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:
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.
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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}
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New Plant Wizard
Click the + New Plant Item button to start the New Plant Wizard.
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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.
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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.
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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. It is importantthat the default Service information like Service intervals and type of meter readings are configured on each Plant Group. And 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.Â
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.
Some of them will be displayed on the Main tab of a Plant detail screen. Refer to Extension Columns for more.
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A Plant Meter records the usage of a Plant Item, serving as the foundation for various functions within the plant module, including tracking when servicing is needed. Optionally, a Plant Item can have multiple meters attached, such as a Kms-based meter and an Hours-based meter.
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Meter section
Meter code: Where you define how the Plant usage will be measured by dates, hours or kilometers. Can have more than one.
Details: Any description that help people easy understand the meter code.
Reference: Any reference it might have
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. This is a requirement.
End date: The date that stop measure the Plant’s usage.
Inactive: Mark this Meter code is enabled or not.
Default: A must have.
Cumulative: 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.
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Readings section
Meter code: Select a correspondence of defined Meter code.
Date: Date of the meter reading. Default to today. Future dates are not allowed and only one reading per date.
Reading: the value or meter reading. Important: You must create the very first reading (the opening reading) with the initial meter value ( 20,000 as in the example above)
Type:
Blank: For normal readings.
Change Out: Select this when having a replacing an existing meter with a new one, often due to wear and tear, malfunction, or the need for an upgrade. When a meter is "changed out," 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 ignore, mark as 'Exclude'.
Service: Select this option to note down the usage in a service.
Assumed daily rate: The usage per date based on the reading value. Auto calculated.
Cumulative: The cumulative of the readings. Auto calculated.
Units: Follow the Meter Code ( day, hour or kilometer)
Note: Comments
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Note: Plant Meter Readings can also be entered from Plant Meter Readings or from a Plant Maintenance Log with a type of Scheduled Service or Unscheduled Service.
Next Steps:
Once plant items are set up, they can be issued to jobs several ways:
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.
