How You Model the Merging and Suppressing of Work Definitions

You can define the merge and suppress options first at the program header and it will default to each new work requirement. The options can be useful to control how multiple work definitions are handled both within a single work requirement and across similar work requirements when creating work orders.

In general, the default value of suppress is used at the program header but can be updated to merge. Then, you can choose whether this option will apply to each work requirement, or you can choose to override the program header default and select the option to only merge or suppress within the work requirement. In general, if more than one work definition is defined for a work requirement, we recommended you override the program header default the set the value for each work requirement. For examples, refer to the next section, Forecast Using a Cycle and Intervals.

Additionally, if an asset is defined in more than one work requirement and its due dates overlap, then by default the header-level merge and suppress options apply across each of the work requirements. In this case, the application determines the expected work scope to be included in the work order, based on the suppress or merge option selected. The outcome may be a single work order for one or many work requirements, even though they have individual forecasted due dates. This may cause confusion when reviewing a forecast for an asset, as some due dates will be missing. In general, merging and suppressing across work requirements can be difficult to set up and realize the outcome in the maintenance forecast.

In previous versions, we recommended that you select the Override check box in work requirements if the same asset is defined across multiple work requirements in the same maintenance program. This prevents cross-requirement merge suppression of work definitions when their respective intervals intersect, while providing a much better understanding of which work definition will be used across intervals in a cycle or due dates.

In this version, you can decide if merge and suppress across work definitions is enabled globally by setting the asset maintenance parameter, Allow Suppress and Merge across Work Requirements in a Maintenance Program. We recommend setting this parameter to No, thereby disabling this capability unless you have an established business requirement and fully understand its capability and limitations. Merge and suppress options, that support multiple work definitions across intervals in a cycle, are best modeled and forecasted within a single work requirement.