Work Order Utility Programs

Owned by Enoch Poston
Last updated: Nov 29, 2017
4 min read

Utility programs are designed to process or speed up tasks that aren't part of the normal daily, weekly, or monthly routine. Three work order utility programs are available for use.

Recalculate Work Orders

The recalculate work order program recalculates and corrects work order totals in the event they are off. The primary reason why a recalculation may be necessary is mainly due to abnormal termination of the software such as a power failure or shutting down the system before completely exiting the RTA program. These scenarios can leave files open, leaving you with a big question-did everything get posted and updated before the outage? To be sure, it's best to run the recalculate work order utility to make sure work order totals are properly calculated and reported.

  1. Select System > Utilities > WOs > Recalc Range WOs from the RTA main menu (STWR).
  2. Enter the starting and ending work order number to recalculate or press F1 to select the work orders from a lookup list.
  3. Enter a default labor rate (per hour) to use if a labor rate isn't found.

Extract Work Order Records

This program extracts transactions for work orders closed in a specified date range. The transactions extracted are exported to a text file named xworkord.dat, which can be imported into other applications such as accounting or spreadsheet programs.

  1. Select System > Utilities > WOs > Export Work Order Transactions from the RTA main menu (STWX).
  2. Enter the facility number or press F1 to select a facility from the lookup list or select a region (multiple facilities) instead.
  3. Enter the starting and ending work order dates to extract or press F1 to select the dates from a calendar. The system will search for work orders that have close dates falling in the date range indicated.
  4. Choose whether to select transactions based on when the work order was completed or based on the individual transaction date of each item posted.
  5. Select the applicable checkboxes to extract the needed work order transactions.
  • Flag transactions as exported: Select this checkbox to flag transactions once they have been extracted. This helps avoid duplication of data should the dates overlap the next time this utility is executed. Skip this checkbox to leave transactions unflagged.
  • Include previously exported transactions: This checkbox allows the option of including or excluding previously flagged transactions (see previous checkbox). Select this checkbox to extract all transactions for work orders closed in the specified date range; skip this checkbox to extract only the transactions that have not been flagged.
  • Include shop supplies: Select this checkbox to include an additional data line (per work order) for shop supply OR facility overhead charges (SSM, switch 34). Skip this checkbox to exclude these charges.
  • Include taxes: Select this checkbox to include an additional data line (per work order) for tax charges. Skip this checkbox to exclude taxes.

When the process is complete, a file named xworkord.dat will be placed in the fleet subdirectory. The file layout is shown in the following table.

Columns

Field Size

Description

1 – 5

5

Work order facility number

6 – 12

7

Work order number

13 – 17

5

Vehicle facility number

18 – 25

8

Vehicle number

26 – 34

9

Vehicle life meter reading

35 – 36

2

Priority code

37 – 38

2

Reason code

39 – 41

3

Shop code

42 – 46

5

Customer facility number

47 – 56

10

Customer number

57 – 69

13

Purchase order number (given by the customer)

70 – 77

8

Close date (CCYYMMDD)

78 – 79

2

Line number

80 – 81

2

Transaction type (P=part, L=labor, T=tire, M=misc., OP=outside part, OL=outside labor, OT=outside tire, WP=warranty part, WL=warranty labor, WT=warranty tire, SS=shop supply, TX=tax)

82 – 89

8

Transaction/Posting date (CCYYMMDD)

90 – 98

9

VMRS code

99 – 123

25

Item number (part number, mechanic number and abbreviation, etc.)

124 – 163

40

Item description (part description, job description, etc.)

164 – 165

2

Repair type code (1=repair, 2=replace, 3=check, 4=damage, 5=PM, 6=outside, 7 through 99=user-defined)

166 – 173

8

Item post quantity (99999.99+/-)

174 – 184

11

Item post priceincludes markup (99999999.999)

185 – 195

11

Item costno markup (99999999.999)

196 – 255

60

Line 1 of work order line note

256

1

Filler


Close Completed Work Orders

Some companies open and post to a single work order per vehicle each month, others use the Paperless Shop option, but do not allow mechanics to close work orders. In both sample scenarios, the numerous open work orders need to be closed for month-end accounting purposes. In any case, this utility provides a quick and easy way of closing open work orders so they can be accounted for and included on billing reports and other month-end reports as needed.

  1. Select System > Utilities > WOs > Close Completed WOs from the RTA main menu (STWC).
  2. Enter the closing date. The date entered here will be used as the work order close date. The system will search for work orders created/opened on or prior to the specified date.
  3. Enter the starting and ending work order numbers to process or press F1 to make the selection from a lookup list.
  4. Choose OK to start the process. Work orders will be closed automatically only if:
  • They were created on or prior to the specified date AND
  • The work order number falls in the specified work order number range AND
  • All jobs on the work order have been completed (i.e., all work order lines have a status of Done)