One small topic, 10 questions on Item Statuses:

Q1 – Can you delete an item?

Answer – No. 

There are no actions for Delete Item or Duplicate Item across the Item Master, Service Items or Tools applications. You make an item invisible to users by changing status to Obsolete.

Q2 – Which item status(es) is incorrect, PENDING, WAPPR, ACTIVE, APPROVED, PENDOBS, OBSOLETE, CLOSED?

Answer – WAPPR, APPROVED, CLOSED.

There are item 5 statuses and they flow in this order PENDING, PLANNING, ACTIVE, PENDOBS, OBSOLETE. PENDOBS is Pending Obsolescence.

Q3 – There are 5 item statuses which one from the list above is missing?

Answer – PLANNING. 

Q4 – Item statuses exist at the Item and Inventory level, but what other level do they exist at?

Answer – Item/Organization Level 

Maximo has three levels, Sets, OrganizationsA structural element of a Maximo database which is used for data sharing and is often aligned to a legal entity of an organisation. More and Sites. But when we refer to Items and Tools they exist is three corresponding levels; Items, Item/Organizations, Inventory. The Item Master action is Item/Organizations Details, and the supporting object/table is ITEMORGINFO.

Q5 – At what statuses can you reorder items from inventory?

Answer – PLANNING and ACTIVE 

At PENDING status you cannot select an item.

At PLANNING status you cannot issue, return or receipt an item, but you can add an item to a purchase order, but not approve it.

At ACTIVE status there are no restrictions

At PENDOBS status there is no reordering, you cannot approve a purchase order with an item at this status

At OBSOLETE status the item no longer appears in lookups except for Standard Services on the Invoices application.

Q6 – At what statuses can you issue, transfer and receive items?

Answer – ACTIVE and PENDOBS

The aim at Pending Obsolescence status is to use your remaining quantities of an item, and so you can issue, return and transfer the item. You can receive an item that is on an approved purchase order at PENDOBS status.

Q7 – Why is there a default item status in both the Sets application as well as the Organizations application?

Answer – The Default Item Status on Sets is the default for an Organization, it is also the default used for new items, service items or tools. The Default Item Status on Organizations is the default used for the organization in the Item/Organization Details when an item is created.

This allows some organizations to operate where new items are immediately added at ACTIVE status, but for other organizations that share the same item set to have theirs set to PENDING state.

Q8 – In which Maximo application would you see the check box “Roll New Status to Organizations?”

Answer – Service Items

On Item Master and Tools the change status is “Roll New Status to Organizations and Inventory?” There are no storerooms for Service Items. Change Status at the Item/Organization level for items and tools is “Roll New Status to Inventory?” 

Q9 – What records does Maximo validate against when changing status to obsolete?

Answer – Work Plan Items, Job Plan Items, Material Requisitions Lines, Purchase Requisition Lines, Purchase Order Lines, Inventory Balances, Assets (?)

The messages are BMXAA2109E to BMXAA2115E. I derived the list by finding the one for Inventory Balances and then looking around the message found for INVBALANCES (BMXAA2114E) to discover what other messages had been created at the same time Item Statuses was introduced.

It is also passing a variable into the message to indicate the level at which the validation was performed – BMXAA2115E – Cannot change status. Item is attached to one or more assets at {0} level. 

I couldn’t find where in Maximo the validation against Asset was occurring, but I verified the others. There may also be other validations I haven’t found.

Q10 – Where in Maximo might you be able to use an obsolete item?

Answer – An obsolete Standard Service (service item) can be selected onto an invoice. You get the warning – BMXAA5700W – This item is in Obsolete status. Do you wish to proceed?

This means that you cannot hide obsolete service items except through configuration.