Category Archives: Asset Management

Work Orders, Service Orders, and GIS-Based Asset Management

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Service Order Scrabble

I love playing Scrabble.  Partly because depending on who I’m playing with I get to make up my own words and if I make a good enough sales pitch, nobody knows better and I can get away with big points.

And speaking of confusing terminology – I pose the question: What is the difference between a Service Order and a Work Order?

What about the difference between a Service Request and a Work Request? Work Ticket? Job Ticket?  Now I’m confused.

Throughout the industry we’ve heard lots of different terminology for lots of different situations – here are just a few examples:

Example 1: Service Requests vs. Work Orders

A Service Request indicates there’s a problem.  A Work Order indicates how a problem has been resolved and includes the labor, equipment, and materials cost to resolve the issue.  That’s fine, but why do we need to create and manage two separate documents for every problem?

Example 2: Service Orders vs. Work Orders

A Service Order is something that relates to a customer or a meter. A Work Order relates to other assets, like a fire hydrant or a mainline.

So then the question comes up – when a customer calls to report a leak – is that a Service Order or a Work Order?  I suppose that depends on whether the meter is leaking or the service line is leaking?  Maybe the person at the office taking the call should put the customer on hold while the customer goes outside to dig up the leak and diagnose the problem so the office knows whether they should create a Service Order vs. a Work Order :) Not likely.

Here’s the deal:

At the end of the day, we need to record the problem, how it was resolved, which assets were involved, the cost to resolve the issue, and who was involved along the way.  And the easier we can make the process, the better off we’ll all be.

The reality is, the person taking the call in the office has absolutely no idea what the problem actually is.  All they know is what the person on the phone told them – which probably is not very accurate.  Nobody knows what the real problem is until someone actually shows up onsite and diagnoses the problem.  At that point, a decision can be made – and the way we see it, the decision should be how to fix the problem – not whether to create a Service Order vs. a Work Order.

So here’s what we did.

In Elements XS we’ve stripped out the extra steps and created a single document that captures all of the necessary information.  Feel free to call it a Service Order.  Or a Work Order.  Or a Job Ticket.  Or whatever you want.  But it’s a single document that tracks the problem, how it was resolved, labor, equipment, materials, dates, and everything else that’s required to properly track a job.

Stay tuned for more blog posts on the new Service Orders in Elements XS.

Integrating GIS-Based Asset Management with Utility Billing

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Typically there’s not a lot of excitement or fanfare involved with integrating applications. However, there’s recently been quite a bit of interest in the integration between the Elements GIS-based asset and work management software and CUSI’s UMS.net utility billing application. With that in mind, I thought it would be beneficial to shed some light on the integration and discuss some of the available functionality.

Here’s what makes the integration unique.

The integration is not a tool that was developed by a third party to pass data back and forth or otherwise synchronize information between the two applications. This project was designed, completed, and is maintained solely by the development teams at CUSI and Novotx, working together to create an integration that would take advantage of the best features in both applications without data duplication or synchronization. The asset management software directly accesses information from (and passes information to) the utility billing application in real-time and vice versa.

And here are a few reasons it’s attracting so much interest.

Using the integration, office personnel can dispatch a technician to read or replace a meter, for example, and the meter-related information can be collected using the asset management application then saved directly to the utility billing database.

The integration gives field operators access to GIS data, asset management information, and important customer and meter information directly from the utility billing application in real-time.

Service Orders can be generated in the asset management application using information from the utility billing application – for example, a batch of Service Orders can be created to shut off a group of customers who have not paid their bill. These Service Orders can then be completed using the asset management application, which will post the required meter information and associated fees directly to the customer account in the utility billing database.

Lastly, the integration expands the functionality of the utility billing application by adding a complete work management system that allows users to create and manage work orders for any geographic location, assets, GIS assets, facilities, heavy equipment, and much more.

GIS-Centric or GIS-Based?

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Anyone who has seen a demo of the Elements software can attest to it’s uniqueness.  The asset management and GIS integration methods found in Elements are quite different than those offered by our competitors – and it’s a good thing.

Every now and then someone will ask me if Elements is a “GIS-Based” or “GIS-Centric” application.  My answer?  I’m not sure (and does it matter?) -  I haven’t found either term defined in a real dictionary anywhere and to be completely honest, when building the application we weren’t too concerned with terminology – we were more concerned with solving the problems at hand.

With that in mind, here are a few questions we’ve received about the GIS integration methods in Elements:

Question:  Is the ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase the asset and feature data repository in Elements?

Yes.  Or No.  Elements clients can select whether they want to use the ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset / feature repository or if they want to use a different GIS integration method.  For those who choose to do so, whatever they’ve got in their ArcGIS setup is what comes across in Elements.  Elements users read directly from (and write directly to) the ArcGIS geodatabase.  Using this method GIS is not duplicated or synchronized and all GIS asset data is created and maintained using ArcGIS software.  For clients who don’t use ESRI products or who have limited access to GIS resources there are other GIS integration methods available that do not use the ArcGIS geodatabase as the asset and feature data repository.

Question:  Does Elements synchronize my GIS data?

That depends; clients using the ESRI ArcGIS integration method described above will not be synchronizing data.  Period.  Clients using other GIS integration methods usually won’t synchronize data either – but depending on how Elements has been configured, it is possible to synchronize GIS.

Question: Is there any data duplication with Elements?

There is no data duplication using the ESRI ArcGIS integration method in Elements; all users are reading directly from (and writing directly to) the ESRI geodatabase.  Other GIS integration methods in Elements allow users to “Link” GIS files, which also does not duplicate data.

Question: Is the asset management data stored in the same database as the GIS data?

Nope.  The asset management data including work orders and other documents are stored in a separate database.  In the early years of Elements all of the data was contained in the same database, but that has since changed.  Why?  Because Elements has evolved as a complete asset and work management application designed to manage both GIS and non-GIS assets as well as Heavy Equipment, Fleet, Facilities, Customers, Meters, Locations, Permits, Licenses, Inspections, and several other things that are better maintained outside of the geodatabase.

Dynamic Data

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Managing data is tough.  Every business operates differently and no matter which application you select to manage your assets and infrastructure, it’s likely that right out of the box the application will not be configured to suit your specific needs.

In this example, let’s say you want to track the General Contractor on a Work Order.  Easy enough, right?  Well, sort of.  The problem here is that your software application does not have a “General Contractor” field on the Work Order input form.  Now you’re thinking “…Rats.  Now what.  I spent all this money on this dang thing and I can’t even track the General Contractor on my Work Order – I swear they said we could do that when I sat through their demo…”

Don’t worry; you’re not out of luck just yet.  Chances are, you just need to spend some time configuring the application.

A common practice among software developers involves pre-filling the application database with “extra” fields and allowing users to use these fields as necessary (in this example, using one of the extra fields as the “General Contractor” field).

Another common practice involves pre-filling the database with common fields that the software publisher thinks you may need.  Hopefully they thought you would need a “General Contractor” field, in this example.

The key fault with these methods is that the application database will never truly line up with your needs.

Using the above methods to manage data, you’re likely to end up in one of these situations:

  1. You’ll have a bunch of unused (and unnecessary) “extra” fields in your database, or
  2. You’ll have to make do with pre-determined data fields that may or may not be what you’re looking for, or
  3. You simply won’t have enough fields to track the necessary data.

The solution?  We use what we refer to as “Dynamic Data”.  We call it dynamic because it’s not pre-determined, and there are no extra, unnecessary, or unused fields in the application database.

Here’s how it works.

Again, let’s say that you want to track the “General Contractor” on your work order.  In the Elements application settings, you use the dynamic data feature to simply create a new “General Contractor” field, determine the type of field that you prefer (drop down list, for example), and define where you want the newly created field to be tracked.  Voila.  You now have your “General Contractor” field, it’s in the right place, it works according to your needs, and you’re not stuck with a bunch of unnecessary fields in your database.

Now, let’s take that one step further.  Maybe you’ve got an entire data form that you’d like to track, a specific “Flow Test” for example. Well, how in the world are you supposed to track your flow tests if the application doesn’t have a “Flow Test” data input form? Unfortunately using pre-built “extra” database fields provided by the vendor won’t work in this situation.

The answer?  Dynamic data.  In this case we can create an unlimited number of custom fields (specific to our “Flow Test”) and we can assign those fields to a Flow Test data input form.  Voila (love that word), we’ve done it again.

The dynamic data engine in Elements also allows users to define dynamic page layouts, grid layouts, and much more.  Check back to learn more about the dynamic data in functionality in Elements.

The Calculator Watch

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The other day I saw a guy wearing one of these and I thought “Really?  I thought they stopped making those things in the 80’s.”

Did you ever have a calculator watch?  I did.  Ask me how many times I used the calculator function – probably about 3 or 4 times – each of which was to show off the watch to my buddies.  Not once did I actually find myself wishing that I had a calculator on my wrist – much less a calculator that was hard to read and required microscopic finger tips to push the correct buttons.  However, there were plenty of times when I wished that the numbers displaying the time of day were larger.

Then it hit me – a lot of cities and utilities looking for GIS based asset and work management software are shopping for calculator watches.   No, they’re not shopping for real calculator watches – but when I look at the extensive lists of features and requirements some of these organizations are looking for I wonder if they realize that they’re trying to cram a calculator into a watch – and although it might seem like a great idea at first, when it comes right down to it the solution is just not practical.

What happens when you cram a calculator into a watch? Both devices are crippled.  So when you’re out looking for new GIS-based asset and work order management software try to find the right software for the right job – and remember that mixing too many things together may result in a calculator watch.

GIS-Based Asset and Work Management: Inventory Valuation Methods

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As you work to implement a new GIS-based asset and work management system (or improve your current system), a key component that often gets overlooked is the current value of all inventory on hand.

With such a strong focus on GIS assets, sometimes this critical component gets left behind. However, every time a Work Order is completed, inventory items are used.  Big or small, expensive or not, it’s important to manage the parts that are being used on your Work Orders.

Determining the Value of Your Inventory On Hand

At any given time it’s important to know the value of inventory on hand at any given location.  Your inventory locations might consist of one or more parts warehouses, service vehicles, inventory storerooms, or a combination the three.

When parts are used on a work order, it’s important to track where that part came from.  If we use a widget on a Work Order – did it come from Jon’s truck, Mike’s truck, did it come from the Warehouse, or somewhere else?  How detailed you want to be is up to you, but however you decide to manage your inventory, make sure you can pull the reports you’re going to need at the end of your fiscal year.

To property manage the value of your inventory you’ll need to decide which accounting method you’re going to use (if you don’t already have one in place).  You’ll get different results for each accounting method, so make sure you use the one that will give you the result you’re looking for!  (As a side note, we’ve found that almost all government and utility companies use the FIFO method).

As illustrated in the following examples, we can see that using the same dollar amounts and the same parts, the value of your inventory on hand will differ with each accounting method:

  1. FIFO – Inventory on hand will be valued at $10
  2. LIFO – Inventory on hand will be valued at $5
  3. Weighted Average – Inventory on hand will be valued at $7.50

Here are how the values are determined for each method:

1. FIFO (First In First Out)

When using a part on a Work Order the oldest price you paid for that particular part will be used against the Work Order.

For example, lets say you have 2 widgets in your warehouse: you paid $5 for one widget on January 1, and $10 for the second widget on January 2.  You now have a total value in your warehouse of $15 ($5 + $10).  Now, after using one of these widgets on a Work Order, the oldest price paid gets used first, so the total value in your warehouse is now $10 using the FIFO method ($15 – your total warehouse valuation, minus $5 – the oldest price you paid for the widget).

2. LIFO (Last In First Out)

When using a part on a Work Order the most recent price you paid for that particular part will be used against the Work Order.

Again, lets say you have 2 widgets in your warehouse: you paid $5 for one widget on January 1, and $10 for the second widget on January 2.  You now have a total value in your warehouse of $15 ($5 + $10).  Now, after using one of these widgets on a Work Order, the newest price paid gets used first, so the total value in your warehouse is now $5 using the LIFO method ($15 – your total warehouse valuation, minus $10 – the most recent price you paid for the widget).

3. Weighted Average

This method uses the weighted average of all prices paid for a particular part to determine the value that will be used against the Work Order.

Again, you have 2 widgets in your warehouse: you paid $5 for one widget on January 1, and $10 for the second widget on January 2.  You now have a total value in your warehouse of $15 ($5 + $10).  Now, after using one of these widgets on a Work Order, the weighted average of these parts is calculated and used against the Work Order: $15 (total price paid) divided by 2 (number of units) yields a $7.50 average meaning the total value in your warehouse is now $7.50 using the LIFO method ($15 – your total warehouse valuation, minus $7.50 – the average price paid for the widget).

Did we forget something? Anything else to add?  Leave us know in the comments!

High Market Share and Crappy Products

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He’s no Michael Jackson on the dance floor, but what Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak lacks in dance moves he more than makes up for in wisdom.

After declaring that Android would be the winner in the smartphone race, he spoke with Engadget and – referring to Android – stated that a product “…can get greater market share and still be crappy.”

There is a lot of wisdom in that statement.   A great example would be Windows Vista; anyone who ever used the thing would put it at the very top of the “Crappy Products with High Market Share” list.

Luckily, Microsoft redeemed itself with Windows 7 and luckily not all products with high market share are crappy.

When evaluating GIS-based asset and work management software be sure to look beyond the number of customers a vendor has; it’s surprising how many people actually will jump off a cliff just because their friends are doing it.

Navigating the Waters of GIS Based Asset and Work Order Management

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I get a lot of phone calls from people who say their GIS based work order software is not being used and they want to find something that’s:

  1. Easier to use, and
  2. More affordable.

Usually they explain that they purchased a nice GIS-based asset and work order management system 5-10 years ago and it just never really got adopted.

Unfortunately, of all the cruise ships on the ocean, it’s not very fun to find yourself in this particular boat.  Someone probably spent a lot of time and money up front on the software, and let’s face it: breaking up can be hard.

However, if you find yourself in this boat, you ultimately have two decisions – you can either:

  1. Get back up to speed on the application and force everyone to start using it, or
  2. Dump your current GIS based asset management system and get something that your people will actually use.

Before jumping ship to a newer, flashier ocean liner, here are a few quick questions to help you evaluate the situation:

  1. Why is your software not being used?
  2. How much money and time will it take to get back up to speed and use the application to its full potential?
  3. Even if you had all the time and money in the world, could your field operators use the thing? Or is it just too complicated?

Many times we’ve found it to be quicker and less expensive to get a new application than to resurrect the old one.   At any rate, make sure to examine your current situation carefully before jumping ship – spending a bunch of money on one lousy cruise is bad enough, no one wants to go on two.

GIS-Based Asset and Work Order Management: Defining Work Order Types

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Before implementing your new GIS-based asset and work management software, note that you can save yourself a lot of time (and money) by defining two simple things:

  1. The most common types of work that take place within your organization, and
  2. The important information that you need to track for each type of work

Here are a few quick examples:

  • Type of Work: Reread Meter
  • Important Information: Who read the meter, time of day the meter was read, actual meter reading, did they notify the customer? If so, how was the customer notified? Does the meter need replacing?

  • Type of Work: Install New Service
  • Important Information: Has the Pre-Lot Inspection been completed?  Post-Lot Inspection? Are any other inspections required?  Have all inspections been completed? Which team installed the service? Time of day? Materials, labor, and equipment used?

These examples are maybe a bit oversimplified – but it should be enough information to get you headed in the right direction.  Be sure to write down the information – and remember, the more detailed you get the better off you’ll be when it comes time to implement your software!

GIS and Asset Management: Designing Workflow for a Quicker ‘Go Live’

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Going ‘Live’ with new GIS-based asset and work order management software is always great – and generally speaking, the quicker you can go live the quicker you can start taking full advantage of your investment.

Before your first project meeting, here’s a quick tip that will speed up the implementation process and ultimately lead to a quicker ‘Go Live’ date:

Design your workflow (in detail and on paper, not just in your head).

(And do it before the project kick-off meeting)

New software can mean new workflow.  Not always, but most of the time your current workflow will change for the better with new GIS-based asset and work management software.   With that in mind, take a close look at your current workflow processes.  Then look at them again.  And again.  Take time to really think through your current processes from start to finish, then yourself these 5 questions:

  1. Current workflow aside – if I started from scratch, what would be the ‘Perfect Workflow’ for our organization?
  2. What do I absolutely love about our current workflow?
  3. What are the first 3 things I would change to make it better?
  4. What are some additional things I would change?
  5. Of all the changes I would make, which ones are critical and which ones are ‘nice-to-haves’?

Write it down.

Make lists and type it out if possible – the more you can do electronically, the less you’ll have to pay someone else to do it for you.

Draw a diagram.

If you’re not familiar with workflow diagrams, then give it your best shot, you can find plenty of examples online. Something on paper is better than nothing at all.  If you can, it’s best to diagram the process electronically in an application like Visio (or Omnigraffle for the Mac crowd).  If it’s too much work to diagram your processes electronically, then use a paper napkin – or whatever you can find.  The more you can physically diagram and lay out ahead of time, the better off you’ll be.

Other suggestions or thoughts?  Leave them in the comments!