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Getting Started with Maintenance Assistant V3

Maintenance Assistant version 3 represents a significant leap forward in the Maintenance Assistant CMMS software. MA v3 sports a completely re-designed user interface, a new enterprise level backend, and much more advanced maintenance options. With all these advances, users of the MA v2.X series will find that things are a bit different, nevertheless MA v3 remains just as easy to use as earlier versions. If you are new to MA, then this guide will also be of great use in getting your organization started with the most powerful CMMS software available.

This guide will help familiarize you with MA v3, and will go over the basics. For more information on specific topics click on the "Help" button within the MA application to view the usage guide for that page.

Content Guide

1. Notes for v2.X Users
2. Getting Started
3. Users
4. Locations and Facilities
5. Assets
6. Work Orders
7. Scheduled Maintenance
8. Inventory and Supply Management
9. Further Information

Notes for v2.X Users

As mentioned earlier, MA v3 represents an entirely new release of our software, it has been redesigned from the ground up. There are a few things to note when upgrading from version 2 to 3.

Significant Changes

• MA is now powered by a Java backend, this allows us to employ industry leading open source frameworks, such as the Apache Derby database server, and the Apache Tomcat HTTP server. Moving to Java now allows MA to be run on any Java compatible system provided that server computer has the latest version of Java installed.
• MA now launches as a service on system startup. This means that MA will continue to run in the background, without any GUI or user logged in. This allows MA to be deployed on enterprise level servers.
• All functions have been moved to a web-based interface. The server admin / web interface dichotomy no longer exists. MA can now only be accessed using a web browser. This makes administering and using MA much easier, as everything can be found in one place.
• MA now supports completely customizable facility and asset management. Assets refer to any physical object that is entered into the MA system. MA groups assets into four broad categories, these are: Facilities, Equipment, Tools, and Parts & Supplies. Users can now create unlimited hierarchical structures for assets, for example you may create as many categories within tools as you desire.
• There are a few items to make note of when installing v3. To begin, MA v3 will install as a completely separate application, it will leave your MA v2.X installation intact and install to a new directory. After installing v3 for the first time you will need to go through the setup, and register for a new business account. The need to do this reflects large, and upcoming changes we are making to our community model. After signing up for a new account with our community, you will also be required to create an administrator account. This is the account that you will use to login to your new MA v3 server. Once you have competed setup you may login with your new account and import data from v2.x. Importing data will be covered in a subsequent section.

There are a few items to make note of when installing v3. To begin, MA v3 will install as a completely separate application, it will leave your MA v2.X installation intact and install to a new directory. After installing v3 for the first time you will need to go through the setup, and register for a new business account. The need to do this reflects large, and upcoming changes we are making to our community model. After signing up for a new account with our community, you will also be required to create an administrator account. This is the account that you will use to login to your new MA v3 server. Once you have competed setup you may login with your new account and import data from v2.x. Importing data will be covered in a subsequent section.

Getting Started

This section will overview the basics of using Maintenance Assistant. Your MA server can only be accessed using a web browser - to get started with MA navigate to http://(IP of the server you are running on):8080/. The first time you access your Maintenance Assistant Server you will see an essentially empty page. To get started mouse over the "Account" tab, and click "Log on". Enter the username and password you created during setup, and push login. If you login was successful you will be at the "Dashboard" page.

The Maintenance Assistant User Interface and Dashboard
The dashboard is a customizable page that contains an overview of your MA server. Below is a screen shot of what your dashboard page will look like the first time you login. We will take this opportunity to briefly familiarize you with the MA interface. When using MA, try not to think of the interface as individual web pages, instead try to picture an application running within your web browser (this is exactly what is happening!). As such, avoid using the back, and refresh buttons; they will not behave as expected. As well, do not attempt to bookmark individual pages when using the interface.

The screenshot above shows a first time login to the MA interface. Items of interest are numbered. Area 1 shows the main MA navigation bar, from here you can access administrative and maintenance related pages. Mousing over any of the tabs will bring up a menu. Area 2 shows the navigation bar, this is present on all MA pages and shows you where you are, refer to this if you ever need to know how you got to a page. Area 3 is the dashboard status bar, from here you can change your status from in to out, and quickly view pending work orders, or new messages. Area 4 is the dashboard area, which can be customized. By default work orders assigned to you, and unread messages will be shown on the dashboard. You may change the contents of your dashboard by going to "Account" -> "Preferences" -> "Layout and System" -> "Dashboard Preferences". Each user's dashboard is unique, and can be customized to meet the needs of that user. When you are done using MA make sure to logoff. You can do this by mousing over the "Account" tab, and clicking "Log off".

Browsing Records
Although you may not have needed to browse records yet, it is good to get to know how records are displayed in MA. By default 25 records are shown on a page, subsequent records over 25 can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the next page button. You can change the number of records displayed per page by going navigating to "Account" -> "Preferences" -> "Layout and System" -> "Layout Preferences", and changing the records per page field. You can sort records by clicking on the column headings, as you would in any other application. You may search for records by clicking the "Find" button in the top right bar. The "Action" button contains a menu of actions that is specific to the list of records being browsed. For example, this menu may contain items to create or delete a selected record. Finally the view menu allows you to customize which columns are shown, or show/hide the additional navigation boxes.


Editing Records
Regardless of what you are editing most pages have the same general layout. Push the save button often to save any changes you have made while editing the record. Pushing the save button will not remove you from the record being edited. Pushing the close button will exit from the record being edited; note that any unsaved changes will not be saved. Finally you can print the contents of any record page by clicking the print button.

Users

The first thing you will want to do after installing MA is to create accounts for all the necessary users. Each person using MA should have their own account, this allows tracking of user activity, and assigning tasks to specific people. It is not advisable for people to share accounts.

Creating a New User
To create a new user navigate to "Admin" -> "Users". You will see one user in the list, this is your administrator account. Click the new button in the top right corner to begin. MA will begin by creating a new user with an assigned personnel code, you can either choose to keep the generated code or create a new one. Note that each user must have a unique personnel code.

Enter basic information for the user, you will need to give them a username and password, this is what they will use to login to the system. The "Reports To" tab allows you to create user relational hierarchies, this is good in scenarios where there are multiple managers, each with a different set of users reporting to them. You can add a new link by clicking the new button and choosing a user to report to. The "Layout and System" tab contains options for customizing the user interface. The messaging tab allows you to specify if you would like alerts and/or messages forwarded to the user's email address. Note that you must have entered an email address for the user to make use of this option. Any item in MA can have files associated with it, even user accounts. Under the files tab you can choose to upload files that will be associated with this user. An example of files a user may want to upload might be documents such as PDF or Word files. You can also upload a picture for the user by creating a new file and selecting default image as the file type. It is mandatory that you assign each user a user role. The user role determines what permissions the user will have on the system. By default MA has the roles: Guest, Technician, Coordinator, and Administrator. See the section on user roles for more information. You must select at least one role for the new user. Finally, the community tab specifies what role, if any the user will have within the MA community.

Once you have completed filling in the information for this user click the "Save" button in the top right bar, then click the "Close" button to return to the user list. Repeat this process for all users that will require access to the system.

User Roles
Maintenance Assistant v3 allow you to create groups called user roles. A user role is a defined set of permissions that let the system know what pages a user can view. You can view all user roles by clicking on navigating to "Admin" -> "User Roles". From here you can edit, create, or delete existing user roles. The "Guest" user role applies to any user who accesses the MA server without logging in.

Generally, with respect to the default user roles, administrators may edit any setting within the server, coordinators may edit maintenance related settings but not server settings, and technicians may edit and complete work orders, and view but not edit most other maintenance items.

Locations and Facilities

After adding all the necessary users the next step is to organize the locations and facilities within MA to match your organization's needs. A facility represents a category in which assets may be placed, and scheduled maintenance will take place. Facilities by default are divided into three categories: inventory storage, buildings, and plants. Facilities can have physical locations assigned to them (IE an address), and can have child items. Whenever you give an asset a physical location, that location will get added to the locations list, and when adding any other assets you may specify the location from this list, or create a new location. For example, if the layout of an organization was as follows:

Main Plant: Located in Toronto, Ontario, contains production lines, offices, and shipping departments.
Auxiliary Plant: Hamilton, Ontario, contains offices and production lines.

In this scenario you would create two facilities of type plant, and assign each a respective location. Two locations: Toronto, and Hamilton, would get added to your list of locations. If in future if you wish to create additional facilities at either location you can assign them to the "Hamilton" or "Toronto" locations without re-entering the addresses.
Facilities themselves are also considered "Assets", if this is confusing just try to keep in mind that any item entered into the system is essentially an asset (plant/tool/equipment/inventory).

To begin navigate to "CMMS" -> "Facilities", and click the new button. It is advisable to add at least one "facility" to MA so that you may assign locations to other assets. Like other items in MA you can assign files to a facility. These files may include: an image to represent the facility, maps of the facility, or any miscellaneous associated items. All assets in MA may also have meter readings assigned to them - we will cover this later. Finally, you may associate personnel with a given facility. This is helpful if you would like to classify users based on where they are located, in cases where there may be multiple facilities.

Assets

Once you have entered all the necessary facilities you may move on to entering assets. Assets include: inventory, equipment, and tools. An asset represents an item that can have work order performed against it, have its inventory depleted (in the case of inventory), or be used in the completion of another work order (tools and inventory). We will work off the following example to guide you through creating assets:

My organization has a truck which will have maintenance performed on it. The truck has an engine, which will also need to be entered. Oil and tires are inventory items that the truck will use. A wrench is often used for maintenance on the truck. The truck is located at the Toronto plant.

Working off this example, the first asset we would add would be the truck itself. To begin navigate to "CMMS" -> "Equipment" and push the new button. The "General" tab might look something like this:

The purchasing tab contains information from the purchase of the asset. As per other records in MA, you may associate files, including images, with the asset. The meter reading tab is new at this point. A meter reading represents any quantitative reading that can be made on the machine, and may be used in generating preventative maintenance. Appropriate for our truck example would be to add a meter reading based on the odometer:


To add a meter reading, select the meter reading units, enter a value and click "Add Meter Reading". We will revisit meter readings later. The next tab, "Personnel", allows you to associate specific users with the piece of equipment. These may be users of the equipment, or technicians responsible for performing maintenance. The "Warranties" tab allows you to keep track of any warranties associated with the piece of equipment. The warranty for our example may look as follows:


Finally the "Businesses" tab allows you to associate any business you have entered into your system with the asset. See the inventory and supply management section for more details. When you are finished entering details for your asset click save. By default when an asset is created it is set to offline. Take this opportunity to set the asset's status to online, this indicates that the piece of equipment is functioning properly and can have work orders created for it.


Now that we have added the truck, we can move on to adding other assets that are associated with the truck. Next we will enter another piece of equipment - the engine of the truck. When entering the information for this piece of equipment we would choose "This equipment is part of: " instead of a location. We would then choose the Ford 150 item as the parent. This lets MA know that the engine is a part of the truck. Other than this detail, filling out the information for this piece of equipment is the same.


Now that we have added both the engine and the truck it is time to move onto other assets associated with the truck - the oil and tires. These items are consumable meaning that more than one of them is likely to exist in inventory, and that they are going to be used up in work orders. To enter these assets navigate to "CMMS" -> "Parts and Supplies". Again, click new to create a new asset. All tabs here will be the same with the exception of one, the "Stock Levels" tab. The first category "Inventory Stock Levels" allows you to view how much of the inventory item is in stock, and what the minimum stock level is. Once the minimum stock level has been reached, you will be notified, and a request for quote (RFQ) can automatically be made. We will return to RFQs in the inventory and supply management section. To let the system know how much of an inventory item remains you can add a new stock level under the "Inventory Stocking and Purchase Records" section. This allows you to keep track of how much inventory is in the system, how much the supplies cost, who sold them, and when they expire (if applicable). Going with our motor oil example, an entry might look like this:


You can choose any unit you would like when entering inventory levels. Since this item is a fluid I could define the quantities in liters, or alternatively I could specify the amount in bottles. Just make sure to always enter inventory levels in the same units. When you are finished click save, and then close the record. Since tires are consumable items, they would also be added in the inventory category. The last asset we will be adding for this example will be the wrench.
The wrench should be added under the tools category, access this by navigating to "CMMS" -> "Tools". Click new to create a new tool. Tools are defined as items that are used in completing maintenance or a work order, but are not consumed in the act of doing so. For example, the wrench may be used during truck maintenance, but unlike a tire, or oil, it does not have inventory associated with it. Adding tools into MA will allow you to keep track of what tools will be required by different users for maintenance. This type of asset does not have any new fields.
We have now gone over the basics of adding assets. While this may seem simple, it illustrates the breakdown of how assets should be entered into MA.
Meter Readings
Any asset entered into MA can have meter readings entered for it. Meter readings can be used simply to keep track of usage - such as miles traveled in the case of our truck, they can be used to determine when a warranty has expired, or they can be used to generate scheduled maintenance. For example, maybe general maintenance needs to be done on the truck every 20,000 kilometers. Meter readings can be entered for an asset through either asset details page, or when updating / completing a work order assigned to that asset. MA keeps a log of all meter readings, when they were entered, and who entered them.

You can add new types of meter readings, in addition to the defaults, by navigating to "Admin"-> "Meter Reading Units" while logged in as an administrator.

Work Orders

A work order is a request for maintenance on an asset that can be created manually, or by the system itself based on a set of criteria. Setting the system up to automatically make work orders will be covered in the scheduled maintenance section. There are a few ways to create a work order:

1. As a guest, without being logged into the system, by navigating to "Account" -> "Submit Work Order Request".
2. When logged into the system, as a technician, by navigating to "CMMS" -> "Work Orders" -> "New".
3. Created by a scheduled maintenance item, automatically by the system.

Submitting a Work Order Request
We will first go over the simplest way to create a work order, submitting a work order request. The work order request system is designed for users to request maintenance on an asset who are not necessarily in the system as a technician (IE they have no username/password). These may be users of a piece of equipment, as opposed to the people who perform maintenance on that equipment. The work order request page presents a very simple page, with minimal options:


Users need only enter a description of the problem, the asset, type of maintenance, priority and suggested time. Notice that the work order status is locked in as "Requested", this means that the work order will not be assigned to a technician, or appear in the work order list until it has been accepted by an administrator.

Now we will login as an administrator and navigate to the "CMMS" -> "Work Orders" page. In the left hand column you will see a list of work order statuses: requested, assigned, open, work in progress, on hold, completed, and draft. These provide you with the flexibility to categorize exactly what phase of completion a work order is in. By default we are brought to the requested work orders. In the list you will see the work order that was just requested, double click it to open the work order. You will now be presented with a much more detailed work order page. This is the administrator's view. Here administrators may edit any information associated with the work order. For this example we will simply change the status of the work order to open, and assign a technician. To change the status, simply click the work order status menu, and select open. Next click on the "Technicians" tab, and under "Associated Technicians" click "New". Here you may assign a technician to the work order, and select notification options. Clicking save will apply the changes.

Creating a Work Order as an Administrator
When creating a work order as an administrator you will find that there are many more options than simply submitting a request. The "General" tab is the same, however you may change the work order status - it is not locked into requested. As before, select an asset, maintenance type, etc... New here you will notice the "Tasks" tab. This allows you to assign specific tasks that a technician must perform when completing the work order. Upon completion of the work order, the technician will be required to report on the status of each task - whether they were completed or not. To create new tasks simply click the new button. You can choose to assign individual tasks to a technician, or leave the field blank. You will notice that the tasks are presented in a specific order. This is the order in which the tasks should be completed. Clicking the up/down arrows in the list allows you to change the order of the tasks.


You can now add technicians to the work order, as you did previously. Next you can add any parts and supplies that you thing will be required for the work order. Click the "Parts and Supplies" tab. Adding a suggested part will not actually deplete inventory, it is just a way of letting the technician know what parts will be required for the maintenance. When completing the work order the technician will report the actual parts, and amounts used. The notes tab allows you to enter additional information for the technician. Notice that there is also a "Completion Notes" field, this will be populated by the technician when completing the work order. The "Files" tab allows you to attach files to the work order, and works similarly as it does throughout the application. Finally, the "Work Log" tab displays a list of all activity involving the work order. At this stage this is irrelevant, however once the work order is opened, it will display when it was edited, updated, or completed, and by what user. Click save to create the work order.

Updating and Completing a Work Order
Your dashboard will inform you of any work orders that have been assigned to you. You may receive a message, and you will see the work orders in the assigned work orders list. You can view all work orders that are assigned to you at any time by navigating to "Account" -> "Assigned Work Orders".


Double clicking an assigned work order will bring up the work order details. You will notice that this page looks different from the admin work order creation / editing page. This is because this page is designed to be used by technicians who will be completing the work order, not administrators. The top of the page gives a brief overview of information:


In this example we are going to complete the work order by setting the work order status to "Completed". If we only wanted to update the work order, for example by completing only half the tasks, we could set the status to "Work in Progress". Next we can move onto reporting progress on the tasks that were assigned to the work order.


The checkboxes can be marked if the task was completed, and the amount of time required to complete each task can be entered. If additional tasks above and beyond the assign tasks were performed, they can be added using the "Additional Tasks Completed" section. After reporting the progress on assigned tasks, a meter reading may be entered for the asset which maintenance was performed on. In this case we may want to include the odometer reading in the work order. Next parts and supplies used during maintenance can be entered.

First, parts that were suggested for the maintenance can have actual consumption values assigned. This is done by filling in the edit field beside the part name in the list, under the "Actual Quantity Used" heading. Entering a value here will deplete inventory levels for the part. Additionally, parts not suggested in the work order itself can be added by clicking the new button. Here you may select a part, and the quantity of it that was used. As mentioned earlier, the notes field allows the technician to enter completion notes, these will be saved with the work order. As per usual, files can be added. The work log is also visible. Clicking save will update inventory levels, and move the work order from open to completed. It will no longer show up in the assigned work orders list.

Viewing Previously Completed Work Orders
Administrators may view and edit previously completed work orders, just as they can view and edit work orders that are in progress. To edit the details of a work order login as an administrator and navigate to the "CMMS" -> "Work Orders" page. You can then click the "Completed" item in the left hand menu. This will give a list of completed work orders, double clicking a work order will allow you to edit it.

Scheduled Maintenance

A scheduled maintenance item will create a work order based on a given set of conditions. These conditions can be based on a time interval, or a meter reading interval. To create a scheduled maintenance item navigate to "CMMS" -> "Scheduled Maintenance", and click the new button. You will notice the "General" tab is identical to creating a work order. When a work order is made from the scheduled item it will inherit all the settings entered here. The only new tab is the "Scheduling" tab. The schedule for a scheduled item is defined by a list of criteria entered here. You can choose to have the work order created when any of the criteria are met, or when all of the criteria are met. To create a new criteria click the new button. The scheduling can be based either on a time schedule or a meter reading interval:



If a scheduled item is created based on a time schedule then you may choose the interval: daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. You may also choose a start and end date. If it is to be based on a meter reading then the units, interval, and number of triggers must be selected. When you have filled out all other fields as you would a work order click save and close. This scheduled maintenance item will now be active, and will create work orders based on the schedule.

By default scheduled maintenance items are created 2 days ahead of schedule at 9AM. This option can be changed by navigating to "Admin" -> "CMMS Settings" -> "Maintenance and Work Order" while logged in as an administrator.

Inventory and Supply Management

Maintenance Assistant v3 includes advanced inventory and supply management features. MA can keep track of inventory, and even send out request for quotes (RFQs) when your inventory is low. The first step to setting up automated inventory management is to add businesses that you order inventory from.

Businesses
You can add businesses that you order inventory from, need to contact, or hire technicians from into maintenance assistant. To get started navigate to "CMMS" -> "Businesses", and click the new button. Enter the general information for the business, and select the roles the business plays: Manufacturer, Supplier, and/or Service Provider. You may then specify a location for the business, and add any schematics or diagrams provided by the business. For supply management the most important setting is the "Associated Assets" tab. Here you can add any assets that may be supplied by the given business.


Start by selecting an asset that will be associated with the business. Next choose the role the business plays for this asset, in the example above Ford is selling tires. If applicable you may enter an asset number specific to that business. This is helpful if the business has their own codes that they use to refer to items. If checked, "Send RFQs" will automatically email the supplier with an RFQ when the inventory of the asset runs below the specified minimum value, which is defined in the asset details. The economic batch quantity is the number of items for which an RFQ will be requested. For example, in the case above, when the tired inventory ran below the defined minimum an RFQ would be emailed to Ford requesting 4 tires.

The personnel tab allows you to associate users with the business. This is helpful if for example the business is a service provider - thus technicians from the company may be using your MA, and can be appropriately associated with the business. Finally the "Supply Management" tab allows you to specify advanced RFQ settings, and a billing currency.

Further Information

We have gone through the basics of setting your organization up with Maintenance Assistant. For more information please visit our website. The website contains a wealth of tutorials and knowledge base articles. In addition, you may click the help button in MA at any time to get more information on the page you are working in.