Plant Items
Overview:
The Plant list screen is where Plant Managers can identify the Project each Plant Item is allocated to, and manage Maintenance Services with the Service Reminders and statuses. From here Plant Manager of Finance users can configure all the financial details, operations data like Meter Readings, capture specific custom details using Extension columns and Views, check Plant productivity on Job Enquiry, and create Plant Budgets if required.
Plant Items is the place for your plant and equipment in Workbench. A Plant Item is its own Job where you can put purchases, stock issues, and timesheets against, and they can be Issued (sold) to your other Jobs. Another optional cost that can be generated as part of the monthly processes to close a financial period is Plant Depreciation cost (a disbursement type of transaction), that will be calculated based on Depreciation details on each Plant Item.
The mixture of costs and sales form what we call Plant Recoveries. These recoveries can be measured to determine if your plant is being charged out at appropriate rates to your productive jobs.
Before entering items, other setup areas should be finalised first including:
Screen Guide:
Initial List
The Plant Items screen lists all plant items by default, and you can change the Filter to narrow down the results. For existing plant, you can open the Plant Maintenance screen (see below) by clicking on the Plant Code field of the desired plant item. Using the blue ellipsis button you can access the Plant Budget and Plant Enquiry screens.
Note: Administrators or individuals with appropriate permissions can toggle the visibility of columns by adjusting the settings in the Grid management screen.
The Service section is populated based on the Service information entered on Plant Groups, and based on the latest Meter reading with a Service type.
Status represents the Service Log Status or reminders for Services that have no Maintenance Log yet.
The system automatically categorizes maintenance logs based on certain conditions related to service dates, meter readings, and a scheduled or not scheduled log. When there are multiple maintenance logs, the system will look at the oldest scheduled service date across those logs to determine the service status. A ‘Plant Log Widget Due Days’ control parameter specifies the number of days that a log is still considered due ie. days before considered overdue. Here’s a breakdown of what each status means and how it’s determined:
Reminder
This status appears when a service is due soon, but there is no maintenance log recorded for it yet.
A reminder will show if:
The Next Service Date is coming up soon (within the reminder period set in the Plant Group).
Or, if the equipment’s meter reading is approaching the threshold for the next service.
The reminder period is determined by the settings for Plant Group Service Reminder Days or Plant Group Service Reminder Reading.
Late
The Late status means the service is overdue, and no maintenance log has been created yet.
A service is considered late if:
The Next Service Date has passed.
Or, the latest reading has exceeded the next service reading threshold.
Booked
This status indicates that a service has been scheduled but not yet started.
The Status is marked as Booked if the log:
It’s scheduled for a future date.
The log type is either Scheduled Service or Unplanned Service.
The service hasn’t started (no arrival date or completion date).
Booking Due
This status shows that a scheduled service is due soon and has not yet started.
A service is considered Booking Due if:
The scheduled service date has arrived or is within the due period (based on the system’s due days control parameter - ‘Plant Log Widget Due Days’ ).
The log type is either Scheduled Service or Unplanned Service.
The service hasn’t started (no arrival date or completion date).
In Progress
This status is used when the service has started but hasn’t been completed.
A log is In Progress if:
The log type is either Scheduled Service or Unplanned Service.
The service has an arrival date but no completion date.
Booking Late
This status appears when a scheduled service date has passed, but the service has not yet started.
A service is marked as Booking Late if:
The scheduled date plus the allowed due days (‘Plant Log Widget Due Days’ Control parameter) has passed.
The log type is either Scheduled Service or Unplanned Service.
There’s no arrival or completion date.
No Status (Blank)
If none of the above conditions apply, the system will leave the status blank.
This might happen if the equipment doesn’t require regular servicing (e.g., items that only need routine cleaning, like lights or tanks). In such cases, the log may show an Other type for non-service tasks like cleaning.
The different formats based on the Service status is as follows:
Reminder: Due in {DueInDays days} or {DueInReading} {Units}
Late: Overdue by {-DueInDays days} or {DueInReading} {Units}
Booked: For {Log Scheduled date} on Log {LogNo}
Booking Due: For {Log Scheduled date} on Log {LogNo}
In Progress: To complete {Log Completion Due date} on Log {LogNo}
Booking Late: For {Log Scheduled date} on Log {LogNo}
New Plant Wizard
Click the + New Plant Item button to start the New Plant Wizard.
There are 3 methods of entering new Plant Items:
Duplicate of an existing plant which copies all of the setup details of an existing plant item, meaning you only need to change the fields that are different. You can choose the Plant Item to copy and give the new one a unique Code and appropriate Description before clicking Create.
Duplicate of an existing plant include all extension columns same as above together with all extension columns.
Manual Entry of all Required data leaves all fields blank for manual entry. This is usually used for setting up initial plant or for unique items.
Plant Maintenance
This window is where you can edit new and existing Plant Items and their details.
Main tab.
B. A ‘Vehicle Details’ section are always visible displaying the standard plant attributes.
C. The assign Driver, Location, and Project popups are editable through the lookup icon.
D. An image carousel displays any images associated with the plant, such as photos for easy recognition or spec sheets for supplementary information.
E. When no images are available, a message navigates the user to [File Attachments].
F. Any image in the 'Plant Main Images' file group will display in the carousel in order of sequence in Detail.
G. On upload the carousel displays a maximum of 5 images per plant ordered by upload time or sequenced by Detail.
H. Click on the right or left sides of the carousel to view the next or previous images.
I. The carousel has three standard sizes:
Minimized: where the view is collapsed
To Fit: where the view fits in the vertical space and the image is scrollable
Maximized: where the view expands to fit the image and the tab is scrollable
J. Three standard extension column views are introduced to display operations-centric data: Dimensions, Service Information, Last/Next Service, Leased Ownership.
K. The Dimension view displays attributes relevant to plant transportation.
L. The Service Information displays attributes related to service frequency.
M. Some service attributes derive from the Meter setup and Meter Readings.
N. Other service attributes derive from Plant Group.
O. The Plant Group now includes service intervals and reminders that are shared for the associated plant. These attributes will also sync with Upvise if it is used.
Service Interval Time: the maximum time interval between services
Service Interval Meter: the maximum meter interval between services
Service Reminder Days: the days before service due that reminder is displayed
Service Reminder Units: the meter units before service due that reminder is displayed
P. The latest service type meter reading is referenced for the Last Service attributes and used with the Plant Group service attributes to determine the Next Service.
Q. The Main tab can also be configured with extra Extension Views, visible by minimizing the views or scrolling down.
R. The display of extra Extension Views is configured using the Criteria feature to define the context and setting the Display attribute as Extension Tab Only, Main Tab Only.
S. Go To button accesses other related screens.
The main tab contains the base information about a plant item.
Details section
Plant Code is determined on creation and must be unique. Once created, the code can only be modified through the Utility "wbUtilityChangeJobCode."
Name is the description of the plant item.
Make is the make of the plant item.
Model is the model of the plant item.
Registration is where the plant item's vehicle registration can go if applicable.
Plant Group provides a choice between existing Plant Groups to assign this plant item to.
Ownership Type switches between Leased and Owned.
Driver shows the current User who is assigned to the plant item while the lookup icon opens an interface to transfer assignment from one user to another, including the move date. The popup also shows a history of assignment and transfer dates. Noted that this is not the Plant Assignments.
Location/Assign Location shows the current Plant Location the plant item is assigned to, while the button opens the transfer window. You can specify a new location and move date while also seeing the history of locations and move dates. Use the lookup icon to change location.
Project is the name of the Job/project that the Plant is assigned to, together with the capacity to transfer to another project. Use the lookup icon to change Project.
Note: If setting ‘Upvise Enabled’ is enabled for any FinCo then Project field cannot be manually updated as it will sync from Upvise.
Dimension section
Provides data on the plant's dimensions and essential technical information, including:Carrying Capacity is available if it is a load-bearing vehicle.
Carrying Units is the unit of measurement for the previous field.
Service information section
Contains service-related information of the Plant. The default Service information like Service intervals and type of meter readings must be configured on each Plant Group. Plus, a Plant Item must have at least one Meter Reading with the Service type to trigger all the Next Service details.Meter type: type of the unit.
Meter Interval: tells when service is due based on usage.
Time Interval: Indicates when service is required at specific time intervals
Reminder Time days: Reminder days before the service
Due Time days is days before next service
Last meter reading: Last meter reading done
Reminder reading units: reminder units before service
Due reading units is number of reading units to next service
Last/next service section
Last service: Date of last service.
Last reading: the meter reading at last service
Next service: Date of next service
Next reading: the meter reading at next service
This tab should be populated with all potential Plant Rate Codes that this plant item can use. The Activity and Work Centre fields are used as defaults but can be changed when issuing plant. Tick the most common rate as the Default to use during Plant Issues keeping in mind that the rate can be changed if necessary.
Job Work Centres are used when purchasing or entering timesheets against the plant item itself, not productive jobs. The Work Centres should represent useful areas of work for tracking costs against the plant item.
Cost Schedules use Docket Cost Schedules the same way productive Jobs do, allowing dockets to be entered against plant items.
Extension columns are manual additions to your Workbench database providing extra fields to store information. You can fill additional data in 4 groups:
Plant detail
Dimension
Service information: This section is read only. Its data is pulled from tab Meter or Plant Group or Maintenance.
In the Extension Column Setting, the authorised person can decide what will be displayed in the Extension Columns tab or the Main tab.
A Plant Meter tracks the usage of a Plant Item, serving as the basis for various functions within the plant module, such as scheduling maintenance. A Plant Item can optionally have multiple meters, including Kms-based, Hours-based, and Days-based meters.
Meters section is used for tasks related to meters, such as adding new ones or replacing existing ones.
Meter : to select a corresponding meter to define how Plant usage is measured, whether by dates, hours, or kilometers. The default value is the Plant group's default meter. Multiple meters can be assigned.
Details: Any description that helps people easily understand the meter code.
Reference: Any reference it might have. The default value is “Meter” followed by the sequence number.
Start Reading: The current reading, in the example the plant has been run for 20 hour
Clock value: The maximum value of the meter when it will be reset to zero.
Start date: This is the date when the Plant's usage commenced.
End date: The date that stop measure the Plant’s usage.
Default: To determine which meter is the default. A must have.
Cumulative: When a meter is first set up on a vehicle, an initial meter reading must entered for the plant. Additionally, the total distance travelled or time run by the plant at the time of that reading needs to be manually entered into the Meter Cumulative Life to Date.
For example, if a second-hand vehicle is purchased with the current meter reading of 20,000 Kms but you know it has actually traveled 220,000 Kms, the Cumulative value would be manually entered as 220,000 and the opening meter reading would be entered as 20,000.Replace: Used when having the replacement of the select meter, often due to wear and tear, malfunction, or the need for an upgrade. Click on this will open a new line with details:
Meter: the meter type is inherited.
Reference: default with ‘Meter’ and the next number, this can be amended.
Start Reading: the current reading, default as zero.
Clock Value: the maximum value is inherited.
Start Date: defaults as today and can be changed.
End Date: defaults blank for this replacement meter.
Default: the flag is inherited.
Cumulative: the value is inherited.
Once the new replacement meter is saved, a new line will be automatically added to the Readings section as the start point for future readings and the old meter will moved from the Active Meters list to All Meters list.
History: display the history of the selected meter.
Notes:
Meter attributes can be modified, except for the Start Reading, and all changes are recorded in the History Log.
The cumulative value can be adjusted if corrections are needed, and this will also update to the latest reading's Cumulative.
Setting an End Date will deactivate the meter.
Readings section
For users without the ‘Plant Meter Admin’ permission only the Readings section is visible. User would typically add readings and occasionally need to edit or tag specific readings. Reading have been enhanced to support multiple readings per day, and to retain their link to the respective Meter.
Meters list: Used to select a correspondence of defined Meter code.
Date: Date of the meter reading. Default to today. Future dates are not allowed.
Time: Multiple readings per day are allowed. The time is to capture the exact moment of the reading.
Reading: the value or meter reading.
Type:
Blank: For normal readings.
Change Out: when doing the replacement of a meter via the link Replace, the system will auto generate a Change Out line with data as mentioned above. You still can select this when doing a manual Chage Out line. In this case, the reading value should be the value of the NEW meter.
Clocked: Select this option to indicate when the meter has reached its maximum reading and has been reset.
Exclude: Because you cannot delete a reading, any reading that you would like to be ignored, mark as 'Exclude'.
Service: Select this option to note down the usage in a service.
Cumulative: This is the TOTAL cumulative value, automatically calculated based on the readings. This is not the cumulative value of each individual reading.
Units: Follow the Meter Code ( day, hour or kilometer)
Notes: Comments
History: display the history of the selected reading.
Bin check box: select to remove the line when saving.
First setup
When a meter is first set up on a vehicle, there will be an initial meter reading. This needs to be entered as a meter reading for the Plant Item, and the total distance traveled or time run by the plant at the time of that reading needs to be manually entered into the Meter Cumulative Life to Date. e.g. a second hand vehicle has been purchased. The current meter reading is 20,000 Kms but you know it has traveled 220,000 Kms. The Cumulative value would be manually entered as 220,000 and the opening meter reading would be entered as 20,000.
If the initial setup is not completed, the plant will have no meter, and the system will display a notice.
Note:
Edits by a standard user are enhanced to allow updates on any of their own readings made today, while ‘Plant Meter Admin’ users are permitted to edit any readings.
The existing functionality for the ClockMaxReading, ExcludeReading, and Service tags apply.
Plant Meter Readings can also be entered from Plant Meter Readings or Plant Maintenance Log with a type of Scheduled Service or Unscheduled Service.
Use cases
Use case 1: Adding a Meter
A. Click New Line to insert a new meter line.
B. If it's the first meter, the Meter type is derived from the Default Meter of the respective Plant Group, with the 'Default' flag ticked.
C. Populate the meter attributes:
Reference: default with ‘Meter’ and the next number, this can be amended.
Start Reading: the current reading, in the example the plant has been run for 20 hours.
Clock Value: the maximum value the meter can indicate, typical for analogue meters.
Start Date: the date we begin using this meter.
End Date: the last date the meter was used, in the example blank for this new meter.
Default: Mark to indicate this is the default meter. The default one cannot be deleted.
Cumulative: The plant Life-To-Date ( or total cumulative) for this meter, in the example/screenshot above, has value of “0” for a new plant.
D. When saved, a new baseline reading is automatically added to the Readings section as the starting point for future readings.
Use case 2: Replacing a Meter
A. Click Replace to insert a replacement meter line.
B. The replacement meter derives key attributes:
Meter: the meter type is inherited.
Reference: default with ‘Meter’ and the next number, this can be amended.
Start Reading: the current reading, default as zero.
Clock Value: the maximum value is inherited.
Start Date: defaults as today and can be changed.
End Date: defaults blank for this replacement meter.
Default: the flag is inherited.
Cumulative: the value is inherited.
C. When saved, a new baseline reading is added to set the start point for future readings.
Sample:
Suppose we are replacing the meter with a new one that already shows a reading of 2150 km. The equipment has previously travelled a cumulative total of 83,650 km. This task is carried out on the Meters tab of the Plant item detailed screen.
Click the Replace link.
Enter parameters for the new meter. The Cumulative value inherits the previous total of 83,650 km.
Save the new meter. The system automatically creates a new entry in the Readings section with:
Type: Change Out
Cumulative: 83,650 km
Reading: Start reading of the new meter (e.g., 0 in this example).
When the operator next records a reading—after travelling, for instance, 15 km—the meter reading will be 15 km, and the cumulative value will update automatically to 83,665 km.
Use case 3: Record a reading
A. If necessary, select the required Meter Type from the dropdown and the grid will refresh.
B. Click New Line to insert a new Reading line in the grid.
C. Capture the relevant reading attributes, with the option of multiple lines before saving:
Date: reading date, defaults to today
Time: reading time, defaults to now, in 24h format
Reading: meter reading, defaults to 0
Type: any reading tag, defaults to {blank} which is a normal reading.
Notes: any notes if required, defaults as empty.
D. Once saved, the cumulative values on the lines and the meter will update. This represents the total cumulative value of the plant, not just the reading session.
Use case 4: The meter clocks at 9999999 and resets to 0 on it's own.
Assume the meter configuration clocks at 99,999 km. The last reading is 99,900 km with a cumulative of 183,550 km. After traveling an additional 280 km, the meter reads 180 km due to the clocking limit.
When entering 180 km, the system auto marks the reading as 'Clocked' since it's less than the previous reading. Upon saving, the cumulative increases by 280 km to 183,830 km (note: it seems to undercount by 1), and a note is appended."
On this tab there are two areas:
The Depreciation setup that is required for the Disbursement transactions to be generated monthly for this specific Asset, and
the history of Depreciation transactions (disbursements) that have been generated for this Plant Item on past batches.
To be able to generate monthly depreciation costs from the Month End processes (Generate Plant Depreciation) these fields in the Plant Item depreciation tab must be set:
Purchase Value of the Plant Item
Purchase Date of the Plant Item
Opening Book Value will initially be the same as the Purchase Value, and it will be updated by the system when the last Depreciation of the Financial Year is generated. This only changes once a year, as opposed to the Current Book Value that is updated every month at the end of the Period (or the beginning of the next period when the period corresponding to the previous month is being closed).
Opening Book Date will initially be the first day of the first Period of the current Financial Year the Plant Item was purchased, and it will be updated by the when the last Depreciation of the Financial Year is generated. It will be updated to the first day of the coming Financial Year.
Annual Depreciation Rate % (as decimal) ie. specify 0.15 for a 15% annual rate. This percentage must be advised by your accountant based on the guidelines from the Revenue or Tax Department.
Depreciation Frequency, there is only one option and it is Monthly. A month cannot be skipped as the system will not calculate missed months.
Depreciation Method, is the method your accountant chose for this specific Plant Item. Options are Diminishing Value | Straight Line
Current Book Value will initially be the Purchase Value and once Depreciation transactions are generated month after month, this is the monthly updated value that the Generate Plant Depreciation process calculates.
This tab collects all Datasheets entered for the plant item, and provides quick access to create new ones. You can see the basic information at a glance for each datasheet, and the detail will pop up if you click on the Template field. Use the Datasheets button and adjacent arrow to select which Datasheet Template you want to use.
This tab contains job-type information about the plant item. This is used to maintain the Job aspects similar to the Job Maintenance View. Here is the explanation for check boxes:
Inactive: This status is used as a memorandum to indicate plant that is not currently being utilised. By default, inactive plant does not appear on the Plant List screen. This status is useful for damaged plants that might be repaired and used again in the future, keeping it off the list of active plant items. This inactive flag relates to the Item side, and the Closed and Final flags relate to its Job side.
Closed: This status is for plant that you want to prevent from being allocated time. Normally, you would capture time for your own plants, but there might be cases where you want to stop any time tracking against specific plant items.
Finalised: This status prevents any further data entry or usage of the item, similar to the function used for Jobs. This is typically used when disposing of plant items that has no further purpose.
Use GST: This status indicates whether the Plant item is subject to GST.
Plant Scheduler: This control determines whether a plant is listed on the Plant Scheduler.
Sync to Upvise: Decide whether this Plant item should be synchronised with Upvise.
For more information, refer to Job Maintenance View's Main Tab.
On this tab, you can utilise Workbench's File Attachments feature to upload a variety of files and attach them to this Plant Item.
Select File allows you to click "Choose file" to browse your computer for a file to attach. Alternatively, for quick attachment, you can simply drag and drop the desired file onto this button instead.
File URL gives you the option of linking to a website address rather than attaching a file from your computer. To use this field, make sure you do not attach a file as well.
File Group is an optional categorisation option using File Groups. This aids in searching and organising.
Details is another optional field, giving you space to describe what the attachment is or why it is attached if it needs more clarification than the file name suggests.
Be sure to click the Upload button after selecting your file or URL. After uploading, the file or URL will appear below with the details entered.
You can Edit or Delete attachments at any time.
This tab can be used to define some custom hierarchical attributes (to 2 levels) if required by combining the value of category and group. These are optional and can be updated independently at any time.
Category is the overarching Group Category for this Plant.
Group is the Job Group you wish to apply to this Plant job.
Value is an optional free text value given to this categorisation.
You can add additional lines using the New Line link, or delete mistaken or incomplete entries by ticking the Bin checkbox.
Next Steps:
Once plant items are set up, they can be issued to jobs several ways:
Through Plant Issues
Through Timesheet Entry
Using the Daily Diary's Internal Plant
Through Upvise Integration
After being issued to a job, the system handles journaling of GL codes between the plant jobs and productive jobs which can then be exported to your financials in Export Control.
Use Plant Enquiry to view plant transactions, invoices, and recoveries. Plant Reports is also available.
FAQs:
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Process Flow: