FSM Program Dates and Case Creation
Project dates and rules control the calculated schedule and case creation in Field Service Management (FSM). For the generation stages and prerequisites, see FSM Program.
Program Start Date (custentity_nx_start_date, also labeled Field Service Start Date) defines the starting date for the pattern. If it is empty, FSM uses the project Start Date. The project Start Date is also the lower boundary: earlier calculated occurrences are omitted.
The following table shows patterns that use a project Start Date of January 1, 2026.
|
Pattern |
Program Start Date |
First Included Occurrence |
|---|---|---|
|
Service every six months |
January 10, 2026 |
January 10, 2026 |
|
Service every six months |
December 10, 2025 |
June 10, 2026 |
|
Minor and Major each repeat annually, with Major six months after Minor |
Empty. Uses project Start Date |
Minor on January 1, 2026, then Major on July 1, 2026 |
|
The same alternating pattern |
December 10, 2025 |
Major on June 10, 2026, then Minor on December 10, 2026 |
The last example omits the Minor occurrence before the project Start Date and retains the pattern's phase. The relative timing of the rules determines which type comes first. Their order in the configuration alone does not establish the sequence.
When the project has an End Date, that date bounds the initial calculated occurrences. Otherwise, a rolling Program Create Until value supplies the calculation boundary. When both are present, the End Date bounds those occurrences, whereas the rolling horizon determines which missing cases qualify for advance creation. A configured occurrence count can end a rule sooner. Occurrences before the project Start Date still consume that count.
Consider a schedule every six months from September 18, 2024 through September 17, 2026. With no earlier reference date or shorter occurrence count, this schedule contains four dates. The dates are September 18, 2024, March 18, 2025, September 18, 2025, and March 18, 2026. The next occurrence falls after the project End Date. After creation, those cases also appear under Related Records. An unrelated repair case can appear there without appearing in this maintenance Program.
Creation timing determines how those planned rows become records:
-
Next required case: FSM selects the first row without an end date. It creates that case if the row has no matched case. An existing case without an end date prevents this next-case selection from advancing past it.
-
Advance creation: A rolling horizon allows additional missing cases within the horizon to be created. It advances relative to the time of assessment.
-
All planned cases: Applicable rules can request every missing case in the calculated schedule when no rolling horizon restricts advance creation.
In the next-case pattern, a case's status alone does not establish that the next case qualifies. When shifting is configured, later case dates can change before the cases are created. The change equals the difference between the preceding matched case's planned date and its end date. If no end date is available, the calculation uses that case's start date. For example, consider a pattern that repeats every six months, with planned dates of January 1 and July 1. Completing the first case on February 7 can shift the second planned date to August 7.
Existing matched cases retain their recorded dates. Shifting and configured output dates can place final dates outside the initial project date boundaries. Those boundaries are not a guarantee about every existing or generated case's actual dates.