Optimized Integration Data Flow between Oracle Fusion Field Service and Maintenance Cloud Accelerator

The Maintenance Cloud Accelerator has been enhanced to deliver more efficient communication between Oracle Fusion Field Service and Maintenance Cloud application. 

Optimisation of Work Order to Activity Data Flow

The accelerator includes a filtering mechanism (echo suppression) that prevents repeated updates to the system with the same data. For example, updates to work orders triggered by changes in activities are filtered out and no longer sent back to the activity. A filter expression has been added to the trigger of the Oracle Maintenance OFS Update Activity Trigger integration to exclude maintenance work order update events initiated by the accelerator itself, based on the LastUpdatedBy field.

To connect Oracle Integration with Oracle Fusion Cloud, create an integration user in Oracle Fusion Field Service with the username FFS_APP_INTEG_ID, and configure this user in the accelerator connections.

CAUTION: Oracle recommends using the username FFS_APP_INTEG_ID to connect Oracle Integration with Oracle Fusion Cloud. This specific username is referenced in the accelerator’s echo suppression logic. If you use a different username, you must modify the prebuilt integration flows in Oracle Integration to ensure echo suppression works correctly.

Perform the following steps to create and configure a user in Accelerator:

A) Create a custom Job Role

  1. Sign in to Oracle Fusion Field Service.
  2. Navigate to the Security Console work area and click the Roles tab.
  3. Click Create Role
  4. Specify the follwoing and click Next::
    Field Value
    Role Name Field Service Integrator
    Role Code FFS_FIELD_SERVICE_INTEGRATOR_JOB
    Role Category CRM - Job Roles
  5. Navigate to the Role Hierarchy train stop Function Security Policies and add the following roles:
    Role Name Role Code Description
    Maintenance Management Web Service ORA_MNT_MAINTENANCE_SERVICE_DUTY Provides service access to maintenance asset management and work execution using the REST services
    Inventory Administration ORA_INV_INVENTORY_ADMINISTRATION_DUTY Configures all setup-related activities for inventory management.
    Inventory Transaction Management ORA_INV_INVENTORY_TRANSACTION_MANAGEMENT_DUTY Manages inventory transactions. Tasks include managing reservations and picks, editing pending transactions, and submitting transaction-related processes.
    Inventory Management Web Service ORA_INV_INVENTORY_MANAGEMENT_WEB_SERVICE_DUTY Provides web service access to inventory management to perform activities such as creating inventory transactions, recording cycle counts, and performing pick transactions.
    Supply Chain Common Web Service Provides web service access to supply chain common to perform activities such as viewing inventory organizations, plant parameters, carriers, and units of measure list of values. ORA_RCS_SCM_COMMON_WEB_SERVICE_DUTY
    Warehouse Manager Manages and analyzes all warehouse activities including analyzing materials management and logistics performance, managing inventory transactions, managing cycle and physical counts, configuring warehouse setup, and reviewing inventory balances. ORA_INV_WAREHOUSE_MANAGER_JOB
  6. Navigate to the Role Hierarchy train stop Data Security Policies and add the following policies:
    Business Object Policy Description Policy Store Implementation
    Installed Base Asset A Maintenance Manager can manage installed base asset for all installed base assets.
    • Privilege: Manage Installed Base Asset; Read; Update
    • Resource: Installed Base Asset
    • Data Set: All values
    Manufacturing Plant A Manufacturing Engineer can manage the manufacturing plant for the manufacturing plants in which they can operate.
    • Privilege: Manage Production Resource; Manage Standard Operation; Manage Work Center; Manage Work Order; Manage Work Order Material Transaction; Manage Work Order Resource Transaction; Manage Work Order Operation Transaction;
    • Resource: Manufacturing Plant
    • Data Set: All values
    Inventory Organization An Inventory Manager can manage item and inventory organization parameter for the inventory organizations in which they can operate.
    • Privilege: Manage Maintenance Organization; Manage Inventory Transfer Order; Manage Inventory Reservation; Manage Inventory Transaction; Manage Item Locator; Manage Item Lot and Item Serial; Manage On-Hand Quantity; Manage Subinventory; Manage Unit of Measure Usage;
    • Resource: Inventory Organization
    • Data Set: All values
    Item for Table EGP_SYSTEM_ITEMS_B
    		Defines the details of a transactable object. For example, an item can be any part, material, product, or service that's unique as compared with other items by nature of its attributes.
    • Privilege: Maintain Item Basic; View Item Basic;
    • Resource: Item for Table EGP_SYSTEM_ITEMS_B
    • Data Set: All values
  7. Navigate to the Role Hierarchy train stop and click Add Role.
  8. Search for the SOA operator role and click Add Role Membership.
  9. Click Close.
  10. Navigate to the Summary train stop and verify all the privileges and SOA operator role.
  11. Click Save and Close.
  12. Click OK on the confirmation message.

B) Create an Integration user account in Oracle Fusion Field Service

  1. Sign in to Oracle Fusion Field Service.
  2. Navigate to the Security Console work area and click the Users tab.
  3. Click Add User Account.
  4. Enter the values in the required fields.
    Field Value
    Last Name FFS_APP_INTEG_ID
    Email Enter a valid email ID
    User Name FFS_APP_INTEG_ID
    Password <Enter password>
    Confirm Password <Re-enter password>
  5. Click Add Role.
  6. In the Add Role Membership dialog, search for the job role Field Service Integrator(FFS_FIELD_SERVICE_INTEGRATOR_JOB) and select the the role that you created in Step A.
  7. Click Add Role Membership.
  8. Click OK in the confirmation dialog.
  9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 to add the following additional roles. These roles are required to create leads from partner inquiries:
    • Resource (ORA_HZ_RESOURCE_ABSTRACT)
    • Employee (ORA_PER_EMPLOYEE_ABSTRACT)
  10. Click Done.
  11. Click Save and Close.

C) Create Password Expiry Policy

You can create the FFS_APP_INTEG_ID user with a different password expiry policy. This ensures that the regular password expiry rules do not apply to this user. To achieve this, you need to assign the user to a separate user category.

  1. Sign in to Oracle Fusion Field Service.
  2. Navigate to the Security Console work area and click the User Categories tab.
  3. Click Create.
  4. Click Edit in the User Category: Details page.
  5. .Enter a name in the User Category Field.
  6. Click Save and Close.
  7. Click Password Policy.
  8. Click Edit.
  9. Configure the fields for the FFS_APP_INTEG_ID user password expiry policy.
  10. Click Save and Close.

NOTE: The filtering logic in accelerator works only based on the user name FFS_APP_INTEG_ID. If you want to use a different user name you have to modify this integration and maintain this as a custom integration flow.

D) Configure the User Credentials

Configure the user credential in the following connections:

  • Oracle Maintenance - Field Service Sync: Oracle Maintenance Adapter Connection and Oracle Maintenance REST Connection
  • Oracle Inventory - Field Service Sync: Oracle Fusion Inventory Adapter Connection and Oracle Fusion Inventory REST Connection

Optimization of Activity to Work Order Data Flow

A new lookup called EventsForWOUpdate has been introduced in the accelerator to manage updates to work orders based on various activity events in Field Service. This lookup accepts the following activity event values: activityCreated, activityStarted, activityUpdated, activityMoved, activityNotDone, and activityCanceled. By default, this lookup is empty, and the accelerator updates only the work order during the activity completion event. To receive updates based on other activity events, you can configure the lookup with the appropriate activity events.

For example, if you want to receive work order updates when an activity is created or started (in addition to completion event), you can add activityCreated and activityStarted to the lookup.

Additionally, another lookup called ActivityMoveConditions has been introduced to manage activity move scenarios. You can use this lookup to control work order updates for specific activity move conditions. If no value is specified in the lookup, the accelerator allows only bucketToResource and resourceToBucket conditions by default. This lookup accepts the following values:

  • bucketToResource
  • resourceToResource
  • resourceToBucket
  • bucketToBucket

For instance, if you want to receive work order updates when an activity is moved from one bucket to another, you can add the bucketToBucket value to the ActivityMoveConditions lookup. For details about supported activity events, see Activity Events.

NOTE: If you are an existing user of the accelerator, ensure these lookups are present in the latest version. If these lookups are not available, the accelerator updates the work order only during the activity completion event.

To configure the events in the accelerator, create the following entries in the ORCL-BRT-MNT-OFS-CONFIG lookup and specify the required activity events and move conditions to enable work order updates:

Name Description
EventsForWOUpdate

Enter one or more Field Service activity events, separated by commas. Supported values include, activitySuspended, activityMoved, activityStarted, activityNotDone, activityCanceled, activityCreated, and activityUpdated.
ActivityMoveConditions Enter one or more move conditions, separated by commas. Supported values include, bucketToResource, resourceToBucket, resourceToResource, and bucketToBucket. If no value is specified, only bucketToResource and resourceToBucket will be handled by default.

Default behavior:

  • The EventsForWOUpdate lookup does not contain any values by default. As a result, the accelerator updates the work order only during the activity completion event.
  • The ActivityMoveConditions lookup also does not contain any values by dault. In this case, the accelerator updates the work order only for the bucketToResource and resourceToBucket move conditions.

Optimization of Meter Reading Updates to Activity

Asset meter synchronization update from Maintenance Cloud to Field Service can be controlled using the EventsForMeterUpdate lookup. This lookup accepts the following activity event values:

  • activityCreated
  • activityStarted
  • activityUpdated
  • activitySuspended

For example, if you want to sync the latest meter readings from Maintenance Cloud only when an activity is created or started, you can update the lookup with the values activityCreated and activityStarted.

To configure the events in the accelerator lookup, create the following entry in the ORCL-BRT-MNT-OFS-CONFIG lookup and specify the required activity events to enable the work order updates:

Name Description
EventsForMeterUpdate Enter one or more Field Service activity events, separated by commas. Supported values include, activitySuspended, activityStarted, activityCreated, and activityUpdated.

By default, meter readings are updated in Field Service as part of the activity creation event if the EventsForMeterUpdate lookup does not contain any values. For more information on supported activity events, see Activity Events.

Optimization of Descriptive Flexfield (DFF) Updates to Work Orders

Descriptive Flexfield (DFF) updates from Field Service to Maintenance Cloud occur automatically as part of the activity completion process. If you want to receive DFF updates for other activity events, you can configure the EventsForDFFUpdate lookup. This lookup accepts the following activity event values:

  • activitySuspended
  • activityStarted
  • activityNotDone
  • activityCanceled
  • activityCreated
  • activityUpdated

To enable DFF updates for specific activity events, add the corresponding values to the lookup. For example, to receive updates when an activity is started or updated, set the lookup to include activityStarted and activityUpdated. For more information on supported activity events, see Activity Events. 

You can receive updates for both Work Order (header, operation, and operation resource levels) and Asset DFFs using this lookup. For more details on supported activity events, see OFSC Activity Events.

To configure the events in the accelerator lookup, create the following entry in the ORCL-BRT-MNT-OFS-CONFIG lookup and specify the required activity events:

Name Description
EventsForDFFUpdate Enter one or more Field Service activity events, separated by commas. Supported values include, activitySuspended, activityStarted, activityNotDone, activityCanceled, activityCreated, and activityUpdated. If the lookup is empty, DFF updates will occur only on the activityCompleted event.

By default, the EventsForDFFUpdate lookup does not contain any values. In this case, the accelerator updates DFF data in Maintenance Cloud only during the activity completion event.

Business Benefits

  • Reduces message traffic between systems and enables faster processing
  • Lowers overall processing overhead through echo suppression

Steps to Enable

For detailed instructions, refer to the feature descriptions above.

Tips And Considerations

  • For existing Maintenance Cloud Accelerator users, ensure that the following lookups are available after installing the new version of the accelerator: EventsForWOUpdate, ActivityMoveConditions, EventsForMeterUpdate, and EventsForDFFUpdate.
  • If these lookups are not present, work order updates such as status, dates, and resource instance information will occur only upon activity completion.