Work Order Plan

Use Work Order Plans for preventive and reactive maintenance planning on Assets

Introduction

Use Work Order Plans to create Work Orders for an Asset. Work Order Plans are based on a predefined time frame, or Counter or Measurement readings.

Examples of Work Order Plans are weekly inspections (calendar-based) and maintenance jobs required after 5,000 running hours (counter-based).

A Work Order Plan can only have one Asset. You can create a copy of a Work Order Plan to be used on other Assets.

A Work Order Plan can only have one open Work Order at a time.

Prerequisites

You have set up Assets, Counters, and Measurement equipment.

Audience
Maintenance Planner, Maintenance Manager

Video: Work Order Planning

Work Order Planning - EAM for Microsoft Business Central

Work Order Plans

1 About work order plans. Use Work Order Plans for preventive and reactive maintenance planning on assets.
2 Change status on several work order plans. Multi-select a number of work order plans and update their status in one go. You can release, reopen, or close the selected work order plans.
3 Work order details. Open the latest work order created from the work order plan.
4 Ledger entries and posted work orders. Get an overview of closed work orders related to the work order plan, or open the list of ledger entries to see consumption on open and closed work orders created from the plan.

Create a Work Order Plan

  1. On your role center, you can open a new Work Order Plan in different ways:
    1. In the Actions section, select Work Order Plan, or
    2. Select Work Orders > Work Order Plans > New, or
    3. Select a Work Order Plan tile > New.
  2. In the Description field, select a standard description from the list (which can be edited), or enter your own description.
  3. Select the Asset in the Asset No. field. Unlike Round Plans, you can only add 1 asset to a Work Order Plan.
  4. In the Category Code field, select a Work Order Category.
    1. Work Order Categories may contain Frequencies, Items, and Resources, which are automatically transferred to the Work Order Plan. This means you can create Work Order Categories for jobs that require the same service intervals or spare parts or skills. When you set up this information on Work Order Categories, you can quickly create Work Order Plans for specific job types and Assets.
  5. In the Priority Code field, select a Work Order priority. If this field is automatically filled out, it means the Work Order priority was set up on the selected Work Order Category.
  6. If you use Dynaway Safe Work > Risk Assessment module, you can select a Risk Assessment in the Risk Assessment No. field. This means that the hazards and precautions included in the Risk Assessment will automatically be transferred to a Work Order created from this Work Order Plan.
    1. You can select Related > Active Risks on the Work Order Plan to see the list of hazards and precautions that are included in all the Risk Assessments related to the Work Order Plan. Those hazards and precautions may be included in a Risk Assessment you selected on the plan, or they may be transferred automatically from Risk Assessments selected on the Asset, Asset Location, Asset Category, Work Type, and Maintenance Item. All hazards and precautions are automatically transferred to Work Orders created from the Work Order Plan. In the Instructions field, enter the instructions and notes required for completing a Work Order created from the Work Order Plan.
  7. To add Instructions, use the Edit action in the Instructions group. It opens a Edit - Instruction window where you can add instructions for this Work Order.
  8. If you want to specify the number of days in which the Work Order should be done/closed based on the planned date - specify the Latest Finish Date Calculation in the Additional Parameters tab. Based on this data, the Latest Finish Date visible on the Work Order will be calculated. If Latest Finish Date Calculation is blank, the Latest Finish Date will be equal to the Original Planned Date on the Work Order calculated from the plan.
  9. It's possible to specify an asset's status when the Work Order has started.

To see a list of Work Order Plans, select Work Orders > Work Order Plans on your role center, or search for and select Work Order Plans. In the Work Order Plans list, you can see a filter in the upper-left corner of the screen. The default selection of the filter is 'All'. In the filter:

  • Select 'Closed' to see plans with the status 'Closed'.
  • Select 'Not closed' to see plans with the status 'Open' and 'Released'.

Example: Work Order Plan
Example: Work Order Plan

Use Power Automate Workflows

You can set up Power Automate workflows for when a work order is created and when a resource is assigned to a work order. Read more about how to set up workflows using Power Automate in Business Central.

Frequencies on a Work Order Plan

Frequencies define how often Work Orders are created from the Work Order Plan. Frequencies may be automatically transferred from the selected Work Order Category, but you can also add frequencies manually. You can add multiple frequencies to the same Work Order Plan, if required.

There are five types of frequencies:

  • Calendar
  • Counter
  • Measurement
  • One-off
  • Sequence
  • Work Order

When you start calculating Work Orders from a Work Order Plan, the Work Order number from the latest open Work Order is shown in the Current Work Order No. field on a frequency line.

One-off Frequency

You can create a one-off frequency to quickly solve a problem on an Asset, which requires urgent attention. As the name indicates, a one-off frequency line is meant to be used as a one-time event with no recurrence schedule.

  1. On the Work Order Plan > Frequencies section > the Frequency Type field, select "One-off".
  2. Enter a short description in the Description field.
  3. When you move to the Planned Date field, a checkmark is automatically inserted in the Corrective Maintenance checkbox.
  4. Select the date for the work to be done in the Planned Date field.

If you want to set up Power Automate workflows for when a work order is created, read more here.

Calendar Frequency

  1. In the Frequency Type field, select "Calendar" to create recurring planned maintenance Work Orders based on a time interval.
  2. Select Manage > Recurrence Schedule, or select the 'More options' button > Recurrence Schedule, or select the No link (see screenshot) in the Scheduled field to open the schedule screen where you set up calendar schedule details.
  3. On the Recurrence Schedule screen, select the overall interval by selecting one of the buttons: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
  4. Select Recurrence Start (start time), Start date, and, if required, End Date. Depending on your interval selection, fill out the interval details in the bottom part of the screen. Screenshot below shows an example of a weekly recurrence schedule to be repeated every Wednesday.
  5. Select OK to save the setup.
  6. On the last screenshot below, you can see an example of some calendar frequencies that have been set up.

Options to open Recurrence Schedule screen.
Options to open Recurrence Schedule screen.
Example: Weekly Recurrence Schedule.
Example: Weekly Recurrence Schedule.
Examples of calendar frequencies.
Examples of calendar frequencies.

Counter Frequency

You can only add a Counter frequency line if the Asset selected on the Work Order Plan has a Counter installed.

  1. On the Work Order Plan > Frequencies section > the Frequency Type field, select "Counter" to create reactive maintenance Work Orders based on Counter readings. If you have multiple Counters mounted on the same Asset, you can add them to the same Work Order Plan. View the documentation about Creating and Mounting Counters to see how to set it up.
  2. Select the No link in the Scheduled field to open the screen where you set up counter frequency details.
  3. Specify whether the counter frequency on the Work Order Plan should be calculated from a Fixed, or an Actual value.
    1. When choosing the Fixed value e.g. 300 RH when the Work Order is done, and the user chooses the counter reading on a Work Order - the next triggered value for this Work Order Plan will be 400 (300 + 100)
    2. When choosing the Actual value when the Work Order is done, and the user chooses the counter reading on a Work Order - the next triggered value for this Work Order Plan will be the registered/chosen reading + 100. (If you are choosing/registering the counter reading at 315, the next planned counter reading will be at 415)
    3. You have the option to specify, in the Offset tab, if the Work Order Plan is triggered before it reaches the value so you are able to create Work Orders faster. You can either specify the value in Units or in Percentages. The screenshot example shows that a Work Order Plan is triggered at 90 running hours (RH).
  4. You can specify a usage limit on the asset that will trigger the creation of a Work Order every time it is reached in the Do not trigger before usage field. In case you mount a counter that already has registered usage of e.g. 1000 RH and you specify it to trigger at 100 RH, the next Work Order will be created when the counter reaches 1100 RH, and the usage on the asset will then be 100 RH.
  5. In the Usage between work orders field, enter the frequency used for calculating the next Work Order.
  6. The screenshot example shows the fixed value where the usage limit is set to 300 and usage between work orders is set to 100.
  7. Select Yes to save the setup.

Use Power Automate Workflows

You can create workflows for when a counter reading triggers a work order frequency. Read more about how to set up workflows using Power Automate in Business Central.

Example: Refer to point 3, 3.3, and 4.
Example: Refer to point 3, 3.3, and 4.

Measurement Frequency

You can only add a Measurement frequency line if the Asset selected on the Work Order Plan is related to a Measurement.

  1. On the Work Order Plan > Frequencies section > the Frequency Type field, select "Measurement" to create maintenance Work Orders based on Measurement readings. A checkmark is automatically inserted in the Corrective Maintenance checkbox.
  2. Select the No link in the Scheduled field to open the screen where you set up measurement frequency conditions.
  3. Select the measurement in the Measurement No. field.
  4. In the Filter expression field, enter the expression used for calculating the next Work Order. Refer to Microsoft documentation for more information on filter expressions: Sorting, Searching and Filtering.
  5. The screenshot shows an example of a Measurement schedule to create a Work Order if Measurement readings are in the interval 35 through 40 degrees Celsius.
  6. Select Yes to save the setup.

Use Power Automate Workflows

You can create workflows for when a measurement reading triggers a work order frequency. Read more about how to set up workflows using Power Automate in Business Central.

Example: Measurement Frequency Schedule
Example: Measurement Frequency Schedule

Work Order Frequency (Follow-Up)

To create frequency based on the Work Order:

  1. On the Work Order Plan > Frequencies section > Frequency Type field, select 'Work Order' to create maintenance Work Orders based on finishing another Work Order.
  2. Select the No link in the Scheduled field to open the screen where you set up details of the frequency.
  3. Select the plan in the Work Order Plan No. field.
  4. In the 'Delay (days)' enter the number of days that will be used to calculate the date of the created work order. It's the number of days after the original work order (created from the specified plan in the previous field) has been finished (closed). The planned date for the Follow Up Work Order will be calculated based on the Posting Date of the Source Work order and the Delay in days.
  5. Select Yes to save the setup.

This solution might be useful if you have work orders which are going to be done in the future, but you just want to create another work order (for even a completely different asset) when the previous work is finished.
Example: someone is doing hydraulic work on Monday and you need to be sure that nothing is leaking, so one day after the hydraulic job is done, you generate a work order to check if everything is in order.

On the Work Order Plan card, you can also find information about the number of Follow Up Plans for which this plan is set up as the trigger.
Selecting the value in this field will open a Work Order Plan Frequencies list where you can inspect all frequencies where this plan is set up as a trigger for the Work Order.

The Work Order Frequency works the same as other frequencies:

  • You can specify more than one frequency for the same source plan.
  • You can specify more than one frequency on the same plan for different source plans.

When the source work order is finished (meaning that someone closed this work order) it will update the plans where this source work is set up as a frequency, and these plans are ready to be calculated. It's not creating work orders from follow-up plans automatically - it must still be planned and confirmed by managers.

Example: Work Order frequency.
Example: Work Order frequency.
Follow-up plans on the plan card.
Follow-up plans on the plan card.
Work Order Plan Frequencies.
Work Order Plan Frequencies.

Create Work Order Automatically

Create Work Order automatically after Measurement Reading registration.

In case a Measurement shows that an Asset needs attention, you can automate the creation of a Work Order to allow a quicker reaction.

When an Asset has a Measurement on a Work Order and receives a Measurement Reading that exceeds a specified threshold value, then a Work Order can be created automatically to notify technicians. The Work Order is created without having to schedule it in the Planning Worksheet.

The creation of an automatic Work Order is triggered based on a Measurement Reading registration. Check the box in Asset Management Setup "Schedule Work Order on Measurement Registration" to activate the function.

Set up the creation of automatic Work Orders.
Set up the creation of automatic Work Orders.

Sequence Frequency

Work Order Sequences are used in situations where you have dependency between Work Order Plans. They allow Work Order Plans to be triggered in a specified sequence ("first clean, then calibrate the machine"). You can use either Work Order Sequences or Work Order Frequencies on either a Work Order or Work Order Plan.

You can access Work Order Sequences from Tell Me, but also from the Work Orders group in the ribbon. The button is hidden by default but can be shown by going to Settings > Personalization.

You can open/release/close the Work Order Sequence, but you can only release the Work Order Sequence if the added Work Order Plans have been released.

Work Order Sequences keep track of what kind of sequence we want to trigger the next time ("Small service when the machine has 500 running hours, full service when the machine has 1000 running hours").

Work Order Sequences allow technicians to coordinate work ("first person A lifts the lid, once that has finished, person B can do the repair").

When choosing to set up a Sequence with Frequencies, you can choose between two triggers:

  • Counter Work Order Sequences that trigger a set of work orders based on running hours or other counter type.
  • Calendar Work Order Sequences that trigger a set of work orders based on a calendar pattern ("Clean every Monday, calibrate every Wednesday")

In these cases, Work Order Sequences keep track of what shall happen "the next time" a trigger is reached.

You have the option to change a trigger in the Sequence, for example change a Counter to trigger at 200 km instead of 100 km, you can even do so after having released the Work Order Sequence. However, you cannot change the Asset No., or Frequency type after having released the Work Order Sequence.

It is possible to specify the starting point of a Sequence with multiple Work Order Plans. In the case you have 5 Work Order Plans in the same Sequence, you can specify the Sequence to start at e.g. the 3rd Plan in the Lines. When released, the specified Frequency will be added to the plan that you choose as a starting point.

When you close a Work Order that is part of a Sequence, the Sequence Card is updated with for example a Counter reading, and the next Frequency is then created and can be added to the Planning Worksheet.

In case you do not want a Sequence to depend on a Frequency, you can set up a Work Order Sequence without any Frequency. To do so, you must have a Work Order Plan without frequencies to use on the Work Order Sequence. When you release the Work Order Plan without Frequencies, you are asked to confirm to create the plan without Frequencies. Note that this functionality was not available before version 2204.

When being on the Work Order Plan card, you are notifed if the given plan is part of the Sequence to prevent changes that might interfere with the setup of the sequence. Furthermore, if you try to reopen the Work Order Plan which is part of a sequence, you will be notified.

Example: Set up of Sequence Frequencies on Work Order Plans
Example: Set up of Sequence Frequencies on Work Order Plans
Add Work Order Sequence button
Add Work Order Sequence button

Update Frequencies in Bulk

Updating frequencies in bulk is time efficient as it allows you to update multiple frequencies for different Work Order Plans at the same time. Updating multiple frequencies is useful when you have similar Work Order Plans where you need to make changes.

Consider the following when bulk updating frequencies:

  • Only frequencies of the same type can be bulk updated. The sequence type can't be bulk updated.
  • It's not possible to change the frequency to 'corrective maintenance'.
  • It's not possible to change the frequency type.
  • It's not possible to change the Work Order Description. This can instead be done on the Work Order Plan.

Below you can see what you can bulk update on each frequency type:
Calendar

  • Start time and start/end date of the schedule.
  • Make changes to the schedule whether it's daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

Counter

  • Type: Actual or fixed.
  • The frequency when it should be triggered.
  • Offset type and value.

Measurement
If the frequencies have mutual measurements, you can:

  • Update Measurement No.
  • Update Filter Expression.
  • If you remove Measurement No, and leave the field blank, you'll be able to update the Filter Expression only and the new value will be applied to all selected frequencies.

One-off

  • Update the planned date for the frequency.

Work Order

  • Frequency not supported with a bulk update.

Bulk Update

First, you need to select the Work Order Plans which frequencies you want to make changes to. Go to:

  1. Work Order Plans and select the relevant plans.
    • The selected plans must be in the Open status.
  2. Select Actions > Update Frequencies.
  3. A list opens showing the frequencies of the plans you selected in step 1.
  4. From this list, select the frequencies you want to update and click Update Frequencies from the toolbar.
  5. Change the needed data in the pop-up, and click OK to finish the update. In the screenshot below you can see an example of a pop-up when changing the Recurrence schedule for the calendar frequency.

Changing the Recurrence schedule for the calendar frequency.
Changing the Recurrence schedule for the calendar frequency.

Comments

Use Comments to provide detailed information, instructions, or notes related to Work Orders and Round Orders, maintaining a comprehensive record of communication and decisions throughout the document lifecycle.
Comments given on the Round Order or Work Order are transferred to the posted document when it is closed. Comments from plans are not transferred to the Order.

On the Rounds and Orders (Plans, Orders and Posted documents) you can add standard comments to:

  • Header of the document
  • Asset line (rounds)
  • Resource line
  • Item line
  • Expense line (orders)

By using the Comments action for the selected record.

Comments are also added to the dataset of Work and Round Orders, and Posted Round and Work Order Printouts.

Items on a Work Order Plan

You can add items and Asset Items to a Work Order Plan. The items are automatically transferred to the related Work Order.

  1. On a Work Order Plan > Items section, select an item number in the No. field.
  2. Enter the estimated quantity to be used in the Estimated Qty. field.

You can only select items that are in stock.

Work Order Plan Card

1 About work order plan details. Use Work Order Plan to create Work Orders for an asset. Plans are based on a predefined time frame (preventive maintenance), or Counter or Measurement readings (reactive maintenance).
2 Calculate work order plan. When you calculate a work order plan, you create a work order based on the plan. Frequencies, resources, and items are automatically transferred to the work order.
3 When do want to create a new work order. You set up frequencies to calculate how often you want to create a new work order from the plan. Frequencies may be automatically transferred from the work order category, but you can also manually add frequencies of type Calendar, Counter, Measurement, and One-off.
4 Work order simulation. After you have run a work order simulation, you can see a list of simulated work orders, based on the setup of the work order plan. This is useful information to predict the resources and items required for future work orders.

Resources on a Work Order Plan

You can add resources and related work hours to a Work Order Plan. Resource lines are automatically transferred to the related Work Order.

In the whole EAM App, you can only use resources that are marked as Maintenance Resource on the Resouce Card in the Maintenance tab. It applies to all areas where Resources are being used: Work Orders, Rounds, Resource Allocations, Scheduling Board, etc.

  1. On a Work Order Plan > Resources section, select a Work Type Code.
  2. In the Estimated Qty. field, you can enter the expected number of work hours to be used on the job.
  3. In the Unit of Measure Code field, select 'Hour'.
  4. In the No. field, you can select an employee. You can leave this field blank if a specific employee is not required.
    1. If you want the name of the Resource to be shown, simply go to Settings > Personalize and apply the 'Name' field.
  5. If your license is set up for Skills, you can specify the required skills to carry out a job on a Work Order. Skills can be defined on both Work Order Plan and Work Order. Based on the setup from the Asset Manager Setup, the user can be notified about missing skills or the user can be blocked from choosing a resource that does not have the required skills.
  6. On the Work Order on the General tab, you can define if skills are required and which skills are required.
  7. If you want to - you can also add a checklist to the resource line. Relevant fields are hidden by default.

Note: You can create workflows for when a resource is assigned to a work order. Read more about how to set up workflows using Power Automate in Business Central.

Example: Resource defined by no., unit of measure code, and skills on the Resource tab.
Example: Resource defined by no., unit of measure code, and skills on the Resource tab.

Define a Responsible Person or Group

You can use the 'Person/Group Responsible' field to define who is responsible for a specific work order. By default, this field is automatically populated from the asset card (from the same field) to the work order plan. However, you have the flexibility to modify this value as needed. You can also directly alter this value on the work order itself.

The field can be shown by going to Settings > Personalize and adding it to the work order plan card.

When an order is closed, the value from the order is transferred to the posted document.

The 'Person/Group Responsible' field.
The 'Person/Group Responsible' field.

Update Work Order Plan Lines in bulk

You can easily and quickly edit lines on Work Order Plans that are similar to each other but dedicated to different assets.

After selecting at least two work order plans, you can use the action Update Work Order Lines on the Work Order Plans list.

Plans that you want to update must be in the status Open.

After selecting the button, you will be asked which lines (Item, Resource, Expense) you want to update. The option for Expenses is available only when you set up that you want to use expenses on the plans in Asset Management Setup.

After confirming, you should see a list with a specific record type. The list might be empty. This functionality searches for all common lines from the selected work order plans.
Definition of common line:

  • The same number (Resource No., Item No., Expense No.).
  • The same description of the line.
  • The same estimated quantity.
  • The same Unit of Measure.
  • The same Work Type Code - for Resource Lines.
  • The same Vendor No. - for Expense Lines.
  • The same expected unit cost - for Expense Lines.

If selected plans have common line(s), they will be shown on the open list. If not, the list will be empty but it doesn't mean that selected plans have no lines on them.

By using the Edit List action you can edit existing lines, or create new ones.

After selecting OK, you will be notified about incoming changes.

If you select to continue the process, lines will be added to the work order plans.

Note: the process fully replaces any existing lines. This means that it will remove all lines from the selected plans and insert new ones which you saw on the list for update. It's important to keep in mind if you have specified additional dimensions on your plan lines. It will not recreate them. So, the whole process is dedicated to the situation where you know what you want to achieve.

Update Work Order Lines.
Update Work Order Lines.
Common lines.
Common lines.
Incoming changes.
Incoming changes.

Define Skills Required for Work Order Resource Line

You can specify what skills are needed to do maintenance work. These skills can be specified on the Work Order Plan, or on the Work Order.

Based on the setup from the Asset Management Setup, you can be notified about missing skills, or be blocked from choosing a specific resource which doesn't have the needed skills.

On the header, there is a piece of information if any skill is required, and the list of skills is visible.

Add skills to a Resource line.
Add skills to a Resource line.
From the General tab on Work Order or Work Order Plan, you can see if skills are required.
From the General tab on Work Order or Work Order Plan, you can see if skills are required.

Asset Replacement

Replace assets in your company easily using the Asset Replacement functionality. If an asset requires a replacement, you can create a Replacement Work Order from a Work Order Plan. The Asset replacement in EAM-BC is done after closing the Replacement Work Order after the physical replacement has been handled.

On the Work Order and Plan card, the Replacing Asset section is visible only when the used Work Order Category is specified as Asset Replacement (value in the Category Type field on the Work Order Category card).

On the Work Order Plan (and Work Order) you can define Replacing Asset in the Asset Parameters tab.

You can define:

  • Asset No. - the Asset No. after replacement.
  • New Asset Parent No. - by default, it will be the same Asset No. as Parent on the Current Asset (to place the new asset in the correct place in the hierarchy).
  • New Asset Status - this is the asset status that will be set on the Asset.
  • Change Asset Status Code on Child Assets - toggle the button if the new status should be assigned to all Asset Children.
  • New Asset Condition Code - this is an asset condition that will be set on the Asset.
  • Mount Counters - when toggled to 'on' the counters assigned to the current assets will be assigned to the new asset with the last reading. This works only if the Dismount Counters is on.

Check if an asset is during replacement

On the Asset Card there are hidden fields showing if the asset is during replacement, the asset number which the current asset will be replaced to, and the Work Order Number related to the asset replacement. These fields are only filled with values when the Work Order has a value in the Replacing Asset > Asset No. field.

View asset replacement consumption

When the whole replacement is done, and the Work Order is posted and closed, you will be able to see that consumption was done because of the asset replacement.

On Work Order Ledger Entries you can see two fields:

  • Asset Replacement - specifies if the work order ledger entries are related to asset replacement.
  • Replacement Asset No. - shows the asset number to which Asset No. has been replaced.

On Posted Work Orders, there are fields related to Asset Replacement Parameters. The values are copied from the Work Order during closing. Fields are only shown if the Work Order Category is marked as Asset Replacement.

Specifying Category Type as Asset Replacement.
Specifying Category Type as Asset Replacement.
Replacing Asset section can be seen in Asset Parameters of the Work Order and Work Order Plan.
Replacing Asset section can be seen in Asset Parameters of the Work Order and Work Order Plan.

Release a Work Order Plan

When you create a new Work Order Plan, it has state "Open".

There are three states for a Work Order Plan:

  • Open
  • Released
  • Closed

When the Work Order Plan is ready to be used for creating Work Orders, select Release > Release. In the "Released" state, you can create Work Orders from the Work Order Plan.

If you need to update a Work Order Plan that has been released, select Release > Reopen on the plan. Status changes to "Open", and you can edit the plan. When you're done editing, remember to release the Work Order Plan again by selecting Release > Release.

If a Work Order Plan is no longer required, select Release > Close on the plan.

You can delete a Work Order Plan if the plan is in state "Open" and no ledger entries are related to it, meaning you have not posted item/resource/expense registrations on related Work Orders. If you want to delete a Work Order Plan, select Work Orders > Work Order Plans, or select the Open Plans tile on your role center. Select the Work Order Plan in the list > Manage > Delete to delete the plan.

If required, you can batch Release Multiple Work Order Plans. In the lists:

  • Work Order Plans
  • Released Work Order Plans
  • Open Work Order Plans

you can change the state of multiple Work Order Plans at a time.

In a list, select the Work Order Plans that you want to change to the same state. Select Batch Release, and select the state you want to use on the plans.

Copy a Work Order Plan

You can copy a Work Order Plan to quickly create plans for other Assets.

When you copy a Work Order Plan, only Calendar and One-off frequencies are copied.

  1. On your role center, select the Released Plans or Open Plans tile.
  2. Select the Work Order Plan you want to copy.
  3. Select Actions > Copy Work Order Plan.
  4. In the Filter: Asset section, select the Asset you want to create a Work Order Plan for in the No. field.
  5. You can use one or more fields for filtering, if required. Refer to Microsoft documentation to learn more about filters and filter criteria: Sorting, Searching and Filtering.
  6. When you have added the relevant filters, select OK. Select the Open Plans tile to see the new Work Order Plan.
  7. Update the plan as you require.

Work Order Package

You can organize Work Orders in a Work Order Package, which is a list of Work Orders. Use Work Order Packages to manually create lists of Work Orders, for example, with dependencies or similar characteristics. Examples are Work Orders:

  • That require the cooperation of different teams.
  • That must be completed in a specific order.
  • That are related.
  • That are created for the same Asset.
  • With the same Priority Code.
  • With the same Category Code.

To open the Work Order Packages list:

  1. On your role center, search for and select Work Order Packages.
  2. Select a Work Order Package > Show Work Packages to see the Work Orders included in the package.

You can add a Work Order to a Work Order Package in two ways:

  • In the Work Order Packages list, select a list, then select Add Work Orders.
  • On a Work Order Card, select the Show more link to show all fields on the card. Then select a package in the Package Code field.
    • From the Package Code field, you can also create a new package. The selected Work Order is automatically added to the package.
  • The Starting Date and Ending Date are automatically calculated for a Work Order Package based on the minimum and maximum planned dates of all work orders assigned to the package. This gives you a precise overview of the time frame in which a Work Order Package is scheduled so you can plan efficiently.
    • If you have 'Planning by Hours' enabled, you can also view the starting and ending time alongside the dates.

Note: Work Order Packages can also be created automatically when creating a Work Order. View more in the article below.

Notes when working with Work Order Packages:

  • Work Orders with the status 'Closed' are not shown in Work Order Packages.
  • You cannot delete a Work Order Package that contains Work Orders.
  • If you rename the Code of a Work Order Package, Work Orders are automatically deleted from the list.

Customize the Work Order execution order in a Work Order Package

You can specify the execution order of Work Orders in a Work Order Package.

When you open the list of Work Orders that belong to a specific Package, you can see the 'Execution Order' column where you can manually specify the order of Work Orders execution. Work Orders can have the same number, meaning they may be executed at the same time. When you add a Work Order to a package, it will automatically get the last number in the order.

The 'Execution Order' column is hidden by default. To view it, go to Settings > Personalize and add the column to the table.

Automated deletion of Work Order Packages

In Asset Management Setup in the 'Closing' tab, there's an option to automatically remove empty work order packages.

When you enable this parameter 'Remove automatically empty work order packages', closing a work order that belongs to a work order package will result in the package being removed if no other work orders remain within it.

Work Order Package example.
Work Order Package example.

Creating a Work Order Package

Steps 5

  1. On your role center, search for 'Work Order Packages'.

  2. Search and go to Work Order Packages.

  3. In the Work Order Packages list, select New.

  4. Enter data in the Code field.

  5. Enter data in the Description field.

Expected

The user can create a Work Order Package.

Adding a Work Order to a Package

Data Requirements

  1. At least one Work Order exists.
  2. At least one Work Order Package exists.

Steps 5

  1. From your role center, search for and select the Work Order Packages list.

  2. Select the Package you want to add a Work Order to.

  3. Select Add Work Orders. The Work Orders list opens.

  4. Select a Work Order in the Work Orders list.

  5. Select OK to add the Work Order to the selected Work Order Package. You return to the Work Order Packages list.

Expected

The user can add a Work Order to a Package.

Deleting a Work Order Package

Data Requirements

  1. At least one Work Order Package exists.

Steps 5

  1. On your role center, search for 'Work Order Packages'.

  2. Select Work Order Packages from the Go to Pages and Tasks list.

  3. Select the list you want to delete.

  4. If the list contains Work Orders, select the Code field and rename the list, then confirm renaming.

    When you save the list with a new code, the Work Orders are removed from the list.

  5. Select Delete and confirm deletion.

Expected

You can delete a Work Order Package that does not contain Work Orders.

Create Work Order Packages Automatically and Assign Work Orders

It's possible to automatically create Work Order Packages upon Work Order creation. With this setting, you can streamline and automate the organization of Work Orders, ensuring they're consistently grouped by Asset.

This can be done by going to Asset Management Setup and enable the parameter 'Assign Work Order Package on Work Order Creation'.

  • When enabled, newly created Work Orders will be assigned to a Work Order Package with a code similar to the asset number on the Work Order.
  • If a Work Order Package with the appropriate code doesn't already exist, it will be automatically created and the Work Order will be assigned to it.
  • Similarly, if the Work Order Package already exists with the appropriate code, the Work Order will be assigned to it automatically.

Calculate a Work Order Plan

When you calculate a Work Order Plan, you create a Work Order based on the plan.

You can only have one active Work Order per Work Order Plan. An Asset Technician or Asset Manager must post and close a Work Order before you can create a new Work Order from the same Work Order Plan.

  1. On the Role Center, select Work Orders > Work Order Plans.
  2. Select the link in the No. field on the Work Order Plan for which you want to create a Work Order.
  3. Select Process > Calculate Plan. The Calculate Work Orders window opens.
  4. If you want to create a Work Order for the Asset selected on the Work Order Plan, select OK.
  5. A message about the new Work Order is shown on the screen, and the Work Order number is added in the Current Work Order No. field on the frequency line on the Work Order Plan.
  6. If you want to edit the Work Order, select the link in the Current Work Order No. field. For example, you may want to add a resource in the No. field on a resource line to plan the Work Order for a specific team or employee.

Use Filtering to Calculate Work Order Plan

If you want to create Work Orders for more Assets than just the one selected on your Work Order Plan, use the filters in the Calculate Work Orders window (refer to step 3 in the procedure above). You can enter different filter criteria in a Work Order calculation to include several Assets. Select the Filter link to select other filters.

Example: If you enter "25..50" in the Asset field, the Work Order calculation includes Assets nos. 25 through 50.

Refer to Microsoft documentation to learn more about filter criteria in D365BC: Sorting, Searching, and Filtering.

Work Orders are only created for Assets that match the frequency setup in the selected Work Order Plan.

Work Order Planning Worksheet Page

1 Control your workload. Be in control of your workload by reviewing your maintenance plans before they are accepted.
2 Start work order planning. Start work order planning by pressing 'Calculate Plan'. All upcoming work order plans are now listed - and each of them can be modified / postponed / deleted before the coming plan is carried out.
3 Planned Date. 'Planned Date' shows when the work order shall be executed. If a work order plan line was postponed, then ''Original Planned Date'' tells the original planned date.
4 Commit the work order plan. Mark 'Accept Action Message' for each work order plan line that you want to carry out and press 'Carry Out Action Message...'. Work order(s) is/are now created
5 Why do I see this Work Order Plan Line?. What triggered this work order plan line? 'Frequency Type' answers that question. Work order plans can trigger because they have a Calendar, One-off, Counter, or other frequency.

Calculate Work Orders from Planning Worksheet

Use the Planning Worksheet to calculate multiple Work Order Plans (and Round Plans if you use the Rounds module in EAM-BC) at once and create Work Orders (or Round Orders) from the plans.

  1. On your role center, select Work Orders > Planning Worksheet.
  2. Select Calculate Plan from the tab.
  3. On the Calculate Work Orders pop-up screen, you can:
    1. Select OK to calculate Work Order Plans with the status 'Released'. You can only create a new Work Order for a Work Order Plan if it has no active Work Orders.
    2. Create a filter, based on the asset, for which work order plans you want to calculate work orders. You can also define whether you want to take Round Orders plans into consideration.
      • If you select Round Order plans, they are taken into consideration based on the filter set up for Work Order Plans. The filter for Asset is not applied in that case. In the situation when a round plan is released, and the filter is set up for assets but not for the work order plan, then when Plan Round Orders is selected, this round order plan will be calculated.
  4. Select the Accept Action Message check box for the plans you want to create a Work Order for.
    1. If you want to create a Work Order for all the plans in the list, select the Accept All Action Messages button to select the check box for all plans.
  5. Select the Carry Out Action Message button to create Work Orders.
  6. Click OK to close the message.
  7. The Work Order Plans for which Work Orders have been created are deleted from the Planning Worksheet.
  8. You can now go to Work Orders from the toolbar to view the Work Orders that you just created.

Calculate Work Orders pop-up screen.
Calculate Work Orders pop-up screen.

Create Work Orders from Job Queue

Use standard D365BC functionality to set up a job queue (batch job functionality), which will automatically create Work Orders from your Work Order Plans.

  1. Press Alt+Q on your keyboard to open the search field.
  2. Enter 'job queue' in the search field and select Job Queue Entries.
  3. Select New to create a new job queue.
  4. On the Job Queue Entry Card, select Object Type "Report".
  5. Enter Object ID "70479529", which is the report for calculating work orders.
  6. Activate the Report Request Page toggle button to set up filters for records which should be calculated with this job queue.

For more information on how to set up the job queue for automatic creation of Work Orders, refer to Microsoft D365BC documentation: Use Job Queues to Schedule Tasks.

Consumption Control

Use Work Order Consumption Control to compare estimates on Work Order Plans and Round Plans to actual consumption registrations on posted Work Orders and posted Round Orders. This functionality provides valuable feedback for maintenance planning, giving you insight into possible estimate updates required on your Work Order Plans and Round Plans.

To open the Work Order Consumption Control card, search for and select "Work Order Consumption Control".

At the top of the Work Order Consumption Control card, you can set up Date Filters if you want to see data for a specific period. Leave those fields blank to view data for the entire period.

You can specify filters to perform consumption control on

  • Plan No. (Work Order Plans and Round Plans)
  • Work Order No. (Posted Work Orders and Posted Round Orders)
  • Asset No.

Also, regarding consumption registration lines, you can specify filters for:

  • Item No.
  • Resource No.
  • Expense No.
  • Work Type Code

The screenshots below show examples of Consumption Control filters based on a Work Order Plan (Screens 01+02) and an item (Screens 03+04). In Screens 02 and 04 the Group by Work Order toggle button is activated, meaning you get a detailed view to examine each consumption registration line included in your filter.

The detailed view you get by activating the Group by Work Order toggle button may provide an entirely different perspective for your consumption control analysis. Refer to Screens 03+04 below where Screen 03 may give you an idea that everything works according to plan, but in the detailed view you see differences in estimate vs. actual on different Work Orders.

The result of comparing estimates to actuals is shown in the % Difference field, and there are four possible outcomes when you analyze your data:

  1. "0.00%" means estimated quantity and actual quantity match
  2. A figure shown in red, bold format means actual quantity exceeds estimated quantity
  3. A figure shown in green, bold format means actual quantity is less than estimated quantity
  4. "Unplanned Usage" means the registration line was not part of the estimate

Activate the Show Only Difference toggle button to remove lines showing "0.00%". This way you can concentrate on analyzing the differences.

If you want to see more details for a posted Work Order or Round Order, select the registration line in the grid, then select one of the Open... buttons above the grid. The buttons available depend on your filter selections.

Note that you can also open Work Order Consumption Control from

  • an Asset card
  • a Work Order Plan card
  • a Round Plan card
  • a Posted Work Order card
  • a Posted Round Order card

by selecting History > Consumption Control on the card. This will show filtered Consumption Control data, based on the card you come from.

Refer to Work Order Ledger Entries if you want to examine consumption registration lines in further detail.

Screen 01: Consumption Control on Work Order Plan
Screen 01: Consumption Control on Work Order Plan
Screen 02: Consumption Control on Work Order Plan, grouped by Work Orders
Screen 02: Consumption Control on Work Order Plan, grouped by Work Orders
Screen 03: Consumption Control on item
Screen 03: Consumption Control on item
Screen 04: Consumption Control on item, grouped by Work Orders
Screen 04: Consumption Control on item, grouped by Work Orders

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