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UserConnect2

MC User Connect – Sign Up (1 of 3 )

May 16, 2012 by Arlene 0 Comments

Maintenance Connection is pleased to announce the launch of MC User Connect, a brand new resource for users who want to be in the know and take part in the ever growing Maintenance Connection Community. MC User Connect provides a single location where customers looking for assistance or information can find tutorials, documentation, or even post questions in the user forum. We have consolidated valuable resources into a single location to provide you with a one-stop solution to get news and updates, documents, tutorials, knowledgebase articles, and download files.

With a full service user forum, expandable topics based on user need, and a commitment to consistent and relevant new content, MC User Connect promises to be a hub of traffic. It is designed to be an ever-growing repository of knowledge available to MC Users all around the globe.

How do I sign up and access?

To access MC User Connect, simply direct your web browser to http://www.mcuserconnect.com.

To create a new account, click on the link to “REGISTER here“….

Once you complete the registration process and then log in, you will have access to over 100 information packed articles to enhance your utilization of Maintenance Connection. With the additional commitment to new content created by both MC Users and Staff, MC User Connect promises to significantly extend the support services available to our customers.

Note: This valuable new tool will replace the MC Community, which offers a more limited user forum. In the near-term future, users accessing MC Community will be automatically redirected to MC User Connect. There will also be an option available from the MC Version 6.0 Help Menu to provide access from within the application.

Next week, in our second post about MC User Connect, we will review navigation and how to find information you are seeking.

News and Updates
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MCv60

Version 6.0 Announcement

May 9, 2012 by Arlene 0 Comments

We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of Maintenance Connection Version 6.0. Through an extensive review of product suggestions submitted by customers, our product team has put together our strongest, most exciting software release ever. An email was distributed to the primary contacts at all customers last week, providing access to the MC v6.0 Release Notes.

When can customers begin using MC v6.0?

    • Online hosted customers will be automatically upgraded on June 2nd
      or June 3rd
    • Onsite customers will receive notice of the availability of the upgrade for download in July. Onsite customers can choose the timing of the upgrade that works best for their schedule.

Attendees at Checkpoint 2012 received a preview of the many new features and enhancements that are included in this version. Initial feedback at the event was overwhelmingly positive. We are very enthusiastic about this release and look forward to sharing it with all of our customers.

Check out how customers reacted to MC v6.0 after the announcement at Checkpoint 2012:

Following is a brief list of some of the new MC v6.0 features:

  • Time Zone Enhancements so that users can now set a personal time zone
  • Custom Work Order Filters for Home Page and Explorer
  • Multiple assets can now be linked to a work order on demand
  • Shift Module to assist 24/7 organizations
  • Service Requester Enhancements that allow field ordering and more
  • Rules Manager design enhancements to allow multiple event actions
  • Alert feature that can be used to send popup notifications
  • Message Center that provides a medium for interaction between system members
  • Password Management Tool to assist System Administrators

MC v6.0 includes numerous additional enhancements. To best introduce these new features, we will be publishing a series of blog topics shortly after the release to provide a closer look at the new capabilities.

If you feel that you should have received a copy of the Release Notes, you can sign up for the new MC User Connect Site and login for access. Stay tuned for more information about MC User Connect and MC v6.0 in upcoming blogs!

Release Notes
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041412_2328_LightlyUsed7.png

Lightly Used Feature – Open Smart Report from Email

April 18, 2012 by Arlene 0 Comments

Customers find that Scheduled Reports are an excellent method to provide recipients with valuable information, without the need to access the application and search for the desired data. Smart Email Reports take this capability a step further, providing access to additional data and capabilities through the use of defined smart elements.

With the Smart Email Feature, the report is sent with a Smart Mode Button. Clicking on this button prompts users to log in (if so specified), and then presents the report form in the Report Preview Window. Smart features defined on the report can then be used to access additional information, or even update records. Users only have access to the report form and defined “smart elements”; they will not have general access to system features or report setup.

Let’s take an example of a report sent out to supervisors each morning listing corrective work orders received on the previous date, with a smart popup to each work order to access more information if needed. If you would like to create a similar report to test this feature, refer to the first blog topic in the Smart Report Series for instructions.

To set up a report for “smart emailing”, open Report Setup and go the Schedule Tab:

  • On the default Email Sub-Tab, you can set up the distribution schedule like any other scheduled report. For our daily Corrective Work Order Report, the schedule might be defined as follows:

  • Click on the Smart Email Sub-Tab and check the indicator in the upper left that instructs the system to include an “Open Report in Smart Mode” Button on the report:

Note: The Smart Email Sub-Tab is accessible from both the Schedule and Smart Elements Tabs.

  • On the right side of this page, you can specify the type of login security you want in effect for the report. In most cases, this control is set to “No Automatic Login“, prompting users to enter their standard login credentials in order to access the report.

Note: Additional options are available to support automatic login using the user’s email address or allowing for a default user to be used. Refer to the User Guide for instructions on using these options.

To test this feature, we can manually email the report using the Email Button displayed in the Report Preview Window:

  • Run the smart report to be emailed so that it is presented in the Report Preview Window. Then click the Email Button.

  • The Email Report Dialog will display, prompting you to enter a recipient. You can enter your own email address in the “To Address” box to send the report to yourself for testing. You can also click to “To..” button to retrieve an address from the system (e.g., your labor record):

  • Click Apply when a recipient email address has been entered. You should receive a confirming message indicating that the report was successfully sent to the recipient.
  • To view the email from the perspective of someone not logged into the system, be sure to log out of the system first!

The email that is received might appear as follows, with the report content displayed in the body of the email, and the “Smart Mode” Button presented in the upper right corner:

  • Click the Open Report in Smart Mode Button:

  • If so defined in the report, you will be prompted to log into Maintenance Connection. Enter your standard login credentials.
  • The Report Preview Window will open displaying the report content.

Since the report was defined with a pop-up, note how individual rows can be selected to open the corresponding work order. This allows the recipient to drill down to additional data on any records as needed. Also note how the toolbar at the top is limited to only allow printing, exporting and refreshing of the report data. Options to modify Report Criteria and Setup are hidden.

  • Click the Log-Off Button in the upper right to observe how the report content is closed, ensuring the email link only provides access to the intended report content:

Stay tuned next week for a live update from the Checkpoint Training Seminar!

Feature Spotlights
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Herakles

Inside MC: Meet the Team – Austin

April 11, 2012 by Arlene 0 Comments

Austin Hermle may not be a name you come across when contacting MC Support, but he plays a very important role for us – working behind the scenes with our production team at the Herakles Data Center to maintain the servers accessed by our hosted online customers. Austin works on bringing up new servers, backing up data, and troubleshooting performance or hardware issues that may arise. Keeping up with a 24×7 production environment accessed by thousands of users requires a good deal of dedication and Austin is always at the ready (even when this requires action in the wee hours of the morning)!

In addition, Austin works with our Implementation Consultants and Support Engineers to import large quantities of data into online customer databases. He likes his role working in the background to ensure things are running smoothly, and really enjoys the challenge of coming up with ways to continually improve the data center and provide the best user experience for our customers.

Austin joined Maintenance Connection in 2008, when he was still a senior in high school! In May, he will be graduating from Sacramento State University with a BA in Business Administration (concentration in Management Information Systems). On a personal note, Austin just became married in January of this year to the wonderful Jenna Hermle, who works in Account Relationship Management for MC.

We at MC know not to let Austin’s quiet demeanor lull us into thinking we should engage in a friendly debate with him! He has been involved with Team Policy Debate since he was 11 years old, and qualified for the national tournament in Alabama in 2008. During his high school years, he debated topics such as NATO, Immigration Policy, and Energy Policy. Austin also went on to coach debate for three years after he graduated.

In Austin’s free time, he loves to hang out with his large immediate and extended family, playing games and watching movies. His special talent, however, is with photography. Below is one of many spectacular photographs Austin has taken, capturing a beautiful moment in nature.

Inside MC
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PM Configuration – 3 of 3 – Generate Single PM

March 21, 2012 by Arlene 0 Comments

In this third post in the PM Configuration Series, we will discuss the feature to manually generate an individual PM Schedule. While customers are encouraged to use Automated PM Generation whenever possible, some prefer to use manual generation for particular circumstances. For example, if “Fire Alarm Inspections” are required each month or quarter, the organization may prefer to defer the generation of the work orders until a window of opportunity in the given time period occurs. For situations such as this, PM Schedules can be set to generate manually, using the indicator on the Preventive Maintenance Automation
Tab:

When PMs are set as shown above, the Preventive Maintenance Section of the Home Page includes a notification, ensuring you are aware that schedules are due. In addition, an option to “Generate Work Orders” is shown:

The Generate Work Orders option prompts you to generate all schedules that are due at once. In the above example, this would result in work orders being generated for all “11″ PM Schedules. In many cases, it is preferable to generate one or more selected schedules at a time, rather than all that are due.

To generate individual PM Schedules, click the PM Schedules Due alert on the home page. The PM Module will open with the PM Schedules that are due displayed in the Explorer Pane:

To generate an individual schedule, such as the “FIRE-INS” Schedule above, click on it. The schedule will open in the Preventive Maintenance Work Center. Prior to generating the schedule, it is always a good idea to click on the Assets Tab to verify that the correct work orders are targeted to generate. If the Next Scheduled Date needs to be adjusted on any assets prior to work order generation, you can use the instructions provided in the first blog in this series, PM Configuration – Update Assets.

To generate the work orders associated with the currently selected schedule, click the Generate Button on the bottom of the page.

The Generate Work Orders Dialog will display, listing the name of the currently selected PM Schedule in green in the upper right hand corner. When the PM Schedule Name is shown, you can be assured that proceeding will only generate work orders for the indicated schedule:

To proceed with work order generation, click the Generate Button at the bottom of the dialog.

You will be prompted to confirm that you wish to proceed. You will then either be notified to wait as work orders are being generated, or informed that your request has been sent to the queue for background processing. Once work orders have been generated, you can view them in the Work Order Module.

Note: Organizations that utilize the Manual PM Process are strongly encouraged to ensure the PM Preference to Generate Work Orders in the Background is set “on” to minimize problems that can occur (such as a time-out).

Feature Spotlights
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