Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Sometimes CEM does not seem to create the next PPM job when a PPM job is closed. This is fine if I notice it, but I'm concerned that it may have happened before and gone unnoticed. How can I check to see if this has happened before? 

A1. The most common reason why PPM jobs are not created is that the job template linked to the PPM schedule is private rather than shared. This is the 1st thing to check.  

Q. How does CEM calculate its statistics?
A. Go to the downloads section and get a copy of the latest documentation. There is a manual specifically dedicated to statistics.

Q. Which CEM Options are user-specific, and which ones are global?
A. The quick answer is that options set by a normal (i.e. non-administrator) user apply only to that user, while those set by an administrator apply to everybody. Pete Spencer has written explained the process in detail in this document.

Q. Sometimes, when I raise a job for a piece of equipment, the equipment status is set to empty. What is going on?
A. (Note: this only applies to earlier versions of CEM) When you raise a repair job, the equipment is automatically set to be "Out of Service". If you do not have an equipment status of this type defined, the status will be cleared. Go to References, and check that you have an equipment status whose type is Out of Service. Refer to the manual Implementing Optim CEM for a description of automatic processing of status classes. 

Q. How do I update check-boxes in Bulk Update?
A. On the bulk update detail screen, check-boxes are tri-state, not bi-state. A bi-state check-box can only be checked or not checked, which would be useless for bulk update. A tri-state check-box can be checked, not checked, and unchanged. In the latter case, the check-box will be grey. So, to leave a check-box unaffected by bulk update, just don't click on it, and it will stay grey. When it's grey, It doesn't matter whether it is checked or unchecked, either way it will be ignored. To make bulk update process a check-box, click on it (it will no longer be grey), then either tick or un-tick it as appropriate. If you activate it by mistake, click on it again (possibly twice) to make it go grey.

Q. Why do my complex filters never seem to work?
A. The most common reason is using double quotes (e.g. JobCode = "1234" ). Complex filters always use single quotes to enclose character data. (e.g. JobCode = '1234'). If you need to specify dates in filters, use long date format (i.e. '1-jul-2005') to avoid ambiguity. 

Q. My calculated fields never seem to work either.
A. If your calculated field includes a SELECT statement, remember to enclose it in brackets.

Q. I'm searching for equipment "123" - I know it's there, but I can't find it?
A. If you use a filter like ... EquipmentNumber = 'SOMETHING' ... then rather surprisingly this will only work with alphabetic codes, not with numeric ones. In order to allow numeric data to sort correctly, all numeric codes are padded with leading spaces. Thus, equipment "123" actually has an equipment number of "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx123" (where the x's represent spaces). if this wasn't done then assets 1, 2, 11 & 21 would appear in the order 1, 11, 2, 21 (which is the way that a dictionary would sort them). To overcome this, make sure that your filters strip leading spaces. i.e. Use ... LTRIM(RTRIM( EquipmentNumber )) ='SOMETHING' ... 

This is true for all codes, not just equipment. 

Q. The External Technician lookup on the Job detail screen doesn't do anything!
A. Oh yes it does, but only if the equipment that the job relates to has a contractor! In this case, after entering the equipment number the contractor's name will appear in the contractor field, and if contact has been defined for that contractor, these will appear in the external technician lookup. (You add contacts to a supplier/contractor on the supplier tab, using the contacts icon).

Q. On the job screen, why do I sometimes see different contracts in the contract lookup.
A. If the equipment for the job is not on a contract, then the lookup shows all contracts. If the equipment is on a single contract, then that contract code is automatically put into the contract field. If the equipment is on more than one contract, then the lookup will only show the available contracts for that equipment.

Q. How do I enter an order number for a job, the "Order No." field is always disabled?
A. While editing a job, press ALT+D

Q. How can I add several items to a contract at once?
A. On the equipment summary screen, select the equipment (by checking the boxes on the left hand edge of the screen), then right-click and select "Define Contract" from the menu.

Q. I had 50 records displayed on the equipment summary screen, but when I exported this to Excel, I got 230 rows. What is going on?
A. You probably have your record limit set to 50 (in the Options screen). All reports and exports ignore this value, and process the actual number of records which match the current filter.

Q. Is it possible for individual users to save the summary screen layout?
A. Yes. First, set up the screen layout however you choose. This can include selected columns (including calculated columns) and column widths. If you have a preferred filter which you would also like to be your default (perhaps on the job screen, by default you wish to see your open jobs), then set it using the filter wizard. Once the screen has been configured to your liking, right click on the summary screen and select "Save Filter". Enter a name for the filter, and check the "Default" check box. From then on, whenever you open that screen, the screen layout and filter will be restored. If you click the "Find Now" button, the default filter will be restored, and will remain in force until you either clear the filter or set a new one. The restore the default, close the screen and re-open it.

Q. There are three different codes on the contract screen. What are they all for?
A. This really depends on your preferences, and how you intend to use this data. The "Code" field is the one which appears on the job screen, so bear this in mind if this is important to you. Suppose you have a contract with a contract reference number of "123/ABC". If you put this value in the code field, then when you raise a job for any equipment on this contract, then you will see "123/ABC" in the contract field on the job screen. I think that it is a good idea to use the secondary number as a revision number. For example "001" for the first year, "002" for the first renewal, "003" for the second, etc. When you renew a contract, copy the previous revision from a template (see above) and change the revision number and dates. When it comes to the primary code, then you could use this for some additional reference number (perhaps a purchase order or invoice number). If you have more than three codes that you wish to hold, then maybe you could append the revision number to the primary code, e.g. "123/ABC-001". These are just some examples of how to make use of the flexibility provided by CEM. Experiment to find what matches your requirements.

Q. I created a job and got the job number wrong. When I edit the job, the job number is disabled. How can I change it?
A. This is done to prevent people from accidentally changing codes. Once in edit mode, press Shift + F12 to unlock the code field.

Q. CTRL+D is very useful for getting the current date in a date field, but I need the current date and time.
A. Press CTRL+H. Alternatively, enter a time in the format hh:mm after the date, e.g. "21/10/2001 15:35". If you press F3 in a date field, you will be able to choose a time digital clock.

Q. What is the quickest way to get the service history for a piece of equipment?
A. Depends where you are! From the equipment summary screen, search on the equipment number then click on the "service history" tab. From the job summary screen, search on equipment number (remember to select the top radio button). From the job detail screen, right click on the equipment number field, select "Find" and enter the equipment number.

Q. When I run CEM I get an error message saying that the "registry sub-key is not found" 
A. This can happen either if CEM has been installed but not configured, or if CEM is installed and configured by an administrator. The installation writes several values to the system registry. If installed by an administrator these values are owned by him, and will not be visible to other users. Just ask your administrator to grant full control to all users on the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Optim.

Q. What is the difference between a Brand and a Supplier?
A. Think of a brand as a label. Very little information is associated with a brand: just who owns it a list of suppliers that you can buy equipment of that brand from. Philips is a brand; it is owned by Philips Medical Systems, which is a supplier. A Supplier is a company that you can buy equipment, parts, training and other services from. A lot of information is held for suppliers, such as address details, what models & parts they sell etc. 

Optim separates the badge on the front of an asset from the company that supplies it because the badge changes infrequently, whereas the supplier changes with every corporate takeover. 

Q. The PPM's Due screen shows me all PPM's, not just the ones that are due. 
A. The PPM's due screen is simply a copy of the Job screen, but with certain fields missed out by default (there is no point in displaying the job type, since it will always be PPM, there is no point in displaying the symptom, since it will always be something like "PPM service due..."). Also, "JobTypeClass = 'PPM' and JobStatusClass != Finished" is automatically appended to any filter that you set. If you put "%" in the criteria then you will find every outstanding PPM job in the database.

The two most common uses of this screen are to show:

PPM jobs due now

PPM jobs due within some specified date range

To see currently due PPM's, from the Alert screen select PPM's Due. This will set the appropriate filter for you and take you to the PPM's due screen to show you the results. To see PPM's due within a date range, use General Filters on the PPM's due screen where you can select 2 planned dates. 

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Related resources

• There is a Google spreadsheet here which acts as a wish-list, a list of most of the new features of version 5 and which also records the ups and downs of the release process.