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Building Operations / On Demand Work / Business Process Owner - Maintenance
Building Operations / Preventive Maintenance / Business Process Owner

Real Estate Portfolio Management / Strategic Financial Analysis / Background Data

Defining Problem Types

The application comes with commonly encountered Problem Types that are included in the sample data. You can add additional problem types if needed using the Define Problem Types background data task. When you add problem types these types are then available in the Problem Type selection list when you submit work requests. Or, you can add problem types directly from the Report Problem form as you work from the Building Operations Console. See Adding Problem Types from the Report Problem Form.

This topic describes adding problem types from the background data task.

How problem types are used

Once you have defined problem types, the application can use them in the following ways:

• Cost Analysis Dashboard. The application rolls up costs by problem type in the Cost Analysis Dashboard helping you analyze the primary drivers of maintenance costs.
• Strategic Financial Analysis. This application rolls up costs for problem types that have a cost category.

Procedure: Adding problem types

Problems are added as two tiers. The first tier is the broad category that the problem fits into. The second tier is a more specific description. Having two tiers means that related problems are shown together in the list, so you can readily see all the possibilities when making your selection. For example, by having Leak | Ceiling and Leak | Faucet, you see both choices together when selecting the problem type for a leak.

Note: If you have two SLAs - one that is for just the first tier of a two-tier problem type and another that is for both tiers - make sure that the ordering sequence of the SLA with just the first-tier problem type is less than the ordering sequence of the SLA with both tiers. In this way, the SLA for the first-tier problem type serves as a "catch all" for a category of problem types.

To add a new first tier problem type:

1. From the Process Navigator, select the Business Process Owner / Define Problem Types task. See the text at the top of this topic for the exact Process Navigator paths to follow.
2. From the top of the Problem Type list, click Add New, and select First Tier from the menu.

3. Enter the following information:

   Problem Type Code. Enter the unique identifier for this type of problem. For example, enter Interior to define a class of problem that has to do with the building's interior maintenance.

   Problem Type Description. Enter a fuller description of the problem type. For example, enter wall, floor, or ceiling problem to further describe the work that would be classified by this problem type.

   Problem Class: If needed, select the problem class. For On Demand work, select On Demand.

   Cost Category. Select the cost category for work having this problem type. The Strategic Financial Analysis application uses the cost category to create scheduled cost records for costs associated with this problem type when you run the Aggregate Operating Expenses action.

4. Click Save.

To add a new second tier problem.

1. From the Process Navigator, under Background Data, select Define Problem Types.
2. From the Problem Types list, select a first tier problem. A second tier must be associated with a first tier.
3. From the top of the Problem Type list, click Add New, and select Second Tier from the menu.
4. Enter information for the second tier problem type as described in step 3 above.:
5. Click Save.