As consultants, we often have a high level of proficiency in using the software. Because of that, we often overlook the many basic or simple features that can be extremely useful to the end-users. In many cases, when I mention one of those features to a user, whether he/she is a beginner or an experienced user, it is often received with much excitement. So, I think it may be a good idea to collect a list of those small features like that and share them here in this post:
Default Table Data
In many key applications such as Purchase Requisitions or Purchase Orders, in the PR/PO Lines tab, there is a section called Default Insert Table at the bottom of the page. This section allows a user to enter the default values that will be automatically filled every time a new line is added.
For example, when creating a new PR, the requester may create requests for a list of many different items, all of which will be received in the same storeroom,
charged against the same GL Account, and requested by the same person. By entering these default values, every time the user adds a New Row, these values are populated automatically, and the user only has to enter the item number and the required quantity. For a large PR with a few dozen or hundreds of lines (it is not unusual for PR/POs acquiring parts for large turn-around projects to have a few thousand lines), this feature can be a huge time saver.
For the consultant, the Receiving application or Work Order’s Planned Material tab are good candidates to consider adding this . The users will fall in
love with you after you add this feature to the apps. Sit down and ask them
what are the fields that they have to enter the same data again and again.
Spend 10 minutes to implement the feature and you will be the real hero.
Search record by Itemnum (Advanced Search):
Here is one typical scenario: a user raised a PR to purchase several items. These items later get copied to a PO and the PR is closed. A few weeks later, the person wanted to know the status of the items he requested but unfortunately, he forgot the number of the PR he raised, he didn’t know the PO number to which the items were copied.
In this case, the quickest way to find out is to use the Advanced Search function to search for the PR or PO records that contain the item he wants to find. This is the quickest way to find a main entity record that contains an Item Number. These records can be Work Order, Inventory Usage, Contract, RFQ, PR, PO or Invoice.
As a consultant, you can add this feature to any application that contains a child
table to allow the end-users to search for the main record based on an item/object contained in the Lines tab.
Customized Advanced Search
Given this scenario: due to regulation requirements, many of my clients use a custom Issue Date field for Work Orders. This field is used to determine the reporting period in different reports such as “Completed works” or “Over-due works”. The “List” screen on every Maximo application is very effective for filtering/finding records with specific criteria such as searching by Work Type.
However, this screen does not allow the user to search for all Work Orders created within a period (for example: Issue Date between 1/Dec and 31/Dec). Users who are more familiar with Maximo know that they can use the standard Advanced Search feature to search for Work Orders that have the Report Date or Scheduled Start Date between a From Date and a To Date values.
Customized fields, like the “Issue Date” in this case, are often neglected by the implementers and thus are not added to the Advanced Search pop-up screen. In many cases, when I conducted a refresh training class, the users often greatly appreciated it after I pointed this out to them and added the missing fields to the Advanced Search screen (which took 5 minutes). A small change like this sometimes is a big time saver and makes life a lot easier for the users.
For the consultants, implementing these small changes that make a positive impact on the users’ workflow is also a great emotional reward and makes our job fulfilling.
View Item Availability
In any Maximo application that displays an inventory item number, you can click on the Drop down Menu > View Item Availability to see all important information related to the item including the current balances, quantity reserved, and other detailed information such as which are the alternative items, whether the item has been requested or being purchased in a PO. This information is useful for planning or when raising new purchase requisitions. It’s useful to know that you can use an alternative item rather than having to raise a request and wait several months for the whole procurement routine to be processed.
Classification/Attribute Search
Maximo is one of the very few CMMS software that allows classifying assets and spare parts and capturing the technical specifications in a structured way. If your company records such information, it becomes very handy when identifying inventory item codes using the Classification/Attribute Search function. Next to any Item Number field, you can click on the Dropdown Menu > Classification menu to open the Classification Search pop-up where you can browse your inventory catalogs to search for the item code you want. Only a handful of companies in this market record spare part specifications in Maximo. As such, searching for items using technical attributes is often not possible. However, classifying items can be done relatively quickly and many companies already have the data in Maximo. With the item already classified, using the Classification Search to find items is easy and efficient.
