Front cover

Certification Study Guide

Series: IBM Maximo Asset
Management V7.1
Helps you achieve IBM Maximo Asset
Management V7.1 certification

Explains the certification path

and prerequisites

Introduces sample test

questions

Vasfi Gucer
Alisson Negrisolo de Godoi
Anantaram Kandukuri
Brent Knapp
Caio Elias Saad
James Strand
Jonathan Baffa
Julio Madeira
Maamar Ferkoun
Marcel Laurenz
Shireen Ahmed

ibm.com/redbooks
International Technical Support Organization

Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo

Asset Management V7.1

July 2009

SG24-7761-00
 Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in
“Notices” on page ix.

First Edition (July 2009)

This edition applies to IBM Maximo Asset Management Version 7.1.

© Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2009. All rights reserved.

Note to U.S. Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP
Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.
Contents

Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
The team that wrote this book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Become a published author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Comments welcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi

Chapter 1. Certification overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 IBM Professional Certification Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.1 Benefits of certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 IBM Tivoli Software Professional Certification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Test 000-015: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 Implementation . . . . 7
1.3.1 Job role description and target audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.2 About the test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.3 Receive your 15% discount when taking the test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Suggested resources for study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.1 Courses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.2 Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 2. Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Assets module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Rotating item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.1 Move/Modify Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2.2 Swap Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.3 Move/Swap/Modify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3 Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3.1 Meters and meter groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.2 Condition Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.4 Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.5 Classifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.6 Database Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.7 Application Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

3.1 Master Preventive Maintenance application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.2 Preventive Maintenance application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.3 Working with the Master PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.3.1 Creating a Master PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. iii

 3.3.2 Creating associated PM records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3.3 Updating associated PM records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3.4 Deleting Master PM records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4 Working with Preventive Maintenance records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4.1 Ownership of PM records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.4.2 PM job plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4.3 PM hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4.4 PM routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4.5 PM alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Chapter 4. Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.1 Inventory module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2 Initial setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2.1 Units of measure and conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2.2 Commodity groups and commodity codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.2.3 Item sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.2.4 Organizations settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.3 Inventory applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.3.1 Item Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.3.2 Service Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
4.3.3 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.3.4 Stocked Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.3.5 Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.3.6 Issues and Transfers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.3.7 Condition Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
4.3.8 Storerooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Chapter 5. Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.1 Contract module applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.2 Contract status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.3 Working with contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.3.1 Creating contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.4 Using terms and conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.4.1 Working with terms and conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Chapter 6. Purchasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.1 Purchasing module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
6.1.1 Purchasing and inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.1.2 Internal versus external purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.1.3 Line Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.1.4 Commodity codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.1.5 Purchasing and contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.2 Company records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6.2.1 Multisite and company records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

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 6.2.2 Currency codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6.2.3 Exchange rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
6.2.4 Company records versus company master records . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.2.5 Company records and contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.2.6 Company records and purchasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
6.3 Companies application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
6.3.1 Manage companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6.3.2 Deleting a company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6.4 Purchase Requisitions application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
6.4.1 Managing purchase requisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
6.5 Purchase Orders application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
6.5.1 Managing purchase orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.6 Receiving application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6.6.1 Rotating items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
6.7 Request for Quotations application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6.8 Invoices application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
6.8.1 Invoice types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.8.2 Invoice status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.8.3 Approving an invoice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
6.8.4 Create an invoice that contains multiple vendors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.8.5 Add taxes to the cost of an invoice line item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Chapter 7. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

7.1 Resources module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
7.2 Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
7.3 Qualifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
7.4 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
7.5 Person Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
7.6 Crafts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Chapter 8. Work Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

8.1 Work orders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.1.1 Work order status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
8.1.2 Work plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
8.1.3 Job plans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
8.1.4 The Move/Swap/Modify actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
8.1.5 Work order ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
8.2 Work order flow control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
8.2.1 Process flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
8.2.2 Flow control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
8.2.3 Flow action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
8.3 Plan labor and crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
8.3.1 Work plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Contents v
 8.3.2 Activities and Tasks application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
8.4 Failure class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
8.4.1 Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
8.4.2 Assets and locations failure class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
8.4.3 Work order problem code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
8.5 Safety module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
8.5.1 Hazards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
8.5.2 The Safety Plan application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
8.5.3 Associate a safety plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
8.6 Reporting costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
8.6.1 Work Order Tracking application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
8.6.2 Labor Reporting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
8.6.3 Quick Reporting application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
8.7 Reporting downtime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
8.7.1 Check asset status in work orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
8.7.2 Downtime history. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Chapter 9. Service Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

9.1 Service Requests application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
9.1.1 Out-of-the-box functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
9.1.2 Creating a service request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
9.1.3 Owners and person groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
9.1.4 Ticket Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
9.1.5 Applying a ticket template to a service request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
9.2 Self-Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
9.2.1 Create Service Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
9.2.2 View Service Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
9.2.3 E-mail Listeners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Chapter 10. Other configuration options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

10.1 Security settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
10.1.1 Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
10.1.2 Application server security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
10.2 Logging application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
10.3 Log files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
10.4 Database configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
10.5 System Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
10.5.1 Security levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
10.6 Attached documents properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
10.7 Electronic audit signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
10.8 Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
10.8.1 Working with action records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
10.9 Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

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 10.9.1 Understanding roles and workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
10.10 Person and person groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
10.11 Cron task setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
10.12 System performance issues and guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
10.12.1 Factors in system performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
10.12.2 Configuration issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
10.12.3 Performance and system maintenance guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . 206
10.12.4 Loading and looping of MBOs in memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
10.12.5 Attached documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Appendix A. Sample certification test questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Related publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

IBM Redbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Online resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
How to get Redbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Help from IBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Contents vii
viii Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Notices

This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A.

IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult
your local IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area.
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product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that
does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's
responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any non-IBM product, program, or service.

IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document.
The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license
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IBM Director of Licensing, IBM Corporation, North Castle Drive, Armonk, NY 10504-1785 U.S.A.

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This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made
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materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.

IBM may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without
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Information concerning non-IBM products was obtained from the suppliers of those products, their published
announcements or other publicly available sources. IBM has not tested those products and cannot confirm
the accuracy of performance, compatibility or any other claims related to non-IBM products. Questions on
the capabilities of non-IBM products should be addressed to the suppliers of those products.

This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily business operations. To illustrate them
as completely as possible, the examples include the names of individuals, companies, brands, and products.
All of these names are fictitious and any similarity to the names and addresses used by an actual business
enterprise is entirely coincidental.

COPYRIGHT LICENSE:

This information contains sample application programs in source language, which illustrate programming
techniques on various operating platforms. You may copy, modify, and distribute these sample programs in
any form without payment to IBM, for the purposes of developing, using, marketing or distributing application
programs conforming to the application programming interface for the operating platform for which the
sample programs are written. These examples have not been thoroughly tested under all conditions. IBM,
therefore, cannot guarantee or imply reliability, serviceability, or function of these programs.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. ix

Trademarks
IBM, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business
Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. These and other IBM trademarked
terms are marked on their first occurrence in this information with the appropriate symbol (® or ™),
indicating US registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was
published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current
list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at http://www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml

The following terms are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation in the United States,
other countries, or both:

ClearQuest® Maximo® Tivoli®

Foundations™ Rational® WebSphere®
IBM® Redbooks®
Lotus® Redbooks (logo) ®

The following terms are trademarks of other companies:

ITIL is a registered trademark, and a registered community trademark of the Office of Government
Commerce, and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

J2EE, Java, and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States,
other countries, or both.

Active Directory, Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States, other countries, or both.

Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

x Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Preface

This IBM® Redbooks® publication is a study guide for IBM Maximo® Asset
Management V7.1 and is aimed at individuals who want to get an IBM
Professional Certification for this product.

The IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 certification exam, offered through the
Professional Certification Program from IBM, is designed to validate the skills
required of technical professionals who work in the implementation and
configuration of the IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 product.

This book provides a combination of theory and practical experience needed for
a general understanding of the subject matter. It also provides sample questions
that will help in the evaluation of personal progress and provide familiarity with
the types of questions that you will encounter in the exam.

This publication does not replace practical experience, and is not designed to be
a stand-alone guide for any subject. Instead, it is an effective tool that, when
combined with educational activities and experience, can be an extremely useful
preparation guide for the exam.

For your convenience, we structure the chapters based on the sections of the
Test 000-015: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 Implementation, such as
Assets, Inventory, and so on, so studying each chapter will help you prepare for
one section of the exam.

Note that Test 000-017: Foundations of Tivoli Process Automation Engine is a

prerequisite for the IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Maximo Asset
Management V7.1 certification. To prepare for that test, refer to the IBM
Redbooks publication Certification Study Guide Series: Foundations of Tivoli
Process Automation Engine, SG24-7763.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. xi

The team that wrote this book
This book was produced by a team of specialists from around the world working
at the International Technical Support Organization (ITSO), Raleigh Center.

Vasfi Gucer is a Project Leader at the International

Technical Support Organization, Austin Center. He has
been with the ITSO since January 1999. He has more
than 12 years of experience in the areas of systems
management, networking hardware, and software on
mainframe and distributed platforms. He has worked on
various IBM Tivoli® client projects as a Systems
Architect in the U.S. He writes extensively and teaches
IBM classes worldwide on Tivoli software. Vasfi is also
an IBM Certified Senior IT Specialist, PMP and ITIL®
Expert.

Alisson Negrisolo de Godoi is a Software Engineer for

IBM Brazil Software Laboratory. He has over two years
of experience in working with IBM Tivoli Maximo and
over four years of experience in software development.
For Maximo solutions, he has provided support for
petroleum and miner companies.

Anantaram Kandukuri is a Maximo - Sr. Delivery

Manager at Envision Enterprise Solutions Pvt. Ltd,
Hyderabad, India. He has 12 years of production
experience in process industry and more than 13 years
of IT experience in software development,
customization and implementation of ERP, EAI, and
J2EE™ applications. He has wide experience on
Maximo Solutions - 5.1, 5.2, 6.2, and 7.1 versions of
Maximo.

xii Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Brent Knapp is the Director of Client Services for SaS,
a long term Maximo and IBM Business Partner. Brent
has been working with Maximo for over two years and
has extensive background in applied program and
project management. His experience has focused on
large, complex technology-based projects with an
emphasis on management of technology-driven
services. Brent’s experience includes support to clients
in manufacturing, finance, energy, consumer package
goods, and healthcare. Over the past six years, he has
authored 12 books on project management. In addition
to being certified in PMP and ITIL, Brent holds several
IBM certifications.

Caio Elias Saad is a Software Engineer at IBM Brazil

Software Laboratory, based in São Paulo, Brazil. He
has over five years of experience in Java™ Enterprise
development and over two years working on IBM
Maximo Asset Management development. The main
projects he has been involved in are Maximo Core EAM
development V6.x, V7.x, and V8.x and huge Maximo
V7.x implementations using Integration Framework and
other products like Maximo for Oil and Gas, and
Calibration industry solutions.

James Strand is an IBM Certified Deployment

Professional in Maximo Asset Management V7.1. He is
President of james233, Inc., a consulting and training
firm based in Arkansas. He has over 10 years
experience in a variety of business and non-profit
environments. He holds a Master in Business
Administration degree from Oral Roberts University.

Jonathan Baffa is the Director of Information

Technology for SaS, a long term Maximo and IBM
Business Partner. Jonathan is an IBM Certified
Advanced Deployment Professional, ITIL Certified, and
has over four years of experience with Maximo and its
related products. Jonathan provides strategic direction
for corporate IT and establishes best practices for
hosted and non-hosted solutions as well as their
technical engagements and deployments.

Preface xiii
 Julio Madeira is a Software Engineer at IBM, a position
he has held for the last two years, and also has 15 years
of experience with IT. He has a Bachelor Degree in
Computer Sciences from Catholic University of Santos
and also a Post-Graduate degree in IT Management
from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Brazil.

Maamar Ferkoun is a Senior Product Professional with

the IBM worldwide Software Advanced Technology
group. He is based in IBM Hong Kong S.A.R. of the
PRC and has over 20 years of experience in the IT
industry, including over 10 years with IBM. He holds a
degree in Computer Science, an ITIL Manager, and a
COBIT certification. Maamar began his career with IBM
as a Software Field Engineer engaged across the Asia
Pacific region. His area of expertise covers the service
management product portfolio and best practices.

Marcel Laurenz is a proven Senior IT Consultant and

Director of LAURENZ-IT, based in northern Germany.
Marcel has more than 10 years of experience in leading
international projects and teams, specifically in areas of
operations and service management. He is a certified
IBM Lotus®, WebSphere®, Tivoli, Microsoft®, and ITIL
expert, and holds a degree in Sport Science and
Economy. He is an entrepreneur, building high
performance teams.

Shireen Ahmed is a Senior Staff Software Engineer in

the ClearQuest® Group at IBM Rational® Software,
Lexington, Massachusetts. She has been with IBM
since 2002 and has lead and worked on several projects
focusing on ClearQuest and Globalization (G11n). She
has spent more than 20 years as a software developer.
Ms. Ahmed holds a Master degree in Computer Science
from Boston University, Boston and a Master degree in
Mathematics from Northeastern University, Boston.

xiv Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 Thanks to the following people for their contributions to this project:

Amanda Hayden
Service Desk and Asset Management Solutions (SaS)
http://www.sassolutions.com

Diane Sherman, Wade Wallace

International Technical Support Organization, Austin Center

Tamikia Barrow
International Technical Support Organization, Raleigh Center

Kristin Wall Gibson, Emma Jacobs

IBM USA

Marc Perucca
IBM UK

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Preface xv
Comments welcome
Your comments are important to us!

We want our books to be as helpful as possible. Send us your comments about

this book or other IBM Redbooks publications in one of the following ways:
򐂰 Use the online Contact us review Redbooks form found at:
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򐂰 Send your comments in an e-mail to:
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xvi Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 1

Chapter 1. Certification overview

This chapter provides an overview of the skill required to become an IBM
certified Advanced Technical Expert. The chapter offers a comprehensive review
of specific topics that provide essential information for obtaining the certification.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “IBM Professional Certification Program” on page 2
򐂰 “IBM Tivoli Software Professional Certification” on page 4
򐂰 “Test 000-015: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 Implementation” on
page 7
򐂰 “Suggested resources for study” on page 8

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 1

1.1 IBM Professional Certification Program
Having the right skills for the job is critical in the growing global marketplace. IBM
Professional Certification, designed to validate skill and proficiency in the latest
IBM solution and product technology, can help provide that competitive edge.
The IBM Professional Certification Program Web site is available at:
http://www.ibm.com/certify/index.shtml

The IBM Professional Certification Program offers a business solution for skilled
technical professionals seeking to demonstrate their expertise to the world.

In addition to demonstrating your skill and proficiency in the latest IBM

technology and solutions, professional certification can help you excel at your job
by giving you and your employer the confidence that your skills have been
tested. You can deliver higher levels of service and technical expertise than
non-certified employees and move on a faster career track. Professional
certification puts your career in your control.

The certification requirements are difficult but not overwhelming. Certification is a

rigorous process that differentiates you from everyone else.

The mission of the IBM Professional Certification Program is to:

򐂰 Provide a reliable, valid, and fair method of assessing skills and knowledge.
򐂰 Provide IBM with a method of building and validating the skills of individuals
and organizations.
򐂰 Develop a loyal community of highly skilled certified professionals who
recommend, sell, service, support, and use IBM products and solutions.

The IBM Professional Certification Program has developed certification role

names to guide you in your professional development. The certification role
names include IBM Certified Specialist, IBM Certified Solutions/Systems Expert,
and IBM Certified Advanced Technical Expert for technical professionals who
sell, service, and support IBM solutions. For technical professionals in
application development, the certification roles include IBM Certified Developer
Associate and IBM Certified Developer. An IBM Certified Instructor certifies the
professional instructor.

The IBM Professional Certification Program provides a structured program

leading to an internationally recognized qualification. The program is designed
for flexibility by enabling you to select your role, prepare for and take tests at your
own pace, and, in some cases, select from a choice of elective tests best suited
to your abilities and needs. Some roles also offer a shortcut by giving credit for a
certification obtained in other industry certification programs.

2 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 You can be a network administrator, systems integrator, network integrator,
solution architect, solution developer, value-added reseller, technical
coordinator, sales representative, or educational trainer. Regardless of your role,
you can start charting your course through the IBM Professional Certification
Program today.

1.1.1 Benefits of certification

Certification is a tool to help objectively measure the performance of a
professional on a given job at a defined skill level. Therefore, it is beneficial for
individuals who want to validate their own skills and performance levels, those of
their employees, or both. For optimum benefit, the certification tests must reflect
the critical tasks required for a job, the skill levels of each task, and the frequency
a task must be performed. IBM prides itself in designing comprehensive,
documented processes that ensure that IBM certification tests remain relevant to
the work environment of potential certification candidates.

In addition to assessing job skills and performance levels, professional

certification can also provide the following benefits:
򐂰 For employees:
– Promotes recognition as an IBM certified professional
– Creates advantages in interviews
– Assists in salary increases, corporate advancement, or both
– Increases self-esteem
– Provides continuing professional benefits
򐂰 For employers:
– Measures the effectiveness of training
– Reduces course redundancy and unnecessary expenses
– Provides objective benchmarks for validating skills
– Facilitates long-range planning
– Helps to manage professional development
– Aids as a hiring tool
– Contributes to competitive advantage
– Increases productivity
– Increases morale and loyalty
򐂰 For IBM Business Partners and consultants:
– Provides independent validation of technical skills
– Creates competitive advantage and business opportunities
– Enhances prestige of the team
– Contributes to meeting IBM requirements for various IBM Business
Partner programs

Chapter 1. Certification overview 3

 Specific benefits can vary by country (or region) and role. In general, after you
become certified, you should receive the following benefits:
򐂰 Industry recognition
Certification can accelerate your career potential by validating your
professional competency and increasing your ability to provide solid, capable
technical support.
򐂰 Program credentials
As a certified professional, you receive (through e-mail) your certificate of
completion and the certification mark associated with your role for use in
advertisements and business literature. You can also request a hardcopy
certificate, which includes a wallet-size certificate.
IBM Professional Certification acknowledges the individual as a technical
professional. The certification mark is for the exclusive use of the certified
individual.
򐂰 Ongoing technical vitality
IBM certified professionals are included in mailings from the IBM Professional
Certification Program.

1.2 IBM Tivoli Software Professional Certification

The IBM Tivoli Professional Certification program offers certification testing that
sets the standard for qualified product consultants, administrators, architects,
and partners.

The program also offers an internationally recognized qualification for technical

professionals seeking to apply their expertise in today’s complex business
environment. The program is designed for those who implement, buy, sell,
service, and support IBM Tivoli solutions and want to deliver higher levels of
service and technical expertise.

Whether you are a Tivoli client, partner, or technical professional wanting to put
your career on the fast track, you can start on the road to becoming a Tivoli
Certified Professional today.

Benefits of Tivoli certification

Tivoli certification provides the following benefits:
򐂰 For the individual:
– IBM Certified certificate and use of logos on business cards
– Recognition of your technical skills by your peers and management

4 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 – Enhanced career opportunities
– Focus for your professional development
򐂰 For the IBM Business Partner:
– Confidence in the skills of your employees
– Enhanced partnership benefits from the IBM Business Partner program
– Ability to bill your employees’ services at higher rates
– Strengthens proposals to customers
– Deepens technical skills available to prospective customers
򐂰 For the customer:
– Confidence in the services professionals handling your implementation
– Ease of hiring competent employees to manage your Tivoli environment
– Enhanced return on investment (ROI) through more thorough integration
with Tivoli and third-party products
– Ease of selecting a Tivoli Business Partner that meets your specific needs

Certification checklist
To pursue certification, follow the steps in this checklist:
1. Select the certification that you want to pursue.
2. Determine which test or tests are required by reading the certification role
description.
3. Prepare for the test, using the following resources provided:
– Test objectives
– Recommended educational resources
– Sample assessment test
– Other reference materials
– List of opportunities for gaining experience

Note: These resources are available from each certification description

page, as well as from the test information page.

4. Register to take a test by contacting one of our worldwide testing vendors:

– Prometric
– Pearson Virtual University Enterprises (VUE)

Note: When providing your name and address to the testing vendor, be
sure to specify your name exactly as you want it to appear on your
certificate.

Chapter 1. Certification overview 5

 5. Take the test. Be sure to keep the Examination Score Report provided upon
test completion as your record of taking the test.

Note: After taking a test, your test results and demographic data (including
name, address, e-mail, and phone number) are sent from the testing
vendor to IBM for processing (allow two to three days for transmittal and
processing). After all the tests required for a certification are passed and
received by IBM, your certificate is issued.

6. Repeat steps 3 on page 5 - 5 until all required tests are successfully

completed for the certification role. If you must meet additional requirements
(such as an other vendor certification or exam), follow the instructions on the
certification description page to submit these requirements to IBM.
7. After you complete your certification requirements, you are sent an e-mail
asking you to accept the terms of the IBM Certification Agreement before
receiving the certificate.
8. Upon acceptance of the terms of the IBM Certification Agreement, an e-mail
is sent to you containing the following electronic deliverables:
– A Certification certificate in PDF format, which can be printed in either
color or black and white
– A set of graphic files of the IBM Professional Certification mark associated
with the certification achieved
– Guidelines for the use of the IBM Professional Certification mark
9. To avoid unnecessary delay in receiving your certificate, ensure that your
current e-mail is on file by maintaining an up-to-date profile. If you do not have
an e-mail address on file, your certificate is sent through postal mail.
Certificates are sent by e-mail. However, you may also contact IBM at the
following e-mail address to request a paper copy of the certificate, including a
laminated wallet-sized card:
mailto:[email protected]

Note: IBM reserves the right to change or delete any portion of the program,
including the terms and conditions of the IBM Certification Agreement, at any
time without notice. Some certification roles offered through the IBM
Professional Certification Program require recertification.

6 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

1.3 Test 000-015: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Implementation
This section describes the IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 Implementation
certification test.

1.3.1 Job role description and target audience

An IBM Certified Deployment Professional - IBM Maximo Asset Management
V7.1 is a technical professional responsible for planning, installation,
configuration, operations, administration, and maintenance of a Tivoli Asset
Management V7.1 solution. This individual is expected to perform these tasks
with limited assistance from peers, product documentation, and support
resources.

1.3.2 About the test

To be certified, you must select Test 015: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Implementation. Note the following information about the test:
򐂰 Approximate number of questions: 69
򐂰 Duration in minutes: 105
򐂰 Format: Multiple choice
򐂰 Required passing score: 71%

For the most updated objectives of the IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Implementation certification test, refer to the following link:
http://www.ibm.com/certify/tests/obj015.shtml

Important: Test 000-017: Foundations of Tivoli Process Automation Engine

is a prerequisite for IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Maximo Asset
Management V7.1 certification. To prepare for that test, refer to Certification
Study Guide Series: Foundations of Tivoli Process Automation Engine,
SG24-7763.

1.3.3 Receive your 15% discount when taking the test

You can receive a 15% discount on the IBM Certified Deployment Professional -
Maximo Asset Management V7.1 certification exam, if taken at any Prometric
testing center. Simply remember to use the code 15T015.

Chapter 1. Certification overview 7

1.4 Suggested resources for study
Courses and publications are offered to help you prepare for certification tests.

1.4.1 Courses
Refer to the following link for a list of courses related to IBM Maximo Asset
Management V7.1:
http://www.ibm.com/certify/tests/edu015.shtml

The courses are recommended, but not required, before taking a certification
test. If you want to purchase Web-based training courses, or you are unable to
locate a Web-based or classroom course at the time and location you want,
contact one of our delivery management teams:
򐂰 Americas
mailto:[email protected]
򐂰 EMEA
mailto:[email protected]
򐂰 AP
mailto:[email protected]

Note: Course offerings are continuously being added and updated. If you do
not see the courses listed in your location, contact one of the previously listed
delivery management teams.

1.4.2 Publications
Before taking Test 015: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 Implementation
certification test, we recommend that you review the following product
documentation and IBM Redbooks publications.

Online publications
For online publications of IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1, go to:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/index.jsp?topic=
/com.ibm.mam.doc_7.1/mam_welcome.htm

8 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

IBM Redbooks publications
Refer to the IBM Redbooks publications as a study resource:
򐂰 Deployment Guide Series: Maximo Asset Management V7.1, SG24-7640
This book provides information to assist in the deployment and initial
configuration of a IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 environment.
򐂰 IT Asset Management Processes using Tivoli Asset Manager for IT,
SG24-7601
This book provides high-level overviews of Tivoli IT Asset Management
Portfolio. Using product-specific terminology, it describes how the product
capabilities can enhance the implementation and automation of common IT
asset management processes. Most of the information in the book is also
applicable to IBM Maximo Asset Management.
򐂰 Maximo Asset Management Essentials V7.1 Implementer’s Guide,
SG24-7645
This book provides general IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 product
information and covers the planning, installation, and initial configuration
processes.

Chapter 1. Certification overview 9

10 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 2

Chapter 2. Assets
This chapter covers the Assets module and its relationship with other modules
such as Work Order, Classifications and Preventive Maintenance. This chapter
also covers several of the most important features on the Assets module, such
as rotation items, meters, asset status, locations, user’s attributes and others.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Assets module” on page 12
򐂰 “Rotating item” on page 16
򐂰 “Meters” on page 22
򐂰 “Locations” on page 26
򐂰 “Classifications” on page 28
򐂰 “Database Configuration” on page 31
򐂰 “Application Designer” on page 34

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 11

2.1 Assets module
The Assets module is used to manage all the assets that have been purchased,
and control them through their entire asset life cycle.

To support maintenance of assets, the Assets module has the following

applications:
򐂰 Assets
Assets is used to create, change, and keep asset records up-to-date as life
span, life-to-date, status modifications, spare parts, and assembly structures.
򐂰 Locations
Locations is the place where assets are operated, stored, or repaired.
Generally, locations are defined as a means of tracking assets, but if your
company does not use asset records to track equipment, you may define a
location as any facility for which you want to create a maintenance record.
򐂰 Meters
Meters keeps the record’s life-to-date and history of the consumption of an
asset. The meters can be of type Continuous (cumulative such kilometers
and miles, hours of use, engine starts, fuel consumed), Gauge (fuel level, oil
pressure and level, and noise level) and Characteristic (the condition of the
asset, for example vibrating, noise, color).
򐂰 Meter Groups
Meter Groups is the top-level of meter application, where you can group
certain types of meters. As explained previously, the default groups can be
Continuous, Gauge, and Characteristic.
򐂰 Condition Monitoring
Condition Monitoring tracks gauge and characteristics records of an asset.
򐂰 Failure Codes
Failure code is an element of a failure hierarchy. A failure consists of
problems, causes, and remedies. An individual failure code can be used at
more than one level of a failure hierarchy. For example high temperature can
appear in one failure hierarchy as a problem and in another as a cause.

The Asset module applications can be launched by from the Go To menu, by

selecting Go To → Assets, as shown in Figure 2-1 on page 13.

12 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 2-1 Assets Modules.

The Assets application is responsible for the creation and maintenance of assets
and an asset’s related information such as costs, parent, statuses, location,
vendor, maintenance, and meters.

The Assets application enables the user to be able to create the asset hierarchy
and the list of locations, such as sites, buildings and subassemblies.

The asset hierarchy is a good way to control the maintenance costs in different
levels. It is by far the best way to manage a group or a specific asset.

When you open the Assets application, you see the following tabs:
򐂰 List, which is where you can search for Assets.
򐂰 Asset, which is for assets maintenance such as create, update, and delete.
򐂰 Spare Parts, which you use to create asset hierarchy and all subparts of it.
򐂰 Safety, which you use for maintenance of safety records of an asset.

Chapter 2. Assets 13
 򐂰 Meters, which you use to track, insert, consult data related to the meter
life-to-date of an asset.
򐂰 Specifications, which is where you can make the maintenance of the
specification of an asset record related to the Classifications application.

The default main window is the List tab. If you are looking for a specific attribute
on the List tab, or you use the More Search fields in the Advanced Fields, and the
results contain only one asset, the Asset tab opens, as shown in the Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2 Assets applications

When creating a new asset, certain default fields are filled automatically and are
read-only to the user. Other fields are writable, but they become read-only after
the first-save of the asset record. These are fields such as: Asset name, Parent,
Location, Rotating Item, Condition Code, and Asset Up?.

To change certain read-only fields, use the Select Action menu for a
corresponding option to the related field.

Certain fields are required in order for the user to be able to save the record.
These are fields such as Asset Name, Status, Site, Asset Up?, Change By,
Changed Date, Last Changed Date, and Total Downtime. Any asset can be

14 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 moved between sites and organizations, regardless of whether it is a rotating
item.

When searching for a specific asset, there are many search options such as:
attribute search, asset hierarchy, and classification description. You have many
options in the More Search Fields window, shown in Figure 2-3.

Figure 2-3 More Search Fields function on Assets application

To find all work orders related to a specific asset, use the asset Select Action
menu, then select View → View Work Details. This option shows all related
records regarding work orders, preventive maintenance, routes, and collections.

You can add information to this view regarding children assets and ancestors, as
shown in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4 More Views options

Chapter 2. Assets 15
2.2 Rotating item
To understand rotating items, you have to understand the characteristics of
assets and inventory items.

An asset is something you want to assign work against (work orders) or perform
preventive maintenance on. Inventory items are for things you have to keep track
of, the remaining balance, but are not normally used in work orders or do not
require preventive maintenance. Rotating items have common characteristics
from both. A good example is a pump. You have to keep track of the stock levels
of a pump, but also have to assign work against it or perform preventive
maintenance on it. So, pump is normally defined as a rotating item.

Rotating assets have a unique asset number and an inventory item number. The
item number lets you track assets as a group as they are moved in and out of
inventory and other types of locations; and the asset number is useful to track
individual instances of the asset as it is moved from one location to another and
from one site to another.

A rotating item has additional features to help you track whether it is ready to be
used in a way that you specify. The intention of this is to specify assets that can
be repaired rather than replaced. In this case, you can have very similar items
that share the same model and manufacturer, same assembly structure, but with
different life-to-date and maintenance history.

Note: Assembly structures are individual parts and subassemblies that you
build for an item. You use them on rotating items or you can apply them as a
template for new rotating assets and new locations.

A rotating item can be used in different places and locations or even as

subassemblies for different assets. You can use it when you want to track an
asset as it is moved from a location (such as operating) or when you want to
apply an Item Assembly Structure to that asset.

When working with rotating items, you can add an item number, a current
balance (other than zero), and its instances to allow it to be used in different
locations in a plant. For example, you might track all your trucks individually with
the single item identifier Class 6 Truck. To associate an asset with a rotating
item, use the Rotating Item field, as shown in Figure 2-5 on page 17.

16 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 2-5 Rotating Item Field on Assets application

A rotating item can also be associated with a location, which is very important
because only assets and locations can be associated with a rotating item.

When associated with a location, an item with a generic number can also have a
balance number (must be greater than one) and multiple instances of which can
be used in different locations in the same site.

To create a rotating item, you must add a valid rotating item from the Item Master
application, as shown Figure 2-6 on page 18.

Chapter 2. Assets 17
Figure 2-6 Main fields from Item Master application

What converts an asset to a rotating item is its association with a valid item from
the Item Master application. To create a valid item master, you must create a
record with status of Active and with the Rotating? field check box selected.
Then, you may add this Item to your asset record, which results in your asset
being configured as a rotating item.

When you move an asset for another location for repairs, you have limited types
of locations that you can work with. Actually, when working with a non-rotating
item, you may move this asset only for locations of type: Operating, Repair,
Salvage, or Vendor. When working with a rotating item, this restriction is not
applied anymore.

For a rotating item, you may use items (from the Item Master application) or tools
(from the Tools application). You may not use service items, because service
itself is not a unique and consumable material.

After you create a rotating item, the field Rotating Item becomes read-only.
However, you may change it by using the Select Action menu and then
selecting Change Item Number. The Change Item Number dialog opens, as
shown in Figure 2-7 on page 19.

18 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 2-7 Change Item Number

All rotating item records can also have a rotating item number to track the asset
as it moves from a storeroom to another asset or location, or to a repair facility
site. Having both an asset and item number allows you to track those assets
individually, with their unique asset numbers, and also as a group, with their
shared item number. Figure 2-8 shows the Rotating Item field in the Locations
application.

Figure 2-8 Rotating Item field on Locations application

Chapter 2. Assets 19
 To create a location, click New Location. The main fields will be ready to be
populated. The status for new locations can be: Not Ready, Operating,
Decommissioned, Maintenance, or Out of Service. By default, the initial status is
Not Ready.

An asset can be moved between sites and organizations regardless of being a

rotating item. The difference exists only when moving or swapping the assets.

2.2.1 Move/Modify Assets

See the icon of Move/Modify Assets in Figure 2-9.

Figure 2-9 Move/Modify Assets

You cannot move an asset if the asset has work orders associated with it.

Use the Move/Modify function to move an asset from a non-inventory location to

another non-inventory location or a storeroom. You can move assets within your
current site, to another site within your organization, or to a site in a different
organization of the company.

The Move/Modify Assets function allows you to move or modify assets

individually or using the Massive Move. When you move multiple assets, you
have to specify the same information for the assets. For example, you might
specify the same location for the assets that you are moving.

Use Move/Modify Assets to perform the following tasks:

򐂰 Move assets grouped or not for a location, site, or bin.
򐂰 Work, create, and update users and custodians.
򐂰 Modify a single or multiple assets attributes.

20 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

2.2.2 Swap Assets
See the icon of Swap Assets function in Figure 2-10.

Figure 2-10 Swap Assets

To replace one asset with another one, you may use the Swap Assets action.
For example, you might specify a different location for the asset that you want to
swap out. You can swap any number of assets at once by using the Swap Assets
dialog box. You cannot use the Swap Assets action to move rotating assets from
inventory locations; you must issue or transfer rotating assets using the inventory
applications.

Note the following information about swapping assets:

򐂰 If two assets share the same item set, you can swap both if they are defined
as rotating item. You can swap them even if they are in different locations.
򐂰 If the replacing asset from another site or organization has the same asset
identifier as an asset in your current site, IBM Maximo Asset Management
prompts you to assign a new asset identifier to the replacing asset. Every
asset within a site must have a unique identifier.
򐂰 The ability to swap assets to and from another site or organization depends
upon your security authorization.

2.2.3 Move/Swap/Modify
When working with Move/Modify or Swap Assets, you can also perform a
modification regarding the responsibility for this asset using the function User
and Custodians that is available from other applications across IBM Maximo
Asset Management such as:
򐂰 From Move/Modify Assets action in the Assets application.
򐂰 From Associate User and Custodians action in the Assets application.
򐂰 From the Move/Swap/Modify action in the Work Order Tracking application.

You use the Users and Custodians tab to associate an asset with a person as an
user or as custodian or as both.

Chapter 2. Assets 21
 In IBM Maximo Asset Management, an asset can have multiple users, multiple
custodians, or multiple users and custodians. If an asset does not have any
users or custodians, anyone can create an incident or service request for it. You
may create a request with that asset only if you are an associated user or
custodian for that asset. In the other applications, when a caller contacts a
service desk agent, the agent can associate the caller with the ticket and then
associate the appropriate assets with the ticket.

Figure 2-11 shows an example of Move/Swap/Modify.

Figure 2-11 Move/Swap/Modify action in Work Order Tracking application

2.3 Meters
The Meters application is used to keep the records, life-to-date, and history of the
consumption of an asset. The three types of meters are:
򐂰 Continuous, which is cumulative, such kilometers and miles, hours of use,
engine starts, and fuel consumed
򐂰 Gauge, which can be, for example, fuel level, oil pressure and level, and
noise level
򐂰 Characteristic, which are asset characteristics such as vibrating, noise, and
color

22 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

2.3.1 Meters and meter groups
You can create meters and meter groups in the Meters application and then
within the Item Master application, associate a meter to an item or a meter group
on a rotating item. As mentioned in 2.3, “Meters” on page 22, meters can be of
three types: continuous (kilometers life-to-date, liters consumed), gauge (a
temperature reading), and characteristic (a color, a vibration level, a sound level).

When you associate a continuous meter to an item and then issue the item to a
work order, asset, or location, IBM Maximo Asset Management updates the
associated asset or location record with the quantity that was issued and
decreases the storeroom balance of that item. (This process happens only when
the meter on the item matches the meter on the asset or location.)

For example, you might have FUEL defined as a meter and GASOLINE as an
item. Within Item Master, you can associate the meter FUEL to the item
GASOLINE. When you issue fuel for an asset, such as a truck, IBM Maximo
Asset Management decreases the balance of the fuel in the storeroom by the
amount issued, and in the Assets application on the Meters tab, you can see that
the amount of fuel issued to the truck increases by the issued amount. This
approach allows you to track fuel consumption for that asset.

With MILES for example, you can track the life-to-date of a vehicle and its
consumption average of miles that a vehicle uses by day or by month. To do that,
when associating with an Asset, you have to specify an Average Calculation
Method of SLIDING-DAYS and specify the Sliding Window Size.

The two methods to calculate an average can be by using the last readings
(sliding-readings) or by the last days (sliding-days). In both cases, you specify the
quantity of days or the reading in the field Sliding Window Size, as shown in the
example in Figure 2-12.

Figure 2-12 Average Calculation Method on Assets application

The field Average Units/Day indicates the average in the period that is specified
as the Sliding Window Size; the Life to Date for Asset field indicates the sum of
all readings, such as the odometer of a car for example.

Chapter 2. Assets 23
 A meter group is a set of meters that you can apply to an asset record. In the
case of a rotating item, IBM Maximo Asset Management automatically applies
any meter group that is associated with the rotating item to any assets that are
created for that item.

For example, a pump is a rotating item. On a pump, you might track meters such
as inlet pressure, outlet pressure, and vibrations. These meters are common to
all pumps. Instead of having to add these meters to each asset record created for
this rotating item, you may instead create a meter group with this collection of
pump-related meters and associate it with the rotating item. Each time you create
an asset record for the pump, IBM Maximo Asset Management associates the
meter group and its meters to the asset record so that you do not have to do it
manually.

2.3.2 Condition Monitoring

The Condition Monitoring application is used to create and view measurement
point records for your assets and locations. A measurement point record defines
the limits of acceptable meter readings for a characteristic or gauge type meter
on an asset or location. You can generate preventive maintenance (PM) work
orders or work orders with a specific job plan for assets or locations whose meter
readings are outside acceptable limits.

Each measurement point is unique. You can compare similar measurement

points on different assets or locations using meter readings. For example, you
may use similar types of compressors in multiple locations, but you might have
purchased the compressors from different vendors. If you have a pressure gauge
on each of those compressors, you can generate reports that enable you to
compare the pressure readings on those compressors. This information helps
you to determine whether the compressors from one vendor are more efficient
than a similar compressor from another vendor. You may not use a meter name
more than once on an asset or location record, but you may use the same meter
name on multiple asset and location records.

Condition Monitoring tab is shown in Figure 2-13 on page 24.

:

Figure 2-13 Condition Monitoring application main fields

24 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Within those fields, you specify the Point of the monitoring condition by providing
the asset name, meter to be monitored, its site, meter type, and the unit of
measure.

Then, you have to specify the range by setting the Upper Limits and the Lower
Limits as shown in Figure 2-14 and in Figure 2-15, respectively.

Figure 2-14 Upper Limits section under Condition Monitoring application

Figure 2-15 Lower Limits section under Condition Monitoring application

All measurements can be entered as part of a work order rather than directly
against the measure point record in the Condition Monitoring application. When
this is the case, a better approach is to set up a cron task to automate the
generation of the work order when the limits have been exceeded.

Initially set the schedule on the cron task instance to run every 10 minutes. If you
use an existing instance, check the OrgID and SiteID cron task parameters. To
verify whether the cron task has been run, review the Cron Task History after the
specified time. If the last measurement has exceeded its action limits, you will
find that a work order was generated.

There are two main differences between measurement points for characteristics
meters and for continuous meters. When an upper or lower limit exceeds its limit
for a characteristics meter, a preventive maintenance (PM) item is generated.

Chapter 2. Assets 25
 When you are working with a continuous meter, a work order can be generated
manually or with a cron task as described previously.

2.4 Locations
The Locations application is a site-level application and is generally defined as a
place where assets are operated, stored, or repaired. Typically, locations are
defined as a means of tracking assets, but if your company does not use asset
records to track equipment, you may define a location as any facility (or portion of
a facility) for which you want to create a maintenance record.

You use the Locations application to add, view, modify, and delete location
records for assets, and organize these locations into logical hierarchical or
network systems. Use systems of locations for specifying the location for assets.

Asset records provide the groundwork for gathering and tracking valuable
information about the history of assets, including asset performance at specific
sites, and as an asset is moved from location to location. When you organize
your locations into systems, you can quickly find a location and then identify the
assets at a specific location.

You may also use the Locations application to create repair locations, courier
locations, salvage locations, vendor locations, and labor locations. To add a new
location in the system, you must have at least the following information:
򐂰 Location ID, which is the ID for the new location, such as BLD901 for
Building 901
򐂰 Type, which specifies the type of this location in order to ease the process of
identifying where the asset is and the reason. The Type can be: Holding,
Repair, Operating, Salvage, Labor, Courier, Vendor, and Syslevel.
򐂰 Site, which is the name of the site where this location belongs
򐂰 Status, which is the current status of the location

Figure 2-16 on page 27 shows an example of a location.

26 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 2-16 Locations application

The following common terms are used when discussing location hierarchies:
򐂰 Hierarchy is any system of places ranked one above another. Each parent
location can have many child locations, but each child location can have only
one parent location.
򐂰 Location is typically a place where assets operate, but includes any building,
place, or position that contains assets, or where maintenance work might
have to be performed.
򐂰 Network is any system of interconnected locations. Unlike hierarchies, in a
network each location can have multiple parents and children.
򐂰 Operating location is the place where equipment operates.

Chapter 2. Assets 27
 򐂰 Primary system is the default hierarchy of locations. Each site is allowed to
have only one primary system. Your primary system must be hierarchical;
that is, there must be a single top-level location that is the parent of all other
locations in the system. If assets in different locations are part of an asset
hierarchy, their locations must exist in the primary system.
򐂰 Site is a work location, such as a plant or facility. A site belongs to a single
organization.
򐂰 System is a grouping of locations, organized into either hierarchical or network
relationships. A hierarchical system could define location relationships of a
plant, having a plant site as a parent to plant buildings, which are parents of
sublocations within the building areas. A network system could define the
location relationships of a system of pipes or ducts, where certain locations
feed back to others.

When you create a location, at least one location of type Operating is required.

2.5 Classifications
Classification is the capability to specify or apply hierarchy for assets, locations,
and other Items.

If an asset is a rotating item, the classification is determined from its rotating

item. If the attribute values are updated on the rotating item, they are also
changed on all rotating assets that belong to this rotating item.

Classification can be used to structure records into organized hierarchies. Using

classifications helps you easily locate records and ensure that records are not
duplicated unintentionally.

Your system administrator creates one or more different classification

hierarchies by using the Classifications application. By default, Classifications
allow you to classify and search the following types of records: Classification,
Parent Classification, and Classification Path. These can optionally be grouped
by Organization, Site, or both.

You can access the Classifications application from the Go To menu by

selecting Go To → Administration → Classifications.

The Classification application has the fields shown in Figure 2-17 on page 29.

28 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 2-17 Classifications application

The main window contains three sections:

򐂰 Use With, which lists the application that this classification will be used with,
such assets, item, location and work order.
򐂰 Children, which is a node list that is being used by classification.
򐂰 Attribute, which provides asset attribute identification.

The fields above the sections are displayed in applications that use classification
such as Assets, Locations, Item Master, Job Plans, Work Orders, Ticket
Template and more.

All classification attributes are related to the application listed in the Use With
section, as shown in the Figure 2-18 on page 30.

Chapter 2. Assets 29
 Figure 2-18 Use With section on Classifications application

Figure 2-19 shows the main fields of Classification on the Assets application.

Figure 2-19 Classification main fields

A good example of using classification is when you have an asset from IT and
that asset has characteristics such as memory size, disk size and processor
speed as shown in Figure 2-20 on page 31.

30 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 2-20 Attributes for an asset using classification

Also in Figure 2-20, you see an example of two instances of the same attribute
MEMORY SIZE for the same Asset. It is possible only because we are using one
resource named Section. The Section is the resource used when the system
administrator has to add the same attribute/specification twice for the same
asset, otherwise it is not possible.

2.6 Database Configuration

Database Configuration is the application responsible for the major configuration
that a System Administrator can do, including attributes and indexes.

In the following example, we show how many changes can be made by using
Database Configuration:
1. In the Service Request application, open a request, then click Detail Menu in
the Asset field and then click Select Value. The window shown in Figure 2-21
on page 32 opens.
Also refer to Chapter 9, “Service Requests” on page 179.

Chapter 2. Assets 31
 Figure 2-21 Asset Select Value menu

2. On the Filter By field, press ALT+F1 to see the field properties, as shown in
Figure 2-22.

Figure 2-22 Field Help displaying the field’s properties

Here, the Table is the database configuration object and Column is the
attribute.
With the information in the example, you can check the database properties in
the Database Configuration application.
3. Select Go To → System Configuration → Platform Configuration →
Database Configuration.
The Database Configuration is displayed on the List tab.

32 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 4. Search for the object SR and open it in the Attribute tab, as shown in
Figure 2-23.

Figure 2-23 Attributes tab on the Database Configuration

In this window, you may change several configurations such as:

򐂰 Description
򐂰 Type
򐂰 Length
򐂰 Title
򐂰 Class
򐂰 Domain
򐂰 Default Value
򐂰 Alias

Depending on the business requirements, you may change the Default Value to
the most used option. This kind of change can also be performed for other fields
and other applications.

Chapter 2. Assets 33
2.7 Application Designer
With a significant focus on configuration tools such as Application Designer for
modifying the user interface and Database Configuration for adding features
such as new tables and columns, IBM Maximo Asset Management helps you
more easily tailor the software without custom programming. In some cases, the
creation of new fields is required, however sometimes simply displaying hidden
fields in the user interface is the answer.

To access the Application Designer, select Go To → System Configuration →

Platform Configuration → Application Designer. The List tab of Application
Designer is displayed. When an application is selected (assets for example) the
window shown in Figure 2-24 opens.

Figure 2-24 Application Designer main window

34 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

In the Application Designer, you may add fields to an application. For example,
you may add GL Account field on an existing application, such as Assets. So, in
this example, on the Application Designer you would have to add the Asset
Object GL account attribute, and the GLNAVIGATOR lookup fields.

Chapter 2. Assets 35
36 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 3

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance

This chapter provides helpful information about the Preventive Maintenance
module. Preventive maintenance (PM) work is performed on a regular schedule
in order to keep assets running efficiently. The applications in the Preventive
Maintenance module can help you plan and budget for regular maintenance
work by planning the labor, material, service, and tools required of your regularly
scheduled maintenance and inspection work orders.

The Preventive Maintenance module consists of two main areas:

򐂰 Master Preventive Maintenance application
򐂰 Preventive Maintenance application

This chapter should help you understand the differences between the
applications and how to use them in your daily business.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Master Preventive Maintenance application” on page 38
򐂰 “Preventive Maintenance application” on page 38
򐂰 “Working with the Master PM” on page 39
򐂰 “Working with Preventive Maintenance records” on page 44

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 37

3.1 Master Preventive Maintenance application
You use the Master Preventive Maintenance (Master PM) application to create
generic maintenance templates, which can be for preventive maintenance,
inspections, or any other type of periodic work. You can specify the frequency
that the work should be performed, seasonal dates that apply to the PM, and one
or more job plans that apply to the PM. Job plans are created in the Job Plans
application (refer to 3.4.2, “PM job plans” on page 45 for more details). Job plans
list tasks, labor, materials, service, and tool requirements necessary to complete
preventive maintenance, inspection, or other work that can be planned in
advance.

Note: Master PM records are defined at the system or database level in IBM
Maximo Asset Management multisite functionality.

IBM Maximo Asset Management multisite functionality provides large

enterprises a way to standardize and share certain kinds of data between
facilities while keeping other kinds of data, such as work management data,
unique to a particular site. The multisite capability also allows you to
selectively give users access to data at different sites. For more information
on multisite implementation, refer to Multisite Administration Guide at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/topic/com.ibm
.mam.doc_7.1/pdf/mam71_multisite_admin_guide.pdf

You use the Master PM application to define generic preventive maintenance

records, either for general maintenance, or for rotating items. Master PM records
can be used to create site-specific associated PM records. When you use a
Master PM to create an associated PM, IBM Maximo Asset Management copies
the data to the associated PM, which can then be modified as necessary.

3.2 Preventive Maintenance application

After creating a Master PM template, you may use it to create associated PMs.
Associated PMs are non-master PMs that are created and managed in the
Preventive Maintenance application and are defined for a specific asset or
location. Non-master PMs are used to generate Preventive Maintenance work
orders for assets and locations.

Restriction: You do not generate work orders with Master PMs or include
them in PM hierarchies.

38 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Preventive Maintenance (PM) records are defined at the Site level. You create
PM records for a specific asset or location, at a specific Site. PM records can
only be used to generate PM work orders at their specified Site. You can group
PM records into hierarchies that reflect asset or location hierarchies.

3.3 Working with the Master PM

The section should help you understand the tasks that can be performed within
the Master PM application.

3.3.1 Creating a Master PM

When you create a new Master PM, IBM Maximo Asset Management enters a
value in the Item Set field based on the Site listed on your person record. You
have the option of specifying a rotating Item for the Master PM.

To create a new Master PM, select Go To → Preventive Maintenance →

Master PM, as shown in Figure 3-1. The Master PM application opens.

Figure 3-1 Open Master Preventive Maintenance

By default IBM Maximo Asset Management selects the following check boxes:
򐂰 Create Associated PMs for Items Location?
򐂰 Create Associated PMs for Items Asset?

These selections allow you to create associated PMs for any location or asset
record that lists the item in the records rotating Item field as shown in Figure 3-2.

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance 39

Figure 3-2 Create Master PM

In addition, by creating the Master PM, you can add a Frequency, Seasonal
Date, and Job Plan Sequence to the Master PM, which are explained as follows:
򐂰 Frequency tab is used to define the (enter, view, or modify) scheduling criteria
to use when generating work orders. The Frequency tab contains two sub
tabs:
– Time Based Frequency tab defines the Frequency Units (days, weeks,
months, and years) and Frequency that should be used when generating
time-based PM work orders.
The frequency criteria for the PM are defined as in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1 Frequency criteria
Type of PM Criteria for when PM alert is generated

Time-based PMs If the Next Due Date minus the Alert Lead is less
than or equal to the system date.

Meter-based PMs on an If the Next Meter Reading minus the Current

asset Reading, minus the Alert Lead is less than or
equal to zero.

Meter-based PMs on a the Next Meter Reading minus the Current

location Reading, minus the Alert Lead is less than or
equal to zero.

The three options to calculate the appropriate start date are:

• Use Last WO's Start Information to Calculate Next Due Frequency
Select this check box if you want the due dates of generated work
orders to be calculated from the target start date of the last work order.
If you do not want to calculate the Next Due Date based on the target
start of the last work order, clear the check box. For example, if you
want the next work order to be generated when the last work order was
actually completed instead of when it started, clear the check box.

40 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 • Generate WO Based on Meter Reading (Do Not Estimate)
Select this check box if you want work orders generated only when the
defined meter reading has been reached. Clear this check box if you
want the next work order due date to be based on the average metered
usage.
• Generate WO when Meter Frequency Is Reached
Select this check box if you want work orders for this PM to be
automatically generated when the meter frequency has been reached
and entered. This check box can only be selected if the Generate WO
Based on Meter Reading (Do Not Estimate) check box has been
selected.
– Meter Based Frequency tab is used to define one or more continuos
Meters and the criteria that determines when PM work orders should be
generated based on meter readings.

Note: Use the Job plans or Locations Application to trigger

meter-based preventive maintenance.

򐂰 Seasonal Date tab can be used to specify a PM's active months or

seasons.You use the Seasonal Dates tab to specify the active days, dates, or
seasons for a PM. For example, your plant runs a five-day week, and does
not run on Saturday or Sunday. If you do not want IBM Maximo Asset
Management to generate PM work orders that are due on the weekend, you
would clear the Saturday? and Sunday? check boxes. If the PM is for
seasonal work, such as air conditioning maintenance, or servicing snow
removal equipment, you can use the Active Dates table window to indicate
the start and end dates for the period of time that the PM should be active.
You can list multiple active periods. When IBM Maximo Asset Management
generates PM work orders, it checks the active dates listed on the Seasonal
Dates tab as shown in Figure 3-3 on page 42.

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance 41

 Figure 3-3 Seasonal Date Setup

򐂰 Job Plan Sequence tab describes the tasks that have to be performed on a
work order, and the labor, materials, services, and tools that are necessary.
Figure 3-6 on page 45 shows the Job Plan section in detail.
Job plans are created in the Job Plans application.

Note: Job plans have to be activated before they are available to other
applications.

Job plans are usually asset-specific; they are written for a specific asset, item,
or location. For example, if you have a job plan for monthly maintenance and
a different job plan to be used once a quarter, the sequence for the monthly
job plan would be 1 (every month) and the sequence for the quarterly job plan
would be 3 (every three months). Figure 3-4 shows the Job Plan Sequence.

Figure 3-4 Job Plan Sequence

Additional information
More information about the use of this three actions are explained in the IBM
Maximo User’s Guide:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITSerDsk/sdug621/en_US/PDF/621_
mx_ug.pdf

42 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Master PM records are templates, that are used to create other PM records with
the Create Associated PMs action in the Master PM Select Action menu. Refer
to 3.3.2, “Creating associated PM records” on page 43.

Associated or non-master PM records are viewed and managed in the

Preventive Maintenance application.

Note: Job plans that have a Site specified for the record cannot be associated
with a Master PM because they are Site specific.

You can use the Update Associated PM action in the Master PM application to
copy updated information from a Master PM to its associated PMs. Refer to
3.3.3, “Updating associated PM records” on page 43.

3.3.2 Creating associated PM records

Associated preventive maintenance records can be added to the PM record.

To add a new or further PM record to a Master PM, select Select Action →

Create Associated PMs, as shown in Figure 3-5. Then, select the entries from
the list. This process can be used for one or several records.

Figure 3-5 Create Associated PMs

3.3.3 Updating associated PM records

A Master PM can be associated with PMs at more than one site. When you use
the Update Associated PMs action to update PM records, you can select which
sites you want to update. To update associated PM records, select Select
Action → Update Associated PMs. Then, select the entries from the list.

Important: IBM Maximo Asset Management only updates PMs for an asset or
location if the meters on the asset or location record match all of the meters
listed on the Master PM

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance 43

 For detailed information about updating associated PM records, refer to The
Preventive Maintenance Module in the IBM Maximo User’s Guide:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITSerDsk/sdug621/en_US/PDF/621_
mx_ug.pdf

3.3.4 Deleting Master PM records

If a Master PM record does not have any associated PMs, it can be deleted by
selecting Select Action → Delete Master PM. IBM Maximo Asset Management
displays a message if the Master PM cannot be deleted.

3.4 Working with Preventive Maintenance records

A Preventive Maintenance (PM) record is a plan to perform periodic work on an
asset or location, or a group of assets and locations that are listed on a route.
Many assets and locations require regular maintenance to ensure uninterrupted
efficiency and to guard against breakdowns. Assets and locations might also
require other non-preventive maintenance work that must also be figured into
maintenance schedules, for example, periodic inspections.

3.4.1 Ownership of PM records

Individuals or groups can assume responsibility, or ownership, of a work order in
IBM Maximo Asset Management. When a group owns a work order, all members
of that group see the work order in their Work View. If a member of a group takes
ownership of a work order, they are responsible for managing the work order
until it is complete, or delegated to another group or person.

Job plan and preventive maintenance records contain Owner and Group Owner
fields. When you generate a PM work order or apply a job plan to a work order,
IBM Maximo Asset Management automatically copies the values in these fields
to the work order. You may also assign ownership to a work order by using the
Select Owner and Take Ownership actions in the Work Order Tracking
application.

For more information about ownership and how to create workflow, refer to the
IBM Maximo User’s Guide:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITSerDsk/sdug621/en_US/PDF/621_
mx_ug.pdf

44 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Note: When you generate a work order from a PM, the Owner or Owner
Group listed on a Job Plan takes precedence over the Owner or Owner Group
listed on a PM record.

3.4.2 PM job plans

You can specify one or more job plans on a PM record. A job plan describes the
tasks that have to be performed on a work order, and the labor, materials,
services, and tools that are necessary. Job plans are created in the Job Plans
application and have to be active before available. Job plans are usually
asset-specific; they are written for a specific asset, item, or location. Figure 3-6
shows the Job Plan Sequence form in detail.

Figure 3-6 Job Plan Setup

Job plans are defined at the system level in Multisite, but can contain details that
are specific to organization and site. When IBM Maximo Asset Management
copies job plan data to a PM work order, it copies the information about the job
plan that applies to the work order Site.

PM records and routes

You use the Routes application to create lists of related work assets, which are
considered stops along the route. These route stops can be assets or locations,
or a combination of the two. When you list a route on a PM record and generate
work orders, IBM Maximo Asset Management creates a work order hierarchy
with a top level work order, child work orders or standalone work orders for each
of the route stops.

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance 45

3.4.3 PM hierarchy
A PM hierarchy is a group of PMs arranged in parent-child relationships. At the
highest level of a PM hierarchy, one PM is the parent. This top-level PM can have
one or more child PMs. Each child PM can have one or more children, and so on.
A child PM can only have one parent PM. You can create PM hierarchies that
mirror your asset and location hierarchies, as shown in Figure 3-7.

Figure 3-7 PM Hierarchy

You use PM hierarchies to generate hierarchies of scheduled work orders. When

one PM in the hierarchy is due to be generated, IBM Maximo Asset Management
generates the PM work orders for every PM in the hierarchy. You can enable this
feature for children by selecting the Use this PM to Trigger PM Hierarchy? box.
In addition, you can add a sequence number to each PM in a PM hierarchy; the
sequence number is copied to work orders you generate from the PM.

To create a PM hierarchy, select Go To → PM Hierarchy Tab in the PM and click

New Row. Then, select the entry from the list.

You cannot delete a PM record that is part of a hierarchy. PM records that have a
parent or child PMs must be removed from their hierarchies before you can
delete them.

Attention: To change the hierarchy to be driven by a child PM, you have to

select the Override Updates from Master PM? check box.

3.4.4 PM routes
You use the Routes application to create lists of related work assets, which are
considered stops along the route. These route stops can be assets, locations, or
a combination of the two. When you list a route on a PM record and generate
work orders, IBM Maximo Asset Management creates a stand-alone work order

46 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 or a work order hierarchy with a top level work order, and child work orders for
each of the route stops.

Further details are specified in the IBM Maximo User’s Guide:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITSerDsk/sdug621/en_US/PDF/621_
mx_ug.pdf

3.4.5 PM alerts
All PM related alerts are not configured in the PM application directly. To set up
the notification, you have to use the Organization application. You have the
option to combine the alerts with the following criteria:
򐂰 Generate WOs Due on the Current Date Plus this Number of Days.
Enter a lead time value in days. The lead time value causes work orders to be
generated a specified number of days in advance of the current date. The
default is no lead time.
򐂰 Use Priority from Job Plans on Sequenced PMs?
If you want the system to use the work order priority from job plans in
generating sequence PMs, select this check box. The default is not checked.
򐂰 Use Frequency Criteria?
If this box is selected (the default), the system evaluates the selected records
to determine which PMs are due to generate work orders. The system
calculates a PM's due date from the frequency criteria on its Frequency tab. If
a PM is part of a hierarchy, it can trigger work order generation from the entire
PM hierarchy. Clear this check box to generate work orders for the selected
set's top-level PMs and PMs that are not master PMs. If a top-level PM of a
hierarchy is in the selected set, you also generate work orders for its child
PMs.
򐂰 Base Work Order Generation on Meter Reading Only (Do Not Estimate)?
Select this check box if you want the system to generate the work order only
when the meter reading reaches the meter frequency specified on the
Frequency tab (Meter Based Frequency sub tab). If the check box is cleared,
the system generates the PM work order by estimating when the meter will
reach the frequency, based on the value in the Average Units/Days field on
the same sub tab.

To configure the Alerts for PM, select Go To → Administration →

Organizations, and then select the appropriate Organization.

The Select Action menu enables you to configure the PM Options. Figure 3-8 on
page 48 shows the details.

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance 47

 Figure 3-8 PM Options in the Organization application

In addition to the PM Options, your system administrator can use the Cron Task
application to set up a PM cron task. A cron task is a software command to
execute a task at a scheduled time. To configure the cron task for PM, select
Go To → System Configuration → Platform Configuration → Cron Task
Setup

Then, follow the instructions as described:

1. Query for the PMWoGenCronTask.
2. Select the Cron Task tab.
3. Select the New Row button.
4. Enter a Cron Task Instance Name and update the description as applicable.
5. Set the schedule.
6. Select the Active check box.
7. Select the Parameters sub-tab.
8. Update the Value field as applicable with the correct path to the log.
9. Select the Save button.

The example in Figure 3-9 on page 49 shows the Cron Task configuration.

48 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 3-9 PWWoGenCron - Cron Task

If you want to configure WO creation for each of your PM, select Select
Action → Generate Work Order and fill in the details as shown in Figure 3-10.

Figure 3-10 Generate Work Order

Tip: Use the Organization application to generate PM alerts for your work
orders. Ensure that your PMs are set up to indicate when the alert will occur.

In addition, ensure the PM cron task is set up to automatically generate PMs.

Chapter 3. Preventive Maintenance 49

50 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 4

Chapter 4. Inventory
This chapter describes the Inventory module in IBM Maximo Asset Management.
It goes through the initial setup required and covers all the applications included
in the module.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Inventory module” on page 52
򐂰 “Initial setup” on page 52
򐂰 “Inventory applications” on page 58

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 51

4.1 Inventory module
The Inventory module is used to manage spare parts inventory. The business
goal is to find a balance of inventory stock, allowing maintenance work to be
performed with minimum delays if materials are unavailable, but without keeping
unnecessary or seldom used item in stock.

In summary, it works to balance two conflicting objectives:

򐂰 Maximizing the availability of items for upcoming work tasks
򐂰 Reducing excess inventory balances and related carrying costs

The Inventory module consists of the following applications:

򐂰 Item Master
򐂰 Service Items
򐂰 Tools
򐂰 Stocked Tools
򐂰 Inventory
򐂰 Issues and Transfers
򐂰 Condition Codes
򐂰 Storerooms
򐂰 Companies
򐂰 Purchase Orders

4.2 Initial setup

This section describes the initial settings that must be set up before you start
using the applications to create and manage items.

4.2.1 Units of measure and conversion

Before you create item records, define all units of measure and the conversion
values for those units.

To configure the units of measure, access the Select Action menu (shown in
Figure 4-1 on page 53) that is available in the following applications:
򐂰 Item Master
򐂰 Service Items
򐂰 Tools
򐂰 Stocked Tools
򐂰 Inventory

52 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 4-1 Unit of Measure and Conversion selection

Add or modify units of measure

A unit of measure describes the increment that you order or issue, or the item or
tool that you transfer, or service you order.

The three attributes that define a unit of measure are: Unit of Measure,
Description, and Abbreviation. However, only two of them, Description and
Abbreviation, are editable after the unit of measure is created.

Figure 4-2 shows how to create the unit of measure.

Figure 4-2 Add/Modify Units of Measure window

Add or modify conversions

A conversion factor is a numeric value that is applied to relate one unit of
measure to another (ratio).

Chapter 4. Inventory 53
 The four attributes that should be defined when creating a conversion factor are
From Unit of Measure, To Unit of Measure, Conversion Factor, and Item
Number. All of them are required, except for the Item Number. This last attribute
should be used when the conversion is directly associated to the item. For
example, a CASE for one item might be 24 and for another item it might be 36.
However, the numbers 24 and 36 represent the quantity within the case and not
the issue unit. If you receive a case of 24 gaskets, but you issue them in sets of
four, then the conversion ratio for CASE in this example would be 6. You can
assign the conversion of a CASE of 24 gaskets to be 6, and associate it to the
item gaskets.

Figure 4-3 shows the window for creating and modifying conversion factors.

Figure 4-3 Add/Modify Conversions

4.2.2 Commodity groups and commodity codes

A commodity identifies a product category. Some companies organize their
purchasing departments by commodity. Purchasing managers may create
budgets, create and manage purchase orders, and manage vendor relationships
based on commodities.

You may create commodity group and commodity code records in the system
that can be applied to item, company, purchasing, and contract records. When

54 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 you associate a commodity group and commodity code with an item record,
users (for example planners or purchasing agents) are then able to search for
items by commodity code.

A commodity group can have multiple commodity codes associated with it, and a
commodity code can only belong to a single commodity group. Also, commodity
codes are defined at the level of the item set, and commodity group names must
be unique for the item set.

To configure the commodity groups and codes, access the Select Action menu
shown in Figure 4-4 and that is available in the following applications:
򐂰 Item Master
򐂰 Service Items
򐂰 Tools
򐂰 Companies
򐂰 Purchase Orders

Figure 4-4 Add/Modify Commodity Codes selection

4.2.3 Item sets

Item sets are Inventory items and materials, service items, and tools are created
as part of an item set. An item set consists of an ID that identifies a list of items
that can be shared by one or more organizations. Only one item set can be
specified for an organization, but more than one organization may use the same
item set. Items and tools can be transferred between organizations that share the
same item set.

Note: Sets are in a level between system and organization.

When you create item records, all item identifiers must be unique within an item
set. Everywhere that an item ID is referenced on a record there is also an item
set ID.

Item sets are created in the Sets application, which you can access by selecting
Go To → Administration → Sets.

Chapter 4. Inventory 55
 Note: The Sets application enables you to create two types of sets: Item Sets
and Company Sets.

4.2.4 Organizations settings

This section describes the inventory options that can be set up from the
Organizations application. From the Start Center, select Go To →
Administration → Organizations. From the Select Action menu, you may
select Inventory Defaults, Reorder, or Inventory Costs, as shown in Figure 4-5, to
open their associated dialog windows.

Figure 4-5 Inventory Options action menu

Inventory Defaults
In this dialog, you may set up the values for the ABC analysis, which is explained
in 4.3.5, “Inventory” on page 67, and specify whether the system will allow users
to issue or transfer items with a negative current balance or negative available
balance, as shown in Figure 4-6.

Figure 4-6 Inventory Defaults dialog

56 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Reorder
In this dialog, you set up how the external and internal requests should be
created when reordering items. Limiting the number of reorder lines per PO/PR,
is also possible (see Figure 4-7). Limiting the number means, for example, that
IBM Maximo Asset Management will create a second PO/PR for the same
supplier, with remaining lines. These settings apply to all requests and orders.

Figure 4-7 Inventory Reorder dialog

Inventory costs
The Inventory costing model is part of the initial setup and can be set in the
Organizations application. The dialog is shown in Figure 4-8 on page 58.

Two options must be set:

򐂰 Issue Cost specifies whether the system uses standard cost (the default) or
average cost when an item is issued.
򐂰 Non Capitalized Rotating specifies whether the system uses issue cost (the
default) or asset cost when a non-capitalized rotating asset is issued.

Note: The issue costing model settings are applied only to the selected site.

Chapter 4. Inventory 57
 Figure 4-8 Inventory Costs dialog

4.3 Inventory applications

This section describes each application included in this module.

4.3.1 Item Master

The Item Master application is used to define items that will be stocked in your
storerooms.

When you create an item record, you define the possible attributes of the item,
such as commodity codes, order and issue units, whether the item is lotted,
rotating, or condition-enabled. With that, you also set any alternate items use in
an item’s place and a list of the condition codes you want applied to the item.

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Item Master.

Item Master tabs

The Item Master application has the following tabs.
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for item records. Although you may also use it to
change status of multiple items, the tab has no other special action.

58 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

򐂰 Item
This tab is the main tab of the application. Use it to enter, view, or modify
items. The two required fields for new items are: Item identifier and Lot Type
(although Lot Type is not required for rotating items).
In this tab, you may also specify the main attributes for the items, such as
commodity codes, meter, order and issue units, whether the item is rotating,
kit, lotted or condition-enabled, and other attributes.
Use the alternate sub tab to define items that can be used in place of other
items. Use the Condition Codes sub tab to add condition codes that you want
applied to the item. For more information, see 4.3.7, “Condition Codes” on
page 72.

Note: The alternate item relationship is not automatically reciprocated

when you insert an alternate item to the current item record. If you want
two items to be alternate to each other, each record should specify the
other item as an alternate.

Note the following important concepts regarding the Item tab:

– Rotating item
A rotating item is a special category of item record, used to indicate items
that can be used interchangeably as a replacement for a like item, such as
fire extinguishers, motors, or pumps, but that are repaired or refurbished
when they are removed from service. Rotating items can be managed like
any other item record; they can be stocked in storerooms, issued and
transferred, reordered and so forth. For example, if you have to create a
maintenance schedule for a rotating item, you must create an asset
record, mark it as rotating, and refer to the item. For more details about
how rotating assets works, refer to Chapter 2, “Assets” on page 11.

Note: An item cannot be both a spare part and a rotating item because
rotating items are maintained, and spare parts items are consumed or
used once.

– Item kit
An item kit is a collection of items that can be issued as a single unit
comprising of a parent item record and associated child item records. Item
records contains a Kit? check box, which indicates that the item will act as
the virtual container for all other items contained within the kit.

Note: Item kits cannot be lotted, rotating, or condition-enabled.

Chapter 4. Inventory 59
 򐂰 Storerooms
Use this tab to view a read-only list that has information about storerooms
that stock the item. Examples are the costs and the balance for each
storeroom.
To add an item to a storeroom, select Select Action → Add items to
Storeroom, as Figure 4-9 shows. This action is accessible in all tabs of the
Item Master application.

Figure 4-9 Add Items to Storeroom action

򐂰 Vendors
Use this tab to enter, view, modify, or delete information about vendors and
manufacturers for an item. The list can include vendors that you have
previously ordered from, and vendors that you have not purchased the item
from. You may use the vendor data to compare prices and delivery
information.
򐂰 Specifications
Use this tab to classify an item, and add, view, modify, or delete specifications
that give details about the attributes of the item.
򐂰 Item Assembly Structure
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify an item assembly structure (IAS).
An IAS is a list of individual items and subassemblies that are required when
you build an asset or define the requirements of a location. Rather than
specify item components each time you enter an individual asset or a
location, you create an item assembly structure as a template. You may use
an IAS as a template when building multiple asset assembly structures and
their related location systems.

60 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Item status
Item status can have the following values:
򐂰 Active
Items in this status can be selected and used in the other applications.
򐂰 Pending
This status is the default value for new records. These items cannot be used
anywhere outside Item Master and Inventory applications.
򐂰 Pending Obsolescence
Items can be depleted from storerooms, but no balance replenishment is
allowed.
򐂰 Obsolete
Items are permanently unavailable for use.
򐂰 Planning
Items can be referenced in work order plans, POs and PRs, but they cannot
have financial transactions created against them.

When changing the status of an item, you may roll new status to Organizations
and Inventory. This step can be done by selecting the check box shown in
Figure 4-10.

Figure 4-10 Item change status dialog

4.3.2 Service Items

The Service Items application is used to define and manage purchased service
by creating service item records and maintaining a list of vendors that supply the
service item.

Chapter 4. Inventory 61
 Service items are defined at the item set level and cannot be received into
inventory or stored in a storeroom. They are always categorized as direct issue
items and you can reorder a service item by using the Reorder Direct Issue
Itms/Svcs action available from the Select Action menu.

Examples of service items might be janitorial invoices, telephone bills, and

elevator repair service.

Note: Service items can be requested or ordered through the Desktop

Requisitions, Purchase Requisitions, or Purchase Order applications and the
line type must be set to Standard Service in order to request a service item.

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Service Items.

Service Items tabs

The Service Items application has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for service records. Although you may use it to change
the status of multiple service items, the tab has no other special action.
򐂰 Service
This tab is the main tab of the application. Use it to enter, view, or modify
service items. This tab has only one required field, which is the Service Item
identifier.
Other primary attributes, such as commodity codes, whether an inspection is
required, and others can also be specified in this tab.
Use the Vendor sub tab to maintain a list of vendors that supply the service
item. For each vendor, you may specify and track the last price for that
service and the promised lead time from the vendor for this service item.
򐂰 Specifications
Use this tab to classify an service item and add, view, modify, or delete
specifications that give details about the attributes of the service item.

Service Item status

The Service Items application has the same status values as the Item Master
application.

62 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 The status values can be:
򐂰 Active
These items can be selected and used in the other applications.
򐂰 Pending
This status is the default value for new records. These items cannot be used
in other applications.
򐂰 Pending Obsolescence
These items can be depleted from storerooms, but no balance replenishment
is allowed.
򐂰 Obsolete
These items are permanently unavailable for use.
򐂰 Planning
These items can be referenced in work order plans, POs and PRs, but they
cannot have financial transactions created against them.
When changing the status of an service item, you may roll new status to
Organizations. This can be done by selecting the check box shown in
Figure 4-11.

Figure 4-11 Service item change status dialog

4.3.3 Tools
The Tools application is used to manage information about the tools used to
perform work. Tools are typically non-consumable items for which you charge an
hourly rate for their use. Examples of tools include air compressors, nail guns,
calibration equipment, and heavy equipment such as cranes and excavators.

You catalog these tools in an item set, which can then be shared by the
organizations using that item set. You may add these tools to storerooms, and
use them on job plans and work orders. When you use a tool on a work order,

Chapter 4. Inventory 63
 IBM Maximo Asset Management can reserve the tool in the specified storeroom.
You may also issue, receive, and transfer tools from storerooms.

When you create a tool record, you are defining the main attributes of the tool
(such as commodity codes, issue unit, whether the tool is lotted, or rotating),
along with any alternate tools that can be used in its place and a list of the
qualifications necessary for a person to use the tool. All tools are marked as
capitalized.

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Tools.

Tools tabs
The Tools application has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for tools records. Although you may use it to change
status of multiple tools, the tab has no other special action.
򐂰 Tool
This tab is the main tab of the application. Use it to enter, view, or modify
tools. The two required fields for new tools are the Tool identifier and the Lot
Type (although Lot Type is not required for rotating tools).
Other main attributes, such as commodity codes, issue unit, whether the tool
is lotted or rotating, and others can also be specified in this tab.
Use the alternate sub tab to define tools that can be used in its place.

Note: The alternate tool relationship is not automatically reciprocated

when you insert an alternate tool to the current tool record. If you want two
tools to be alternate to each other, each record should specify the other
tool as an alternate.

Use the Required Qualifications sub tab to define a list of qualifications

necessary for a person to use the tool.
򐂰 Storerooms
Use this tab to view a read-only list with information about storerooms that
stock the current balance for each storeroom.
To add a tool to a storeroom, select Select Action → Add Tools to
Storeroom, as Figure 4-12 on page 65 shows. This action is accessible in
each tab of the Tools application.

64 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Figure 4-12 Add Tools to Storeroom action

򐂰 Vendors
Use this tab to maintain a list of vendors that supply the tool. For each vendor,
you may specify and track the last price for that tool, the promised lead time
from the vendor, its Web page, and other relevant information.
򐂰 Specifications
Use this tab to classify a tool, and add, view, modify, or delete specifications
that give details about the attributes of the tool.

Tools status
The Tools application has the same status values as the Item Master application.
The status values can be:
򐂰 Active
This status indicates that these tools can be selected and used in the other
applications.
򐂰 Pending
This status is the default value for new records. These tools cannot be used in
other applications.
򐂰 Pending Obsolescence
This status means the tool can be depleted from storerooms, but no balance
replenishment is allowed.
򐂰 Obsolete
This status means the tools are permanently unavailable for use.
򐂰 Planning
This status means these tools can be referenced in work order plans, POs
and PRs, but they cannot have financial transactions created against them.

Chapter 4. Inventory 65
 When you change the status of a tool, rolling a new status to Organizations and
Inventory is possible by selecting the check box shown in Figure 4-13.

Figure 4-13 Tools change status dialog

Note: You may select a tool to use it in the work plan if its status is Active.
However, to reserve the tool for use, it must be available in a storeroom.

4.3.4 Stocked Tools

The Stocked Tools application is used to manage existing tools in storerooms,
although creating new tool records by using it is not possible.

Note: To create new tool records, use the Tools application.

Examples of using the Stocked Tools application include tracking tool balances
down to the bin and lot level for a storeroom, tracking vendors that supply a tool,
and reordering details such as price and lead time for orders. You may also view
rotating assets that list the tool as the rotating item on the asset, and also assets
that list the tool as a spare part.

Note: Different from the previous applications, the Stocked Tools application
manages tool inventory at the site level.

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Stocked Tools.

66 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Stocked Tools tabs
The Stocked Tools application has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for tools and storerooms records. Although you may
use it to change status of multiple tools, the tab has no other special action.
򐂰 Stocked Tool
Use this tab to view and modify information about the tools used for
maintenance work. You can also view the main tool attributes and other
information such as balance summary and issue history.
Use the Balances sub tab to either add a new bin with current balance and
physical count, or manage existing bins for this tool by adjusting balances,
physical counts, and reconciling balance data.
򐂰 Vendors
Use this tab to maintain a list of vendors that supply the tool. For each vendor,
you may specify and track the last price for that tool, the promised lead time
from the vendor, its Web page, and other relevant information.
򐂰 Rotating Tool Assets
Use this tab to identify and track rotating assets associated with a rotating tool
record.
򐂰 Where Used
Use this tab to list all assets to which a tool is listed as a subassembly or
spare part.

4.3.5 Inventory
An inventory is a listing of all items, materials, and rotating assets that are stored
in your storerooms. With IBM Maximo Asset Management, you create item
records in the Item Master application, and you create storeroom records in the
Storerooms application, but you manage your inventory in the Inventory
application.

Inventory records refer to an item/location combination, usually an item at a

storeroom location. Items are added to storerooms by using the Add Item to
Storeroom action in the Item Master application.

By using the Inventory application, you can track item balances down to the bin
and lot level for a storeroom, and track item costs by using condition codes. You
may track vendors that supply an item, and reorder details such as price and
lead time for orders. You can view rotating assets that list a rotating item record,
and view assets that list the item as a spare part.

Chapter 4. Inventory 67
 Note: The Inventory application tracks items and materials in storerooms,
which are at the site level. Therefore, the Inventory application is managed at
the site level.

From the Inventory application, you may also issue and transfer items, assemble
and disassemble kits, and change the balances and costs.

Note: When you assemble or disassemble kits, the Inventory application

automatically changes the balances for the items that are being used in the kit.

To modify the balances and costs, select Inventory Adjustments from the
Select Actions menu, and then select any of the actions shown in Figure 4-14.

Figure 4-14 Current Balance action menu

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Inventory.

Inventory tabs
The Inventory application has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for item/location combination records. Although you
may also use it to change status of multiple items, the tab has no other
special action.

68 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

򐂰 Inventory
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify item balances, costs, balances, bins and
lots, and to view storeroom locations where the item is stocked.
The three required fields in this tab are:
– Stock Category field specifies whether the item is a stocked (STK),
non-stocked (NS), or a special order (SP) item.
– Issue Unit field specifies standard quantity by which the item is issued
from the storeroom, such as each or roll.
– Count Frequency field specifies the number of days between an audit or
count of an inventory item.
Use the Inventory Balances sub tab to specify the storage information for the
items and the balances, and other information such as expiration date.

Note: If the expiration date is not provided, you may provide the shelf life
(in days), and then the system will calculate the expiration date.

Use the ABC Analysis sub tab to quickly identify which inventory items
represent your company's greatest investment in terms of monetary value
and turnover rate. This approach helps ensure that crucial inventory does not
fall below minimum levels, and helps keep current balance figures for an item
reconciled with the actual count. The ABC type value for an item is
determined by running an ABC Analysis report, which multiplies the current
year-to-date (YTD) issued quantity by the last cost of the item. The items are
then sorted in descending order of the currency value reached by this
calculation. The type is set to A, B, or C based on a percentage you (system
administrator) set in the Inventory Defaults dialog box in the Organizations
application.
򐂰 Reorder Details
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify reorder details for inventory items, such
as the reorder point, lead time, and issue units of an item.
You may enter or view information about one or more vendors for an item,
and information about multiple manufacturers or models for each vendor.
The Reorder Point (ROP) is the point at which items should be reordered so
that their number does not fall below the number designated as safety stock
during the lead time for the order. Ideally, the calculation of the ROP is based
on the following variables:
– Safety Stock is the minimum number of the item that you must have
available at all times.

Chapter 4. Inventory 69
 – Lead Time is the amount of time between placing an order and delivery of
the items.
– Economic Order Quantity is the number of an item that should be
reordered at one time, usually based on the vendor's price for a particular
quantity ordered. For example, buying a case of an item might cost less
per item than buying the item individually.

򐂰 Rotating Asset
Use this tab to identify and track rotating assets associated with a rotating
item record.
You may assign an inventory item number to assets so that they can be
stocked and reordered as necessary. A rotating asset is generally repaired
rather than replaced, and it can be rotated between different plant locations or
different parent assets.
򐂰 Where Used
This tab lists assets on which the item is used. If you use the Spare Parts tab
(in the Assets application) to associate the item with an asset, the assets are
automatically copied to the Where Used tab.

4.3.6 Issues and Transfers

The Issues and Transfers application is used to manage the movement of
inventory items out of the storerooms. You issue an item when it is moving out of
a storeroom to be used. You transfer an item when it is moving between
storerooms.

Note: Because the Inventory and Storerooms applications are at the site level,
Issues and Transfers are also managed at the site level.

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Issues and Transfers.

Issues and Transfers tabs

The Issues and Transfers application has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for location records.
򐂰 Issue
Use this tab to issue items and tools from a storeroom directly to a work
order, asset, location, or against a general ledger account. You may also use

70 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 this tab to return items and tools to a storeroom. When you issue an item or
tool, the balance is updated in the storeroom.
To issue an item previously reserved for the selected storeroom, use the
Select Reserved Items dialog. You may also issue a non-reserved item by
selecting the New Row, and return previously issued items by using the
Select Items for Return dialog.

Note: When returning an item, if you cannot find a prior issue transaction
for it, you may return it by creating an issue transaction of type RETURN.

An option exists to change the reservations for each storeroom; use the
Add/Modify Reservations from the Select Action menu. You may create,
modify, and delete the reservations. For more details, see Figure 4-15.

Figure 4-15 Add/Modify Reservations dialog

򐂰 Transfer Out
Use this tab to transfer items and tools out of your storeroom to either a
location (courier, labor, storeroom) within a site or to a courier if transferring
across sites or organizations.
򐂰 Transfer In
Use this tab to transfer items or tools into your storeroom from another
location (courier, labor, storeroom) within a site or from a courier if the
transfer was across sites or organizations.

Chapter 4. Inventory 71
4.3.7 Condition Codes
The Condition Codes application is used to build the master list of condition
codes for a particular item set.

A condition code enables you to specify that an item record has a different value
depending on the physical condition of an item. For example, an item that has
been damaged, worn, used, or rebuilt would not have the same value as a new
item. A condition code has a rate associated with it, which can be used to
calculate the value of non-new inventory items. For example, you might create
two conditions for an item:
򐂰 New, which is the value of the item at 100%
򐂰 Used, which is the value of the item at 50% of the full value

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Condition Codes.

Note: Condition Codes are defined at the item set level. Item sets exist below
the System level, but above the Organization level so that Organizations can
share data.

4.3.8 Storerooms
The Storerooms application is used to add and maintain information about
storeroom locations, view items that are stocked in a storeroom, and define the
GL account codes to be associated with a storeroom.

A storeroom is a location that contains inventory items. Storerooms have general

ledger account codes associated with them to help track inventory costs.

Note: Storerooms are defined at the site level.

To access the application, select Go To → Inventory → Storerooms.

Storerooms tabs
The Storerooms application has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for storerooms records.
򐂰 Storeroom
Use this tab to create, modify, and delete storeroom locations, define the
general ledger account (GL Account) codes to be associated with the

72 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 storeroom, define the lead time calculation for items in a storeroom, and
optionally flag the storeroom to function as an internal supplier to other
storerooms.
When you create a new storeroom, specify information for the following
account data fields:
– GL Control Account field is the default GL account applied to items in this
storeroom. It tracks cost on every inventory transaction made with the
storeroom.
– Cost Adjustment Account field is the account that tracks changes in either
the average price or the standard price from manual inventory price
adjustments.
– Receipt Variance Account field is the debit account to track the differences
between the inventory standard cost and the receipt cost (specific to the
storeroom) for any items in the associated storeroom location.
– Purchase Variance Account field is the account used to track fluctuations
in purchase costs for items (or the variance between PO and original Last
and Standard price).
– Shrinkage Account field is the credit account used when manually
adjusting the inventory quantity.
– Invoice Variance Account field is the debit account used to track variances
in the price, expressed in the vendor's currency, between receipt and
invoice for this storeroom.
– Currency Variance Account field is the account containing the differences
between the PO price and the invoice price that result from changes in the
exchange rate.
– Tool Control Account is the default debit account for capitalized tools.
– Use in PO/PR? field specifies whether this storeroom can be used to
supply and reserve inventory items and tools for use with internal
purchase requisitions and internal purchase orders. If the check box is
selected, you may order and reserve items or tools from this storeroom on
internal POs and PRs. If the check box is cleared (the default), this
storeroom cannot be used to supply items or tools internally.
򐂰 Items
Use this tab to view a read-only list of items associated with a specific
storeroom. To view items from the Storerooms application, you must first
either add the items to a storeroom using the Item Master application or they
must be received, transferred, or returned to a storeroom.

Chapter 4. Inventory 73
74 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 5

Chapter 5. Contracts
This chapter introduces and discusses topics that you have to be familiar with in
the IBM Maximo V7.1 Contracts module before you take the IBM “Test 000-015:
IBM Tivoli Asset Management V7.1 Implementation.”

This chapter explains the functions of the IBM Maximo Asset Management
contracts provided in the standard installation. It also summarizes what you must
know to create, implement, and maintain the Contracts module in IBM Maximo
Asset Management.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Contract module applications” on page 76
򐂰 “Contract status” on page 78
򐂰 “Working with contracts” on page 79
򐂰 “Using terms and conditions” on page 85

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 75

5.1 Contract module applications
To meet your company requirements, contracts are used to define a certain
relationship between your company and all kinds of vendors, service providers or
even internal departments.

The Contracts module was designed to meet these requirements and therefore it
has been divided into the following applications:
򐂰 Labor Contract
A Labor Contract is a way to define the rates that will be paid for craft and
skill combinations, as well as rates to be paid to specific laborers. You can set
up a labor rate to create invoices for all approved labor transactions within a
specified time period, for example every month. Labor Contracts are created
in the Labor Rate Contracts application. The Labor Contracts can also cover
the Labor records for external or contracted labor identified by the vendor
Labor records. Refer to refer to IBM Maximo Asset Management Product
Reference Guide at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/topic/com.ibm
.mam.doc_7.1/pdf/mam71_prod_ref_guide.pdf
򐂰 Lease/Rental Contracts
A Lease Contract is an agreement to lease one or more assets from a vendor.
Lease Contracts specify lease period, payment schedules, and other
conditions of the contract. IBM Maximo Asset Management can generate
invoices based on the payment schedule intervals. This type of agreement
might involve more than two parties, because one vendor might sell the
assets and another might hold the lease. Lease Contracts are created in the
Lease/Rental Contracts application.
A Rental Contract is similar to a Lease Contract. Rental Contracts specify the
time period for the rental, payment schedules, and other conditions of the
contract, such as in percentage of total amount due. Unlike a Lease, a Rental
Contract can be terminated at will, and does not include a buy-out option in
the terms of the contract. Rental Contracts are created in the Lease/Rental
Contracts application.

Note: The Lease/Rental Contracts application can also be used to define

overall terms and conditions of an agreement between vendor and
customer regarding one or more rotating assets.

76 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

򐂰 Master Contract
A Master Contract defines the relationship with a vendor and contains the
terms and conditions that apply to the contracts created and listed under it.
Master contracts are created in the Master Contracts application. The
application is used to associate many contract types for a particular vendor.
For example, a master contract might list rental contracts for tools or
equipment, purchase contracts for materials, a labor rate contract, and a
warranty on parts and labor.
򐂰 Purchase Contract
A Purchase Contract specifies the terms and conditions for a purchase.
Purchase Contracts are created in the Purchase Application and provide
detailed Information about a contract’s contact information or shipping and
financial terms. Furthermore, this type of contract can be used for creating
price, blanket, or purchase types. Refer to Figure on page 84, and also to
Chapter 6, “Purchasing” on page 89 for more details).

Note: The Purchase Contract allows you to specify the maximum amount
per contractor or contract.

򐂰 Warranty Contract
A Warranty Contract is created in conjunction with the purchase of an asset
and generally has no cost associated with it. This contract contains the details
of what is covered by the warranty. If a Warranty Contract is purchased, it is
considered an extended warranty by IBM Maximo Asset Management.
Warranty Contracts are created in the Warranty Contracts application. You
also use a Warranty Contract to create a Service Contract. A Service
Contract indicates that an outside service provider maintains one or more
assets. Payment for the service can be made with a single fee or schedule set
of payments. Refer to refer to IBM Maximo Asset Management Product
Reference Guide at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/topic/com.ibm
.mam.doc_7.1/pdf/mam71_prod_ref_guide.pdf
򐂰 Software Contract

Note: The Software Contract type is only available in IBM Tivoli Asset
Management for IT, not in IBM Maximo Asset Management.

Chapter 5. Contracts 77
5.2 Contract status
Contract status can have the following values:
򐂰 APPR (Approved)
From this status, you can change the status to Canceled (CAN), Closed
(CLOSE), Suspended (SUSPND), or Expired (EXPIRED).
򐂰 CAN (Canceled or Terminated)
See “Deleting contracts” on page 83 for more information.
򐂰 CLOSE (Closed)
See “Deleting contracts” on page 83 for more information.
򐂰 DRAFT (Draft)
In this status you can edit everything according to the properties for this type
of contract. From this status, you can change to Waiting on Approval
(WAPPR), APPR, CLOSE, or CAN.
򐂰 EXPIRD (Expired)
See “Deleting contracts” on page 83 for more information.
򐂰 PNDREV (Pending Revision)
This status indicates the contract is a new revision of an existing contract.
This is similar to draft, but you can only edit specified fields.
򐂰 REVISED (Revised)
The system applies a Revised status when a more current revision is
approved. You cannot modify anything on this contract or change the status to
any other status.
򐂰 SUSPND (Suspended)
See “Deleting contracts” on page 83 for more information.
򐂰 WAPPR (Waiting on Approval)
When a contract is waiting for approval, you can modify anything (according
to properties). You can change WAPPR to DRAFT, APPR, CLOSE, or CAN.
򐂰 WSTART (Waiting to Start)
The system applies this status when you choose APPR and the start date is
in the future. You may change this status to APPR

78 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

5.3 Working with contracts
To support the daily asset management business, you have to be familiar with
maintaining the required contracts. At this stage, the contract is already
negotiated and signed by all parties. The Contract module is the place to store
the details and to maintain the changes, but it is not the application to negotiate
the content of the contract.

This section guides you through the details of maintaining the Contract module.

5.3.1 Creating contracts

When you create a new contract, choose a contract type from the list in
5.1, “Contract module applications” on page 76.

All contracts you create are defined at the organizational level, so that the
purpose of each contract type has been defined. In addition, you can use the
Organization application to define further contract types of your own.

How to create a contract

To create a new contract, use Go To → Contracts and select a contract type.

Figure 5-1 on page 80 shows you how to open the Contracts module to select
the different kinds of contracts.

Chapter 5. Contracts 79
 Figure 5-1 Start the Contracts Module and choose the type

When you start creating a new contract in IBM Maximo Asset Management, you
include the following general information about the contract:
򐂰 Contract Identifier and Description
򐂰 Contract Type
򐂰 Status
򐂰 Vendor Reference number and details about the vendor
򐂰 Buyer
򐂰 Start Date and End Date
򐂰 Total Cost or Maximum Amount
򐂰 Contract lines
򐂰 Terms and Conditions

In addition, you indicate properties that are specific to each contract type.

How to create a Master Contract

A Master Contract is a way to associate many contract types together for the
same vendor and define terms and conditions for the relationship with the
vendor. A Master Contract lists all contracts that you have with a particular

80 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

vendor. Master Contracts are created in the Master Contracts application. Refer
to 5.1, “Contract module applications” on page 76.

Tip: Keep in mind that when you create a Master Contract, certain fields such
as total cost are for your reference only and have to be updated manually.

A Master Contract can be associated with the following types of contracts:

򐂰 Purchase Contracts
򐂰 Lease Contracts
򐂰 Warranty on assets

The following introduction guides you through the creation process:

1. To create a new Master Contract use Go to → Contracts → Master
Contracts.
2. Fill in the description and select the company.
3. Select one or more sites from the Select Action menu.
4. Before finalizing the Master Contract, the contract has to be authorized.
Choose Select Action → Authorize Site.
If you have changed the status of the Master Contract to APPR, an error
message displays, as shown in Figure 5-2.

Figure 5-2 Example, when not changing the status for the Master Contract

Click OK. The status of the contract has to be approved. Therefore, click the
Change Status button to change the status to APPR.
Now you may associate further underlying contract to your Master Contract.
5. Choose Select Action → Create Associated Contract and select the type
of contract.
6. Save the contract. You are now able to add more contracts to the same
Master Contract.

Chapter 5. Contracts 81
 Note: Associated contracts can only be created when the status of the Master
Contract has been set to APPR or WSTART.

The newly created Master Contract has the status Draft. The contract must be
approved and cannot be changed after.

Figure 5-3 shows the status values to be added to the Master Contract.

Figure 5-3 Approve Master Contract

Further details about the Master Contract are in the IBM Maximo User’s Guide:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITSerDsk/sdug621/en_US/PDF/621_
mx_ug.pdf

Revising contracts
After you have changed the status of a contract to APPR (Approved), the only
field that can be edited on the contract is the Status field. You cannot un-approve
a contract. If you have to modify the contract, you must use the Revise Contract
action.

Note: A contract can be changed only by creating a revision of the existing

contract.

The Revise Contract action is available for contracts with a status of APPR that
do not already have an existing revision (that is, a revision with a status of
PNDREV (Pending Revision). The Revise Contract action creates a copy of the
current contract. IBM Maximo Asset Management copies all of the information
from the original contract, including contract lines, terms and conditions,
associated service level agreements, commodities, and authorized sites. To
separate both contracts, the contract description for the revised contract has to
be added.

82 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

The contract number is the same as the original contract, and the value in the
Revision field is the revision number of the original contract plus one. For
example, the original contract has a revision number of zero, so the first revision
has a revision number of 1 (0+1=1). The status of the revision is PNDREV. The
status of the original contract does not change when you create a revision. The
original contract is available for use and can have new transactions created
against it. When you change the status of the revision from PNDREV to APPR,
IBM Maximo Asset Management changes the status of the original contract from
APPR to REVISD (Revised) and that version of the contract becomes a history
record.

Note: If you approve a contract revision that has a Start Date is in the future,
IBM Maximo Asset Management changes the revision status to WSTRART
(Waiting to Start) and the original contract does not change status from APPR
to REVISD.

IBM Maximo Asset Management includes escalations that check for contracts in
a status of WSTART whose start date is the current date and automatically
changes the status of the contract to APPR. You can use the View Revision
History action to view every revision that has been made to the current contract
with the revision process. The Contract Details table window displays every
version of the contract. IBM Maximo Asset Management displays the most
current revisions first. The Contract Line Details table window displays contract
lines that have been changed or added in the version of the contract that is
highlighted in the Contract Details table window and the previous version of the
contract. Each changed line is followed by the previous version of that line, so
that you can see the changes.

Tip: During a database search for a contract record, the contract that has the
highest revision number is the most recent version of the contract.

For further details regarding contract status, refer to IBM Maximo User Guide:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/tividd/td/ITSerDsk/sdug621/en_US/PDF/621_
mx_ug.pdf

Deleting contracts
IBM Maximo Asset Management does not offer the option to delete a contract.
You are supposed to keep the contract for reference purposes, even after it is no
longer in use.

Chapter 5. Contracts 83
 The status of the contract can be set as:
򐂰 SUSPND (Suspended)
The contract cannot be edited. You can change a contract’s status from
SUSPND to APPR, CAN, or CLOSE.
򐂰 EXPIRD (Expired)
The end date (End Date field) of the contract has passed without the contract
being renewed. The contract cannot be edited, but a revision can be created
against an expired contract. You cannot change a contract’s status from
EXPIRD to any other status.
򐂰 CAN (Canceled)
You cannot cancel a Lease/Rental Contract or Purchase Contract if it has any
outstanding scheduled payments or approved purchase orders against it.
IBM Maximo Asset Management notifies you if unapproved purchase orders
exist against a contract. Unapproved purchase orders cannot have their
status changed to approved after the contract is cancelled. Cancelling a
Lease/Rental Contract or Warranty Contract cancels any outstanding
scheduled payments for the contract. You can only cancel a Master Contract
if all of its associated contracts are closed or cancelled. When you change a
contract’s status to CAN, the contract becomes a history record and cannot
be edited.
򐂰 CLOSE (Closed)
You cannot close a Lease/Rental Contract or Purchase Contract if it has any
outstanding scheduled payments or approved purchase orders against it.
IBM Maximo Asset Management notifies you if unapproved purchase orders
exist against a contract. Unapproved purchase orders cannot have their
status changed to approved after the contract is closed. Closing a
Lease/Rental Contractor Warranty Contract cancels any outstanding
scheduled payments for the contract. You can only close a Master Contract if
all of its associated contracts are closed or cancelled. When you change a
contract’s status to CLOSE, the contract becomes a history record and
cannot be edited.

Example: Purchase Contract

Because the Purchase Contract allows many more configuration options than
other contracts, we discuss it in more detail in this section. (An overview of the
contract types is given in 5.1, “Contract module applications” on page 76.)

After you have created and specified the basic information for your Purchase
Contract, you are allowed to add several more records to this particular contract.
You may add records to the Contract Lines tab in the Purchase Contracts
application to review and modify the lines on a contract (Figure 5-4 on page 85).

84 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 Figure 5-4 Purchase Contract - Contract Lines

Using this tab, you also may create a payment schedule, add vendor items, or
other standard services:
򐂰 Payment Schedule
Click Payment Schedule to open the Payment Schedules dialog box and
create a schedule of payments for contract line items. You create a schedule
at the line item level. The schedule can be created when the contract is
approved.
򐂰 Vendor Items
Click Vendor Items to open the Vendor Items dialog box and select items
supplied by that vendor. This dialog box is accessible from multiple
applications.

Note: When adding new Contract Lines, you can specify whether to allow
certain changes to an associated PR or PO:
򐂰 Change Quantity on Use? If this check box is selected, you may modify the
line quantity on an associated PR or PO.
򐂰 Change Price on Use? If this check box is selected, you may modify the
line price on an associated PR or PO.

5.4 Using terms and conditions

Terms and conditions are requirements that are defined for contracts and
purchasing records, often by a legal department. You use the Terms and
Conditions application to enter and maintain a library of terms and conditions
that can be added to a purchasing record or contract. These terms can contain
information such as liability concerns, shipping and handling details, or delivery
time expectations.The terms entered in the Terms and Conditions application are

Chapter 5. Contracts 85
 available from the Terms and Conditions tabs in Purchasing and Contract
applications. From the tabs, you can select a term from the library to associate
with that purchasing or contract record.

5.4.1 Working with terms and conditions

You use the Terms and Conditions application to create and maintain a library of
terms and conditions that describe the legal obligations between a contract buyer
and a seller. Terms and conditions are created on the organizational level and
appear on records in the following applications:
򐂰 All contracts (Contracts module)
򐂰 Invoices
򐂰 Purchase Requisitions
򐂰 Purchase Orders
򐂰 Requests for Quotation

Tip: If the Editable on Use? check box is selected for a term, you cannot edit
the term after it has been copied to a record.

Creating new terms and conditions

To create new terms and conditions, you have two options. You may create
terms and condition available for either:
򐂰 All contracts based on the library
򐂰 A single contract based on the contract only

To create terms and conditions, use Go to → Contracts → Terms and

Conditions, and then fill in the appropriate information:
򐂰 Specify Liability concerns
򐂰 Specify Shipping and handling details
򐂰 Specify delivery time expectations

Then, click Save. Refer to 5.3.1, “Creating contracts” on page 79.

The terms and conditions in the library can be added to a contract from the
Terms and Conditions tab of the individual applications. You may also create
terms with the New Row button on the Terms and Conditions tab, but terms
created in this manner are saved to the record and are not added to the library.

Figure 5-5 shows how to create Terms and Condition by clicking the New Row
button.

86 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

Figure 5-5 Create Terms and Condition by clicking New Row

Updating terms and conditions

You may modify an existing term in the Terms and Conditions application at any
time. Modifying a term does not update existing contracts or purchasing
documents that reference the term. For your own benefit, review the Terms and
Conditions Library and make the changes when applying them to the purchase
order or contract.

Deleting terms and conditions

You may delete a term from the library at any time by using the Mark Row for
Delete button next to the term. This does not remove the term from any contract
or purchasing document.

Chapter 5. Contracts 87
88 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 6

Chapter 6. Purchasing
The Purchasing module is one of the applications devoted to financial and
purchasing functions. The Purchasing module tracks requests for and purchases
of materials and services, receipt of the purchases, and invoices for the
purchases.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Purchasing module” on page 90
򐂰 “Company records” on page 95
򐂰 “Companies application” on page 100
򐂰 “Purchase Requisitions application” on page 103
򐂰 “Purchase Orders application” on page 105
򐂰 “Receiving application” on page 108
򐂰 “Request for Quotations application” on page 112
򐂰 “Invoices application” on page 114

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 89

6.1 Purchasing module
The Purchasing module consists of the following applications:
򐂰 Companies
This application is for managing records for manufacturers, vendors, and
other companies that do business with you. Any value appearing in a
Company or Vendor field in a IBM Maximo Asset Management record should
have a company record associated with it. Company masters are used for the
purposed of defining companies that belong to a company set that can be
shared by one or more organizations.
򐂰 Company Master
This application is used to create company master records that belong to a
particular company set.
򐂰 Invoices
This application is used to record invoices and match against purchase
orders (POs) and receipts for approval. You use the Receiving application to
record the receipt of ordered items and materials. You use the Invoices
application to record invoices received from vendors, which can be matched
to POs. You can also manage scheduled payments for a contract in the
Invoices application.
򐂰 Purchase Orders
This application is used to purchase materials or services from an internal
supplier or an external vendor. You use the Purchase Orders application to
create and manage purchase orders for items, materials, services, tools, and
so forth. Purchase orders created automatically in the inventory reorder
process are also visible in the Purchase Orders application.
򐂰 Purchase Requisitions
This application is used to request the ordering of materials or services. You
use the Company Master and Companies applications to create records for
the vendors that provide you with goods and contract labor, other service
providers, and asset manufacturers. Any value appearing in a Company or
Vendor field on a IBM Maximo Asset Management record should have a
company record associated with it.
򐂰 Receiving
This application is used to receive materials into inventory and record the
receipt of services. You use the Receiving application to record the receipt of
ordered items and materials. When you receive items, IBM Maximo Asset
Management increases balances in the Inventory application or issues direct
issue items directly to an asset, location, or work order.

90 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 You may use the Receive Rotating Items action to create records in the
Assets application for rotating assets.
򐂰 Request for Quotation
This application is used to request and manage vendor quotations for prices
and delivery information for goods and services.
򐂰 Terms and Conditions
This application is used to enter and maintain a library of terms and
conditions to be used on contracts and purchasing documents. These terms
can contain information such as liability concerns, shipping and handling
details, or delivery time expectations.

6.1.1 Purchasing and inventory

The Purchasing module works closely with the Inventory module to maintain
balances of items and materials in company storerooms.

When you reorder items either manually (using one of the reorder actions in the
Inventory application), or automatically, IBM Maximo Asset Management
automatically creates one or more of the following types of purchasing records
for the reorder:
򐂰 Unapproved purchase requisitions (PRs)
򐂰 Approved purchase requisitions (PRs)
򐂰 Unapproved purchase orders (POs)
򐂰 Approved purchase orders (POs)

6.1.2 Internal versus external purchases

To centralize purchasing, all inventory purchasing can be done through a central
storeroom, and all other storerooms can purchase their stock from that central
storeroom.

IBM Maximo Asset Management supports this type of purchasing by allowing

you to create two types of purchase requisitions and purchase orders. Both
purchase requisition (PR) and purchase order (PO) records contain a check box,
labeled Internal?.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 91
 This check box is in the Vendor section of the record and that is used to indicate
whether the PR/PO is an internal or external purchase, as follows:
򐂰 Internal PR/PO
This is requesting the transfer of materials from another company storeroom.
When making internal purchases, select the Internal? check box and enter
Storeroom and Storeroom Site information.
򐂰 External PR/PO
This is requesting the purchase of the necessary materials or services from
an outside vendor. When creating external PRs/POs, leave the Internal?
check box empty and enter company information.

6.1.3 Line Types

Purchase requisitions (PRs) and purchase orders (POs) list each item or service
to be purchased on a separate line. Each PR or PO line must have a Line Type
specified for it.

IBM Maximo Asset Management allows you to select from the following default
Line Types:
򐂰 ITEM
This type is the default. Use it to order inventory items, that is items that have
item records created for them in the Item Master application.
򐂰 MATERIAL
Use it to order items or materials on a one time basis, that is items that do not
have item records created for them in the Item Master application. You must
enter a description, quantity, cost, and charge value. The charge value can be
a work order, location, asset, or GL Account code.
򐂰 SERVICE
Use it to order services on a one time basis, that is services that do not have
records created for them in the Service Items application. Services require a
description, line cost, and charge value. The charge value can be a work
order, location, asset, or GL Account code.
򐂰 STDSERVICE
Use it to order standard service items, that is services that have records
created for them in the Service Items application.

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 򐂰 TOOL
Use it to order tools, that is tools that have records created for them in the
Tools application.
򐂰 SPORDER
Use it to special order items or materials AND create an item record in the
Item Master application for the item.

6.1.4 Commodity codes

Commodity codes can be defined and managed by choosing Select Action →
Add/Modify Commodity Codes in any of the following applications:
򐂰 Companies
򐂰 Item Master
򐂰 Purchase Orders
򐂰 Service Items
򐂰 Tools

Classifying items and services with commodity groups and commodity codes
provides a way for you to analyze spending by item type. After you have defined
commodities, you may associate them with company, contract, and item records.
You may also associate commodities with individual PR or PO lines for items,
service items, or tools that do not have commodity codes assigned to them,
including special order materials or services.

Note: Commodity group or commodity code information added to a PR Line or

PO Line is not copied to item records.

6.1.5 Purchasing and contracts

The Purchasing module works closely with the Contracts module to define the
specific financial relationship between buyer and seller.

Company records and contracts are both defined at the Organization level,
whereas most purchasing is done at the Site level. When you enter a contract in
one of the contracts applications, you must select the Authorize Sites action to
authorize each site that you want to be able to use the contract.

Contracts module is discussed in detail in Chapter 5, “Contracts” on page 75.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 93
 Creating purchasing records from contracts
Purchasing records can be created in the Contracts module. You create
purchase orders in three ways:
򐂰 Directly from the Purchase Orders application
򐂰 From purchase requisitions (PRs)
򐂰 From requests for quotations (RFQs)

Types of purchase orders include:

򐂰 CHG (Change)
A change order is a duplicate purchase order generated from an approved
purchase order. If you must change an approved PO that has no receipts, you
might prefer to do so by creating a change order. The change order preserves
the audit trail by retaining the original PO while you make the necessary
changes to the change order PO.
򐂰 PARTS (Parts)
This type indicates that the purchase order is for work order parts.
򐂰 REL (Release)
IBM Maximo Asset Management creates a release type PO when you use the
Create Release PO action available in the Purchase Contracts application. A
blanket release is a purchase order that you generate from a purchase
contract. Your system administrator can set IBM Maximo Asset Management
so it automatically approves REL type POs generated from valid contracts.
򐂰 SERV (Service)
This type indicates that the purchase order is for services.
򐂰 STD (Standard)
This type is the default for POs created in the Purchase Orders application.

Distributing costs on purchase orders

In the system, you can distribute the costs of a purchase record line item across
multiple GL accounts. For example, if your department ordered and received a
new laser printer that the packaging department will also use, you may specify
two GL accounts for the printer, one for each department's GL. A PO line item
must meet the following conditions if you want to distribute its costs:
򐂰 The PO line item is a direct issue item or service.
򐂰 None of its items or services have been received.
򐂰 The PO type is REL (Release), CHG (Change), or STD (Standard).
򐂰 The PO status is WAPPR (Waiting on Approval).
򐂰 None of the service lines are prorated.

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6.2 Company records
A company master record in IBM Maximo Asset Management represents a
vendor from whom you purchase goods or services, asset manufacturers, and
other companies that you do business with. A company record contains
organization specific information about a vendor, such as contact names and
addresses. If a company has multiple locations, you may create separate
records for each branch location and associate them with a parent company
record.

Note: Company information must be entered in the Companies application

before other applications, such as Inventory and Purchasing, can access it.

6.2.1 Multisite and company records

Company records are at the Organization level. This means that key fields for
new records must be unique for the organization, but may duplicate record IDs
used by other organizations and these records can only be viewed by users who
have security permission to the organization and the application.

Company master records are created at the Company Set level so that the
records can be shared by more than one organization. Item records for items,
services, and tools are defined at the Item Set level, so that the records can be
shared by one or more organizations and items and tools can be transferred
between organizations and sites that share the same Item Set. Other
item-related data such as commodities, condition codes, and conversion values
between order units and issue units are also defined at the Item Set level.

6.2.2 Currency codes

You use the Currency Codes application to define and manage currencies. A
currency code is a short, user-defined value that you create to represent a
currency, for example, CND for the Canadian dollar. Figure 6-1 on page 96
shows the Currency Codes application.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 95
 Figure 6-1 Currency Codes application

When you enter purchasing records in a foreign currency, the system uses the
current exchange rate to calculate the base cost in the currency of your
company. Purchasing records include purchase requisitions, purchase orders,
and invoices.

The Currency Codes application stores currency codes at the system level. All
organizations can view and use the defined currency codes and add new ones
as necessary.

After you establish an active currency code, you may use that currency code
where a Currency field appears, such as in the Purchase Requisitions, Purchase
Orders, Invoices, and Companies applications.

Although you use the Currency Codes application to define currencies, you use
the following applications to manage other aspects of currency administration:
򐂰 Organizations application to specify the base currency for an organization.
򐂰 Exchange Rates application to specify exchange rates between currencies
for defined periods

Although currency codes are defined at the System level, other financial
information (exchange rates, tax codes, General Ledger accounts, financial
periods, and so forth) is defined at the Organization level. You also create
contracts (master, labor rate, lease/rental, purchase, and warranty type
contracts) and vendor records, and define terms and conditions for contracts and
purchasing at the Organization level.

When a user enters an amount in a foreign currency, for example on a purchase

requisition, purchase order, or invoice, the application finds the active exchange
rate for that currency to calculate the cost in the organization's base currency. If
the application does not find the exchange rate between two currencies explicitly
defined, it will use specific rules and logic to calculate the exchange rate from
other exchange rates, if they exist.

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6.2.3 Exchange rates
You use the Exchange Rates application to enter, view, and modify exchange
rates for converting currencies. The exchange rate is the multiplier used to
convert the currency in the Convert from Currency field to the currency in the
Convert to Currency field. For example, an exchange rate of 1.7 from British
pounds to U.S. dollars means that the value in British pounds is multiplied by 1.7
to calculate the value in U. S. dollars.

When a user enters an amount in a foreign currency, for example on a purchase

requisition, purchase order, or invoice, the application finds the active exchange
rate for that currency to calculate the cost in the organization's base currency. If
the application does not find the exchange rate between two currencies explicitly
defined, it will use specific rules and logic to calculate the exchange rate from
other exchange rates, if they exist.

The application stores exchange rates at the organization level. Therefore, each
organization defines and maintains its own exchange rates.

The Exchange Rates application contains two table windows:

򐂰 Organizations window is used to select the organization for which you want to
enter or modify exchange rates.
򐂰 Exchange Rates widow is used to enter and modify exchange rates for the
selected organization for specific periods of time.

Although you use Exchange Rates application to define exchange rates between
currencies, you use the following applications to manage other aspects of
currency administration:
򐂰 Currency Codes application is used to define the currency codes.
򐂰 Organizations application is used to specify the base currency for an
organization.

The application stores exchange rates at the organization level. Therefore, each
organization defines and maintains its own exchange rates.

Converting a foreign currency value to base currency

When you specify a foreign currency on a purchase requisition (PR) or purchase
order (PO), the system calculates two values:
򐂰 Total Cost, expressed in the foreign currency
򐂰 Total Base Cost, expressed in the base currency (your company's currency)

Chapter 6. Purchasing 97
 Example: Conversion
Your base currency is US$ (U.S. dollar). You enter a PR for gaskets, to be
ordered from a French company. On the PR tab, you select EUR (euro) in the
Currency field. On the PR Lines tab you enter the following values:
򐂰 Quantity: 25
򐂰 Unit Cost: 3.14 (in euro)

Using the active exchange rate of 1.17726 for the EUR, the system calculates
two values and displays them on the PR tab:
򐂰 Total Cost: (25 x 3.14 euro) = 78.50 (in EUR)
򐂰 Total Base Cost: (78.50 euro x 1.17726 exchange rate) = 92.41 (U.S. dollars)

Tax options
You use the Tax Options dialog box in the Organizations application to specify
default tax GL accounts and to define tax codes for the system to use in
calculating the amount of tax that is due on a PR, RFQ, PO, or invoice. You may
define up to five tax types, each of which can have any number of tax codes. The
system uses tax type and tax code as follows:
򐂰 A tax type corresponds to a kind of tax, for example, to a federal, state, or city
sales tax. Another tax type might be a special tax for handling hazardous
material.
򐂰 A tax code represents a particular tax rate, such as MA for the Massachusetts
sales tax of 5%. Thus, one tax type might include tax codes for all state or
provincial sales taxes.

Tax Options are set at the Organization level.

Note: Paid Tax GL Account field is for taxes paid to the vendor and is only
used in the Invoice application. Unpaid Tax GL Account field is for taxes not
yet paid to the government and is only used in the Invoice application.

Some businesses require that taxes be reflected in the total price of some or all
purchased goods and services. Adding this procurement cost to the item price
increases a stocked item's average cost. If an item is issued directly to a work
order, general ledger (GL) account, location, or asset, taxes are added to the
cost of the individual item.

Loaded Cost field indicates the total cost of the item, including taxes and service
costs.

98 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1

 IBM Maximo Asset Management enables you to define the category of line items
to which you can add taxes:
򐂰 No items option means taxes are not added, and are not reflected in the cost
fields of the Inventory or Work Orders applications.
򐂰 All items option means taxes are added to all line items on the invoice. Adding
taxes to the item price increases a stocked (inventory) item's average cost.

6.2.4 Company records versus company master records

Company master records define the records that belong to a Company Set.
Company Sets exist below the System level, but above the Organization level so
that organizations can share data. Each organization is associated with a
Company Set.

If your company has implemented a Multisite configuration that includes multiple

organizations, using Company Sets allows your organizations to share master
company data on the records created in the Company Masters application, and
record organization specific data, for example contacts and branches, on the
records in the Companies application.

When creating a complex Multisite implementation, create company records in

the following order:
1. Create one or more Company Sets in the administrative Sets application.
2. Create company master records in the Company Master application.
3. Add company master records to one or more organizations.
4. Use the Companies application to add organization specific data to the
company records.
5. If appropriate, create company branch records and associate them with a
parent company record to create a hierarchy.
6. If your company’s Multisite implementation consists of a single organization,
your system administrator can configure your Company Set so that records
created in the Companies application are automatically added to the
Company Masters application.

6.2.5 Company records and contracts

Before you can create contract records, you must first create company records
for each vendor or company that will be listed on a contract.

To view a read-only list of contracts associated with a company record, choose

Select Action → View Contracts of the Companies application.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 99
6.2.6 Company records and purchasing
Before you can create purchasing records (PRs, RFQs, or POs), you must first
create company records for each vendor or company that will be listed on a
purchasing record.

6.3 Companies application

The Companies application, located in the Purchasing module, maintains
detailed information about vendors, manufacturers, and other companies.
Vendors can have parent companies or multiple vendor locations for a single
company.

Company information must be entered in the Companies application before other

modules, such as Inventory and Purchasing, can access it.

To access the Companies application, click the application link on your Start
Center, or select Go To → Purchasing → Companies.

The Companies application contains the following tabs:

򐂰 List
Use this tab to search IBM Maximo Asset Management for company records.
򐂰 Company
Use this tab to enter, view, and modify information about vendors,
manufacturers, and other companies.
򐂰 Contacts
Use this tab to enter, view, and modify contact information for multiple
contacts.
򐂰 Addresses
Use this tab to enter, view, and modify information about a single contact,
company mailing address, and remit to information for a company.
򐂰 Branches
Use this tab to enter, view, and modify information about multiple locations for
the company.

100 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
6.3.1 Manage companies
Use the Company tab to enter information about a company, including
purchasing and payment information, and information about whether the vendor
is enabled for e-commerce through IBM Maximo Asset Management. See
Figure 6-2.

Figure 6-2 Company tab

You may categorize companies by type for reporting purposes. IBM Maximo
Asset Management uses three defaults for company types:
򐂰 Courier type is the transit company.
򐂰 Manufacturer type is the manufacturer of items or assets.
򐂰 Vendor type is the vendor of items or assets.
򐂰 AP Control Account type is the credit account used when the invoice is paid.
򐂰 RBNI Account type is the account for receipts that have not been invoiced.
򐂰 Suspense Account type is the credit account used when invoice is approved.

Note: When selecting a company type, the default GL accounts for that
company type are automatically displayed in the AP Control Account, RBNI
Account, and the Suspense Account fields. To set up default company GL
accounts for a particular company type, use the Company Related Accounts
dialog box in the Chart of Accounts application.

If your company decides to no longer do business with a vendor, you can mark
the record to indicate that the vendor is disqualified. After you disqualify a vendor,
you can no longer create new PRs, POs, RFQs, or invoices for the vendor.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 101

 Note: A disqualified vendor affects only those records created after you
disqualified the vendor.

If the company is a parent company and has branches, you may add branches
here. See Figure 6-3.

Figure 6-3 Branches tab

Your company may purchase products or services through a national vendor

with local offices. You may have locations in different cities, each of which
purchases from the local office of the vendor. You can create branch records for
a vendor company and track purchasing either at the branch level, or with the
vendor as a whole.

For example, each plant location might purchase office supplies at the local
office of a national chain, and do their shipping with the local office of an
international shipping company. By entering company branches into the system,
you can track purchases for each plant location in its branch record, as well as
the total purchases for all plant locations in the parent vendor record.

Selecting the Use Parent Remit To? field in the Company tab allows users to
purchase from a local branch office while still submitting invoices to the parent
company.

Note: The company that is a branch has to be entered in, as a company to be

in the Value List. Only one level of the Parent/Branch hierarchy is allowed.

6.3.2 Deleting a company

Company records that have been referenced in other applications (such as
purchase orders, invoices, contracts) may not be deleted. Also, company records
that have associated branch records may not be deleted. To delete a company
record with associated branch records, you must first sever all the branch
associations with that company record.

102 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
6.4 Purchase Requisitions application
To access the Purchase Requisitions application, click the application link on
your Start Center, or select Go To → Purchasing → Purchase Requisitions.

The Purchase Requisitions application contains the following tabs:

򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for PR records.
򐂰 PR
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify purchase requisitions.
򐂰 PR Lines
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify line items for a purchase requisition. A
line can be an item or material from inventory, an item or material not from
inventory, or a service.
򐂰 Ship To/Bill To
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify shipping information that will be used as
a default on each line, and billing information for the entire order.
򐂰 Terms and Conditions
Use this tab to add, view, or delete terms and conditions that have been
associated with the record.

6.4.1 Managing purchase requisitions

In this section, we discuss how to manage your purchase requisitions, such as
creating a new purchase requisitions or viewing or changing the status of existing
purchase requisitions.

Create requisition
To create a new purchase requisition, select the New icon at the top of the
window. IBM Maximo Asset Management automatically numbers the purchase
requisition so a window opens with the next available number. The requisition
defaults to the WAPPR status when created, as shown in Figure 6-4 on
page 104.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 103

 Figure 6-4 Create requisition

Purchase requisition status

The Waiting on Approval (WAPPR) status is assigned to a purchase requisition
when it is created; certain default fields are read-only. Status values are:
򐂰 WAPPR (Waiting on Approval):
This is the status that a purchase requisition is assigned when it is created.
Some default fields are read-only.
򐂰 APPR (Approved):
This status is available only if your business rules require approvals. The
default configuration does not require approvals for PRs and PR line items
that your transfer to POs.
򐂰 CLOSE (Closed):
This status indicates that all PR line items have been assigned to one or more
purchase orders. All fields are read-only; and the record can no longer be
modified.

Note: If you try to close a PR and a line item has not yet been assigned,
IBM Maximo Asset Management displays a message. IBM Maximo Asset
Management can be set to automatically close PRs after you transfer all
the line items to POs, RFQs, or contracts.

򐂰 CAN (Canceled):
This status is available if the current PR status is APPR and if none of its line
items have been assigned to a purchase order, so all fields are read-only.

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6.5 Purchase Orders application
You may use a number of methods to create a purchase order:
򐂰 From a purchase requisition (PR)
򐂰 In the Purchase Requisition application
򐂰 In the Purchase Orders application
򐂰 From a request for quotation (RFQ) in the Request for Quotation application
򐂰 Using the Inventory Reorder actions in the Inventory application
򐂰 In the Purchase Contracts application by creating a release

The Purchase Orders application also allows you to generate an internal PO

against another storeroom. You can think of a storeroom-to-storeroom purchase
as a transfer order or an internal PO because IBM Maximo Asset Management
uses the Purchase Orders and Issues and Transfers applications to track these
types of item movements. You also use Purchase Contracts application to create
change orders.

To access the Purchase Order application, click the application link on your Start
Center, or select Go To → Purchasing → Purchase Orders.

The Purchase Orders application contains the following tabs:

򐂰 List
Use this tab to search PR records.
򐂰 PO
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify purchase Orders.
򐂰 PO Lines
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify line items for a purchase Order. A line
can be an item or material from inventory, an item or material not from
inventory, or a service.
򐂰 Ship To/Bill To
Use this tab to enter, view, or modify shipping information that will be used as
a default on each line, and billing information for the entire order.
򐂰 Terms and Conditions
Use this tab to add, view, or delete terms and conditions that have been
associated with the record.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 105

6.5.1 Managing purchase orders
A purchase order can list items or services for one vendor or supplier only. You
can combine multiple purchase requisitions for the same vendor on a single PO.

Create a purchase order

To create a new purchase order, select the New icon at the top of the window, as
shown in Figure 6-5.

Figure 6-5 New purchase order

IBM Maximo Asset Management auto-numbers purchase orders and thus a

window opens with the next available number. The purchase order defaults to
WAPPR status when created.

Note that from the Select Action tab you have the option to View History. The
three categories of history provided on a purchase order are:
򐂰 Status
򐂰 Vendor Status Information
򐂰 Advance Ship Notification Information

106 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Purchase order status
Changing the status on purchase orders affects field functionality and access to
various action pages. The purchase order can have the following status values:
򐂰 WAPPR (Waiting on Approval)
This status is the default for a PO when you create it. Some default fields are
read-only in this status.
򐂰 INPRG (In Progress)
This status indicates that a PO still needs to be modified before it can be
Approved.
򐂰 APPR (Approved)
This status is available only if the current PO status is Waiting on Approval
(WAPPR) or In Progress (INPRG). All fields are read only. To approve a PO,
you must have a monetary approval limit equal to or greater than the total
cost of the PO.
򐂰 CAN (Canceled)
This status is available if the current PO status is Waiting on Approval
(WAPPR) or Approved (APPR). You cannot cancel an approved PO if any of
the following conditions exist:
– One or more PO lines items has been received.
– The supplier sent notification of delivery of items in an ASN transaction.
– The supplier has rejected the PO cancellation.
򐂰 CLOSE (Closed)
This status indicates that all of the POs line items have been received. After a
PO is closed, it is stored as a history record and cannot be modified.

Purchase order types

IBM Maximo Asset Management uses the following types of purchase orders:
򐂰 CHG (Change)
A change order is a duplicate purchase order generated from an approved
purchase order. If you must change an approved PO that has no receipts, you
might prefer to do so by creating a change order. The change order preserves
the audit trail by retaining the original PO while you make the necessary
changes to the change order PO.
򐂰 PARTS (Parts)
This type indicates that the purchase order is for work order parts.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 107

 򐂰 REL (Release)
IBM Maximo Asset Management creates a release type PO when you use the
Create Release PO action available in the Purchase Contracts application. A
blanket release is a purchase order that you generate from a purchase
contract. Your system purchasing administrator can set IBM Maximo Asset
Management so it automatically approves REL type POs generated from
valid contracts. Release type POs cannot be duplicated using the Duplicate
Purchase Order action. They also cannot be changed to a change (CHG)
type PO.
򐂰 SERV (Service)
This type indicates that the purchase order is for services.
򐂰 STD (Standard)
This type is the default for purchase orders created in the Purchase Orders
application. When creating a purchase order, STD, SERV, and PARTS are
the only selectable values.

6.6 Receiving application

You use the Receiving application to receive materials and services from
purchase orders. You may search for and receive existing PO line items from the
Select Ordered Items and the Select Ordered Services dialog boxes, accessible
from the Material Receipts and Service Receipts tabs, or manually enter
received items on the Receipts tabs. If you have Invoice Management, you may
use the invoice claim number or other invoice fields to search for items or
services.

To access the Receiving application, click the application link on your Start
Center, or select Go To → Purchasing → Receiving. See Figure 6-6.

Figure 6-6 Receiving application

108 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
The Receiving application contains the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search for receipt records in IBM Maximo Asset Management.
Use more fields for a specific search and fewer fields for a general search.
򐂰 Material Receipts
Use this tab to add, view, or modify materials received on a PO.
򐂰 Service Receipts
Use this tab to add, view, or modify services received on a PO.
The Receiving application allows both materials and services to be received
and recorded in the database when they are delivered to a site.
򐂰 Material receipts
This tab refers to data associated with items used for work done on-site by
your company's employees, for example, quantities and lot numbers. When
inventory items are received against a purchase order, the quantities in
Inventory are updated, and an inventory transaction is generated.
You can also receive materials not tracked in Inventory, but which require a
purchase order. Record the data associated with material receipts on the
Material Receipts tab.
򐂰 Service receipts
This tab refers to the data associated with any service provided by a vendor
or contractor, such as repairs to assets. The service may be performed on or
off site. You specify service purchases either in terms of a quantity and a unit
cost, or as a single lump sum amount.

In a large enterprise, you might have a centralized purchasing department for

several sites. Each individual site receives its own materials and services. The
Receiving application allows both materials and services to be received and
recorded in the database when they are delivered to a site.

Material receipts refers to data, such as quantities and lot numbers, associated
with items used for work done on site by your employees. When you receive
inventory items against a purchase order, the quantities are updated in Inventory
and an inventory transaction is generated.

You can also receive materials not tracked in Inventory, but which require a
purchase order. For example, a catered lunch or a new desk is not stored in
Inventory or tracked by an item number. You would, however, track their costs on
purchase orders and receipts.

Record the data associated with material receipts on the Material Receipts tab.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 109

 Service receipts refers to data associated with any service, such as repairs to
assets, provided by a vendor or contractor. The service can be performed on or
off site. You specify service purchases either in terms of a quantity and a unit
cost, or as a single lump sum amount. Use the same terms on the receipt
transaction as those terms used on the service PO. Record service receipts on
the Service Receipts tab. Whichever terms you use on the service PO must be
the same on the corresponding receipt transaction, which you record on the
Service Receipts tab.

You might have to change information when recording the receipt of materials.
Change the receiving information before you save the receipt record. For
example, if you want to record a partial shipment, change the number in the
Quantity field.

In the Receiving application, on the List tab, select the PO for which you want to
receive material. To create receipts, the status of the PO must be either In
Progress or Approved. On the Material Receipts tab, click Select Ordered
Items. In the Select Ordered Items dialog box, select the check box for each line
you want to receive. To select all of the items on the PO, select the check box in
the table header.

In the Material Receipts table window, click View Details on the material receipt
line you want to change. Change material receipt lines information as necessary.
After you save the receipt, the fields on the Material Receipts tab become
read-only. If you are receiving a line item that is not a rotating item, but is
damaged, receive the full shipment amount and then return the rejected quantity.
Use the Select Items for Return dialog box to return materials.

When an inspection is required upon receipt of an item or service, the following

status values describe where in the inspection process the line item is. Use the
Change Inspection Status dialog box to change the inspection status of an item.

The status values can be:

򐂰 WINSP (Waiting for Inspection)
This status indicates that the line item is in the process of being received, but
has not yet been entered into inventory. The line item is in a holding location,
where it stays until an inspection is completed. After inspection, the line item
converts to either WASSET or COMP status, depending on whether it is a
rotating item.
򐂰 WASSET (Waiting for Serialization)
This status indicates that the line item is a rotating item that is waiting to have
an asset number assigned to it. If the line item requires inspection, the
inspection has already taken place if its status is WASSET. The item is still in
the holding location; it has not yet been sent to its appropriate storeroom or

110 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 direct issue location. After the item has been serialized in the Receive
Rotating Items dialog box, its status will be COMP.
򐂰 COMP (Complete)
This status indicates that the line item has been received, and if necessary,
inspected and serialized. When the status of the line item changes to COMP,
a transfer transaction is created. The transaction transfers the item to its
appropriate storeroom or direct issue location. If the line item is not rotating
and does not require inspection, its status is COMP upon receipt.

6.6.1 Rotating items

A rotating item is an individual serialized asset that you define with a common
item number, such as a pump or mobile computer. You designate an item as
rotating because it shares properties of both items and assets. A rotating item
can have inventory value and issue cost, like an item. However, a rotating item
cannot be consumed, rather, it is maintained like an asset. For example, you
have ten mobile computers of the same model that share the same attributes,
and they all have the common item number ABCT23. However, you want to be
able to track each as an individual asset, so you flag the items as rotating when
you create them.

After creating an item and adding it to a storeroom, you can either use the Assets
application to create the asset records for an item you want to track, or create a
purchase order for the rotating item and serialize it when you receive it. When
you have associated an asset to a rotating item, balances can be displayed and
tracked for this item. A rotating item is tracked both by its item number in
Inventory records and by its unique asset number in Assets records.

Note: An item cannot be both a spare part and a rotating item, because
rotating items are generally maintained not consumed (or just used once). For
example, you can keep gaskets available as spare parts for use on multiple
pieces of equipment, but you cannot classify the gaskets themselves as
rotating items because they are used once and then thrown away.

Each rotating item goes into Inventory with an item number. The rotating item is
also tracked in the Assets application with an asset number.

To enter line items for rotating items on the Material Receipts tab, use the
Receive Rotating Items dialog box. You can enter asset identifiers for specific
rotating assets, or auto-number all of the rotating items.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 111

 Note: If the item requires inspection, its status is WINSP (Waiting for
Inspection). If the item does not require inspection, its status is WASSET
(Waiting for Serialization).

6.7 Request for Quotations application

Use the Request for Quotations application to create requests for quotations and
store the quotations so you can assess the vendor that best meets your
requirements. See Figure 6-7.

Figure 6-7 Request for Quotations application

A request for quotation (RFQ) is a request that you send out to one or more
potential suppliers. To list a vendor on the RFQ, the vendor must have a record
in the Companies application. In the RFQ application, you can specify line items,
required delivery dates, and other conditions you want the vendor to meet for the
delivery of an item or service.

You may create an RFQ for any of the following circumstances:

򐂰 The stock count of a stocked item drops below a certain level and you must
place another bulk order.
򐂰 A requisition is received for an item or service that requires a quotation each
time because of item price or other requirements.
򐂰 Someone at your site requests a quote for an item or service. It can be for a
normally stocked item or for an item not normally ordered, such as a special
order or non-stocked item.

112 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
򐂰 You have to do commodity bulk-buying for a certain period of time, typically
for many items with common commodity codes. The quotation might not be
copied to a PO immediately, but the pricing is set.
򐂰 When you receive the quotations from the vendors, you enter them into the
Request for Quotations application one at a time. At the end of the process,
you review the quotations and award one quotation for each RFQ line. The
quotations are then converted to one or more purchase orders or contracts,
depending on the procurement flow within your organization.

Changing status on RFQs affects field functionality and access to various

actions. The RFQ status values are:
򐂰 INPRG (In Progress)
This status is the default when you create an RFQ. The RFQ should remain in
INPRG status until you have entered all RFQ information and RFQ lines. In
this status, you may modify most tabs and fields on the RFQ, with the
exception of the Quotation Lines table. The RFQ must be saved as INPRG
prior to changing to another status. To allow you to edit the RFQ, its status is
always INPRG unless the RFQ is completed or closed.
򐂰 READY (Ready to be Sent)
This status indicates that RFQ is ready to be sent out to the vendors. In this
status, you do not have the ability to change the RFQ-all tabs are read-only.
򐂰 SENT (Sent to the Vendor)
This status indicates the RFQ has been sent to vendors. The SENT status
causes fields on the RFQ and RFQ Lines tabs to be read-only although fields
on the Vendors tab can be modified. You can also modify the Quotations and
Terms and Conditions tabs.
򐂰 COMP (Completed)
This status indicates when all quotations have been received from vendors. In
this status all fields except the fields on the Quotation Lines and Terms and
Conditions tabs are read-only.
򐂰 CANCEL (Cancelled)
This status indicates a canceled RFQ. Use the CANCEL status to cancel a
current RFQ, or a selected set of RFQs. You can only cancel an RFQ if there
have not been any quotations awarded (i.e., the CANCEL status is not
available after a quotation has been converted to a PO). A canceled RFQ is
stored as a history record and cannot be modified.
򐂰 CLOSE (Closed)
This status indicates a closed RFQ; the RFQ’s quotation lines have been
awarded, and it is stored as a history record and cannot be modified.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 113

 Note: When you create an RFQ, the system automatically sets its status to
INPRG (In Progress). You can change the status of the RFQ as it moves
along in its quotation cycle.

6.8 Invoices application

You use the Invoices application to record vendor invoices as you receive them.
An invoice is a bill from a vendor for delivered products or services. Figure 6-8
shows the Invoices application.

Figure 6-8 Invoices application

The Invoices application enables you to record invoices, and debit and credit
notes from vendors, and to match invoice details against purchase orders (POs)
and receipts. You may also create invoices for which there are no receipts.

As you enter invoices, you can match the invoice information against purchase
orders and receipts of materials and services, so that the invoice can be
approved and routed to Accounts Payable.

The following fields are required for invoices:

򐂰 Invoice Number
򐂰 Type
򐂰 Entered Date
򐂰 Entered BY
򐂰 Company
򐂰 Currency

114 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 The invoice you create in IBM Maximo Asset Management can represent one of
the following invoice types:
򐂰 An invoice related to a single purchase order. You enter information such as
the invoice number, corresponding PO number, any receipts recorded for the
PO, and information specific to the invoice.
򐂰 An invoice related to many purchase orders for a single vendor. You enter
general invoice data on the Invoice tab, including the vendor, then list the
related POs on the Invoice Lines tab.
򐂰 An invoice without a related purchase order. Typically, such an invoice
represents a bill for which no purchase requisition or purchase order exists.
You simply enter invoice-specific information. This method can be
appropriate if, for example, you receive an invoice for rent or a phone bill.

6.8.1 Invoice types

You may create the following types of invoices:
򐂰 Invoice
This is the default type. It indicates a payment to a vendor.
򐂰 Credit
This type indicates a credit issued by your company to a vendor, for example
for returned items.
򐂰 Debit
This type indicates a charge to your company from a vendor, for example
additional charges not listed on a invoice

To access the Invoices application, click the application link on your Start Center,
or select Go To → Purchasing → Invoices.

6.8.2 Invoice status

Changing status on invoices affects field functionality and access to various
action pages. The invoice status can have the following values:
򐂰 SCHED (Scheduled)
This status indicates that the invoice is part of a payment schedule, set up for
a specific contract. Invoices with this status can be created only from the
Contracts applications.
An invoice with this status can be changed to any status except ENTERED.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 115

 򐂰 WAPPR (Waiting on Approval)
This status is only available if the current invoice status is ENTERED or
HOLD. Use this status to indicate that invoice information has been entered
and the invoice is now ready for review and approval by the appropriate level
of staff. An invoice waiting for approval can be edited.
򐂰 ENTERED (Entered)
This status is the default when you create an invoice. A newly entered invoice
has certain fields that are completed by default; some of them are read-only.
An invoice with the status of ENTERED can be edited. After the status of an
invoice is changed from ENTERED in the Change Status dialog box, the
ENTERED status is no longer available.
򐂰 APPR (Approved)
This status is available only if the current invoice status is ENTERED,
WAPPR, or HOLD. If you change the status directly to PAID without first
approving the invoice, the system automatically validates the invoice for
approval criteria. An approved invoice is stored as a history record; for
invoices in history, you can only change the Check Code, Check Number,
and Paid fields.
򐂰 HOLD (Hold)
This status is available only if the current invoice status is ENTERED or
WAPPR. If the invoice should not yet be approved or paid, you can change
the invoice to HOLD status. For example, if you have received an invoice but
not yet received the items or if there is a discrepancy between the invoice and
receipts, you can place the invoice on HOLD status. An invoice on hold can
be edited.
򐂰 PAID (Paid)
This status is available only if the current invoice status is ENTERED,
WAPPR, APPR, or HOLD. If you change the status directly to PAID without
first approving the invoice, the system automatically approves the invoice. A
paid invoice is stored as a history record and cannot be modified.
򐂰 CANCEL (Cancel)
This status is available only on the Change Status dialog box if the current
invoice status is ENTERED, WAPPR, or HOLD. You cannot cancel an
approved invoice. A canceled invoice is stored as a history record and cannot
be modified.

116 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
6.8.3 Approving an invoice
Before an invoice can be approved, the system checks that it meets the following
conditions:
1. If the invoice will be paid in foreign currency (as indicated in the Currency
field), there must be an active exchange rate for that currency (in the
Currency application) on the date of approval. If not, the invoice cannot be
approved. (If the exchange rate has changed since you created the invoice,
the system updates the Total Base Cost field upon approval.)
2. The prices on the invoice must fall within a specified range of the prices on
the purchase order (PO). Your system administrator can define the amount
by which the invoice price can vary from the PO price and still be approved in
the Limits and Tolerances tab in the Security Groups application.
3. Limits must be set on how large a purchase request, purchase order, material
requisition, invoice, and contract the group can approve. Use the Limits and
Tolerances tab in the Security Groups application to set limits.
Tolerance levels for the group regarding how much some purchasing
amounts (invoices, taxes, and services) can vary from an initial agreement
must also be set. Again, use the Limits and Tolerances tab, which contains
the following sections:
– Organization section is for specifying the organization for which you want
to set limits and tolerances.
– Limits section is for setting group approval limits on how large the
monetary amount can be on a purchase request, purchase order, material
requisition, invoice, and contract.
– Invoice Tolerance section is for specifying how large a variance the group
can accept on an invoice amount.
– Tax Tolerance section is for specifying how large a variance the group can
accept on a tax amount.
– Service Tolerance section is for specifying how large a variance the group
can accept on a service amount.
4. Standard service costs added to the invoice (such as freight charges or
installation fees) must also fall within set limits (also set in the Limits and
Tolerances tab in the Security Groups application).
5. Line items that must be received before invoice approval (items that have the
Receipt Required check box selected on the Invoice Lines tab) are checked
to ensure that the receipts have been entered into the system.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 117

 After these conditions are met, the system calculates any price differences
between the invoice and the PO. Price differences can be the result of a change
in the active exchange rate, or the result of a difference between what the vendor
charged and the original PO price, or both. Price differences are handled in one
of two ways:
򐂰 For issue on receipt items (that is, those items not purchased for inventory),
the price difference is always applied to the work order, location, equipment,
or GL account specified on the PO or Invoice Lines tab.
򐂰 For inventory items, the Average Cost field is updated.

6.8.4 Create an invoice that contains multiple vendors

You may enter company branches into the system and associate multiple
company records with a parent record. You may then use the remit-to
information of the parent company on an invoice. When you create an invoice
specifying a parent company, the look-up list from the PO field contains all the
purchase orders for the parent company and its branch companies.

If the PO field in the Invoices application contains a purchase order, the lines of
the invoice include the lines from the current PO only. If the PO has company
information, the vendor information from the parent company does not overwrite
the vendor information of the PO.

Creating an invoice that contains multiple vendors is a three-part process:

1. Create a company record for each branch and associate it with the parent
record.
2. Create purchase orders for the parent and branch companies associated with
the parent company.
3. Create an invoice that references the parent company.

6.8.5 Add taxes to the cost of an invoice line item

Certain businesses require that taxes be reflected in the total price of some or all
purchased goods and services. Adding this procurement cost to the item price
increases a stocked item's average cost. If an item is issued directly to a work
order, general ledger (GL) account, location, or asset, taxes are added to the
cost of the individual item.

The Loaded Cost field indicates the total cost of the item, including taxes and
service costs.

118 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
IBM Maximo Asset Management enables you to define the category of line items
to which you can add taxes:
򐂰 No items option indicates that taxes are not added, and are not reflected in
the cost fields of the Inventory or Work Orders applications.
򐂰 All items option indicates that taxes are added to all line items on the invoice.
Adding taxes to the item price increases a stocked (inventory) item's average
cost.
򐂰 Issue-on-receipt items only option indicates that taxes are added to only
those items that, upon receipt, are directly issued to a work order, GL
account, location, or piece of equipment. This option avoids increasing the
average cost of stocked items.

Chapter 6. Purchasing 119

120 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 7

Chapter 7. Resources
In this chapter, we introduce how Resource records are used, managed, and
assigned within Maximo. The Resources module is used to create Maximo
records for workers, both internal and external, and other people whose names
or IDs might be listed on Maximo records.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Resources module” on page 122
򐂰 “Labor” on page 122
򐂰 “Qualifications” on page 129
򐂰 “People” on page 133
򐂰 “Person Group” on page 135
򐂰 “Crafts” on page 137

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 121

7.1 Resources module
The Resources module consists of the following applications:
򐂰 Labor
Use this application to create and manage records for all employees and
contractors who will be performing work on tickets or work orders.
򐂰 Qualifications
Use this application to create and manage certificate and qualification records
that employees have earned through training or educational programs. You
can associate qualifications with labor records to verify that workers are
qualified to perform specialized work.
򐂰 People
Use this application to create and manage records for people whose names
may appear anywhere on a Maximo record.
򐂰 Person Group
Use this application to create groups of person records. Maximo uses person
groups when performing automated tasks that will perform the same process
or task for multiple people of the same type.
򐂰 Crafts
Use this application to create and manage craft records, defining define skill
levels, standard rates, and premium pay codes for crafts. You can associate
labor records with one or more crafts to indicate their various job skills.

7.2 Labor
A labor record represents an employee or contract laborer. Labor records are
created for workers who spend time working on tickets or work orders, where you
want to track either their work hours or the cost for the time they spend working.

You use the Labor application to create, modify, view, and delete labor records
for employees and contractors. You can provide personal information and
work-related information about a laborer such as their regular and premium
hours worked, and overtime refused. In addition, you can also specify crafts, skill
levels, pay rates, qualifications and certifications associated with a labor record.

To use Assignment Manager to schedule and dispatch work, labor records must
have a calendar and shift indicated. Click the Show/Manage Values button next

122 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
to the Calendar field to access the Calendars dialog box where you may enter,
view, or modify this information for a labor record.

Labor records for contract labor can be associated with labor rate contracts. You
use the Labor Rate Contracts application to create records for labor rate
contracts. If the rate for the laborer is specified by a contract, the Contract field
will contain a value.

You may associate labor records to crafts in either the Labor application or the
Craft application.

A single laborer might have many different job skills. The Crafts table window on
a labor record allows you to list multiple crafts and skill levels for a laborer.

Person records contain general personal information, and other information

required on Maximo records for non-labor records, such as workflow and
purchasing information. Labor records also contain personal information, but
they are primarily designed to store information about the worker, for example
craft, skill level, hours worked, certifications, and so forth.

A person record does not require any other resource records. Labor records
however, cannot be created without a corresponding person record. When you
create new labor records if you do not specify a value in the Person field, Maximo
will prompt you to create a matching person record for the labor record.

The personal information (name, address, and so forth) in the People application
is stored in database columns that are shared with the Labor application. The
data in these fields can be entered or modified from either application.

Although you can list labor records on job plans and work orders, you have more
flexibility if you list craft records instead. Activities, tasks, and work orders can be
assigned to individual laborers using the Assignment Manager application.

Time spent working on a work order can be recorded while work is being
performed using the Timer, or after work has been completed using the Labor
Reporting application. When you enter a labor code in a transaction in the Labor
Reporting application, Maximo copies data from the labor record to the labor
transaction. If a laborer has more than one craft, skill level, or rate listed on the
labor record, you must indicate which craft, skill level, rate, or contract applies to
the hours you are reporting.

To access the Labor application, click the application link on your Start Center, or
select Go To → Administration → Resources → Labor.

Chapter 7. Resources 123

 The Labor application (shown in Figure 7-1) contains the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search Maximo for labor records.
򐂰 Labor
Use this tab to add, view, and modify data on labor records for employees
and contractors, including personal information, year-to-date hours, and
procurement card information.
򐂰 Crafts
Use this tab to add, view, modify, and delete crafts, skill levels, and premium
pay codes.
򐂰 Qualifications
Use this tab to add, view, modify, and update qualifications and certifications
for labor records.

Figure 7-1 Labor application

You create records for laborers and contractors in the Labor application. Labor
records cannot be created without a corresponding person record. When you
create new labor records if you do not specify a value in the PERSON field,
Maximo prompts you to create a matching person record for the labor record.

124 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
A labor record can have one of the following status values:
򐂰 ACTIVE
This status is the default for new records. A labor record must be active to be
assigned to a work order.
򐂰 INACTIVE
Inactive labor records do not appear in select value lists. Labor records with a
status of INACTIVE cannot be associated with new Maximo records.

When a worker or contractor is no longer employed, that person should no longer

be listed as someone who is available to be assigned work. Do not delete that
person’s labor record because it is listed on existing Maximo records.

You can change the status of a labor record to INACTIVE by using the Change
Status action available from the toolbar and the Select Action menu. The status
of labor records cannot be changed to INACTIVE if any of the following
statements is true:
򐂰 The labor ID is listed on a work plan for a work order that is in any status
except CLOSED or CAN.
򐂰 The labor ID is listed on an assignment for a work order that is in any status
except CLOSED or CAN.
򐂰 The labor ID is listed on a job plan record.

Note: The status of user and person records associated with labor records is
not automatically changed when a labor’s status changes to INACTIVE. The
status of these records must be changed in the User and People applications.

A status change to INACTIVE is not permanent. The labor record’s status can be
changed back to ACTIVE, for example if historical labor actuals had to be
recorded.

You may associate a labor record with one or more crafts from either the Labor
application or the Crafts application. In the Labor application, you associate a
labor with a craft by creating a new row in the Crafts table window on the Crafts
tab. Maximo then copies the premium pay codes for that craft to the Premium
Pay for table window.

If a laborer performs work that required special training, you note their
qualifications on their labor record. You add, view, extend or renew qualifications
and certifications on the Qualifications tab of a labor record. You may also use
the Qualifications tab to note general training that might not be job-related, for
example a new employee orientation that covers general company procedures,
or first aid certifications.

Chapter 7. Resources 125

 Note: After you save a qualification you cannot delete it.

If you are creating labor records with similar employees, for example several
contract laborers with the same skills hired from the same vendor, you can
simplify the record creation process by using the Duplicate Labor action available
from the Select Action menu.

Crafts listed on a labor record can be deleted by clicking the Mark Row for
Delete button for the row. You must click Save for the deletion to take effect.
When a craft record is deleted from a labor record, the associated rows in the
Premium Pay table window are also deleted from the labor record. Crafts cannot
be deleted from a labor record if any of the following statements is true:
򐂰 If the labor record is referenced on an assignment record for a work order that
is in any status except CLOSED or CAN (cancelled), the craft referenced on
the assignment may not be deleted.
򐂰 If the labor record is referenced on a work plan for a work order that is in any
status except CLOSED or CAN (cancelled), the default craft for the labor may
not be deleted.
򐂰 If the listed craft is the Default Craft For Labor, it may not be deleted.

Note: If the listed craft is the Default Craft For Labor it can only be deleted if it
is the only craft listed for the labor record.

Labor records can be deleted by using the Delete Labor action available from the
Select Action menu.

Important: Any labor record that is listed on Maximo records should have its
status changed to INACTIVE rather than be deleted. Deleting labor records is
not a good practice.

Labor records may not be deleted if any of the following statements is true:
򐂰 The labor ID is listed on a work plan for a work order that is in any status
except CLOSED or CAN.
򐂰 The labor ID is listed on an assignment for a work order that is in any status
except CLOSED or CAN.
򐂰 The labor ID is listed on a job plan record.
򐂰 The labor ID is listed as a labor transaction for work order that is in any status
except CLOSED or CAN.

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 You use the Calendars application (located in the Administration module) to
create and modify calendars and shifts that you can associate with the labor
records. See Figure 7-2. A calendar specifies the days when work is performed
and includes non-work days, for example weekends or holidays. A shift specifies
the hours when work is performed. One or more shifts can be associated with a
given calendar.

Figure 7-2 Calendar application

A single calendar can be referenced by any number of person, asset, or other

record. A calendar record is defined by:
򐂰 Start and end date
򐂰 Shift definitions
򐂰 Non-working time you apply to it

Non-working time includes holidays and any other type of non-working time you
want to define. Applying shifts and non-working time to a calendar generates the
work periods for the calendar.

A calendar specifies the days when work is performed and includes non-work
days, for example weekends or holidays. A shift specifies the hours when work is
performed. One or more shifts can be associated with a given calendar.

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 Calendars are created in the Calendars application. You can enter a calendar on
a labor record to specify the work days for a laborer. You can enter a shift to
specify the work hours for the laborer.

Note: To indicate when a laborer's availability does not match that person’s
calendar, use the Modify Person Availability action in the People
application.

To assign a calendar to labor within the Labor application:

1. Display the labor record to which you want to assign a calendar.
2. In the Calendar field, enter a value or click the Detail menu to select an option
and retrieve a value. See Figure 7-3.
3. In the Shift field, enter a value or click Select Value and click Save Labor.

Figure 7-3 Calendar field

Another important feature within the Labor module is the option to set
year-to-date hours to zero. This option is available from within the Select Action
menu.

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 To use the option Zero Year to Date Hours from within the Labor application:
1. Display the record whose year-to-date hours you want to reset.
2. Choose Select Action → Zero Year to Date Hours (Figure 7-4). The Zero
Year to Date Hours dialog box opens.
3. Select one or more types of hours to reset by selecting the appropriate check
boxes.
4. Click OK.

You use the Zero Year to Date Hours action in the Labor application to reset the
year-to-date fields to zero. Typically you would only use this option at the end of
the fiscal year.

Figure 7-4 Zero Year to Date Hours action

7.3 Qualifications
A qualification is an indication of a particular job skill or specialized training. A
qualification is often, but not necessarily, indicated by a license or certificate,
signifying proficiency in a particular skill or skills. Certain certificates have
expiration dates and those who hold the certificates must renew the certificates
periodically.

You use the Qualifications application to create records of qualifications and

certification requirements for qualifications. After you have created qualification
records, you may associate them with labor records in the Qualifications or Labor
applications. You may also view qualifications associated with a particular labor
code and may renew and change the status of their qualifications.

A qualification is often, but not necessarily, indicated by a license or certificate,

signifying proficiency in a particular skill or skills. You list qualifications on a labor
record to show that the worker has completed general or specific training.

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 Examples of qualifications can include:
򐂰 First aid training
򐂰 Safety certifications
򐂰 Journeyman Welder
򐂰 Forklift Operator’s License
򐂰 Master Electrician’s License
򐂰 Journeyman Plumber Certification
򐂰 Heavy Asset Operator’s License

To access the Qualifications application (shown in Figure 7-5), click the

application link on your Start Center, or select Go To → Administration →
Resources → Qualifications.

The Qualifications application contains the following tabs:

򐂰 List
Use this tab to search Maximo for Qualification records.
򐂰 Qualification
Use this tab to create, view, or modify a certificate or qualification.
򐂰 Associated Labor
Use this tab to add, view, modify, or delete the association between labor
codes and the qualification. Note that after a qualification is associated with a
labor code, the qualification may not be deleted.

Figure 7-5 Qualification application

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 You use the Qualifications application to create, view, modify, and manage
qualification and certification records. If certification is required for a qualification
select the Certification Required? check box in the Certificate Information
section of the qualification record. Any craft and skill levels that are required for
the qualification can be listed in the Required Craft and Skills Levels table
window. For example, a 7018 Welder’s certificate would only be issued to a
laborer who is a journeyman welder. Tools that require the qualification or
certification can be listed in the Tools that Require This Qualification table
window.

Existing qualifications can be extended or renewed by using the Extend/Renew

Qualification button, located on the qualification row. See Figure 7-6.

Figure 7-6 Extend/Renew Qualification button

Saved qualifications cannot be deleted, but they can have their status changed
to inactive by using the Change Qualification Status button located on the
qualification row. See Figure 7-7 on page 132.

Chapter 7. Resources 131

Figure 7-7 Change Qualification Status

To view the status and renewal history for a qualification, click the View
Qualification Status History button located on the qualification row.

You may associate a qualification with a labor record from either the
Qualifications application or the Labor application. In the Qualifications
application, you associate a qualification with a labor record by creating new
rows in the Labor table window on the Associated Labor tab.

A qualification record can have one of the following status values:

򐂰 ACTIVE
This status is the default for new records. A qualification record must be
active to be associated with a labor record.
򐂰 INACTIVE
Inactive qualification records do not appear in select value lists. Qualification
records with a status of INACTIVE cannot be associated with labor records.

A Qualification may not be made INACTIVE if it is referenced by an entry in

either of the following tables:
򐂰 LaborQUAL (in ACTIVE Status)
򐂰 TOOLQUAL

Qualification records may be deleted by selecting Delete Qualification from the

Select Action menu. A qualification record cannot be deleted if it is listed on a
labor record or on a tool record. Maximo displays a message if the qualification
cannot be deleted.

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7.4 People
A person record is a record of an individual who might appear somewhere on a
Maximo record, for example, in a Reported By or Affected Person fields on a
service request, as a SUPERVISOR on a labor record, or as the value in a Ship
To or Bill To Attention field on a purchasing record.

You use the People application to create, modify, view, and delete records for
individuals. This application stores personal and official information about
individuals, such as Maximo users, laborers, asset owners, supervisors, and
individuals who receive workflow notifications.

Any individual who will be assigned records as part of a workflow process must
have a record created in the People application.

Tip: As a best practice, workflow assignments should be made to a person

group rather than an individual.

If workflow processes are created that make assignments to person records, the
following fields on the person record should contain a value:
򐂰 Supervisor
򐂰 Primary E-mail
򐂰 Primary Calendar
򐂰 Primary Shift
򐂰 Workflow E-mail Notification

You use the Workflow Delegate, Delegate From, and Delegate To fields to
indicate time periods when a workflow process should route assignments to a
designated alternate, for example when a worker is on vacation.

To access the People application, click the application link on your Start Center,
or select Go To → Administration → Resources → People.

The People application contains the following tabs:

򐂰 List
Use this tab to search Maximo for person records.
򐂰 Person
Use this tab to add, view, or modify person records.

To create a new person record, click the New Person button in the toolbar. At a
minimum, you must provide a Person code and then save the record. Almost

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 every field on the People record is optional. To maximize your searching
capabilities, also provide a FIRST NAME, LAST NAME, and PERSON’S SITE.
See Figure 7-8.

Figure 7-8 Create a new person record

A person record can have one of the following status values:

򐂰 ACTIVE
This status is the default for new records. A person record must be active to
be assigned to a labor record or a user record.
򐂰 INACTIVE
Inactive person records do not appear in select value lists. Person records
with a status of INACTIVE cannot be assigned to new labor records or new
user records.

You can change the status of a person record by using the CHANGE STATUS
action available from the toolbar and the Select Action menu. The status of a
person record may not be changed to INACTIVE if any of the following
statements is true:
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a SUPERVISOR on other person records.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a SUPERVISOR on a job plan record.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a CUSTODIAN or a USER for an asset or location.

134 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 򐂰 The person ID is listed on a ticket record as an OWNER.
򐂰 The person ID is listed on a communications template or a ticket template.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a SHIP TO or BILL TO contact on a purchasing
record.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a member of a person group.
򐂰 The person ID is listed on an assignment or notification on an active record

Person records can be deleted using the Delete Person action available from the
Select Action menu. Person records may not be deleted if any of the following
statements is true:
򐂰 The person ID is listed on a user record.
򐂰 The person ID is listed on a labor record.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a SUPERVISOR on other person records.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a SUPERVISOR on a job plan record.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a CUSTODIAN or a USER on an asset or location.
򐂰 The person ID is listed on a ticket record as an OWNER.
򐂰 The person ID is listed on a communications template or a ticket template.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a SHIP TO or BILL TO contact on a purchasing
record.
򐂰 The person ID is listed as a member of a person group.
򐂰 The person ID is listed on an assignment or notification on an active record.

7.5 Person Group

A Person Group is a list of individuals who might have similar job responsibilities,
levels of authority, and security clearances. After you define person groups,
responsibility for records such as work orders, tickets, and purchasing records
can be assigned to a group rather than an individual. This is useful for records
that are time-sensitive because Maximo can determine which member of a group
to route a record to based on the person’s calendar and shift.

A person group also can receive a record routed by a workflow process. If

Maximo routes a record such as a purchase order or a work order to a person
group, everyone in the group can receive the record unless the workflow process
is configured to send it only to the member whose calendar shows availability.

To access the Person Groups application, click the application link on your Start
Center, or select Go To → Administration → Resources → Person Groups.

Chapter 7. Resources 135

 The Person Groups application (Figure 7-9) has the following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search Maximo for person group records.
򐂰 Person Group
Use this tab to create, view, or modify person groups.

Figure 7-9 Person Groups application

You use the Person Groups application to create, view, modify, and manage
person group records. You associate person records with a person group by
creating new rows in the People table window. You use the Alternatives For
Table table window to list which person or persons should receive Workflow
notifications if the person listed in the People table window is unavailable.

If you are creating person group records with similar member lists you can
simplify the record creation process by using the Duplicate Person Group action
available from the Select Action menu. After a group has been duplicated you
can then add or delete members from the new group as needed.

Person group records can be deleted by using the Delete Person Group action
available from the Select Action menu. Person group records may not be deleted
if any of the following statements is true:
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a work order that is in any status except
CLOSED or CAN.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a ticket that is in any status except CLOSED
or CAN.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on any activities on a ticket template that has a
status of ACTIVE.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a communications template or a ticket
template.

136 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a service group as the CONTACT GROUP.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a preventive maintenance (PM) record.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a job plan record.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on a assignment or notification on a active
workflow process.
򐂰 The person group ID is listed on an Organization record as the site.

7.6 Crafts
You use the Crafts application to define skill levels, standard rates, and premium
pay codes for crafts. You can associate labor records with one or more crafts to
indicate their various job skills. The craft code typically reflects the type of work
done by employees and contractors. A craft represents an occupation or trade,
and typically the craft name reflects the type of work done by members of the
trade. If pay rates differ based on expertise you can create multiple skill levels
and assign different pay rates to each skill level. For example, to make a
distinction between a junior and senior level mechanic, you do not have to create
two separate craft records. You can create a single craft record of MECHANIC
and create two skill levels (JUNIOR and SENIOR) within the MECHANIC craft.

Each skill level within a craft can have different standard pay rates. You may also
establish standards rates for external vendors (with or without labor contracts) for
crafts and for skill levels within a craft. The Crafts application also lets you create
and manage premium pay codes for premium pay rates. You have to define
premium pay codes before Maximo allows you to associate them with a craft.
Any number of premium pay types and rates can be established for each craft
record. Premium pay can be calculated as a multiplier, an increment, or as an
hourly amount.

You can associate a labor record with a craft from either the Labor application or
the Crafts application.

A single laborer might have many different job skills. The Crafts table window on
a labor record allows you to list multiple crafts and skill levels for a laborer.

You break the association between a labor record and a craft by deleting the
labor record from the Associated Labor table window. When you do this, you are
not deleting the labor record from the database, only removing the relationship
between that labor record and the craft.

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 As with job plans, you may choose to list crafts instead of laborers when creating
work plans on work orders. This approach allows the work order to be assigned
to any available laborer in the craft, on any shift.

A craft represents an occupation or trade. The members of a craft have the same
job skills and can be assigned to perform a specific type of work on a ticket or
work order. Crafts may include contract laborers. Examples of crafts include
mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and so forth.

Person groups are a way to group individuals by job responsibilities as opposed

to craft skills, for example supervisors or managers. The members of a person
group can be assigned to perform similar types of tasks as part of an escalation
or a Workflow process, for example approving status changes for records.
Person groups might include individuals with different job skills, job titles, or from
different departments within a company.

You may also use the Person Groups application to create groups of individuals
who do not share job skills or responsibilities, but might work as a team on a
project. For example a safety review team might include members from several
different departments, crafts, or skill levels.

To access the Crafts application, click the application link on your Start Center,
or select Go To → Administration → Resources → Crafts.

The Crafts application (shown in Figure 7-10 on page 139) contains the
following tabs:
򐂰 List
Use this tab to search Maximo for craft records.
򐂰 Craft
Use this tab to create, view, modify, or delete craft records.
򐂰 Associated Labor
Use this tab to add, view, modify, or delete the association between labor
cords and crafts.

138 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Figure 7-10 Crafts application

You use the Crafts application to create, view, modify, and manage craft records.
You can add one or more skill levels to a craft as a way to indicate which craft
members have more experience. You add skill levels by creating new rows in the
Skill Levels table window. Skill levels are defined by an administrator in the
Domains application.

You use the Outside Rates table window to record and view the standard rates
charged by vendors for contract labor for the craft and skill level.

Note: Outside rates associated with a labor rate contract cannot be modified
after the contract has been approved.

The Craft tab can also be used to define skill levels and specify standard rates
for crafts. Premium pay codes associated with each craft are also displayed in
this tab. Standard rates for crafts can be based on skill levels, external vendors,
and premium pay codes.

Note: The standard rate established for a craft is irrespective of the skill level.

You use the Premium Pay table window to list premiums paid in addition to
standard rates, for example premiums paid for working particular shifts, for
working on holidays, or for possessing a particular qualification or certification.
You create, view, modify and delete premium pay codes from a master list of

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 premium pay codes using the Manage Premium Pay Codes action in the Select
Action menu.

If the Apply to New Crafts? check box is selected for a pay code (Figure 7-11),
Maximo automatically copies the pay code to a new craft record when the record
is saved. You may provide additional premium pay codes to a craft by creating
new rows in the Premium Pay table window.

Figure 7-11 Apply to New Crafts? check box

Having specified a rate in the Rate field, if you select the Inherit check box, the
value in the Rate field will revert to the standard rate and the Rate field becomes
read-only. To set a rate exclusively for this labor code, enter a rate in the Rate
field and do not select the Inherit check box.

You may associate a labor record with a craft from either the Labor application or
the Crafts application. In the Crafts application, you associate labor with a craft
by creating new rows in Associated Labor table window on the Associated Labor
tab.

If you are creating craft records with similar skill levels and pay codes, you may
simplify the record creation process by using the Duplicate Craft action available
from the Select Action menu. When you duplicate a craft record, Maximo copies
the values listed on the record (skill levels, pay codes, laborers and so forth).

You can break the association between a labor record and a craft by clicking the
Mark Row For Delete button for the labor in the Associated Labor table window.
You must click Save for the deletion to take effect. When you delete a labor
record from the Associated Labor table window, you are not deleting the labor
record from the database, you are only removing the relationship between that
labor record and the craft.

140 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 8

Chapter 8. Work Management

This chapter describes work management concepts and capabilities. The Work
Management module focuses on planning and executing work orders, assigning
crafts and labor, and reporting costs and assets downtime.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Work orders” on page 142
򐂰 “Work order flow control” on page 152
򐂰 “Plan labor and crafts” on page 155
򐂰 “Failure class” on page 158
򐂰 “Safety module” on page 161
򐂰 “Reporting costs” on page 168
򐂰 “Reporting downtime” on page 173

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 141

8.1 Work orders
Work orders are used to plan, review, and approve work for assets and locations.
When you create a work order, you initiate the maintenance process and create
a historical record of work being performed. To access the main application to
manage work orders, select Go To → Work Orders → Work Order Tracking.

8.1.1 Work order status

A work order can have a set of status settings that best describes the actions that
are performed or are waiting to be performed. By default, the meaning and
behavior of a status is provided by IBM Maximo Asset Management and they are
described in the following list. However, they can be set and customized to
consider the customer requirements. IBM Maximo Asset Management provides
the following work orders status values:
򐂰 WAPR (Waiting on Approval)
This initial status is where the work order is planned. It allows the setting of
job plans and work plans; does not allow entering actual information.
򐂰 WMATL (Waiting on Material)
This status indicates waiting for material purchase or acquisition.
򐂰 WPCOND (Waiting on Plant Conditions)
This status indicates waiting for plant conditions to approve.
򐂰 APPR (Approved)
This status indicates that the work plan is approved. Does not allow changing
planned information, like job plan, safety plan and work plan for labor, tasks,
materials and services.
򐂰 INPRG (In Progress)
This status indicates that the work order is being executed.
򐂰 COMP (Completed)
This status indicates that the work order was executed. This status allows to
edit some information before closing the work order.
򐂰 CAN (Canceled)
This status indicates that the work order is not be executed for a particular
reason. It does not allow any editing.
򐂰 CLOSE (Closed)
This status indicates the work order is closed and does not permit editing.

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 An action in the Work Order Tracking application allows the editing of history
information about work orders when they are in the closed status. The Edit
History Work Order action enables certain information to be edited, including
tasks. Labor, materials, services, and tools are not allowed to be edited.

The limits to change work order data, considering work order status, are provided
by default in IBM Maximo Asset Management, however they can be edited by
using the Edit Rules action in the Organizations application.

Note: A work order is created and planned in the Waiting on Approval status.
After work is started, it enters the Progress status. When the work order is
done, it is in a Completed status and can be closed.

8.1.2 Work plans

A work plan describes the labor, materials, tools, services, and tasks necessary
to complete a work order. Selecting a job plan to a work order, modifying the
work plan to the requirements, or creating a work plan manually are possible.

The Plan tab in the Work Order Tracking application contains all the definitions
necessary to create a work plan. You may define tasks and flow sequence for
tasks, and request labor, materials, services, and tools.

To add, remove, and modify a work plan regarding labor, materials, services and
tools, the work order has to be in the WAPR status. However, to add, remove or
update tasks, the work order cannot be in the CAN or CLOSE status.

Tasks also define their own status, which is not necessarily the same defined in
the work order. A task can be edited considering the work order status and its
status. A task only can be removed if it is at the WAPR status. If some labor is
reported for a task, the status is automatically changed to APPR, not allowing
labor removal.

Figure 8-1 on page 144 shows an example of a work plan. It defines a series of
tasks to be performed. Also, it has two planned laborers to do the work.

Chapter 8. Work Management 143

Figure 8-1 Work plan example for rebuilding a feedwater pump

Note: After a work order is canceled or closed, the Work Order Tracking
application does not allow any modifications to it; however the action Edit
History Work Orders enables a user to modify data and tasks from closed
work orders.

8.1.3 Job plans

A job plan is a detailed description of work to be performed for a work order. It
can be copied to PM records, routes, and directly to work orders. To open the
Job Plans application, select Go To → Planning → Job Plans.

Job plans generally contain tasks (procedures), along with lists of estimated
labor, labor hours, materials, services, and tools required for the work. It is
basically a template used for work planning.

144 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 This application provides two tabs to manage a plan:
򐂰 Job Plan
Use this tab to create, modify and delete a job plan record. In this tab it is also
possible to specify the tasks, flow control and flow action. This tab also
enables to plan labor, materials, services and tools.
򐂰 Work Assets
Use this tab to add work assets that a job plan relates to.

Figure 8-2 shows an example of a job plan for pump services, which defines
tasks. Figure 8-1 on page 144 showed the work plan based on this job plan.

Figure 8-2 Job plan example for pump service

Defining a job plan in a work order implies in copying all the content from a job
plan to a work plan. It serves as a template for the work plan. After a job plan
becomes a work plan on a work order, you can modify the work plan without
affecting its original job plan. It is also possible to modify a job plan without
affecting already generated work plans.

To select a job plan in a work order, select Go To → Work Orders → Work

Order Tracking application, and then select a work order. In the Job Plan field,
filter the desired job plan.

Chapter 8. Work Management 145

 The work assets defined in a job plan enables you to filter a job plan considering
the same work assets used by the work order. Figure 8-3 shows this filter option,
enabled by the first check box: Show Job Plans for the Work Order’s Asset and
Location Only.

Figure 8-3 Work order job plan filter

Note: A work plan can be defined manually or can be created by a job plan.
Changes made to a work order work plan do not affect its job plan.

Create a job plan from a work plan

When you manage work orders, an action is available to create a job plan from
an already-created work plan. The Create a Job Plan from a Work Plan action is
located in the Work Order Tracking application and performs this task. The only
information necessary to provide is a new name for the job plan that is being
created.

Figure 8-4 on page 147 shows an example of creating a job plan from the current
work order. The work plan used in this example is from the work order previously
presented in the Figure 8-3 and in Figure 8-1 on page 144.

146 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 Figure 8-4 Create a job plan from a work plan

Creating a job plan from a work plan reuses the following information:
򐂰 Work order data, like responsibilities, priorities, flow control
򐂰 Work assets such as work order asset and location
򐂰 Tasks and flow control sequence
򐂰 Planned labor, material, services and tools

Figure 8-5 shows the job plan example created by the action executed in
Figure 8-4.

Figure 8-5 Job plan created from work plan

Chapter 8. Work Management 147

 Figure 8-6 displays the work assets of the job plan created from the work plan by
the action described in Figure 8-4 on page 147. This action reuses the asset and
location information from the work order.

Figure 8-6 Job plan created from a work plan

Note: The Work Order Tracking application can create a job plan from a work
plan using the Create Job Plan from Work Plan action.

8.1.4 The Move/Swap/Modify actions

In a work order, IBM Maximo Asset Management supports asset move and
swap, attributes modifications, and users and custodians assignments. The
Move/Swap/Modify action is used to plan and execute these changes to assets
and locations. This action is located in the Work Order Tracking application when
you select Go To → Work Orders → Work Order Tracking.

The changes can be saved as a plan or can be executed immediately. If they are
saved as a plan, they are automatically executed when the work order is
changed to the completed status. Otherwise, if it is executed immediately, the
changes are done and the Move/Swap/Modify dialog is closed. Press Execute
Now button or Save as Plan button to choose between these two options.

Move action
Use the Move/Swap tab to move or swap an asset. If the check box for swapping
is not enabled, a move can be planned or executed. When you move an asset,
the following fields are available, which define where the asset is going to be
moved out to:
򐂰 Move To Parent
򐂰 Move To Location
򐂰 Move To Bin

You may select more than one asset to be moved by a work order.

148 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 Figure 8-7 show an example of moving an asset from SHIPPING location to the
AIR105 location.

Figure 8-7 Work order to move the asset 12600 from SHIPPING location to the AIR105 location

Swap action
The Swap action is located on the Move/Swap tab. If the swap check box is
selected, the action executes an asset swap rather than a move. On any single
work order, you must choose either move or swap, but not both move and swap.
Swaps are assumed to just be swapping one thing by another. Attributes cannot
be modified.

When swapping, assets continue to have the options to move to a parent, move
to a location, and move to a bin. There is one more information provided, the
Replacement Asset field, which enables to select the asset that replaces the
current one. It is possible to select a list of assets for swapping in a single work
order.

Note: The Move/Swap tab allows either moving or swapping assets. The
move function uses new location information; the swap function uses new
locations and replacement assets information.

Modify action
The Modify tab allows changes to asset or location attributes. To enable
changing an attribute from one of these objects, you must specify and classify
this attribute in the Specifications tab, available from each application that
defines these objects.

Figure 8-8 on page 150 shows an example of modifying the alternate name of
the asset 11230, that is classified as a motor.

Chapter 8. Work Management 149

Figure 8-8 Modifying the asset alternative name attribute to Energy Generator

Attribute modifications are not allowed for the assets that are being swapped.
Defined locations are still allowed to have attribute modifications even during a
swap.

Note: The Modify action can change an attribute value from an asset or
location.

The Users and Custodians tab

While performing move, swap, or modify actions, you may define users and
custodians for assets and locations selected. The Users and Custodians tab in
the Move/Swap/Modify action enables this functionality.

Figure 8-9 on page 151 shows an example of changing the custodian of asset
1002 to Wilson.

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Figure 8-9 Example of changing an asset custodian

Note: The Users and Custodians tab associates people to assets and
locations.

8.1.5 Work order ownership

Work orders enable you to define an owner or an owner group to track
responsibility of the current work that is being done. An owner is not necessarily
the same person that is going to execute a work order. An owner performs an
administrative task that assures the execution of the work order.

The Work Order Tracking application provides, on the Work Order tab, the
Responsibility area where you may view the owner and the owner group for the
current work order. The Owner and the Owner Group fields are read-only. To
select an owner, select either one of the following actions:
򐂰 Select Owner action enables selection of a person or a person group from a
list to take ownership of the current work order.
򐂰 Take Ownership action assigns the logged-in user as the owner of the current
work order.

Note: Both actions are used to designate ownership for work orders.

Figure 8-10 on page 152 show an example of the window to selecting an owner
using the Select Owner action.

Chapter 8. Work Management 151

 Figure 8-10 Select Owner action

8.2 Work order flow control

Tasks are part of work plans and help to divide work orders into steps to
structure, organize, and report activities according to the work that is being
executed. A work plan and a job plan are used to define tasks.

Tasks define status and sequences that indicate the current phase of the work
order. Tasks can automatically flow through their sequences considering work
order status and tasks status. For more information about work plans, refer to
8.1.2, “Work plans” on page 143 and 8.1.3, “Job plans” on page 144.

8.2.1 Process flow

A process flow denotes, for sequencing purposes, when a work order and its
tasks start and complete. It is defined in work types, which can be associated in
work orders. Process flow enables the processes to automatically start and
complete considering the work order status.

Work types can be managed in the Organization application, located at Go To →

Administration → Organization. To access Work Type action, select a valid
organization, and in the Action menu, select Work Order Options → Work
Type.

Figure 8-11 shows an example of a work type that define the process flow to start
when the work order is in progress and to end when it is completed.

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Figure 8-11 Example of a work type to start process flow control when work order status is in progress

Note: A process flow, whose definition is set by work types, is used by work
orders to automatically start a flow control.

8.2.2 Flow control

Flow control enables a task sequence to be executed automatically. Task flow
sequences are used to indicate the steps necessary to complete a work order
following a structured plan.

The Predecessors field, located in each task, is used to define the task
predecessors that enable tasks to start in a planned sequence. This field
determines all predecessor tasks that have to end their flow before starting the
flow of the next tasks.

A task flow control is controlled by the Under Flow Control check box, which
enables the task to change its status considering the sequence defined. This
check box is located in the work order level and in the tasks level. The option for
flow control has to be enabled in the work order level to allow activation in the
tasks level. After it is enabled in the work order level, all of the tasks enable theirs

Chapter 8. Work Management 153

 automatically, including the new ones. You may disable this option separately for
each task.

Figure 8-12 shows an example of a work order that enables flow control in the
work order level. The work type automatically starts the flow sequence when the
status is changed to INPRG (in progress).

Figure 8-12 Work order that enables flow control and automatically starts it

When the work order, shown in Figure 8-12, changes its status to INPRG, its
tasks automatically start their sequence flow. The first task in the sequence
changes its status to in progress; the other tasks continue with the same status.

When the current task changes its status to completed, the next task changes its
status to in progress. As the work type defines the end of the process in the
completed status, the work order is completed when all tasks are completed.

By default if a work type is not defined, and to facilitate flow control use, the work
order starts the process flow when it is INPRG, and ends when it is in the COMP
(completed) status.

Note: Work orders can automatically start tasks flow control considering the
work type defined. Tasks can automatically follow their sequences when the
work order is under flow control.

8.2.3 Flow action

Work order flow action functionality is used to execute actions when the work
order is started with process flow control. The action to be fired is selected in the
Flow Action field, located in the Work Order tab and in each task definition. The

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 Flow Action Assist check box suppresses the automatic firing of the selected
action. Figure 8-12 on page 154 shows these fields.

Figure 8-13 shows examples of actions that can be executed.

Figure 8-13 Flow action examples

By default, if a work type is not defined and to facilitate flow action use, a work
order starts the process flow when its status is changed to INPRG. When a work
order process control starts, the selected action is fired.

Note: The flow action functionality executes an action when the work order is
started through process flow control and the Flow Action field has an action
selected.

8.3 Plan labor and crafts

A work order might require different tasks to be performed, and with that might
require the services of different laborers or crafts. IBM Maximo Asset
Management creates a separated requirement for each task or labor listed on a
work plan. For example, if two mechanics are required for a task, two
requirements are created. Similarly, if two different crafts are required for a task,
IBM Maximo Asset Management creates one requirement for each craft.

The Labor application is used to define labor and related skills, whose definition
is provided by the Crafts application. To learn more about managing labor and
crafts, refer to Chapter 7, “Resources” on page 121.

Chapter 8. Work Management 155

8.3.1 Work plans
A work plan is commonly used to add labor and crafts requirements to a work
order. The Job Plan application provides a method to apply planned labor
consistently; the Work Order Tracking application provides a direct method to
plan labor in a work plan. Planning information can be applied to a work order
before it achieves the approved status. More references about these applications
are described in the 8.1, “Work orders” on page 142.

When planning labor, you may define the task it associates with. It enables a
work plan to associate a craft or a person to execute a specific task. A craft is a
generic method to plan labor because it specifies the necessary skills to
accomplish work. In the planning phase, crafts are better suited because they do
not require a specific person.

Figure 8-14 shows an example of planned labor to perform the maintenance in a

pump system. It requires a mechanic apprentice and a specific person to
accomplish task 10.

Figure 8-14 Planned labor for maintenance

Note: Labor and crafts can be planned in a work plan through the Job Plan
application or the Work Order Tracking application. The Job Plan application
is used to apply planned labor more consistently.

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8.3.2 Activities and Tasks application
The Activities and Tasks application is used to plan, review, and manage
activities and tasks. To open this application, select Go To → Work Orders →
Activities and Tasks. In this application, you may list all activities and tasks from
work orders, and consequently plan and report labor, materials, tools and
services for them.

Figure 8-15 shows an example of the task 10 created to replace a keyboard.

Figure 8-15 Using the Activities and Tasks application to plan labor, materials, services and tools

Note: The Activities and Tasks application enables you to plan and report
labor and crafts for tasks.

Chapter 8. Work Management 157

8.4 Failure class
Failure class identifies failure hierarchies, which helps you to track the failures
that affect assets and operating locations. Using this information can help you to
take preventive measures and to analyze failure trends. This classification can
be related in assets and locations when it is necessary to report work done on
them.

The Failure Codes application is used to create failure classes, whose structure
defines failure hierarchies. To open this application, select Go To → Assets →
Failure Codes.

8.4.1 Hierarchy
The Failure Codes tab in the Failure Codes application is used to build, view,
modify, and delete failure hierarchies. A failure hierarchy is an organized set of
data about problems, causes, and remedies related to assets and operating
location failures. The failures hierarchies classify possible failures for assets and
operating locations when building work orders.

A failure class is defined by the following hierarchy:

򐂰 Problems, which define problems for the failure class
򐂰 Causes, which define causes for each problem
򐂰 Remedies, which define remedies for each cause

Figure 8-16 on page 159 shows an example of a failure class hierarchy for pump
failures. Four related problems are shown. For the stopped problem, three
causes are described. One remedy is defined for the breaker tripped cause.

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Figure 8-16 Example of a failure hierarchy for pump failures

Note: A failure hierarchy is defined by a failure class, which can be described

by problems, causes, and remedies.

8.4.2 Assets and locations failure class

The Assets and Locations applications, which are respectively opened by
selecting Go To → Assets → Assets and at Go To → Assets → Locations,
can define a failure class for assets and locations, respectively. This enables a
work order to define a problem cause considering the failure class of its working
assets.

Figure 8-17 on page 160 shows an example of the Centrifugal Pump asset that
defines the Pumps failure class, previously shown in Figure 8-16.

Chapter 8. Work Management 159

Figure 8-17 Example of the Centrifugal Pump asset that defines the Pumps as failure class

8.4.3 Work order problem code

A work order may reuse the information of a failure class related in an asset or
location to be filled in the Failure Class field, which is located in the Work Order
Tracking application. Also, this information is filled automatically when you select
an asset or a location whose failure class is defined; you may fill it manually.

The failure class information enables the Work Order Tracking application to
select a problem code, which gives more options to track and classify a work
order. The values provided for the Problem Code field are those that are related
in the first level of the failure class previously selected in the Failure Class field.

Figure 8-18 shows an example of a work order that relates the Centrifugal Pump
asset shown in Figure 8-18. When this asset is selected, the failure class
information is provided, enabling you to select a problem code for the work order.
In this case, the problem code selected is STOPPED.

Figure 8-18 Example of a work order that relates a failure class followed by its problem code

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 Note: Work order can use failure class information to classify its problem
code.

8.5 Safety module

A safety plan has the objective to describe safety requirements to execute or
accomplish work orders. This procedure helps employees stay informed about
hazards while performing work and the actions they must take to prevent
accidents.

IBM Maximo Asset Management provides a set of applications that define safety
procedures to be associated with work orders with the objective to define
precautions when executing the orders. These applications are located in the
Planning module. To open it, select Go To → Planning → Safety.

The Safety module contains the following applications:

򐂰 Hazards
This application defines hazards that exist in the workplace, associates
preventive measures with these hazards, and links hazards to other related
documents.
򐂰 Precautions
This application defines safety procedures and lists all hazards associated
with it. To relate a precaution to a hazard, use the Hazards application.
򐂰 Lock Out/Tag Out
This application describes how to take work assets out of service and how to
place them back in service. This application defines the locking and unlocking
sequence for the lockout operation.
򐂰 Safety Plans
This application defines safety plans to be applied on Job Plans or directly to
the work orders.

Note: Safety applications are related to planning and are located in the Safety
planning module. To open it, select Go To → Planning → Safety.

Chapter 8. Work Management 161

8.5.1 Hazards
A hazard is important information used in safety plans. It can contain procedures
about precautions, hazardous materials, and tag out/lock out operations.
Hazards can be managed by using the Hazards application. To open it, select Go
To → Planning → Safety → Hazards.

A hazard has three types of associations:

򐂰 Precautions
This type enables a hazard to contain precautions. A precaution is added to a
hazard when the Can Have Precautions check box is selected. This option
enables one or more previously created precautions to be related to the
current hazard.
򐂰 Hazardous Materials
This type enables a hazard to contain information about hazardous materials.
If the Can Have Hazardous Materials check box is enabled, this association is
set, and you may set hazardous material information to the current hazard.
򐂰 Tag Outs
This type enables a hazard to be used with tag out/lock out procedures. Tag
outs are created in the Lock Out / Tag Out application and are associated with
hazards in both the Assets and Locations application. The Tag Outs tab in the
Hazard application lists only the related tag outs.

Figure 8-19 shows an example of an Electrocution hazard that enables tag outs.

Figure 8-19 Electrocution hazard for tag out/lock out operation

Precautions and hazardous materials are the only things that can be associated
together. If a hazard is associated with tag outs, it cannot be associated with
precautions or hazardous materials. Figure 8-19 shows this example by disabling
the association of precautions and hazardous materials when tag outs is
enabled.

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 Note: Hazards can have three types of associations: precautions, hazardous
materials, and tag outs. However, a tagged out type cannot be associated with
precautions or hazardous materials.

Associate hazards with assets and locations

Hazards can be related directly with assets and locations to build safety plans
when a work order involves them. Both the Assets and Locations applications
provide a Safety tab that enables the association of the selected asset or location
with hazards.

On the Safety tab, in both applications, are three sub tabs: Hazards and
Precautions, Hazardous Materials and Lock Out/Tag Out. Each sub tab enables
associating the specified hazard type.

Figure 8-20 shows an example of associating the asset Electrical Control Panel
with the hazard High Voltage. The same tab is provided for the Locations
application.

Figure 8-20 Associating a hazard with an asset

8.5.2 The Safety Plan application

The Safety Plans application defines safety procedures. To open it, select Go
To → Planning → Safety → Safety Plans. Safety procedures can be either

Chapter 8. Work Management 163

 generic safety plans for use on all work assets or locations, or for use on a
predefined set of work asset or location.

A safety plan may contain the following components:

򐂰 Hazards and Precautions
This component associates a previously created hazard that relates
precautions to a safety plan.
򐂰 Hazardous Materials
This component associates a previously created hazard that relates
hazardous materials to a safety plan.
򐂰 Tag Outs
This component associates a previously created hazard that relates tag-out
procedures to a safety plan. Use the Tag Outs tab to specify a tagged-out
hazard that defines safety sequences to apply a work asset to or remove it
from service.

Figure 8-21 shows an example of a safety plan.

Figure 8-21 Example of a safety plan to work on an electrical service

The Tag Outs tab

The Tag Outs tab is used to add or view procedures to eliminate hazards for
work assets. These procedures contain information about lock-out operations
and describe how to take work assets out of service and place them back in
service.

Figure 8-22 on page 165 shows an example of a tag-out definition inside a safety
plan to work with electrical equipment.

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 Observe that each tag-out has a list of lock-out procedures to be followed. The
Apply Sequence column identifies the locking sequence for the lock-out
operation and the Remove Sequence column identifies the unlocking sequence
for the lock-out operation.

Figure 8-22 Example of a tag-out to execute power off procedures

Note: the Tag Outs tab provides the applicable sequence for locking and the
removal sequence for unlocking work assets in lock-out operations.

8.5.3 Associate a safety plan

IBM Maximo Asset Management provides several distinct ways to associate
safety plans to work orders. An association with a job plan is more structured and
can make the process of building work orders easier. However, a work order can
directly associate a safety plan. Let us now discuss how to assign a safety plan
to a work order using job plans.

Set up a job plan

To open the Job Plans application, select Go To → Planning → Job Plans. The
application can be used to create job plans and relate work assets to them. To
ensure that work performed on a work asset is executed in a safe manner, a job
plan can associate safety plans to each work asset listed.

The Work Assets tab of the Job Plans application enables you to associate a
safety plan for a work asset. For job plans, a work asset can be assets, locations,
or items. Work orders usually reference assets and locations.

Figure 8-23 on page 166 shows an example of a job plan JP12300 that
associates the safety plan POLEPLAN for the work asset location POLE300. It is
possible enable the current safety plan to be a default one for that work asset.

Chapter 8. Work Management 165

Figure 8-23 Job Plan associates a safety plan for a working asset

For more information about managing job plans, refer to 8.1.3, “Job plans” on
page 144.

Note: The Work Assets tab in the Job Plans application enables associating
safety plans for work assets. This makes the process of selecting safety plans
for work orders easier.

Select safety plan for work orders

To open the Work Order Tracking application, select Go To → Work Orders →
Work Order Tracking. This application enables you to select a safety plan for
the current work order.

Figure 8-24 on page 167 shows an example of a work order that has a job plan
and a safety plan selected. Note that this work order defines the location
POLE300 and the asset 52300 as work assets.

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Figure 8-24 Example of a safety plan for work order

When you select a safety plan, three options are available for filtering plans:
򐂰 Show all
This option does not filter any safety plans.
򐂰 Show for the current work order
This option filters safety plans based on the asset and location of the work
order. This list is based on the safety plans already associated with assets
and locations on the Work Assets tab of the Job Plans application.
򐂰 Show safety plans for the job plan of the current work order
This option lists all safety plans related to the current job plan of the work
order. It does not considers the work assets of the current work order.

Figure 8-25 on page 168 shows an example of these options. The selected one
is to list all safety plans related to the current job plan of the work order. As
already shown in Figure 8-23 on page 166, the Pole Safety Plan is a safety plan
for the job plan JP12300.

Chapter 8. Work Management 167

 Figure 8-25 Filter safety plan related to the selected job plan

For more information about work order applications, refer to 8.1, “Work orders”
on page 142.

8.6 Reporting costs

IBM Maximo Asset Management defines various applications that may be used
to report actual costs incurred against work orders. The following items can be
reported as costs in work orders:
򐂰 Labor, which can be reported using the Work Order Tracking application,
Labor Reporting application and Quick Reporting application. The Activities
and Tasks application can be used to report labor, however it is used to relate
tasks and activities instead of work orders.
򐂰 Materials, which can be reported using the Work Order Tracking application
and the Quick Reporting application.
򐂰 Tools, which can be reported using the Work Order Tracking and the Quick
Reporting application.
򐂰 Services, which can be reported using the Work Order Tracking application
and the Services Request application. Services topic is covered in the
Chapter 9, “Service Requests” on page 179.

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8.6.1 Work Order Tracking application
In the Work Order Tracking application, costs are reported on the Actuals tab. To
enter data on this tab, the work order must not have a status of Waiting on
Approval, Closed, or Cancelled.

The Actuals tab supports reporting costs for labor, materials, tools and services.
Figure 8-26 shows an example of the Actuals tab that reports labor to relocate
guard rails around compressors.

Figure 8-26 Work order actuals tab

Note: the Actuals tab in the Work Order Track application can be used to
report labor, materials, tools and services.

Material costs
Material costs can be recorded to a work order if the requested material is a
direct receipt. To enable this function, you may receive the material against a
purchase order whose purchase order line charges the GL account related to this
work order in question. To open the Purchase Orders application, select Go
To → Purchasing → Purchase Orders. To learn more about purchasing, refer
to Chapter 6, “Purchasing” on page 89.

Figure 8-27 on page 170 shows a purchase order line that references the work
order 1172 to report materials costs.

Chapter 8. Work Management 169

Figure 8-27 Purchase order that references a work order

Note: material costs are recorded to a work order by receiving them by a

purchase order that references the work order.

8.6.2 Labor Reporting application

The Labor Reporting application is used to report the type and total number of
hours of work that external contractors or internal employees performed. You
can enter labor information by work order, labor (timecard reporting), ticket, or
contract/vendor.

The Labor Reporting application contains a single table window, which displays
labor transaction records. The Transactions table window is used to add, modify,
or delete labor transactions. This table displays labor transactions that are
entered in this application or in any other application where recording labor
actuals is possible. Figure 8-28 on page 171 shows a sample list of transactions.

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Figure 8-28 Transactions list in the Labor Reporting application

The Labor Reporting application can report labor by:

򐂰 Work order
This method selects a work order to report labor time. It is also possible to
specify a task from the selected work order.
򐂰 Ticket
This method reports labor time by ticket. It is similar to reporting a work order,
but instead of selecting a work order, it is selected with ticket class, such as
an incident or a problem.
򐂰 Labor
This method reports labor directly to a worker. Relating a task or a work order
in this method is not necessary. Instead of only reporting labor time, this
method also can report labor’s attendance.
򐂰 Contract/Vendor
This method reports a daily time labor to a contract or a vendor. In this case,
a company is selected to report labor.

All these methods require:

򐂰 Labor, which is essential to classify who performed the selected work and to
define rate for payment.
򐂰 Craft, which classifies the labor’s skill and determines rate for premium pay
hours. In this application, classifying a craft is only possible after selecting a
labor.
򐂰 Transaction type, which can classify the type of work like actual work time,
travel time, sick time, vacation or non work type.
򐂰 Start date, which determines the date on which the reported work began.

Chapter 8. Work Management 171

 Figure 8-29 shows an example to report by labor. The person selected as laborer
is Mike Wilson. One hour is reported for daily time, and one hour is reported for
daily attendance.

Figure 8-29 Enter by labor option which enables to report by daily time and by daily attendance

Note: The Labor Reporting application can report labor by work order, ticket,
labor and contract/vendor. Reporting by labor gives the option to specify labor
time and labor’s attendance.

8.6.3 Quick Reporting application

Quick Reporting application is used create, review, and approve work orders for
assets and locations. You may also define tasks and report actuals information
for work orders.

This application practically resumes a work order in one tab, the Quick Reporting
tab, which shows work order details, tasks summary and actuals reporting for
labor, material, tools and failure reporting. Also, this application does not request
services. A work order created in this application starts with the INPRG (in
progress) status because planning is not performed in this application.

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8.7 Reporting downtime
Downtime is for verifying how much time was necessary for an asset to be down
in order for maintenance procedures to be performed. IBM Maximo Asset
Management provides an action to report asset downtime in the Assets
application and in the Work Order Tracking application.

The two methods to report asset downtime are:

򐂰 Set the asset status from UP to DOWN, and from DOWN to UP. With this
information, IBM Maximo Asset Management can calculate the time that the
asset was down.
򐂰 Report the start and end time of the downtime for the asset after it has
occurred.

These two methods are provided by the Report Downtime action, which is in the
Asset application and the Work Order Tracking application.

Figure 8-30 on page 174 shows an example of the Report Downtime action that
changes the status of the fire extinguisher asset from UP to DOWN. After
selecting Asset Up and Change Status, then clicking OK, the asset status is
changed to DOWN. You may execute the Report Downtime action again to
change the asset status back to UP.

Chapter 8. Work Management 173

 Figure 8-30 The Report Downtime action

Note: the Report Downtime action is used to set the asset’s status to down
and up.

8.7.1 Check asset status in work orders

IBM Maximo Asset Management provides a function to check whether the asset
status is DOWN before completing or closing a work order. This function opens a
dialog box that warns you to change the asset status back to UP before finishing
a work order.

Figure 8-31 on page 175 shows the message that is displayed before you
complete or close a work order that has its asset in the DOWN status. This
message reminds you to change the asset status to UP.

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Figure 8-31 Check asset status warning before completing or closing a work order

This function can be enabled in the Other Organization Options action or in the
Work Type action, both provided by the Organization application, which you can
open by selecting Go To → Administration → Organizations.

The Other Organization Options action provides a check box labeled as follows:
Display Downtime Report Prompt upon WO Completion for Asset in a Down
Status

It indicates whether IBM Maximo Asset Management should open the dialog box
shown in Figure 8-31.

Figure 8-32 displays the Other Organization Options action.

Figure 8-32 Other Organization Options action to enable asset

Chapter 8. Work Management 175

 When defining a work type, you may enable this option by using the Downtime
Prompt check box. Figure 8-33 shows an example of the Emergency
Maintenance work type that enables the downtime prompt.

Figure 8-33 Emergency Maintenance work type that enables downtime prompt

The two options differ, as follows:

򐂰 The Other Organization Options action is more generic and services all work
orders specified inside an organization
򐂰 The Downtime option, located in the Work Type action, is only considered if a
work order specifies a work type that enables the Downtime Prompt check
box.

Note: A work order can check whether the asset status is up before
completing or closing a work order. This option can be enabled by the Other
Organization Options action or by the Work Type action in the Organizations
application.

8.7.2 Downtime history

Assets downtime history can be edited by the Manage Downtime History action,
which is provided by the Assets application and by the Work Order Tracking
application.

This action lists all the downtime history for the selected asset. You may edit the
downtime start date, end date, start work order, and end work order in which the
downtime is reported. Figure 8-34 on page 177 shows an example of this action.

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Figure 8-34 The Manage Downtime History action

Note: the Manage Downtime History action enables you to edit the downtime
history of assets.

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 9

Chapter 9. Service Requests

This chapter contains information regarding service requests and their use and
configuration within IBM Maximo Asset Management.

After it is configured, the application can process service requests in several

ways including agent-entered, Web-based, or through an e-mail listener.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Service Requests application” on page 180
򐂰 “Self-Service” on page 184

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 179

9.1 Service Requests application
A service request is used for reporting an issue, requesting information, or a
change to a service. The Service Requests application allows a service desk
agent to manage service requests from internal or external users as well as enter
new service requests.

9.1.1 Out-of-the-box functionality

The Service Requests module and its related modules such as self-service have
been enabled with standard functionality that is already configured (referred to as
out-of-the-box). For example when a service desk agent selects an owner or
owner group, the status for the service request automatically changes from NEW
to QUEUED. However, this type of functionality may be configured to fit the
customer requirements.

The service request can have the following status values:

򐂰 NEW
A service request has been created. You cannot revert to this status after it
has been changed.
򐂰 QUEUED
Service request ownership has been given to a person or a group. Ownership
assignment can be made manually or might be made automatically through
workflow, a service level agreement, or other escalation process.
򐂰 INPROG
The service request is in progress. Someone is working on this service
request. The first time a service request reaches this status, the system
populates the Actual Start field, if it is empty.
򐂰 PENDING
A service request is pending an action (for example, waiting for a vendor or
user callback, or waiting for parts).
򐂰 RESOLVED
The service request has been resolved. Information has been gathered and
routed, service has been restored or a solution has been provided. The first
time a service request reaches this status, the system populates the Actual
Finish field, if it is empty.
If necessary, you may reopen a service request and change the status from
RESOLVED to INPROG.

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 򐂰 CLOSE
The service request is closed. The service request is now a historical record.
When a record is closed, you cannot change the status. You can, however,
edit certain parts of the record.

Furthermore, many business processes use a service request as their initial

contact with the customer and then create and associate subsequent records to
fulfill the customer requirements. See Figure 9-1.

Figure 9-1 Service Request Create menu

Note: Service requests exist at the system level.

9.1.2 Creating a service request

Within the Service Requests application, select the New Record icon to begin
creating a service request. The only required field when creating a service
request is the ID.

9.1.3 Owners and person groups

When a service desk agent is using the Service Requests application to assign
to the appropriate owner or owner group the agent may select from either a
person or person group, which might or might not be a group of workers. The
agent may select the ownership from either the Select Action menu or the
toolbar. See Figure 9-2.

Figure 9-2 Service request owner

Chapter 9. Service Requests 181

 When creating a person group, the user or administrator selects people and then
orders their assignment sequence. The first person in the person group is
selected as the group default as seen in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-3 Person group default assignment

Person groups may be used for assignment on work orders, service requests or
tickets, and also roles for use within workflow.

Figure 9-4 shows the configuration of a person group in a new role.

Figure 9-4 Role configuration with a person group

Note: Person groups can be associated to roles for ease of assignment.

9.1.4 Ticket Templates

The Ticket Templates application allows you to create and manage predefined
templates for common high-volume service requests, incidents, or problems.

To open the Ticket Templates application, select Go To → Service Desk →

Ticket Templates.

When you create a ticket template, the two required fields are Template ID and
Class. The Template ID is the unique identifier for a particular template, and

182 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 Class is used to determine the type of ticket record that the template will be
applied to, such as service request, incident, or problem.

9.1.5 Applying a ticket template to a service request

To apply a ticket template to a service request perform the following steps:
1. Select the record from the List tab and then use the Select Action menu to
choose Apply Service Request Template, as shown in Figure 9-5.

Figure 9-5 Select Action menu for service request

2. Select the template you want to apply, as shown in Figure 9-6 on page 184.

Chapter 9. Service Requests 183

 Figure 9-6 Apply Service Request Template

9.2 Self-Service
IBM Maximo Asset Management offers several methods for users to enter
service requests without having to contact an agent. These include creating and
managing requests from within the Self-Service module, and the use of the e-mail
listener to generate service requests from an e-mail.

9.2.1 Create Service Request

To access the Create Service Request application, select Go To → Self
Service → Service Requests → Create Service Request.

Within the Create Service Request application, the logged-in users person
record details are automatically populated on the request. A user may submit a
request on behalf of another user, as shown in Figure 9-7.

Figure 9-7 Self-Service showing Reported By user and Affected User

184 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 Within the self-service request are several additional fields including asset,
location, priority, and classification. See Figure 9-8.

Figure 9-8 Service Request Classification

Note: Service desk agents can use classification to compare and verify
whether other similar service requests have been created.

9.2.2 View Service Request

To access the View Service Requests application, select Go To → Self
Service → Service Requests → View Service Requests.

Within the View Service Requests application users may filter and view their own
service requests. Also, a user may update the communication log for a service
request as shown in Figure 9-9 on page 186.

Chapter 9. Service Requests 185

 Figure 9-9 Update Service Request Log

9.2.3 E-mail Listeners

To access the E-mail Listeners application, select Go To → System
Configuration → Platform Configuration → E-mail Listeners.

The E-mail Listener application is used to receive and process requests

submitted through e-mail. Multiple e-mail listeners may be configured on different
mailboxes to process all types of requests such as for different departments
within an organization.

When configuring an e-mail listener, an administrator has to provide details such

as the e-mail address, mail server, protocol, and its processing frequency, as
shown in Figure 9-10 and Figure 9-11 on page 187.

Figure 9-10 E-mail Listener details

186 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Figure 9-11 E-mail Processing Frequency

Chapter 9. Service Requests 187

188 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 10

Chapter 10. Other configuration options

After the installation is complete, several tasks have to be completed before you
can enable the users to start using the system. Several other tasks, which help to
maintain and tune the system, have to be carried out by a system administrator.

This chapter contains the following topics:

򐂰 “Security settings” on page 190
򐂰 “Logging application” on page 191
򐂰 “Log files” on page 192
򐂰 “Database configuration” on page 193
򐂰 “System Properties” on page 196
򐂰 “Attached documents properties” on page 198
򐂰 “Electronic audit signatures” on page 198
򐂰 “Actions” on page 199
򐂰 “Roles” on page 201
򐂰 “Person and person groups” on page 204
򐂰 “Cron task setup” on page 204
򐂰 “System performance issues and guidelines” on page 205

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 189

10.1 Security settings
Before configuring the system for WebSphere Application Server or WebLogic
Server security, review the following considerations:
򐂰 The application server is configured to authenticate against an LDAP server
user registry.
򐂰 The system supports integration with Microsoft Active Directory® or IBM
Tivoli Directory Server, and lets you move LDAP server data into the
application database tables.

10.1.1 Synchronization
Synchronization keeps data in the system current with data in the LDAP directory
server. How data synchronization occurs depends on whether you use
WebSphere Application Server or WebLogic Server:
򐂰 For WebSphere Application Server, data synchronization between LDAP
repositories and the system is governed by the federated repositories, which,
in turn, are managed by Virtual Member Manager and the VMMSYNC cron
task.
򐂰 For WebLogic Server, data synchronization between LDAP repositories and
the system is managed by the LDAPSYNC cron task.

10.1.2 Application server security

For application server security, two types of security files are used:
򐂰 Global Security files
򐂰 Application server security files

Global security files

The global security files are:
򐂰 ibm\SMP\maximo\applications\maximo\properties\maximo.properties
򐂰 ibm\SMP\maximo\applications\maximo\maximouiweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\Web.xml
򐂰 ibm\SMP\maximo\applications\maximo\mboweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\Web.xml

190 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 To configure the system to use application server security, follow these steps:
1. In the system properties file, add the property, mxe.useAppServerSecurity.
Set the value of the property to 1 and save the file.
2. In the applications\maximo\maximouiweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\Web.xml file,
uncomment the lines shown in Example 10-1.

Example 10-1 Web.xml with uncommented lines

<!--
<login-config>
<auth-method>BASIC</auth-method>
<realm-name>MAXIMO Web Application Realm</realm-name>
</login-

Application server security files

To be able to configure application server security, the following files must be
modified in the application's home directory:
...\maximouiweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\Web.xml
....\properties\maximo.properties
....\maximo\mboweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\Web.xml

10.2 Logging application

You use the Logging application to manage log settings and configure log files.
The application is part of the System Configuration module of the product.

The Logging application enables you to:

򐂰 Create loggers that are components in the product that prepare log
statements to be written to console or log file.
򐂰 Associate the appropriate log level with each logger.
򐂰 De-activate loggers except root loggers.
򐂰 Configure appenders that represent a console or log files to which log
statements are written.
򐂰 Specify an appropriate file name for an appender.
򐂰 Specify a log file size for an appender.
򐂰 Associate a logger with multiple appenders.
򐂰 Associate an appender with multiple loggers.

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 191

 The Logging application has two table panels (Figure 10-1):
򐂰 Root Loggers is for defining the basic loggers of the product.
򐂰 Loggers is for defining the child loggers that extend from a basic logger.

Figure 10-1 Logging application

Note: You can apply logging changes to the application server without
interrupting users by selecting Apply Settings from the Select Action menu.
This step has no effect on the existing users sessions.

10.3 Log files

The application server keeps log files of connections, exceptions, and other
failures discovered by the application server in real-time. These logs are often
helpful in diagnosing errors, in particular EAR (Enterprise ARchive) files and
other back-end operations, such as database connections. As an example, if
performance is slow, the administrator can start by reviewing these log files:
򐂰 systemerr.log
This file logs connections, exceptions, and other failures experienced by the
WebSphere Application Server in its day-to-day running.
򐂰 systemout.log
This file also logs connections, exceptions, and other failures experienced by
the WebSphere application server.

192 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 򐂰 native_stdout
This file logs verbose garbage collection information. This log is helpful in the
diagnosis of memory and garbage collection issues
򐂰 maximoserver.log
In WebLogic, this file logs connections, exceptions, and other failures
experienced by the application server in its day-to-day running. This log is
often helpful in the diagnosis of issues.
򐂰 Maximo.log
This file logs IBM Maximo Asset Management output, based on settings in the
Logging application/logging.properties and System Properties:
– Applications: This log file can be influenced by logging levels and types of
information from the e-mail listener and the System Properties
applications.
– Files: This log can also be influenced by both the maximo.properties and
logging.properties files.

10.4 Database configuration

Database configuration is based on objects. A one-to-one correlation exists
between each object and each existing table. Behind the scenes, the business
object fetches the columns of the corresponding table and presents them to you
as attributes of the object.

Use the Database Configuration application to create or modify the objects and
attributes in the database used by applications. Some of the things you can do
are:
򐂰 Change attributes definitions
򐂰 Associate domains to attributes
򐂰 Create new user defined objects
򐂰 Add new attributes to existing objects
򐂰 Create and drop indexes
򐂰 Create views to look at data from a single, or multiple, objects
򐂰 Specify GL account formats
򐂰 Set the field length and format for certain fields
򐂰 Update statistics on indexes to improve database performance
򐂰 Configure the system with multiple languages
򐂰 Set up electronic signatures and electronic audit records

When modifying the database (examples: creating or deleting objects, attributes,

or indexes), changes are stored in the secondary tables and do not take effect

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 193

 until you configure the database. The product restores the backup tables as part
of configuration.

The two ways to configure the database are in:

򐂰 Command-line mode
򐂰 Admin Mode

Considerations for command-line mode

You must shut down the application server to configure the database in
command-line mode. Command-line mode also requires an information
technology administrator user who has control over the application server.

Considerations for Admin Mode

To configure the database in Admin Mode, you must have administrator login
security authorizations, which permits you to log in when the server is in Admin
Mode. This level has five login sessions when Admin Mode is set to ON. You
grant these authorizations in the Security Groups application.

The following other considerations apply to Admin Mode:

򐂰 No requirement to shut down the application server.
򐂰 Admin Mode blocks users from the product applications.
򐂰 Admin Mode suspends cron tasks.
򐂰 Admin Mode does not allow remote connectivity.
򐂰 Admin Mode disables event listeners.

Note: When configuring the database in Admin Mode, ensure that all users
are logged off. In the case of deploying the EAR file or applying a fixpack, the
application has to be taken offline.

Configuring the database in Admin Mode

To configure the database in Admin Mode, follow these steps:
1. From the Select Action menu, select Manage Admin Mode.
2. In the Turn Admin Mode ON dialog box, if necessary, modify the values in the
following two fields. The default value is 5 for each field:
– Number of Administrative Sessions Allowed
– Number of Minutes for User Logout
See Figure 10-2 on page 195)

194 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Figure 10-2 Admin Mode

3. If you modify these fields, click Update Properties for the parameters to take
effect.
4. Click Turn Admin Mode ON.
5. In the Electronic Signature Authentication dialog box, type the appropriate
value in the Reason for Change field.
6. Click OK. A dialog box opens that indicates that the Admin Mode is starting.
7. Click OK.
8. Throughout the configuration process, click Refresh Status to view the
messages that the configuration process writes in the Status window.
9. If you decide to cancel the configuration, click Cancel Admin Mode.
10.Wait until Admin Mode is turned ON before performing this step. Then, click
the List tab. From the Select Action menu, select Apply Configuration
Changes to configure the database and automatically restore backup tables.
11.To turn off Admin Mode, from the Select Action menu, select Admin Mode,
and then click Turn Admin Mode Off.

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 195

10.5 System Properties
You use the System Properties application to manage system properties and
their values used by various product components. The application is part of the
System Configuration module of the product.This application hosts the majority
of the application’s properties.

The System Properties application enables you to:

򐂰 Add a new system property.
򐂰 Modify an existing property.
򐂰 Delete an existing property.
򐂰 Encrypt the value associated with the property.
򐂰 Associate a domain with the property.
򐂰 Specify the data type for specific properties.
򐂰 Apply properties and their values to the product dynamically.
򐂰 Restore original out-of-the-box values that are shipped with the product.

The System Properties application has two table panels:

򐂰 Global Properties is for defining system-wide properties of the product.
򐂰 Instance Properties is for defining instance-specific properties of the product.
.

Note: Properties defined in the maximo.properties file will be read first, after
starting the application server

Another characteristic of the System Properties application is the Live Refresh

which allows you to determine whether a new value for a system property can be
applied and take effect immediately throughout the product. You do not have to
shut down the application when applying a change to maximo.properties files.

196 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 System property types
The two types of system properties are:
򐂰 Global
This property exists only at a system-wide level, which means that the
property is applicable to all product server instances (such as an application
server) working with a common database. For example, the system property
mxe.logging.rootfolder is a global property whose value is a directory on
the hard disk of the server machine where the product's log files reside.
򐂰 Instance
This instance property is defined and associated with a specific product
server instance. For example, you can configure the system property
mxe.crontask.donotrun to be an instance-specific property. You do this by
associating the mxe.crontask.donotrun system property with a specific
server (for example, MXServer1) and a value applicable only to that server
(for example, a value of BBCron). As a result of this configuration, the Bulletin
Board cron task (BBCron) is not executed on MXServer1, but it can execute
in another product instance, such as MXServer2.

10.5.1 Security levels

This characteristic determines whether this property can be retrieved before
establishing an authenticated connection to the product. The three levels of
security are:
򐂰 PUBLIC
The property and its value are accessed by unauthenticated client sessions.
򐂰 SECURE
The property and its value are accessed by authenticated client sessions.
򐂰 PRIVATE
The property and its value are accessed only within the product business
object framework.

Note: If a maximo.properties file exists and contains the same property name
but a different value than the database is aware of, the value maintained in the
database will be overridden by the settings in maximo.properties file.

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 197

10.6 Attached documents properties
You may configure attached documents properties to meet your requirements.
You might have to configure attached documents either in the System Properties
application or the maximo.properties file.

The attached documents properties are:

򐂰 mxe.doclink.doctypes.defpath
This property is the default path for the doclinks folder on the application
server computer where the physical documents that are attached to a system
record are stored.
򐂰 mxe.doclink.path1 - mxe.doclink.path10
Use these to specify the HTTP server path (from path1 to path10) to link
documents that are attached to records.

If you are configuring attached documents, you have to modify:

򐂰 The httpd.con file for the WebSphere application server
򐂰 The Web.xml for the WebLogic application server

Refer to 10.12.5, “Attached documents” on page 208.

10.7 Electronic audit signatures

You can enable electronic signature and electronic audit records independently
of each other. Typically, however, they are used together.

The Electronic Auditing function writes audit records to the database tables
when you modify an audited attribute. The Electronic Signature function records
the person who made the modification

After enabling electronic audit records for a database attribute, the process is:
򐂰 Each time a user adds, deletes, or modifies the value of an attribute using a
system application, and then saves the change, an audit record is written to
the audit object corresponding to the regular database object.
򐂰 The audit record includes:
– Copy of the changed data
– User name of the user who made the change
– Identifier indicating whether the change was an insert, update, or delete

198 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 – Current date and time of the transaction
– Rowstamp
– Unique e-Audit transaction ID
– Unique e-Sig transaction ID if electronic signature is enabled
– The key values columns for the record, even if those columns are not
enabled for electronic audit (for example, the work order number is
recorded even when another attribute in the WORKORDER object triggers
the electronic audit)

Note: Audit records are written in the selected database table name preceded
by A_ (which is the letter A followed by an underscore character).

10.8 Actions
Actions are scheduled events that occur when a record leaves a workflow node.
The Actions application is used to create and manage actions and action
groups. Actions and action groups can be used with escalation, service level
agreement (SLA), and workflow processes. An action group contains multiple
actions that are initiated or processed in sequence.

10.8.1 Working with action records

You may use the Actions application to create and manage actions and action
groups. Actions and action groups can be used with escalation, service level
agreement (SLA), and workflow processes.

An action is an event that is triggered when the escalation engine finds records
that meet the conditions defined by an escalation point, SLA, or workflow process.
You can create actions that initiate an application action, change the status of a
record, run a custom class or a specified executable program, or set the value of
a field on a record.

You use the Actions application to create and manage both individual action
records and action group records. An action group contains multiple actions that
are initiated or processed in sequence.

Workflow processes use actions to move records through a process and to trigger
events, for example, status changes. Creating records in the Actions application
lets you define actions once, then reuse them when creating multiple Workflow
processes.

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 199

 Understanding actions and escalations
An escalation is a mechanism for monitoring time-sensitive records automatically,
which can take actions or send notifications when a record reaches a defined
escalation point. You create the actions that are associated with an escalation
record in the Actions application.

Note: Actions can be triggered by escalations, and escalations can trigger

workflow processes.

Creating action records

You can create several types of actions by using the Actions application. When
you create an action record, you specify an action type to help determine what kind
of action to take when the action is encountered in a process.

Note: The Type and Action fields are required in order to create an action.

Action types
An action can be one of the following types:
򐂰 APPACTION
This type specifies that an application action be initiated. The type requires
values in the Object and Value fields. When creating an APPACTION type
action, you specify one of the following actions if it is available for the
specified object:
– Apply SLA: Apply the specified service level agreement.
– Create Change: Create a change work order.
– Create Incident: Create an incident ticket.
– Create Problem: Create a problem ticket.
– Create Release: Create a release work order.
– Create SR: Create a service request ticket.
– Create WO: Create a work order.
– WF Accept: Accept the record and route it to the positive path in the
workflow process. Also known as workflow auto-accept).
– WF Escalate: Escalate the record in the Workflow process and reassign
the assignment to its escalation role.

200 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 – WF Initiate: Initiate a Workflow process. This option requires a value in the
Parameter/Attribute field.
– WF Reject: Reject the record and route it to the negative path in the
workflow process. Also known as workflow auto-reject.
򐂰 CHANGESTATUS
This type specifies that the status of a record will change. The type requires a
value in the Object field and status in the Value field.
򐂰 CUSTOM
This type specifies that a custom class file should run. The type requires a
value in the Object field and the name and path of a class file in the Value field.
򐂰 EXECUTABLE
This type specifies that a program on the server should run. The type requires
the name of a program file in the Value field.
򐂰 GROUP
This type specifies that the system should run the sequence of actions that
you specify in the Members table window.
򐂰 SETVALUE
This type specifies that the system should set the value of a specified field.
The type requires values in the Object, Value, and Parameter/Attribute fields.

10.9 Roles
You use the Roles application to create, modify, view, and delete role records
that can be used as part of a communication template, escalation, SLA, or
workflow process. When a role is used within a process, the system can
determine the correct individual or individuals the process is routed to, based on
information with the role record.

A role is a function or position in a business. A role can represent a specific job

title, for example, a department manager, or an assigned duty, for example, a
watch officer. You may also use a role to represent a specific person or a group
of people. Role settings can be used with:
򐂰 Communications templates
򐂰 Escalations
򐂰 Service level agreements (SLA)
򐂰 Workflow processes

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 201

10.9.1 Understanding roles and workflow
Workflow inbox assignments and workflow notifications are always made to
roles. All role records point to one or more person IDs or to a table and column in
the database that represent a person. When a role is encountered in a workflow
process, it resolves the role to a person group or individual person record.

Using role records instead of person records for assignments and notifications
enables you to you create more generic Workflow processes that require less
maintenance as individuals move in and out of different roles within your
company.

Understanding role types

You use a role to represent different functions or positions. When you create role
records, specify a role type to help you determine how to resolve the role when it
is encountered in a process.

You can create the following types of roles (see Figure 10-3 on page 203):
򐂰 CUSTOM
Use this role when you want to use a custom class file that resolves to one or
more people. Custom class files are Java programs written to perform
specific data management processes. The record is routed to one or more
people based on the data returned by the custom class program.
򐂰 DATASET
Use this role to route a record that is based on a specific field on a record, or
a field on a related record or child record. Specify a value in the Object field
when creating DATASET type roles. The record is routed to one or more
people, based on the field that you specify in the Value field. Examples of
fields that can be used with a DATASET type role include Affected User,
Reported By, Supervisor, Work Group, and so forth.
򐂰 EMAILADDRESS
Use this role to send e-mail notifications to one or more e-mail addresses.
Because e-mail addresses might or might not represent individuals who have
person records, these addresses can be used for notifications, but not for
assignments.
򐂰 PERSONGROUP
Use this role to route a record to one or all members of a person group. You
use the Person Groups application to create person groups. Note:
– If the Broadcast check box is selected, assignments and notifications are
sent to all members of the group.

202 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 – If the Broadcast check box is cleared (the default), the assignment or
notification is not routed to all members of the group. Instead, the
assignment or notification is routed to the first available group member
based on that person’s calendar and shift, or to the individual who is the
group default assignee. For more detail about how the assignee is
determined, refer to 10.10, “Person and person groups” on page 204.
򐂰 PERSON
Use this role to route a record to a specific individual. You use the People
application to create person records.
򐂰 USERDATA
Use this role to route a record based on a specific field within the person
record of the logged in user.

Notes:
򐂰 Three fields are required in the Roles application: Role, Type and Value.
򐂰 For the Value field to be valid Person, Person Group, or E-mail address
has to be specified.

Figure 10-3 shows the Roles application.

Figure 10-3 Roles application

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 203

10.10 Person and person groups
Use the Person Groups application to create, view, and modify person groups. A
person group consists of people, who might or might not be workers. The only
required field is the Group field. After you have created these groups, you can
designate a person group as any of the following options:
򐂰 Workgroup
򐂰 Owner group on a work order
򐂰 Owner group on a ticket

A Person Group can also be the recipient of a document routed by a workflow

process. If a document is routed to a Person Group, everyone in the group
receives it unless you configure the process to send it to the individual whose
calendar indicates that they are available.

When creating new Person Groups, note that the first person assigned to the
group is automatically selected as the default group.

Assigning a Person to a Person Group would require you to specify the Person
and the Sequence. The sequence representing the numerical value, which
indicates to the workflow the assignment sequence for this person.

10.11 Cron task setup

Use the Cron Task Setup application to add cron tasks and cron task instances,
remove cron tasks and their instances, and modify cron task parameters. You
may also change the status by using the Active? status check box, or adjust the
schedule of a cron task. Cron tasks can be rescheduled and parameter values
can be changed without stopping and restarting the server.

Notes:
򐂰 WebSphere Application Server: Data synchronization between LDAP
repositories and the system is governed by the federated repositories
which, in turn, are managed by the Virtual Manager and the VMMSYNC
cron task.
򐂰 WebLogic Server: Data synchronization between LDAP repositories and
the system is managed by the LDAPSYNC cron task.

204 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
10.12 System performance issues and guidelines
This section offers tips and tricks to tailor the system performance to your
requirements.

10.12.1 Factors in system performance

System performance depends on more than the IBM Maximo Asset
Management itself and the database. The network architecture also affects
performance. The application server configuration can hurt or improve
performance. The way that you deploy the application across servers affects the
way the application performs. Many other factors can also be considered for
improving the user experience of system performance.

Better performance can be gained from examining the following factors:

򐂰 Application server configuration
򐂰 Scheduled tasks (cron tasks)
򐂰 Reporting
򐂰 Integration with other systems with the Maximo Enterprise Adapter
򐂰 Network issues
򐂰 Bandwidth
򐂰 Load balancing
򐂰 Database tuning
򐂰 SQL tuning
򐂰 Client workstation configuration
򐂰 Miscellaneous performance improvement tips
򐂰 Troubleshooting

10.12.2 Configuration issues

Even with fewer than 50 users, the basic application configuration can become
overloaded by using hardware-consuming tasks. For example, running
scheduled jobs (cron tasks) or running reports both require considerable memory
and processing power.

When processing power and memory are overtaxed, the user who is using the
application from a browser can experience reduced performance. If the basic
configuration is performing poorly, you might have to deploy the advanced
enterprise configuration.

In the basic configuration, even if the application server process runs on a 64-bit
computer, performance can be slow. Although a 64-bit computer allows greater

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 205

 memory utilization, the server process suffers from Java garbage collection
pauses because of large heap space, and slow performance.

10.12.3 Performance and system maintenance guidelines

The following considerations are related to system maintenance:

򐂰 Define a fixed maintenance window to perform routine maintenance on your
deployment. Inform your users of the maintenance schedule by using the
Bulletin Board within IBM Maximo Asset Management.
򐂰 Perform load-balancing tasks on your servers and reassess your thread
counts and your socket and memory settings in your application deployment
on a regular basis. Consult the WebSphere Application Server and WebLogic
Server documentation for further information.
򐂰 Adjust thread counts to improve performance. Application servers use
threads to listen for and process requests from the browser. A thread
represents a work item or task. Application servers (WebSphere Application
Server and BEA WebLogic Server) have default settings for number of
threads. WebSphere Application Server has a default minimum thread size of
five. A WebLogic Server has a default thread count of 25 (when started in
production mode). You can, and often should, revise these values to improve
system performance. To optimize performance, try to determine the correct
number of threads.
If the thread count is too high, you have too many simultaneous requests on
the processor level, and servicing the requests becomes inefficient. If the
thread count is too low, the processor is not fully utilized. The queue grows
and the workload accumulates. The correct number of threads varies from
site to site, but an optimal number of threads can often be found in the range
of 40 - 55. The number depends on the volume of front-end transactions (user
load) and back-end transactions (nonuser load).
򐂰 Use the WebSphere Application Server and WebLogic Server monitoring
features to set and monitor thread usage and queue times for your application
servers.
򐂰 To buffer database growth and performance, implement indexes to speed up
search requests within common used modules, for example, Purchasing and
Work Order Tracking modules. A database administrator can monitor growth
and sizing and tune the database accordingly.
򐂰 Frequently consult IBM Asset Management user groups and knowledge
bases for issues and tips about tuning, performance, and best practices.
򐂰 Conduct regular audits and database integrity checks to find any backend
database malpractices or possible bugs and errors.

206 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 򐂰 Before implementing any application change, ensure you have a change
management procedure and release management protocol in place. Also
ensure that change requests are approved by senior management and that
they match your business processes. Change requests are best released in
phases in the deployment: for example, first the development environment,
then training, then acceptance, and only then to the production environment.
Use tools such as the Migration Manager to maintain identical deployment
platforms.
򐂰 Review updates and new patch releases in development environments
before attempting to implement these changes in acceptance and production
environments.
򐂰 If you are experiencing technical issues with the IBM Asset Management
application, copy the IBM Maximo Asset Management database and restore it
in a test environment. From there, enable debugging by using the Logging
application. Avoid running the Logging application in the production
environment; logging may hinder the performance of the application server.
򐂰 Monitor for processes and applications that are not responding. They use
memory and can affect the performance of the client workstation. A
workstation can have unresponsive processes or applications that the user
might not be aware of. Use system tools, such as the Windows® Task
Manager, to check for and stop processes and applications.
򐂰 Use one active network link only. If a user has both an active wireless network
link and an active LAN link, system performance issues can result. Limit users
to one active network link.

Note: To tune the IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 for better
performance, review the SQL statements periodically in the QUERY and
KPIMAIN tables.

10.12.4 Loading and looping of MBOs in memory

MBO stands for Maximo Business Object. All objects in Maximo (Tivoli Process
Automation Engine) are represented as MBOs. These objects have their
definitions (including parent-child relationships) in the meta data of the Tivoli
Process Automation Engine database.

You can learn whether an application or an MBOset is loading a large number of

objects (MBOs, for example) into the MBOset and, in turn, into memory. Enable
the following property in the maximo.properties file to display MBO creation:
mxe.db.fetchResultLogLimit=200

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 207

 Note: The mxe.db.fetchResultLogLimit allows you to identify the memory
usage.

After you enable this property (by uncommenting it), the application server writes
a stack trace for each MBOset, which generates a multiple of 200 MBOs.

Analyze the stack trace to determine where the objects are being created. You
can then take the necessary steps to reduce the object creation if it was an
unwanted event. Using this setting does not cause the server to stop creating
these objects. It only displays (on the console or in the logging file) where these
objects are created. Increase this parameter to 5,000 or 10,000 to avoid printing
logs unnecessarily.

Note: You can also configure the garbage collection for analysis while tuning
the Web application server.

10.12.5 Attached documents

Most IBM Service Management applications have Attachments Library/Folder
actions you access from the Select Action menu and an Attachments icon and
Attachments hyperlink displayed on the application page.

The application highlights this icon and activates this hyperlink when the record
has documents attached to it. Additional actions are available by clicking
Attachments.

Use the Attached Documents feature to attach relevant information to a record (or
to a task on a record) in the form of a file or Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
address. These attached documents can be located on your company’s network,
on the Internet, or in a Document Management System (DMS) and might include
text files, spreadsheets, images, or Web pages.
The Attached Documents feature allows you to:
򐂰 Attach a copy of a document to a record, for example an owner’s manual
could be attached to an asset.
򐂰 Attach individual documents to records, for example attaching a permit to a
work order.
򐂰 Attach an image to a record, for example attach a photo to a service request,
to view documents attached to a record, or to related records.

208 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
򐂰 Print one or more documents attached to a record.
򐂰 Manage the Library of documents available to be attached to records.

Types of attachments
The Attached Documents feature includes two kinds of attachments:
򐂰 Direct Attachments
These documents are attached directly to an application record. For example,
in the Work Order Tracking application, all documents attached to the work
order are direct attachments. When working with Attached Documents, you
may attach, view, modify, and print documents that are part of the current
record’s document collection.
򐂰 Referential Attachments
These documents are attached to other application records, which are
associated with the current record. For example, a work order record might
also display document collections for the asset and location associated with
the work order. You may view and print documents that are referential
attachments, but you cannot add or modify attachments to related document
collections.

Attached documents administrative actions

If Attached documents is enabled for an application, three actions appear when
you choose Select Action → Attachment/Library Folders menu:
򐂰 Manage Library
Select this option to register new documents to the Library and manage the
document properties of existing documents in the Library.
򐂰 Manage Folders
Select this option to create document folders and set a default file location for
storing documents associated with each folder.
򐂰 Associate Folders
Select this option to associate existing document folders with the current
application.

Chapter 10. Other configuration options 209

 Attaching documents
You can attach documents to records (and to task rows within a record) using
either of the following methods:
򐂰 First, create a document library using the Attachment/Library Folders →
Manage Library action, then attach documents to records using the Add From
Library option available from the Attachments menu.
򐂰 Attach a document using either the Add New File or Add New Web Page
option available from the Attachments menu. Documents can also be added to
the library by using these actions.

You may configure the system to connect to a Document Management System

(DMS). This option is hidden by default. After enabled, documents that physically
reside in a DMS can be registered to the library.

Attached documents configuration

The system uses an IBM WebSphere Application Server or BEA WebLogic
server. Using one of these application servers, you can configure the Attached
Documents action on a single computer or on multiple computers.

The computers from which you access attached documents must have the
relevant applications installed on them. For example, to view a Microsoft Word
document, a workstation must have Word installed on it.

210 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 A

Appendix A. Sample certification test

questions
In this appendix, we provide sample questions that are representative of those
you encounter on the actual certification test. We recommend that you take this
sample test after studying the chapters in this book.

Note: All questions have only one correct answer.

This appendix contains:

򐂰 “Questions” on page 212
򐂰 “Answers” on page 220

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 211

Questions
The following questions can assist you in studying for the certification test:
1. When a work order status is changed from “in-progress to complete” or
“in-progress to close,” the asset history record gets an update. In which
application do you configure this action?
a. Work Order Tracking
b. Assets
c. Preventive Maintenance
d. Organization
e. Not required to configure
2. Which average calculation methods can be chosen for a continuous meter?
i. Static
ii. Sliding - Days
iii. Sliding - Reading
iv. Dynamic
a. iii and i
b. ii and iii
c. i and iv
d. i, ii, and iii
e. None of the above
3. If an asset does not have a user or a custodian, any type of user can raise an
incident by using a desktop requisition, a service request requisition, or a
Service Desk requisition on that asset. True or False?
a. True
b. False
c. It depends on the type of asset
4. In Asset application's Specification tab, Classification and Class Description
fields are applicable when an asset is categorized as which of the following?
a. Inventory item
b. Rotating asset
c. Non-rotating asset
d. Capitalized asset
e. None of the above

212 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
5. Meters that are used in Meters, Meter Groups, Assets, Locations, Preventive
Maintenance, Job Plans, Items, and Condition Monitoring applications reflect
logical, not physical, meters. Meters used in these applications signify:
i. Each gauge is identified individually
ii. Meters are identified as a measurement point
iii. Meters can be shared across organization and sites
a. i and ii
b. i and iii
c. i, ii, and iii
d. None of the above
6. An extended date field on the Frequency Tab of PM overrides the seasonal
dates of a PM. If the Adjust Next Due Date field is set to Yes (Y), the
calculation of the next due date for a work order generated from the PM uses
which of the following calculations?
a. Extended Date + Frequency
b. Extended Date - Frequency
c. Next Due Date + Frequency
d. Next Due Date - Frequency
e. None of the above
7. An asset is configured in IBM Maximo Asset Management to generate a work
order for PM, based on both frequency and meters. It employs which of the
following logic?
a. Only frequency based work orders
b. Only meter based work orders
c. Both frequency and meter, whichever is earliest
d. Both frequency and meter, based on whichever has later date
e. Not possible to configure both frequency and meter simultaneously.
8. IBM Maximo Asset Management checks inventory item balances at which of
the following levels?
a. Bin level
b. Storeroom level
c. Site level
d. Organization level
e. Company level

Appendix A. Sample certification test questions 213

 9. Item's cycle count frequency for ABC categorized items is defined in which of
the following locations?
a. Item Master application
b. Organization's Inventory defaults
c. Storeroom application
d. Issues and Receipts application
10.When Lot type is selected for an item in the Item Master application, which of
the following statements is true?
a. Item has a shelf life
b. Item is stored in lots
c. Item is issued in lots
d. Item has no shelf life
11.GL accounts are configured for any transactions on items that are issued or
transferred from a storeroom. If an item is issued from inventory to a job plan
task in a work order, where is this entry recorded?
a. In the GL Debit account
b. In the GL Credit account
c. In the GL Debit account and reverse entry recorded in storeroom GL
Credit Account
d. In the GL Credit account and reverse entry is recorded in storeroom GL
Debit Account
12.In a Purchase contract, the payment schedule is created in every 30 days
from the receipt of materials. How does IBM Maximo Asset Management
generate invoices?
a. Multiple invoices are generated after every 30 days of receipt of the
material.
b. Single invoice is generated for multiple deliveries from the vendor at the
end of the contract term.
c. Generation depends on how frequency of proforma invoice's are raised by
the vendor.
d. Generation depends on the terms and conditions of the contract.

214 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
13.In a Labor Rate contract, if there is a revision to one of the craft's standard
rate, how can you apply the revised rates?
a. IBM Maximo Asset Management does not allow you to revise standard
labor rates. You have to revise whole contract.
b. You can apply Price Adjustments and revise the Standard Labor rates.
c. IBM Maximo Asset Management allows you to modify the complete
contract amount but not the rate schedule.
d. It is not possible to modify the labor contract. You need to create a
modified new labor contract.
14.In a Warranty contract for an asset or service, how can you monitor and
control the Service Provider's performance?
i. IBM Maximo Asset Management does not allow you to define metrics
on performance of service provider.
ii. You can define Service Provider's service performance metrics with
the help of service level agreements.
iii. You can define your own terms and conditions to monitor and control
Service Provider's performance.
a. i
b. ii
c. iii
d. ii and iii
e. None of the above
15.Purchase record line item or service costs are allowed to distribute across
multiple GL accounts. To distribute costs across multiple GL accounts which
of the following conditions are required?
i. The line item is a direct issue item or service.
ii. None of the items have been received.
iii. The service line is not prorated.
a. i and ii
b. ii and iii
c. i and iii
d. i, ii, and iii
e. None of the above

Appendix A. Sample certification test questions 215

 16.Which of the following criteria are checked and in which order by the system
before the invoice status is changed to approved?
i. Foreign currency and active exchange rates.
ii. Invoice price is within the specified limits (as set by the system
administrator) of purchase order.
iii. Standard service costs like freight, installation and others are included
in Invoice price and fall within the set limits.
iv. Invoice Lines field - Receipts Required.
a. i, ii, and iii
b. i, iiI, iii, and iv
c. ii and iii
d. ii, iii, and iv
e. None of the above
17.When an invoice is approved, the invoice price amount is moved to which of
the following GL account?
a. Credit account
b. RBNI account
c. Suspense account
d. Supplier account
e. None of the above
18. A contractor is working overtime hours based on his labor rate. You can approve
payment based on standard labor rate and disapprove payment based on overtime
labor rate. True or False?
a. True
b. False
19.In IBM Maximo Asset Management, is it possible to issue spares and or tools
to a technician and carry those issued items to the work site to complete the
work order and return unused material?
a. Yes
b. No

216 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
20. The relationship between Persons and Labor applications is which of the following?
i. Persons application is used for workflow and purchase information.
ii. Labor application is used for crafts, skills, hours worked, certifications.
iii. Labor record cannot exist without a record in Persons application.
iv. Data in Persons application is shared with Labor application.
a. i
b. ii
c. iii
d. iv
e. All of the above
21.Person Group application is used for which of the following action(s)?
i. To create a work group.
ii. To create owner group on a work order.
iii. To create owner group on a ticket.
iv. To route a document by workflow to the recipient.
a. i
b. ii
c. iii
d. iv
e. All of the above
22. Which statement (or statements) is the definition of flow control?
i. Flow control is a set of business rules built into the Work Management
applications that allow status changes to be processed automatically in
a work hierarchy.
ii. To detect the appropriate time to start a record so that the combination
of its status and ownership place it in the right persons work view.
iii. The ability to run a task-specific action (group) along with the status
change that starts it.
a. i
b. ii
c. iii
d. i, ii, and iii
e. None of the above

Appendix A. Sample certification test questions 217

 23. The Move/Modify/Swap Select Action in Work order tracking application is used for
which of the following action?
a. To move assets from one location under a site to another
b. To change the ownership of associated assets from different
organizations
c. To swap an asset or a location from one organization to another
d. It does not allow modifying associated asset specifications as part of the
work order
24.Resolving a service request involves which of the following activities?
a. Capture relevant information from the party making the request.
b. Check existing records to the service request.
c. Create incident, problem or work order.
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.
25.If a service user wants to know the progress on her request, how can she do
it?
a. From the status of the service request.
b. Under Log tab, a requester can check this under the work log sub-tab (If
service users are configured to view the progress.)
c. Cannot check the progress until the requester receives a communication.
d. Service users cannot chase service providers until their turn comes, hence
none of the above.
26.Is it possible for a Service Provider to modify the work log?
a. Yes
b. No
27.Which characteristic determines whether this property can be retrieved before
establishing an authenticated connection with the product?
a. Global
b. Instance
c. Security
d. Domain
e. Data Type

218 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
28.The Logging application enables you to create and manage log files that
contain the following types of messages?
a. Informational, Warning, or Error messages
b. Warnings or Error messages
c. Only Error messages
d. Only Warning messages
e. None of the above
29.When are the cron task instances reloaded in the Cron Task Setup
application?
i. When you change any other attributes on the cron task instance
(schedule, run as user).
ii. When switching cron task from Active to Inactive.
iii. If the parameter value is cached when cron task instance starts or
reloads. Check the parameter field to see if this occurs.
iv. Generally, do not submit a reload request after changing parameter
values.
a. i and ii
b. ii and iii
c. iii and iv
d. i and iii
e. i and iv

Appendix A. Sample certification test questions 219

Answers
The correct answers to the sample questions in this appendix are:
1. d
2. d
3. a
4. c
5. c
6. a
7. c
8. a
9. b
10.a
11.c
12.a
13.b
14.d
15.d
16.b
17.c
18.a
19.a
20.e
21.e
22.d
23.a
24.d
25.b
26.b
27.c
28.a
29.d

220 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Related publications

The publications listed in this section are considered particularly suitable for a
more detailed discussion of the topics covered in this book.

IBM Redbooks
For information about ordering these publications, see “How to get Redbooks” on
page 222. Note that some of the documents referenced here might be available
in softcopy only.
򐂰 Deployment Guide Series: Maximo Asset Management V7.1, SG24-7640
򐂰 IT Asset Management Processes using Tivoli Asset Manager for IT,
SG24-7601
򐂰 Maximo Asset Management Essentials V7.1 Implementer’s Guide,
SG24-7645

Online resources
These Web sites are also relevant as further information sources:
򐂰 IBM Professional Certification Program Web site:
http://www.ibm.com/certify/index.shtml
򐂰 Test 015 objectives
http://www.ibm.com/certify/tests/obj015.shtml
򐂰 IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 courses:
http://www.ibm.com/certify/tests/edu015.shtml
򐂰 IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 online publications:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/tivihelp/v3r1/index.jsp?top
ic=/com.ibm.mam.doc_7.1/mam_welcome.htm

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 221

How to get Redbooks
You can search for, view, or download Redbooks, Redpapers, Technotes, draft
publications and Additional materials, as well as order hardcopy Redbooks
publications, at this Web site:
ibm.com/redbooks

Help from IBM

IBM Support and downloads
ibm.com/support

IBM Global Services

ibm.com/services

222 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Index
Assets application 13
A Associate User and Custodians action 21
actions 199–200
Move/Modify Assets action 21
creating action records 200
tabs 13
types 200
Asset 13
Actions application 199
List 13
Activities and Tasks application 157
Meters 14
Add Item to Storeroom action 67
Safety 13
Add/Modify Commodity Codes action 93
Spare Parts 13
Admin Mode 194
Specifications 14
Alternatives For Table table window 136
assets life cycle 12
Application Designer 34
Assets module
Application server log files
applications
maximoserver.log 193
Assets 12
native_stdout 193
Condition Monitoring 12
systemerr.log 192
Failure Codes 12
systemout.log 192
Locations 12
Application server security
Meter Groups 12
application server security files 191
Meters 12
global security files 190
Assignment Manager 122
security files 191
Assignment Manager application 123
Apply to New Crafts? check box 140
associated contracts 82
Approved (APPR) 104
Associated Labor table window 140
approved purchase orders 91
attached documents
approved purchase requisitions 91
Attachments icon 208
asset custodian 151
configuration 210
asset identifiers 111
properties 198
asset number 111
types of attachments 209
assets
administrative actions 209
ancestors 15
Attachments hyperlink 208
asset hierarchy 13
Direct Attachments 209
children assets 15
Referential Attachments 209
creating 14
Attached Documents feature 208
Massive Move 20
Authorize Sites action 93
Move Asset dialog box 20
auto-numbers 106
moving an asset 20
Average Cost field 118
replace assets 21
rotating asset 16
rotating item 16 B
save the asset record 14 basic logger 192
Swap Assets 21 benefits of certification 3
swapping 20 blanket release 108
Users and Custodians tab 21 Bulletin Board cron task (BBCron) 197
assets and inventory items 16

© Copyright IBM Corp. 2009. All rights reserved. 223

C Vendor 101
calendar 128 Company field 90
calendar record 127 company master 90
Calendars application 127–128 company master record 95
centralized purchasing department 109 company records 95
certificates 129 company set 90, 99
expiration dates 129 Company tab 101
renewing 129 Company types
certification Courier 101
benefits 3 Complete (COMP) 111
checklist 5 Condition Codes application
IBM Professional Certification Program 2 accessing 72
Test 015 7 Condition Monitoring application 24
Tivoli Professional Certification Program 4 consumable material 18
Certification Required? check box 131 Contract field 123
Change Item Number 18 Contract module 75–76
change order 107 Contract types 76
Change Status action 125 contracted labor 76
characteristics records 12 Contracts
Classification 28 changing 82
Classifications application Contract Line Details table window 83
Attribute 29 creating 79
benefits of classifications 28 creating a new contract
Children 29 Buyer 80
classification 28 Contract Identifier and Description 80
classification attributes 29 Contract lines 80
how to access 28 Contract Type 80
Use with 29 Start Date and End Date 80
classifying items 93 Status 80
Closed (CLOSE) 104 Terms and Conditions 80
commodity code information 93 Total Cost or Maximum Amount 80
Commodity Codes 93 Vendor Reference number 80
Companies 93 deleting 83
Item Master 93 Master Contract 80
Purchase Orders 93 number 83
Service Items 93 original 83
Tools 93 Purchasing Contract
commodity codes 55 Change Price on Use? 85
commodity group 55 Change Quantity on Use? 85
Companies application 55, 100 Payment Schedule 85
List 100 Vendor Items 85
tabs revise 82
Addresses 100 Revision field 83
Branches 100 revision number 83
Company 100 types of contracts 79
Contacts 100 conversion factor 53
Company courses 8
types Crafts application 125
Manufacturer 101 Crafts table window 123

224 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
creating a release 105 Assets and locations 159
creating purchasing records 94 Hierarchy 158
Cron Task application 48 work order problem code 160
Cron Task Setup application 204 failure hierarchy 159
Currency Codes application 95 first aid training 130
Exchange Rates 96
Organizations 96
CUSTODIAN 134
G
garbage collection 208
gauge 12
D Generate WO, Meter Frequency Is Reached 41
Database Configuration application 32, 193 Generate WO, on Meter Reading (Do Not Estimate)
capabilities 193 41
configuring the database 194 GL Account code 92
Admin Mode 194
command line mode 194
Table.Column 32
H
hazard 162
Database Configuration Object 32
Default Craft For Labor 126
Delete Person action 135 I
Delete Person Group action 136 IBM Certification Agreement 6
delivery time expectations 91 IBM Maximo Asset Management
Desktop Requisitions application 62 publications 8
disqualified vendor 102 IBM Tivoli Asset Management for IT 77
Document Management System (DMS) 208, 210 IBM Tivoli Directory Server 190
Domains application 139 In Progress (INPRG) 114
downtime history 176 incidents 182
Duplicate Craft action 140 internal PO 105
Duplicate Labor action 126 internal purchases 91
Duplicate Person Group action 136 inventory 67
Inventory Adjustments sub-menu 68
Inventory application 68
E tabs
EAR (Enterprise ARchive) files 192
Inventory 69
Edit History Work Orders action 144
Count Frequency 69
Editable on Use? check box 86
Issue Unit 69
electronic audit signatures 198
Stock Category 69
Electronic Auditing functionality 198
List 68
E-mail Listeners application 186
Reorder Details
escalations 200
Economic Order Quantity 70
Exchange Rates application 97
Lead Time 70
Exchange Rates 97
Safety Stock 69
Organizations 97
Rotating Asset 70
Extend/Renew Qualification button 131
Where Used 70
External Purchases 91
Inventory costing model 57
Inventory module 52
F applications 58
failure class 158–159 Item Master 58
Failure Codes application 158 add item to a storeroom 60

Index 225
 Item 59 Obsolete 61
Item Assembly Structure 60 Pending 61
List 58 Pending Obsolescence 61
Specifications 60 Planning 61
Storerooms 60
Vendors 60
conflicting objectives 52
J
job plan 144
defaults 56
Job Plans application 38, 42, 144, 165
initial setup 52
create a job plan from work plan 146
add/modify conversions 53
tabs
commodity codes 54
Job Plan 145
commodity groups 54
Work Assets 145
Conversion Factor 54
job skill 129
From Unit of Measure 54
Item Number 54
add/modify units of measure 53 K
conversion 52 KPIMAIN tables 207
units of measure 52
Abbreviation 53
L
Description 53 labor 38
Unit of Measure 53 Labor application 122, 129
introducing 52 Labor Contract 76
Inventory costs 57 Labor Rate Contracts 123
Issue Cost 57 Labor Rate Contracts application. 76
Non Capitalized Rotating 57 labor record 122
Reorder 57 Labor Reporting application 170
inventory reorder process 90 reporting a labor 171
Invoice Management 108 by contract/vendor 171
Invoices application 90, 114 by labor 171
invoice types by ticket 171
Credit 115 by work order 171
Debit 115 LaborQUAL 132
Invoice 115 LDAP repositories 190
Issues and Transfers application 70 LDAPSYNC cron task 190, 204
tabs 70 Lease/Rental Contracts application 76
List 70 liability concerns 91
Transfer In 71 Limits and Tolerances tab 117
Transfer Out 71 Line Types 92
item assembly structure (IAS) 16, 60 ITEM 92
Item kit 59 MATERIAL 92
item master SERVICE 92
creating 18 SPORDER 93
Item Master application 18, 55, 67, 92 STDSERVICE 92
item records 55 Loaded Cost field 118
item sets 55 location
creating 55 location hierarchy 27
level 55 Location 27
item status 61 Network 27
Active 61

226 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
 Operating location 27 Characteristic 22
Primary system 28 Continuous 22
Site 28 Gauge 22
System 28 Microsoft Active Directory 190
locations 17 Modify Person Availability 128
add a new location 26 Move/Swap/Modify action 148
create a location 20 multiple loggers 191
initial status 20 Multisite configuration 99
Locations application 26 mxe.db.fetchResultLogLimit 207–208
Logging application 191 mxe.doclink.path1 - mxe.doclink.path10 198
capabilities 191 MXServer1 197
Loggers 192
manage log settings 191
Root Loggers 192
N
network system 28
lump sum amount 110
non-capitalized rotating asset 57
non-inventory location 20
M non-master PM 38
Manage Downtime History action 176 non-rotating item 18
Manage Premium Pay Codes action 140
Mark Row For Delete button 140
Master Contract 77, 81
O
Organization 90
approving 81
organizational level 79, 93
association
Organizations application 49, 56
Create Associated Contract 81
Outside rates 139
Lease Contracts 81
Outside Rates table window 139
Purchase Contracts 81
Warranty on assets 81
creation 81 P
status 82 Paid Tax GL Account field 98
Master Contracts application. 81 Pearson Virtual University Enterprises (VUE) 5
Master PM 38 People application 128, 133
non-master PM 38 tabs
Master PM records 38 List 133
Material receipts 109 Person 133
Maximo Enterprise Adapter 205 performance troubleshooting 206
Maximo.log 193 Person field 123
maximo.properties file 207 person group 135, 182
maximum amount per contract 77 PM alerts 47
maximum amount per contractor 77 PM hierarchies 38
MBOs in memory 207 PNDREV(Pending Revision) 82
meter groups 23 PO Line 93
meters PR Line 93
characteristics meter 26 Premium Pay table window 139–140
characteristics meters 26 premiums 139
creating 23 Preventive Maintenance (PM) 39
measurement point 26 Preventive Maintenance application 38
Meters application 22–23 creating Master PM 39
types of meters delete a PM record 46

Index 227
 Frequency 40 Terms and Conditions 103
generate PM work orders 39 WAPPR status 103
Override Updates from Master PM? 46 Purchasing Module
PM hierachy 46 applications
PM record 45 Companies 90
PM records and routes 45 Company Master 90
scheduled work orders 46 Invoices 90
Sessional Date 41 Purchase Orders 90
updating associated PM records 43 Purchase Requisitions 90
working gwith the Master PM 39 Receiving 90
Primary Calendar 133 Request for Quotation 91
Primary E-mail 133 Terms and Conditions 91
Primary Shift 133 Contracts Module integration 93
problems 182–183 Inventory Module 91
process flow 153 Purchasing module 90, 93
proficiency in a skill 129
Prometric 5
Purchase Application 77
Q
qualification 129
purchase contract 77, 94
Qualification records 132
Purchase order status 107
Qualifications application 129
Approved (APPR) 107
tabs 130
Canceled (CAN) 107
Associated Labor 130
Closed (CLOSE) 107
List 130
In Progress (INPRG) 107
Qualification 130
Waiting on Approval (WAPPR) 107
Qualifications tab 125
purchase orders (POs) 87, 90, 94
QUERY tables 207
types
Quick Reporting application 172
CHG 94
PARTS 94
REL 94 R
SERV 94 receipts 90
STD 94 Receive Rotating Items action 91
Purchase Orders application 55, 62, 90, 94, 105 Receiving application 90, 108
create a purchase order 106 tabs
manage purchase orders 106 List 109
tabs Material Receipts 109
List 105 Material receipts 109
PO 105 Service Receipts 109
PO Lines 105 Service receipts 109
Ship To/Bill To 105 Redbooks Web site 222
Terms and Conditions 105 Contact us xvi
purchase requisitions (PRs) 91–92 Rental Contract 76
Purchase Requisitions application 62, 103 reorder items 91
create requisition 103 Reorder Point (ROP) 69
Ship To/Bill To 103 Report Downtime action 173
tabs Reporting downtime 173
List 103 request for quotation (RFQ) 105, 112
PR 103 Request for Quotation application 105, 112
PR Lines 103 Required Carft and Skills Levels table window. 131

228 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
resources for study 8 synchronization 190
Resources Module 122 Select Action menu 125, 140
Calendar field 123 Select Reserved Items dialog 71
Crafts 122 self service request 185
Labor 122 Self-Service application 184
People 122 serialize 111
Person Group 122 Service Contract 77
Qualifications 122 Service Desk agent 181
return on investment (ROI) 5 service item examples 62
role 201 service item status 62
role names for certification 2 Active 63
Roles application 201 Obsolete 63
rotating assets 16, 91, 111 Pending 63
rotating item 16–17, 59, 111 Pending Obsolescence 63
associate a meter 23 Planning 63
associate a meter group 23 service items 61
creating 17 Service Items application 55, 61, 92
non-rotating item 18 how to access 62
number 19 Reorder Direct Issue Itms/Svcs action 62
Routes application 45 tabs
List 62
Service 62
S Specifications 62
Safety module 158
service level agreement (SLA) 199
applications
service provider 77
Hazards 161
service purchases 109
Lock Out/Tag Out 161
Service receipts 110
Precautions 161
service request 183
Safety Plans 161
high volume 182
safety plan 161
status
Safety Plan application 163
180
associate a safety plan 165
CLOSE 181
safety plan 164
INPROG 180
safety plan components
PENDING 180
Hazardous Materials 164
QUEUED 180
Hazards and Precautions 164
RESOLVED 180
Tag Outs 164
Service Request Classification 185
set up a job plan 165
service requests 180
tabs
Service Requests application 180
Tag Outs 164
Apply Service Request Template 183
sample questions 211
applying a ticket template 183
seasonal work 41
Out of the box functionality 180
Security Groups application 117
set level 62
Security levels 197
Sets application 55
PRIVATE 197
Ship To or Bill To Attention field 133
PUBLIC 197
shipping and handling details 91
SECURE 197
Site level 93
Security settings 190
skill level 139
configure log files 191
Skill Levels table window 139

Index 229
Software Contract 77 T
spare part 111 tax code 98
specialized training 129 Tax Options dialog box 98
standard rate 139 tax type 98
Standard Service 62 template id 182
Stocked Tools application 66 Terms and Conditions 85
how to access 66 creating 86
tabs 67 tab 86
Balances sub-tab 67 Test 435 7
List 67 Ticket Templates application 182
Rotating Tool Assets 67 creating a new ticket 182
Stocked Tool 67 class 182
Vendors 67 required fields 182
Where Used 67 template id 182
storeroom 20 Timer 123
Storerooms application 67, 72 Tivoli Certification benefits 4
Storeroom Tivoli environment 5
GL Control Account 73 tool requirements 38
Invoice Variance Account 73 Tool status
Purchase Variance Account 73 Active 65
Receipt Variance Account 73 Obsolete 65
Shrinkage Account 73 Pending 65
Tool Control Account 73 Pending Obsolescence 65
tabs 72 Planning 65
Items 73 TOOLQUAL 132
Storeroom 72 tools
Cost Adjustment Account 73 definition 63
Currency Variance Account 73 tabs 64
storeroom-to-storeroom purchase 105 Tools application 55, 93
subassemblies 16 how to access 64
SUPERVISOR 134 tabs 64
Swap action 149 List 64
Swap Assets dialog box 21 Required Qualifications 64
system maintenance troubleshooting 206 Specifications 65
system performance Storerooms 64
configuration issues 205 Tool 64
factors affecting 205 Vendors 65
troubleshooting 206 Tools that Requre This Qualification table window.
System Properties application 196 131
capabilities 196 Total Base Cost 117
Global Properties 196 transfer order 105
Instance Properties 196
Live Refresh 196
property types U
unapproved purchase orders 91
Global 197
unapproved purchase requisitions 91
Instance 197
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) 208
Unpaid Tax GL Account field 98
Use Last WO's Start Information to Calculate Next

230 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Due Frequency 40 Workflow notifications 202
Use Parent Remit To? field 102 workflow processes 133, 199

V Z
valid rotating item 17 Zero Year to Date Hours 129
vendor disqualified 102
Vendor field 90
vendor quotations 91
View Contracts action 99
View Qualification Status History button 132
View Service Requests application 185
Virtual Member Manager 190
VMMSYNC cron task 190

W
Waiting for Inspection (WINSP) 110
Waiting for Serialization (WASSET) 110
Waiting on Approval (WAPPR) 104
Warranty Contract 77
Warranty Contracts application 77
Web-based courses 8
Weblogic 193
WebLogic Server 190
WebSphere Application Server 190, 192
WO Completion 175
work order 142
check asset status 174
Downtime Prompt checkbox 176
flow action 154
flow control 152–153
Other Organization Options action 175
ownership 151
status 152
Work Order Tracking application 142, 169
Actuals tab 169
Flow control 153
Material costs 169
Modify action 149
Move action 148
process flow 152
Swap action 149
work orders
status 142
work plan 143, 146, 156
Workflow assignments 133
Workflow E-mail Notification 133
Workflow Inbox assignments 202
workflow node 199

Index 231
232 Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
Certification Study Guide Series: IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
(0.5” spine)
0.475”<->0.875”
250 <-> 459 pages
 Back cover ®

Certification Study Guide

Series: IBM Maximo Asset
Management V7.1 ®

Helps you achieve This IBM Redbooks publication is a study guide for IBM Maximo
IBM Maximo Asset Asset Management V7.1 and is aimed at individuals who want INTERNATIONAL
Management V7.1 to get an IBM Professional Certification for this product. TECHNICAL
certification The IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1 certification exam, SUPPORT
offered through the Professional Certification Program from ORGANIZATION
Explains the IBM, is designed to validate the skills required of technical
certification path professionals who work in the implementation and
configuration of the IBM Maximo Asset Management V7.1
and prerequisites product. BUILDING TECHNICAL
INFORMATION BASED ON
This publication does not replace practical experience, and is PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
Introduces sample
not designed to be a stand-alone guide for any subject. Instead,
test questions it is an effective tool that, when combined with educational
activities and experience, can be an extremely useful IBM Redbooks are developed by
preparation guide for the exam. the IBM International Technical
Support Organization. Experts
For your convenience, we structure the chapters based on the from IBM, Customers and
sections of the Test 000-015: IBM Maximo Asset Management Partners from around the world
V7.1 Implementation, such as Assets, Inventory, and so on, so create timely technical
studying each chapter will help you prepare for one section of information based on realistic
scenarios. Specific
the exam. recommendations are provided
Note that Test 000-017: Foundations of Tivoli Process to help you implement IT
Automation Engine is a prerequisite for the IBM Certified solutions more effectively in
Deployment Professional - Maximo Asset Management V7.1 your environment.
certification. To prepare for that test, refer to the IBM Redbooks
publication Certification Study Guide Series: Foundations of
Tivoli Process Automation Engine, SG24-7763. For more information:
ibm.com/redbooks

SG24-7761-00 ISBN 0738433179