 Multiple counter-based plan—A multiple counter-based plan is used to

schedule maintenance based on a combination of factors.For example,

maintenance on a vehicle may need to be scheduled based on 20, 000
kilometers or 12 months, whichever happens first. The parameters are first
defined in a “cycle set, ” which is then used in the maintenance plan. The
system then uses a combination of dates and measurement readings to
determine the scheduling of upcoming work orders. The maintenance plan
provides the link between a task list, the object, such as a piece of
equipment, to be maintained, and the start date of the schedule.
Although it is possible to assign the task list to more than one object within a plan by
using a “maintenance item, ” the maintenance item has been merged into the plan for
ease of use. While the maintenance item was previously separate from the plan, the
maintenance item now appears as a tab on the maintenance plan screen. If additional
items are required, that is if the task list must be assigned to additional objects within
the same plan, there is a button to create additional maintenance items on the
maintenance item tab.

Keep in mind that, if assigning a plan to multiple objects (equipment, etc.) by adding
maintenance items, the same single task list must be relevant to all of the objects. Each
maintenance item will create a work order according to its scheduling. If even one work
order is completed late, it will affect the scheduling of all subsequent orders in the plan.

If the intent is to simply assign a single task list to a single object, the existence of the
maintenance item may, for the most part, be disregarded. The data on the maintenance
item tab can be considered part of the maintenance plan.

Once the type of plan has been determined, the appropriate piece of equipment or other
object must be provided. Some of the additional required data may default from the
equipment once the “Enter” key has been pressed or the “Enter” button clicked. After the
remaining required information has been entered, the appropriate task list must be
assigned to the maintenance plan. Use the binocular icon to the right of the task list field
to select the task list.

Pay particular attention to the “Maintenance plan scheduling parameters” tab on the
maintenance plan screen. These parameters determine when subsequent work orders
will be scheduled and created and are often a source of confusion. The fields on the
“Maintenance plan scheduling parameters” tab are described below:

 Shift factor late completion—This parameter affects the scheduling of the

next work order. If the current work order is completed late, the next work
order will be scheduled later based on this percentage of the lateness. On a
four week cycle, if the current order is completed two weeks late and this
shift factor is set to 50%, the schedule for the next work order will be
delayed by one week (50% of two weeks late). This factor is only applied
when the lateness of the current work order falls outside of the tolerance
contained in the next field, “Tolerance (+).”
 Tolerance (+)—This tolerance, a percentage of the cycle length, indicates that
the scheduling of the next work order should not be affected if the lateness
of the current work order falls within this tolerance.
 Shift factor early completion—This parameter has a similar effect as the
“Shift factor late completion” field, except that it affects the scheduling of
the next work order based on the current work order being completed early.
 Tolerance (-)—This tolerance, a percentage of the cycle length, indicates that
the scheduling of the next work order should not be affected if the early
completion of the current work order falls within this tolerance.
 Cycle modification factor—This field provides a relatively easy method of
adjusting the length of a cycle, and is particularly useful for seasonal
adjustments where maintenance might be performed more often in
summer, for example. Any value of more than 1 in this field will cause the
cycle length to increase.
A value of 2 will result in maintenance being scheduled half as frequently, while a value
of 0.5 will result in maintenance being scheduled twice as frequently.

 Factory calendar—This field, which is only active if the “Scheduling indicator”

(discussed later) is set to “Time—key date” or “Time—factory calendar, ”
determines the factory calendar on which maintenance scheduling will be
based. If factory calendar scheduling is used and the factory calendar
contained in this field has weekends defined as non-working days, then no
maintenance will be scheduled for weekend days. This is particularly useful
when a plant is shut down each weekend and maintenance is not usually
performed on those days. For plants that operate seven days a week and at
least some maintenance work is usually performed on all seven days,
consider not using factory calendar based scheduling. For those work
centers that do not work on weekends, the work centers themselves will be
based on such a factory calendar.
 Call horizon—This indicates, as a percentage, the point through the cycle at
which the next work order will be created. For a four week cycle, a call
horizon of 75% would cause the creation of the next work order three
 weeks through the cycle, or in other words, one week before its due date.
The next work order will not be rescheduled with this setting. A call horizon
of 0% will cause the creation of the next work order immediately upon the
completion of the current work order, disregarding all other parameters. A
call horizon of 100% will cause the creation of the next work order on the
date on which it is due. In many cases, longer cycles will have a higher call
horizon, while shorter cycles will have a lower call horizon, so that the next
work order will be created within a reasonable margin prior to its due date.
 Scheduling period—The total length of time that the system will predict
scheduling for the plan. For long term planning, it may be beneficial to set
this parameter depending on how far into the future there is a desire to
view upcoming scheduling. If this parameter is not used, the system will
create the next “call” only.
In previous versions, this field was limited to 999 days, however there is a unit of
measure field to the right, enabling the use of units besides “days.” It is not normally
advisable to set a very high scheduling period for a task list or plan that will be
performed frequently. Doing so can cause the system to predict a great many calls into
the future, as well as creating an unnecessary load on system resources.

Attempting to schedule calls beyond the calendars defined in the system will cause an
error. If it is necessary to schedule further into the future than the current calendar
allows, determine who is responsible for maintaining factory calendars (this
responsibility is normally limited to a very few individuals) and determine whether the
calendar(s) can be extended as far into the future as required. Attempting to extend a
calendar far into the future will cause the system to issue a warning, since doing so can
allow further unnecessary loads on system resources.

 Completion requirement—Also absent from some previous versions, this

checkbox, when checked, prevents the creation of the next work order if the
current work order has not yet been completed. If this checkbox is not
checked, it is possible for the next work order to be created before the
current work order has been completed, if the current work order is late
enough.
 Scheduling indicator—The three options are described below. Only one can
be selected:
 Time—Work orders can be scheduled for every day of the year.
This would be the preferable option for plants that operate
continuously. Although not all maintenance personnel will work
on weekends and holidays, as long as some do, then
 maintenance scheduling should be permitted for weekends and
holidays.
 Time—key date—Particularly useful for monthly schedules where
work will be scheduled for the same
date of each month. This is not the same as every four weeks. It
is possible, with this scheduling option, to schedule maintenance
for the 15th of each month.
 Time—factory calendar—As previously discussed, this setting is
particularly useful for plants that close on particular days and no
maintenance should be scheduled for those days. Maintenance
will not be scheduled for days that are marked as non-working
days in the selected factory calendar (in the “Factory calendar”
field).
 Start of cycle—If a date is provided here, it serves as a default date during the
initial scheduling of the maintenance plan.