This document specifies some of the functions needed by Division 2.

SECTION 1 WORK ORDERS

1.1 WORK ORDERS (TASKS)

Work Orders and their associated activities are the core of the system. A work order is entered into the system and printed out prior to work commencement. Engineers are instructed not to start without a printed work order. Outputs from Work Orders and Activities include:

Client's Activity Report

Client's Billable Activity Report

Employee's Activity Report

Time Sheet Reports

Work Orders Completed

Work Orders Not Completed

Used for Client Billing

Used for Job Costing

1.1.1 Work Flow

The process starts with a call from a client which may be an HDC user. The caller reports a problem or requests that a task be completed, e.g., PC won't boot or install a cable between x and y locations.

The person taking the call (dispatcher) must know the following information.

The client and the type of contract the client has with HDC.

Whether the requested task falls within the contract scope. Some client only have specific machines under contract.

If the request is for one the contract machines, an engineer can be dispatched.

If the request falls outside the contract scope or is for a machine that is not under contract, then a Service Addendum must be created, faxed to the client, and received back from the client with an authorizing signature before work can commence.

The Work Order prioritization methodology.

If the call is higher than routine priority, a Network Engineer must be dispatched and be on site within four hours. The dispatcher must know where all engineers are at all times, the expected duration of work being performed and the priority of the job the engineers are working. Only engineers working on lower level priorities can be pulled from one client site and sent to a different site.

The dispatcher calls the engineer and redirects him/her to the new location and faxes a copy of the work order to the engineer. New - the dispatcher will enter an activity record for the work the engineer has been working on and indicate a status of "delayed due to reassignment".

New - when an engineer completes his/her current job, he/she calls the dispatcher and the dispatcher enters an activity record under the correct work order. The activity record should indicate that the job is "completed". The network engineer obtains a signature from the client on the work order and turns the signed work order into the dispatcher when the engineer returns to HDC. The dispatcher should send the engineer to the next job in the work order priority list.

Monthly

An activity report is created for each client and sent as part of the monthly status report.

All activities are printed along with the "billable activities" report to create the client bills. There are a number of errors on what is checked as "billable" currently, so both reports are needed and subsequently scanned to determine if any tasks should have been marked billable. The "Client Line Item Prices" file is updated with all new billing information.

A cross-tab report is created (from a separate database because salary information is available) that shows the estimated costs of all accounts.

1.1.2 Current Manual Work Order Processes

Work Orders are currently created with a word processor, e.g., a template file is copied and saved as work order number xxxx. Then the pertinent information is typed into the template. Finally, the new work order is saved and printed for use by the network engineer.

Must have a signed Service Agreement or Service Addendum to ensure we will be paid for the work. Note: Service Agreements/Addendums are also manual processes.

Must determine billable status. Different contract types make this a difficult task. Should track work by equipment, e.g., should know what equipment is to be worked on prior to working on it.

Service Agreements and Service Addendums are created manually and should be automated.

1.1.3 Proposed Automation

Service Agreements: A function should be created to allow for either the complete data entry and maintenance of Service Agreements and Service Addendums. If this is not practical, then the minimum information kept in the database should include the sequential number of the Service Agreement/Addendum.

User Preferences: Each user should be able to select for viewing/update only the work orders assigned to him/her and to the department group, e.g., network services -and- the general purpose work orders, e.g., Sick, Vacation, etc.

Work Orders: The actual work order should be printed and stored on the system rather than manually.

Additional Miscellaneous: More information needs to be stored in the Client file to assist with billing functions. The actual Machine ID or Ids need to be stored associated to a Work Order -or- the Work Order's activity records. This would also help with billing. An "estimated duration" field needs to be added to the work order to help with scheduling.

1.2 ACTIVITIES

A number of activities are recorded for each work order (0, 1, or many to one relation with Work Orders). Each activity has a date (which may need to become date/time), the number of hours (in tenths) the activity required to complete, the engineers ID, the billable flag (may be removed if a better way is found), and the account number (which may be different than the Work Order's account number). A ending "status" field may be needed which will be used to update the current status in the Work Order record so the dispatcher and/or managers can determine the job's status. Typical statuses are "Not Started", "In Progress", "Awaiting Parts", "Awaiting Agreement", "Delayed by Reassignment", and "Completed". If the activity indicates the Work Order is completed, then the completion date and the completed flag in the Work Order (Task) record should also be updated.