WorkOrderBuilder

Enabling the Work Order Builder
New to version 3.3 is the Work Order Builder. Basically this functions much like a shopping cart at an e-Commerce site, but rather than picking out things to buy, you pick out the devices that you are going to install as part of a work order.

The first step to creating a Work Order is to enable the function from the Configuration page.

Using the Work Order Builder
Work orders are created using cookies within your browser, which means that they are not transportable between desktops. The intention for the Work Order Builder is to allow you to select multiple systems that need to be installed all together, including the network connections required, so that they can be packaged up and handed off to the technician. There is no persistence in the work orders, either, but you can easily take the file created and add it to your Change Management application (whatever that may be - it's not part of openDCIM).

In the Cabinet Navigator you will now see either a Plus Mark or a Check Mark adjacent to each device (only if the Work Order Builder is enabled). This indicates whether or not the device is selected for the current work order. Clicking on that mark will toggle between selected and unselected.

Additionally, a new option will display along the left hand side Menu Bar once you have at least one item selected - it is called Work Order. Clicking on that link will take you to the Work Order Summary Screen, where you can export the work order to an Excel file, or clear the entire contents of the work order, much like emptying your shopping cart on an e-commerce site. Here in our example you can see that we've selected DB2, WEB3, and WEB4 for installation.

Printing Labels
Many label printers come with software that will allow you to import an Excel spreadsheet for printing and this was the main driver for creating this function. At ORNL, we use a Panduit TDP43M and we are able to take the output of the Work Order Builder and import it into the Panduit label printing software without modification. When you have 300 cables to run and label it is a major time saver.

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