Problem/Task Code Maintenance

Use Problem/Task Code Maintenance to maintain codes and descriptions for common problems and tasks used during the Service Management routines.  These codes have two purposes.  The first purpose is to defined the general problems that are attached to service calls; and secondly they define the tasks that can be grouped together to form maintenance calls.  The Problem/Task Codes provide the basis for the technician assignments and other resource management.  In addition, inventory items that are associated with a task can be assigned to a problem code.  When a work order is completed, miscellaneous receivables transactions can be automatically generated for the inventory.  Generally, problem codes are assigned during Work Order Entry, Service Call Entry and when you are scheduling an appointment.

Tip:  For additional information about working with data in fields, see Data Entry Guidelines.

Directions:

To see directions for...

• Opening Problem/Task Code Maintenance, click More.

  1.  Click Service Management from the Menu Bar.

  2.  Click File Maintenance.

  3.  Click Problem/Task Code.
  
  Tip:  Or, use the keyboard shortcut:  [ALT] [m] [f] [p].

   

  Problem/Task Code Maintenance Window Example:

  

   

• Creating a new problem or task code, click More.

   

  Problem/Task Code Maintenance Prompts Tip:  To see more information about a field, click the hyperlink for the field name.
  Problem/Task Code	Enter the unique code that identifies the service call problem or task and click Retrieve , or press [ENTER].  (up to 6 characters) Required Tip:  To indicate that you are building a new Problem/Task, New  displays near the Problem/Task Code.  Default entries display and the first field is highlighted to let you know you can begin entering information.
  	To update the new or changed information, click Save or press [ENTER]. Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + s]
  	CAUTION To avoid losing data, you must save new or changed records.
  	To view all of the existing Problems or Task Codes, click Search.  From the Search list you can select the record to change or delete. Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + r]
  	To display an existing Problem or Task Code, enter the Problem/Task Code and click Retrieve, or press [ENTER]. Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]
  Description Line 1	Enter the first line of the problem or task description.  (up to 35 characters)
  Line 2-6	Enter up to six lines to describe the problem or task. (up to 35 characters per line) Tip:  Use only as many lines as you need.
  Time Estimate:	Enter the default standard amount of time estimated to complete the task or repair the problem. (hh:mm)
  Specialty Needed:	Enter the defined Specialty Code ID to assign as a specialty skill a technician needs to complete the task or problem. (up to 5 characters) Tip:  To search for a Specialty Code ID, click Search or press [CTRL + f].
  Schedule Display	Enter the text to display as the description for the Problem/task during Scheduling. (up to 40 characters)
  Duration	Enter the default number of minutes to allow in the schedule for this problem or task. (3.0 numeric)
  Discontinued	To indicate the Problem or Task is discontinued and not available for scheduling, click Y(es) in the drop-down list. To indicate the Problem or Task is active, click N(o) in the drop-down list.
  Bookable	Note:  This field is reserved for future use.  Please maintain the default setting.
  Color	To assign a color to appointments scheduled with this Problem/Task Code, click a choice in the drop-down list.
  Special Handling	To specify the type of work order automation reading and which determines how read transactions are created, click a choice from the drop-down list. Special Handling Types: regular billing read non billed interim read final read none Note:  If no special handling is required, select None.
  Unavailable	To prevent this Problem/Task from being booked in the schedule, click Y(es) in the drop-down list. To allow this Problem/Task to be available for scheduling, click N(o) in the drop-down list.
  Is Sched'd Time?	Note:  This field is reserved for future use.  Please leave blank.
  Group Problem/Task Codes	To build a group of Problem/Tasks associated with the Problem, enter the Problem/Task Code and click Add/Delete or press [ENTER].  Continue in this fashion until all Problem/Task Codes for the group are entered. (up to 5 characters) Tip:  To search for the Problem/Task Code to include, click Search or press [CTRL + f].
  Inventory Items Use this area to assign inventory items to the problem code.  When a work order is completed and the Create Miscellaneous Receivable is clicked, the Miscellaneous Receivable transactions for the items are automatically created. Note:  To open the Inventory Items area, click Inventory Items .  The following displays:
  Item ID	Enter the defined inventory Item ID to associate with the task or problem. (up to 12 characters) Tips:   To search for an item ID, click Search . The item description displays for your reference.
  Quantity	Enter the quantity of the item that is used with this problem. (3.2 numeric)
  Unit of Measure	Enter a defined unit of measure ID for the item. (up to 10 characters) Or, to search for an unit of measure ID, click Search .
  Inventory Location	Enter a defined inventory location ID where the item is stored. (up to 10 characters) Or, to search for an inventory location, click Search .
  Transaction Code	Enter the transaction code for generating a miscellaneous receivables transaction when the problem code is used, if applicable. (up to 10 characters)
  	To add the inventory item to the problem code, click Add Item. Tip:  The item information displays in the Items Detail area for your reference.
  	To remove the highlighted inventory item from the problem code, click to highlight the item and then click Remove Item.
  	To update the new or changed information, click Save or press [ENTER]. Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + s]
  Default Inventory Location	To specify the default location for items for the problem code, enter a defined inventory location ID. (up to 10 characters).  The location description displays for your reference. Or, to search for an inventory location, click Search .
  	To save the default location for future use, click Save Default Location.

   

• Editing an existing problem or task code, click More.

  CAUTION:  To avoid losing data, you must save new or changed records.

  1.  To display the record to be changed, enter the Problem/Task Code and click Retrieve , or press [ENTER].
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]
  
  Tip:  If you do not know the Problem/Task Code, you can click Search  to see a list of codes.

  2.  To position the pointer to the information that you want to change, press [TAB] or click the field using the mouse.

  3.  Enter the data changes.

  4.  To complete the edit process, click Save , or press [ENTER].
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + s]

   

• Deleting an existing problem or task code, click More.

  1.  To display the record to be deleted, enter the Problem/Task Code and click Retrieve , or press [ENTER].
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT + t]
  Tip:  If you do not know the Problem/Task Code, you can click Search  to see a list of codes.

  2.  Click File from the Menu Bar, and next click Delete.
  Keyboard shortcut:  [ALT] [f] [d]

  3.  At the Delete Records prompt, click Proceed to delete the record, or click Cancel to escape from the delete routine.
  
  Example:
  
  
  
  Note:  After you click Proceed, you will see the following message on the Status Bar.