This chapter describes how to set up quality collection plans for use when managing customer service quality.
This chapter covers the following topics:
You can collect quality data at two points in the customer service business process:
Service Requests window in Oracle TeleService. Collect quality data when saving or updating a service request.
Repair Orders window in Oracle Depot Repair. Collect quality data when closing a repair task.
The Service Request module in Oracle TeleService enables customer support personnel to create and manage customer or employee requests for service from the time the customer contacts the organization or logs a service request on the Web until the problem is resolved. As service requests are logged, collection plans in Oracle Quality can capture data related to inspection and test results, nonconformances, corrective action requests, etc. See: About Oracle TeleService, Oracle TeleService User Guide.
The depot repair process includes the return of broken and serviceable items, their diagnoses and repair job estimates, customer approvals and repairs management, and subsequent return of items to customers. As repair order tasks are closed, collection plans in Oracle Quality can capture data for all repair order tasks or for specific types of repair order tasks, such as repair order tasks with a repair type of refurbishment. See: What is Oracle Depot Repair?, Oracle Depot Repair User Guide.
To be able to collect quality results during a transaction, you must set up and define one or more collection plans specific to the transaction. For service requests, this transaction is named Service Requests (Service). For depot repair tasks, this transaction is named Depot Repair Task Transaction (Depot Repair). See: Quality Data Collection During Transactions and Associating Collection Plans with Transactions. You can create your own collection plan, or you can use the template provided specifically for each transaction to create a plan. See: Collection Transaction Templates. While specifying the transaction, you can also define one or more unique collection triggers for the plan, which will enable you to specify the conditions under which quality data is collected during the transaction.
As with other collection plans, you can make quality data entry mandatory by setting the Mandatory option. If quality collection is mandatory, the user must save at least one quality data record before saving the parent transaction. If the user attempts to complete the transaction without entering data on a mandatory collection plan, Oracle Quality raises a warning. See: Mandatory Data Collection.
You can define a collection plan to run in the background if you want to collect data without user intervention. Background data collection is hidden from the user and occurs automatically, if valid background collection plans are found when the transaction is saved (a "valid" background collection plan is a plan that is associated with the transaction and set to background data collection). See: Background Data Collection.
You can also add quality actions to collection plans, then define the rules that determine when these actions are to be invoked. See: Quality Actions. Types of actions include message actions, alert actions, and actions that determine a value based on a user-defined formula. See: Message Actions, Alert Actions, and User-Defined Actions.
Related Topics
Quality Data Collection in Oracle TeleService
Oracle TeleService Business Example
Quality Data Collection in Oracle Depot Repair
Oracle Depot Repair Business Example
If Oracle Quality is installed and at least one collection plan that is associated with the Service Requests (Service) transaction exists, the Enter Quality Results Tools menu option and the Quality button are enabled and you can enter quality results from the Service Requests window.
Warning: The Tools menu option is enabled even if, based upon the transaction information entered, the collection trigger conditions for this collection plan are not met.
In fact, based upon the service request information entered, quality results entry may be required. See: Mandatory Data Collection.
Background data collection occurs automatically if valid background collection plans are found when you save service requests. The Enter Quality Results window is not displayed during background collection. See: Background Data Collection.
Additional Information: The Service: Inventory Validation Organization profile option specifies the inventory organization for the items against which service requests can be created. Oracle Quality also uses this organization, but only if the organization is defined as an Item Master organization. You can only enter quality results in Item Master organizations (see: Implementing the Item Master Organization, Oracle Inventory User's Guide).
The organization code represents an operating unit and is more encompassing than what a manufacturing organization covers, so Oracle Quality uses the operating unit from Service to locate collection plans for recording quality results. If the profile is not set, Oracle Quality retrieves the organization from Manufacturing_Org_Id in the CS_SYSTEM_PARAMETERS table.
You can update and delete quality results as you enter and view service request information.
Prerequisites
To enter quality results as you enter service requests
Before saving your work, select Enter Quality Results from the Tools menu or choose the Quality button. The Find Collection Plans window appears.
Important: If you attempt to save a service request and the system finds valid collection plans that are defined as mandatory, you must enter quality results before you can save the transaction. Valid collection plans in this case are those that are associated with the Service Request collection transaction and for which all collection triggers are evaluated as true.
Select a collection plan. The Enter Quality Results window appears.
You can select any collection plan that is enabled, that is associated with the service request collection transaction, and for which the transaction's triggers evaluate to TRUE. If the triggers evaluate to FALSE for a particular collection plan, you will not be able to access or select that plan. Of those collection plans for which the triggers evaluate to TRUE, the first one (in alphanumeric order) will default directly into the Enter Quality Results Window.
To find and assign specifications
See: Finding Specifications During Transactions.
To enter quality results
In the Results region of the Enter Quality Results window, enter one or more results records. See: Entering Quality Results Directly.
If the collection plan selected requires mandatory data collection, you must first enter quality results and then save the service request. You cannot save the service request until you do so.
Depending on the collection plan and its elements, you can use several mechanisms to speed data entry.
Default value: Default values, if defined, are automatically displayed. They can be overridden. See: Default Specification Limit Values.
Lists of Values: You can choose results values from a list of values if defined. See: Defining Collection Plan Element Values.
Duplication: You can duplicate fields and records. Duplicated records and fields can be changed as required. See: Controlling Records in a Window, Oracle E-Business Suite User's Guide.
Save your work.
To view collection plan or specification attachments while entering result values
See: Viewing Attachments Associated with Quality Results.
Related Topics
Customer Service Quality Collection Points
Oracle TeleService Business Example
The following example describes how you might use Oracle Quality with Oracle TeleService to analyze service request data. In addition to analyzing customer service behavior, your analysis of service request data can also yield valuable information that you can use to improve both the quality of products and of customer service.
As the Service Manager for a manufacturer of photocopiers, you are seeking ways to improve the quality of your product, while at the same time, reduce expenses and manage costs.
Your call center receives telephone calls from customers calling to report a problem with a particular product or to seek information regarding its use. A service request is then made to repair the product. The record of such a service request may include the following information:
Customer Name
Product affected
Problem reported by customer
Resolution to the problem as reported by the service person
Oracle Quality enables you to set up collection plans to collect the following types of information:
inspection or test results on items received for service
complaints
results from complaint investigations
corrective and preventative actions (CAPA) to resolve complaints
corrective action requests (CAR) based on complaints
records of nonconformances
In this example, we will record complaint information in Oracle Quality automatically, using the background data collection feature.
Include the following collection elements (at a minimum) in your complaint collection plan. See: Collection Elements.
Customer
Incident Type
Item
Item Category
Problem Code
Product
Urgency
Severity
Request Date
No specification is required.
Next, create a collection plan called Service Request Complaints containing the collection elements listed above.
Note: Copying the collection elements from the template collection plan called Template Service Request automatically copies many of the needed collection elements into your collection plan.
Next, associate the Service Request transaction with your collection plan. Enable this transaction and check the Background box. See: Associating Transactions with Collection Plans
Set the Incident Type trigger equal to Complaint. This ensures that, each time a service request with a Complaint Incident Type is created, quality results are entered into the Service Request Complaints collection plan.
You can construct a pareto chart to check which problems make up the majority of the complaints. You can also use a pareto chart to find other information, such as the five models which account for the most service requests. Or, to reveal other information, you can construct a trend chart of problem codes over time, to see which parts' replacement rates are abnormally high. See: Quality Results Analysis.
Related Topics
Customer Service Quality Collection Points
Quality Data Collection in Oracle TeleService
If Oracle Quality is installed and at least one collection plan that is associated with the Depot Repair Task Transaction (Depot Repair) exists, the Enter Quality Results Tools menu option and the Quality button are enabled when a depot repair task is selected in the Depot Repair window, Repair Tasks tab.
Additional Information: If the task meets conditions for data entry into at least one collection plan, then the Applicable QA Plans field value equals Yes. The Tools menu option is enabled even if, based upon the transaction information entered, the collection trigger conditions for a collection plan are not met.
In fact, based upon the depot repair task information entered, quality results entry may be required before you change the depot repair task Status to Closed. See: Mandatory Data Collection.
Background data collection occurs automatically if valid background collection plans are found when you change the depot repair task Status to Closed. The Enter Quality Results window is not displayed during background collection. See: Background Data Collection. You can manually enter data into a background collection plan before a depot repair task Status equals Closed, though. The background collection plan will not collect data again when you change the task Status to Closed if you collected data previously.
You can update and delete quality results as you enter and view depot repair tasks.
Prerequisites
To enter quality results as you enter depot repair tasks
Before saving your work, select Enter Quality Results from the Tools menu or choose the Quality button. The Find Collection Plans window appears.
Important: If you attempt to save a depot repair task with a Status equal to Closed and the system finds valid collection plans that are defined as mandatory, you must enter quality results before you can save the transaction. Valid collection plans in this case are those that are associated with the Service Request collection transaction and for which all collection triggers are evaluated as true.
Select a collection plan. The Enter Quality Results window appears.
You can select any collection plan that is enabled, that is associated with the depot repair task transaction, and for which the transaction's triggers evaluate to TRUE. If the triggers evaluate to FALSE for a particular collection plan, you will not be able to access or select that plan. Of those collection plans for which the triggers evaluate to TRUE, the first one (in alphanumeric order) will default directly into the Enter Quality Results Window.
To find and assign specifications
See: Finding Specifications During Transactions.
To enter quality results
In the Results region of the Enter Quality Results window, enter one or more results records. See: Entering Quality Results Directly.
If the collection plan selected requires mandatory data collection, you must first enter quality results and then close the depot repair task. You cannot close the depot repair task until you do so.
Depending on the collection plan and its elements, you can use several mechanisms to speed data entry.
Default value: Default values, if defined, are automatically displayed. They can be overridden. See: Default Specification Limit Values.
Lists of Values: You can choose results values from a list of values if defined. See: Defining Collection Plan Element Values.
Duplication: You can duplicate fields and records. Duplicated records and fields can be changed as required. See: Controlling Records in a Window, Oracle Applications User's Guide.
Save your work.
To view collection plan or specification attachments while entering result values
See: Viewing Attachments Associated with Quality Results.
Related Topics
Customer Service Quality Collection Points
Oracle Depot Repair Business Example
The following example describes how you might use Oracle Quality with Oracle Depot Repair to analyze depot repair task data. In addition to analyzing inspection and test results, your analysis of depot repair task data can also yield valuable information that you can use to improve both the quality of products and of customer service.
As the Service Manager for an appliance manufacturer, you are seeking ways to improve the quality of your products, while at the same time, reduce expenses and manage costs.
Your service department receives appliances returned under warranty. If possible, you refurbish the appliances, which are then resold at a discounted price.
Whenever an appliance is returned under warranty, it undergoes an inspection to determine the cause of the appliance failure. If the failure can be corrected through refurbishment, then a depot repair task is entered with a Repair Type equal to Refurbishment. You want to collect detailed quality data on appliances undergoing refurbishment to help improve the quality of the appliances.
Oracle Quality enables you to set up collection plans to collect the following types of information:
inspection or test results on items received for service
nonconformance information collected when you receive the item
corrective action requests (CAR) for nonconformances
In this example, we will record receiving inspection results in Oracle Quality whenever an appliance needs refurbishing.
Include the following collection elements (at a minimum) in your refurbishment collection plan. See: Collection Elements.
Repair Order Number
Repair Type
Service Request
Service Task Number
Service Task Type
Product
Estimated Effort
Estimated Effort UOM
Actual Effort
Actual Effort UOM
No specification is required.
Next, create a collection plan called Refurbishments containing the collection elements listed above.
Note: Copying the collection elements from the template collection plan called Template Depot Repair Task Plan automatically copies many of the needed collection elements into your collection plan.
Next, associate the Depot Repair Task Transaction (Depot Repair) with your collection plan. Enable this transaction and make this plan mandatory. See: Associating Transactions with Collection Plans
Set the Repair Type trigger equal to Refurbishment. This ensures that, each time a service request with a Refurbishment Repair Type is created, you must enter quality results before closing the depot repair task.
You can construct a pareto chart to check which items you refurbish the most. You can also construct a trend chart of problem codes over time, to see which parts' replacement rates are abnormally high. See: Quality Results Analysis.
Related Topics