This document and video provide a walk through of how to create repair campaigns in EMDECS. Service managers can create campaigns for safety recalls or other jobs that need to be completed on a list or group of units.
Campaign Manager Video Walkthrough
Campaign Manager Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Access the Campaign Manager
When a campaign is highlighted, a unit summary is displayed on the right-hand side. This will show you the list of units in the campaign and the linked repair or work order number, if the campaign has been completed. The list can be toggled using the All, Remaining, and Completed radio buttons.
Add an Internal Campaign
To create a new campaign, click Add Campaign .
Internal Campaign Wizard
This opens the Campaign wizard in a pop-up window.
Required fields are market with an asterisk. Each campaign must have a name, effective date, cause/reason code, task code, and type. There are two types available: Safety Recall and Campaign. These types are useful for separating campaigns done for safety reasons (such as a manufacturer recall) from other service campaigns.
Entering a due date, manufacturer, master campaign, and notes are all optional. Entering a due date will automatically terminate the campaign when the due date is reached.
In the bottom pane, files or images can be uploaded for your reference.
Click Next to continue to the next step in the wizard.
Add Units to a Campaign
Next, I need to generate or upload the list of units being repaired by the campaign.
To generate a list of units based on specific criteria, such as the unit make & model, year, owner, etc., select one of the options from the Units Based On drop-down list, then enter the appropriate value. In the example pictured below, I've selected the unit owner option with POSSUM LODGE entered as the owner name.
Click Add .
In the example pictured below, I've added the Mack CH600 make & model to the criteria. Once your criteria have been set appropriately, click on the Generate Units button. This will generate a list of units that matches ALL of the given criteria.
A unit list will be generated and listed on the right-hand side. If you need to remove any criteria, you can click on the red X next to the criteria then click on Generate Units to re-generate the list.
Import Unit List
Click on Download Template to download the template in a Microsoft Excel file format.
The unit import file contains column headings for the different unit details that can be uploaded.
The Owner Code is a required field, and at least one other field must be entered (depending on what data the import is based on in the next step).
Once the import file is prepared, click on Import Units . In the pop-up window, select a data based on value from the drop-down list, such as the unit number or vin number (this field has to be populated in the upload file you prepared), then click Browse to select the file from your computer and click OK to process the import.
Type in a description for the item being added to the checklist and click OK .
A list of successfully imported units will be displayed in the Unit List section.
Import Fails
If any of the units in your spreadsheet could not be imported, they will be listed in the Import Fails tab along with an error message. In the example below, my spreadsheet had an entry with a missing unit number which could not be imported.
When you are done importing units, click Next to continue.
Add Labor to Campaign
The campaign's labor activities can be added in the Labor screen. Just like creating a repair order, labor activities can be added from the Service Programs tab or the VMRS tab. Use the Search field to search by the name or VMRS system coder click on an icon to drill-down and add a labor activity.
After finding a labor activity for the campaign, click on the green plus to add it to the right-hand side.
After adding the labor, enter or edit the description, then enter the estimate hours and hourly rate (if applicable - the rate can be left blank if there isn't a set rate charged for all customers). Putting a check under Warranty indicates that the repair should go to the Warranty Manager system to process manufacturer warranty payments. Notes and Cause/Reason and Task codes can be changed, this is optional.
If there is a manufacturer or other third-party website with instructions for your service technicians, you can enter the website URL in the URL field. This will appear as a clickable "Instructions" link for your technicians when they are completing the campaign repair.
You can also change the "Application for:" drop-down list to change whether the campaign can be used on internal repairs, sublet repairs, or both.
Repeat these steps if there are multiple labor activities in the campaign, then click Next when you're ready to move to parts.
Parts can be added to each labor activity so the approved list of parts will be added to repair orders automatically with the labor. Select a labor icon on the left, and then add parts on the right-hand side.
Click Next to continue.
Checklist
Optionally, checklists can be added to each labor activity. If you are familiar with PM inspection forms in EMDECS, you'll recognize that setting up a checklist is nearly identical. If a checklist is linked to a labor task, upon completing the work the technician will be presented with an electronic checklist to complete. The checklist can be used to confirm that the repair was completed successfully, or to inspect parts of the vehicle, and report any defects that need to be repaired.
To create a checklist, select the appropriate labor icon on the left-hand side then click on the green plus or Add at the top-right.
The checklist item will be added to the checklist, as pictured below. You can use the red X on the far right to remove a checklist item after adding it.
A URL can be entered beneath the description. This can be used to link to a website with more information (for example, a manufacturer's safety recall information page). If text is entered in this field, there will be an instruction link that service technicians and managers can click to open the URL in your browser.
The type is used to define what type of information is being entered by the service technician. The following types are available in the drop-down list:
- Check : Provides the technician with a Pass or Fail selection. Failed items are considered defects that need to be repaired.
- Number : Provides fields for entering a numeric value, such as tire tread depth, and allows for minimum and maximum values and pass requirements (setting precision determines the number of decimal places available). If the technician enters a value outside the minimum and maximum pass values, the check will fail and be added as a defect.
- Reading : Used to enter equipment reading information, such as the odometer reading.
- Text : Provides a text data entry field (i.e. customer name or a general note or comment).
- Date : Enables the user to select a date and time.
The Req. column / checkboxes are used to indicate whether a checklist item is required. Uncheck this if you want to allow technicians to leave it blank.
Each checklist item that is failed can be linked to one or many service activities / VMRS codes that need to be completed to repair the defect.
By default, each failed item is added as work required to the unit, based on the VMRS code of the labor activity on the left-hand side. If repairing the failed check item requires a repair activity or activities with a different VMRS, these can be added by clicking on the Corrections links on the right-hand side.
A pop-up window for selecting from service programs or VMRS codes will allow you to add the correction activities, just like adding repair activities to an RO. The description, estimated hours, and an hourly rate can be edited or entered. Again, there is also a URL field if you want to provide a hyperlink to a website with further details.
Click Add at the bottom of the screen when you're done.
The number of correction activities will be displayed. Clicking on this hyperlink allows you to make changes to the defect correction activities.
Click Next at the bottom of the wizard to proceed to a final summary of your campaign.
A summary of the campaign will list the units included in the campaign on the left-hand side, with a summary of the labor and parts on the right-hand side.
If you are not ready to activate the campaign yet, you can click OK to exit the wizard and save your progress. Otherwise, click Activate to save the new campaign and make it active.
Once a Campaign is activated, it can be manually terminated by clicking on the Terminate button on the Campaign Manager screen to manually end a campaign.
Units can be added or removed from an active campaign by clicking on Add Units or Delete Units .
External Campaigns
From the External Campaigns tab, campaigns can be created to keep track of repairs being done by an outside, external repair shop. For example, if you have your own fleet of vehicles, you might create an external campaign to keep track of units being sent to a manufacturer's dealer to complete recall work outside your shop.
To create an external campaign, click Add Campaign .
The external campaign wizard is a simplified version of the internal campaign wizard. Since you will not be performing the work in your own shop, there are no screens for defining labor activities, parts, or checklists.
Enter a name for the campaign, and an effective date, and click Next to continue.
The list of units can be generated or imported, in the same manner as external campaigns:
A summary of the external campaign is displayed on the last screen. Click Activate to save and exit the wizard.
After the unit or units have been repaired by the external shop, click on the Job Done button.
In the pop-up window, enter the invoice or reference number from the external vendor, the vendor name, notes are optional, then put a check next to the units the external campaign was completed for, then click Save/Exit .
Unit Audit
The final tab on the Campaign Manager screen is Unit Audit . This screen can be used to search for campaign history based on the customer name or unit number. There is also an Export button that you can click on to download the search results in a spreadsheet file that you can open in Microsoft Excel.
Appendix A: Campaign on Service Board
Example of a unit on the service board with campaign work required:
Appendix B: Campaign in Tech RO
Example of campaign work required in the Tech RO portal: