Last Updated on August 26, 2018 by maximosecrets

Solutions (HSE)

A Solution is used for Knowledge Management and is most widely used on an Investigation. In an aging workforce capturing existing knowledge is an important activity.

The Solutions (HSE) application is a clone of the base Solution application in Maximo. A solution has three long description fields for Symptom, Cause and Resolution, each with rich text formatting. A solution can be classified, and the Specifications tab shows the attributes specific to the classification. Often a solution will have one or more attachments. An active solution is applied to an Incident and Problem in base Maximo.

If lessons are to be learnt and a useful knowledge base created, then the Solutions (HSE) application should have a wide base of authors. The solutions created should be curated, an appropriate reviewer assigned, and the solution approved. The approver may vary depending on whether the solution will be used locally, regionally or globally.

A solution can be created from the Incident (HSE), Defect (HSE) or Investigation (HSE) applications. Those applications also have a Solution Details tab. These are the ticket-based applications but there is no solution on a Service Request.

The solution’s classification is important because it provides a structured search. From the Incident (HSE), Defect (HSE) or Investigation (HSE) applications there is a Search Solution action and when opened the initial query looks for solutions where there is a match to the classification on the incident, defect or investigation.

The additional functionality added to Solutions (HSE) application is as follows:

Solution Tab

• Is Lesson Learned – this checkbox is used to distinguish between a lesson learned and an approved solution. A Lesson Learned is a solution record that has not yet been through its complete approval cycle. When it has the Lesson Learned checkbox can be unchecked.
• Solution Category – a field supported by a list of values, Maintenance, Operations, Integrity, and Health, Safety & Environment
• Originating SiteA structural element of a Maximo database that is used for data separation. More – this is the Site that originated the Solution. It is the default insert site of the person who created the record and not the SITEID of the originating record. It can be changed.

Ownership Tab

User Information section

• Solution Originator – This field is defaulted to the insert site of the person who created the record. There is a go to menu to People (HSE) application.
• Name – This is copied from the display name of the solution originator. You cannot enter someone who is not listed as a person in People (HSE).
• Phone – This is copied from the primary phone of the solution originator.
• E-mail – This is copied from the primary email address of the solution originator.
• Additional Contact Information – This field is used to record other useful contact information for the solution originator.
• Originator’s OrganizationA structural element of a Maximo database which is used for data sharing and is often aligned to a legal entity of an organisation. More – This field is defaulted to the organization of the default insert site of the person who is the Solution Originator. It is read-only.
• Originator’s Site – This field is defaulted to the default insert site of the person who is the Solution Originator. It is read-only.

Approval Details section

The approvers that can be entered in this section need to have their person record set to be “Authorised for Solution Approval”, this is found in the Details Tab of People (HSE) application.

The Owner and Owner Group fields are set using the actions Take Ownership or Select Owner:

• Use the Take Ownership action to set the Owner field, or
• Use the Select Owner action and select a Person to set the Owner field
• Use the Select Owner action and select a Person Group to set the Owner Group field.

The first set of seven fields in the Approval Details section are all read-only.

• Owner Approval Date – This read-only field is set to the current date and time when the Owner Approval checkbox is checked.
• Owner – This read-only field is set using the actions Select Owner or Take Ownership
• Owner Approval – Use the checkbox to indicate when the solution owner has approved the solution, it becomes enterable after an owner has been added.
• Owner Group Approval Date – This read-only field is set to the current date and time when the Owner Group Approval checkbox is checked.
• Owner Group Approval By – This read-only field will only become enterable when an Owner Group has been selected and the Owner Group Approval checkbox has been set. It has to be a person that is a member of the Owner Group and that has been marked with Authorised for Solution Approval in their person record. Use the Select Value to see the set of possible approvers.
• Owner Group Approval – This read-only field will only become enterable when an Owner Group has been selected. When checked it indicates that the Owner Group has approved the solution and it allows the Owner Group Approval By field to be selected.
• Owner Group – This read-only field is set when the Select Owner action is used, and a Person Group is selected.

In the next set of fields, use the check box first, then enter the approver.

• Global Approval Date – Read-only field that is set to the current date and time when the Global Approval By person is selected.
• Global Approval By – Field becomes enterable when Global Approval is checked. Field has a Select Value that only shows persons marked with Authorised for Solution Approval. Go To People (HSE).
• Global Approval – Check box is to be used when the solution is approved for global use.
• Regional Approval Date – Read-only field that is set to the current date and time when the Regional Approval By person is selected.
• Regional Approval By – Field becomes enterable when Regional Approval is checked. Field has a Select Value that only shows persons marked with Authorised for Solution Approval. Go To People (HSE).
• Regional Approval – Check box is to be used when the solution is approved for regional use.
• Local Approval Date – Read-only field that is set to the current date and time when the Local Approval By person is selected.
• Local Approval By – Field becomes enterable when Local Approval is checked. Field has a Select Value that only shows persons marked with Authorised for Solution Approval. Go To People (HSE).
• Local Approval – Check box is to be used when the solution is approved for local use.

Dates Section:

• Reported Date – Date/time field that is set when the Solution record is first created. It can be changed.
• Valid From – The date/time when the Solution becomes valid
• Expiration Date – The date/time when the Solution becomes invalid and can no longer be applied to a ticket record. This date has to be later than Valid From.
• Changed Date – Date/time field reflects the date and time when the solution record was last saved. Read-only.
• Changed By – The person who last updated the solution record. Read-only.

Solution Area Section:

The three checkboxes and the Reference Solution field act like a radio button. Only one of Global Solution, Regional Solution and Local Solution can be checked and these three fields cannot be used when a value is entered for the Reference Solution.

The Global, Regional and Local checkboxes would be used for filtering. Solution records are defined at the System level. Use the Regional checkbox when the Solution is to be used across your Organization and Local checkbox when it is to be used for your Site. However, there are no defined filtering rules, these would need to be applied through configuration. It is also not possible to indicate that a solution is relevant to multiple organizations or multiple sites.

• Global Solution – A checkbox to indicate whether the solution can be used globally. Becomes read-only if either Regional Solution, Local Solution is checked, or Reference Solution is given a value.
• Regional Solution – A checkbox to indicate whether the solution can be used regionally. Becomes read-only if either Global Solution, Local Solution is checked, or Reference Solution is given a value.
• Local Solution – A checkbox to indicate whether the solution can be used locally. Becomes read-only if either Global Solution, Regional Solution is checked, or Reference Solution is given a value.
• Reference Solution – A field for referencing an active solution that is defined as a local, regional or global solution. It is used when one solution is based from another with perhaps local variations. It is read-only if either of Global Solution, Regional Solution or Local Solution is checked.

Benefits Tab

Multiple benefit records can be associated with a solution, these are the benefits expected to be gained by applying the solution. These records would normally be created in the Benefits and Losses (HSE) application, but a benefit record can be created by adding a value to the Estimated Benefit and Estimated Benefit Units fields.

Details Section:

• Benefit – The identifier of the benefit record as created in the Benefits and Losses (HSE) application. There are Select Value and Go To field options.
• Description – The description associated with the benefit record identified in the Benefit field. A read-only field.
• Impact Area – The type of benefit or loss as defined in the benefit record. A read-only field.
• Organization – The Organization associated with this benefit or loss. A read-only field.
• Site – The Site associated with the benefit or loss. A read-only field.

Estimates Section:

• Estimated Cost – The estimated cost associated with this benefit.
• Estimated Benefit – A numeric field to indicate the quantified expected benefit from applying this solution. It is a mandatory field which is used in conjunction with Estimated Benefit Units.
• Estimated Benefit Units – The unit of the Estimated Benefit, a mandatory field. The lookup shows a list of Units of Measure.

Reference Benefits Section:

This set of nine fields provides a window onto the Benefit and Losses record. All the fields are read-only.

• Benefit Quantity – A numeric quantity of benefit.
• Benefit Units – The unit of benefit.
• Unit Price – The commodity unit price on which you derive a benefit.
• Price Units – The unit used for the unit price of the derived benefit.
• Calculated Benefits – The benefit calculated from Benefit Quantity*Unit Price. This field is read-only in the Benefits and Losses (HSE) application.
• Calculated Units – The unit of the Calculated Benefit. As there is no conversion between the Benefit Units and Price Units all three unit fields should be aligned. This field is read-only in the Benefits and Losses (HSE) application.
• Period of Benefit – The numeric quantity of time period over which the benefit can be measured.
• Period Units – A unit of time over which the benefit can be measured. Must exist in the Units of Measure table.
• Measurable – A checkbox that indicates whether the benefit can be measured.

Log Tab

The Log tab behaves similarly to that for the Ticket and Work Order based applications. The Log tab has two sub-tabs, one for Work Log and the other for Communication Log.

• Work Log records can be added to a Solution and can be updated or deleted only if the user has been granted the Modify/Delete Work Log signature option. The Work Log records created against a Solution are not visible from the originating ticket that created the Solution record.
• Communication Log records are added as a result of the Create Communication action.

Related Records Tab

The Related Records Tab shows where the solution has been related to a ticket or work order.

• When you create a solution from a Defect, Incident or Investigation the originating record will be displayed in the Related Tickets table window.
• As there is no work order based application with a Create Solution action, a Solution Details tab or a Search Solution action, it is unlikely that a solution will be related to a work order, but it is possible with the relationship type of RELATED.

View Investigations action

The View Investigations action shows the Investigation on which the Solution appears in either the Solution or Lesson learned tabs.

Self-Service Search Solutions application

When the Self-Service Access field is checked on a solution record then it will become visible in the Search Solutions application found in the Self-Service Module – Service Requests sub module.