Issuing Work Against Serialised Tools
Issuing Work Against Serliased Tools
Overview
Tools recorded in your maintenance system/ CMMS are typically larger specialised tools that you need in order to perform a specific maintenance activity and that you might want to keep track of in the system. Often times you need to track these tools through their associated serial numbers or barcoded labels assigned/ stuck to the tools. Serialised/ specialised tools also often need their own set of maintenance activities to be performed on them in order to keep them in good working condition e.g. calibrating a thermal camera or greasing a hammer drill etc.
Fracttal allows you to; a) Add your tools to the system through the dedicated tool crib under the Assets module b) Create a tools cage/ store where you can record the number of tools with their associated serial number at each one of your sites c) Allow you to track who has been issued a specific tool for a specific job through the outgoings feature within the tools cage you created d) Raised work orders/ job cards against a specific tool for any maintenance/ calibration that needs to be done against it.
There are a number of additional uses and features for the tools you create in Fracttal within your tools crib. This article will cover raising work against a specific/ serialised tool and how you should go about it with Fracttal. Setting up planned maintenance for your tools is covered in another article.
Enabling Serialised Control on Tools
The assumption is that you have already set up a tools cage/ inventory in the system and that you have noted the quantity of the tools as well as recorded the serial number of each tool in the tools cage. Please note that in order to track individual tools, you would need to specify that serialised control should be applied to the tool you created in the tools crib.
This is done by ticking the box against the tool item in the warehouses menu of the tool:
Raising Work Order Against Tools
Fracttal allows you to record necessary maintenance work to be done against tools by allowing you to raise a work order/ job card against a tool. This is especially useful when you need to issue a job card to a technician for example to grease a hammer drill...
Because a lot of tools are typically handled as a "run-to-failure" item with no specific maintenance plans/ maintenance intervals against them, this section covers the raising of unplanned work against a tool.
1. From the main menu bar on the left, go to your Work Management main menu and select the Work Queues sub-menu. In your Work Queues list, click on the Add Unplanned Task button, top right of the window:
2. Fill out the basic details of the unplanned task window i.e. the date, time and who is raising the work order:
3. Next we need to associate a tool with this work order. Click on the Select an Asset drop-down to pull up a list of all your assets & tools:
With the assets list open, you will note to the left of each record an icon. Each icon represents a different type of record i.e. Facilities, Equipment and Tools:
4. With the lookup list open you can now use various ways to lookup your tool that you want to perform work against, however let's cover the two main ones:
4.1 You can search your list of assets for the tool you need by doing a simple text/ name search using the search bar at the top of the window
4.2 Alternatively you can use the Advanced Filters feature to quickly call up only the tools listed in the system:
4.2.1 Click on the Advanced Filters button to call up the Advanced Filter window:
4.2.2 Under the Asset Type drop-down, select Tools as the main filter category:
4.2.3 This will bring up some additional filter options that you can apply to the lookup list. Apply the necessary filters and finish by clicking on the Apply Filters button bottom of the window:
5. Once you've found the tool you are looking for double click on the tool to add it to the work order
6. If there are any warrantees listed against this tool item, Fracttal will warn you of this, allowing you to cancel the work order and first have a look at the warranty in place and then deciding which route to go. If the job is a routine maintenance job such as greasing a tool, simply click OK to continue:
7. With the tool now assigned to this work order, click Next to continue:
8. A more detailed task window will come up asking you to populate additional information on the job that needs to be carried out. Specify the instruction/ job that needs to be performed, any additional notes/ comments on the job, specify the type of work that will be carried out on the tool, add the job to one of your defined maintenance groups, prioritise the job and provide the expected level of effort that the job will take. When done hit the Next button bottom of the window to continue:
9. A task list/ procedures list will come up. This is where you need to specify what procedures needs to be performed on this job.
9.1 By default at least one task is required for the work order. You can edit this task, by clicking on the pencil/ edit icon next to the task:
9.2 Note the procedure to be performed/ ask a question such as "Lubrication Applied?". Add the instruction/ question to one of your defined task groups by clicking on the drop-down bar. You can also choose to make the instruction/ question/ procedure a mandatory task within the work order by ticking the is Mandatory box at the bottom. When done, click Save to continue:
9.3 You can add additional tasks/ instruction to the work order by clicking on the +Add Sub Task button and following the same steps above for each additional task you add
10. When you're done adding all the necessary tasks/ instructions to the work order, click the Next button bottom right to continue:
11. Now you will be asked to pick between two options; a) Send the work order to your pending tasks/ work orders queue or; b) Immediately trigger & issue this work order by sending it to your open work orders list. For this article we will send the work order directly to the open work orders list because we want this work to be done immediately and we don't want to plan for this easy job.
11.1 In the unplanned task window, select the "Send to WO's in Process" option:
11.2 You will be required to assign this job to someone. To do this, click on the drop-down icon in the Responsible person bar. Select if this job will be assigned to an in-house person or an external service provider to call up a list of the selected resource. In this case we will choose to assign this job to an in-house technician:
11.3 Find the technician you want to assign the work to from your in-house personnel list, double click on the person to assign the work order to him/ her:
11.4 Now that you have selected to which queue to send the work order and assigned it to someone, click the Next button bottom right to continue:
On the next window where you are asked if the asset failed the "No" option will be ticked by default, leave as is and click on the Finish button bottom right of the window:
A notification pop-up will come up stating that a work order was raised and the work order number will be displayed in this case WO number 107. Click OK to confirm
If you navigate back to your work orders in process list and refresh your Kanban, you will note that the new work order has been raised and assigned to the responsible person
In order to assign this work order against a specific serialised tool located at one of your warehouses/ tools cages please refer to the steps outlined in the final section of this article: Issuing Tools to a Work Order/ Assigning a specific Tool to a Work Order
Adding Tools to Work Orders
This section assumes that you are not physically performing maintenance on the tool itself but rather using the tool to perform a maintenance activity.In order to ensure that you keep proper track of where your tools are, who has taken them and for what job they are currently being used on, please refer to the last section of this article: Issuing Tools to a Work Order/ Assigning a specific Tool to a Work Order
The steps below, outlines how you add tools to open work orders:
1. From the menu bar on the left under the Work Management Module go to your Work Orders menu. With your work orders open (Kanban View), click on the Edit icon of the open work order to bring up the work order window:
2. With the Work Order Edit window open, click on the Resources icon in the Work Management section of the window:
3. With the Resources tab open, click on the +Add Resources button top right of the window and select Inventory from the drop-down options:
Because you have set up a "Tools Cage" (essentially a tools warehouse) within Fracttal, your Tools form part of your Inventory items that you use to carry out maintenance activities. You do not necessarily have to set up a separate "Tools Cage" with in Fracttal to list all your tools, you can also add tools to an existing warehouse if your tools are managed by your warehouse staff. Having a separate "Tools Cage" is just a good way to completely separate your tools from the stock you have in your warehouse.
4. Once you've selected Inventory from the add resources option a list of all your inventory items will come. Now there are various ways to lookup the tool required for the job, however let's cover the two main ones:
4.1 You can search your inventory for the tool you need by doing a simple text/ name search using the search bar at the top of the window
4.2 Alternatively you can use the Advanced Filters feature to quickly call up only the tools listed in the system:
4.2.1 Click on the Advanced Filters button to call up the Advanced Filter window:
4.2.2 Under the Asset Type drop-down, select Tools as the main filter category:
4.2.3 This will bring up some additional filter options that you can apply to the lookup list. Apply the necessary filters and finish by clicking on the Apply Filters button bottom of the window:
5. Once you've found the tools you are looking for double click on the tool to add it as a resource to the work order.
6. This will bring up the new resource additional info window that you will need to populate.
6.1 Click on the Resource Source drop-down, where you will need to select the warehouse/ tools cage that this tool will be issued from. Select the issuing warehouse/ tools cage from the drop-down list:
The number next to each tool location tells you how many of these items are available for use from that specific location/ warehouse/ tools cage
6.2 Double click on the location from where you would like to issue the tools/ where the tools should be collected from:
6.3 Now specify the quantity required for the job, keeping in mind how many of these items you have available. When done hit the Save button top right of window.
7. This will add the selected tool(s) to the work order as required resources. When done hit the Save button top right of the window:
The moment you save a corresponding requisition is created for the items at the corresponding warehouse/ tools cage informing whoever manages your tools that someone will be along shortly to pick up the tools specified on the work order.
Issuing Tools to a Work Order/ Assigning a specific Tool to a Work Order
In order to close the loop on the above processes, you need to make sure that you issue/ assign the listed tools out of your warehouse/ tools cage. This section will cover both the issuing of tools when they are added as resources to a work order where they will be used to do the work as well as assigning it to a work order that has been raised for maintenance that needs to be carried out on a tool.
Issuing a Tool when it will be used to conduct maintenance
This section will cover the steps you need to follow in order to close the loop from where tools has been added as resources to a work order, issuing them out against that work order and a specific person so that you know where your tools are and who has them.
1. From the main menu bar on the left, select the Warehouses module. In the listed warehouses, double click on the warehouse where you store your tools and want to issue them from or on the tools cage if you have set up a separate storage area within the system specifically for your tools.
Under the Stock menu/ list you will see all the items with their associated quantities on hand that you have listed against this storage facility/ area
The Barcode/ Serial number icon against certain items. These are the items in this location that you have specified as being serialised items and that serialised control needs to be applied to. You can also look at the "By Serial" column to see which items are marked as serialised and those that are not...
2. Navigate to the Outgoings menu item and click on the +Add button, top right of the window
3. An issuing window will come up requiring you to fill out some additional information regarding the issuing of the tools. In the Type of Movement bar, select Work Order as the type of movement:
4. Then click on the Responsible person bar to assign a responsible/ accountable person for the tools you are issuing. Find the person you are issuing the tools to and double click in him/ her to add:
5. Next specify the date you are issuing the tools against the work order. The date field will default to the current date, leave as is if this is correct.
6. Next you need to specify which work order you are issuing these tools against. Click on the Reference bar and a list of work orders that requires tools or parts will come up. Find the associated work order and double click on it to select it:
7. Selecting the associated work order will automatically populate the notes field as well as pull in the tools added to the work order as required resources:
8. Now you need to specify the specific serialised item(s) that you are issuing out to this work order. Next to the line/ tool item click on the pencil/ edit icon to bring up the associated serialised items currently available in the storage location
9. In the update item window, make sure that the quantity requested is the actual quantity that you are issuing. Update the quantity if required, the click on the +Add Serial Number button top right corner of the window to bring up a list of available serialised items:
10. In the list of items, click on the serial numbered item that you are issuing. Repeat step 9 to add multiple items to the issuing document
11. When your items are added, click the Save button top right of the window to continue
12. With all the items added, this will also update the Qty delivered for each item. When done click Save top right corner of the window to save and process the issuing document/ transaction. You will note the transaction now reflects in the list of issuing transactions against the tools location/ warehouse
Assigning a Tool to a Work Order
This section will cover the steps you need to follow in order to close the loop from where a work order has been raised for a tool to where you associate a specific/ serialised tool with the raised work order.
1. From the main menu bar on the left, select the Warehouses module. In the listed warehouses, double click on the warehouse/ tools cage where you store your tools and want to assign them from.
Under the Stock menu/ list you will see all the items with their associated quantities on hand that you have listed against this storage facility/ area. Click on the serial icon to view the available serialised items.
The Barcode/ Serial number icon against certain items; These are the items in this location that you have specified as being serialised items and that serialised control needs to be applied to. You can also look at the "By Serial" column to see which items are marked as serialised and those that are not...
2. Navigate to the Outgoings menu item and click on the +Add button, top right of the window
3. An issuing window will come up requiring you to fill out some additional information regarding the issuing of the tools. In the Type of Movement bar, select Assignment as the type of movement:
4. Then click on the Responsible person bar to assign a responsible/ accountable person for the tools you are issuing. Find the person you are issuing the tools to and double click in him/ her to add:
5. Next specify the date you are issuing/ assigning the tools out of the warehouse/ tools cage The date field will default to the current date, leave as is if this is correct.
6. Next you need to specify a reference for this assignment. In this case we will reference the work order number.
7. Next, add any additional notes/ comments you want to record against this assignment and select a cost centre associated to this tool from the cost centre drop-down if applicable.
8. Now you need to add the specific tool(s) that will be assigned to the work order. To do this, click on the +Add item button on the window:
9. Look for the tool(s) you are assigning from the search function and double click on the item(s) you want to add:
10. With the tool selected, you will be required to specify the quantity being issued. After adding the quantity, click on the +Add serial number button to specify the specific serialised item(s) you are assigning:
11. Pick the correct item from the serialised list and click to add the item:
12. With the item(s) now added, click the Save button top right of the window to add it to the assignment record:
13. Now that the item has been added, click on the Save button top right to save and process the assignment
14. With tool now assigned and the transaction complete, you will note the transaction now reflects in the list of issuing transactions against the tools location/ warehouse:
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