Why book a vehicle to the workshops?
If the vehicle statistics and reports are to give an accurate representation of a vehicle's usage then it is important to make sure that the vehicles visits to the workshops for maintenance and repair are recorded in the correct manner. Vehicle statistics show the vehicle as being on hire, available for hire or not available for hire. It is the maintenance or repair of a vehicle which should show in the latter category. In order to record the statistics correctly the vehicle is booked in/hired to the workshop. This rental agreement (which generates no income) is quite simple to create and operate and is normally created in one of two distinct ways.
Method one:A vehicle that is not on hire can be allocated to a booking which has a workshop tariff type.
Method two:A vehicle which is currently on hire has to be brought in to the workshops. In this case another vehicle must be sent out to the customer so a specific type of vehicle swap must take place. Tariff codes used in both of these methods must be specifically set up in advance.
Tariff codes are initially set up within the Tariff Types table in Miscellaneous Options. There should be provision made for at least one tariff type code to enable workshop bookings. All tariff codes can be created using one of four different tariff types.
R - Standard rental
L - Long term rental
S - Service rental
M - Maintenance rental
The first two tariff type are used for normal rentals. Types three and four are the tariffs required for the workshop function. Once an S or M tariff type is identified by the system then the selected vehicle on the workshop booking is made unavailable for hire during the duration of the booking. Unlike normal tariffs this allows vehicles to be allocated up-front at the booking stage. A tariff charge rate is typically constructed from a combination of Hire group code and Tariff type. This combination is utilised for standard bookings and maintenance/workshop bookings. It must be ensured that all vehicle groups must have at least one of workshop tariff types allocated to it and that when this tariff code is applied to a vehicle hire group that this hire group/tariff combination is set up with zero charge tariff values.
If a vehicle is not currently on hire but needs to go into the workshops for service or repair, then all that is required is a simple Maintenance booking (using a tariff code which has been set up with a tariff type code of either S or M).
When this type of booking is generated then the system prompts for allocation of the vehicle during the booking sequence and does not prompt for entry of driver details.
Ensure that the hire group/tariff combination is set up with zero charge tariff values so that no tariff charges are generated. Once the vehicle has been repaired the rental booking/agreement is finished in the normal way and the vehicle is once again made available for hire. The statistics will show the vehicle as being unavailable during the time covered by the workshop booking.
This method assumes that the vehicle requiring servicing or repair is already out on hire and has to be returned for the work to be carried out in the middle of the rental agreement period; therefore, it is necessary to supply the customer with a replacement vehicle when the vehicle comes into the workshops. Obviously for scheduled repairs this would have been organized with the customer at the time of hiring the vehicle. However, if a vehicle breaks down whilst on hire a normal Vehicle Swap must take place and the broken-down vehicle is then taken into the workshops in the way described in method one.
Essentially, this second method allows easier forward planning of scheduled vehicle swaps for servicing reasons. When the required vehicle is allocated to the new Maintenance booking it will probably require double-booking because the system will prompt that it will be on hire at the time it is required for servicing.
The following step by step process should be followed:
When the hire starts both the timing and place of the swap should be agreed with the customer.
Identify and reserve the vehicle to be provided to the customer as a replacement.
Make a Maintenance booking for the day the service/repair is to take place; use the vehicle identified in Point 2 as the replacement vehicle as the vehicle on the maintenance booking for the time being (this makes the replacement vehicle unavailable for other bookings for the period in question).
On the day the swap is performed the vehicle on the maintenance booking is delivered to the customer as a replacement vehicle while the vehicle on hire is returned for servicing or repair. A Vehicle Swap is now performed so that, effectively, what now occurs is that the vehicles are both swapped from one rental agreement to the other.
The rental on the maintenance/service booking is now Started and the physical vehicle is serviced.
Following completion of the service the maintenance booking/agreement is Finished. A Vehicle Swap is now performed so that the original vehicle is returned to the original agreement otherwise the vehicle simply becomes available for further bookings.
As it starts the workshop agreement the system changes the tariff type from the reserve to the workshop tariff type.
Reserving the replacement vehicle
If the maintenance/service is planned then once the original hire agreement is Started it is necessary to make a booking to reserve the vehicle that is to take its place when the service/repair takes place. In order to facilitate the process identify and locate the agreement number that holds the vehicle requiring service or repair.
A reserve booking should be made to cover the period it is necessary to have the vehicle in the workshop for the service or repair. A tariff type of R for reserve should be used (this is the default reserve tariff type; if it has been changed by the system manager the correct reserve tariff type can be found in the Reserve Tariff Type field in the General 3 Tab within System Parameters).
The booking form immediately prompts for the vehicle registration number. Once the registration number is input the system prompts for the agreement number that the service swap will take place with. This is the agreement number noted earlier. The agreement number should be entered. The link is now established between the two agreements and the two vehicles concerned are now unavailable for the day in question. All this preparation now remains in place until it is necessary to make the vehicle swap.
When the vehicles are to be exchanged against agreements access the agreement for the vehicle that is out on hire and needs to be returned for service/repair. Take the Vehicle Swap option from the agreement form and confirm that the vehicle is to be swapped. A small form is displayed and offers the vehicle that is already reserved on the second workshop/reserve agreement. Accept this vehicle.
The Vehicle Swap form now allows the recording of the return date, time, mileage, fuel level reading and damage details of the vehicle coming back to the workshops and the start date, time, mileage, fuel level readings and damage details of the vehicle which is to take its place. The required fields should be populated and the swap is confirmed.
The system now automatically accesses the workshop agreement and and prompts for the start of this agreement. The start details such as time, date, etc, should be entered and the agreement started. The swap is complete; the new vehicle is with the customer and the original vehicle is being serviced.
Once the service is complete the workshop rental agreement should be finished using the correct date and time so that the length of time it has spent in the workshops can be accurately recorded in the vehicle statistics. Once the workshop rental is finished the vehicle is available for hire, or a normal Vehicle Swap can be performed to put the vehicle back out on hire on the original agreement.
By selecting the required hire group on the Reservations form a graph may be viewed based on either the vehicle or group performance based on either days hired, days not hired, or days unavailable for hire. The values used for the chart are taken from the CRM module using the Rental Stats Tab on the Rental Vehicle records. The statistics view can also be initiated with a single-left-click of the mouse while the cursor is over the group code or the group description on the Reservations form.
The system prompts for which basis to use in order to plot the statistics - on a vehicle or a group basis.
By-Vehicle: If the option for a graph by vehicle is taken, the system lists all vehicles from the CRM module which are, or have been, used for Vehicle Rentals. The required vehicle should be selected.
The system now prompts for the type of statistics required e.g. Days-hired / Not-hired / Not-available: Once the required selection is made a chart is displayed based on the performance of the vehicle selected. The number of days are indicated by the height of the columns, and the months indicated by the position of the column. By utilising the options in the chart function the image of the chart can be modified.
Tip: See the Report Generator help files for a full explanation of the chart formatting options.
By-hire-group: Plotting the statistics by hire group is similar to plotting by individual vehicle in regard to the formatting of the chart. However, instead of prompting for a registration number the system for the required hire group. Once again the rows and columns are as indicated for an individual vehicle.
Note: If the Plot function does not appear to work, it normally indicates that there is no data to plot. The vehicle records in the CRM module should be investigated to ensure that there is data recorded on the Rental Stats Tab of the vehicle record.
