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Editing Units |
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You create or modify units using the unit editor. The usual way to open the editor is to click New Unit or Edit in the View section of Units. (For more on units, see Units.)
The unit editor window contains the following:
Details section: Shows basic information for the record.
Code: A brief code to identify this record. No two units in the same location may have the same code (but units in different locations can have the same code).
Description: A longer description of the unit.
External Tag: A short string of characters which can be turned into a bar code associated with this unit. For more information, see Bar Code Support.
GIS Location: The geographic location of this unit. Coordinates are specified in longitude and latitude.
As a special feature, MainBoss makes it easy for you to use Google Maps to specify "GIS Location". First, use Google Maps to find the location's geographic position. Then, right-click on the location in the Google Maps display and click What's here in the resulting menu. Google Maps will display the GIS coordinates as two numbers on the screen, typically in the upper left-hand corner. You can copy and paste these numbers into MainBoss. (Note that Google may change how Google Maps works at any time.)
Containing Location: The location that contains the unit. This may be another unit. For more on locations, see Locations.
Make, Model, Serial: Standard identification information for pieces of equipment.
Mobile Units and Serial Numbers: If a unit can possibly be moved, it's useful to assign it a serial number, even if there isn't a serial number from the manufacturer. This makes it easier to keep track of which unit is which, especially when two units are moved into the same location.
Unit Usage: A usage code for this unit. For more on such codes, see Unit Usages.
Unit Category: The kind of unit this is. For more, see Unit Categories.
System Code: The system that this unit belongs to, if any. For more, see Systems.
Drawing: Information identifying any drawing(s) associated with this unit. Depending on your department's methods of organization, this can be anything from "Drawing 123-45J" to "Second drawer in filing cabinet beside the fax machine."
Comments: Any comments that should be associated with this unit. In particular, this is a good place to record useful information like, "Always carry 30 amp fuses, this machine blows them regularly."
Service section: Lists service contracts and other information related to performing service on the unit.
Access Code: Indicates any special conditions for gaining access to the unit. For more, see Access Codes.
Work Order Expense Model: The default expense model to be used for any work done on this unit. For more on expense models, see Expense Models.
Service Contracts list: Lists any service contracts on this unit. For more, see Service Contracts.
New Unit Service Contract: Associates a service contract with this unit. For more information, see Associating Units with Service Contracts.
Related section: Lists any relationships this unit has with other units or contact people. For more on relationships, see Relationships.
New Unit Related Unit: Lets you specify a relationship between this unit and another unit. For more on unit-to-unit relationships, see Unit-to-Unit Relationships.
New Unit Related Contact: Lets you specify a relationship between this unit and a contact person. For more, see Unit-to-Contact Relationships.
: Is only enabled if you select a relationship line in the list of relationships. If you do, clicking deletes the chosen relationship.
Parts section: Lists spare parts associated with this unit. For more, see Spare Parts.
Specifications section: Lists any specifications associated with this unit. For more, see Specifications.
To add a specification, use the drop-down field immediately below the list of existing specifications. Drop the arrow, select a specification form, then click the New button that follows the drop-down field. MainBoss opens a form that you can fill in with specification data. When you click Save in the form, you will see the specification added to the list of this unit's specifications.
The other buttons that follow the drop-down field let you work with the specification that is selected in the list of existing specifications.
Value section: Lists information about the purchase value of the unit, as well as projected replacement costs.
Purchase Date: The date on which the unit was purchased. If you don't know the exact date, it's useful to put in a reasonable estimate. This will help in calculating the expected lifespan of the equipment.
Purchase Vendor: The vendor who sold you the unit. For more on vendors, see Vendors.
Original Cost: The cost of the unit when purchased.
Ownership: Who owns this unit. For more, see Ownerships.
Asset Code: A code indicating the fixed asset balance sheet account number that is used to capitalize this equipment in your organization's general ledgers. For more, see Asset Codes.
Future Value: Information in this section is used when creating a replacement value report. For more on this report, see Unit Replacement Forecast Report.
Replacement Cost Last Date and Replacement Cost: These two fields let you record an estimate for replacing the unit as of a given date.
For example, suppose that a given refrigeration unit is selling for $1000 at today's prices. You might fill in "Replacement Cost Last Date" as today's date and "Replacement Cost" as $1000. Notice that these two fields don't refer to the date when you think you'll actually replace the unit; they're based on a date when you have a reasonable benchmark on the unit's price.
The "Replacement Cost Last Date" can be in the past, present, or future. For example, you might say, "That unit was selling for $900 last year." In that case, you could set "Replacement Cost" as $900 and the date as sometime last year. Similarly, you might specify a "Replacement Cost Last Date" for some time in the future, if you think you can estimate what the unit's cost will be on that date.
As previously noted, the purpose of these two fields is to provide a basis date and cost that MainBoss can use to predict the actual replacement cost of the unit, based on the unit's typical lifespan and an expected rate of inflation.
Typical Life: The total number of years that this type of unit is expected to remain in service. Note that this is the total lifespan, not the remaining lifespan.
Scrap Date: The expected date on which you'll take this equipment out of commission.
Scrap Value: The expected value for which you can sell the equipment when you decommission it.
Meters section: Lists any meters associated with this unit. You can create meter records directly from this section if you wish, and perform all the actions available from the Meters table viewer. For more on meters, see Meters.
Attachments section: Lists any attachments associated with this unit. An attachment is any file you wish to associate with the unit. For example, if you have files that contain schematic diagrams or specifications for a piece of equipment, you could list them in the Attachments section; this makes it easy for workers to find information that might be useful on the job.
Attachments may also be Internet URLs. For example, you might record the URL of the manufacturer's web site, or a web page containing information about the unit. For more about attachments, see Attachments.
Path: When you select an entry in the attachment list, "Path" provides a link to the attachment. Clicking the link opens the file or URL. The program used for this is the default for such files on your computer. For example, HTML files will be opened with your default web browser, PDF files will be opened with your default PDF reader, and so on.
Requests section: Lists requests on this unit, both past and present. You can create requests directly from this section if you wish, and perform all the operations available through the Requests table viewer. For more on requests, see Requests.
Maintenance Plans section: Lists unit maintenance plans associated with this unit. You can create unit maintenance plans directly from this section if you wish, and perform all the operations available from the unit maintenance plan table viewer. For more on unit maintenance plans, see Unit Maintenance Plans.
Work Orders section: Lists work orders on this unit, both past and present. You can create work orders directly from this section if you wish, and perform all the operations available from the Work Order table viewer. For more on work orders, see Work Orders.
Temporary Storage and Items section: Shows any temporary storage locations and assignments associated with the unit. For more, see Temporary Storage Locations and Temporary Storage Assignments.
Save: Saves the current record. The editor window stays open in case you want to make more changes to the same record.
Save & New: Saves the current record and sets up the window for you to enter a new record. Fields in the new record will be blank or set to default values.
Save & Close: Saves the current record and closes the editor window.
Cancel: Closes the window without saving any changes you've made to the record since the last time you saved. When you Save the record, the Cancel button changes to Close, indicating that you can safely close the window without losing any changes.
Close: Closes the window. This button only appears after you've saved changes with Save or before you've entered any data at all. Otherwise, the button is labeled Cancel.
Show on Map: If this unit record has a "GIS Location" value, MainBoss attempts to open Google Maps to a map showing the unit's geographic location. If the current unit record doesn't have a GIS location, MainBoss checks the unit and/or location record that contains the current unit, then the container of the container, and so on, until MainBoss either finds a record that has a GIS location or else reaches a record with no container.
If MainBoss finds no record with a GIS location, but does find a postal address record containing postal information, MainBoss passes the postal information to Google Maps.
In order to see the geographic location in Google Maps, you must have an active Internet connection and a suitable web browser.
For more on units, see Units. For more on viewing units, see Viewing Units. For more on editors in general, see Using Editors.
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