Managing Users — Assign occupations and divisions to crew members
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