Automating a way of understanding time difference when start and end time are in the same column.

Jon Brown

Hi everyone,

We are looking at using a smartsheet solution to understand how much time employees on our production lines are spending working on certain lines.

I created a separate sheet for each production line (we have 12 production lines) and I am using QR codes scanned via a smartsheet form (Quick for employees to enter data) to enter start and end time. There is a start time QR code and an end time QR code.

My issue is the start and end times are in the same system created column so its not easy to create a formula to see how much time someone spent on the line.

Here is a picture from my sheet with example data.

Genevieve P.

Hi Jon,



Currently Smartsheet does not have a specific function to track time, so please submit a Product Enhancement Request when you have a moment.

System Created Columns return data once per minute so the smallest difference that could be tracked is one minute: there is no way to calculate seconds. 



What you might be able to do is create a formula that returns a value from the system generated column into two different columns (one for Start and one for End), however it can be complicated to retrieve a time value. Let me know if you would like me to look into this further for you. 

You may also want to take a look at other Community threads that have discussed similar time tracking questions:



https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/calculating-hoursminutes-cells-date-and-time



https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/time-calculation



https://community.smartsheet.com/comment/reply/node/28066/discussion_responses/86221

Andrée Starå

Hi Jon,

To add to Genevieve's excellent advice.

The third-party service, Zapier is an excellent option for this scenario. Is that an option for you?

I hope that helps!

Have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

Jon Brown

Zapier could be an option for sure.

Do you know if the free version would be sufficient?

Not 100% sure what qualifies as a ZAP when I look at the pricing model.

Thanks 

Jon

Jon Brown

Thanks Genevieve,

These formulas will be a great help.

Jon Brown

Hi Genevieve,

I would appreciate it if we could look into this further.

I have looked at the community threads but I am struggling to make this work. I changed my approach and created separate sheets for start times and end times, so the user would swipe the QR code into the tablet and the system would log time and date for start and end in separate sheets.

I then thought I could use cell linking to pull the start and end times into another sheet so they were together, but when I cell link the system column it removes the time stamp.

More help would be appreciated.

Genevieve P.

Hi Jon,

One way to retrieve a time-stamp from a System Created column is to use either the RIGHT or LEFT function. For example, based on your screen capture, you can copy the time to a new column by using the following formula:

=RIGHT([Date & Time]@row, 5)

This will bring in 5 characters from the right of the cell in the Date & Time column, which are the characters that make up the timestamp. 

 

That said, based on the project you have and what you are looking to accomplish, Andree's suggestion of looking into Zapier may be the best option moving forward. You can learn more about Zapier through the following links:

• Smartsheet's Integration with Zapier
• Creating Zaps
• List of Apps that Smartsheet can Integrate with via Zapier