Calem Blogs

AI (artificial intelligence) gives rise to new possibilities in solving problems in enterprise asset management. It is one of the new technologies for Industry 4.0. Preventing unexpected breakdown is one of the key objectives of maintenance. AI may shed light on new approaches to it.  This blog presents a case to estimate asset failure ba...

A new Kanban lane "In-Progress" is added in the WO Kanban chart in the coming release of Calem R2024a. A work order may be moved to "In-Progress" lane when it is being worked on.It provides better clarity to show which work orders are being performed.One can drag and drop a work order between "Release", "In-Progress" and "Hold"."Release" and "In-Pr...

Time zones are used in Calem for both client display and server processes. For instance, local time zones may be used in datetime field display in work order timeline view. 1. Local Time Zones When a user logs into Calem the local time zone of the user is used in datetime display unless site-based time zone is configured (discussed later)...

In the coming release of Calem R2024a bulk (quantity) offsite repair is available for non-asset spare parts.  For instance, a REQ line (screenshot below) has 4 parts (of the same item code) to be sent to a vendor for repair. Prior to R2024a, a singular spare part is allowed for a REQ line for offsite repair. The same goes for PO lines.The feat...

A change note may be added when uploading assets to Calem in the coming release of R2024a. A new field is added to the asset table as a virtual field or place holder.The field name is "scn_vf" with label "Status-Note".Change notes can be populated in this field in your excel files for changes to assets for one of the following fields...

Inventory transactions in 3rd party applications may be sent to Calem through REST API in the coming release of R2024a. The transaction interfaces are provided by Calem. Physical Count transaction is supported at this time.An inbound physical count transaction will modify the stock quantity and average prices in Calem. 1. Data Payload The inte...

Enhancements are available for cleaner scrollbars and better mouse wheel responses in the coming release of Calem R2024a.  1. Redundant Scrollbars For instance, The Home screen shows un-necessary scrollbars. The list headers can be scrolled to be invisible (A).There may be two scrollbars for a data list (B). The extra scrollbars...

Upsert REST API will be available in the coming release of Calem R2024a. It is more intuitive than current data update APIs. A user may use the API to add or update a record in Calem, similar to the data upload utility (see this blog). A record data is provided to add to database.Calem will perform a database insertion first.If there are&...

This feature is further revised. See this blog for the latest update. Inventory transfer and disposal are simplified in the coming release of R2024a. See this blog for the original processes for transfer and disposal. A part can be transferred to another site by checkout. A transient storeroom is no longer required.A part can be disposed by checkou...

Both date and time will be included in the work order timelines in the coming release of R2024a. The time portion allows better visibility of work order timelines.  1. WO Timeline View The timeline view is accessible from the TaskView or DataView of a work order.  2. Date Only in Timelines The time portion in the timeline views can be tur...

In the coming release of R2024a (for April 2024) a step condition can be surfaced to work orders based on their priorities. Here's the use case:A tech completing a step may flag the condition for a step to be poor so that supervisors may review and take further actions later.  1. WO Step Condition The condition of a work order step can be...

In the coming release of R2024 store-based pricing is available for inventory cost tracking. This blog explains when this feature may be used. 1. Site vs Store Pricing Average pricing per item per site (or Site-Average Pricing) is the default used for inventory cost tracking. It works fine for most use cases. For example, your i...

This blog demonstrates the use of lookup search by a list of values in inventory reports. For instance, one wants to find out inventory checkouts for a list of items. 1. List Report The first step is to launch "Inventory | Tran. Reports | Item Net Issues. This report shows all the net checkouts (i.e., checkouts minus returns).   Sele...

Parts may be repaired and reused in maintenance operations. Pricing new and repaired parts differently may be implemented in Calem when needs arise. Furthermore, pricing repaired parts can be automated in the coming R2024 release.  When returning a repaired part to inventory, its price can be determined by a pricing rule so...

The Work Order (WO) Monthly KPI by assets or locations was added in R2023d (August 2023). The feature of a KPI by assets or locations will be extended to the "Summary" and "Asset" Tabs of the Dashboard Module in the coming release of R2024 (February 2024). The "Assets" menu can be launched to select a set of assets or ...

A new checkbox is added in purchase orders (POs) for capital expenditure (CapEx). It will be available in the coming release of R2024 in February 2024.  A user may set the checkbox to indicate a CapEx PO.Alternatively, the checkbox may be set by other fields including cost centers, projects and PO classes.  1. CapEx in Cost Centers A...

A new KPI for purchase orders (POs) and budgets is available in the coming release of R2024 in February 2024. It provides an insightful look into the total spending versus the budgets.  Committed POs (approved) are included in the KPIs.Click "List" menu to drill down to items purchased.  2. Multi-Site KPI The dashboard supports site ...

Work Order Monthly KPIs for the past 13 months will be available in the coming release of R2024 . It delivers more insights than the KPIs for the 12 months of the current year. The first screenshot is the monthly charts for the past 13 months. The next screenshot is for the current year. This feature may be extended to...

A new inventory category, Consumable, is added in the coming release of R2024. It allows one to view inventory KPIs for consumables and parts. Consumables are items that are used up. For instance, lubrication oil is consumable.Parts are components for assets. Some of the spare parts may be repaired and reused.Both consumable and part...

Work order creation and changes by map is available in the coming release of R2023f (January 2024). The feature supports the following use cases: Support team drops a pin in a map or floorplan for an issue reported.Use menu "Assets Nearby" to show assets nearby (or Assets in a floorplan).Select an asset or location to create a work order....