Quick-Start / Building Operations

Develop Validating Background Data

When working in the Building Operations Console creating and processing work requests, you select information for the work from lists of data relevant to your organization. Having these lists of the values used at your site is valuable as they facilitate data entry and ensure that data is entered correctly.

For many items, you can develop these lists as you work using the Add New action button found on the forms you use to create work requests and manage work. The Add New action enables you to enter basic information for the item. This might be sufficient, but, if needed, you can often enter more information from the background data task. For example, you can enter a building from the Report Problem form, but if you want to add the building contact and their phone number, you can use the Define Locations task to do so. Or, if your company uses the ARCHIBUS Space Book mobile app, you can complete this field with the name of a bitmap image representing the building. The Space Book app will then include this image in building lists that it presents.

Additionally, some items, such as parts and tools, can be added only by using a background data task.

Working from the Report Problem form, the data you add is associated with the specific work request you are working on, so you are adding data one record at a time. If you have a lot of data to develop, you might find it easier to work from the Background Data task.

Depending on operations at your site and your role in the organization, you might not know all the information to complete the form presented by the background data tasks. If you don't have all the information, you can leave fields empty, except for the required fields that are marked with a red asterisk. Also, some of the information might not be relevant to Quick-Start or to your goals. The topics for each background data task provide guidance on the importance of entering specific data.

Use the following table to asses the Background Data tasks and when you might use them.

Background Data Task	Description	Other ways to add this data?
Basic Tasks - This is key data that most sites would want to track.
Define Locations	You can define sites, buildings, floors, and rooms to track the location for your maintenance work. Buildings are required for creating a work request. The other levels are available in case you want this level of detail.	Yes - You can also add location information from the Report Problem form, but working from the Define Locations task, you can add more information, such as the External Gross Area
Define Organizations	You can develop divisions or departments to associate these with work requests. Entering this information enables you to review how much work is being requested by each division and department. You can also drill down in the Cost Analysis Dashboard to see the divisions and departments for the work contributing to the total. Division and department information is important, for example, when tracking costs by division and department. See Tracking Work by Divisions and Department.	No - organization data is added only as a background data task.
Define Employees	When you submit a work request, by default, the form shows the logged-on user as the Requestor. If you would like to select different requestors, you must first define employees, so that they show in the list of requestors. The requestor's phone number shows on the form if you add it for the employee. This can be useful to have if you need to contact the requestor for additional information about the work. If you add the employee's division and department, the work request is associated with those organizational units. Employee are also needed if you want to move beyond the single-user call center and have employees enter their own work requests.You can add a craftsperson and auto-create the craftsperson as an employee. See Defining Craftspersons as Users and Employees. See Tracking Work by Division and Department.	Yes - Employees can also be auto-created when adding craftspersons.
Define Trades.	Trades define the skill categories by which you group craftspersons; mechanic, plumber, and electrician are examples. You must associate a craftsperson with a trade. The sample data includes trades that you can continue to use as these trades are not deleted when you delete the sample data. Use the Define Trades task to add trades used at your facility, but not included in the sample data. Also, you can use this task to adjust the hourly rate entered for the trade in the sample data, so that the rate reflects the actual wage at your site. This is important only if you want to have estimated costs. The application calculates estimated costs using the trades hourly rate and estimated hours. See Estimating Trades and Reserving Parts.	Yes - You can add trades from the Building Operations Console when you estimate work, but the Define Trades task enables you to add trades even when you are not estimating work.
Define Craftspersons as Users and Employees	Craftspersons are used when scheduling work; their actual hours, entered when updating work requests, are used to calculate costs. When you add a craftsperson, you can also create the craftsperson as a user which enables them to log into the Maintenance Mobile app using a mobile device, or into Web Central using a tablet or computer.	Yes - You can add basic information for a craftsperson from the Report Problem form. Use the Define Craftsperson task for advanced features, such as creating craftspersons as users, if you want them to log in and update their own work, or if you want to add their overtime hourly rate to have this included in cost calculations.
Define Problem Types.	The application comes with predefined problem types found in the sample data. These Problem Types are preserved even after you have deleted the sample data, so you will continue to have these problem types to work with. If you need to enter additional problems, you can do so using the Define Problem Types task. The Define Problem Types Background Data task does not enable you to add more information than you can add from the Report Problem form, but if you have a lot of problem types to enter, you might find it easier to work from the Background Data task.	Yes - You can also add problem types from the Report Problem form.
Advanced - You might want to further develop your data to include the following
Define Problem Descriptions.	You can define descriptions that can be selected when entering descriptions of the work in the Report Problem form in the Description section. This decreases the typing needed to enter descriptions and makes entries more consistent. Description is a required field on the Report Problem form.	Yes - You can add descriptions from the Report Problem form, but these selections are not available for future selection. You must use the background data task to have the selections be available on an ongoing basis.
Define Cause Types.	Define typical causes of maintenance and repair problems. Cause types are broad categories, such as vandalism, wear, user error, new installation, lack of preventive maintenance, or accident. Having cause types defined enable you to update work requests by entering the cause type for the work. You can then generate the Archived Work Requests by Cause Type report to assess what is causing most of your work.	No - Cause Types are defined only as Background Data
Define Repair Types.	Define common resolutions to problems, such as cleaning, replacing, and moving. After defining repair types, when you update work requests, you can enter the repair type for the work. You can then generate the Archived Work Requests by Repair Type report to assess which types of repairs are most common.	No - Repair Types are defined only as Background Data
Equipment Tasks - The following tasks are used to manage your equipment. For more details, see Managing Equipment.
Define Equipment Standards.	Before you create an equipment inventory, you can establish the types of equipment at your company -- the equipment standards. Typically, a company will purchase multiple quantities of like equipment items. For example, it is likely that your company has purchased the same type of telecommunications equipment for multiple offices. ARCHIBUS defines this type of telecommunications equipment as an equipment standard. You define equipment standards, and then associate these standards with your equipment. You can then report on and search for equipment by its standard.	No - Using the Background Data task is the only way to define equipment standards.
Define Warranties.	You can enter key data about warranties for your equipment items. For example, you can enter the vendor to call when executing the warranty, and the contact information for the vendor. Multiple items may be purchased under one warranty, so you can first define the warranties and then associate equipment items with the warranties.	No - Using the Background Data task is the only way to define warranties.
Define Equipment.	Many office and manufacturing equipment items require routine maintenance, such as cleaning or lubrication, that must be performed in order to maintain the item. Similarly, many maintenance tasks involve equipment that is not working properly: the copier is jammed, the air conditioner is too cold, the humidifier is leaking. To submit work requests for specific pieces of equipment, you must enter information for that equipment into the application. You are then able to generate reports that provide key information, such as which types of equipment are driving costs, and how are overall costs trending for equipment repairs.	Yes - You can also add equipment from the Report Problem form.
Parts and Tools
Define Parts Inventory.	Use this task to develop an accurate online inventory of your parts. This is a first step to using the application to reserve parts for work (if you are estimating your work), and to automatically delete parts from the inventory when you update the work with the actual parts consumed. Once this inventory is developed, you can check your understocked parts, availability of parts, as well as manually update your inventory when you receive new parts from vendors.	No - Using the Background Data task is the only way to define parts.
Define Tools.	You define tools so that you can add tool information when updating work requests, or when scheduling work. When scheduling work, you can reserve tools and see if the tool is already scheduled for the time it is needed. You can review how many hours each tool is being used in the Tool History Usage report.	No - Using the Background Data task is the only way to define tools.
Miscellaneous
Define Accounts	If you want to charge maintenance costs to accounts, rather than to divisions or departments, use this task to define accounts	Yes - You can also add Accounts when updating work requests. See How to Update Work Requests.
Define Fiscal Year	If you want to generate the Archived Work Requests reports for a fiscal year, rather than a calendar, use the Define Fiscal Year task to specify the fiscal year's start date.	No - Using the Background Data task is the only way to define fiscal years.