Key Terms used in this lesson
Notification
A notification allows to log requests of any kind and documents damages and activities; various types available depending on the process.
Catalog
Hierarchical object consisting of code groups and codes; used in notifications to systematically document the details of an incident.
Catalog Profile
A selection of catalogs and code groups for a specific object type (f.ex. pump) - usually assigned to the technical object to simplify the documentation of details .
Process
In companies, maintenance requirements must first be created in the system in the form of notifications to facilitate prioritization and coordination. The notification must also include all data that is important to maintain history so that you can carry out later evaluations.
The starting point for the corrective maintenance process is the notification of damage, a malfunction, or a request (for example, a request for modification work).
The notification usually refers to a technical object and contains a description of the malfunction or the requirements. In addition, data can be entered in a notification to build up the history (for example, damage, causes, and so on).
Based on a notification, maintenance tasks can be planned. This leads frequently, but not necessarily, to the creation of a maintenance order.
Notification Structure
Each maintenance notification contains header data. The header data is the information used to identify and manage a maintenance notification. This data is valid for the complete maintenance notification.
You enter and maintain data in a notification item to describe a problem, damage, or the activity executed in greater detail. A notification can contain several items.
Activities document the work performed for a notification. Activities are particularly important for inspections because they prove that certain tasks have been performed.
Tasks describe activities that must still be performed. This includes tasks that have only arisen after the maintenance task was executed (for example, creating a report). However, in some cases, you can also use tasks for planning purposes (for example, if order processing is not active). When order processing in not active you can plan to use different people to process the notification, and monitor the execution of tasks for specific periods of time. Note that cost monitoring, material planning, or capacity requirements planning is not possible for this type of processing.
Reference Objects
All maintenance notification types can be created for reference objects, for example functional location, equipment (with or without an assembly), or material with a serial number. The hierarchy of these objects corresponds to the sequence specified. This means, if you enter a maintenance notification for an assembly of a piece of equipment, which is assigned to a functional location, the system transfers all the relevant data for the piece of equipment and the functional location.
However, you can also enter maintenance notifications without specifying an object number. This is the case when a malfunction report refers to an object that is not managed in the system under a number, or if a maintenance request refers to a new object to be provided for an investment program.
Catalogs
Catalogs are used when maintaining notifications for the coded entry of results and activities. Coded entry is particularly useful for analysis.
Catalogs comprise the following features:
- Catalog
A collection of code groups combined together by their content (for example, damages and causes of damage)
- Code groups
A collection of codes grouped according to their related contents (for example, damage to vehicles, pumps and motors, or mechanical damage and electric damage)
- Codes
A description of damage, an activity, cause of damage, object part and task, and so on
Advantages of using catalogs:
- The risk of making incorrect entries is significantly reduced.
- Codes can be used as the starting point for workflows and follow-up actions.
Catalog Profile
In the catalog profile, you can define which code groups are used when processing a specific object. The advantage is that only the code groups relevant for the object are displayed.
You can assign a catalog profile to a technical object or to a notification type.
