Setting up Integration to Work Order

If you are using work orders in IFS Maintenance to perform maintenance tasks in IFS/Vehicle Information Management (IFS/VIM) most of the activities here are mandatory.

General Setup

Adjust Object Properties

Setting up User Data

Setting up Company Controlling Currency

Setting up for Material Transactions on Simplified Work Orders

Setting up in a Distributed Environment (Only applies to installations using several databases connected in a network)

General Setup

Some general setup is required to enable the integration between maintenance tasks and work orders:

1. Establish sites
2. Establish workshops and connect to sites - The site each workshop is connected to is the site that the work orders will be created in when task distribution is performed.

Adjust Object Properties

Several object properties control the behavior of the integration between maintenance tasks and work orders. For more information, refer to the activity Verify or Adjust Default Object Properties. The following object properties should be verified or adjusted:

Setting up User Data

To enable each user to execute the integration between maintenance tasks and work orders, several steps must be performed to set up each user correctly.

1. Define the user (Foundation1).
2. Connect the user to a Company (Initial Steps) - The user has to be connected to all the companies in which he or she will create work orders. Note: Each user of IFS/VIM has to be connected to the company that controls the currency used within IFS/VIM (Setting up Company Controlling Currency).
3. Connect user to sites (Distribution) - Connect the user to the sites in which he or she will be executing work orders.
4. Set up person information for the user (Initial Steps) - A person must exist for the application user. Note: The field User ID of the person must be entered. This is important in order for the integration to be able to translate the currently logged on user to a valid person.
5. Create the person as an employee in companies (Maintenance) - Connect the person to the companies in which the user should be allowed to create work orders.
6. Define user access to workshops - The user has to be assigned access to all the workshops to which he or she should be allowed to distribute tasks. Note: The site of each workshop has to be connected to the user.
7. Define user access to cancellation causes - The user has to be assigned access to all the cancellation causes he or she should be allowed to use when canceling tasks.

Setting up Company Controlling Currency in IFS/VIM

In several places within IFS/VIM there are fields holding costs. There are fields in the serial order history holding the costs of completed maintenance tasks, and there are fields on each serial holding the accumulated maintenance costs. Maintenance tasks can be executed as work orders in different companies, using different currencies. To have correct accumulated values within IFS/VIM it is necessary to present all costs in one currency. In the serial order history the maintenance costs are presented in both the currency of the work order and the currency used in IFS/VIM (currency conversion is performed when a maintenance task is completed).

The following setup is required:

1. Create a company (Initial Steps) - Create the company that will hold the currency information that is to be used within IFS/VIM.
2. Connect all IFS/VIM users to the currency company (Initial Steps) - All users of IFS/VIM have to be connected to the company that controls the currency used within IFS/VIM.
3. Adjust the object property named VIM_COMPANY ( Object LU - SerialOrderHist, Object Key - COMPANY) which controls the company that manages the currency used in IFS/VIM. Enter the value of the currency company. Note: This value cannot be changed after the maintenance task has been completed.

Setting up for Material Transactions on Simplified Work Orders

When maintenance tasks are distributed in IFS/VIM it is possible to select from three different distribution types. When the Simplified Work Order distribution type is selected, all the information for a simplified work order is entered within IFS/VIM and the user has no interaction with the work order. When the simplified work order is finished a work order is automatically processed in the background:

1. The work order is created with one single operation and materials entered in IFS/VIM.
2. The status of the work order is changed to Started.
3. Time is reported and authorized on the operation.
4. Entered materials are issued from Inventory.
5. The status of the work order is changed to Finished.

Material transactions on simplified work orders can be handled in different ways. You can let the simplified work order issue material directly from inventory to each work order. This works fine if it is not important to have strict control on which inventory locations the material is issued from. If this is not satisfying, it is possible to define material requisitions for each site, where the users can perform the inventory transactions before the maintenance task is finished. When the maintenance task is finished, the inventory transactions will be moved from the material requisition to the work order that is executed in the background. Follow these steps to set up the material requisitions:

1. Define one material requisition for each site where simplified work orders will be executed. Material requisitions are created in IFS Distribution. For more information, refer to the process model Handle Material Requisition.
2. Enter permanent material requisitions for each site.

Setting up in a Distributed Environment

When the integration between maintenance tasks and work orders are executed within one single database, everything is performed as online transactions. This is not possible in a distributed installation where several databases are involved, and work orders can be executed on several databases.

In a distributed environment, IFS/Connectivity is used to transfer data between databases. The IFS/Connectivity message classes are TASKTOWORKORDER (maintenance tasks to work order) and WORKORDERTOTASK (work order state changes to maintenance tasks). Note: These message classes must be set up in basic data to work properly. The maintenance task is transferred to the database that is connected to the site that, in turn, is connected to the workshop to which the task has been distributed.

The following setup is required:

1. Set up IFS/Connectivity (Foundation1) - Make sure that message classes TASKTOWORKORDER and WORKORDERTOTASK are enabled.
2. Connect site to message receiver (Distribution) - Each site to which a work order can be distributed must be connected to a Message Receiver in IFS/Connectivity. This must be done in order to determine which database to send messages to.

In addition to setting up IFS/Connectivity, it is also required to set up replication objects so that all necessary basic data are synchronized between the databases in the distributed environment. The definition of the replication objects are located in the respective components. The following replication objects need to be set up:

• CURRENCY - Currency Codes, Types and Rates (ACCRUL). This is required.
• STATUTORY_FEE - Statutory Fees (ACCRUL). This is required.
• ISOUNIT - ISO Units (APPSRV). This is required.
• PARTCOST - Part Costing with Basic Data (COST). This is optional.
• COMPANY - Company - General Enterprise Information (ENTERP). This is required.
• INVENTORYPART - Inventory Part with Basic Data (INVENT). This is required.
• MANUFPARTATTRIBUTE - Part Manufacturing Attributes (MFGSTD). This is optional.
• PARTREVISION - Manufacturing Part Revisions (MFGSTD). This is optional.
• PACKAGETYPE - Package Types - Basic Data (MPCCOM). This is required.
• SITE - Site - General Data (MPCCOM). This is required.
• INSTRUCTIONLOCATION - Instruction Location - Basic Data (MSCOM). This is required.
• INSTRUCTIONTYPE - Instruction Type - Basic Data (MSCOM). This is required.
• OPERSIGNREQ - Operation Signature Requirements - Basic Data (MSCOM). This is required.
• ORGANIZATION - Organization - Maintenance Basic (MSCOM). This is required.
• ROLE - Role - Maintenance Basic (MSCOM). This is required.
• TOOL_FACILITY - Tools and Facility (MSCOM). This is required.
• TOOL_FACILITY_TYPE - Tool and Facility Type (MSCOM). This is required.
• SALESPART - Sales Part with Basic Data (ORDER). This is optional.
• PARTCATALOG - Part Catalog (PARTCA). This is required.
• PURCHASEPART - Purchase Part with Basic Data (PURCH). This is required.
• CANCELTASKCAUSE - Cancellation Causes for Maintenance Tasks (VIM). This is required.
• FAULTCODE - Fault Codes and Functions (VIM). This is required.
• FAULTMODE - Fault Modes (VIM). This is optional.

Define Financials Basic

System Data, Distribution

BDR Enter Person

BDR Enter Employee

Define Organization General Data

Change System Definitions

Handle Material Requisition

BDR for Serials

BDR for Tasks