Business Example
Your objects have measuring points and counters to record flow quantities or operating hours to facilitate better monitoring of capacity utilization.
- Measuring points
Physical and/or logical locations at which a particular condition is described. For example, the temperature of coolant in a nuclear power station after an outflow from the pressure vessels or the number of rotations per minute of the rotary blades of a wind-driven power station. Measuring points are located at technical objects.
- Counters
Resources that enable you to represent the damage to an object or the consumption or reduction in its useful life – for example, the mileage indicator of a motor vehicle or the electricity consumption meter of an electrically powered system. Counters are located at technical objects.
You can enter measurements or counter readings for each object that needs to be maintained. Enter these readings if you want to document the condition of an object based on measurement readings or if the regular maintenance of an object depends on its meter readings.
You can define various measuring point categories in Customizing.
Measuring Point and Characteristics
Each measuring point or counter refers to a characteristic (for example, kilometer, liter, operating hours).
The characteristic of a measuring point or counter determines the characteristic unit in which measurement or counter readings are entered. For example, the characteristic Ratio can have the characteristic unit Percent, and the characteristic Temperature can have the characteristic unit Degrees Celsius or Degrees Fahrenheit.
Before you begin maintaining the measuring points and counters for your objects, you need to create all of the characteristics in the classification system (cross-application functions in the SAP System).
Mass Deactivation of Measuring Points and Counters
It is possible to deactivate or activate several measuring points and counters at the same time in list editing for measuring points.
Note
Therefore, you need to activate Business Function LOG_EAM_MPOINT_MASS_DEACT.Measurement Documents
Enter data in the SAP system manually using the SAP user interface. You can also record measurement readings from a maintenance notification or maintenance order (fleet management).
Mobile applications such as SAP Work Manager or SAP Asset Manager enable you to enter data with mobile devices.
You can enter data using a barcode reader, and copy it to the SAP system using the PM-PCS interface. The PM-PCS interface is an interface between the SAP system and external systems, such as process control system (PCS).
PCS data is created during the monitoring, control, regulation, and optimization of a technical process. You can copy this data to the SAP system using the PM-PCS interface.
For this purpose, you can use a Supervisory Control and DATA Acquisition (SCADA) system that filters data from the PCS and transfers only relevant data to the SAP system.
You can use various customer exits to automate your business processes and, for example, automatically generate a malfunction report from a measurement document.
Time Zone Support
In today's distributed business environments, maintenance no longer takes place at one single location. The most important process steps in plant maintenance, such as planning, execution and confirmation, can be made in different locations, in different systems, with different business partners, and in different time zones.
You can use the time zone support functions to instantly switch from one time zone into another. This is advisable, for example, if you run plant maintenance processes that cross different time zones and you plan plant maintenance activities in a different location to where you perform or confirm plant maintenance activities.
You can use time zone support for Measuring points and Measurement documents.
Furthermore, the time zone support function can be used for the following objects:
- Notifications
- Orders
- Confirmations
- Pieces of equipment
- Functional locations
- Revisions
- Structure lists
- Multilevel lists
- Serial number history
In order to use time zone support, you have to activate it in Customizing for Plant Maintenance and Customer Service under Maintenance and Service Processing → Activate Time Zone Support for Application Areas
Note
Time zone support is not activated in the training system.
To simplify the entry of routine counter and measurement readings for several objects, a measurement reading entry list can be created as a master record. This list comprises different measuring points or counters for different objects.
When determining measurement readings or making counter readings, the respective values can be entered directly in this list. As before, the update occurs within a measurement document.
You have mapped an apartment building in the SAP system by means of a functional location hierarchy. A current meter represented by a barcode ID is assigned to each apartment, and is read once per year. The technician who reads the meter enters the meter reading result in the barcode reader manually by using a block of numerals. Consumption building is performed in the SAP system, in the industry sector component Real Estate (RE), on the basis of the counter reading recorded. For information on the prerequisites you have to fulfill if you want to print barcodes with SAPscript, see Note 5196.
When preparing the work, you compile the measuring points and counters for the technician in the order of the round. In the SAP system, this compilation is shown as the measurement recording list. The technician first scans the barcode ID for each measuring point and counter using a barcode reader, and then enters the counter reading manually. After the round is ended, you transfer the data from the technician's barcode reader to the docking station using infrared signals. The barcode reader supplies the data that is copied to the SAP system using the PM-PCS interface. A measurement document is created for each measurement reading and counter reading. If you use the customer exit IMRC0001, the measurement document serves as the basis for a consumption billing in the industry sector component Real Estate (RE).
You can also use the catalog system to enter measurement or counter readings. The catalog system enables you to define permissible values for a measuring point that you can select using the catalog hierarchy when entering measurement readings. You can use this function when you want to predefine qualitative or descriptive measurement readings in the catalog system, or if you want to use the following predefined values when entering counter readings:
System reaction when the measurement reading is exceeded
Permissible tolerance time for entering future measurement readings
For example, you have mapped a building, including the fire doors, in the SAP System using a functional location hierarchy. A measuring point represented by a barcode ID is assigned to each fire door. A meter reader checks each individual fire door once a month. The inspection result is usually "Door OK," but this result should also be documented in the SAP System.
Possible damage can be shown clearly as valuation codes. The meter reader also enters these valuation codes by means of a barcode. Damage identified during the inspection automatically triggers a malfunction report in the SAP System.
The measurement documents can also be represented in a graphic form. You are connected to the Graphical Framework (GFW), which can be used to control various external graphic tools.
PM-PCS Interface
Performance-based preventative maintenance enables you to plan maintenance based on counter readings that are managed for the technical objects that need to be maintained.
You can use measurement documents to document the subject for system security, work safety, and environmental protection.
Possible external systems include the following:
Mobile data entry systems
PCS
Building control systems
SCADA systems (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition Systems)
SCADA systems perform a filtering function; they filter out maintenance-relevant data, and thereby protect the SAP system from an excess of process data. In addition, SCADA systems are responsible for the communication between one or more PCS and the SAP system.
Add measurement readings during time confirmation of orders
For the web interface adding measurement readings is available if you use app Perform Maintenance Job.
You need to activate Business Function LOG_EAM_SIMPLICITY_9.
For SAP GUI you can enter measurement readings during order confirmation with transaction IW41.
You need to activate Business Function LOG_EAM_CI_10.
