Maximo

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  • 1.  Maximo Mobile Support for Workflow

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu August 03, 2023 09:05 AM

    Does anyone know whether Maximo Mobile Technician app supports Workflow?

    If not, any plans for it to do so?

    If no-and-no, if you have work order workflow should this mean that you stop workflow around the point where the scheduler has scheduled (or before) so that work assignments/reassignment/rescheduling are outside of workflow and that INPRG and COMP status are set by the technician using native status changes. If necessary Workflow is picked-up again from COMP status? Note. This assumes the work order is planned rather than a dispatching process where the foreman/supervisor can continue the workflow.

    Any thoughts?



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    Andrew Jeffery
    Maximo SME
    ZNAPZ b.v
    Barnstaple
    0777 1847873
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    #Maximo
    #MaximoEAM


  • 2.  RE: Maximo Mobile Support for Workflow

    Posted Fri August 04, 2023 08:41 AM

    Today we have support for auto initiating a workflow when a record is created similar to how it would function in a core application like WOTRACK (where after creation, the record immediately enters workflow). There is no progression of the workflow (IE completing an assignment) out of the box today. 

    If customers want to manually start a workflow on a record (IE the route workflow in core Maximo), that is relatively easy for a customer to add. I'll try and get it documented on our community files (link available from here: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6408032). 

    If customers want to progress the workflow (complete an assignment, handle a manual input node, etc.), which it sounds like you need based on your use case, that's going to be a significant amount of effort. The REST API supports it so it's something the customer can add but it adds a dependency on connectivity that we try to avoid in Maximo Mobile today. Ignoring the multiple user problem (user A could complete an assignment that user B is going to try to complete), you can't handle a conditional node offline for example because that could be calling an automation script or executing database queries on data that you don't have on the device. Even completing the assignment can trigger notifications or actions that need to fire on the server.  The REST API process is documented in the Maximo REST API Guide here: https://community.ibm.com/community/user/asset-facilities/viewdocument/maximos-rest-api-aka-json-api-os?CommunityKey=ed77c224-45e2-47b0-b574-cc31496f9a41&tab=librarydocuments



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    Steven Shull
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  • 3.  RE: Maximo Mobile Support for Workflow

    IBM Champion
    Posted Fri August 04, 2023 09:13 AM

    Thanks Steven. It as I thought, you cannot continue an existing workflow while on Mobile Technician app, but it was worth checking. My thought is that you bring the workflow to a stop node prior to the work order needing to go to INPRG state and if required you auto-initiate a new workflow process once the COMP work order status has been reached. Therefore, INPRG and COMP statuses are outside of Workflow.

    I noted on Mobile Technician app that the Change Status had options for WAPPR, WMATL, DEFERRED and COMP. DEFERRED is a new synonym of INPRG in the WOSTATUS domain. Therefore, if you are using Work Order Workflows and you stop the workflow prior to INPRG you need to take into account that you may want to auto-initiate if Maximo Mobile sets the status to WAPPR, WMATL or COMP, but not for DEFERRED.

    I would look to include the main work order workflow up to and including either APPR or WSCH. If you choose not to stop at APPR and aim for WSCH then you need to take into account that Maximo naturally moves the work order to WMATL state and back to APPR when material reservations can be satisfied, so my vote would be stop workflow at APPR to avoid any situation where the workflow is no longer synchronised with the work order status. 

    I would still welcome thoughts from others on this, remembering that the main requirement is for the technician to indicate when they have started work on the work order and when they have completed work.



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    Andrew Jeffery
    Maximo SME
    ZNAPZ b.v
    Barnstaple
    0777 1847873
    ------------------------------