Overview
The Critical for operation (criticality, often shortened to CFO) setting links a Checklist's completion to whether a Location shows as Ready for operation (green) or Not ready for operation (red) on the dashboard. You turn it on with the Is critical for operation checkbox in the Compliance section of a Calendar Schedule or an Ad Hoc Slot, then choose a mode: Always, When overdue, or When missing. Ticking the checkbox selects Always until you choose another mode.
Criticality is one of the Schedule compliance settings. It's available on Calendar Schedules and Ad Hoc Slots only — Continuous Schedules have no slots, so they can't be critical for operation.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Super Users, a Schedule's Owners, or a Role with Schedules › Create or Modify |
Where | Schedules › a Calendar Schedule › Compliance › Is critical for operation, or Schedules › Ad Hoc Slots › Configure Ad Hoc Slot › Compliance |
Works on | Backend (web). Readiness shows on the Location Overview dashboard widget and also feeds RideOps readiness. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: A red Location should mean "don't operate yet." If everything is marked critical, red loses meaning; if nothing is, you lose the safety gate. Matching the mode to the check keeps readiness a trustworthy signal — essential safety and operational checks gate operation, while routine ones don't create false alarms.
How slot times drive the modes
Every Calendar or Ad Hoc slot has a start and a deadline. If you tick Allow grace period, the slot also gets an End of grace period — extra time after the deadline in which the Checklist can still be completed (see Adding Grace Periods to Schedules and Calendars). When the slot ends — at the end of the grace period, or at the deadline if there is no grace period — any Checklist that wasn't completed becomes a Missing Result. The three criticality modes differ only in which of these moments turns the Location red.
The Always mode
With Always, the Location turns red as soon as the slot starts, and stays red until every Always Checklist is completed and submitted — then returns to green if nothing else critical is pending.
The When overdue mode
With When overdue, the Location stays green while the slot is running. If the Checklist still isn't completed when the slot's deadline passes — the moment the grace period begins — the Location turns red. It stays red through the grace period and afterwards, until the Checklist is completed or the resulting Missing Result is handled.
⚠️ Heads-up: When overdue doesn't wait for the grace period to end — the grace period gives Assignees time to finish, but the Location is already red while it runs. If the slot has no grace period, When overdue behaves exactly like When missing: the Location turns red when the slot ends.
The When missing mode
With When missing, the Location stays green for the whole slot, including any grace period, and turns red only if the Checklist is still incomplete when the slot ends — when the Result goes Missing. It stays red until the Missing Result is approved or rescheduled.
🛑 Critical: Don't combine Ignore missing results with Is critical for operation on a Schedule or Ad Hoc Slot — Mobaro warns you that this isn't a recommended configuration. With When missing, no Missing Result is created, so the Location doesn't turn red even if the Checklist isn't completed.
ℹ️ Note: Your organization's Location Overview header-color settings also affect readiness. By default, Red if one or more checklists are missing is on, which turns a Location red for any Missing Result — critical or not. See Schedule criticality and Location operational status.
Compare the criticality modes
Mode | Location turns red | Ideal for |
Always | When the slot starts, until the Checklist is complete | Essential daily / operational checks |
When overdue | When the slot's deadline passes (start of the grace period), if incomplete | Checks that are due by a deadline but may be finished in a grace period |
When missing | When the slot ends (end of the grace period, if any), if incomplete | Regular periodic compliance tasks |
Best practices
Use Always for pre-opening safety and operational checks that must be done before the Location runs — daily equipment inspections, opening safety checks.
Use When overdue when a check should be done by its deadline and you want the dashboard to flag it the moment it's late, while still giving Assignees a grace period to finish — secondary equipment checks, for example.
Use When missing for periodic tasks that must happen regularly but not the moment they're due — weekly/monthly inspections, periodic audits.
Frequently asked questions
How do I block a ride from opening until its inspection is done?
Tick Is critical for operation in the Compliance section of the Calendar Schedule or Ad Hoc Slot and choose Always. The Location then shows Not ready for operation (red) from the slot's start until the Checklist is completed.
My weekly check is critical and the ride stays red all week. How do I stop that?
Change the mode. With Always, the Location is red from the slot's start, so a week-long slot blocks all week. In the Schedule's Compliance section, choose When overdue or When missing, or untick Is critical for operation. The change applies to slots that haven't ended yet.
Is there a mode that lets the ride open the next day without handling the missed checklist?
No. In every mode, a critical Checklist not completed by the end of its slot keeps the Location red until its Missing Result is approved or rescheduled; it can't be disapproved. Ignore missing results avoids this, but isn't recommended on critical Schedules. See Approving or rescheduling missed Results.
Why could the ride open even though the weekly check wasn't done?
Because the Location wasn't red yet. While a slot is running, only a critical Checklist set to Always turns it red; When overdue waits for the deadline and When missing for the end of the slot. Use Always for checks that must be done before opening.
What happens to criticality when I reschedule a Missing Result?
If the original slot was critical, the rescheduled Checklist is set to Always and starts immediately by default, so the Location stays red until it's done. In the web app you can change the criticality before confirming the reschedule. See Schedule criticality and Location operational status.