SAP Tips and Tricks: Which Maintenance Plan Solution is Best for You?

SAP offers four different types of maintenance plans:

Single Cycle, the easiest form in which you define exactly one time-based maintenance plan.

Single Counter, defines exactly one performance-based plan.

Multiple Cycle Strategy, used to show complex maintenance cycles. Once created, you can create a maintenance strategy for which you define the cycles through maintenance packages.

Multiple Counter Strategy, makes it possible to create maintenance cycles and allocate counters to equipment and functional locations for different types of units, such as hours or minutes.

This month we are going to create and activate a Multiple Counter Strategy plan. To start, configure the packages upon which you would like the strategy to be based.  In this example, we will use a Quarterly/Annual package, which will allow us to perform this PM on a quarterly and an annual basis using a strategy task list that defines the operation steps needed to complete each of the PMs.

Transaction > IP11 – Create Strategy Package

Click on “New Entries” button in the top tool bar. Enter Header info for plan. Use search on Name field to assign next strategy plan name. While we are using letters, this can be any unique identifier. Decide if counted daily, monthly, or some other timeframe. Use the smallest interval for the plan—if every five days and quarterly, use “DAY.”

After saving, double click on “Packages” to create length of each package cycle. Then select “New Entries” and enter the information shown in the screen capture and save:

Create Strategy Task List Transaction > IA05 – Create General Task List

Select “Copy Reference” button, then enter the Group name (STRAT-00 in this example). Select type of task list to be created and enter information for task being COPIED. Enter Maintenance strategy. Select “COPY.”

Make any changes or additions to Operation list. Add lines to indicate package (quarterly or annual). Select “MntPack” (Maintenance Package Ov.) Then make selections for which lines will print at which interval and Save.

Next select IP01 to create the plan. Enter Plan ID—(QA-CALPWS200 (Quarterly/Annual Calibration PWS2 for plant 1100)). Select Strategy plan, hit Enter, then fill in maintenance-item information. When task is entered, the information from the task will populate the cycle information.

Go to “Scheduling Parameters” tab. Information is defaulted in from strategy plan information.

Enter Scheduling period. When “Specify a cycle start for the maintenance plan” box pops up, Select NO.

Start the plan (IP10). Enter Plan ID. Select “Start in Cycle.” Completion date will default to current date. Change to last order completion date. “Select Package” button.

Double click in first row above start time. Remember this is the interval prior to the actual date that you want the plan to start.

Select “Back” button. Verify that the plan date and package sequence are correct. If not, select the reverse button and reselect the package sequence (see above) If correct, SAVE. Strategy plan is complete and scheduled. MT

Kristina Gordon is SAP Program Consultant at the DuPont, Sabine River Works plant in West Orange, TX. If you have SAP questions, send them to editors@maintenancetechnology.com and we’ll forward them to Kristina.