Process Steps for Recurring Services (4X5) - 1 of 2
A request for a recurring service leads to a service planner creating a maintenance plan in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition. Multiple types of plans are supported (as described later in this section).
To restrict access for a user to only certain maintenance plans for service, a so-called authorization group can be used. Based on the authorization group assigned to a user, this user can create, change, display, copy and schedule maintenance plans with that specific authorization group assigned.
Prerequisites for a maintenance plan for a recurring service are a service contract and a service order template (see below). The customer service manager is responsible for service contract creation and maintenance, and for the creation of the service order template.
Once the maintenance plan is created (with all the required parameters for scheduling the recurring service), the maintenance plan needs to be scheduled by the service planner. You can schedule the plan individually. Alternatively, you can use the mass scheduling option to schedule multiple maintenance plans simultaneously.
The mass scheduling job can be monitored using the scheduling log.
Process Steps for Recurring Services (4X5) - 2 of 2
Scheduling a plan leads to the automatic generation of service orders on the scheduled call dates. Once a service order is available, the service technician can start executing the service. This is the process supported by and described in scope item Service Order Management and Monitoring (3D2).
Service order completion dates need to be updated in the maintenance plan, either automatically or manually.
Depending on the type of maintenance plan used in the process, measuring points/counters might be used for the technical object(s) receiving the recurring service. Counter readings are maintained in the system for the technical object(s) by creating measurement documents.
Types of Maintenance Plans
The central document used in Recurring Services (4X5) is a maintenance plan. Three different types of maintenance plans are supported:
- Single Cycle Plan (Time-Based)
- Single Cycle Plan (Performance-Based)
- Multiple Counter Plan
For a time-based single cycle plan, maintenance is performed in specific cycles: for example, every two months or every six months. The plan only contains one cycle definition that is valid for the complete plan.
When using a performance-based single cycle maintenance plan, regular maintenance is planned based on counter readings maintained for technical objects and products. After a counter is assigned to a maintenance plan, maintenance takes place when the counter for a technical object has reached a certain reading, for example, every 100 operating hours, or every 500 miles. The planned date for maintenance is calculated depending on the counter reading at the time of planning and the estimated annual performance that has been defined for the counter. A performance-based single cycle plan uses only one counter for the complete plan.
A multiple counter plan is used in counter-based (performance-based) maintenance where multiple counter readings need to be combined. In a multiple counter plan, multiple maintenance cycles using multiple allocated counters for pieces or equipment or functional locations can be defined. These cycles can have different dimensions, for example, flight hours, number of take-offs and landings, and kilometers traveled, combined in one plan. A time-based cycle (such as every two months) can also be integrated into this type of maintenance plan. A time-based cycle does not use a counter.
When scheduling a multiple counter plan, the system calculates the planned deadlines for each maintenance cycle based on the current counter reading and the estimated annual performance for the counter. For a time-based cycle, the system calculates the deadlines based on the time unit and the cycle duration (such as every two months).
The cycles for a multiple counter plan are linked with either an OR operation or an AND operation:
- For an OR operation, the service order generation is triggered for the earliest possible planned date. If maintenance is due (for example, every 100 tons produced, every 50 operating hours, or every two weeks), the decisive factor is which one of these conditions occurs first.
- For an AND operation, the service order generation is triggered once the last maintained condition has been fulfilled. If maintenance is due (for example, every 100 tons produced AND every 50 operating hours AND every two weeks), the decisive factor is which condition is fulfilled last. This then triggers the service order generation.
Prerequisites for a Maintenance Plan
The figure above shows a service order template. This is one of the prerequisites for using a maintenance plan to support a recurring service in scope item Recurring Services (4X5). The template contains a list of items, such as service items and notes, which is then copied into every generated service order for every object from the object list of the maintenance plan.
A second prerequisite is a service contract created for the customer whose technical objects need to receive the recurring service.
A Service Contract in Recurring Services (4X5)
The process starts with the creation of a service contract for a sold-to-party and the technical object (piece of equipment) to which the contract conditions apply. This contract is added to the item in the maintenance plan for which recurring service orders are scheduled to be created. Creating service contracts (see scope item Service Contract Management (3MO)) is part of the set of tasks of a customer service manager, which is represented in the system using business role Customer Service Manager (SAP_BR_CUSTOMER_SRVC_MGR).
Manage Service Order Templates
At regular intervals, service orders are automatically generated based on the scheduling settings in the maintenance plan. A default set of items and corresponding notes, can be stored in a service order template. This is similar to the use of a task list in a maintenance plan for internal maintenance activities.
Using the Manage Service Order Templates app, a customer service manager can create these template documents for a technical object. A service order template is (again) added to an item in the maintenance plan for which recurring service orders are scheduled to be created. The set of items and notes from the service order template is then automatically copied into every service order generated based on the maintenance plan.
Once the maintenance plan is created (either as a single cycle or multiple counter plan), the plan must be scheduled.
Scheduling a Single Maintenance Plan
An app called Schedule Maintenance Plan - Service can be used to schedule one specific maintenance plan.
Mass Scheduling of Maintenance Plans
There is also an option to perform mass scheduling for multiple maintenance plans. Use the Mass Schedule Maintenance Plans - Service app to do this.
Scheduling a maintenance plan means determining the date(s) on which services must be performed and therefore service order(s) must be generated automatically.
Defining Authorization Groups
To define authorization groups, open the Configure Your Solution app in SAP Fiori. Navigate to Asset Management → Master Data → Define Authorization Groups for Technical Objects and create the authorization groups required to restrict access for users to only certain maintenance plans for use in SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, service.
The restriction type Technical Object Authorization Group (BEGRP) has been added to the business catalog called Recurring Service – Maintenance Plan (SAP_SERV_BC_RECUR_MGR_PC). When defining authorizations, this restriction type can be used to grant different authorization groups to different users.
The field Authorization Group in the maintenance plan can be used to assign a created group to a specific maintenance plan. It is available in the maintenance plan itself (for example, when using the SAP Fiori app Create Maintenance Plan).
When a user has no authorization for a specific authorization group, an error message is issued if this group is used when creating, copying, or scheduling a maintenance plan.
