Check-in templates

A check-in template is the walk-around checklist for one model of vehicle or machine. It lists the sections of the asset, such as Front or Left, the parts in each section, and the issues an advisor can tick against each part. When an asset is checked in, the check-in console finds the template for the asset's item and builds its section cards from the template's lines. You set up templates before the first check-in, and you change them whenever the checklist for a model changes.

Overview

A template has two parts:

• Check In Template: the header. It has a Check-In Template Name and an Applicable Item, which is the model the template is for.
• Check In Template Line: one row per part of the asset. Each line names a Section Name, a Sub-Section and the Issues offered for that part.

On the check-in console, lines that share a section become one section card. Each line becomes one row on that card, with one tick option per issue. When an advisor saves findings, xMatix writes one check-in inspection line per sub-section that has something ticked. It copies the section, the sub-section and the ticked issues onto that line as text.

When to use it

• You start doing check-ins for a model that has no template. Until it has one, the console shows No check-in template for this asset's item yet. Ask your admin to add one.
• The parts or issues your advisors check on a model change.
• You draw regions on a model's picture for the Polygon Partition tab. Regions are named after the template's sections.

How xMatix handles it

• One item, one template. The console looks up templates whose Applicable Item is the item on the checked-in asset, and it uses the first one it finds. If two templates have the same item, you can't control which one is used. A template with no Applicable Item is never used.
• The template is read when the console opens. A change to a template shows on every inspection of that model the next time it is opened, including open and closed inspections. Saved findings are copies, so a template change never alters them.
• Sections group by exact name. Lines are grouped into cards by their Section Name exactly as stored. Choose the section from the list so that all lines of one section carry the same value.
• Each section and sub-section pair is one finding. The console keys a finding on its section and sub-section together. Two lines with the same pair show as two rows, but both rows read and write the same finding. Keep one line per pair, and put all of its issues on that line.
• Issues are the tick options. The Issues you select on a line become its tick options, in the stored order. A line with no issues shows its sub-section with nothing to tick.
• *An issue called Other asks for a description. If a line offers an issue named exactly Other, ticking it opens a Describe the damage… box on the console. The shipped issue list has no Other* value, so add one first (see Configuration).
• Up to 200 lines. The console reads at most 200 lines per template.
• Templates are numbered on save. A new template is named by its document name setting, which uses the series CIP, the same prefix check-in inspections use. The name you type on the New form is replaced by the generated number, and the console's checklist tab shows that number. Rename the template after saving it (see Step 2).
• Pictures come from the catalogue, not the template. The Polygon Partition tab uses the picture and regions on the item's product catalogue entry, and each region is matched to a section by name (ignoring case and spaces at the ends). Attachments on a template line are not shown on the console.
• AI Mechanic uses the same template. When AI Mechanic captures a check-in, it offers the same sections, sub-sections and issues from the template of the asset's item.

Prerequisites

• The model exists as an item, and the assets you check in have that item set.
• You can open the Check In Template list. No shipped app has it in its menu, so an administrator adds it first (see Configuration).
• Your security profile gives you create and edit access to Check In Template and Check In Template Line (see Permissions).
• The section, sub-section and issue values you need are in their picklists. The shipped values are listed under Fields.

Procedure

Step 1 — Open the template list

Open the app where your administrator put Check In Templates, and select it. The All Check-In Templates list shows Check-In Template Name, Applicable Item, Created By, Created On, Modified By and Modified Date.

Step 2 — Create the template

1. Select New.
2. Enter a Check-In Template Name and choose the Applicable Item. The item list is not filtered, so choose the model your assets are recorded against.
3. Save. The template opens on its record page, with a number such as CIP-20102026-000031 in place of the name you typed.
4. To give the template a readable name, select Edit, change Check-In Template Name, and save. The rename stays, because numbering runs only when a record is created.

The record page header shows Check-In Template Name and Applicable Item. The Lines tab lists the template's lines, and a Details tab shows the Applicable Item with the system information.

Step 3 — Add the lines

1. On the Lines tab, select Quick Add.
2. Enter a Check-In Template Line Name, for example Front fender. The line has no automatic numbering, so it needs a name.
3. Choose the Section Name and the Sub-Section, and save.
4. Repeat for every part of the model you want checked.

The Quick Add row has no Issues field, so the issues are added in the next step.

Step 4 — Choose the issues for each line

1. On the Lines tab, select the line's name to open its record page.
2. Select the pencil on Issues, choose every issue that applies to that part, for example Paint and Loose, and save.
3. Go back to the template, and repeat for each line.

The line's record page shows Check-In Template, Section Name, Sub-Section and Issues. Its header shows the template and the section. The Edit button and the Edit row action on the Lines tab open the short form, which has no Issues field. Change issues with the pencil on the record page.

Step 5 — Check the result on an inspection

Open a check-in inspection for an asset of that item, or check one in from a service order or opportunity. The checklist tab carries the template's name, with one card per section and one row per sub-section, offering the issues you chose. An inspection that is already open shows the change the next time it is opened.

Step 6 — Change or retire a template

• Add a part: add a line as in Steps 3 and 4. It appears on every inspection of the model the next time one is opened.
• Rename a section or sub-section: findings already saved keep the old name. On the console, the card for the new name doesn't show them as ticked.
• Remove a line: select Delete In List on the line's row in the Lines tab, or Delete on the line's record page. Findings already saved for it stay on their inspections.
• Move a template to another model: change Applicable Item. Inspections for the old item then show no checklist, unless another template has that item.
• Delete the template: select Delete on the record page. Inspections for that item then show no checklist.

Fields

Check In Template

Check In Template Line

Business rules

• Template choice: the console takes the asset, reads the asset's item, then uses the first template whose Applicable Item is that item. No asset, an asset with no item, no template, or a template with no lines each shows a notice instead of a checklist (see Common problems).
• Numbering: a new template's name is set from its document name setting: series CIP, the date as day, month and year, and a six-digit counter, joined by hyphens. Lines are not numbered.
• Grouping: lines are grouped by Section Name, and cards appear in the order their sections first appear among the lines. Lines have no sequence field.
• Finding grain: one check-in inspection line per section and sub-section pair that has a tick. Ticking more issues later adds them to the same finding.
• Copies, not links: findings store the section, sub-section and issues as text. Template changes and deletions never change saved findings.
• No other checks: xMatix does not check that a template has lines, that a line has issues, or that only one template exists per item.

Example

A workshop starts checking in a new compact tractor model. The service manager opens Check In Templates, selects New, types Compact tractor walk-around, picks the tractor's item as Applicable Item, and saves. The template opens as CIP-20102026-000031, so the manager selects Edit, types the name again, and saves.

On the Lines tab the manager uses Quick Add four times:

The next time an advisor checks in one of these tractors, the console shows a tab titled Compact tractor walk-around with a Front card (Fender, Mirror) and a Back card (Tool-Kit, Brakes). Ticking Paint under Fender and saving records a Front › Fender finding with the condition Paint.

Training

Practice exercise

In a sandbox, create a template for an item that has at least one asset. Add three lines across two sections, and give each line at least one issue. Then open a service order for one of that item's assets, choose Check In, and open the inspection.

Expected result: the template's record page shows your readable name after the rename. The console's checklist tab carries that name, with two section cards and three rows, each offering the issues you chose. If you add a fourth line and reopen the inspection, the new row appears.

Quick reference

• One template per item. The console uses the template whose Applicable Item is the asset's item.
• Rename a new template after saving it, because saving replaces the typed name with a CIP number.
• Add lines from the template's Lines tab with Quick Add.
• Set Issues on the line's record page, because the short form has no Issues field.
• Keep one line per section and sub-section pair.
• Add an issue called Other to get a Describe the damage… box.
• Template changes show on every inspection of the model the next time it is opened, and never change saved findings.
• Polygon regions are matched to sections by name.

Permissions

Access follows the Check In Template and Check In Template Line entity permissions on the user's security profile. The shipped Sales Executive, Sales Manager, Service, Standard User and System Admin profiles have full access to both. The console reads both entities for every user who opens a check-in, so keep read access on any profile that does check-ins. To stop advisors changing templates, remove create, edit and delete for these two entities on their profile and keep read access. Templates have no server actions that need a separate grant.

Configuration

• Put templates on a menu. No shipped app lists Check In Template. Go to Setup → Design Studio → Apps, open the app your service managers use (for example the Service Settings app), and add Check In Template with Manage Items. See Create an entity for the same step. The lines don't need a menu entry, because they are reached from the template's Lines tab.
• Sections, sub-sections and issues. Add, rename or retire values in the Section Name, Sub-Section and Issues picklists of Check In Template Line under Setup → Design Studio → Entities, from the field's Manage PickList Values (see The data model). New values appear in the line forms and on the record page. Don't change the stored value of an option that lines already use, because findings copy the stored text. Add a value named Other to Issues if you want advisors to describe unlisted damage.
• Numbering. The template name series is the Check In Template document name setting (shipped series CIP). Change it there if you want templates numbered differently from check-ins.
• Forms. The template's New form has Check-In Template Name and Applicable Item. The line's short form has Check-In Template Line Name, Section Name and Sub-Section. You can add Issues to the line's short form in the layout designer so that issues can be chosen during Quick Add.
• Pictures and regions. Draw a model's regions on its product catalogue entry, or on the console's Polygon Partition tab where polygon editing is on, and name each region after a template section. See Check-in inspections.

Common problems

"No check-in template for this asset's item yet. Ask your admin to add one."

No template has the asset's item as its Applicable Item. Create a template for that item, or set Applicable Item on the right template. Then open the inspection again.

"This check-in template has no inspection lines yet. Ask your admin to add them."

The template for the item has no lines. Add lines from its Lines tab (Steps 3 and 4).

"The linked asset has no item. Set its item to load the check-in template."

The asset on the inspection has no item, so no template can be chosen. Set the item on the asset record. Related notices: No asset on this record yet. Set the asset to load its check-in template. means the inspection has no asset. The linked asset could not be found. Check the asset on this record. means the asset can't be read.

The console shows the wrong model's checklist

More than one template has the same Applicable Item, and the console used another one. Keep one template per item: move the extra lines to one template, then delete the other template or change its item.

A part shows on the card but has nothing to tick

Its line has no Issues. Open the line from the Lines tab and choose the issues with the pencil on Issues.

One section shows as two cards

Two lines carry different Section Name values that look alike, for example after a picklist value was renamed. Open the lines and choose the same section value on each.

The checklist tab is titled with a number

Saving a new template replaces its name with a CIP number. Select Edit on the template and type the name again.

Common questions

Can one template serve several models?

No. A template has one Applicable Item, and the console looks a template up by the asset's item. For several models with the same walk-around, create one template per item. Each template needs its own lines, because templates have no copy action on their record page.

Do template changes affect inspections already done?

Saved findings never change, because each finding stores its section, sub-section and ticked issues as text. The console itself is rebuilt from the template every time an inspection is opened. A closed inspection opened after a change shows the new cards, with its saved findings shown where the section and sub-section still match.

Why doesn't my line's attached picture show on the console?

The console takes its pictures from the item's product catalogue entry, not from template lines. Attach the model's picture to its catalogue entry and draw the regions there or on the Polygon Partition tab. Photos taken during a check-in are attached to the inspection itself.

How do I offer free-text damage descriptions?

Add an Other value to the Issues picklist and select it on the lines where it applies. When an advisor ticks Other, the console shows a Describe the damage… box, and the text is saved in the finding's Damaged Remarks.

Related topics

• Check-in inspections
• Service configuration
• Complaints and fault codes
• The data model
• Check In Template — entity reference
• Check In Template Line — entity reference