IFS Mobile Work Order provides functionality to plan, execute and report in work orders on a mobile device. This solution is applicable to Asset-intensive industries, Service/Energy and Utility industries, as well as for Industrial or Process Manufacturers carrying out internal maintenance work in large plants and facilities. The solution supports both separate and route work order processes with the ability to work offline for the entire process.
IFS Mobile Work Order is compatible with Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 10 and Android devices.
IFS Mobile Work Order is integrated with the following components and product areas within IFS Applications:
The following section details the specific data set-up that is required to work with IFS Mobile Work Order. This is in addition to the standard data set-up for a User to create, plan and execute Work Orders and answer Employee Surveys.
A Permission Set must be created to grant access to IFS Mobile Work Order features and functions. All access is controlled via Activities. For IFS Mobile Work Order the module listed in Activities is named "TouchApp mWorkOrder 3".
The Activities listed are all prefixed with "mWorkOrder 3". The Activities either give access to a features, such as mWorkOrder 3.ObjectMeasurements or functions, such as mWorkOrder 3.AllowMeterRollover.
In order to run IFS Mobile Work Order a User must be created with Permission Set access to the "TouchApp mWorkOrder 3" activities. As a minimum it is recommended that the following Permission Set Activities are granted to the mobile user:
The User must also have access to the functional role permission set TOUCHAPPS_RUNTIME to be able to logon to IFS Mobile Work Order.
To administrate IFS Mobile Work Order an end user role permission set TOUCHAPPS_ADMIN has been created that will give administrator full admin access to the Solution Manager > Touch Apps features.
It is possible to create Permission Set Filters that give row level security to any data entity that is synchronized with the mobile client. These filters can easily be created via the RMB "Create Filter..." from Permission Set Activities by selecting the relevant TouchApp.mWorkOrder 3 Activities. To find the relevant Permission Set Activity view the Entity in Synchronization Rules.
In order to work with IFS Mobile Work Order, employees need to be defined as mobile users. This is done in two parts. One where the employee is defined automatically as a mobile user when the corresponding user is activated on a mobile client and the second where you need to define whether the user will use mobile work orders or not in Organization Basic Data > Employee.
In addition to this the mobile user can be set as a Field Service or Asset Management user. Field Service setting will change the mobile client to be address centric and the Asset Management setting will change the mobile client to be object centric.
To manage time transactions on the mobile work order you need to define a default craft (work time transactions) and/or a default travel craft (travel time transactions) for the employee.
Mobile Basic Data - Reason Codes
When processing work orders there may be instances where you need to suspend, reject, abort or set a work order on hold or you may need to request a revisit. For all such instances you need to enter the reason for the action. These reasons need to be registered in the mobile basic data.
Mobile Object Synchronization Data
The objects which are to be used with work orders in the mobile should register in mobile object synchronization data. You can connect objects against mobile users and/or organizations in the basic data setup. In addition to this, objects which are registered in work orders belongs to mobile users will also be transferred to Mobile Work Order.
Once the Objects per User or Objects per Organization has been set-up then the Schedule Task "Refresh Mobile Sync Objects" must be run to generate the object data that is used to filter the objects to sync to the mobile user.
It is recommended to configure the schedule task to run on a schedule that matches the frequency that objects per user or organization will change, and ideally run overnight so the schedule task does not impact the system during normal operating hours.
To view Equipment Objects information in IFS Mobile Work Order the following Permission Set Activities must be granted:
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.EnforceObjectIdValidation is not granted to the mobile user it will be possible for the user to enter an object on the separate work order that does not exist is the IFS Mobile Work Order client.
Note: If all Equipment Objects registered in IFS Apps are required to be synchronized then the configuration to "Sync all Objects" should be set in the Cloud Configuration and the Mobile Object Synchronization Data does not need to be set-up.
Mobile Part Basic Data
When processing work orders the required parts which are to be used in IFS Mobile Work Order should be registered in mobile part basic data. In this data set up it is possible to connect a mobile user to an assortment so that all the parts in the assortment will be available in the mobile application. In addition to this, all the parts registered in stocks which are allowed for the mobile users allowed sites, spare parts registered against equipment objects which are allocated to the mobile user in Mobile Object Synchronization, and parts registered in work orders which are owned by the mobile user will also be transferred to the mobile device.
Once the Part Basic data has been set-up then the following Schedule Tasks must be run to generate the part data that is used to filter the Inventory, Purchase and Sales Parts to sync to the mobile user:
It is recommended to configure these schedule tasks to run on a schedule that matches the frequency that parts will change, and ideally run overnight so the schedule tasks do not impact the system during normal operating hours.
To view Parts in IFS Mobile Work Order the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Parts must be granted to the mobile user.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.EnforcePartAndTrackingValidation is not granted to the mobile user it will be possible for the user to enter a part number that does not exist is the IFS Mobile Work Order client.
In IFS Mobile Work Order it is possible to view the Quantity On Hand of all parts that are synchronized. To view this data the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.MyStock must be granted to the mobile user.
Note: If all Parts (Inventory, Sales and Purchase Parts) registered in IFS Apps are required to be synchronized then the configuration to "Sync all Parts" should be set in the Cloud Configuration and the Mobile Part Basic Data does not need to be set-up.
Mobile Integration
It is possible to configure integrations with IFS Mobile Work Order and third party apps (on the Android platform) or Web pages or EE screen. These can be registered in Mobile Integrations and it is possible to specify whether the integration should appear on the Home screen or as a Work Order Action.
On calling an App, Web page or EE screen a set of parameters are outputted containing mobile user and work order information depending on where the integration is being called from. These parameters consist of any field listed against the entities MobileUserInfo, ActiveSeparate or ActiveRoute and WorkOrderAddress.
To view Integrations in IFS Mobile Work Order the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.MobileIntegrations must be granted to the mobile user.
Home Screen Configuration
When processing work orders there can be instances where you need to setup your own work order filters to flex the home screen to assist the mobile user is finding work orders. Such a requirement can be handled by setting up data in home screen configuration.
To use Home Screen filters in IFS Mobile Work Order the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.ShowHomeScreenQuickLinks must be granted to the mobile user.
Workflow Configuration
Workflow configuration allows the flexing of Work Order Actions, such as Operations, Expenses, Tools & Facilities to be hidden/shown/made mandatory depending on the Work Order data.
Workflow configurations are included in the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.WorkOrders and do not require any specific grants to the mobile user.
In order to receive purchase order receipts the following should be defined:
To process Purchase Order Receipts in IFS Mobile Work Order the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.PurchaseOrderReceipts must be granted to the mobile user.
In order to handle stock movement between drop-off location and the mobile user's stock, the following should be defined:
To process Stock Move in IFS Mobile Work Order the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.PlannedInventoryMovement must be granted to the mobile user.
Additional control can be given to Stock Movements by granting the following activities:
Note: Pallets are not considered in Stock Movements.
The Employee Survey has been integrated with IFS Mobile Work Order to give a framework to flex the work order work flow dynamically. The Employee Survey must be configured as standard with the WO Integration tab being set so that Employee Surveys (in IFS Human Resources) can be used as eForms in IFS Mobile Work Order. This set-up allows for specifying when the Employee Survey will be triggered as an eForm in IFS Mobile Work Order. Data filters can be specified to identify the work orders that the eForm should be triggered against and the following is a list of the stages in the mobile work order flow where an eForm can be triggered:
Before the eForm can be used in IFS Mobile Work Order it should be Published and the mobile users should be listed as participants. When this is done, the survey will be transferred to the relevant mobile users as part of the batch synchronization.
To process eForms in IFS Mobile Work Order the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.eForms must be granted to the mobile user.
Once the work orders are planned in IFS/Work Order Management they can be transferred to IFS Mobile Work Order. A work order can be transferred to a particular mobile user or to a common pool of work orders. When a work order is transferred to the pool, it will be synchronized with the mobile users that have access to the work order site. The user who first accepts the work order from the pool will be considered the owner of the work and it will be removed from all other mobile users.
Note: If the work order is scheduled by the Mobile Workforce Management Scheduling Engine, it will not be possible to transfer the work order to the common pool of work orders.
The work orders will be transferred (or once accepted, removed from the pool) during synchronization between the mobile user and the server. IFS Mobile Work Order can be configured to set up how often synchronization is to be carried out between the mobile user and server.
Once transferred, only a limited number of actions can be performed on the same work order in IFS/Work Order Management. For instance, it is possible to add new operations, material and tools-and-facilities, but it is not possible to edit fields owned by the mobile client or perform status changes on the work order.
The Transferred Work Orders window has right mouse button option which can be used to un-assign already assigned work order to a mobile user at any stage of the work order. It is a decision that can be taken by a supervisory level user. Further, work orders in state POOL can also be directly assigned to a particular user from this window.
When the work order is synchronized it will appear to the mobile user with one of the following statuses: Assigned, Allocated or Pool.
Once Accepted you can further plan the work to be done, e.g., enter material or tools-and-facilities which are required or raise a purchase request for a part. If it also possible to edit the work order once it is in the Accepted state provided the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.EditActiveRound and/or mWorkOrder 3.EditActiveSeparate is granted to the mobile user.
Note 1: Automatic Time Report records: if the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.CreateAutoTimeRecords is granted to the mobile user then an automatic travel time transaction will created between the following state changes:
When the work order is in the On Route state the automatic Time Report record will be based on the mobile users Default Travel Time Craft and when the work order is in the Started state the automatic Time Report will be based on the mobile users Default Craft. If no defaults exist then no Time Report records will be created.
Note 2: Controlling Actual Finish Date: if the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.PostponeActiveSeparateActualFinish is granted to the mobile user then when the WO Report In screen is opened the Actual Finish date will not be automatically set. This allows the mobile user to enter Report In data without setting the Actual Finish.
Note 3: eForms: If you have setup an eForm to be triggered for a work order state change then the mobile user will need to complete the eForm before the state change will occur.
Note 4: Work Order Journal: For all state changes two records will be created in the Work Order Journal. One will represent the date/time the change was made in IFS Mobile Work Order, the second will represent the date/time the change was created in IFS Applications.
The following is the list of actions that can be performed on a mobile work order. Note that it will only be possible to create or modify Work Order Actions when the work order is in the Work Request, Fault Report, Accepted, On Route or Started states.
Stop Time
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowStopTime is granted to the mobile user it is possible to set the Actual Finish date/time by selecting Stop Time. For this action to appear the work order must be in the Started state.
Jobs
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.StandardJobs is granted to the mobile user it is possible to view standard jobs associated with the work order. To connect new standard jobs the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowAddNewStandardJobs must be granted to the mobile user.
Operations and Allocations
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Operations is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to view Operations and Allocations that are connected to the work order.
It is possible to process Operations that are assigned to the mobile user by changing the Operation status provided the work order attribute "Operations follow Work Order Status" is not set. If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.OperationAutoTime is granted to the mobile user then on changing the Operation Status Time Report records will be automatically created. If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.OperationClocking is granted to the mobile user then it will be possible for the mobile user to Clock In/Out of the Operation multiple times creating Time Report records based on the clockings.
Materials
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Materials is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to view or create material requests and issue parts.
The Material Actions can be controlled by the following activities:
Returns
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Returns is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to plan parts to be returned to the inventory from the work order site.
Tools & Facilities
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.ToolsAndFacilities is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to create tools-and-facilities requirements on the work order and report time for how long a tool or facility is used.
Time Reports
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.TimeReports is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to view and create Time Report records against the work order. By default there are two Types of time report records. Travel and Work. If Time Types are configured in IFS/Basic Data for Maintenance then the default Types will be flexed based on the Time Type set-up.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.TimeReportOperationNoMandatory is granted to the mobile user and operations exist against the work order the Operation Number will be mandatory for creating time report records.
Expenses
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Expenses is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to record all expenses incurred on the work order, which will be reflected in the work order budget.
Purchase Requests
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.PurchaseRequisitions is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to request parts required for the work order by entering a purchase request.
Receive Purchase Order Lines
If the Permission Set Activities mWorkOrder 3.PurchaseOrderReceipts and mWorkOrder 3.ReceivePurchaseOrderLines are granted to the mobile user then it is possible to receive the purchase order lines which are valid for your mobile user.
Pictures
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Pictures is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to attach pictures to the work order. IFS Mobile Work Order is integrated with the Camera application on the mobile device. Therefore, it is possible to take a picture and attach it simultaneously. Attached pictures will be stored in IFS/Media Library.
Measurements
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.ObjectMeasurements is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to record the values of the measurements carried out on an object during the work.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowMeterChange is granted to the mobile user then it will be possible for the mobile user to change the meter.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowMeterRollover is granted to the mobile user then it will be possible for the mobile user to specify that the meter value has rolled over.
Measurement history will be synchronized based on the Equipment Objects available to the mobile user and filtered based on Application Parameters HIST_DATE_LIMIT_MEAS and HIST_REC_LIMIT_MEAS. HIST_DATE_LIMIT_MEAS specifies how many days in the past the measurement history will be synchronized and HIST_REC_LIMIT_MEAS specifies how many records will be synchronize per equipment object parameter.
Journal
It is possible to use the work order journal to view the statuses the work order has been through.
eForms
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.eForms is granted to the mobile user then eForms will be available. Depending on the data set-up of Employee Survey's the eForms could be triggered on state changes or be available against the mobile user, work orders or equipment objects.
Work Order Report
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.WOReport is granted to the mobile user then it is view a work order report. This report will show all work order details plus all entered work order action records.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.WOReportBeforeCustomerSign is granted to the mobile user then the report will automatically open prior to customer signature capture screen. If mWorkOrder 3.WOReportAfterEngineerSign is granted to the mobile user then the report will automatically open after the engineer signature capture screen.
Document Management
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.Documents is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to view Documents associated with the Work Order (including Object Connection Transformations). Only Documents with a Document Class that is registered in Document Classes will be visible.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowAddNewDocument is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to create new Documents associated with the Work Order. Document Classes must be configured as New In Mobile to create new documents in Mobile Work Order.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowAddNewDocumentRevision is granted to the mobile user then it is possible to create a new revision of an existing Document associated with the Work Order.
New Work Orders
It is possible to create a separate work order if the mobile user has been granted access to the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.CreateActiveSeparate. This can be, for example where a new fault is identified during work and needs to be addressed by the mobile user or another employee. Once the work order is created, you can choose to return it to IFS/Work Order Management or retain it.
Work orders created by the mobile user will receive an identifier with the prefix N, e.g., N1001010. This identifier will be used for the lifetime of the work order on the mobile. When the work order is sent to IFS/Work Order Management, the identifier will be set as the Originating System ID, the Originating System will be set to "MWO" and the work order number will be generated automatically based on the work Order regular number series.
If the New Work Order wizard is opened when viewing a separate work order or on a round work order action the mobile user will be asked to copy the work order details. It is also possible for the mobile user to specify that the work order is to be created as a child work order.
It is possible for the mobile user to create a Fault Report or Work Request. By changing the type of separate work order that is to be created will flex the fields that are displayed to the mobile user, for example by selecting Fault Report fault fields such as Discovery and Symptom will be displayed.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.AllowActiveSeparateNewStates is granted to the mobile user then it is possible for the mobile user to specify the work order state that separate work order should be created with.
When the work order is created or completed on the mobile device, you will be prompted on whether you want to return the work order or retain it. When you choose to return it, the work order will be transferred back to IFS/Work Order Management during synchronization.
If the mobile user chooses to retain the work order then it will be possible to Return the work order at a later stage or it can be Unassigned by a user with access to the Transferred Work Orders screen.
If the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.CreateAutoReturnTravelTimeRecords is granted to the mobile user, then on completing the work order a prompt will be given to start return travel. If the mobile user answers yes to this then a Time Report record will be created based on the mobile users Default Travel Craft and will be closed when the mobile user completes the return travel.
Once the work order is returned to IFS/Work Order Management you can continue the work order flow, i.e., authorize work order transactions and finish the work order.
Note: If the work order is owned by IFS Mobile Work Order (i.e., the work order is transferred to a mobile user), the authorizing of work order transactions should be avoided. This is done to avoid any sync failures due to IFS Mobile Work Order being an offline product.
It is possible to view Historical Separate Work Order based in IFS Mobile Work Order based on the Object ID on the Historical Work Order. Historical Work Orders can be viewed from the Work Order or Object Information screens provided the mobile user has access to the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.HistoricalWorkOrders.
Historical Separate Work Orders will be synchronized based on the Equipment Objects available to the mobile user and filtered based on the Application Parameters HIST_DATE_LIMIT and HISTORY_LIMIT. HIST_DATE_LIMIT specifies how many days in the past the historical work orders will be synchronized based on Actual Finish date and HISTORY_LIMIT specifies how many records will be synchronize per equipment object.
The IFS Mobile Work Order solution relies on the IFS/Mobile Framework. For details on this framework, how the synchronization process works and failure handling please refer to the F1 Technical documentation under Touch Apps.
As part of the framework it is possible to amend the IFS Mobile Work Order screens using the UI Designer. To enable the UI Designer the mobile user needs access to the Permission Set Activity mWorkOrder 3.EnableLayoutDesigner.