SAP Tips and Tricks: Maintenance Plans — What do all the fields mean?

By Kristina Gordon, DuPont

SAP Maintenance Plans determine how and when a work order or notification will be generated. (Object or notifications will be referred to as objects in this article.) The scheduling parameter settings within the maintenance plan you create dictate these rules. In response to several questions I’ve received about what should be entered and what the value represents, the following screen shot and definitions describe, in detail, the scheduling parameter settings that should be used in a typical maintenance plan. MT

SF (shift factor) later confirmation:

Based on the percentage entered, this will dictate the next plan date, or due date, of the maintenance plan if an object confirmation has been completed after the original due date.

Example: If the due date for a plan, generated on an object, is Jan. 1, and the maintenance plan is on a 30-day scheduling frequency, however the work and confirmation of that work is not completed until Jan. 15, a 100% late SF will generate the next object on Feb. 15, 30 days after the confirmation. If the SF later confirmation is set at 0%, then the next work order will generate on the scheduling frequency of 30 days without a shift factor calculated in, meaning the work order will generate on Feb. 1.

SF earlier confirmation:

The same rules apply as above, only this formula will calculate based on early confirmation of a work order. If set at 100% and the work is performed 15 days early, the next object will be generated 15 days earlier than the original plan date. If set at 0%, the original plan date will stay the same.

Tolerance (+):

This determines the difference between the actual completion date and the planned date.

Example: If you set a 20% tolerance on a plan that has a scheduling frequency of 30 days, the calculation the system will use is 30 days x 20% = 6 days. That means you have a 6-day “float” period that is accepted by the system and will not affect scheduling. If you complete the job and confirm the work 6 days early, the plan will not change, i.e., the dates are in the acceptable range.

Tolerance (-):

As in the above example, the parentage calculation applies and will allow a 6-day float after the plan date.

Cycle modification factor:

This calculation is used when implementing maintenance strategies. If you have a cycle duration of 60 days, but want a plan to generate in 90 days, set the cycle modification to 1.5. This will allow the plan to generate an object in 90 days while the other plans on the same strategy will generate in 60 days. The calculation used for this example is 60 days x 1.5 = 90 days.

Factory calendar:

The factory calendar dictates when the system will process scheduling. Factory calendars can be set in the header data of the maintenance plan or at the planning plant item level.

Example: If the factory calendar is set at a 5-day workweek calendar with holidays, object will not accept confirmations on non-working days (this would include weekends and holidays). You will receive a system error message “not a working day.” To avoid this, a factory calendar should be created for maintenance that allows a 7-day, 24-hour working schedule.

Call horizon:

The calculation used in this field will determine how far in advance an object is generated before the plan due date.

Example: On a 30-day plan, if the call horizon is set at 25%, the work order will generate 21 days before the plan due date of the object. It is very important to set your call horizon so that an object is generated so that the job can be planned well in advance of the plan due date.

Scheduling period:

The scheduling period indicates, in days, months, or years, how far in advance you want to see your maintenance calls.

Example: If you set the scheduling period for 365 days, the system will show the calls for that plan for one year in advance. This will help with long-term planning.

Requires confirm:

When you check this powerful box, the system determines when the next object will be generated from the plan. It will only generate when the previous call object has been completed. If you do not check this box, the system will not take into consideration whether the previous object was completed and will generate the next work order on the call date assigned.

Scheduling indicator:

This indicates when to schedule your plan. It will use time, which works in conjunction with the tolerance percentages. Time key date, which will always use the actual date, and factory calendar take into consideration the working days set in the calendar entered.

Kristina Gordon is SAP PM Leader, DuPont Protective Solutions Business, and SAP WMP Champion, Spruance Site, Richmond, VA. If you have SAP questions, send them to editors@maintenancetechnology.com and we’ll forward them to Kristina.