Scheduling a Work Order

This chapter provides an overview of resource scheduling and discusses how to assign and schedule resources for work order tasks.

Understanding Resource Scheduling

Once you create a work order and at least one work order task, you have the option of specifying resource requirements and assigning and scheduling these resources for each work order task.

This section discusses:

• The Work Order Workbench.

• Labor resource scheduling.

• Tool resource scheduling.

• Labor and tool resource matching.

• Labor resource assignment approval workflow.

• Procurement of labor and tool resources using the Purchase/On-Hand scheduling grid.

• Inventory resource scheduling.

• Purchase and on-hand resource scheduling.

The Work Order Workbench

Before you can assign a scheduler to a work order task so that the scheduler can access the Work Order Workbench, you must:

1. Set up a role and permissions for a scheduler.

2. Set up the scheduler as an employee either using the HRMS or FSCM database.

3. Establish the scheduler as a resource.

4. Access Maintenance Management's Manage Profiles for the scheduler and associate the scheduler with a shop.

5. Access the shop and enter a user-defined scheduler's code and then select the scheduler to associate with the code.

   You can assign as many schedulers to a shop as you want, but you can only identify one scheduler as the primary scheduler. The primary scheduler's name displays, along with the scheduler code in the work order's Requirement's page for a work order task.

Setting up schedulers in the shop based on a scheduler's code enables you to easily change the scheduler assigned to multiple work order tasks without having to access each work order. You just access the shop and remove the current scheduler's employee ID assigned to that the scheduler code and assign another scheduler's employee to the scheduler's code.

See Understanding Labor and Tools Resource Setup and Maintenance.

You can select different schedulers for each work order task in the work order's Requirements page, as long as they are assigned to the shop associated with the work order. Once you assign a scheduler to a work order task, the scheduler can access the Work Order Workbench component and view a list of assigned work order tasks. The scheduler can add or modify the scheduled start and end date and schedule the work order task directly from the Work Order Workbench. However, the scheduler must click the Work Order link in the workbench to access the work order component and assign resources to the work order task.

When you create a work order, the Scheduling page:

• Is immediately available for pre-approved work orders as long as the shop is set up to access and use Scheduling for its work orders.

• Is not accessible until the work order is approved if work order approval is required based on the set up in the business unit, work order type, or shop.

The Work Order Workbench includes:

• A Task Overview grid, which enables a scheduler to link to the assigned work order and the work order task, as well as view the task's description, the associated asset's description, and any notes associated with the task.

  It also displays the work order type, the priority, the task's status, and the location of the task.

• A Schedules grid, which enables a scheduler to view the required start and end dates for the work order task, as well as enter or modify the scheduled start and end dates and times for each work order task.

  Work order tasks without a start date have a status of awaiting scheduling. You can also select or view any task dependencies.

• A Resources grid, which enables a scheduler to identify which types of resources are set up for each task.

  The scheduler can click one of the resource links, such as Labor, and access the selected resource schedules grid on the work order's Schedules page for the selected task. The scheduler can then assign and schedule resources or modify existing resource schedules, depending on the task's status.

• An Asset Information grid enables a scheduler to review any warranties associated with the asset that is being repaired or maintained in a selected work order task, as well as a history of any other work orders that were associated with this asset.

  The scheduler can also access the target asset's calendar to determine the available dates that the asset can be taken offline for maintenance or repair. After reviewing the dates, the scheduler uses the calendar to reserve the target asset based on the scheduled start and end dates of the work order task.

  Schedulers who have large workloads can set up specific search criteria and save this information. They can select these saved search criteria as a view and access the view at any time, which eliminates the need for setting up the criteria every time they want to view or schedule specific work order tasks.

  Schedulers can create a new work order from the Work Order Workbench and can change the status of one or more existing work order tasks.

A scheduler must be able to respond to changes that may occur during the completion of a work order, such as changes in a resource's availability or access to an asset being maintained. These changes are performed manually by the scheduler.

You can enable specific users to perform various types of scheduling activities in the User Preferences, Maintenance Management page.

See Defining Maintenance Management User Preferences.

Labor Resource Scheduling

There are three different methods for scheduling labor resources.

• Select a resource group ID and click the Recommend Resource button to run the resource match engine, which recommends resources that meet the labor requirements based on both qualifications and availability.

• Search for the resources based on the craft manually by clicking the Search link in the Labor Schedules - Assignments grid on the Schedule page. This search is based only on the availability of the resource and not the qualifications.

• Enter or select a specific employee ID at the resource line level in the Labor Schedules - Assignments grid on the Schedule page.

  Use this method when you know which specific resource you want to assign.

In each of these methods, the system checks the resource calendar for conflict before making the actual assignment. If a conflict exists and the system allows overbooking of the resource, it creates the assignment and issues a warning message to the users. If you indicated that overbooking is not allowed, then the system issues an error message based on the conflict. Once the labor resources are assigned, the distribution row generated is created in the Labor distribution record in Maintenance Management. When the actual time spent on the work order task for this schedule row is entered through a timesheet, the Labor distribution row ChartField values will flow into the timesheet that will feed the shared tables with Expenses.

Important! To manually control overbooking of resources at the work order task line, you must select the Overbooking Resources - Require Manual Override check box for the shop associated with the work order. If you select this check box, then an Overbook Flag check box displays in both the Labor Schedules and Tool Schedules grids in the work order. If you select the check box, then the system allows the overbooking of the resource. If the check box is cleared, then the system does not allow the overbooking of the resource. If you do not select the Require Manual Override check box for the shop, then the system automatically allows overbooking of the resource.

A scheduler assigns resources one at a time and can search crews to find resources for a work order task. You set up a crew, associate resources with it and associate the crew with a shop to enable the system to easily search for resources. When you click the Search link in the Labor Schedules grid in the work order and access the Search for Labor Resources page, you can search by crew ID and craft, as well as other attributes. For example, if a crew has three electricians and two mechanics associated with it, and you need three electricians and two mechanics to do the job, then you perform the search based on the crew ID, which results in a list of the three electricians or two mechanics associated with the crew (depending on the craft specified on the search criteria) so that you can assign these resources to the task. If crew technicians are not available in the shop associated with the work order task, the scheduler can search for technicians in another shop or procure technicians using a purchase order or requisition.

Tool Resource Scheduling

Scheduling a specific tool asset presumes that the asset is able to be scheduled based on its availability and that the asset is formally reserved or checked out for the time period indicated in the work order task. Tool resource scheduling is basically handled like labor resource scheduling in that you can either have the system recommend a tool, specify criteria and search for tools manually, or select a specific tool on the row in the Tool Schedules grid in the work order.

To schedule a tool:

• Click the Recommend Tools button, which uses the match engine to conduct a search in Asset Management for an appropriate tool.

• Manually search for a tool by clicking the Search link on the Tool Schedules - Assignments grid to access the Asset Search page and search for the asset based on availability and a variety of criteria.

• Select a specific tool's asset ID in the Tool Schedules - Assignment grid's work order task line, which is based on the assumption that you know that this type of tool is always available and requires no calendar reservation.

The system can determine availability for tool resources by examining continuous or discontinuous blocks of time, just as it can for labor resources. Each tool is associated with a shop based on its asset classification parameters, which are originally defined in Asset Management. Therefore, the availability of the tools is determined by the operating hours of its associated shop. Tool qualification is determined based on the specification of the asset type, subtype, manufacturer, model, and the Asset Management business unit. When a scheduler clicks the Recommend Tools button to run the Resource Match engine, the system compares the Tool Schedules row specifications to the tool assets that reside in Asset Management and determines availability based on the following table:

If you cannot find a tool in the asset repository, you can procure the tool by creating a requisition or purchase order directly from Maintenance Management by clicking the Move Selected to Purchase button or creating a purchase requisition or purchase order directly in the Purchasing application.

See Procurement of Labor and Tools Resources Using the Purchase/On-Hand Scheduling Grid.

Labor and Tool Resource Matching

When you schedule either labor or tools for a work order task in Maintenance Management, you can click:

• The Recommend Labor button, after clicking the Labor link on the work order's Schedules page.

• The Recommend Tools button, after clicking the Tools link on the work order's Schedules page.

Clicking either of these buttons invokes the Resource Matching engine for either labor or tools resources. The Resource Matching engine:

• Assesses all labor resources based on their availability and qualifications to perform a work order task.

• Assesses all tools resources based on their availability for use in a work order task.

The Resource Matching engine evaluates various factors , such as crafts, accomplishments, competencies, experience, and availability to assess how various labor resources in the resource database match with the qualifications specified for a work order task resource. A fit score is calculated based on these factors, which is used to recommend resources for the task.

To use resource matching, you must:

1. Follow the setup procedures for labor and tools.

2. Define and schedule the cache administration processes that will refresh the eligible resources and resource schedules cache and update the search index that will be used in the calculation of the qualification and availability scores.

3. Review and modify the Resource Search, Search Configuration.

Maintenance Management Search Types

Before you can use the Resource Match engine to search for and identify labor and tool resources that match your specifications for a technician or a tool in a work order task, your organization needs to decide on the importance of each of the factors used to compile the fit scores. You can do this by accessing the two search types defined specifically for Maintenance Management in Common Definitions, Resource Search, Search Configuration component. Each search type specifies the Verity search settings and the factors that are used to determine the factor fit score.

The Resource Match engine uses the Verity search engine to quickly calculate the fit scores for labor and tool resources. Verity is a third-party search engine tool licensed by PeopleTools, which executes free-text data searches. The index process extracts information from the specified database and loads it into Verity formatted files on the Process Scheduler server. The Verity indexing application transforms the labor resource or the asset data files into an index that is used for searching.

When you select one of the two Maintenance Management search types in the Resource Search - Search Configuration component, the two pages in the component include the:

• Verity Settings page.

  You can enter the Buffer Resultset Size (in rows) field to specify the number of rows you want returned from the Verity Index.

  You can also specify the number of days to store the resource schedules. For example, if you specify 30 days, the cache administration process will store the resource schedules for 30-day periods in the cache record.

• Factor Weights page.

  You identify the importance you place on each of the qualification factors.

There are two search types predefined for Maintenance Management, which include:

• WASRC.

  This search type is used to identify assets that are flagged as tools in the asset repository for a work order task. It only uses one factor, configurable fields, which includes ASSET_TYPE, ASSET_SUBTYPE, MANUFACTURER_ID, MODEL, and AM_BU.

• WMSRC.

  This search type is used to identify labor resources for a work order task based on the importance of the weighting of these qualification factors:

  • Accomplishments.

    The Resource Match engine compares resource accomplishments specified for the selected craft in the work order task labor schedule to the accomplishments of the resources included in the search.

  • Configurable fields.

    The configurable fields for WMSRC are CRAFT, SHOP_ID, and BUSINESS_UNIT_WO.

  • Competency proficiency.

    The Resource Match engine compares the competency proficiencies specified for the selected craft in the work order task labor schedule with the competency proficiencies of the resources included in the search.

  • Competency experience.

    The Resource Match engine compares the years of experience specified for the selected craft in the work order task labor schedule with the years of experience of the resources included in the search.

You can specify how important each of these factors is to your organization in terms of finding resources that meet the qualifications necessary to perform a work order task.

See Enterprise PeopleTools 8.46 PeopleBook: Verity Command Line Indexers Reference Guide V5.0 for PeopleSoft.

Resource Matching Fit Score Calculations

The Resource Match engine requires separate algorithms for each match factor. Fit score calculations for Maintenance Management are based on the:

• Accomplishment factor.

• Competency Proficiency and Competency Experience factors.

• Configurable fields.

See Understanding Resource Matching.

Resource Availability

When the scheduler enters a resource group ID and clicks the Recommend Labor (or Recommend Tools) button, the match engine determines a resource's availability based on a precise calculation. The availability calculation uses the date range and duration of the resource request, the resource's calendar, and the shift associated with the resource. The match engine then determines the resource's availability based on these two calculation methods:

• Continuous availability.

  In certain scenarios, a work order task must be completed in a single block of time. For example, when a work order task requires that production equipment must be brought down to perform the task. In this case, the availability of the resource is 100 percent as long as the resource is available for a continuous time period of at least sixty minutes. If you select the Continuous Scheduling check box for either labor resources or tools, and click the Recommend Labor or Recommend Tools button to run the Resource Match engine, the engine only searches for resources that are available for a continuous time period.

• Discontinuous availability.

  If a resource is available for at least 60 minutes, even though the 60 minutes are not in a continuous time period, the availability is 100 percent. For the Resource Match engine to search for resources with discontinuous availability, you must clear the Continuous Scheduling check box for labor or tool resources.

For example, if an organization needs to schedule twelve hours of work between Monday and Friday, the following table describes the how the availability of the resource is determined based on discontinuous versus continuous availability calculations:

If conflicts arise in the creation of an assignment and the resources can be overbooked, then Maintenance Management allows the scheduler to create the assignment and changes the status to assigned. The scheduler receives a message indicating that conflicts exist and that the resource is overbooked. If overbooking is not automatically allowed, then Maintenance Management issues an error and indicates that conflicts exist in creating the assignment. The assignments are set to a status of pending approval if assignment workflow is enabled in the work order business unit options component. Once the assignment is approved, the status changes to assigned.

Note. Unless you indicate that overbooking requires manual override in the shop associated with the work order, the system automatically allows overbooking of a resource. Even if overbooking is allowed for a resource, you cannot assign a resource to a date past the work order task's scheduled end date and time.

An assignment status is changed to complete based on the date when the work order task is set to complete and the resource's calendar is updated based on the Update Resource Calendar option specified at the shop and business unit level. The labor resource's work history is updated only if the Update Work History check box on the resource schedule grid is selected in the row when the assignment is created. If an assignment is canceled as of a specified date, the entries on the resource's calendar are deleted and the assignment is removed from the resource's work history in the resource profile.

For example, a work order task (WO 2 /Task 1) is scheduled from 10:00 a.m., January 2, 2005, to 05:00 p.m., January 4, 2005, and the duration is 10 hours.

Scenario 1: John Doe is free all day from 01/02/2005 - 01/03/2005. The scheduler creates these assignments for John:

Scenario 2: John Doe is already assigned a work order Task on January 3, 2005, from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.. The scheduler receives a warning message stating that John Doe has a schedule conflict. If John Doe can be overbooked, his assignments in his calendar are identical to his assignments in the previous table.

In addition, the assignment details created are:

1. From Date: January 2, 2005 and To Date: January 2, 2005, Hours: 7, Start Time: 10:00 a.m.

2. From Date: January 3, 2005 and To Date: January 3, 2005, Hours: 4, Start Time: 8:00 a.m.

Note. The resource scheduled start and end dates and times are updated based on the work order task start and end dates listed for the previous scenario.

An assignment exception is also created based on Scenario 2 indicating: From Date: January 2, 2005 and To Date: January 2, 2005, Hours: 1, Start Time: 12:00 p.m.

John Doe's calendar is updated with the task assignment.

In another example, a work order task requires a resource from September 16, 2004 09:00 a.m. – September 16, 2004 1:00 p.m. (Duration = 4 hours).

Whether the task is continuous or discontinuous, if overbooking is allowed, the system does not consider the available date ranges returned. Instead it creates the assignment provided that the resource works enough hours between the scheduled start date and time and the scheduled end date and time. If overbooking the resource is not allowed, the system issues an error and creates no assignments.

The Overall Fit Score

After the matching process calculates an overall fit score by taking into consideration each match factor, it calculates factor family fit scores by applying the relative factor importance settings in the Search Configuration's Factor Weights page. Finally, the process averages the family scores according to the relative factor family preferences that are selected during search time. This overall fit score is not visible to end users.

See Understanding Resource Matching.

Labor Resource Assignment Approval Workflow

Schedulers can assign technicians, who are associated with a shop (SHOP B), which is different from the shop (SHOP A) associated with the work order. However, the resource's supervisor must approve the assignment, if the assignment approval is turned on in the Work Order Options component. The technician's supervisor is identified in the technician's employee data file. You can set up email notifications on the Work Order Options page for both the supervisor and the resource, which are triggered based on a selected assignment status. The employee's supervisor (from SHOP B) can access the worklist from the Worklist link located on the top right-hand corner of the browser and approve or reject the assignment. The supervisor can click a link in the worklist to access the Assignment Approval page for a work order resource. If the supervisor approves the assignment of this technician, then the assignment status changes to assigned. If the supervisor rejects the assignment, then the assignment status changes to rejected. Once a technician from a different shop is assigned to a work order task, the cost and bill rates for the technician are based on the rates set up in the shop associated with the work order and not the shop to which the technician is associated.

See Enterprise PeopleTools 8.46 PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Workflow Technology.

Move Labor or Tool Resources to Purchase/On Hand

The scheduler can click the Move Selected to Purchase button above the Labor Schedules grid and above the Tools Schedules grid to send a selected resource to the Purchase/On Hand grid. When the scheduler selects the resource that requires procurement, such as a special tool, and clicks the Move Selected to Purchase button, the tool row is no longer available for selection in the Tool Schedules grid and now appears in the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid. The scheduler then selects the tool in the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid and creates a requisition or PO to purchase the tool. Once the tool is procured, the status of the tool in the Tool Schedules row changes to procured.

Inventory Resource Scheduling

You can schedule Inventory materials for use in performing a work order task. You do this by accessing the Inventory Schedules grid on the work order's Schedules page. You can populate the Inventory Schedules grid with materials or parts by:

• Copying the requirements from the Inventory Requirements grid that you specified either manually or that you copied from a work order task template.

• Copying parts from the Equipment Parts List (EPL), if available, which only displays Inventory parts associated with the asset.

  Note. The Equipment Parts List button is only active if the asset for the task has an associated EPL and there are Inventory items applicable to the Inventory business unit that is defined for the Work Order business unit.

• Entering the parts manually.

The Inventory Schedules page consists of:

• The Materials tab is where the scheduler can search for and select an Inventory item from the Item Master.

  This field may already be populated if you copied the Inventory requirements or selected the item from the Equipment Parts List, if available. The unit of measure (UOM) is derived from the Inventory STD UOM for the selected item. The scheduler can override the UOM and change it to an ordering UOM that is predefined in the Items, Define Items and Attributes, Units of Measure component. The scheduler enters the quantity needed for the task and the date that it is needed. Once the item is committed, which means that Inventory recognizes the work order task demand, the item ID and UOM are both disabled. However, you can still update the quantity needed and the date needed. These fields are no longer available once the item is added to a picking plan. The planned quantity only displays if this item was copied from the Inventory requirements and is informational only.

  Items have many attributes, one of which is the ability to define an item as Floor Stock. If an item type of Floor Stock is used in the Inventory Schedules grid, the item is on-hand in the shop. The Item Type in the grid populates automatically as either Inventory or Floor Stock when selecting an item in the Inventory row. Floor Stock may include bolts, nuts, belts, fluids, and more. You typically replenish these items using a requisition or purchase order, which are not generated from a work order.

• The Details tab provides more information on the state and status of the Inventory item or items that the work order task requires.

  This tab shows whether the item was committed to inventory, if the item exists on a picking plan, if any quantities have been issued to the work order for the item, the current quantity available in inventory, the pegging status, and links, if pegging security is established, to the pegging workbench and pegging inquiry.

• The Inventory Schedules - Additional Information tab further assists the work order task scheduler with information to make better planning and scheduling decisions.

  This tab provides links to the Item Availability inquiry and Item Balance Inquiry pages in Inventory. These inquiries enable the scheduler to determine if enough quantity is on hand for the given demand of the work order task. Selecting either of these links opens a new page and displays availability and balance information for the given item ID. A scheduler can also check the earliest available date that the unfulfilled quantity may be available. In some cases the inventory on hand quantity is not sufficient to fulfill the work order task requirement. In this case, the scheduler can select the inventory row and then click the Earliest Available button to derive the earliest date that the item will be available. You may also specify if any delivery requirements exist for the given item. If the item is serial or lot controlled and quantities are issued to the inventory row, you can click a link to review the serial or lot numbers associated to the item. Based upon quantities available and earliest available date information, the scheduler can better determine the most appropriate work order task start and end dates for the inventory schedule.

  See Understanding On-Hand Inventory Reporting, Confirming Quantity Data with Inventory Balance Audit Reports.

• The Inventory Scheduling - Default Settings tab displays the Inventory business unit, the GL business unit, and the item's setID.

  These are all default values, which depend on how you set up them up in the work order business unit.

• The Inventory Scheduling - Cost tab displays the estimated unit cost and the scheduled material cost.

  The unit cost is derived from Inventory and the scheduled material cost is calculated based on the quantity times unit cost. Both of these fields are display only. The UOM is calculated using the Ordering conversion rule in Inventory. An example of applying the conversion rate is: 1 BOX = 4 EA.; 1 EA unit cost = 1.00 USD; therefore 1 BOX unit cost = 4.00 USD. If the work order parts row needs 2 boxes then the Scheduled Material Cost (extended cost in Inventory) = 8.00 USD.

• The Inventory Scheduling - Distributions tab enables you to access the Inventory ChartField values defined on the distribution template for Inventory items.

  You can override these values.

See Setting Up Equipment Parts Lists.

See Confirming Quantity Data with Inventory Balance Audit Reports.

Inventory Commitment

The Commit field on the Inventory Scheduling - Details tab indicates whether the selected item is committed, which means that Inventory recognizes the work order task demand. The work order demand appears in the Item Availability Inquiry and can be optionally included when running the Create Replenishment Requests for items that are below their reorder point. You specify the point at which items are committed to Inventory on the Integration page of the work order business unit and in the shop definition. You specify a commit rule indicating that you want to commit the inventory items based on:

• The addition of an item to the parts list in Inventory Schedules grid.

  Items are committed when they have been added to the Inventory Schedules grid and a save has been issued. Each subsequent part that is added and saved on the work order task will commit the item to Inventory.

• A change to a specified work order task status.

  Once the work order task status changes to the status identified in the Integration page of the work order business unit or defined at the shop, the item is committed.

  Note. The valid internal statuses to choose from are Awaiting Schedule, Scheduled, and Work in Progress.

• The creation of a picking plan.

  A picking plan consists of the parts or inventory items that are added to a list, which direct Inventory personnel to the storage locations for the items that they need to pick for the work order task. This option delays committing of the inventory items until you are ready to have them picked and available to begin working the work order.

There are certain situations where you cannot change the work order's task status to complete:

• If any rows in the Inventory Schedules grid have an open peg, which means the items have been pegged to an incoming supply (requisition or PO) and the Procurement transaction has not been received yet.

• If any rows in the Inventory Schedules grid are on a picking plan.

• In some cases you may have partial issued quantities at the time you want to complete a task. If you have no quantities or partial quantities issued, you will be prompted to answer Yes or No prior to changing the work order task status to complete. If you select No, then the work order task status is not set to complete and any unfulfilled demand stays in Inventory for later issue. If you select Yes, then any remaining demand in Inventory is depleted.

Work order commit statuses are:

• Not committed.

  The Inventory Schedules row has not yet placed demand on Inventory (inserted into IN_DEMAND).

• Committed.

  The Inventory Schedules row has placed demand on Inventory (inserted into IN_DEMAND).

When Inventory items are committed to INV, a row is created in the Inventory primary table (IN_DEMAND) with the DEMAND_SOURCE value set to WM. You cannot delete scheduled materials if they are on a pick plan or if they were issued.

If during the execution of a work order it is determined that the issued quantity satisfies the work order demand and there are still additional unfulfilled quantities (scheduled qty – issued qty > 0) in the row, users can decrease the scheduled quantity, which reduces the demand on Inventory. If a work order's status is changed to complete, any unfulfilled item quantities are no longer considered committed in Inventory if the user chooses to deplete the demand.

See Using the Fulfillment Workbench to Reserve or Promise Orders.

See Understanding Integrated Products and Shared Products Setup Considerations, Understanding Overall System Setup Parameters for Maintenance Management.

Picking Plans

The pick plan process is a batch process, which is owned by Inventory, lists the items and quantities required for a particular work order. The process runs an Inventory allocation process and generates the picking plan. The Allocation process determines the locations from which the various items of the work order materials list can be picked. The picking plan is a hard copy document, which an inventory clerk can print or a technician can print and carry to the inventory counter. Once you create the picking plan, the inventory clerk must run the issue command to issue the parts to the work order. The picking plan process enables an inventory clerk to obtain the list of needed materials and begin the process of physically pulling the items for the work order. The inventory material need date is the date that the pick plan uses to place items on the pick plan. When the items are picked and issued, the work order inventory item lines are updated to indicate the quantity issued.

An allocation process runs in Inventory that hard allocates items at the location level. A hard allocation increases the quantity reserved in Inventory for a location. If the business unit is flagged for a soft reserve, the quantity is reserved at the business unit/ item level, which increases the quantity reserved and decreases the quantity available.

A work order can schedule materials that are due on various dates. The picking plan enables you to indicate to the clerk, to pick the material on specific dates, based on a certain number of lead days, and more. All of the material with a scheduled due date that is prior to the date specified in the pick plan will be included. Because picking the materials on line in real time is not desirable in this instance, you can run a batch process that looks for start date of the work order and generates a pick plan based on this date.

See Understanding the Picking Process.

Issue Inventory to a Work Order

Inventory is issued by creating a picking plan or when the inventory clerk accesses the work order and issues the inventory items to the work order without a picking plan. The clerk can update the quantity issued, which in turn updates the work order.

See Issuing Items to a Work Order.

Reorder and Replenishment of an Inventory Item

Inventory has reorder thresholds, and once reached, these thresholds trigger the generation of a purchase requisition, which replenishes the stock levels for the item. Inventory also has a replenishment option, Demand Quantity, that can be used to trigger replenishment when the available quantity is less than the work order demand for the item. However, you may also trigger replenishment even if there is available quantity for the work order demand so that there will be a sufficient quantity of specific items available for use in future work orders.

You can access Item Availability and Item Balance by Unit inquiries in Inventory form the Inventory Schedule - Additional Information grid.

See Understanding Inventory Replenishment Processing.

Pegging Work Order Inventory to Supply

Pegging can be used to associate specific supply, purchase requisition or purchase order, to work order demand. This essentially reserves the supply for that specific work order. Users can review the inquiry to see if the supply is pegged and the work order to which it is pegged for an item that they need for another work order.

When items are in short supply, organizations peg higher priority work order demands to specific supply to ensure that those demands are satisfied. This also enables the organization to more accurately schedule work orders.

When the level of inventory items reaches a reorder point, this triggers the generation of a requisition or purchase order in Purchasing to replenish the supply. When a scheduler needs one or more inventory items for a work order that are not currently available, the scheduler can access the Pegging Workbench from the Inventory Schedules - Details grid and link the demand for the Inventory item based on the work order to the incoming supply identified in the requisition or purchase order. Pegging essentially reserves the incoming supply to the work order. Once an item is pegged, the quantity scheduled in the Inventory Schedules grid is unavailable for selection until you save the page. The quantity pegged for the work order can be issued to the technician or delivered to the work order job location using the Issue to Work Order command in INV when the items are received. Once an item is pegged, you can access the Pegging Inquiry to follow its progress. If pegging notification is enabled, a notification is generated that the item for the work order has been received. If the email option is enabled, the work order contact receives an email indicating that the materials are now available. The item is put away into Inventory and can then be issued to the work order.

Important! The pegging workbench is available in the work order only if pegging security is set up for the user in Inventory, Order Pegging, User Security.

See Pegged Orders.

Procurement of Labor and Tools Resources Using the Purchase/On-Hand Scheduling Grid

There are many instances when users may need to purchase specific materials, tools, and labor to complete a work order task. You determine whether you want to create a requisition or a purchase order in the work order business unit's Integrations page. To identify resources that need purchasing, users can:

• Copy from the Purchase/On-Hand requirements.

• Select parts from the Equipment Parts List (EPL), if available, which is stored in the Asset Management asset repository.

• Manually enter non-inventoried items and open description lines.

• Send labor resources and tools resources to the Purchase/On-Hand Scheduling grid from the Labor Scheduling grid and the Tools Scheduling grid using the Move Selected to Purchase button.

You also can configure Maintenance Management to tie back from requisition, purchase order, or voucher that you create in Purchasing or Payables to a work order by referencing a work order business unit, work order ID, and work order task. This inserts a resource row in the Purchase/On-Hand Schedule resource row in the work order to enable the costs to flow back to the work order for these procured resources.

Note. If a requisition, purchase order, or voucher is created and tied back to a work order, then a row is inserted in the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid, the PO status is set to complete, and the row is disabled.

You can authorize specific users to procure resources by granting them access through the User Preferences component.

See Defining Maintenance Management User Preferences.

See Understanding Overall System Setup Parameters for Maintenance Management.

The Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Procurement tab enables you to select a non-inventory item or enter an open description resource row, enter a planned quantity, and select a UOM. You indicate whether a resource is labor, material, or tools, and the due date. You can override the default due date, which is the scheduled start date for the work order task. You also indicate if this resource is on-hand. Costs are not calculated for on-hand materials. The On Hand check box enables a scheduler to enter one or more rows, which do not need to be procured but are in-store stocked items. For example, you could procure 100 hard drives, expense them upon purchase, and keep your supply on hand in a cabinet in the work shop. If you need one of these hard drives to complete a work order task, you can identify this hard drive as on-hand in the work order Purchase/On-Hand grid for information purposes only.

The Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Details tab enables you to review the Pegging Inquiry, once the resource is pegged, and also identifies the pegging status, the requisition status, and the PO status. You can indicate whether you want the resource delivered and how you want it delivered. When a work order creates a requisition or purchase order for a non-inventory or open description resource, the system automatically pegs the resource row, which basically reserves the resource for the specific work order. The requisition or purchase order status enables the scheduler to determine the status of the procurement transaction. Once you select and stage the row to either the requisition load or purchase order build process, the system updates status and prevents any future staging of the row. Once the requisition load or purchase order build process successfully creates the requisition or purchase order the status is updated to complete.

The Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Vendor tab enables you to select the vendor from whom you are making this purchase. If you enter a non-inventory item row, the default category value is derived from the Item setup. If you do not specify a vendor when staging to the Purchase Order process and you have entered an open description resource row, the system issues an error preventing the rows from being staged until all errors are corrected. You must select a vendor ID for all open description rows, as well as select a category value. Additional values that must be entered before you can successfully stage the work order to the Purchase Order are Ship to ID and Location.

The Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Default Settings tab displays the work order's GL business unit, which comes from the work order business unit, the item's setID, and a supplier reference. Supplier reference is only populated if copied from an EPL in which a supplier has been entered.

The Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Cost tab multiplies the unit cost times the planned quantity to arrive at the scheduled procurement cost. If this is a noninventory item row and a standard cost is set up for the Item under the Purchasing Attributes for the item, a unit cost value displays in the field. If the noninventory item does not have a minimum standard unit cost set up, you must enter an estimated unit cost. If you know the cost or approximate cost for an open description row, you may enter it, otherwise you are not required to enter a cost. However, if you leave the cost at 0, the requisition or purchase order is created with a 0 price. You select the Calculate Price check box to enable the Purchase Order Calculation (PO_CALC) process to calculate the current price for a noninventory item rows. The Calculate Price check box is disabled for all open description rows because the PO Create (PO_CREATE) process has no method of calculating the price for open description rows.

When the Purchase Order is staged, you can perform one of these activities:

• Run the PO Calculation process (PO_POCALC) and then the PO Create Process (PO_POCREATE).

• Run the PO Auto Sourcing process (PO_AUTO_SRC) which basically is one process that combines the Calculation and Creation processes.

If you load requisitions instead, once you select the Purchase/On-Hand rows to stage, then you run the Load Requisition (PO_REQLOAD) process.

The cost of these items and open description rows flow through the Procure to Pay cycle and ultimately into Project Costing. The costs are updated in Maintenance Management by running the Cost Summarization process or by closing the work order.

The Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Distribution tab enables you to indicate whether you want to distribute the purchasing data by amount or quantity. Purchasing allows multiple distributions and enables users to override the ChartFields.

See Understanding Maintenance Management.

When you create a requisition or purchase order to fulfill a need for labor resources, the system ensures that the required date for the work order task is specified on the purchase order or requisition line. You use a non-inventory or open description requisition or purchase order to outsource repairs, such as a motor rewind, or services, such as contract labor. To populate the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid for these labor and service requirements, you can use the Move Selected to Purchasing button, manually add the line, or copy the line from an existing template. You also can enter a labor or tool resource that is often procured in the Purchase/On-Hand grid by setting up the labor or tool resource in a non-inventory item ID and selecting the resource in the item ID prompt.

Pegging

When you click either the Load Requisition(s) or Load Purchase Order(s) button in the work order, depending on the configuration specified in the work order business unit, the system automatically pegs the work order to either the requisition or purchase order when the requisition or purchase order is created. When you select the Add Requisition or Add Purchase Order button in the work order and access Purchasing to manually create a requisition or purchase order, you can manually create a link to the work order, which also pegs the work order to either the requisition or the purchase order that you create.

Pegging for Purchase/On-Hand materials ties the Requisition or PO to the work order so that when you create vouchers in Payables, the costs are sent to Project Costing and eventually back to the PO. Creating the work order association copies the work order distributions onto the either the requisition or PO. The Project and project activity derive the default work order distributions from either the requisition or the PO. Users cannot change this information. When a requisition is sourced to a PO, the work order peg is moved to the PO. When the PO is received, if notification is enabled, the contact person in the work order is notified. With Payables vouchers, the costs flow to Project Costing and the work order cost collection picks up these costs.

See Creating Requisitions Online, Understanding Purchase Orders.

Work Order Procurement Inquiry

Clicking the Procurement Inquiry button accesses the Maintenance Management Purchasing and Pegging Inquiry component. This inquiry enables a scheduler to review the specific procurement transactions that exist for a given work order.

See Using the Purchasing and Pegging Inquiry.

Purchase Order or Requisition Add

Clicking this button accesses the Purchasing Add/Update Requisition or Purchase Order component, where you can add a new purchase order or requisition, depending on the configuration in the work order business unit. This provides a convenient way to add a purchase order or requisition based on the work order by eliminating the need to exit the work order and selecting the options separately in Purchasing. The work order key fields will not be copied if you click this button to add a requisition or purchase order, it is simply a navigation aid to help navigate to the component to add the necessary procurement transaction.

See Creating Purchase Orders Online.

Purchase Order or Requisition Load

In order to stage work order Purchase/On-Hand rows you need to ensure that all of the data elements are populated properly. Once all edits are clear, you must select the check box for those rows for which you want to stage prior to clicking the Purchase Order or Requisition Load button. For each Purchase/On-Hand row you selected, the system inserts the row into the Purchase Item Stage record (PO_ITM_STG). Corresponding Purchase Order distributions are also inserted into the Distribution Staging record (PO_DIST_STG). Once the rows are staged, you must access Purchasing to run either the PO Auto Sourcing process or the PO Calculations and PO Creation processes to create the purchase order.

If the work order business unit is configured for requisitions, then the Load Requisition(s) button displays instead of the Load Purchase Order(s) button. When you click the Load Requisition(s) button, this flags the selected work order Purchase/On-Hand row(s) for the Load Requisition process. You must then navigate to Purchasing and access the Load Requisitions process.

Assigning and Scheduling Resources for Work Order Tasks

To schedule resources for work order tasks use the Work Order (WM_WO) component and the Work Order Workbench (WM_WOTSK_WORKBENCH) component.

This section discusses how to:

• Use the Work Order Workbench.

• Create a work order task search view.

• Use the Task Overview grid in the Work Order Workbench.

• Use the Schedules grid in the Work Order Workbench.

• Use the Resources grid in the Work Order Workbench.

• Use the Asset Information grid in the Work Order Workbench.

• Assign and schedule resources for work order tasks.

• Assign and schedule labor resources for work order tasks.

• Assign and schedule inventory resources for work order tasks.

• Assign and schedule purchased/on-hand resources for work order tasks.

• Assign and schedule tool resources for a work order task.

Pages Used to Assign and Schedule Resources for Work Order Tasks

Using the Work Order Workbench

Access the Work Order Workbench page.

Use View	Select a view that you saved using the View button and click Search to display the work order tasks. This eliminates having to specify search parameters every time you use the workbench.
View	Click this button to access the Task Search page and enter search parameters to perform a search for one or more work order tasks. You can save the search parameters in the Task Search page to use again.

Basic Search for Work Order Tasks

You can also enter basic search criteria in the Search group box of the Work Order Workbench and click the Search button in the group box to list the tasks in the workbench based on the selected criteria.

Creating Work Order Task Search Views

Access the Task Search page.

Use View	Enter a name for the view that you want to save, after selecting the search criteria on the page. If you access this page by selecting a previously saved view on the Work Order Workbench Search page, then that view's name appears in this field.
Save View	Click this button to save the search criteria entered on this page. You must first enter a name for the view in the Use View field.
Business Unit	Override the default work order business unit, if necessary. Select or enter information in any of the remaining fields to narrow your search for work order tasks.
Classification 1:	The classification fields appear based on supplemental data that can be set up for a work order task.
Search	Click this button to search for the work order tasks that meet the selected criteria on the Task Search page.

Using the Task Overview Grid in the Work Order Workbench

Access the Task Overview grid.

Select All	Click this check box to indicate that you want to select all of the listed work order tasks listed in the workbench to print.
Clear All	Click this button to unselect all of the work order tasks listed in the workbench.
Print	Click this button to access the Work Order Task Detail Report options. You select print reports for the selected tasks, which include: Labor Assignment Report Material Assignment Report Purchase/On-Hand Report Tool Assignment Report Instruction Report Checklist Report Work Order Notes Report Work Order Task Notes Report Equipment Parts List Report Note. You can also click the Bar Code check box to include bar codes on the reports to enable bar code scanning.
Change Status To	Select one or more tasks for which you want to transition the status, select the target status, and select the Go button.
Create Work Order	Click this button to access the Work Order search page, where you can add a new work order.
Work Order	Click this link to access the actual work order.
Task Descriptions	Click this link to review a description of the task.
Asset Descriptions	Click this link to access the Asset Information page and review basic information about the target asset being repaired or maintained in the task.
Notes - View	Click this link to review any existing notes for this work order task , to add a new note, and to select different notes by checking the blank check box next to the Subject field to send to a scheduler or service request requester.

Using the Schedules Grid in the Work Order Workbench

Access the Schedules grid.

Scheduled Start Date and Start Time	Modify the scheduled start date and time as necessary for each task.
Scheduled End Data and End Time	Modify the scheduled end date and time as necessary.

Using the Resources Grid in the Work Order Workbench

Access the Resources grid.

Labor	Click the link to access the Labor Schedules grid on the work order's Schedules page, where you can modify the schedule depending on the status of the work order. Displays Yes if labor resources are scheduled for this task and No if labor resources are not scheduled for this task.
Tools	Click the link to access the Tool Schedules grid on the work order's Schedules page, where you can modify the schedule depending on the status of the work order. Displays Yes if tool resources are scheduled for this task and No if tool resources are not scheduled for this task.
Inventory	Click the link to access the Inventory Schedules grid on the work order's Schedules page, where you can modify the schedule depending on the status of the work order. Displays Yes if inventory resources are scheduled for this task and No if inventory resources are not scheduled for this task.
Purchase/On-Hand	Click the link to access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid on the work order's Schedules page, where you can modify the schedule depending on the status of the work order. Displays Yes if Purchase/On-Hand resources are scheduled for this task and No if Purchase/On-Hand resources are not scheduled for this task.

Using the Asset Information Grid in the Work Order Workbench

Access the Asset Information grid.

Warranty	Click this link to view or add warranty information for the work order task's asset on the Asset Warranties page.
	Click this icon to access active warranties associated with this asset.
	Displays this icon if the asset being maintained is categorized as hazardous.
Work Order History	Click this link to access the Work Order Task History page for this asset. You can override the asset ID on the page and search for and display the task history for a different asset.
Asset's Calendar	Click this link to access the Asset Monthly Schedule page, where you can review existing commitments for the asset.

Assigning and Scheduling Resources for Work Order Tasks

Access the Schedules page.

Scheduled Start and Scheduled End	Enter the start and end dates and times to schedule resources for this work order task. Note. You must enter these dates before you click the Copy From Requirements button.
Copy From Requirements	Click this button to copy data from the Labor Requirements, Inventory Requirements, Purchase/On-Hand Requirements, and Tools Requirements in the Requirements page to the Labor Schedules, Inventory Schedules, Purchase/On-Hand Schedules, and Tools Schedules grids on the Schedules page.
Labor	Click this link to access the labor scheduling options and Labor Scheduling grid.
Inventory	Click this link to access the Inventory scheduling options and the Inventory Scheduling grid. Note. You must install Inventory to access this link.
Purchase/On-Hand	Click this link to access the Purchase/On-Hand scheduling options and the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid.
Tools	Click this link to access the Tools scheduling options and the Tool Schedules grid.

Assigning and Scheduling Labor Resources for Work Order Tasks

Access the Schedules page.

Recommend Labor	Select at least one row in the Labor Schedules grid and then select this button to run the Resource Match engine, which matches qualifications and schedules specified in the row to the qualifications and schedules of all Maintenance Management labor resources and returns the recommended labor resources with their qualification and availability fit scores. You can narrow the search by selecting a Resource Group before you click this button. See Labor and Tool Resource Matching.
Cancel Labor Assignment	Click this button after selecting rows in the Labor Schedules grid that you want to cancel. This cancels the assignment, which deletes calendar entries associated with the assignment and clears the employee ID on the selected labor resource schedule row.
Move Selected to Purchase	Click this button if you need to obtain a selected labor resource from an outside vendor. You select the labor resource row and then select this button, which moves the resource information to the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules grid. You must specify the craft and the required dates for the work order task. Once a technician is procured, you need to set up the technician as a resource if you want to treat the individual as a regular employee technician, which enables you to schedule this individual to work on work order tasks. In this case, you would create the purchase requisition or purchase order without the work order information on the procurement document. Alternatively, you can procure a service directly to the work order and receive the costs to the work order from the supplier by means of an invoice through Payables. In this instance, you would enter the work order business unit, work order ID, work order task ID, and resource line number on the procurement documents.
Resource Group	Select a resource group ID to use to narrow the search for resources by the Resource Match engine when you click the Recommend Labor button.
Continuous Scheduling	Select this check box to have the Resource Match engine determine availability of one or more selected resources by assuming the resource should ideally have one block of time available to complete the work. This option is used only by the Resource Match Engine. See Labor and Tool Resource Matching.

Recommended Labor Resources

When you click the Recommend Labor button, the Verity Search Engine and the Resource Match engine run and match the selected craft's qualifications and availability with either resources in the selected resource group or all Maintenance Management resources associated with the selected craft. Once the matching finishes, a Recommend Labor Resources grid displays listing the resources that match the labor resource row criteria.

Labor Schedules - Assignments

Select the Assignments tab in the Labor Schedules grid.

Search Labor Resources

Access the Search Labor Resources page.

Labor Schedules - Details

Access the Labor Schedules - Details grid.

Labor Schedules - Timetable

Access the Labor Schedules - Timetable grid.

Labor Schedules - Cost

Access the Labor Schedules - Cost grid.

Labor Schedules - Distributions

Access the Labor Schedules - Distributions grid.

Assigning and Scheduling Inventory Resources for Work Order Tasks

Access the Inventory Schedules grid on the Schedules page.

Equipment Parts List	Click this button to access the EPL in the asset repository to identify the inventory items that reside on the list for the asset being repaired. The Equipment Parts List button is active only if the asset being repaired has an associated EPL attached to it and there are inventory items that exist for the inventory business unit that is defined for the work order business unit.
Earliest Available	After selecting one or more inventory rows, click this button to determine the earliest date the selected inventory items will be available to use for the work order task and display this information in the Additional Information tab.
Picking Plan	Click this button to generate a picking plan for any of the listed items that have not already been selected for a picking plan. You do not have to select each row to generate a picking plan. A message displays indicating that you submitted a picking plan and provides the process instance and pick batch ID for tracking purposes. Note. If you indicated that items are committed based on the generation of a Picking Plan in the work order business unit's Integration page or the shop definition, then the Inventory Schedules - Details grid indicates that the items are committed. You must indicate in the User Preferences - Maintenance Management page that a user is authorized to run a picking plan.
Picking Plan Setup	Click this button to display the Process/Output Options page to define the allocations and run parameters for the picking plan report.

Picking Plan Setup Process/Output Options

Access the Process/Output Options page.

Inventory Schedules - Materials

Access the Inventory Schedules - Materials tab.

Inventory Schedules - Details

Access the Inventory Schedules - Details tab.

See Understanding Pegged Supply and Demand.

Inventory Schedules - Additional Information

Access the Inventory Schedules - Additional Information tab.

Inventory Schedules - Default Settings

Access the Inventory Schedules - Default Settings tab on the Schedules page.

See Inventory Requirements.

Inventory Schedules - Cost

Access the Inventory Schedules - Cost tab.

Inventory Schedules - Distributions

Access the Inventory Schedules - Distributions tab.

Assigning and Scheduling Purchase/On-Hand Resources for Work Order Tasks

Access the Purchase/On-Hand grid on the Schedules page.

Procurement Inquiry	Click this button to access the Work Order Procurement Inquiry component in Maintenance Management. This inquiry displays all the purchase orders and requisitions that are associated with this work order task.
Add Purchase Order or Add Requisition	Click this button to access the Add/Update Purchase Order or the Add/Update Requisition component to create a purchase order or requisition. The button that displays in the work order depends on your selection of either Purchase Order or Requisition on the work order business unit's Integrations page.
Load Purchase Order(s) or Load Requisition(s)	Select the resource lines for which you intend to create Purchase Orders (or requisitions) and then click the Load Purchase Order(s) button for a work order task. The selected rows are then staged into the purchasing related stage records (PO_ITM_STG and PO_DIST_STG). Once the rows are staged, you must access Purchasing to run either the PO Auto Sourcing process or the PO Calculations and PO Creation processes to create the purchase order. This stages the purchase orders. When you click the Load Requisition(s) button, this flags the selected work order rows and you then must access Purchasing to run the Load Requisitions process. Note. Normally, organizations schedule PO Auto Sourcing, PO Calculations, PO Creation, and Load Requisitions to run automatically at regular intervals. See Creating Requisitions Online.

Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Procurement

Access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Procurement tab.

Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Details

Access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Details tab.

Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Vendor

Access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Vendor tab.

Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Default Settings

Access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Default Settings tab.

Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Cost

Access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Cost tab.

Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Distributions

Access the Purchase/On-Hand Schedules - Distributions tab.

Assigning and Scheduling Tool Resources for a Work Order Task

Access the Tool Schedules grid on the Schedules page.

Recommend Tools	Select a resource group ID, if set up, and click the Recommend Resource button to run the Resource Match engine, which recommends resources that meet the tools requirements based on availability.
Cancel Tools Assignment	Select one or more appropriate tools resource rows and then select this button to cancel the tool assignment.
Continuous Scheduling	Click this check box to indicate to the Resource Matching process that you only want to search for tools that are available for a continuous block of time.
Move Selected to Purchase	Click this button to move selected tool rows that need to be purchased to the Purchase/On-Hand grid. The rows are removed from the Tools Schedules grid.

Tool Schedules - Assignments

Access the Tool Schedules - Assignments grid.

See Understanding Labor and Tools Resource Setup and Maintenance.

Tool Schedules - Details

Access the Tool Schedules - Details grid.

Tool Schedules - Timetable

Access the Tool Schedules - Timetable grid.

Tool Schedules - Cost

Access the Tool Schedules - Cost grid.

Tool Schedules - Distributions

Access the Tool Schedules - Distributions grid.