Service and Repair allows for recurring invoicing of contractual agreements. (see definition of Contracts) Each invoice can include fees for service, PM or meter contracts.
Contracts define the service agreement between the Distributor and the equipment Owner. Procedures are available permitting the Distributor to invoice the equipment Owner for contracted services. Three types of agreements can be defined within a single contract. These are 1) service contracts specifying coverage, response and special pricing considerations for servicing the equipment unit., 2) preventative maintenance contracts specifying the fees and frequency of providing PM service to the equipment, and 3) metered contracts, where billings are dependent upon metered usage of the equipment.
Coverage codes define available days and hours of operation as well as applicable labor rates, i.e. Regular, Overtime or Holiday.
The assignment of a technician to the service ticket and scheduling a date/time for the services to be performed.
Equipment refers to a serviceable unit identified with a unique number, as well as serial numbers, model, manufacturer, locations and site for a specific customer. Equipment need not be sold by the Distributor to qualify for servicing. Equipment records can be created in two ways: 1) on the fly via equipment F/M, and 2) during posting of DSR for items with Service Type = E.
Frequency codes refer to how often preventative maintenance and/or meter readings are to be performed.
Labor items are uninventoried, have no physical dimensions or mass, and are not the “true” items we usually think of with inventory management. As a minimum, one labor item (setup in Item F/M) is required by the Service & Repair Module. Each Technician record must include a Labor Item. The GL table associated with the labor item is accessed as the default GL table when entering time for the technician. This use of this GL table for posting purposes is dependent on the “basis” settings in the SR to GL Posting F/M.
Location refers to the physical location of the equipment at a customer’s site, for example bldg. number, yard, floor level, dept, any description information that best defines to the servicing technician where to find the equipment when on site.
The recognized brand of an industrial manufacturer. In Service & Repair a manufacturer control file is provided to assist in developing standard manufacturer codes. These codes are linked to equipment records via the equipment Model number, permitting “service reports” by manufacturer.
Memos are text descriptions that are used throughout the Service & Repair module. Standard memos can be created and identified by Memo Codes. These codes are used during problem entry and work completed description entry as a quick and consistent method of entering memos.
A meter is a counting device located on the equipment and is usually incremented, and less often decremented. Meters are typically used to determine the cumulative operational hours or the number of units produced by a piece of equipment.. This measured information can used to trigger preventative maintenance tasks and/or usage billings. Meter tracking is optional and usually dependent on the equipment being serviced.
A recognized brand associated with a manufacturer’s product line and used as the primary categorization for equipment records in the Service & Repair Module. Identical pieces of equipment should be assigned the same model code.
Multiple service items can be included on a single service order. Once the service work is completed on a service line item then billing can proceed. Partial Billing refers to billing individual service items on separate invoice documents versus a single invoice document(Complete Billing). Partial or Complete Billing is assigned when the service order is first entered.
Preventative maintenance includes all services that are done to ensure the equipment performs efficiently. Preventative maintenance is performed as a proactive service to protect from equipment malfunctions. The Service and Repair module permits Preventative Maintenance contracts where the frequency and billing rates of specified PM tasks on applicable equipment units are established.
This is the level of responsiveness given to a service request. The Service and Repair module provides a priority control file where up to four levels of priority are defined. These levels are used in scheduling and dispatching service requests.
Text information permitting a more detailed description (than a single symptom code) of the equipment failure. The problem description is typically entered during original service order entry, but can readily be edited and added at a later time, possibly after some preliminary testing/analysis has been completed.
Service proposals, an optional feature of the Service & Repair module, are similar to service contracts which administer the rules for the equipment, customer, rates, preventative maintenance, and meters. However, the proposal is considered a quote to the customer, where as, the contract has been approved by the customer.
Repair parts are items that are used during the servicing of equipment. Repair Parts may be either stock, non-stock, uninventoried, or temporary items.
Response codes, used in S&R Proposals/Contracts, define the levels of promptness and priority that will be assigned when equipment under contract requires servicing.
Service can be classified as either Field service or Depot service. It is considered depot service when the equipment is brought in-house to be repaired/serviced. It is considered field service when the technician is sent on-site to repair/service the equipment.
Service codes pre-define specific labor tasks that are used by the technician performing the services. Typically these labor tasks are recurring, i.e. tune up, oil change, calibration, testing, etc. Service Codes are required for defining PM activities. Service codes are also used by the service manager in requesting specific activity of the attending technician. Service codes can be billed as either flat price or actual labor.
Service items are uninventoried, have no physical dimensions or mass, and are not the “true” items we usually think of with inventory management. As a minimum, one service item (setup in Item F/M) is required by the Service & Repair Module. When used as a line item on a service order, the result is to open a “service ticket” for a specified piece of equipment. (A service item is not permitted on sales orders, order confirmations or direct invoices.) A service-item is also used in the Equipment record permitting an additional categorization of Equipment. If employing multiple service-items, once a service item is established on the service order line item, then the Equipment search is limited to equipment units categorized with that service item. The service item is used for the item update in Sales Analysis when posting Service and Repair invoices.
Service orders are requests for servicing customer owned equipment. A service contract does not have to be on file before a service order may be entered. Service orders typically contain service line items.
When using Service and Repair a “Service” tab is made available in Item F/M, and the service type for an item is maintained on this tab. Four options are N- not a service item, S – service item, L- labor item, and E – Create equipment record at DSR. Service types S and L require uninventoried items. Service type E requires a serialized item.
A site charge is a fee charged for the technician to be sent on-site for services. The site charge can be specific to each customer site or a general charge to the customer, regardless of sites.
A symptom describes a common ailment used to better define those problems encountered requiring the equipment to be serviced.
The technician is the employee that will perform the service/repair.
The date on or before labor will be at no charge when servicing equipment still in warranty.
The date on or before a repair parts will be at no charge when servicing equipment still in warranty.
Work status describes a particular stage in the service/repair cycle, i.e. to be scheduled, in process, waiting on parts, hold for pickup, etc.
Service ticket information includes all pertinent header and line-item information including problem description, repair parts, work to be performed and technician information. Work tickets can be printed for separate line-items or in a consolidated format.