Options in the Working on Vehicle Window

The Working on Vehicle window has several options that mechanics will find useful when clocked onto a scheduled job: Post Parts, Post Tires, View WO Transactions, View Vehicle Specs, Edit WO Line Notes, View Vehicle History, Print Check List, and Print Parts Pick List. This gives the mechanic access to various options without having to leave the Paperless Shop program. As long as a mechanic is clocked onto a scheduled job, the Working on Vehicle window can be accessed simply by clocking back in.

Posting Parts

To post parts used for the job currently being worked on, select Post, Parts from the menu bar or click the PARTS icon. The Post Parts window will be displayed.
Enter a part number, scan a bar code, or click the LIST button or press F1 to select a part from the lookup list. The lookup list can be sorted by part number, bin location, or part description. If the part number is found in the RTA system, the part information will be displayed in the upper portion of the Post Parts window. If the part number is not found on file, a prompt will be displayed asking how you want to proceed.
Click the CANCEL button or press ENTER to re-enter the part number. Click the CONTINUE button to post the part and treat it as a non-file part—no part record will be created and inventory value will not be affected. You'll need to enter the part description and part cost. Click the ADD button to post the part and, at the same time, add the part record in the system. The Part Maintenance window will come up; enter the part information just as you would when adding a new part in the system (MPM, refer to "Receiving Parts into Inventory" for more information about adding parts). When adding the part record, keep in mind that the quantity on hand entered will be decreased by the quantity posted here. For example, if 5 is entered in the Qty on hand field in the Part Maintenance window and a quantity of 2 is posted here, a total of 3 will be in stock afterwards.
After the part number has been specified, enter the part price and/or quantity used for this job. Verify that the amount in the Post total field is correct and then click the OK button or press ENTER to post the parts to the job. Repeat this process until all parts have been posted as needed.
To view all transactions posted to this job, click the POST DETAIL button while in the Post Parts window. This is a handy way to verify which items have already been posted if you happen to get interrupted while posting numerous entries.
Click the PARTS CATALOG button to display parts that were used prior times that this type of repair was performed on similar vehicles.
Click the RESERVE PARTS button to notify parts staff of non-stock parts that are needed to perform the job. A part reservation and requisition notification will be created to notify the parts staff of the need to order the part(s). If your system has the optional add-on Messenger module installed, the mechanic will receive a message when the parts are received and available for use.

Posting Tires

To post tires used for the job currently being worked on, select Post, Tires from the menu bar or click the TIRES icon. The Post Tires window will be displayed.
Depending on the tire number entered, the RTA system will either track only the tire cost or will mount or dismount the tire as well as track the associated tire cost. Follow one of the three procedures described in the following sections to achieve the desired result.

Mounting a Tire

To mount a tire, the tire record must already exist in the RTA system (MTM). Enter a tire number or press F1 or click the INVENTORY LIST button to select a tire in inventory from the lookup list. The tire information will then be displayed in the upper portion of the Post Tires window. The tire price on file will be displayed and a value of 1 will be used for the post quantity. If the system is set to allow overrides on tire prices (SSI, Miscellaneous I tab, line 32) you will be prompted to either accept the default price or enter a new price. Verify that the amount in the Post total field is correct and then click the OK button or press ENTER to mount the tire on the vehicle. You'll be prompted to verify the selection; click the YES button or press ENTER to confirm, click the NO button to not mount the tire. After confirming the entry, the Mount Tire window will be displayed.
Enter the tire position or click the POSITION LIST button to select a tire position from the lookup list. Click the MOUNTED LIST button to view a list of tires and positions already mounted on the vehicle. Once a tire position has been specified, click the OK button to mount the tire. Repeat this process until all tires have been mounted.

Dismounting a Tire

To dismount a tire, the tire record must exist in the RTA system (MTM) and already be mounted on the vehicle. Enter a tire number or press F2 or click the MOUNTED LIST button to select a mounted tire from the lookup list. The tire information will be displayed in the upper portion of the Post Tires window. The post quantity will be 1 and the post price and post total will be 0.000. Click the OK button to proceed. You'll be prompted to verify the selection; click the YES button or press ENTER to confirm, click the NO button to not dismount the tire. After confirming the entry, the Select Tire Destination window will be displayed.
Select the desired radio button and then click the OK button to specify where the tire will be placed once it is dismounted. Tires returned to inventory will be available for re-mounting. Tires sent to the capper won't be available until they are returned from the capper (TR). You'll be required to specify the capper number when sending a tire to the capper. Tires that are scrapped will be deleted from the active tire file and placed into the scrapped tire file. You'll be required to enter password #1 and provide a scrap reason before scrapping a tire from the system. Out of service tires will remain in the tire file but will not be available for re-mounting.
Regardless of whether a tire is placed back in inventory, sent to the capper, scrapped, or placed in out of service, the Dismount Tire window will be displayed.
Enter the tire's credit value, tread depth, and condition. You can either press ENTER to accept the pro-rated credit value or enter a new credit value. This credit is applied to the vehicle's tire cost and becomes the tire's new current value. For example, when a $200 tire is mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle incurs a $200 tire cost; the tire's current value will be $0. If the tire is dismounted with a credit value of $150, the tire's current value will be $150, and $150 will be credited to the vehicle's tire cost. The vehicle will have incurred a total of $50 for the tire cost. When the process is complete a message will be displayed to confirm that the tire has been dismounted. Don't forget to mount a new tire in place of the dismounted tire. Repeat this process until all tires have been dismounted.

Posting Only a Tire Cost

To have the RTA system record the cost of tire transactions and not worry about whether a tire is being mounted or dismounted, simply enter a non-file tire number and the following prompt will be displayed.
Click the NO button to re-enter the tire number; click the YES button or press ENTER to continue. You'll then need to enter the tire description, tire type, post price, and post quantity. Verify that the amount in the Post total field is correct and then click the OK button or press ENTER to post the tire transaction.
Another way to post only the tire cost is by pressing F4 or clicking the TOTAL TIRES button while the cursor is in the Tire number field you will need to enter the post price. A value of 1 will be used for the post quantity. Verify that the amount in the Post total field is correct and then click the OK button or press ENTER to post the tire transaction.
Whichever way the tire transaction is posted, non-file tire number or TOTAL TIRES, the tire inventory and tire performance statistics will not be affected. The tire posted will not appear as a mounted tire on the vehicle nor will it update the vehicle's tire count. The cost, however, will be posted to the vehicle and the transaction will be recorded in the history file.

Recording a Brake Inspection

The Brake Inspection module helps to keep your vehicles brakes in satisfactory operating condition at the lowest possible cost. The ideal goal of a brake Inspection program is to allow you to utilize your brakes to the fullest, ensure they are in a safe operating condition, and minimize downtime. The most recent eight brake inspections are displayed in the Brakes tab of the Vehicle Master Screen (MVM).
To record a brake inspection for the vehicle you are currently working on, click the BRAKES button on the right side toolbar. The brake inspection entry screen is displayed. Input the date and vehicle odometer reading at the time of the inspection. In the remaining fields, enter the pad life remaining for each axle's left and right side. This is recorded in percentage of pad life remaining, 32nds, inches, or millimeters, as configured in (SSM, Fuel Parameters tab, option #44). You can enter readings for up to five axles per vehicle. Enter the percentage of pad life remaining for the left and right side, one axle at a time, Axle 1-L, Axle 1-R, Axle 2-L, Axle 2-R, Axle 3-L, etc.

Viewing/Adding Other Mechanics

To view other mechanics assigned to the currently selected job, click the VIEW MECHANICS button. From this window, the mechanic can see any other mechanics that are also assigned to work on the current job. If the job line on the work order was configured to allow sharing the job, then the mechanic will be able to add other mechanics to the job to assist him with the work.

Viewing Work Order Transactions

To view all transactions posted to this job, select View, View RO Transactions from the menu bar or click the VIEW WO TRANSACTIONS icon. Posted work order transactions can also be viewed by clicking the POST DETAIL button while in the Post Parts or Post Tires window. This is a handy way to verify or review the items that have already been posted.
This window displays a lot of useful information about the current job along with all the posted transactions (parts, tires, labor, etc.), number of transactions posted, and job total so far. Clicking the NEXT or PREVIOUS button allows the other work order lines on this particular work order to be viewed. The WO TOTALS button displays all the costs that have been posted to the entire work order. The LINE NOTES and MASTER NOTES buttons allow notes to be viewed or modified. Click the OK button or press ESC to exit this window.

Viewing Vehicle Information

The mechanic may need information about the vehicle that wasn't provided on the work order or documented in the notes. The vehicle record can be easily accessed by selecting View, View Vehicle Spec. from the menu bar or by clicking the VIEW VEHICLE SPEC. icon. The entire vehicle record, including mechanical and PM information, can be viewed by the mechanic from the View menu.
Changes to the vehicle record cannot be made through this option. Click the EXIT button to return to the previous window.

Editing Line Notes

The mechanic may want to add or modify the line notes to describe what the job entailed. This can be done by selecting View, Modify WO line notes from the menu bar or by clicking the EDIT WO LINE NOTES icon. The Work Order Notes window will be brought up and notes can be added or modified. Click the OK button to save the changes. Click the CANCEL button to exit without saving.
If there are multiple line notes, or a lengthy amount of notes is required to describe the work being performed, the size of the notes window can be increased by dragging the bottom of the screen downward with the mouse.

Viewing Vehicle History

Often times it is helpful to review the history of repairs performed on the vehicle. The mechanic may recall this repair having been done recently or perhaps he may want to find out the number of occurrences for this particular job. To view vehicle history, select View, View Vehicle History. from the menu bar or click the VIEW VEHICLE HISTORY icon.
Select the radio button to specify whether to view the history by VMRS code or by date. You can also specify the starting VMRS code or date. Click the OK button after entering the desired criteria to view the history list.
Press ENTER or click OK to exit this option. To go up or down a line, use the arrow keys or click on the single arrow buttons along the side of the list box. To go up or down a page, click on the double arrow buttons. To go to the beginning or the end of the history list, hold down the SHIFT key and then click on the single up or down arrow button. Summary information is provided in the history list. More detailed information can be viewed by highlighting the desired history line and then clicking the VIEW WO button or by double-clicking the desired history line. The Select Work Order To View window will be displayed.
Press ENTER or click OK to accept the default work order and line number or change the information as needed and then click the OK button to bring up the view work order transactions window.

Adding Additional Jobs

If the mechanic finds additional work that needs to be done to the vehicle he is currently working on, he can quickly add the additional repair information to the work order, right from his paperless shop mechanic screen. Simply click the "add line" button on the toolbar or select the Post>Add WO Line option from the menu. The mechanic will be prompted for a VMRS code, repair type code and cause code to describe the work needed. The job line will be automatically added to the current work order and the job will automatically appear on the mechanic's scheduled jobs list. The mechanic will be prompted for line notes pertaining to the newly added job if the "Prompt for WO Line Note" switch is set to Yes (SSM, Fuel Parameters tab , line 15).
If the vehicle has had prior jobs performed in the same job category (by VMRS code) the most recent three occurrences will be displayed at the bottom of the window.
If the job is covered under an OEM warranty (defined in the Vehicle Master screen (MVM), the mechanic will receive an on-screen notification of the warranty status.

Printing a Check List or Parts Pick List

A check list contains a list of things for the mechanic to do or things to check in order to complete the job. Check lists are usually entered at the time work orders are created. A parts pick list contains a list of parts needed for the job. The list of parts is generated from part kits designated at the time work order lines are created. If a check list or parts pick list has been provided for the current job, the mechanic can print these lists by selecting the appropriate option from the Print option in the menu bar or by clicking the CHECK LIST or PARTS PICK LIST icons.