--_φ_▀ ; ■ ■ O ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DIGI-TRAK
Electronic Tracking System
Introduction
The program you have just purchased is the result of many years frustration in
trying to find a small customer/parts inventory package at a reasonable price.
Most software creators try to make a program do everything from tele-marketing
to handling a full general ledger. As a result of such programming the costs
continue to rise for each capability until you end up investing several thousand
dollars and only use a few areas of the system. Most smaller operations either
do not have the capital to invest in such an expenditure or already have their
accounting done by an outside source. This is where I come in.
My system performs neither accounting nor marketing duties. It's sole purpose
is to streamline the service department in the daily operation of searching,
tracking, and ordering parts and assisting with service call tracking.
This program performs all basic, and some not so basic, operations involved with
parts handling beginning with the everyday searching for parts prices and
continuing through a monthly printout of parts cost for the department taken
directly from a service technician's call invoice.
While it will work for virtually any manufacturer's part numbers, it has been
written specifically for handling a VENDOR'S parts price list and part number
change list furnished by the VENDOR on diskette.
I have issued the instructions in a straight forward format for the installation
and usage of this package, although I must assume the user has some basic
knowledge of their computer's operations. If you are not comfortable with this,
there are many good reference books on the market which will help you understand
the use of DOS and personal computers.
Enough with the introductions. Let's get down to business
INSTALLATION
INSTALLING SYSTEM
This package requires 512k of memory and a harddrive unit with at
least 3 meg of operating space. While a color monitor is not needed
the screens are keyed in various colors to help you realize what
information is required. Although it is not written for networking
operation, the databases may be accessed on a network to speed
operations and allow users from various terminals to use the program
at different times. Do to the nature of networks no two users may
use the same non-networked program at the same time.
BEFORE INSTALLING THE PROGRAM IT IS EXTREMELY ADVISABLE TO CREATE
A WORKING COPY OF THE DISKETTES FOR YOUR USE. WHILE NOTHING SHOULD
GO WRONG, MR. MURPHY WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL, SO MAKE A COPY AND KEEP
THE ORIGINAL DISKETTES IN A SAFE PLACE.
Most vendors' parts databases are in excess of 1 meg. in size,
therefore you should have at least 2.5 meg. of space on the hard
drive to accomadate the programming and databases.
Our programming should be installed in a directory on the hard drive
called \DISP.
To create the directory \DISP, make sure you are currently on the
hard-drive and type CD\ then press ENTER.
Type MD \DISP press ENTER.
Type CD \DISP press ENTER.
If you currently have a directory named \DISP you may substitute a
different name, but be sure to note the new name in this manual for
future reference.
To install the program, insert the program diskette in your floppy
drive and copy all files from the diskette to your hard-drive unit.
To complete installation please refer to the additional installation
sheet contained in this packet.
You will need to add the directory \DISP to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
search path in order to start the program from any directory other
than \DISP.
If you plan to use the program and have not done so please install
the program now.
IMPORTANT --- YOU MUST HAVE THE STATEMENT FILES=30 IN YOUR
CONFIG.SYS FILE FOR DOS TO OPERATE THE PROGRAM CORRECTLY.
If you are unsure about the CONFIG.SYS file simply enter the command
<CONFIG> and our programming will update your Config.sys with the
proper statement. STARTING THE SYSTEM
STARTUP COMMAND
The command for starting the program is 'DIGITRAK'.
OPENING SCREEN
Once the opening screen is reached you will have 3 choices. IF THIS
IS THE FIRST TIME YOR ARE RUNNING THIS SYSTEM YOU WILL NEED TO
CHOOSE THE 'Database Maintenance' ENTRY. From the next screen choose
to reindex the databases, both parts and customer files. This will
require several minutes as the system builds the indexes it will use
to search with.
From the database maintenance entry you also have the ability to
backup the various data files. This should be done on a regular
basis, perhaps weekly, just in the event your hard drive unit should
either fail or the entire hardware system malfunction. You will be
prompted to insert pre-formatted disks in the drives at various
times.
__________________________________
PARTS TRACKING SEGMENT
NOTE ----- LOADING YOUR COMPANY INFORMATION
FIRST TIME USERS-from the 'Main Operating Menu' you need to access
the 'File Maintenance Menu' to enter some information used in the
allocation of parts. Select 'D-Tech ID, etc.' You will need to enter
the initials of the service techs who will carry car stock. These
initials will be seen along with their stock in various screens.
You will also need to access 'Shipping Information' to enter your
shipping address and your VENDOR'S parts distribution center
address.
TIP :
It is advisable to return to this opening screen if you are not
using the program for any length of time. In the event of a power
disruption the databases will remain closed at this screen level so
as not to destroy any information being processed.
GENERAL OPERATION
PARTS TRACKING SEGMENT
MAIN OPERATING MENU
PART CHECK
Used mostly for checking price and current stock of parts by part number. This
segment, like all other segments contained in the program, will search for the
number first in the in-house stock and then in the VENDOR price list. In both
searches you will be prompted as to whether you wish to search for the new part
number, if one exists. This screen is a view only screen and no changes can be
made to the database. This is very useful in that a technician cannot
accidentally change information relating to a specific part.
SEARCH BY CATEGORY AND MODEL
Sometimes we just can't remember the part number we need to order or get the
price on. This routine helps to solve that problem. When a part is entered into
the in-house stock list you are to enter the category which describes the part.
In this segment you may list a category and model to search for and all parts
belonging to both the category entered and the model entered will be listed with
the selling price and bin location. This will only work for in-house parts as
vendors do not assign a category to each part.
I would suggest you consider using the first 2 letters of the general part
description , such as gear=GE, blade=BL, lamp=LA, roller=RO, and the first
letter of each word in a two word description, such as thermal fuse = TF, and
to limit the number of individual categories to less than 10. If you use many
more than this you may have trouble trying to remember them.
NUMBER SCAN BY PARTIAL NUMBER
This is another way to find an elusive part number. Simply choose either the
vendor list or the in-house list. Then enter the first set of numbers known and
scan away.
PART ORDERING SYSTEM
This segment is a complete part ordering system. You have the capability of
entering all parts to be ordered and have them printed out in one setting or you
may enter parts, leave the program, and return later to finish entering an
order. The system will not allow you to enter a part number more than once per
order thereby avoiding the chance of duplicating the order. You will first
search the in-house database, and if the part is not there, you will then be
searching the VENDOR database. In both cases the number you enter will first be
checked for a part number change and notification will be given if there is one.
After entering the quantity of parts you have the opportunity to enter a
technician's initials if the part is a special order. If you enter the initials
you will be asked to enter the quantity of the parts ordered which are for the
technician. The remainder are assumed to be for in-house stock. You are then
prompted for the account which the parts were ordered for.
Notice a listing of the last quantity and date the part was ordered. If you use
this properly you will start to see a pattern of re-order for certain parts and
may be able to reorder in smaller quantities on a more frequent basis.
part ordering system, cont.
No part should be ordered without showing what model it is found on. Therefore,
if a part does not have a model, as would be the case if it is not on the in-
house stock list, the program requests one.
Frequently VENDORS will issue new part numbers which are not contained in the
latest price list. If you wish to stock these parts you may add them to the in-
house list, or if you do not wish to add them in you may still order them at the
prompt for 'Manual Order Entry' which appears when the number cannot be found
in either the VENDOR listing or the in-house listing.
If more parts are ordered than the total amount which will fit on one purchase
order, you will be notified the system is full and will need to print out the
order. To do this, exit from the part order system and go to the printer control
system. There you will find a listing for Part Order Form. This is the purchase
order printout. This printout uses information on your shipping address and
VENDOR parts ordering address which you will need to have entered from a listing
in the 'Printer Control Menu' called 'Shipping Information'. Once this
information is entered it will remain until you re-enter something different.
When printing a purchase order you will receive two pages, one being the
purchase order and the second a list showing the stock bins and any special
order information to be used when the parts are received.
If you decide to use the system for orders other than your VENDOR, and you may,
you have the option of requesting a purchase order called Other. It will print
blank lines where the VENDOR address would normally be.
FILE MAINTENANCE, PRINTER CONTROL, SYSTEM MAINTENANCE, INVENTORY CONTROL
These are submenus of the 'Main Operating Menu'.
FILE MAINTENANCE MENU
ADD PARTS
You are allowed to enter part numbers to the in-house listing only. If they
exist in the VENDOR list and not the in-house list you will be prompted whether
to have that number transferred to the in-house listing. It will not allow
duplicate entries to occur.
When prompted for 'System Computed Price ?' answering 'Y' will result in the
program applying a factor to the dealer cost and computing the retail price. If
you answer 'N' you may enter any retail price you choose.
EDIT PARTS / ASSIGN BINS
This segment does what its name implies. You may edit a current in-house part
and/or assign a stocking bin location to it.
DELETE A PART NUMBER
This will only delete a part from the in-house list, not the VENDOR list. So if
you decide not to keep a part on the in-house price list for the technicians it
will still be available on the VENDOR list for all other purposes.
PART NUMBER CHANGES
To keep current on part numbers you are allowed to enter the most recent part
number changes here. Only two fields need be filled in, the old number and the
new number. BE CAREFULL !!!! If the numbers are entered incorrectly you may not
find the correct part when a number is entered in the future.
PRINTER CONTROL
Access to the 'Printer Control Menu' screen.
SYSTEM MAINTENANCE MENU
SHIPPING INFORMATION
The user is allowed to enter the business shipping address along with VENDOR
parts ordering information. The beginning number for the purchase order is also
accessed in this screen. One use of the purchase order number I have found is
to change the first two numbers to correspond with the year of the order, and
reset the order number each year to 1. This helps to identify outstanding orders
more easily.
UPDATE PART NUMBERS, DEALER COST, FIGURE LIST PRICE
Updates your in-house listing using the most recent VENDOR price list. The first
pass will search your in-house list for numbers which have been changed and
replace your current number with the new VENDOR number. The second pass will
update your list with the current VENDOR pricing. The third pass will figure
your new list price for parts marked to be system computed.
UPDATE LIST PRICE FACTOR
This allows all parts figured with a particular factor to be re-figured with a
new factor. You will be prompted for both the old factor and the factor you wish
to change to. Only numbers matching the old factor will be updated. Used
correctly you set up a multi-level markup system..............
Example COST FACTOR
$.01 - $25 4
25.01 - 100 3
100.01 - 200 2
These price levels can then be changed individually by updating only the
specific factor needed.
TECH ID, LIST FACTOR, COSTING CATEGORY
Input your technician identifiers, your global list price factor, and the
inventory costing categories. PART QUANTITY CONTROL MENU
COSTING OF PARTS FROM TICKETS
Upon entering a part number you are prompted for the tech ID and quantity. The
quantity entered will be subtracted from the technicians stock quantity. A
choice of usage categories is then requested. These categories should reflect
your particular cost tracking needs. Some users may decide to break their
costing down by machines under maintenance contract versus billable machines,
while other users break it down by brands of equipment.
If the part number is not found you have the choice of storing that number to
the BUG LIST and still costing the part out. If this is the case you will need
to know the actual cost price of the part in order to record the information
correctly.
INPUT QUANTITY PER TECHNICIAN
This nifty feature allows you to edit quantities of parts for an individual
technician. You may enter only a partial number if desired and the system will
allow scrolling forward or backward through the in-house list only from the
first match point. When entering quantities a minus sign (-) will subtract that
quantity from the tech ID you originally chose. Other uses for this include
scanning for part numbers when only the first few digits are known, and
transferring stock between technicians.
SERVICE PARTS COST TOTALS
Each month the service department needs to know how many dollars were spent on
maintaining equipment. This section allows you to request these costs for any
given time period you chose. You only need to enter the starting and ending
dates, and whether you want it on-screen or a hard copy.
If you chose to print it out an additional set of figures reflecting the usage
by technician for each category will be given. The figures given are taken
directly form the COSTING OF PARTS selection above. Therefore it is important
to enter the numbers in correctly when costing parts from service invoices.
PRINTER CONTROL
ACCESS TO THE PRINTER MENU
PRINTER CONTROL MENU
PART ORDER FORM
This is the parts purchase order printout. Refer to 'Part Ordering System' for
complete information.
PART BOX LABELS
A part box without a part number is of little value. This routine will print out
labels containing part number, description, min. and max. stocking quantities,
and bin location. The retail price was not included as you may change that too
frequently and would not wish to reprint all of the parts labels.
PART INVENTORY SHEETS
This will give you a printout of all parts contained in the in-house list with
a blank space for quantity and extension to be used for manual counting.
PARTS PRICE LIST
The technicians in the field must carry some form of price list. This is a
complete listing of in-house parts, whether they are currently being stocked or
just for reference. You may want to review this occasionally as the list may
become quite long if old parts are not deleted.
BIN ALLOCATION SHEETS
This listing contains the number, description, bin location, and retail price
of all parts which have bins assigned to them.
BUG PARTS LIST
This is a listing of the BUG PARTS entered via the inventory section. This list
will give you ideas as to where the problems arise in accounting for inventory.
From it you can see whether the technicians wrote the numbers down incorrectly,
are using parts which have not been entered in the system, or are using old
numbers instead of new ones. CUSTOMER TRACKING SEGMENT
HISTORY FILES
This allows access to the customer history screens. From this point you may
search the database by a combination of the model, serial, and/or the complete
or partial customer name. This search routine is used throughout the customer
section of the system. Once a record is located and retrieved the display will
reflect all customer information. By following the on screen commands you may
make a machine history entry, display up to the last 12 service calls and edit
them, or access a printout of the service history for the unit given.
The history files for each machine, when listed on-screen, give quick on-line
access to vital information needed by both the service and management
departments. For instance, when a tech calls from the field needing to know what
the findings of the last technician's call were the dispatcher can retrieve the
information while still on the telephone without having to search through hard
copy files. From the management point of view, you now have instant access to
the history of the machine to justify service agreements, discuss upgrade needs,
or a variety of other topics.
But as with all systems, it will only work when the correct information is input
within a proper time frame.
CUSTOMER FILES
The customer filing system uses the same search criteria as the history
retrieval system.
If no customer matching the search criteria is found you will be prompted
whether you wish to enter the customer as a new account.
When retrieving an account you will be prompted whether the system should
retrieve the entire customer record or the equipment accessory record for the
particular base serial numbered unit.
Should you desire to retrieve the customer record you will have access to
add/edit any field within the record, so BE CAREFULL !!!! When dealing with the
warranty and service agreement expiration dates keep in mind the system will use
these dates to flag an account as either out of warranty or service expired when
the current date exceeds either of the assigned dates. This is very usefull when
taking in service calls while still in contact with the customer, or when
dispatching calls to the technicians.
When accessing the accessory listing for the customer you again have the
opportunity to full add/edit of the file, but are now limited to only the
accessory segment. One of the most basic reasons to track accessories conected
to a base unit is inventory control. An option you may desire to include on your
custom report generator is the ability to list all accessories with the base
unit serial they are assigned to.
REPORT SYSTEM
We have limited the access to reports within the system to only one, a customer
list sorted alphabeticly by city. The reason for this is no two companies desire
the same type of report. Currently there is a report generator supplied with
DIGITRAK called REPMENU. This is a customizable report system which is set up
to your specifications. For more info on this please contact our customer
support line.
DISPATCHING
The dispatching system is probably the most lengthy to explain of all systems
in DIGITRAK. I must presume you are familar with the concept of computerized
dispatching. If not, please feel free to call us to explain in greater detail.
--CUSTOMER DISPATCHING
This segment is to be used to place a service call for a specific machine.
The customer dispatching uses the same search criteria as previously described.
If a match is found and accessed you will be prompted to enter the reason for
the call. This is then filed in the system under the tech whose ID appears in
the 'TECH ID' slot of the customer record. Once the call is entered and
confirmed you are given the opportunity to reassign the call to a different
tech. This is usefull if you know the prior tech may not get to the call in the
required response time needed, or if someone else is closer to the account than
the assigned technician.
--TECHNICIAN DISPATCHING
Use this segment when assigning service calls to specific technicians.
Enter the tech ID as you have it in the customer files. If you wish to see calls
for all techs enter ALL in tech ID space. Then enter the type of calls you wish
to see, either 'U' for calls which have not been given to the tech, or 'A' for
calls which have been given to the tech and are awaiting further action such as
paperwork.
Once the tech and type of calls are selected, all calls matching the criteria
will be displayed along with additional entry options at the bottom of the
screen.
Once an individual call is retrieved there are various option codes you may
enter. These are as follows.
U - Unassigned call, not yet given to a tech
A - Assigned call, tech has been given call and service is in process
B - Call has been done and is awaiting paperwork to clear from system.
C - Clear call from using tech's paperwork
R - Re-assign the call to a different tech
D - Delete call from system, no further entry required
The following codes may also appear, depending on status of the call.
These are system generated codes, that is, codes which are a result of how
a service call is handled in other parts of the programming.
H - Holding for part or lack of time to complete call. This is system
generated when clearing a call using the tech's paperwork.
T - Call has been re-assigned to this tech from another. System generated.
DISPATCHING --- continued
-- CLEAR A CALL FROM THE SYSTEM WITH PAPERWORK
C - Clear call from system
When a call has been completed and paperwork is turned in it is to be coded with a 'C'.
The next screen displayed will require information from the service ticket as
follows.
1. Date call is completed.
2. Meter reading, if unit has a meter.
The system will now check to make sure the completion date is equal to or
later than the call-in date. It will also check that the current meter is
greater than the last meter reading.
4. The next step is to either use the work and travel times section of the
system or to place an X in the BYPASS TIME box. Bypassing the times is handy
if you desire to use the system to track service calls but not keep track of
the time spent on each call.
5. Should you choose to use the time keeping segment you will need to
enter the next three areas in military time. (24 hour clock, 9 am = 09:00,1 pm = 13:00)
6. SVC. PL. = service plan. The service plan is retrieved automatically from the customer file, but you may wish to override the codes.
WM = Warranty Machine CH = Charge Machine
GM = Maintenance Agrement RT = Rental Machine
7. MAIN ACTIVITY = The primary type of service performed.
EM = Emergency Maintenance PM = Preventative Maintenance
CC = Courtesy Call SH = Shop Work
8. IC = Incomplete Call Indicator. The codes for this will generate othercodes within the system after the service call is stored.
P = Hold for parts. Generates a H class call in the system and puts call on hold.
T = Lack of time. Generates a H class call in the system and puts call on hold.
R = Used to clear calls from system which were put on hold by either P or T.
9. 2ND ACT. and HRS. = Secondary activity, should you wish to keep track of other codes. The system does not recognize these areas in any reports at this time.
10. Once the areas are filled in and validated you may then enter a site history record if you desire. Otherwise the call will appear in the site history with the notation "Needs Site Record"
And the process starts over again.
REPORT GENERATION
PROGRAM NAME - REPMENU.EXE
The reports for the customer tracking segment are contained in a stand-alone
system which is customized to the each installation. A generic version is
contained with the initial install, with one set of revisions available at no
charge. You may also use any of the report generation systems on the software
market capable of handling D-Base III file structure.
EVALUATION NOTES ON FUTURE PLANS
This program is constantly being updated with new features. For this reason your
manual may not contain explanations of all features contained on the program
diskette.
The reason for the constant changing is you the end user. The system has been
tested to a great extent under both controlled conditions and actual service
department usage for several years yet we still find areas which need minor
changes. At the same time we are taking suggestions for various enhancements to
the system for future revisions.
I realize this is only a very brief overview of the operation system, but I
believe it will be enough for you to observe the operation and usage of the
information which is available.
The finished manual will contain a system tour with hands on instructions and
an index referring to all special terms contained in this document along with
system requirements and database structures.
The only way this system will continue to work is with the combined support of
both my firm and the manufacturers. The manufacturer will have to keep an
updated price manual, on diskette, available to us on a regular basis, and it
is our responsibility to see this information is converted to a database format
for the program and make it available to the end user in a timely manner. The
VENDOR price list cost is not for the price list itself, as that is provided by
you from the VENDOR, but for the time involved in processing the information
into a usable format for the dealers. If the dealer is versed in DBASE III they
may be able to convert the data to usable information themselves.
I would appreciate any and all comments, good or bad, regarding the operation
of this system.
DISCLAIMER OF USAGE
While every effort has been made to secure the information contained in both the
programming and the databases we can in no way be held liable for the actual use
of this program. Nor are we to be held liable for any loss of information, loss
of income, or loss of any other kind do to a malfunction of this program.
By purchasing and using this program you agree to the terms and conditions of
