Introduction
In Support Pack 13 we introduced the ability to undertake additional analysis on Inspections.
Business and SAP Context
There are two main approaches for data analysis in SAP without the use of external reporting and analysis tools. The first is to take aggregate snap shots of the data on a regular basis and use that for reporting. The second option is to report on live data. We have taken the second option and have expanded on that in the paragraphs below.
The advantage in taking the approach that we have is that it allows for immediate use with existing data, i.e. it doesn't have to build up over time. The disadvantage is it's based on real time data, meaning that it doesn't allow for us to record the changes in data over a time period. So if an Inspection sat with a status of Created for 30 days and yesterday changed to In Progress, it will show it's current status.
The main change event that we can report on, because it's captured with a datetime stamp, is the change to Completed. Therefore we report on two states: Open and Completed with Open being an aggregate of 'Generated', 'Created', 'In Progress' status' and Completed being an aggregate of 'Completed' and 'Asset Not Found' status.
Our recommendation is to use this report on a regular basis, cyclically (for example monthly), by business units/ function areas (i.e. Plants and or Inspections) to monitor and improve the performance of Inspection completion in that reporting period - i.e. take a screen grab of the information for management reporting.
Contents
Inspections Analysis Screen
Selection Area
The following is an illustration of this screen:
The following screen fields and controls are defined, where not documented they are considered self explanatory or are explained elsewhere:
| Field/ Control | Explanation/ Use |
|---|---|
| Open at from to | Date range to search for where Inspections created or completed in this period. Results will not include Open inspections outside of the range - unless the 'Include All Open Inspection' switch is used, as described below Recommendation: Use for a contained, recurring period and not for historic performance. Also see general recommendation in intro section. |
| Maintenance Plants | Maintenance Plant to limit results to [optional] |
| Inspections | Inspections to limit results to [optional] |
| Inspection Required | Turn ON top limit results to only required Inspections - i.e. no optional/ adhoc Inspections' |
| Order Inspections Only | Turn ON to limit results to Order related Inspections |
| Include All Open Inspections | Turn on to include All Open Inspections and not just those in the Open at date range. Recommendation: Use this switch with care. If you have a system that historically has not had much active management of Inspections then the results from using this switch could be very high in number. Also see general recommendation in intro section. |
| Search button | Execute the search |
Inspections Chart
This chart shows the count of Inspections Created, Open and Completed based on the selection criteria. It's important to note that:
- Unless the 'Include All Open Inspections' switch is on, the results will only show Inspections created in the selection period/ other filters.
- Charting scales could mean that individual values in the chart may not be displayed where there is (for example) a large number of Generated Inspection with no or few Completed Inspections in a period. It's expected that these circumstances will occur primarily in Development or Test systems as Production systems should have a more balanced number of created and completed inspect
The following screen fields and controls are defined, where not documented they are considered self explanatory or are explained elsewhere:
| Field/ Control | Explanation/ Use |
|---|---|
 | Toggle legend On/ Off |
 | Zoom in and out of the time period |
 | Expand chart to full screen, great for chart screen capture |
| Select a date value | Show records for the date selected in the Results List below where they were Created or Completed within the selection period. i.e. if you choose to Include All Open Inspections in your selection criteria, then only those created or Completed on the day you select will be shown in the Results List. |
Change Over Time Chart
This chart shows the count of Open versus Closed Inspections over the time period. So, for example Completing more inspections on a single date than Creating them will result in a negative measure. And in a best case business as usual scenario, you want a flat to declining trend - indicating that you're keeping up with your Inspections.
Apart from the chart header functions, as documented for the previous chart, there are no other controls.
Results List
This list shows the Inspection values where the user select a date in the Inspection Chart above:
The following screen fields and controls are defined, where not documented they are considered self explanatory or are explained elsewhere:
| Field/ Control | Explanation/ Use |
|---|---|
| Select line | Navigates to the Inspection Details screen and displays the Inspection - note that Inspections with a status of Generated don't have any Question content to display - they exist only as a header until someone initiates the Inspection |