It’s a beautiful time to be in Houston this week, nice temps, not overly humid and an awesome time to learn more about IBM Maximo and other capabilities. Today and tomorrow are the actual conference with additional training options Thursday.

Today opened up with a positive and informative few general sessions kicking off with a Maximo Transformation & acquisition example by Vista Energy (previously known as Dynegy). This was followed by Arizona Public Service Company (APS) discussing their business case to enhance their Transmission and Distributions Maximo functionalities to more efficiently manage and measure costs. The last morning general session was a presentation by CoServ discussing their progress implementing Maximo and their integration to other solutions. They also discussed their lessons learned and goals for the future.

As you can see from the included picture, it’s a full room with lots of learning. This afternoon attendees joined break out sessions covering a vast array of other capabilities, solutions to challenges, and thought leadership.

Tonight is the networking opportunity and vendor night. Perficient is in the entry way to the event next to the beverage center (aka bar), please stop by and say hello!

Anyone thirsty and near Denver, CO, on May 8, 2018? How about a cold brew and some details about how you too can transform your supply chain / business operations and disrupt your industry with Blockchain?

To set your company apart from the others, you’ll need to operate in an integrated customer focused ecosystem. Suppliers are receiving more and more pressure to deliver faster, become more convenient, show trust and at the same time be more transparent.

Please join Perficient and IBM on Tuesday May 8th for an exclusive event of networking and education, and perhaps a cold beverage. We’ll discuss how Blockchain technology can help you transform your business operations with a focus on making your customers happier and exceeding their expectations.

The event will be held from 4-7PM at the Brewery in the RiNO District in Denver, CO. Register to receive additional updates to the event and attend.

Scenarios we will explore include:

• Quickly address product integrity issues while avoiding significant operational and financial disruptions
• Track asset lifecycle performance and maintenance to establish value and ensure optimal performance
• Maintaining security of digital content at different points in the value chain
• Facilitating trusted settlements of complex transactions quickly, electronically, and without errors

This isn’t just for Maximo clients, anyone who has business operations should benefit.

Agenda

4:00 – 4:30 PM – Registration
4:30 – 5:30 PM – Speakers
5:30 – 6:00 PM – Panel Discussion
6:00 – 7:00 PM – Networking

Light appetizers and drinks provided

Click here to register for this educational and fun event.

Recently I was tasked with making one of 3 fields mandatory on a Maximo application. Doesn’t sound like rocket science, and in the past, my first thought would have been to work out a fun and complicated set of Conditional Expressions. Then I got to thinking, wouldn’t it be easier to just do an If-then statement somehow? Surely this automation scripting stuff can’t be as difficult as everyone always tries to make it. Well, I found out it’s not, and its amazingly powerful in a short amount of time.

The Assignment

What are the conditions that are needing to be met? We needed to make sure that before a WO was saved, either the Supervisor, Crew, or Owner was populated. The client will be using this information for reporting and Start Center portlets, so it was important to have the information on every Work Order.

Starting an Automation Script

As I am not now, nor have I ever been an automation scripting guru, I always have to play around in Dev environments to get the kinks worked out. I’ve been modifying others scripts for years but writing them from scratch was never my forte. No better time than the present to pick up the torch and run! I know enough to be dangerous, which is why I surround myself with some of the brightest people I know to help me out in a jam.

To get started I chose an Object Launch point. I figured it was a good choice as I’m working with Workorder object and not just on specific attribute. And to keep things simple, I usually name my launch point and the Automation script the same thing. Simple name for this one was SUPERCREWOWNER_OR.

I used some variables to make it easier to pull info in and pass it back out. To clean it up, they could all be just inbound, but it defaults to INOUT, so I just left it. I’m not passing any values back to the variables in my simple code.

The Code – Keep it Simple

Up front I will tell you, I am not a jython expert. Most all I have learned I have done so like many other coders, I have google the snot out of it until I found something close and made it work! This was no exception. I also leaned on some of my co-workers knowledge to make it as simple as I could. Instead of using OR logic though, it was easier to use NOT logic, as you will see in the code. The first requirement is that the Workorder has a Workorder number, then we move forward from there.

if wo is not None and (super is None and crew is None and owner is None):
..errorgroup='Custom'
..errorkey='superORcrewORowner'
..params=[wo]

The leading periods are to show mandatory spacing.

Essentially, if WONUM is NOT blank (required to save a WO), and all three of the other fields ARE blank, a custom error is thrown.

Note: To make the error work, you need to configure your custom error message. I will cover that in another post.

Once one of the fields is populated, the Work Order saves with no further interference.

Simple is Good

And that’s it! A simple automation script that throws an error and stops you from saving the record unless one of 3 fields are populated. Can Automation scripts be insanely more complicated? Yes, they can. Is it really necessary in all cases? Nope. This shows an easy solution to what could be an overly complicated set of multiple other tasks.

If you enjoyed this post, check out some of my other posts.

If you have any comments or questions, please leave a comment below!

As I continue my series on Maximo Data Loading, I move to another tool I have turned to many times, the Maximo MXLoader. This was developed by Bruno Portaluri while he was at IBM. As of February 2018, he is no longer with IBM, but his tool still holds a lot of value and is very well developed. You can link to the IBM DevelopWorks site that covers this tool. Even though it is not officially supported, it is still very functional and efficient. I’ve been using this tool for at least 4 years now. It makes both data loading and data exporting easy.

As an example, we will load a simple data set. We’ll start with Units of Measure (UoM).

The Setup

Once you’ve downloaded MXLoader, you need to get your ‘Config’ sheet set up. There are a couple critical options, the rest can be tweaked as you go. The key piece is getting your server name or address in the URL in box B4. you need to have the /meaweb/os at the end for this to work. Then all you need is a username and password. (We’ll assume your administrator allow this to all be connected)

One of the neatest options with MXLoader is that it will automatically build the standard Object Structures for you to use for data loading! With a couple clicks of the mouse, you can have it build its own MXLoader structures.

Query in MXLoader

Another cool function in MXLoader is the ability to Query your current data sets, and even use a SQL expression to retrieve the desired records. (In the event you want to modify any data and load the changes back into the system, or just as reference for format to load new data). To use the Query function, just select ‘Query’ in box C1 as above. If you would like to use SQL to limit the records returned, you can do that in D1.

Loading Data with MXLoader

As simple as it is to query with MXLoader, it’s often just as easy to load data. In my experience, the most effective way has been to use the ‘Sync-AddChange’ option. If data needs updated, it updates it. If the data needs added, it adds it. Pretty simple. There are other options available within the tool. If you need help and can’t figure it out from the user guide, please leave a comment below or send me an email.
Once you have all of your data loaded into the spreadsheet (assuming it meets all field length and character requirements), to initiate the Data Load, you click one button and the load starts. Sometimes it may seem as though nothing is happening, but it most surely is.
Just click the Run button. Notice if you are in the MXLoader tab there is a second option button.

Once the data has successfully loaded, you can go into Maximo and see what you have loaded.

If you have any questions or comments, enter them below. We would be happy to help with any data loading questions or projects you are working on.

You can download the user guide here. It is a great walk through with excellent instructions.

Leave a comment below (way down at the bottom) and we will do our best to help.

Data Loading Series, Application Import/Export

In this first part of my Maximo Data Loading series, I will cover the Maximo Application Data Import Export functionality. This is great functionality that was introduced in version 7.5, and many today still do not utilize it’s functionality. This allows you to go into any Maximo application, and export data from a query or import new records in a proper Object Structure format.

To enable this functionality, we will start with the setup. We will use the Asset application as the reference for this article.

1. From the GoTo menu, select Integrations –> Object Structures
Open the MXASSET object structure (to match the application we will be using).
to use the FlatFile format, you will need to check the ‘Support Flat Structure’ checkbox.

2. Next you need to enable the Object Structure for Import and Export. On the left menu, you will need to select the Add/Modify application Import and Export options.

For each, you will need to select the main application and the Flat File option as below:

The Maximum Count is the max number of rows you wish to be able to handle with each process. Make sure you do not increase the size too high to create load or export issues based on your system.

3. Next you will need to grant security privileges for the Import/Export functionality.
Go to the Security Groups application.
Select the security group you want to grant rights to import and export data.
Select the Application Export and Application Import options and grant them to the security group.

4. Save the record. If necessary, log out and back in.
Navigate back to Assets and verify the Application Import and Export functionality is available.

More Data Loading methods to come. I hope this was helpful.

Previous Articles

Are you using Maximo Work Centers and Inspections yet? If not, we can help!

Are you using Public Queries within Maximo correctly? We can get you headed in the right direction!

Blockchain was 2017’s technology buzzword of the year, and for good reason. Blockchain technology has the potential to radically alter enterprise business models through cost reduction and increased operational efficiency. But many organizations are finding blockchain to be as confusing as it is promising.

Join us for our webinar on Tuesday, April 3, from 1:00 to 2:00pm CT as we help cut through the hype of blockchain and share a practical way to get started, including how to determine where it fits within your organization.

We’ll answer these questions about blockchain and more:

• Why adopt blockchain?
• What makes a good blockchain use case?
• What are some specific industry applications?
• What are the best practices for getting started?

Tuesday, April 3 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM CT

Click here to Register!

Conflict on April 3rd? Register and we will send you the slides along with the webinar replay to watch at your convenience.

And for our Maximo clients, here’s a link about how Maximo & Blockchain work together. Click here for more information on how to use blockchain to be more transparent, accurate and know where your asset transactions have been with traceable details across the different networks.

As clients look to extend and refine the use of Maximo, one of the useful newer tools is the Maximo hover dialog information. They are not difficult to modify and can give you a quick way to view the items that are important to your business.

To get started, we will first take a look at the fields that utilize the hover dialog. The easiest way to know which fields have the option is to look for the blue “more information i” next to the fields:

The following fields have hover dialogs out of the box:

• Asset
• Item
• Person
• Work Order

Now, what if you would like to customize the fields displayed in the pop up dialog? Lets assume we do not use the Primary User/Custodian field in our application and do not want it to be a part of the dialog. It’s not as hard as you might think.

Follow these steps and you can change the displayed fields to your desire.

Step 1: Export the XML

1. Go into application designer for the appropriate application.
2. Select Action/Export System XML – Export RECHOVERS.XML
3. In that file, find the ‘asset_recordhover’ file

Step 2: Modify the XML

4. Remove the line with the ‘Primary User/Custodian’ attribute as below:

5. Save the file.

Step 3: Import the XML

6. Go back to Application and import the modified xml file

Step 4: Verify the change in the application

7. Verify the desired field is changed.

And that’s all there is to it. Pretty simple, and very useful tool.

IBM has put together a couple well done articles on this topic. You can fin them at the following links:
Adding/Deleting attributes in the Hover Dialogs in Maximo 7.6
Adding Hover Dialogs to additional fields in Maximo 7.6

Are you using Maximo Work Centers? If not, take a look at this and let us know if we can help get you there!

I might be a little partial to the subject considering these six sessions are from my Perficient peers. We also have a large booth (#550 right once you enter the doors). I hope the sessions below are of interest to you. I found something cool today; log into the event from the website, find the sessions you want, save and then auto-update your mobile device with your agenda. Seems easier to read on a larger screen; but maybe that’s just me…And don’t forget about the 28 Maximo related sessions and Perficient’s experience with IBM Private Cloud while at the conference.

TUESDAY

First-Ever Implementation of a Cloud-Based Unified Data Model for Healthcare

Tuesday, 12:30 PM – 1:10 PM | Session ID: 9364A | Mandalay Bay South, Level 2 | Surf A

To address ever-increasing volumes of data and access requirements, BJC HealthCare needed to consolidate clinical repositories, implement an integrated technology platform, and reduce infrastructure costs. To help meet these challenges, Perficient implemented a healthcare-specific blueprint for data warehousing and analytics that incorporates a robust set of data models coupled with industry-specific terms, ultimately decreasing time to implementation. Join us as we discuss how BJC was able to reduce costs, increase scalability and flexibility, improve speed to deployment, and better leverage data for clinical initiatives with the first-ever IBM enterprise data warehouse on the cloud.

Click here to Add to your calendar

Innovating with WebSphere Commerce V9

Tuesday, 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM | Session ID: 9346A | Mandalay Bay South, Level 1, Bayside C, Think Campus | Business and AI Campus Think Tank B1

Learn how to innovate now with IBM’s next-generation modern commerce platform designed to give B2C and B2B organizations the power to rapidly innovate and drive their omni-channel business, with less overhead. IBM WebSphere Commerce V9 combines the scale, performance and security you expect from IBM, with the speed and flexibility of a modern, cloud-ready, extensible architecture. Innovate more, with less time spent, and deliver better business outcomes—right now.

Click here to Add to your calendar

WEDNESDAY

Gaining Cognitive Insights from Unstructured Data for Better Business Outcome across Industries

Wednesday, 10:30 AM – 11:10 AM | Cloud and Data Campus Small Theater C | Session ID: 8506A

Watson Explorer is helping organizations across industries transform their processes and applications with cognitive capabilities. Join our business partners and their clients from the healthcare, community services and power management industries, who will show you how organizations are using Watson Explorer to create advanced search, unified information access and unstructured analytic solutions that deliver new value.

Click here to Add to your calendar

Providing Cognitive Patient Care with Watson Explorer

Wednesday, 11:30 AM – 12:10 PM | Breakers J | Session ID: 3239A

One of the largest community-based health systems in Florida sought to improve their care management approach by implementing an IBM Watson-based solution for patient population identification. In this session, we will share their journey in implementing a cognitive solution to better understand unstructured information, more effectively generate insights into patient care scenarios, and ultimately better inform clinical decision-making. Find out how this healthcare leader leveraged IBM Watson Explorer and Healthcare Annotators to gain up to 14 hours of productivity per day and increase patient identification accuracy from 51% to 92%.

Click here to Add to your calendar

THURSDAY

Test-Driven Development and API Connect: The Perfect Fit for Building APIs

Thursday, 10:30 AM – 11:10 AM | Cloud and Data Campus Small Theater B | Session ID: 6232A

Test-driven development (TDD) can be a critical component in the success of many kinds of projects, and it also helps accelerate API development. Come join us as we discuss a real-life success story using IBM API Connect and a TDD methodology to expand an enterprise-scale API program. We’ll share best practices and lessons learned in integrating and optimizing our API products behind the scenes using CICS, IBM Integration Bus (IIB), and Operational Decision Manager (ODM). We’ll also cover the benefits of leveraging automated test suites in API development, and how to easily configure testing suites in your development environments.

Click here to Add to your calendar

Hope to see you there and contact us if you’d like to be invited to our VIP social Monday night!

I sat down to write a post about my preference of an automation script for a crossover versus a crossover domain. This also makes me think about the different perceptions of an easy configuration. By easy configuration I mean the most direct, streamlined and doesn’t impact performance but Maximo has ten [plus] ways to do anything in regards to configuration or even creating a work order.

I’ve been on a client site this past week with my team. This is the first time I’ve met some of them face-to-face but it feels like I’ve known all of them for a long time. In all my years working with the Maximo Suite this has to be one my favorite teams. We complement each other quite well, for example my teammate Chad, who I brainstorm with a good amount.

We were discussing some of the configurations and he asked why I did an automation script for a crossover. I told him I thought it was easier because there is no DBConfig involved and it leaves the attribute domain field available in case it is needed for a different kind of domain.

My thought process is to streamline and think ahead for whatever might come but in this situation my crossover auto script and Chad’s auto script, conditionally requiring some fields, clashed. My crossover was populating Chad’s required fields yet I was still getting his error. So we turned his script off and my crossover worked fine.

Well… It worked relatively fine. See in my crossover two of my fields are FAILURECODE and PROBLEMCODE. A Problem Code cannot be entered unless there is a Failure Code entered first and my script would error on the Problem Code so I wasn’t going to crossover it over. I wasn’t happy with this but the Problem Code wasn’t specifically request it just made sense to cross it over.

As I’m writing and gathering some data for examples I realized there is an existing crossover domain, out-of-the-box. I added my crossover fields, including Problem Code and I turned off my auto script and tested.

IT WORKED!

Then I turned on Chad’s auto script and tested.

IT WORKED!

I still needed my script to conditionally populate one field. I removed all of the crossover parts and activated it and tested.

EVERYTHING WORKED!

Even the Problem Code.

Although I love Automation Scripting there are some flaws. I have experienced situations where the data is populated or crossed over or whatever the case may be and I can see it in Maximo but it really isn’t there. It’s like it’s a ghost and when Maximo tries to validate it can’t because it’s not real.

Just to be clear I’m not saying auto scripts can’t be used for a crossover, it’s still my preference. I guess it’s another case of Climbing out of the Maximo Developer’s Rabbit Hole.

Do you have Maximo? Do you have a fleet of assets (cars, trucks, vans, ambulances, etc)? Are you looking for a better way to maintain asset performance using Internet of Things (IoT)? This second webinar in the series valuable to you too. With the cast of speakers, there should be a wealth of information and knowledge sharing…

The second in the series of two is next Friday, March 9th at 1PM EST.  Click here if you missed the announcement of tomorrows webinar on how to transform your fleet, part one.

This webinar help provide answers to:

– What is your life-cycle for Asset Management and how can you better plan for future needs?
– How can you make correct repair and replace decisions for your critical assets and fleets?
– How does IoT fit into the life-cycle of optimizing a maintenance process?
– Interested in a quick overview of Maximo Asset Health Insights (MAHI)?
– What’s Predictive Maintenance Optimization (PMO) and how could help you?

The last two items should be brief demonstrations and your Presenters include:

Don Beahm, Watson IoT Transportation Leader, IBM
Jim Crosskey, Watson IoT Senior Offering Manager, IBM
Frank Henry, Watson IoT Client Technical Professional, IBM

Click here to register for March 9 at 1PM EST.

The Task

Recently I was tasked with creating a flat file export (csv) when receipt transactions are completed on POs within Maximo 7.6. I started as I would any integration, by looking through the Object Structures, Publish Channels, and External systems. I could not get a file to generate, and with the MXRECEIPT object structure being non-persistent, I wasn’t able to test it from the External System, which meant continually revising and adding lines to a PO. As I was digging around the bowels of the internet trying to figure out how to do this, I realized there were no direct references to this solution. Now that I’ve figured it out, I decided it’s time to put it all into one convenient location.

Maximo Receiving

The Research

There were a few main issues I needed to resolve. First off, I did not want to modify any OOTB integration objects. Second, I knew eventually I would need to limit the number of fields I would pass with the integration. Third, I needed to be able to test.

One of the first sites I came across in my searches was this article published in the IBM Knowledge Center, Receipt Object for materials and services. This actually pointed me down a rabbit hole that lead me to a dead end, which was trying to use the REP_RECEIPT object structure, as it utilizes the PO, MATRECTRANS, and SERVRECTRANS tables. My thought was since the data would be in these tables, it would be easier to just use this OS with real data instead of the non-persistent MXRECEIPT. That did not end up working. It also shed some light on my eventual direction. The non-persistent MXRECEIPT Object Structure was what I used, along with a duplicate of the MXRECEIPTInterface Publish Channel. It was the rules within this PC that helped me to eventually get this to work. I was attempting to create my own publish channel without rules. That resulted in no output.

So I went back to the start. I duplicated the MXRECEIPT object structure, which allowed me to set it to use flat files, and I could also limit the Include/Exclude fields to my liking. Next, I duplicated the MXRECEIPTInterface publish channel and added my new object structure. The one thing I made sure of was that the rules that were a part of the publish channel came across also. There were 3 rules. (below)

When I duplicated the rules, I was not able to get the same setup with all being sequence 1. I had 1, 2, and 3, but it seems to work the same. Here is what mine looks like:

The next step was to add my Publish Channel to my External System. I create a duplicate of EXTSYS1 so I can handle any newly created Publish Channels or Enterprise Services so I do not clog up the OOTB EXTSYS1 with misc and testing information.

Great, everything should work now. I have the following:
Object Structure: CUS_MXRECEIPT (Duplicated of MXRECEIPT)
Publish Channel: CUS_MXRECEIPTInterface (Duplicate of MXRECEIPTInterface)
External System: CUS_EXTSYS (Duplicate of EXTSYS1)

On to Testing

Now that I have everything order, it’s time to test. I revised my PO and added new PO lines. I then APPR the PO. Go into the Receiving application, and receive one of the lines. I check the folder where I expect the file to save (set in the mxe.int.globaldir system property) and WALA! NOTHING!

What have I done wrong? What is missing? I’m not getting any errors, but I’m also getting no output. Another search out in the ether that is Maximo on the internet pointed me to one of the missing links. It was within this post on the IBM forum that all that was missing was revealed. It was actually a comment, not even the post itself. There are some very important settings in an external system, and when those pieces aren’t enabled, the external system is as good as a paperweight.

You see, the queues are driven by a Cron Task, the JMSQSEQCONSUMER. What was it that had not yet been turned on? The Cron Task! This is one of those things that you don’t touch every day and can cause you hours of headaches. But what do you know, once this is activated, the rest of the process works like a charm. The file generates and my receipts file is processed into the desired folder.

Link to IBM Forum post

Summary

To wrap this up, make sure you have all of your pieces for your integration in place. Even the tiniest of checkboxes can cause you hours of headaches and testing. I hope my pain, and its documentation, could possibly help save others hours of testing.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to ask away.

Previous Articles

Are you using Maximo Work Centers and Inspections yet? If not, we can help!

Are you using Public Queries within Maximo correctly? We can get you headed in the right direction!

Do you have Maximo? Do you have a fleet of assets (cars, trucks, vans, ambulances, etc)? Are you looking for a better way to manage them? This webinar may just be the information you’re looking for. With the cast of speakers, there should be a wealth of information and knowledge sharing…

Not only is this group focused on business examples, it’s also technical in nature too and has the proof points of how it actually works. If you’re looking for a way to improve / optimize your asset life-cycle processes and identify better ways to manage your fleet, people and repair facilities; attend this two-part webinar. The first is next Friday, March 2 at 1PM EST.

The webinar will cover:

– Suggestions to improve your asset and inventory acquisition and strategy
– Gain or improve your understanding of how costs are positively impacted with proper maintenance strategies within the asset life-cycle
– Ideas to improve asset / equipment life-cycle savings while managing the supply chain of acquiring and stocking items.
– A quick product demonstration by the one and only, Frank Henry, as he shows Maximo for Transportation and an associated use case.

Presenters include:

Don Beahm, Watson IoT Transportation Leader, IBM
Jim Crosskey, Watson IoT Senior Offering Manager, IBM
Frank Henry, Watson IoT Client Technical Professional, IBM

Click here to register for March 2 and next week I’ll blog a reminder for the second session on 3/9 when IoT is added to the conversation.