The commission request screen has turned out to be an extremely popular feature and, thanks to user feedback, it has developed tremendously since we first added it for Portsmouth back in 2014. It is particularly useful as a standard way of commissioning particular models.
For example, suppose that you have a rolling replacement program to replace “Pump A” with “Pump B” over a 12 month period. You can set up a commission request linked to the correct PPM schedule, contract etc., and then simply add the new pumps as Additional Items as they arrive each month. This saves a lot of work and helps to reduce errors but there were a few obstacles to using them this way.
Firstly, the commission request only allowed a single location and service. Although not a major problem this did add another step to the process: bulk updating the new assets with the correct locations. Of course, you could always change the location or service in the commission request and then add devices in batches. Still better than an entirely manual process but not as good as it could have been. The same problem also arose with installation, purchase and first PPM dates.
To address this we have added the following columns to the Additional Items tab:
Purchase Date
Installation Date
Location
Service
The same fields have been added to the Add Batch screen, to make life even easier.
This has addressed all of the issues above except one; that of the first PPM date for each device.
An option has been added to each row in the Additional Items grid labelled “Recalc. PPM Date“. If this option is ticked then when the PPM job is created its planned date will be calculated by adding the schedule frequency to the installation date.
The same option has been added to the Add Batch utility, except there we a bit more space for a more meaningful label. It’s right underneath the Installation Date field and says, “Use this date to calculate the first PPM job planned date”.
We hope you find this new feature useful. As always, any feedback is always welcome.