Exercise 18: Call Escalation
In this exercise, you set up an escalation sequence and update the Escalation Control. Then you will create a call and review how the system applies the escalation steps.
Create an Escalation Sequence
In this task you will set up an escalation sequence called SSMCLASS with four steps.
1 Go to Escalation Maintenance (11.1.13.1). Enter SSMCLASS in the Escalation Number field. We will not be using the other values in the escalation key (work code, call type, call severity, and call problem) so leave them blank.
To be able to view the changes on screen in real time, the time allowed in status is only 1 minute. Typically, this time would be measured in hours or days.
Enter the following data in the appropriate fields. Accept the other defaults. Remember to save your changes after each entry. Exit to menu when all entered and saved.
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Field
|
Value
|
Value
|
Value
|
Value
|
|
Sequence
|
0
|
10
|
20
|
30
|
|
Description
|
Step 1
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Step 2
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Step 3
|
Step 4
|
|
Escalate
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Time Allowed
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00:01
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00:01
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00:01
|
00:01
|
|
Bump Priority
|
10
|
15
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20
|
25
|
|
Next Status
|
10
|
20
|
20
|
90
|
|
Next Queue
|
|
DISPATCH
|
MANAGER
|
FIELDSVC
|
Note: The first sequence must be numbered 0 to be applied by the system when a call is created.
Set Up the Escalation Control
1 Go to Call Escalation Control (11.1.13.24).
A warning message displays because escalation has not been enabled in Call Management Control.
2 Click Yes to enable escalations now.
3 Enter the following data in the appropriate fields.
|
Field
|
Value
|
|
Escalation Printer
|
Printer
|
|
Escalation Default
|
SSMCLASS
|
|
Escalation Program Pause
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30
|
|
Use Calendar Days in Escalation
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No
|
This will cause a new call to receive the escalation you have created. The Escalation Manager will cycle through calls every 30 seconds.
4 Click Next to save your changes; return to the menu. (ignore the field for Escalation Prefix)
Set Default Call Priority
1 Go to Contract Type Maintenance (11.5.10).
2 Enter NoCover as the contract type and click Next. Modify the Priority to be 100.
This will ensure that the Escalation Monitor will be able to apply the changes specified in the Bump Priority field.
3 Click Next to save your changes. Return to the menu.
4 Go to Call Default Maintenance (11.1.21.10). Enter the following:
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Field
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Value
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|
Category
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Call
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|
Work Code
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3001
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|
Call Severity
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A
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|
Call Type
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Service
|
|
Call Problem
|
El/Me
|
|
Call Status
|
10
|
|
Escalation Number
|
SSMCLASS
|
5 Click Next to save your changes; return to the menu.
Create a Call with Escalation Applied
1 Go to Call Maintenance (11.1.1.1).
2 Click Next, leaving the Call ID field blank for a system supplied number.
3 Enter the following data in the appropriate fields and click Next to save.
|
Field
|
Value
|
|
Serial
|
ESC
|
|
End User
|
10C1006A
|
|
Item Number
|
01010
|
4 Respond with No when prompted to display other calls for this end user.
5 Click Next to accept the Call Date and Time.
Accept the Tech Work Code in the call defaults pop-up.
6 Click Next.
Carefully review the data in the Call Info frame. The initial priority defaults from the NoCover service type.
Look at the escalation code and sequence associated with the call. It should be SSMCLASS and 10. The initial step (sequence 0) has already been applied to the call, so the priority has been increased by 10. The Queue and Status should also reflect the values of the first step: DISPATCH and 10.
Review the call’s Next Status Date and Next Status Time.
Note: If you happen to execute this exercise after 5 pm, the system may move the next status date up forward one day (or more, if this is a Friday), based on the hours of coverage defined for the NoCover service type. In this case, the escalation sequence cannot be demonstrated.
7 Click Next through the remaining call frames to complete the call, accepting any defaults. Write down the call number here:
Call ID: _____________________________________
8 Return to the menu.
Start the Escalation Monitor and Review Call
1 Go to Escalation Monitor (11.1.13.13).
2 Press Enter twice to begin program execution.
The Monitor will cycle through all open calls every 30 seconds, as specified in the Escalation Control. When the system date and time is later than a call’s next status date and time, the monitor will apply the values specified in the next escalation sequence.
When you see your call display with a Yes in the Act column (Acted On), you know it has been escalated.
3 Terminate the Escalation Monitor. Calls are only escalated when the monitor is running. Return to the menu by pressing F4 twice.
4 Go to Call Queue Manager (11.1.6), and press F1.
5 Accept No to not retain the search criteria, press F1.
6 Arrow down until your call displays. It should now have a status of 20 (Pending).
7 Press F4 to return to the Search For frame.
8 Enter 20 (Pending) in the Status field and press F1 to review the call.
Have the other values of the call been modified also? Return to the menu by pressing F4 twice.
Note: This is not the way escalations would be used in a live situation. Typically, the Escalation Monitor is left running on a dedicated terminal and would simply monitor and apply changes to calls in the background.
Turn off Escalations
Warning To ensure that other activities are not affected by escalations, turn off their use in the Control.
1 Go to Call Management Control (11.1.24).
2 In the first frame, change Use Escalations to No. Click Next to save your changes and return to the menu.
Exercise 19: Standard QAD EE Engineer Scheduling
In this exercise, you complete a number of tasks:
• Create an engineer schedule
• Create an employee and an engineer
• Define settings in the Engineer Schedule Control
• Take a call with scheduling enabled
Set Up an Engineer Schedule
1 Go to Engineer Master Schedule Maintenance (11.13.15.1).
2 Enter WEEKDAY in the Schedule field, and click Next twice.
3 Set up a schedule from Monday to Friday, beginning at 8 AM and ending at 5 PM. Change the No to Yes for Monday to Friday and enter 08:00 as the Start Time and 17:00 as the End Time.
4 Click Next to save your changes and return to the menu.
Defining an Engineer
1 Go to Employee Create (36.1.7.1).
2 Enter 10-ENG05 the Employee Code field.
3 Click Business Relation, enter DEM.
4 In the Employee tab tick the User field and select the login initials (qmi) from the lookup.
5 Click Save and Create.
6 Go to Engineer Maintenance (11.13.1).
7 Enter 10-ENG05 in the Employee field and click Next.
The employee initials default into the Engineer field. Engineers can have codes distinct from their employee code, enter 10-ENG05. Click Next.
8 In the Engineer Data frame, enter the following data in the appropriate fields.
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Field
|
Value
|
|
Service Area
|
10USA
|
|
Group
|
<blank>
|
|
Current Location
|
<blank>
|
|
Schedule
|
WEEKDAY
|
|
Field Engineer
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Yes
|
|
Pager
|
<blank>
|
|
Status
|
AVAIL
|
|
Site
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10-100
|
|
Location
|
<blank>
|
|
Calls per Day
|
6
|
9 Click Next to save your changes. Ignore the warning about the non existent location. Return to the menu.
10 Go to Engineer Skills Maintenance (11.13.5).
11 Enter 10-ENG05 in the Engineer Code field and click Next.
12 Click the lookup to display the list of engineer skill codes.
These are the same codes used for call problems.
13 Select ELEC from the list and click Next.
14 Enter 1 in the Level field and today’s date in the Cert field. Then click Next to save your changes; return to the menu.
Set Up Controls
1 Go to Engineer Schedule Control (11.13.15.24).
2 Review the current control settings. Change Display by Calls to No. Notice the different point fields (Area: 0 Available: 10 Primary Eng: 20 Problem: 15 Time Zone: 0).
Remember the formula for calculating engineer points:
Area + [(Availability x Hours) + Availability] + (2 x Primary) + Problem
Based on these control settings, which value do you think will have the most influence? Click Next to save your changes; return to the menu.
3 Go to Call Management Control (11.1.24).
4 In the first frame, change Assign Primary Engineer to No and Schedule New Calls to Yes. Click Next to save your changes; return to the menu.
Associate Engineer with End User
1 Go to End User Data Maintenance (11.9.1).
2 Enter customer number 10C1006, and click Next.
3 In the End User field, enter 10C1006A.
This end user record was created during invoice post in Exercise 3: Updating the Installed Base from a Sales Order, and currently has minimal information defined for it.
4 Click Next until the Service Office Detail frame displays. Enter the following data in the appropriate fields; then click Next to save your changes.
|
Field
|
Value
|
|
Engineer Code
|
10-ENG05
|
|
Secondary Eng
|
10-ENG02
|
|
Engineer Group
|
<blank>
|
|
Service Area
|
10USA
|
|
Escalation Number
|
<blank>
|
|
Travel Distance
|
30 M
|
|
Travel Time
|
001:00
|
5 Return to the menu.
Create a Call and Schedule an Engineer
1 Go to Call Maintenance (11.1.1.1).
2 Enter the following data in the appropriate fields. Ignore any warning message that may display. Click Next to save when done.
|
Field
|
Value
|
|
Call ID
|
<blank>
|
|
Serial
|
010
|
|
End User
|
10C1006A
|
|
Item Number
|
01010
|
3 Respond with No when prompted to display other calls for this end user. Continue to click Next, accepting any defaults, until your cursor is in the Caller field in the lower frame. Since this call is created directly in Call Maintenance, defaults for the 3001 work code are used.
|
Field
|
Value
|
|
Prob/Skill
|
ELEC
|
4 Write down the call ID and its next status date. This is the date that will be used when an engineer is scheduled.
Call ID: _____________________________________
Next Status Date: _____________________________________
Notice how the Assigned field is blank and Schedule is set to Yes as a result of the changes you made to Call Management Control.
5 Click Next to display the Travel and Estimated Time frame.
The length of the call has been estimated as 1 hour, with an estimated travel time of 1 hour. (Call length defaulted from Call Default Maintenance and travel time from End User Address Maintenance.)
6 Accept these defaults and click Next.
You will notice a slight lag before the next frame displays. During this time, the system is calculating point values for available engineers. When the scheduling frame displays, examine it closely. The title indicates that availability is being displayed by hours. Notice how the engineers are ranked. The engineer 10-ENG05 should appear at the top of the list with 10-ENG02 next.
The following table shows how the point calculations are determined based on the weighting values expressed in the Control.
|
Engineer
|
Area 10USA
|
Availability 10
|
Primary 20
|
Problem 15
|
Total
|
|
10-ENG05
|
10USA
|
(8*10)+10=90
|
40
|
15
|
155
|
7 Do not select an engineer. Return to the menu.
To see how availability is affected when Display by Calls is set to Yes:
8 Go to Engineer Schedule Control (11.13.15.24).
9 Change the value of Display by Calls from No to Yes.
10 Click Next to save your change and return to the menu.
11 Go to Call Maintenance (11.1.1.1). Using the same call as noted in step 4 above, click Next until the scheduling frame displays.
Notice how the order of engineers has changed. Do you know why? Notice the number of calls that each engineer can still take. 10-ENG05 can only take 6, but the rest of the engineers can take 10 calls and as a result, their availability points have given some of them a higher ranking.
12 Position your cursor in the line with 10-ENG05 and press Enter to select 10-ENG05 as the engineer to assign. An asterisk should display next to your name, indicating that it is selected. Click Next.
The Call Engineer Schedule Maintenance frame displays. This frame enables you to modify the schedule transactions for this call. Based on your analysis of the call, you think 3 hours is inadequate.
13 Press Enter then Tab until your cursor is in the Visit Duration field and change it to 5. Click Next to save your changes.
14 Continue on until the call is complete, accepting any defaults. You should be at the Call ID number field. Return to the menu.
Review Engineer Availability
1 Go to Engineer Availability Inquiry (11.13.15.11).
The date displayed in the Display Availability For field defaults to the current day and determines which week of availability is displayed on the inquiry. If your call’s next status date (which you wrote down in step 4 of the previous task) falls in another week, change the Display Availability For to a day that will include it.
2 Verify that Display by Hours is set to Yes; then click Next twice to generate the report to the terminal.
Review the information displayed. On the day in which the call assigned to 10-ENG05 was scheduled, only 3 remaining hours are displayed.
3 Change the Display by Hours field to No and execute the report again.
This time you should see 5 in the column for the day the call was scheduled. Do you know why? (Hint: What did you specify for Calls per Day when you defined yourself as an engineer?)
4 Return to the menu.