Module 238- Scheduling (Rev1).ppsx

INTERNAL TRAININGModule Number 238-AMIS Imperium- Scheduling

Rev 1 19/01/091Scheduling

In order to track the visits it is very important that co-ordinators keep the schedule up to date.

It should be understood however that, the actual visits and hours allocated to an assignment based on visits to the works, and the visits on the schedule are on separate areas of the system and not inter linked.

This is because the schedule is particularly dynamic and changes on a regular basis where visits are scheduled and rescheduled. Linking the schedule with the actual visits cause many problems with the system trying to invoice for visits that didnt actually happen. Hence the separation.

The schedule is used to track future visits and the status of the written report relative to that visit. Hence dates entered on the schedule are registered against the assignment for status information and for tracking visits but they are not used in the visit logs nor are they used in the invoicing section.

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On opening the schedule the screen is split into distinct areas.

One for searching and viewing of the schedule visits, one for adding new schedules to the system, and the display area where the visits are actually shown.

The first half of the page allows you to search and display visits that are already entered on the system.

You should note that the filters and search functions here are distinct form those on the right of the page.

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The other half of the page is to be able to add new visits to the schedule.

This is easily done by selecting the date that you wish the visit to be added.

You can then add a duration to the visit again the system defaults to 1 but for longer visit you can change the number of days the visit is planned for.

There are 2 boxes enabling you to select the assignment number.

The assignment ID refers to the assignment number of the particular assignment, 4

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The status Bar summaries all of the data on the schedule.

The visits today, visits this month and visits this year figures are the totals number of visits that are scheduled.

The reports not received is particularly important as this enables you to follow up on any outstanding reports. Obviously this is reliant on the coordinators updating the date as to the status of the visit.

The second row of the table displays the stats for the current search results.

All of these stats are relative to your office weather you are the owner or the co-ordinator of the assignmnets.

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The bottom part of the page is generated using the selected filters and pressing search. The data shown is limited based on your security level an the ownership of records. 6Scheduling

Lets start with the searching and viewing functions. To be able to view visits on the schedule you must use the search button, the system does not automatically show any default data, this is because the schedule can become full of data and pulling lots of data can be slow if your connection is not good.

Hence the system gives you the opportunity to use a range of filters. And then call only the data you require.

The first filter is the date, you can select any date that you require, the date filed is a drop down calendar or you can type the date you need as long as you us the correct format as shown. Next to the date field you will see that there is an extra field called days, this defaults to 1 and will in this situation show just the day that you have selected in the date filed, however you are able to change the default value and select any number of days. In our example here 30 days has been selected. The system will therefore return the visits form the date selected and for 30 days following that date.

The two arrow buttons allow you to scroll through days one at a time either backward or forwards. This is just a short cut to look through the schedule without having to retype or select dates. This is the only exception to having to press the search button as flicking through the dates with auto refresh.

The today button allows you to automatically change the date filed to the current date, again useful if you have been searching around on different date and wish to quickly return to today's date.

The office field should default to your own office so that visits are only shown where you are either the owner or the co-ordinator of the assignment.

The staff field allows you to further filter again the names coordiantor so that should you need you can display only your jobs.

The inspector field allows you to filter by a specific inspector, using the find button to select the correct one.

The status is a further filter to select the status of the visit, the default is all, but should you wish you can chose to display only vsit which are to be confirmed etc.

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When trying to display just the records for a specific inspector its necessary to select the correct inspector.

When you click on the find inspector an overlay will apprer, which you should now be familiar with this lets you type in the details of the inspector you are after.

When the list of search results is displayed clicking on the select button automatically enters the inspector into you schedule search filters.

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Once you are happy with all the search filters you simply hit the search button and the results will be displayed.

The results are sorted by assignment number. And then if you have selected multiple dates it will secondary sort by date.

For all the returned results it shows, whether you are owner or coordinator., the duration of the visit, the client name the inspector name, and the vendor name.

You will note that the client name, inspector and vendor name are shown as hyper links, this enables you to click on the names and the system will open a popup that shows the client or vendor record, this allows you to find the contact numbers for instance without having to close down the schedule and open another section of the system. The pop ups are read only to save any circular problems and errors caused by not saving. You should still however make sure you close down the pop ups once you have finished with it.

At the end of each row you will notice that each visit has a status, these range from None for a new confirmed visit, to RR for report received, to C for cancelled, P for postponed and TBC for to be confirmed. Hence if a visit is shown on the schedule with a status of None you can infer that it is confirmed with the vendor. If it is specifically not confirmed then the coordinator should set the status as TBC.

The system is also set to highlight any visit rows on the schedule where the status is none and the inspection date is more that 24 hours in the past. This is to give co-ordinators a quick indication as to the visits where reports are still required to be submitted by the inspector.

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Adding of new visits is a simple process of selecting the appropriate assignment and adding a visit row to the schedule.

There are a couple of options when doing this.

Firstly select the date of the visit, if it is a multiple day visit then select the first day and then change the default duration form 1 to the number of days covered by the visit.

You then have 2 ways to enter the assignment details.

If you already know the assignment ID you can type it directly to the assignment ID box. You still need to click on the find box next to the ID as the system will then check on the database and fill in the relevant details of that assignment. This is a double check so that you can instantly see if you have the correct number. The second way to select the assignment is if you dont know the number you can click on the find button next to the assignment field.

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Clinking on the find button again brings up an overlay allowing you to search for the relevant assignment number. Additional search criteria have been added to allow the search for the correct assignment.

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Once the assignment is populated you will note that the scope dropdown is enabled, this will then allow you to select the relevant scope ID on the selected assignment, as the schedule you are entering will be against a specific scope within the assignment.

Once these details are selected you can click on the add schedule button and the system will create a new schedule date.12

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The visit is then added to the table without having to refresh, allowing you to then change the status if necessary.

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Should you try to enter a visit on the schedule that already exists then the system will automatically warn you that there is a duplicate on the system and will not allow the creation of the visit.

The checking process will check all date within the duration of the visit that you are trying to create.14

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You may already be aware that the system is also designed to track the holidays of the inspectors, you may remember form a previous training module that you can add inspectors holidays to the system. If therefore you try to add a schedule visit to the system for a date which is set as an inspectors holiday again you will receive a warning that it is not possible to crate the visit.

As a reminder holidays or inspectors are entered directly against the inspectors record.

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To enable you to further track the status of visits the specific details are further summarised in the coordinator consol on the home page, the figures are split into the total number of missing reports, the ones where you are the coordinator and those where you are the owner.

Clicking on the links will display the data relative to the numbers shown.

The consol is a work in progress and being constantly enhanced, and is more fully explained in a later module.

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You may remember form the introduction summary of the software that it has an email alert system.

Much of the email system is already working, however there is a deign for the system to be incorporated into the scheduling, so that automatic reminders can be set out to the inspectors chasing up missing reports.

This part of the email system is still in development at the time of writing this module.

17NextModule 239 Visit Reports

This is the end of this training module, please repeat it if you are unsure of any parts. Dont forget that you should be adding these modules to your training log which is form No 38 if you offices is implementing the group Integrated Management system.

The next training module in sequence is number 239 which explains the entry of visit report details onto the system.

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