Work Orders

Problem: First impressions matter. I want my customers to believe that I know them intimately.  The problem is that I have so many customers and vehicles that it’s tough to keep track of them all.  When they come in with a complaint or a question about work I have done in the past, how do I find past work completed or quickly get information up on the screen about their vehicles?

Solution: PTM-Vision is designed to keep track of all customers and all of their unit history for quick recall of their information.  Typically, you can enter the name of the customer, vehicle number or identifier and/or a key word to instantly access the customer’s information.  The customer sees a professional and personalized work order and your business looks like it is fully modernized.  The information presented to the service writer shows an intimate understanding of the customer and their needs.

Problem: I do a good deal of preventative maintenance for fleets and need to track which vehicles need what type of maintenance and when.  Is there a way to automate this process?

Solution: PTM-Vision’s Preventative Maintenance (PM) module is ideal for tracking fleet maintenance. This powerful module will completely track all maintenance by customer unit for both parts and repair.  Using mileage, hours, or selected date ranges, reporting will show BY CUSTOMER which units are due for service and what services are due, i.e., scheduled services, recommended services, past due events, DOT inspections, smoke tests, etc.  The generated report can be used as a call list OR service reminders can easily be faxed or emailed right out of PTM-Vision to the customer using the robust electronic fax/email system.  Too, quick reporting will provide summary or detailed parts and service information for customers so they can easily know their cost per mile by unit!

Problem: My company provides routine maintenance for customers, how do I simplify this process for my service writer so that they don’t have to write the same information down time and time again.

Solution: PTM-Vision allows for unlimited kit building in the inventory area.  Using kits eliminates redundant listing of parts and labor on work orders for routine shop jobs.  For example, if a 2006 Kenworth needs a 10,000 mile PMA service, a complete ‘kit’ of all necessary parts and labor functions can be quickly assembled under one part number. Then, at any time the kit can quickly be put on the work order with one click or keystroke.   Kits can be built in many different ways depending on what you want your customers to see and what information you want your Technicians and Service Writers to have.  Kits can be used for all repetitive services in your business.

Problem: I do a lot of estimates and I have trouble tracking them.  Some of the estimates I do are simple while others are quite detailed.  I don’t want to have to re-write an estimate when the customer comes back to have us do the work.... and I don’t want to have to track it forever.  How does the PTM-Vision Software treat estimates?

Solution:  PTM-Vision's Estimating system is very versatile and can be used to record detailed estimates or basic quotes for the customer.  The estimate can then be saved on the open work order/estimate screen for quick reference.  If you have a pricing policy for a set time (such as 45 days) and the customer doesn't return during that timeframe, it can be deleted off of the open screen and sent to the archive.  In the event the customer ultimately comes back and desires you to do the work, it can quickly be pulled from the archive and put back on the open screen.  If indeed your price guarantee has expired, PTM-Vision has a very quick "re-pricing" utility that looks at all parts and labor on the estimate and will automatically update any changes in pricing.  The estimate can be converted in seconds to an active work order and you don't have to worry about sacrificing the original estimate in the process because it will go to the archive fully intact for future reference.

PROBLEM:  We are very busy and we have trouble keeping track of our shop jobs.Everyone from Service Writers, Shop Managers, Technicians, and even parts personnel can’t distinguish what jobs are in progress, which are completed, which are waiting for parts OR work approval from the owner.  Can PTM-Vision help me better define my workflow?

SOLUTION:  PTM’s Work Order Status module offers the ultimate in shop work tracking by allowing you to use your own defined shop work status acronyms.  For example, WIP could be work in progress; WOP waiting on parts; WIP-SUB could be work in progress that has a sublet attached; NEXT could be for a ‘rush job’; PRE ORDER could be for when you have to order the parts now for a unit that is scheduled for work next week.  In seconds you can see the status of all jobs in your shop and as an example, you can report on all jobs that are waiting on parts and know what parts they are waiting for.  A huge shop management tool with solutions in seconds!