Last Updated on November 17, 2022 by maximosecrets

There are a few fields in the dialog for the action Tool/Organization Details in the Tools application that are different from what you see in the similar dialog in the Item Master application. You might have wondered what they are for. In this article we will discuss the Tool Rate, Outside Vendor and the GL fields.

When you create a tool in the Tools application there is a check box called “Outside?” which you use if the tool is leased from a vendor. This field becomes read-only as soon as you save the record. 

In the action Tool/Organization Details you will be able to enter the Outside Vendor if this field has been checked, you should consider it mandatory (it isn’t). If the “Outside?” field is left unchecked, which is the default, then the Outside Vendor field is read-only. The Select Value for the Outside Vendor is the set of companies for the organization.

The Tool Rate is the default used on a Job Plan in the Tools tab if the Job Tools record has an associated 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. If there is no organization the rate will be set to 0.00. Similarly, it is the default rate used in the Work Order Tracking application, in both the Plans and Actuals tabs when the tool is selected.

The GL Account is a partial GL which is defaulted from the Tool Resource Codes found in the Resource Codes action in the Chart of Accounts application. This partial GL Account will be merged with the work order’s GL Account to derive the GL Debit Account on the Actual Tools record (TOOLTRANS) in the Work Order Tracking application. 

The Control Account is normally a hidden field. It is defaulted from two places depending on whether the tool is an outside tool:

• If Outside = 0 then the Tool Control Account for the organization is used, this is found in the action Organization Default Accounts in the Chart of Accounts application. 
• If Outside = 1 then the Tool Control Account for the vendor is used, this is found in the Companies application for the associated vendor – which is why you might consider the Vendor field mandatory.

The Control Account is used as the credit account when the tool is used on a work order. I will charge the work order for the amount of time they use the tool and credit the organization or vendor tool control accounts.

In the Job Plans application – Tools tab, when the tool is referenced and the Organization is set, then the Rate field is derived from Tool/Organization Details for the tool, similarly in the Work Order Tracking application and the Plans – Tools tab.

In both applications there is a hidden vendor field, it is the suggested vendor to order the item from. It is not defaulted from the Vendor field on the Tools/Organization Details action of the Tools application. This field is used by Material Items and is enabled when you set the Direct Issue checkbox, on tools it remains read-only on the Job Plans application in Maximo 7.6.1.1 which is where I performed the test. It is enterable on the Tools tab in Work Order Tracking application.

There is a Vendors tab in the Tools application, these are the vendors I have bought the tool item from, or the ones I might buy from in the future. The use of the “Outside?” field is to indicate I have a tool on my premises which is owned by a vendor but which I use, the two are not related.

If the outside tool is a rotating tool, for which you can have one or more tool assets, you can create a Rental type contract in Lease/Rental Contracts application for the hire of these tools. The Item field on the Contract Lines tab might appear to be for items only, the Go To menu is to Item Master, but it does allow you to select rotating tool items.