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Maximo Manage – Mobile

Contents

Introduction

IBM are creating new applications which are role based, they appear across Maximo Manage in sub modules called Role Based Applications. The RBA applications will be found mainly in the Assets, Inventory, and Work Order modules, but Service Requests is also found in the Self Service module. All these applications are built with the Maximo Application Framework (MAF) tooling which currently requires XML editing, but in MAS 8.11 there is some visualisation, and the aim is to have something like Application Designer. IBM are a long way along this path, and each new release of MAS sees enhancements to the MAF.

Several of the Role Based Applications were built to support mobile use. Maximo Mobile uses the same code and works both offline and online. The RBA applications are online only and operate from a browser whether that is on a mobile device, tablet, or desktop. The MAF builds a responsive user interface which can operate on different device sizes and orientations.

The mobile suite of applications in Maximo 7.6.1.x was called Maximo Anywhere and there were several applications supporting asset, inventory, and work management, but a few other mobile applications were built to support industry solutions or add-ons. Maximo Anywhere supported Calibration, Incident Reporter was used with HSE and O&G, there was a Work Execution application and an E Flight Log Book to support ACM and Aviation, and the Nuclear Industry Solution had a mobile application for Operator Rounds. Maximo Anywhere is no longer supported on MAS 8.11 its replacement is Maximo Mobile, however, while calibration support is expected in MAS 9.0 in summer 2024, there is no published roadmap replacement for these other mobile applications yet.

IBM did start down a path of building role-based applications called Work Centers. These used a different responsive user interface technology to that in the MAF. The functional footprint of these work centers has been largely replaced or exceeded by the current RBA applications, and except for Manage Inventory, Manage Inspection Forms and Manage Monitoring Information all other Work Centers have been removed in MAS 8.11. However, if you look closely, you will find some functional gaps between the Work Centers and their Maximo Mobile replacements.

This article was written when MAS 8.11 was the current version. It covers the applications which are known as Maximo Mobile, a replacement for both Maximo Anywhere and most of the Work Centers. I have performed deep dives into the Role Based Applications and then looked on the Maximo Mobile equivalent applications to see what differences I could find, visually they look similar but until I have done a deep dive on the mobile applications, which I intend to do after MAS 9.0 has been delivered, I won’t know for certain where there are differences. While many of these applications have matured, some are still being enhanced and I expect I will be regularly updating this article over the next few years.

There are a set of other role-based applications which are developed using the MAF which won’t be found by someone who is using the Maximo Mobile application downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, they are designed to be used on the desktop using a browser. I will be writing a separate article for these, to cover initially the Work Orders and Workflow Assignments applications, and anything new added in MAS 9.0. Dashboards will be covered either in Analytics or Scheduler.

Service Requests

The Service Requests application will be found in the Work Orders and Self-Service Modules, it is an application that can be used by users without incurring AppPoints. It allows a service request to be created, and to view the service requests that the user created or were created on their behalf and to monitor progress on those service requests. They look to provide similar functionality to the Self-Service applications Create Service Request and View Service Request. If you are modifying the application using the MAF, the view of an existing service request should not enable the user to modify the service request as AppPoints will be needed for this.

When creating a new Service Request the application opens by showing the images associated with the top-level classifications associated with the Use With Object of SR. It will look better if there are images for these classifications. Clicking on an image will show a set of sub-categories, and you can drill-down further. If Ticket Templates have the same classification as the bottom level classifications in the hierarchy, then there will be an extra level to drill-down. The Ticket Templates are a good idea because it allows you to automate the recipients (owner or owner group) of the service request after it has been submitted.

The page that opens in the application is split vertically showing on the left sections for Details, Contact person, Location, Asset and Service Address. On the right are fields associated with each section, for example the Details section has the Summary and Description, it may also show the attributes associated with the service request classification. Date attributes are now supported in the specification. The long description does not yet support rich text formatting although this capability will be found in other role-based applications.

The Contact person section shows fields for full name, phone, and email, this is changing the Affected Person fields. This section now allows a person to be entered who is not a registered person, it was fixed recently and works on Maximo Manage 8.7.7.

The Location section supports selection of a location using a drilldown on the primary system, but you can also find locations from a map, by scanning a label with the devices camera, or by searching. When you use the search, fields like Status and Type have a lookup. 

The Asset section supports selecting an asset using the map, by scanning, or by searching, but you are searching the assets belonging to the selected location if you entered one. The search fields for assets are different, and include Asset Tag, Manufacturer, Rotating Item, Serial Number, Status and Type. The location and asset search capabilities in the Service Request application have advanced further than in other mobile applications that have the same fields. For example, when creating a work order you can scan and search, there is no map or drilldown, and the search is quite basic. Consistency needs to be built across the applications; they are still definitely under development.

The final section is the service address. This is for creating a service address for the service request and there is a Save my GPS location button which will add the latitude and longitude. There are four address fields, these are all fields on the service request record, it does not create a new service address. If the location or asset has a service address it does not currently use this.

At the bottom of the create service request page, you can add multiple photos, videos, or files, either by taking a photo or selecting one from your device.

The newly submitted service request will be seen in the Active Requests page, there is also the option to review Completed Requests. You can delete the service request if it is still at NEW status but not once it has reached QUEUED which would be the case if a ticket template had been applied with an owner or owner group. It doesn’t delete the SR but cancels it. You can review log notes and create a new log note, and this supports rich text formatting. You can also create new attachments. Apart from these two points all other fields on the view of active requests will be read-only.

There is an option for a new Service Request – Describe the request, which bypasses the selection of the categories and subcategories.

Work Approvals

The Work Approvals application doesn’t seem to have had many enhancements since MAS 8.3 (Nov 2021) whereas the Technician application has seen a lot of focus. It was aiming to replace the Work Supervision Work Center but there are gaps, for example, there is no view of service requests to review and create work orders from these service requests. In terms of functional footprint, it is much closer to the Maximo Anywhere Work Approval application.

The Work Approvals application will be found in the Work Orders module. It opens by showing a view of the work orders to review, but there are also two other views, completed work orders and work order history. The work orders to review are open work orders where the user is referenced as the supervisor. If the work order is of PM type and it is overdue according to its Target Finish, then there will be red text informing you of how overdue it is. The work order shows the total estimate, and there is a button to view direct hours and costs, it doesn’t show work order hierarchy hours and costs. If the work order is at waiting to be approved state the user will be guided to approve it, but you cannot enter a memo.

The view work order page is read-only and shows the short and long description, work type, status and priority, scheduled start and finish, duration, and the formatted address. Next to the formatted address is a button which will open a map showing the geographic position of the work order if this has been derived. The map has a few map tool buttons.

At the bottom of the details section are four buttons which will show the planned material and tools, open the work log, display the set of tasks, or allow you to report work. The planned materials have an option to get reserved items, and an option to request materials, which will create a draft material request. There doesn’t appear to be an option to submit the material request.

The Asset and Location section will show the asset and location descriptions, the asset up/down status and an image of the asset if it has one, but you can navigate to the asset page which will show more details. This section has four buttons, to scan the asset to verify you are at the right asset, to review meters, to get a brief view of the asset and location history and to change the up/down status of the asset and enter a downtime code.

At the bottom of the page are two big buttons to add attachments or create follow-up work, this shows the related work orders and service requests with a button to create follow-up work. Beneath this are details of who created the work order.

The edit button allows you to modify the short and long description with rich text formatting. You can change the priority, scheduled start and scheduled finish, duration, work type, asset, and location.

There is a button to start work, which will set the timer and provide options to pause work or stop work. When you stop the timer a time record has been created which you can modify. The Report Work button allows you to enter a failure report including entering the remarks short and long description. Additional time can be reported for yourself or other labor, but you cannot indicate whether it is normal or overtime hours. You can report materials used, either those which had been reserved or new items and you can report tool usage.

The Work Approval application allows you to enter meter readings. If the work order has records in the Multiple Assets, Locations and CIs table these will be displayed. You can enter meter readings and mark the record as complete, and a green tick appears on the left. From the tasks button you can report a task complete and launch to the Inspection application.

You change status by clicking the status button, a status memo can be entered. If you use the blue Complete Work button you cannot enter a memo and the work order disappears because it no longer meets the criteria for work orders to review, it will be found instead in the completed work orders view.

Apart from no ability to process service requests and create work orders from them, the Work Approvals application also falls short of the functional footprint of the Work Supervision Work Center in that it does not allow work assignments to be created, there is no support for crews, the recording of overtime hours, or support for work order classifications and specifications.

Technician

The Technician application covers a lot of similar ground to the Work Approvals, but it goes beyond this. There is no Create new work order button in the application, you must open the Navigator, the button of nine white dots at the bottom right of the screen and then use the plus button at the top right. The suite of mobile applications is designed to work as a single application, on a mobile device this works well, but from the desktop menu the role-based applications are spread across modules and dropping back to the navigator to create a work order is not ideal.

Once opened the Create Work Order screen has fields for description, long description with rich text formatting, priority, scheduled start and scheduled finish, duration, work type, asset, and location. There is no drilldown on asset and location, you can scan for the asset or location and there is a basic search capability. The fields you can filter on are quite different from what you will find for the same fields when creating a service request and you can’t trap the GPS coordinates to the work order or enter a service address. If the location or asset has a service address, these are not copied to the work order as they would be if you had created the work order from the Work Order Tracking application. When creating a work order it would be better to enter target dates and leave the scheduling to be performed after the work order has been planned, but there is no option for this. After the work order is created a review screen opens with the ability to edit the work order.

There are several work order queries, Assigned work, PMs due this week, Work created by me, My work order, and Work order history. If the work order is past its scheduled date, then red text will indicate how much overdue it is. For each work order, the fields displayed are description, work type, work order number, status, and priority. The status can be changed from this field, but you cannot change the priority in the same way. Below this is the scheduled start, asset number and its description and the location description, but not the location number.

For each work order record, you can get a variable number of buttons depending on what data the work order contains, you may see a Safety Plan, Work Log, Materials and Tools, Meter Readings, and a Map button.

When you navigate into a work order, it is not a screen where you modify data, the edit button is used for that. The work order number, description, status, and priority are shown at the top, and in the details section, there is the long description, scheduled start, scheduled finish, and duration. If the work order has a classification, then the classification description is shown, and not the classification hierarchy description which would be more useful. The Specification will be shown as a read-only page at the bottom below Attachments and Follow-up Work, this is a recent addition.

Below these details are buttons for Materials and Tools, Work Log, Tasks, Set GPS Location, Conduct an Inspection and Report Work. If there are no tasks the Tasks button will not be displayed. If there is safety information on the work order then there will be a message at the top – Review safety plan, and this will show you the hazards including hazardous materials that you will face and the precautions to take. Once the safety plan is reviewed it is no longer displayed at the top of the review work order screen, but in a section above the attachments.

The Asset and Location section shows the asset up/down status, the asset number and its description, and the location description but not the location number. To the right is a large image of the asset, if it exists, you can make this full size and zoom in/out. The Asset and Location section has buttons for scanning to confirm you are at the right asset, a button for meter readings, another for asset and location history, and a button to change the asset/up down status and enter downtime. You can navigate to see more asset details.

At the bottom of the review work order page, you can add attachments, review related work orders and service requests, and create a follow up work order, and you can view the specification details. The classification that the specification attributes are associated with is much higher up in the review page. The reporter’s details complete this page.

The Edit work order screen allows you to modify the description and long description, priority, scheduled start and scheduled finish, duration, work type, asset, and location.

The Materials and Tools button will show you the planned information and allow you to Get Reserved Items or Request Materials which creates a Material Request at Draft status, but you cannot submit this from the Technician application. The planned services are not shown.

The Work Log shows you both the work log history and allows a new work log record to be created, including entering a description, a long description using rich text formatting, and selecting the log note type. The work log has been styled to present a chat history.

When you use the GPS Location button you will receive a message to say that the device location has been saved, and a map button appears, which if you open the map will be the same position as your current GPS location. This has set the latitude and longitude fields on the work order; a service address has not been created.

The attachments button allows you to add multiple photos, videos, or files, either by taking a photo or selecting one from your device. You get the option to enter a filename and description and then these appear along with a thumbnail image in the Attachments page. Clicking the thumbnail will open it full size with zoom in and zoom out buttons. If you take a photo this is downloaded to Maximo, but it is not saved to your device.

The work queries can be displayed in a map view, instead of the list view. The map view has a few map tool buttons. The assigned work query is looking to the work assignments, and not the fields on the work order like Lead or Owner. If multiple technicians are assigned, then they will all receive the work order. The My Work Order query is based on ownership. Filtering, sorting, and searching is the same as it is on the Work Approvals application.

When the technician first logs in they will receive a message – Get materials & tools – the materials and tools needed for today’s work assignments. It is a page with check boxes, the page is not saved, so if you leave the page, the mobile application will not have recorded those items and tools that you marked. 

The Tasks button shows the task descriptions and status with their asset and location references and their descriptions. The task long description is also shown and if you open it full screen then rich text formatting will be shown, but it cannot be modified. If the task has an associated inspection form, then you’ll be able to navigate to the Inspections application to complete this. Flow control is supported for tasks. Some tasks may have a padlock sign and will be read-only if they are waiting for predecessors to be completed. If the work assignment is made to the task rather than the work order then the task will appear in the Assigned Work query, it will display the task like a top-level work order. If you are going to use this feature, then you should plan materials and tools at the task level as well. If the task has a Condition Monitoring point you will be able to enter the meter reading. If the task has attachments, you will be able to review these.

In the Meter Readings page, you initially see the meters and their last meter reading, all meter types are supported. There is a button to allow you to create new meter readings, and another button for entering meter readings in the past, the difference being that you need to enter a date and time for the old meter reading.

If an asset is referenced a button will be available for changing the up/down status. When you use the up or down arrow buttons additional fields open allowing you to change the date and enter a downtime code. 

If the work order has records in the Multiple Assets, Locations and CIs table then these are displayed above the Attachments and Follow-up Work sections. You can add meter readings and launch to an inspection, but you cannot modify the up/down status for an asset in this table.

The Asset and Location Details has a button to review the asset and location history. This is the last three work orders for the location and the last three work orders for the asset, work orders must have reached completed status. If the work order appears in one of the work queries you will be able to navigate to it, otherwise the details are minimal.

The Follow-up Work section will show an originating service request and allow you to create a follow-up work order, but you cannot create a follow-up service request, or relate the work order with another work order.

The technician can Start Work, Pause or Stop Work, the timer enters a time record. If the work order is approved and has a latitude and longitude and the device with GPS is some distance from this point, then you will receive Start Travel and Stop Travel buttons and a labor transaction will be created. If you are using Maximo Mobile then when you use the Start Travel button a navigation application can open, for example Google Maps, for you to receive a suggested travel route. 

The Report Work button allows you to enter a failure report including adding a remark and its long description. You can enter additional hours not trapped using the timers, including entering time for other labor, you cannot report overtime hours. You can report materials and tools used, but you cannot view services that may have been received. From the Report Work page, you can Complete Work, and this will remove the work order from your assigned work query.

Inspections

The Inspections application is where you conduct an inspection created by the Manage Inspection Forms work center. It will be found in the Work Orders role-based applications submodule along with Service Requests, Work Approval, and Technician. Typically, you would launch to it from the Technician application as it is likely to be part of a work order, the Inspections application does not contain any cost information, but the work order does. However, the Inspections application does exist as an application in the Navigator of Maximo Mobile, and it is possible to perform a standalone inspection from an asset or location using the Create Unscheduled Inspection action. The design of the Inspection Forms also allows it to be added to other applications, for example Receiving. Inspections in Receiving

From the Technician application you can launch to an inspection from the work order, a task, or the records in the Multiple Assets, Locations and CIs table. The Inspections application continues to be enhanced, MAS 8.8 through to MAS 8.10 saw quite a few enhancements, and a couple of minor enhancements were also added to the latest release in MAS 8.11.

In the Inspections application the default query is Assigned Inspections, which is reviewing the inspections associated with the work orders that you have been assigned. There are also inspection queries based on the inspection statuses of Pending, In Progress, Completed, and one called All Inspections. Pending is the default inspection status. You can cancel an inspection and you can also archive an inspection, including archiving an inspection before it is completed. This will put it into history, it won’t be visible from any of the queries, but you can still navigate to it from the Work Order Tracking application. 

For each inspection the description, asset and/or location and their descriptions are shown. Below this is a button showing the instructions, which is the inspection form long description, this is now displayed full page. You can view the inspection without starting it, and you can navigate to the work order and then return to the Inspections application. When you use the Start Inspection button you see the inspection list of questions or other actions, the questions may be grouped. Mandatory questions have a blue dot and in the top right your progress will show how many of the mandatory questions have been answered. If you leave the inspection the status would have moved to In Progress and the button will show Resume Inspection. To the right of each answer, you can view the Previous Results to the same question. When all mandatory questions have been answered the blue Complete button at the top will be activated. Once completed you can see the inspection results, and a summary but everything will be read-only.

You can jump to questions from a button on the left-hand side of the inspection description. From the page that opens there is a search bar and filter buttons for To Do (remaining questions to answer including optional ones), Done (questions already answered), and the Required button filters only the required questions and can be used in conjunction with the other two buttons. This allows you to easily navigate a long inspection form with several hundred questions without scrolling.

For each query there is a search button with the ability to scan an asset or location label. If this is the identifier of the location or asset, then it will find the inspection as the search is searching across the fields shown on each inspection card.

You can group inspections that belong to the same work order, either inspections belonging to different tasks or inspections on the Multiple Assets, Locations and CIs table. You use the New Group button, and you can select multiple inspections from a checkbox on the right-hand side and the blue Open Batch button will be displayed. This allows you to perform one inspection after another. If you have enabled a System Property and if the inspections belong to the same work order a batch icon button will be shown alongside the instructions button and when you click on it the batched inspections will be displayed with the blue button Start Batch Inspections, otherwise the inspection batch is only temporary. 

There is a Review status, which occurs between in progress and completed statuses, that allows a supervisor to review the inspection and update it before closing it. There is a system property to enable the review step and the inspection form must be enabled using the Requires Review toggle. When you have answered all the mandatory questions instead of a blue Completed button there will be a blue Review button. The supervisor can see whether a field was hidden or visible when the inspector completed the inspection.

You can create an inspection on your mobile device from the plus button on the Navigator page. You will be asked to select an asset or location, and an inspection template, then the blue Continue button will be activated and you can choose to start the inspection or save it. The inspection will be in the status of pending if you save it. The selection of an inspection template will show those associated with the asset or location at the top in the suggested inspection section, and below it all valid inspection forms.

The inspection form now allows a domain to be used to provide the valid responses, instead of entering the individual values for each question. This is valid on both single choice and multiple-choice type questions. If the domain has up to 10 values the valid responses will be shown as a radio button, greater than 10 values a blue Search button will provide a dropdown display where multiple values can be selected. Once selected the values will be shown.

Numeric fields can now have an associated range which will be used to provide validation when the inspector enters a value. The validation can display your own error message.

There is another System Property which controls whether to capture the GPS coordinates every time an inspection response value is entered. This is enabled by default.

Mobile Inspections is one of those areas which brings different parts of the Maximo Application Suite together and I expect this to continue.

There is an Automation Script that can be enabled in the Form Settings of the inspection in the Manage Inspection Forms Work Center which will create Followup work orders where a response is set to require an action.

Inventory Receiving

The Inventory Receiving application has two distinct parts. The first is called Inventory Receiving and is based on performing a material receipt, the purchasing process you would follow in the Receiving application. The second is called Shipment Receiving and is based on the process of an inventory usage transfer of stock between storerooms, but just the transfer-in part which in desktop Maximo is performed in the Shipment Receiving application.

Inventory Receiving

The open POs query which is used when the application is opened is based on the user’s Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions which is found in their Profile – Default Information. You can receive items destined for a storeroom as well as direct issue items. This is the only query provided.

Each PO record shows the PO Number and its description, the Ordered Date, Vendor and Vendor Name, and the person marked in the Ship To Attention field. The number of PO lines is also displayed along with the receipt status. There is a series of buttons Receive, Inspect, Create Assets, Return, and Receipts, many of these will remain disabled until there is the context to enable them. There is a search bar with scanning capability if you are lucky enough to have your purchase order number barcoded by the supplier.

The first step is to use the Receive button which shows the remaining ordered items and their quantities. There is an edit button which allows you to enter a Packing Slip # and Comments, this is the REMARKS field. You adjust the quantity to receive, select the line being received and use the blue Save button. After receiving all lines if there are no inspections the PO will have a receipt status of completed and it will no longer be shown on the Open POs query.

There is a status page for each PO which shows the same buttons plus one for Void. After Receiving, the Inspect, Receipts and Void buttons may be enabled.

In the Inspect screen there are two fields for the quantity to accept and the quantity to reject, to avoid an error start by entering the quantity to accept, then enter the reject quantity, the sum of the two should be equal to the quantity to inspect. If rejecting a quantity, there is an edit button which allows you to enter a reject code and comment. There has never been a domain associated with the reject code, which is defined as upper 6 and you’ll want to configure one to stop users entering text longer than 6 characters. The comments field is also using the REMARKS field and it will overwrite anything written at the Receiving stage.

The Receipts button shows the MATRECTRANS transactions, and it is read-only. The transactions will be in chronological order, the transaction type is shown. An option to show the transactions in reverse chronological order, and to order by item number or PO line number, as the Receiving application does, would be useful, especially if there were a lot of receipt transactions. Returns will show negative quantities, a rejected quantity shows up as a Return transaction. Unfortunately, there is no PO Line number which would be useful for searching if it had a # prefix.

When receiving a rotating item, the Create Assets button will be enabled. There are two fields to enter, the Asset Number and Serial Number, and there will be one row for each quantity received, a quantity of three received, then three assets need to be created. If you immediately use the blue Save button, then the asset number will use the autokey. The Receipts button will show a TRANSFER transaction as the asset is moved from the holding location.

The Returns screen is split between Materials and Assets. There is a down arrow which shows details of the original transaction. The Returns screen shows the actual date of the original transaction, there is only a checkbox to select the row to be returned and the blue save button will write the return transactions. If you are returning an asset, the asset’s status will be set to decommissioned and the Returned to Vendor field will be set.

The Void button shows you the receipts that can be reversed, there is no additional details, only a check box to select the transaction before using the blue save button. This creates a transaction type of VOIDRECEIPT and normally has negative quantities.

In the tests I performed for a Maximo Secrets article:

There is no support for receipt tolerances, an IBM Idea has been raised for this.

Shipment Receiving

The Shipment Receiving application in desktop Maximo is based on the Receiving application and so we would expect to see a lot of similarities between this second part and the Inventory Receiving part of the application. Shipment Receiving is the receiving end of an inter-storeroom transfer, a transfer between two storerooms that uses an Inventory Usage record.

The first thing that you might notice is that there is no query capability. There is a query of course, it is based on the To Storeroom of the transfer matching to the user’s Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions which is found in their Profile – Default Information, it is also based on Inventory Usage records with a status of SHIPPED where the receipt status is not completed.

The records displayed are the shipment records. Each record shows the Shipment Number, Packing Slip Number and below this the Shipment Date, the number of lines shipped, who changed the status of the inventory usage record to shipped, and the person marked in the Ship To Attention field. On the right is the Receipt Status. There is no reference to the From Storeroom or the Inventory Usage record which are both fields that will be useful in searching. There is a series of buttons Receive, Inspect, Create Assets, Return, Receipts and Void, many of these will remain disabled until there is the context to enable them. There is a search bar with scanning capability if you have the shipment number barcoded by the source storeroom.

There is a status page with the same six buttons, this does allow you to navigate from one step to the next without returning to the default query page which would mean that you would need to search for the shipment record again.

As soon as you go to the Receive page you will see differences with the user interface on the same page for Inventory Receiving. There are + and – buttons to increment the quantities being received, and the field titles are shown below the fields, which is useful. If you are transferring assets there will be one row for each asset and as the quantity will always be one, there are no + and – buttons. The additional details open a side panel, called a sliding drawer. For a lot item this shows From Lot and To Lot, for condition enabled items the Condition Code, the From Site, From Storeroom, To Bin are also shown. For a rotating item, since Maximo Manage 8.7.4 the Asset Number and Serial Number being shipped are shown.

The Receipts page shows the MATRECTRANS transactions, and it is read-only. The Issue Type will normally be SHIPRECEIPT, the Quantity Ordered, Quantity Received/Accepted, the transaction Actual Date, Inspection Status and Asset Number are shown.

The Inspect screen is split between Materials and Assets. On the Material tab there are two fields for the quantity to accept and the quantity to reject, again to avoid an error if you are going to reject a quantity start by entering the quantity to accept. If rejecting a quantity, an edit button appears, which allows you to enter a reject quantity and reject code, but no comment field is provided. There is an IBM Idea to provide a comment. On the Asset List you get a radio button for Accept or Reject, and if reject the edit button appears allowing you to enter a reject code, but again no comment box.

The Returns screen is not split between Materials and Assets as it is in the Inventory Receiving side of this application. There is a list of the items that could be returned but no down arrow to show extra details of the original transaction. The Condition Code of a condition enabled item is now displayed, this was added in Maximo Manage 8.7.7. The Returns screen shows the actual date of the original transaction, and there is a field for the quantity to be returned. You use a checkbox to select the row to be returned and then the blue save button will write the return transactions. You cannot return an asset; you will need to raise a new Inventory Usage record of type TRANSFER to move it back to the original storeroom.

The Void button shows you the receipts that can be reversed, there is a shipment line number, but it is not filterable without a hash prefix. The Condition Code is now shown. There is a button for you to add Remarks, but it wasn’t available for rejecting quantities during inspection or for returns. A check box is used to select the transaction before using the blue save button. This creates a transaction type of VOIDSHIPRECEIPT, but the quantity void is a positive value although the actual transaction in the database will be a negative quantity. 

The Create Assets button is used for a transfer of a rotating item across sites. Apart from the item and description there is an Asset Number field which is modifiable, it is defaulted with the same asset number being transferred, and a serial number field which cannot be modified. There is no select box allowing you to pick the assets you want to serialise at the new site, it assumes you will do this for all transferred assets, you use the blue save button to complete the transfer of the assets. 

Tool items can also be transferred, both rotating tools and non-rotating tools.

The two sides of the same application have differences in the user interface, and it is hoped that they will be aligned in a future release.

Issues and Transfers

Like the Shipment Receiving part of Inventory Receiving application, the Issues and Transfers application was introduced in MAS 8.11, the current release. It currently only handles issues based on an inventory usage record or a reservation, there is no support yet for staging and shipping which would be associated with transfers, nor support yet for returns. A new release is expected with MAS 9.0 in the summer 2024.

Issue Reserved Items

When opening the option Issue Reserved Items, the default query shows the reservations against the storeroom marked as the user’s Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions which is found in their Profile – Default Information. The query excludes reservations made with an internal purchase order or where the reservation was made by a storeroom. It is fetching reservations where the reserved quantity has not yet been fully satisfied.

Each reservation record shows the item number and description, the unissued reserved quantity, the work order number or material requisition number, the item’s default bin and the reservations due date. There is no reference to the reservation type, and it possible currently to process a SOFT or APSOFT reservation. An IBM Idea has been created to display the reservation type.

There is a search bar with a scanning function. There is no filtering only the search, so it would not be possible to find just the work order reservations or those from the material requisitions. The user selects the reservations and then uses the blue select button with the shopping cart symbol. This creates an Inventory Usage record of type ISSUE with the reservation items, at this point it is known as locally created because it hasn’t yet been saved to the Maximo database.

You will need to create a description for the inventory usage record, it is mandatory. You will also need to adjust the quantity from its default of one, it doesn’t default to the unissued reserved quantity, but this is planned by IBM. There is a delete button in case you have changed your mind. Also, on the right-hand side is a button that opens the left-hand panel with more details, including the work order, location, asset, person that requested the reservation, and the material request number if the reservation came via that route. There is a save button, this creates an inventory usage record at ENTERED status. After save the blue Issue button is enabled.

You may receive an error when saving, suggesting that you change the requested quantity or change the split line quantity. This is a message coming from Maximo server rather than a local error, it is likely that the required quantity cannot be satisfied by the From Bin. At the top of the left-hand side panel, known as the sliding drawer, is the Split Item button. This provides the ability to add a Quantity and From Bin, and then to repeat the process to make up the quantity to issue. There is no visibility of the bins and their quantities, and you may receive a message to say that this will cause a negative balance. The sum of split quantities will need to be the same as the quantity on the associated inventory usage line, parts of the line will be highlighted in red text if this is not the case, an example of a local error rather than the error coming from the Maximo server.

A similar process using the sliding drawer is used to select the asset if the item is rotating. The asset lookup has a scanning function but there is no asset tag or serial number referenced which would be useful for the scan. An IBM Idea was created for this. The asset lookup does allow you to select multiple assets. Once selected you cannot modify your selection without deleting the inventory usage line.

If the reservation was for a lot item, then you’ll receive an error message if there is no lot reference on the inventory usage record being created. There is a lookup of lots with a scanning function, the lots are taken from the Inventory Balance records for the item. Unfortunately, there is no reference to the expiration date, and you cannot issue an expired lot. An IBM Idea has been raised for this.

The issuing of tools is now supported, the Person field in the Item Details sliding drawer will write the name to the Issue To field on the Inventory Usage record. 

A reservation created from the Inventory application that does not reference either a work order or material requisition can be processed to create the inventory usage record, saved and then issued.

There is an Organizations setting in Inventory Defaults – Automatically create usage documents for new reservations – which if set will mean that there are no reservations that need to be converted to Inventory Usage records, they will already exist.

Inventory Usage Records

When opening the option Inventory Usage Records, the default query shows the inventory usage records of all types and not just issues that are made against the storeroom marked as the user’s Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions which is found in their Profile – Default Information. There is a search bar with scanning capability, there are not many fields that you can search on, the inventory usage number, description and work order number.

After you navigate into the inventory usage record, it shows the inventory usage lines, there is a button for creating a new line. This is adding reserved items to the inventory usage record, you select the reservations to add and then use the blue Add button. You cannot create an inventory usage line from scratch, only add a reservation to it. The two buttons at the top are save and issue.

If the item does not have a default bin the Bin field will be empty, you will receive an error message when using the blue Issue button. In the Item Details you can select the bin and the current bin balance is shown. This will allow you to save and issue.

With a condition enabled item if the reservations were requesting a NEW condition code you will not be able to change this as you can on the desktop Inventory Usage record. You may have a quantity of rebuilt or refurbished item that would satisfy the need. There is an IBM Idea to allow the condition code to be changed.

If the inventory usage record is created without a reservation, then you will receive an error message as currently it is only inventory usage records linked to a reservation that will be handled by the Issues and Transfers application.

If the GL Account is missing a segment value, then you will receive an error message if GL validation is enabled. GL Resource Codes are not being applied to the transactions. This is a known issue at the time of writing, waiting to be fixed.

The Manage Inventory Work Center is still available in MAS 8.11 and has a wider functional footprint than the Issues and Transfers application, this is its initial release. While some gaps are expected to be closed in the MAS 9.0 release, I think it likely that there will be functional improvements in at least one additional release. There is a lot of ground to cover with Issues, Returns and Transfers, of items, tools and assets.

Inventory Counting

There are three options when you open the Inventory Counting application, Count books, Ad hoc count, and Reconciliation. On the Maximo Mobile application, the Reconciliation option will not be available because you need to be online to reconcile balances and Maximo Mobile is designed for offline use, although it also works when you are online.

Count Books

A count book is a set of items against which a physical count will be made. The Count Books option is used if you are using the Count Books desktop application, in other words the count book must already be set up and you are performing the physical count against the count book lines in the role-based application or on Maximo Mobile. 

Count Books may be new to many clients who are upgrading to Maximo Application Suite. It was only available if you were licensed for Maximo Mobile, and now becomes available to all clients in MAS, it originated from functionality in Maximo for Transportation, and is also used in Maximo for Aviation. For those clients with Transportation or Aviation wishing to use this option, then they will need to move their data to the new count book objects, there is no upgrade path for the data. Count Books provides various options for how you wish to count your inventory items including a way of defining a Count Group and associating this with your inventory items. 

The default query is count books at approved or in progress state that are made against the storeroom marked as the user’s Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions which is found in their Profile – Default Information. There is a search capability. Each record shows the count book description, count book number, status, and how many count books items remain to be counted from the total items. There are two date fields, Due is the latest physical count date of the items to be counted. The Last Count is the latest of the Physical Count Dates of the items to be counted. The Storeroom in which the physical count will be made is not shown. There is also no ability to have multiple queries, you wouldn’t be able to have a different query for each storeroom.

There is a button to indicate the number of items which are overdue counting, but this includes items which are marked not to be counted or with a count frequency of zero. Two IBM Ideas have been created to include options to exclude these items from being added as count book lines.

When you navigate into a count book you are presented with two tabs of items, In Progress and Counted. In the In Progress tab each record shows the Item Number, Description, Serial Number, and the Due date (INVBALANCES.NEXTPHYCNTDATE). The serial number is displayed if the item is marked as rotating, however, neither the asset number nor tag number are shown. There is a field to enter the physical count and as you enter a value the item will be moved to the Counted tab. 

There is an option to view the material details, and this includes an image of the item, this page is read-only. The material details are where you will find fields for the asset number, lot number, but not the condition code of the item, an IBM Idea has been raised for this. Three of these fields, Balance, Last Count and Last Count Date, will be shown if a setting in the Organizations application – Inventory Options – Count Book Options – called ‘Allow blind counts in Inventory Counting?’ is set to off. You can take a single photo of the item, and this will be added as the image on the Item Master record.

When you are showing the items to be counted there is a search bar with scanning capability which can be used with an item number or bin. There is a filter button with options for bin and lot, and a button for sorting with options to sort by count due, bin and lot. 

As you start to enter a physical count the blue save button appears. The Count Book will have moved to In Progress state. For a physical count of a rotating item each asset is individually shown, and the physical count can only be set to one or zero. You cannot move to the Material Details page without having to save your changes, I would save frequently. After save a PCOUNTADJ transaction will have been written, you can see these from the Inventory application and View Inventory Transactions action. When all items have been counted and the In Progress tab shows zero rows to be counted, then a blue Complete button will appear, but you do not want to use this immediately.

The Counted tab may show a yellow triangle warning symbol against those items where the physical count does not match the current balance, this is prompting you to perform a recount. This has already considered a percentage count tolerance which can be set in the Inventory application, with defaults defined in the Organizations application – Inventory Options – Count Book Options. 

In the Count Books application as you entered a physical count, if there was a difference with the current balance but it was within the count tolerances then the count book line would have been marked as having a trial reconciliation. When the Completed button is used successfully the count book status will be set to COMP and Maximo will write reconciliation balance adjustment records (RECBALADJ) to the Inventory Transactions (INVTRANS) object. After performing any recounts, you may wish to use the Reconciliation option rather than now using the Complete button.

Ad hoc Count

An ad hoc count does not use a count book it is looking at the inventory balance records of the items in the storeroom marked as the user’s Default Storeroom for Self-Service Requisitions which is found in their Profile – Default Information. It is not all the items as an item without an inventory balance will not be shown, rotating items and items in staging bins are also not shown. There is the same search and sorting capabilities as for the Count Books option, filter by Bin or Lot, and sort by Bin, Lot or Count Due.

You have the same two tabs, In Progress and Counted, and you can navigate to the material details, which shows the same details but not the asset number, instead the ABC Type field is shown. An item may be shown multiple times if it is in multiple bins. You enter the physical count as before and use the Save button.

As there could be several hundred bins, likely a few thousand records, you do need a way of filtering and systematically performing the count. If you are not using a count book, which is a good way to apply a system to counting, then without configuring the application to add fields like commodity group and commodity code, it is likely you will use the bin number or a due date, you can sort by count due. If neither of those options work for you, then you’ll probably need to configure some additional fields or use the Count Books application.

Reconciliation

The Reconciliation option is used when you have already performed a physical count, it is only available in the role-based application and not on Maximo Mobile.

There are two tabs, Mismatched and Matched. The Mismatched tab shows items with a physical count transaction but no reconciliation transaction. It shows the item and description, but not the bin or lot, or a count book. If the Physical Count is greater than the Current Balance, then a green up arrow will be shown with the quantity difference. You can navigate to the Material Details to see the calculated quantity, balance, bin, lot, ABC type, last count and last count date. The calculated quantity considers any issues, returns or transfers that have taken place since the physical count.

There is a selection box on the right, which opens a blue action bar when one row is selected. The actions are Reconcile, Select All or Cancel.

If the Physical Count is the same as the Current Balance, then the item will be shown in the Matched tab. While hopefully the variance will be zero, there may be a positive or negative variance if this is within tolerance. You can reconcile the items you counted in the count book without using the Complete button. 

You can sort by the Last Count Date and the Variance. If you select some items and use the Reconcile action you will receive a green confirmation message and Maximo will have written an inventory transaction record of type RECBALADJ.

Asset Manager

The Asset Manager application was first released in MAS 8.9 as a read-only application to view the asset details, similar functionality was being added into the Technician application. In MAS 8.10 there became the ability to create and edit assets as well as changing the status. In MAS 8.11 you can update the asset specification attributes, including classifying the asset while offline, view the assets on a map, and there is also support for attachments. The Asset Manager application is still relatively new, and it doesn’t yet support an asset audit function where you are trying to verify that the assets are where you expect them to be, this is useful when those assets need to be calibrated, or any asset which is passed around and where the location may not be accurate, for example tool assets, vehicles, forklifts, etc.

You enter the Asset Manager application with the My Assets query. This is looking for assets from the users Default Insert Site as defined in their Profile – Default Information. It is also restricting to records where the user has been defined in the Users and Custodians action and as a Custodian. It doesn’t matter whether they are marked as Primary or not, but being defined just as a User, then it won’t find the asset record.

There are two buttons at the top, a List view and a Map view. The list view shows the asset number, description, the asset image and the formatted address of the service address. The formatted address is the nearest address provided by a GIS provider and is used with Maximo Spatial, but probably not used if service addresses have been added manually or imported. There are a set of buttons below this, Map, Meters, and Inspection (except this is not yet active).

There is a search bar with a scanning capability, you can scan with a barcode, or QR code, I’ve not tried it but there is now support for an NFC tag.

The Map button is enabled if the asset has a service address with latitude and longitude values. You can then navigate to the map. The Meters button just shows the latest meter readings, it doesn’t allow you to enter a new meter reading as it does in the Technician application.

You can navigate to see the asset details, which is a read-only screen but there is an edit button. The asset number and description are shown at the top with two buttons showing the asset up/down status, and the asset status. You can change status from the asset status button, but not from the asset up/down status button. There are fields for the parent asset, service address, classification, location, vendor, manufacturer, serial number, feature class, failure class and asset type, there is also an image of the asset. 

The service address is a concatenation of some of the address fields. The classification is the classification hierarchy, but not the description. The location is the location number and location description. The vendor and manufacture include the code and company names, similarly the failure class and asset type have their associated codes and descriptions. The feature class is populated from a Spatial integrated asset. 

There are two buttons at the bottom of the asset details, one opens the Meter readings, the plus button looks as if it will create a new record but won’t do anything until MAS 9.0. On the Maximo Mobile application there is a third button which will use the devices GPS to write the latitude and longitude to the asset’s service address fields, this is available on other role-based applications, but not yet the Asset Manager.

Below these details are the attachments with a thumbnail. You can add attachments but not yet add a link to a web page. When you add an attachment, you can enter the File Name and a Description. Below this is the asset specification with its values, with an edit button that opens a sliding drawer allowing you to change the values. A date type field is supported in the specification, but it required a fix which became available in Maximo Manage 8.7.5. All attributes appear in one column, and not four columns as found in the classic Assets application. There are no Domain lookups yet on the attributes, but an IBM Idea has been raised for this. 

The Edit button has fields for description and long description, this is currently restricted to 200 characters and does not yet support rich text formatting. The asset number is displayed but it is of course read-only. Serial number follows with a scanning function, then there are editable fields with lookups for asset type, vendor, manufacturer, parent asset, failure class, classification is read-only if there is a specification, but can be modified if not. The last field is the location, which can be entered by scanning, the location’s description and long description are not displayed.

The Vendor is restricted to company type ‘V’ and Manufacturer is restricted to company type ‘M’, so you will not be able to add a vendor as a manufacturer, many vendors are also manufacturers. The asset type lookup doesn’t have a search capability, so I raised an IBM Idea for this. The classification of an asset linked to a rotating item could be changed, it is not allowed, and this was fixed in Maximo Manage 8.7.5.

There is no ability to set, change or view the Priority, Installation Date, Estimated EOL (end of life), or to create a tag number. There is no reference to the Rotating Item, so you do not know whether the asset is a rotating asset or not, or whether it is a tool asset. The two fields Asset Department and Model Number which are used with Calibration, now part of MAS, are also missing.

You can create an asset on the map tab by zooming in to the location where you wish to create the asset, and using a long press which opens a menu with the Create Asset option. After creating the asset, it will be coloured yellow because the status will be set to NOT READY. You can click the asset and navigate to the asset details to change its status. The map has a set of map tools.

You cannot create an asset from the List tab, you need to go to the Navigator page and use the plus button at the top right. This requires two clicks instead of one. There are fields for description and long description (limited to 200 characters), asset number and serial number, both with scanning capability, asset type, vendor, manufacturer, parent, failure class, classification and location. The classification has a hierarchy search. The Asset Number is mandatory and the save button is not activated until you enter something. Many clients use an autokey for assets, so I’ve raised an IBM Idea for this.

When you have created the asset, you will find it in the query called – Assets created by me.

What you cannot currently do in the Asset Manager application is:

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