Portable Appliance/ Safety Testing

Content was last updated in 06.01.17-00

Revision History

To keep a business functional at all times, the assets it is using must in a ready-for-deployment condition 24x7. To achieve this, they must be maintained in pristine condition by being serviced on either a cyclic or as-and-when required basis.

In most cases, such servicing on inventory items is usually done periodically. Therefore, from a business and its operational perspective, knowing the tentative/ required date of the service becomes imperative. This way, servicing can be carried out smoothly and business' operations remain balanced and streamlined without affecting item/ asset outage/ unavailability.

This way the required compliance is maintained on the servicing needs of all items/assets.

And Orders can be planned since there is a 360° visibility on concurrent or prospective maintenance schedules of items/assets.

A new custom report has been designed, that provides a ready reckoner about items and assets for which scheduled services are past their due dates or are due upto 30, 60 or 90 days in the future.

As obvious, the Next Service Date is not a keyed-in field for the database, and it can only be calculated for the services that are periodic in nature.

The next service date is calculated based on the following formula:

Next Service Date = Last service completion date + Scheduled duration* for periodic service (In Days)

*The Scheduled duration for periodic service is a user-defined field, specified in the Product Maintenance Group for each Item/Asset. 

This formula is cumulatively calculated on a pro-rata basis. Simply means, 'Next Service Date' for this phase of calculation becomes 'Last Service Completion Date' for next phase.

Similarly, there is a concept of QC (Quality Check) which may be done impromptu either before sending an Item/Asset in to deployment or once it is back from a client's site. At times, depending on the scenario, it may be done at both instances.

And since QC is more of instance based, it may be overridden manually while an item is being deployed and the system prompts for confirmation on QC.

How this functionality works?

The Portable Appliance/ Safety Testing functionality allows Asset’s status to be automatically marked to QC/ Needs Service, once it satisfies the criterion as set in service schedules added in the Maintenance Group tagged to Asset's parent Item.

The Portable Appliance/ Safety Testing functionality is explained through a sample workflow.

1. Select the Validate QC/Service on Return checkbox (in Configuration module > Warehouse tab) to enable the maintenance validation of Assets while scanning, based on the schedules in their tagged maintenance group, during all warehouse operations a shown in Figure 1.0.

2. By default, the system will have a built in Schedule named [QC ON RETURN] for tagging to Maintenance Groups, as shown in Figure 1.1.

3. Create an Item [SONYALPHA5] on June 01, 2021 at Site [San Francisco], and receive few quantities of it.

4. Click the importable button in Groups > Maintenance field. The Maintenance Group window is displayed.

5. Click Add icon. The Schedules window is displayed.

6. Enter following values for the new Maintenance Group as:

   • Group ID = MAINTGRP

   • Description = Maintenance Group

7. Click List button. The Schedule List window is displayed.

8. Double click on built in Schedule named [QC ON RETURN] listed here and click OK. This Schedule gets added to the Maintenance Group being created and gets listed in the Schedules window.

9. Click List button from Schedules window again. The Schedule List window is displayed.

10. Click Add button. The Schedule Edit window is displayed.

11. Create a new Schedule by entering following values in the fields of the Schedule Edit window, as shown in Figure 1.2.

12. Click OK button. The Schedule gets created and listed in Schedule List window.

13. Double click on the new Schedule listed in Schedule List window and click OK. This Schedule gets added to the Maintenance Group being created and gets listed in the Schedules window, as shown in Figure 1.3.

14. Click OK button. The Maintenance Group is created and is listed along with its Schedules in Maintenance Group window, as shown in Figure 1.4.

15. Double-click on the listed Maintenance Group named [MAINTGRP]. The system prompts with a message "Enable QC Schedules?", on newly tagging a Maintenance group having one or more Schedules with Mark As set as QC to Item Edit window > Groups > Maintenance field, as shown in Figure 1.5.

16. Click For All Sites button in the message prompt. The Maintenance Group [MAINTGRP] gets tagged to the Item [SONYALPHA5] and the QC check box gets selected for this Item for all Sites, as shown in Figure 1.6.

17. Click All Site Details button. The All Site Details window gets displayed listing all the Sites, as shown in Figure 1.7. The Maintenance validation for the Item based on condition in Schedules with Mark As set as QC will happen for the Item at the Sites with QC check box selected against them.

For example: QC check based on Schedules in tagged Maintenance Group [MAINTGRP] will happen for Item [SONYALPHA5] at Sites [NEW YORK], [WASHINGTON], [DETROIT] and [SAN FRANCISCO].

For more in Formation on All Site Details dialog box set up for validating Items based on tagged Maintenance Groups, click here.

18. Schedule a Windows Task Scheduler to schedule the periodic checking and marking of Assets’ Status to QC or Needs Service, on a day-to-day basis.

This scheduler is required to be run on a periodic basis to mark Assets, as QC/Needs Service, which satisfies service conditions set in tagged Maintenance Group’s Schedules which are based on Schedule Type as Periodic/Meter/Duration Rented/Times Rented.

For more in Formation on Setting up a Windows Task Scheduler, click here.

19. The Assets of the Item [SONYALPHA5] gets their Status set to QC when the windows task scheduler runs on August 30, 2014. This is because the Item has completed 90 days without servicing. This satisfies the service condition as set in the tagged Maintenance Group’s Schedule named [PERIODIC90DAYS].

20. Now, try to ship the Assets of the Item [SONYALPHA5] whose Status set to QC, on orders.
    System will not allow shipping them as the Assets are in QC. And this will be allowed only after bringing back the Assets’ status from QC to IN.

21. Service the Assets of Item [SONYALPHA5] on September 01, 2014 by creating Service Tickets or by using Quick Service feature from Service module.

22. Create a Rental Reservation Order [CO378661] at Site [San Francisco] on September 26, 2014.

23. Add the item [SONYALPHA5] to Order [CO378661], fill and ship the Asset [SONYALPHA#1], as shown in Figure 1.8.

24. Generate the Equipment Delivery Receipt (EDR) print using [153800UI] for the Order [CO378661]. The EDR print gets generated, as shown in Figure 1.9.

    • The EDR print will have details of the Assets present in the Order, their Last Service’s Date, and the Employee ID of the Employee who performed the Last Service of the Asset.

    • CID 67 - Prints the Last Service Date for the Asset.

    • CID 68 - Prints the Employee ID of the Employee who performed the Last Service.

    • The Last Service details get printed in the EDR print for an Asset if it is serviced by creating a Service Ticket or by performing Quick Service.

25. Access 'Return Order' window of Order [CO378661] on October 07, 2014, and return the Asset [SONYALPHA#1].
    The Asset received is due for service based on the tagged Maintenance group’s built in Schedule [QC ON RETURN] tagged to Asset’s parent Item with Times Rented interval as 1 and QC is selected for the Item [SONYALPHA5] and the Site [San Francisco] - the system displays the prompt message ”Asset is due for Service. Do you want to mark it as QC / Needs Service as per its Maintenance setup?” with Yes and No options, as shown in Figure 1.10.

26. Yes - If Yes is selected the Asset will be marked as QC/Needs Service based on Schedule added to the Maintenance Group tagged to the Asset’s parent Item whose criteria is satisfied now.

    • No - If No is selected, the Asset will not be marked as QC or Needs Service.

    • If the Skip this prompt for all the Assets scanned during this session check box is selected - On scanning more Assets in the same session, the system will not display the prompt message. However, it will mark the Assets that are due for Service as QC / Needs Service, if Yes was selected and but will not be marked as QC or Needs Service, if No was selected.

If the user chooses to not perform the servicing of an Asset when the system prompts based on a currently satisfying service schedule by clicking No button then, the system starts considering the interval for the schedule from that point onwards.

See example and Notes

Figure 1.11: Prompt Message Displayed for Asset that is due for Service on return

26. Select the Skip prompt for all Assets due for Service scanned during this session check box in the prompt message and click OK button.
    The system marks the Asset [SONYALPHA#1] as QC (as per Mark as > QC option selected in the built in Schedule dialog box for the Maintenance group tagged to the Asset’s parent Item).

27. The system sets Asset Status as QC for the Asset returned on the Order which satisfies the service condition set in the tagged Maintenance Groups with built in Schedule.

    • The Assets [SONYALPHA#1] Status is set to QC. Assets with status set as QC can be filled / shipped on another Order only after servicing them. However, the Asset with status set as QC gets filled/shipped in Orders if Force Order Fill check box is selected in Configuration module > Warehouse tab.

    • Assets with Status as QC can be serviced by creating a Service Ticket or by Quick Service feature from Service module.

    • Assets with Service Status as Needs Service can be serviced by creating a Service Ticket for them.

  The Assets with Service Status as Needs Service can still be filled / shipped on other Orders without servicing them.   

   However, once Service Ticket is created, it cannot be filled / shipped.

28. Service the Asset [SONYALPHA#1] of Item [SONYALPHA5] by creating a Service Ticket or by using Quick Service feature from Service module.

Additional Information

• The Portable Appliance/Safety Testing functionality is applicable only for Serial Item's Assets and is not applicable for Non-Serial Items.

• While scanning, generating Needs Service, or running Windows Task Scheduler, all the Assets which satisfy service conditions set in their tagged Maintenance Groups’ Schedule based on Schedule Type as Periodic/Meter/Duration Rented/Times Rented are considered.

• The Validate QC/Service on Return check box (in Configuration module > Warehouse tab) has to be selected for the Maintenance validation of Assets while scanning, based on the schedules in their tagged Maintenance Group, during all Warehouse operations.

• The system prompts the user with a message on satisfying the service condition of Schedules with Mark As - QC only if the QC check box is set as selected in the Item Edit window and in All Site Details dialog box for the Site for the Asset’s parent Item.

• However even without the QC check box selected, the system will prompt the user with a message on satisfying the service condition of Schedules with Mark As - Needs Service and sets the Asset's Service Status to Needs Service while returning, if due for Service, based on the Maintenance Group tagged to the Item for the Site.

• The QC check box will be in cleared state, by default, on creating a new Item.

• On trying to manually select the QC check box in the Item edit window of an Item, the system prompts "Do you want to change in all sites?” with Yes and No options.

• Selecting Yes - Will set the QC check box as selected for all sites.

• Selecting No - Will set the QC check box as selected only for the current site and remains unmodified in all the other sites.

• QC check box selection in Item edit window and its selection in All Site Details dialog box for an Item on upgrading to this version of R2:  

• On newly tagging a Maintenance group having one or more Schedules with Mark As set as QC for an Item in its All Site Details window > Maintenance Group column against a listed Site - The system selects the QC check box in All Site Details window for that Site. (Note: This doesn't happen on editing an already tagged Maintenance Group)

• Maintenance Validation for an Item based on setup in its All Site Details dialog box

• Maintenance Validation for an Asset which satisfies Maintenance criteria based on its Owner Site, Current Site:

  1. While Scanning

  2. While Generating Need Service

• Maintenance validation for an asset while scanning an In-Transfer asset also above mentioned point based on Owner Site and Current Site is applicable and will be marked as QC/Needs Service accordingly.

• The system will not allow the user to create Quick Service Ticket for an Asset which is already having a open Service Ticket. Instead it displays a message prompt as  "Open Service Ticket exists for this Asset. Please complete it and proceed." with OK Button.

• The system automatically creates a Service Ticket on performing Quick Service of an Asset.

• The details of Services performed for an Asset can be viewed from the Asset Service History window (accessed from Asset edit window > Service button) of the Asset.

• The details of any Service which is chosen by user as not to be performed for this Asset is also displayed here with Status as QC/Service Skipped. When the user chooses to not perform a service, a closed Service Ticket is automatically created by the system for the satisfying schedules. Additional details of this record (Service Ticket ID, and satisfied Schedule IDs) can be viewed by selecting this entry and clicking Comments icon and viewing its Comments.

• The details of Quick Service get entered with Status as Quick Service. Additional details (Service Ticket ID, and satisfied Schedule IDs) can be viewed by selecting this entry and clicking Comments icon and viewing its Comments.

• Any Asset when marked as Lost/Missing while returning it on an Order will be set with status as Lost / Missing, but won’t have any effect on Asset’s Service Status even if it satisfies the criterion set in tagged Maintenance Group. However, while returning the Lost / Missing Assets, it will prompt for marking the assets as QC/Needs Service based on the satisfying Maintenance Schedules.

• When an Out Asset is marked as Damaged on Order:

• With Return to Inventory and Create Service Ticket options selected, system will create Service Ticket for the selected Asset with Damaged flag selected.

• However, if Return to Inventory is selected and Create Service Ticket is not selected, system will prompt to mark the Asset as QC/Needs Service if it satisfies any Service Schedule at the time. But if no satisfying Service Schedule is found, it sets it as Damaged with Service Status as Needs Service.

• If Return to Inventory is not selected, it will not prompt to mark the asset to QC/Needs Service, rather it sets the Service Status as Needs Service and marks it as Damaged.

• On returning Assets by Batch Return from the Warehouse module also, the prompt message ”Asset is due for Service and will be marked as QC/Needs Service based on its Maintenance Group” will be displayed if the Asset is due for service based on the Schedule added to the Maintenance Group tagged to the Asset’s parent Item and same would be marked as QC/Needs Service as per Maintenance Group.

• A windows task scheduler can be used to schedule the periodic checking and marking of Assets’ Status to QC or Needs Service.

• On clicking on the Service > Generate Needs Service or on running the equivalent program through Windows Task Scheduler

• The Asset Status will be set as QC, if the satisfying criterion in the Maintenance Group has Mark As set to QC instead of marking the Service Status as Needs Service. The check for Schedules with Mark As set as QC will be performed only if the QC check box is selected for the Item for the Site.

• If the satisfying criterion in the Maintenance Group has Mark As set to Needs Service, Asset’s Service Status will be set to Needs Service.

• The system validates the Assets based on their tagged Maintenance Groups’ Schedules during exceptional Filling scenarios also, as explained below:

• While filling an Asset on an Order/Transfer Order that is Out on a different Order:

• While filling a Lost/Missing Asset on an Order:

• While performing Ship Items from Order:

• While trying to Un-return a QC Item:

• While resolving Physical Inventory Discrepancy, if an Out Asset is adjusted as IN, on completing the Physical Inventory, the Asset gets returned on Order and is marked as QC/Needs Service based on the satisfying Service Schedule at the time of completing the physical inventory.

• Currently the Portable Appliance/Safety Testing functionality (explained in this topic) is not supported for Serial Kits and its child items.

• Non-serial Kit’s child Items get validated like normal Items based on the Maintenance Group tagged to the respective Item, in its Item edit window.

• Assets which are already marked as QC or Sold won’t be validated to check if they satisfy Maintenance conditions as per their tagged Maintenance Groups.

• The following reports are supported for generating details of Assets satisfying Maintenance criteria:

1. Rep_OrderAssetSchedule (Report for the Assets expected to be Returned for the day and satisfying the Maintenance criteria) - This is a function based report that can be run as a custom report. This details of the Report's columns are provided in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Report Column Details

2. Rep_AssetQCNeedServiceView (Report for the Assets which are QC / Needs Service by Order) - The assets which are currently in QC / Needs Service will be extracted in this report. This details of the Report's columns are provided in Table 2.2

Table 2.2 Report Column Details

3. Rep_MaintenanceScheduleLog - This report provides the list of Assets which are in Out/ Missing/ Lost/ In-Transfer/ Filled/ Repair/ QC/ Sold status, but has satisfying maintenance schedules as per the date and time the report is run and as such could not be serviced. The details of the Report's columns are provided in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3: Report Column Details

Setting Up and Running a Windows Task Scheduler

A Windows Task Scheduler can be setup for the periodic checking of whether any Assets have satisfied the service conditions from their tagged Maintenance Group, as explained below. If one or more Assets satisfy the service criteria then:

• The Asset Status will be set as QC, if the satisfying Schedule in the tagged Maintenance Group has Mark As set to QC instead of marking the Service Status as Needs Service and also Damaged flag will be left unmodified. The check for Schedules with Mark As set as QC will be performed only if the QC check box is selected for the Item for the Site.

• If the satisfying Schedule in the Maintenance Group has Mark As set to Needs Service, Asset’s Service Status will be set to Needs Service.

For detailed in Formation on how and when an Asset's Status/Service Status gets set to QC/Needs Service, refer the Additional information section in this topic.

Configuring Oracle Client Installation and path in the Operating system

Setting up the Windows Task Scheduler consists of the following steps.

• Step #1: Creating SQL file for executing the procedure named PatAutomation.sql

• Step #2: Creating a Batch file for executing the automation procedure

• Step #3: Scheduling Windows Task Scheduler for executing the batch file.

Step 1 - Creating SQL file for executing the procedure named PatAutomation.sql - Details

Create a ASCII file with extension.sql (For example PatAutomation.sql).

Enter the below command lines and save the file.

exec generateneedservice ('<UserName>',<date for which this sql procedure should be run>);

exit;

For example:

To connect with Username = MANTRA and for current system date, setup the command in the ASCII file as:

exec generateneedservice ('MANTRA', sysdate);

exit;

Step 2 - Creating a Batch file for executing the automation procedure - Details

Create a file with extension .bat (For example PatAutomation.bat) with the following command lines and save the file in the same folder where the .sql file named PatAutomation.sql is stored.

sqlplus username/password @connect string @ [filename].sql

  User name, Password, and Connect string represents the key values for connecting to the oracle database.

• Connection string may include IP address and the Port Number of the server where SQL is hosted.

• @ [filename].sql represents the filename and filepath of the .sql file created in Step 1. 

For example:

To while using a schema with name and password as Docv6 filename and file path as PatAutomation.sql:

sqlplus Docv6/DocV6@//11.12.13.14:5678/R2  @D:\pat\PatAutomation.sql

Step 3 - Scheduling Windows Task Scheduler for executing the batch file - Details

12. To open Scheduled Tasks, click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks. The Scheduled Tasks window is displayed.

13. Double-click the Add Scheduled Task icon. The Scheduled Task Wizard is displayed.

14. Click Next button. The dialog box displays a list of programs that are installed on your computer, either as part of the Windows operating system, or as a result of software installations.

15. Click Browse button. Go to the folder where PatAutomation.bat file is created and stored in Step 2. For example, go to D:\pat\ folder

16. Select the PatAutomation.bat file and click Open button.

17. Enter an appropriate name for the new schedule being created. For example, name it as PatAutomation

18. Select Daily as the option for the Perform this task and then click Next button.

19. Enter the time when this Windows Task Scheduler should start running in Start Time field. For example, enter current system time as Start Time.

20. Select Every Day as the option for the Perform this task.

21. Enter the date when this Windows Task Scheduler should start running in Start Date field. For example, enter current system time as Start Date and click Next button.

22. Type the name and password of the user who is associated with this task.

23. Make sure that you choose a user with sufficient permissions to run the program.

24. By default, the wizard selects the name of the user who is currently logged on.

25. Click Next button to display the dialog box with in Formation about the choices that you have made.

26. Select Open Advanced properties for this task when i click Finish check box (On selecting this option, Windows will display properties dialog box for the scheduled task when the Schedule Task Wizard is closed).

27. Click Finish button to close the Schedule Task Wizard. The Schedule Properties dialog box is displayed.

28. Click on the Settings tab and set it up as shown below.

Figure 3.0: Order task automation window

1. Click OK to save the Windows Task Scheduler for PatAutomation and exit schedule configuration window.

The Windows Task Scheduler is now successfully setup to perform periodic checking of whether any Assets have satisfied the service conditions from their tagged Maintenance Group or not.

For more information on Change in QC on Return and Needs Service Functionality, click here.

For more information on earlier QC on Return functionality (Mark Assets for Performing QC when Returned), click here.