Creating Service Requests and Field Service Tasks

Requests for field service, whether for planned work generated by a preventive maintenance program, or as the result of customer calls for break/fix issues, trigger a sequence of integrated business processes. These processes are described at a high level in the introductory chapter to this User Guide titled: "Understanding Field Service".

The scope for this chapter picks up at a point where several steps involving upstream integrated applications have already been completed. At this stage, one or more service requests have been entered through a TeleService Service Request, or iSupport Customer Contact Center, or have been generated by a preventive maintenance program. The requests have been screened for entitlement, and priority. The service problems have been described, and it has been determined that Field Service technician visits are necessary.

This chapter covers the following topics:

Overview: Service Request and Task Creation

Self-service Web portals built with Oracle iSupport make it possible for customers and employees to log and monitor their service requests. Oracle TeleService agents can publish service requests for the customers to view, suggest knowledge base solutions, and communicate with customers through notes. To understand how customers interact with the service organization through a self-service Web-portal see the Oracle iSupport User Guide.

Refer to the Oracle TeleService User Guide for more information about the following topics:

Note: You can navigate to the Parts Search page from the Parts Requirement Find page or directly from the Dispatch Center, FSTP, FSAP or Service Request UI.

The Parts Search page is linked to the service request and task to enable the other groups to create Parts Requirements for technicians

Overview: Dispatch Center

The Oracle Field Service Dispatch Center is a one stop dashboard and workbench for dispatchers. It assists with planning, scheduling, committing, monitoring, and adjusting field service activities and schedules.

For complete information on setting up Field Service technicians and dispatchers, see Setting Up Field Service Technicians and Dispatchers., Oracle Field Service Implementation Guide

How the Dispatch Center Populates With Information

In this section, we summarize the Field Service technician and dispatcher setup, and then explain how the Dispatch Center populates with the subset of information of interest to the logged in dispatcher.

The setup summary includes:

When the Dispatch Center window is invoked by the dispatcher user for the first time:

For the subsequent log-ins by this user, the Dispatch Center window is invoked using the following process:

When the dispatcher selects or deselects any of the selected territories in the Select Territories and Task Owners window, the territory IDs are updated accordingly for this user. This setting is honored for subsequent log-ins by that user.

Task View

the picture is described in the document text

The Dispatch Center Task view lists tasks and task attributes for the selected view in a table across the top of the window. Above this table is the list of view by query values, the time zone of the logged in dispatcher, and four icons at the top right for switching between the Tasks, Plan Board, Gantt or Scheduling Chart, and Map views. Below the task list table are several tabs that organize detail information for the task selected in the table.

The tasks list table enables you to look at multiple task attributes in a single view. These attributes focus on the task, associated service level agreement and service request, and scheduling details. You can use the properties of a table to sort tasks by a column such as task priority or assignee or you can use the Sort window available from the Task right-click menu. For more information, see Sorting the Tasks List Table.

Task List Table

You can use the right click menu provided to perform actions on a selected task such as mark a planned task for customer confirmation, create and view charges, create a parts requirement, schedule it, commit it, and enter debrief details. You can also later reschedule or cancel a scheduled task from the Dispatch Center.

You can populate the tasks list table by selecting a query from the list of values at the top of the Dispatch Center window. Some queries are seeded and delivered with the application. For example, you can view tasks that are at the 'Escalated' status.

Alternatively, you can launch the Basic or Advanced Find window, and then define a custom query to find tasks that match combinations of specified criteria. Once defined, the names and descriptions of these custom queries appear in the list of query values. You can see all seeded and custom queries in the Query tab of the Spreadtable Meta Data Administration window. See Populating the Dispatch Center Tasks List Table

Your system administrator can customize the display of task attributes and their order of display in the tasks list table using the Spreadtable Meta Data Administration window. For more information, see the Oracle Field Service Implementation Guide.

You can additionally right click and use the Sort menu to quickly sort the table by selected sort criteria and the order of these criteria. For more information, see Sorting the Tasks List Table.

Plan Board, Gantt, and Map Views

You can access other views of the Dispatch Center, by clicking the Plan Board, Gantt, or Map icons at the top of the window.

The Dispatch Center Plan Board and Gantt chart support monitoring progress against service technician schedules in the regular as well as stand by (After Hours) shifts. Dispatchers can change schedules to react to unplanned events. If spatial data is loaded, dispatchers can use the Dispatch Center Map to view a technician's status and location.

Marking Tasks for Customer Confirmation

Call center agents and dispatchers can mark a task to indicate that a customer requires confirmation prior to a technician arriving on site. Field Service provides a process for the dispatcher to record the customer confirmation requirement prior to scheduling the task. Confirmation must be received before the task can be committed. See Releasing Work to the Field - Interactive Process.

A customer confirmed visit can not be modified without the approval of the customer, although the dispatcher can change the task status from confirmation 'Confirmed' back to confirmation 'Required'. When the task status is set to 'Confirmed', the task cannot be directly rescheduled, canceled, or unplanned. Before proceeding, the dispatcher first must undo the customer confirmation. This ensures that confirmed tasks cannot be changed accidentally.

Customer confirmation is a four-step process:

  1. Capture the customer confirmation requirement.

  2. Schedule the task.

  3. Record receipt of the confirmation prior to committing the task.

  4. Reschedule if customer confirmation is received and later rescinded.

Dispatchers can always reschedule if customer confirmation is previously received and later rescinded and optionally remove this constraint

In the break/fix mode, the customer confirmation requirement can be captured in the call center. For preventive maintenance work, the customer confirmation requirement is captured in the contract. The customer confirmation requirement is stamped on the task when the preventive maintenance service request is created.

Once recorded, if the Confirmed status is reversed, the Field Service application records whether the customer or the field service operation initiated the change. Business practice modifications may be indicated if an audit trail reveals that changes by the service provider are too frequent.

Use the following procedures to add a customer confirmation to a task, to record a confirmation, and to undo a previously required customer confirmation.

Steps

  1. Navigate to the Customer Confirmation window.

Adding a Confirmation Requirement

  1. In the Customer Confirmation region, if customer confirmation has not been set to yes, the field displays 'Not Required'. To set to 'Required', click Set to Required.

    After a task has a customer confirmation of 'Required' the dispatcher must receive this confirmation to commit the task (release the work).

    The button located on the Overview tab of the Task Details view of the Dispatch Center will dynamically display the label ‘Customer Confirmation Received’, once the confirmation is recorded.

  2. The dispatcher can change the confirmation back to 'Not Required' by clicking Set to No.

    A popup window with the following message: "Are you sure this task does not require customer confirmation?" appears. Click Yes.

Indicating Confirmation

  1. After a dispatcher receives a customer confirmation, click Set to Received.

    Alternatively, from the Overview tab of the Task Details view of the Dispatch Center, click Customer Confirmation Received. This button is enabled as a result of Step 2.

    At this time, the task can be committed.

    Important: If confirmation is received for a parent or a child task, all the related parent and child tasks are confirmed.

Reversing Confirmed Status

  1. Once a confirmation is received, a dispatcher can reverse this status, by clicking Set to Required.

    A popup window asks whether this action is requested by the customer. If yes, then the Customer Confirmation Counter does not record the action. If no, then this change increments the counter.

Defining Customer Access and After Hours Constraints

Some customers restrict access to their site to times when work on a task would not intrude on normal business operations. To facilitate this scenario, Oracle Field Service enables you to define periods during all days in a week when a technician can arrive and start working. When access hours are defined, Oracle Advanced Scheduler automatically considers this constraint when it is identifying options.

Alternatively, you can also indicate that a task needs to be scheduled 'After Hours'. You enter the After Hours constraint as free form text and it is treated as 'Special Instructions for field visit'. When the After Hours mechanism is invoked, the task must be scheduled interactively. The dispatcher can view and schedule an After Hours task by making a query in the task list that identifies those tasks carrying the After Hours attribute.

Use this procedure to create access hours and after hours constraints for a particular task.

Steps

  1. Navigate to the Access Hours window.

    The Access Hours window appears. The task details for the task that you want to create access hours or after hours requirements for are displayed. Boxes appear for each of the seven days of the week. There are four boxes available for each day of the week, so you can schedule two different Access Hour time slots for each day.

Setting Up Access Hours

  1. To create Access Hours, select the Active Access Hours check box.

    This disables the After Hours check box. The two actions are mutually exclusive.

  2. Fill in the access hours that are available for scheduling service tasks. For example, Monday 09:00-11:00.

    Hours must be entered in military time.

  3. Save your work.

After Hours

  1. To create After Hours, select the After Hours check box.

    This disables the Access Hours check box.

  2. In the text box to the right of the check box, enter any instructions regarding the after hours scheduling that you want the dispatcher to consider.

  3. Save your work.

You cannot define or update access hours for tasks in Canceled or Closed status. In addition, you cannot remove access hours for tasks in Working or Completed status. If you update access hours, you must reschedule the task for these updates to take effect.

Creating and Submitting Charges

Charges is a component of the Oracle TeleService application that is used for:

You can use the charges feature to create and view charge lines (shipments, returns, and billing), create and view estimated charge lines and convert them to actual charges, roll up charge lines (labor, material, expenses) into a defined item (labor, material, and expenses), associate charge lines with an existing order, apply contract terms and conditions to charge lines, view coverage information for a contract, and submit charge lines to Oracle Order Management

Prerequisites

  1. Navigate to the Dispatch Center.

  2. Right-click the task for which you want to create a charge

  3. Select Charges and Service Logistics option.

    The Charges page appears.

  4. Click Add New Charge in the Actual Charge Lines region to create an actual charge line or Add New Estimate in the Estimated Charge Lines region to create an estimate charge line.

  5. Enter the following details:

    • Service request type - Enter the purpose of this charge line, for example, Return, Labor, or Expenses.

    • Item Name - Inventory number of the labor, material, or expenses item. You must make an entry in this field even if you are entering a charge line for an installed base item a customer is returning.

    • Quantity - If you are entering a return the quantity must be negative. If the return is for an installed base item, the quantity must be -1.

    • List Price - The price of the item from the price list entered on the Pricing Rules subtab, or for expenses.

    • Override Unit Price - You can use this field to adjust the unit price.

    • Extended Price - Read-only field that displays the Override Unit Price times the quantity.

    • Contract Discount Amount - Read-only field that displays the discount based on the contract.

    • Net Price - The extended price minus any contract discount. You can adjust this price, which is the price that appears on the customer invoice.

    • Party Addresses - The billing and shipping address for the customer. This information is displayed from the service request.

    • Inventory Organization - An organization for which you track inventory transactions and balances, and/or an organization that manufactures or distributes products.

    • Order Management Interface - Verify that the OM Interface check box is selected if you want this charge line to be passed to Oracle Order Management.

  6. Click Apply. The new charge line appears in the Actual Charge Lines region.

  7. Click Submit Charges to submit the charges to Order Management.

Creating Task Dependencies

To work more effectively with customers having multiple related tasks, you can create and view task dependencies from the Dispatch Center.

the picture is described in the document text

The purpose of the dependency relationship is to store time-based dependencies between tasks. For example, if two network specialists need to test cell telephone communication quality between two remote areas, you can create a 'Starts together with' dependency relationship between these two related tasks.

When you select a task to create a task dependency, the Task Dependencies window displays task details, including number, planned start and end, task type, status, and priority. It also displays check boxes indicating whether customer confirmation is required, whether there are specific access or after hours requirements, and whether parts are required.

If a task that is in a dependency relationship is canceled, the dependency is automatically deleted.

Currently, dependencies are not considered by Oracle Advanced Scheduler. The dispatcher must manually schedule and monitor the execution of the dependent tasks to ensure the relationship is met.

Prerequisites

Steps

  1. Navigate to the Task Dependencies window.

    The Task Dependencies window appears.

  2. After you navigate to the Task Dependencies window, and the task-related information displays, enter one of the following Dependency Types:

    • Starts after: This creates a relationship where the active task cannot start until the related task finishes.

    • Starts together with: This creates a relationship where both tasks must start at the same time.

    • Finishes together with: This creates a relationship where both tasks must finish at the same time.

    • Finishes before: This creates a relationship where the active task cannot finish until the related task starts.

  3. In the Related Task Field, select the task number of the task for which you want to create the dependency. Tasks which are not yet scheduled alone can be selected to establish dependencies.

    This action populates some of the dependency fields with task-related information for the dependent task, such as Subject, Task Type, Status, and Planned Effort.

  4. Save your work.

Overview: Parts Search and Ordering

A parts search enables technicians to search for specific parts needed to complete a task. The Parts Search and Ordering allows you to initiate the parts search, view search results, select source and create the order. The Parts Search page is used to create a parts requirement for the task, launch a search for parts and create an order or reservation from the search results. It can also be used to create an order for a technician or warehouse by defining the source and order type manually in the Parts Requirement and Order Region.

When additional parts are needed to complete a task, technicians or dispatchers can create a follow-up task. The parts search can also be performed automatically when the task is created from a template that has parts preassigned to the task using the Task Parts functionality in Spares Management.

Optional functionality provided in the Spares Management Parts Search window generates an order for the required parts. The Spares tab in the Dispatch Center provides an overview of parts required to complete a task.

Parts Search is available from all technician applications such as, Mobile Field Service Wireless, Mobile Field Service for Pocket PC (which is integrated with Mobile Field Service Wireless application), Field Service Technician Portal and Field Service Administrator Portal. Parts search is also accessible from Spares Management and Field Service Dispatcher responsibility for Logistics Coordinator or Field Service Dispatcher user groups.

To Use Parts Search and Ordering:

  1. Navigate to the Parts Search page from the FSTP, FSAP Dashboard or the Part Requirement Find page or The Service Request page.

  2. Enter Item Number and Quantity to search the parts.

  3. Enter or select the Distance, Address Type, Ship To, and Destination Location (Warehouse) in the Header Region to link the order to a service request and task.

  4. Click the Go button.

  5. The Search Results page displays the results with the parts that are available in the Subinventory selected.

    Note: The Parts Search Results page provides a Map link to view with location details for each item/part.

  6. Click the Receive Parts link from the Dashboard, after selecting the source and parts in the Search Results page to create an inbound order or a reservation automatically.

    Note: After you create an order or a reservation, the Parts Requirement and Order sub-region appears.

  7. In the Part Requirement and Order region, define the part requirement and view an order or a reservation details.

  8. Click the Cancel button to exit the Parts Search page and return to the FSTP or FSAP Dashboard.

Creating Parts Requirements Automatically for Tasks

Advanced Scheduler functionality uses parts search and availability information from Spares Management to schedule and assign tasks to technicians based on both technician and parts availability. Advanced Scheduler now offers flexibility to make the spare parts requirement as mandatory constraint or as a soft constraint, and is dictated by the Spares Mandatory parameter value. If it is set to Yes, then the parts requirement will become a hard constraint. Scheduler and Spares Management modules will only look for options where technicians can be scheduled by making sure that all the required parts are available or will be made available. By setting this parameter to No, you can make the parts requirement a soft constraint. In this case the Spares management module will identify all technicians possessing all or a few of the required parts and this information is used by Scheduler to cost the options of technicians appropriately, by using the cost factor - Parts Violation Cost to add additional cost for all missing parts.

There are two methods for creating parts requirements:

Many field service operations execute certain tasks frequently, and the required parts for these tasks are known.

In the Spares Management Task Parts, you can predefine parts required for a task template and product. When you create a service request for that product and a task from a template linked to the product with parts defined, a parts requirement generates automatically. For details, see the Task Template and Task Parts setup sections in the Oracle Field Service Implementation Guide.

You define spare parts associated with a product and a task template during Field Service implementation. For more information on creating a service request and creating tasks from a task template, see the Oracle TeleSupport User Guide.

Prerequisites

Steps

  1. Navigate to the Service Request window.

    The Service Request window appears.

  2. To create a service request using the task template functionality, create a basic service request, navigate to the Tasks tab, and then click Use Template.

    The Create Tasks from Template Group window appears.

  3. In the Create Tasks from Template Group window, select the Template Group that corresponds to the task template you want to use.

    The parts requirement creates automatically when parts have been predefined for the product from the service request and the task template used to create the task.

Viewing and Manually Creating Parts Requirements

In this scenario, a technician or dispatcher determines that some parts required for the task are not in stock. The dispatcher or field manager manually creates a parts requirement, and then uses the parts requirement information for creating an internal order.

For details about creating an internal order, see Creating an Internal Order or a Parts Reservation in the Oracle Spares Management User Guide.

the picture is described in the document text

The Parts Requirement window is divided into four parts:

Use this procedure to view an existing, or manually create a parts requirement:

Prerequisites

Steps

  1. Navigate to the View Parts Order Status window.

    The View Parts Order Status window appears.

  2. To search for existing part requirements, use the View Parts Order Status window and the Find function. Enter search criteria, and then click Find.

    You can inquire by Order number, order Status, Item ID number, Source Organization, Service Request number, Resource Type, Resource name, Requirement number, Task number, Waybill, and Carrier. Other search criteria include Order By, Need By, and Promise dates.

  3. To create a new parts requirement, from the View Parts Order Status window, click New.

    This closes the View Parts Order Status window, and the Part Requirements window appears.

  4. If you are creating the parts requirement for a specific service request or task, enter the Service Request number. If you know the Task number, enter it.

    • If the Task number is entered, the Service Request number attached to the task is automatically entered.

    • If the Service Request is entered, the Task can be selected from the list of values of tasks associated with the service request.

    • If a resource has been assigned to the task, the Resource Type and Resource Name fields are automatically populated.

    • If they have been set up for the resource, the Destination Organization, Destination Sub-inventory, and address are automatically entered.

  5. Select a Destination Organization and Destination Sub-inventory.

    The destination organization and sub-inventory automatically populate when a technician is assigned to the task and the technician has a usable sub-inventory assigned. If the technician has more than one usable sub-inventory assigned, then the technicians default sub-inventory is used.

  6. Enter a date in the Need By Date field.

    The Order Type field appears by default from the order type defined in the profile option CSP: Order Type. You can override the default setting by selecting a different Order Type from the list of values.

  7. In the Ship To region, select the option for the address that you want to ship the parts to: Engineer, Customer, or Special.

    Engineer appears selected by default, and the engineers default address is displayed.

  8. If you select the Special option, enter the Country, Address, and Time Zone fields, and then click Save.

    This address joins the engineers list of addresses.

  9. To change addresses, click the Addresses button, and then select the new ship to address from the list of values. Click OK.

  10. In the Required Item field of the Requirement tab, enter the item number you want to assign to this parts requirement.

  11. In the Required Quantity field, enter the quantity needed for the parts requirement.

  12. Repeat steps 10-11 for each item to be added to the parts requirement.

  13. (Optional) Select the Order tab to view order details such as Supplied Item, Source Type, and Document Number.

  14. Click Save to create a parts requirement.

    This creates a Requirement Number for accessing the parts requirement record at a later time.

Receiving Parts from the Dispatch Center

Technicians order and receive spare parts into their respective sub-inventories to replenish their trunk stock. If technicians are expecting shipments but are traveling or at the customer site where they cannot access Mobile Field Service or the Field Service Technician Portal, the dispatcher can receive parts from the Dispatch Center on their behalf.

You can use the Receive Parts menu option on the technician right click menu either in the Plan Board or Gantt view to receive one or more shipments of parts for a technician. The Receive Shipments page that opens is the same one that opens from the Oracle Field Service Technician Portal. For information on this page and how dispatchers can work in this page to receive parts for a technician, see Receiving Shipments.

Creating Follow-up Tasks from the Dispatch Center

Follow-up tasks are usually created after the technician has arrived at the customer site and finds missing parts in the trunk stock, finds that the task in hand requires a different skill set, or finds a new issue at the site. The technician then creates a follow-up task using Mobile Field Service or the Field Service Technician Portal. If the technician does not have access to these applications, the dispatcher can create the follow up task for the technician from the Dispatch Center.

You can create a follow-up task for a scheduled task from the Planboard, and the Scheduling or Gantt Chart using the appropriate option on the task right click menu. The Create Follow-up Task page opens with task type, status, and priority, and planned time and effort automatically populated. This is the same page that the technician uses to create such a task from the Field Service Technician Portal. For information on the fields on this page, see Creating and Scheduling Follow-Up Tasks.

After you enter the task subject and description and save the task, this task is created for the same service request as the original task. You can immediately schedule this task from the Create Follow-up Task page, assign it to the appropriate technician, and commit it in the same way as a regular task.

After you create this task and save it, you can update key task attributes for this task from the Dispatch Center. To update other task attributes, you must navigate to the source service request document for the task.