UB> Maintenance> Device
Device Maintenance
Summary
The Device Maintenance window is used to create and maintain devices and add or modify the
meter readings on a device. The Device Maintenance window can be opened from the
Devices tab of the Account Master Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Account>
Devices tab> Open icon) or from the Maintenance palette (UB>
Maintenance> Device Maintenance).
Devices are also created using the Add Device service request. Devices created using a
service request will be in pending status until the service request has been
closed (UB> Service Requests> Input> Close icon) and committed (UB> Service
Requests> Commit). You will not be able to modify the information of a device in
pending status. If the service request that is creating a new device is deleted,
the device record will also be deleted.
The manufacturer, model number, size, number of digits on the meter, number of usage
periods (used for grouping peak and non-peak usage) and unit type of a specific
kind of device is set up on the device type. In order to create a device you must
first create the device type of the device (UB> Maintenance> Device Types).
There is a separate device type palette option for each device type that can be
created.
Related Links
Click here for information on Water Type Device Type Maintenance.
Click here for information on Gas Meter Device Type Maintenance.
Click here for information on Electric Meter Device Type Maintenance.
Click here for an overview of Bill Types.
Click here for information on the Detailed Meter Information Report.
Click here for a summary of usage periods.
Click here for information on creating an MS Excel spreadsheet from a window.
Step by Step
1 View all devices in the Utility Billing module.
- Open the Device Selection window (UB> Maintenance> Device).
- The Device Selection window will display all meters that have been created in
the Utility Billing module. Other devices, such as backflow
devices, will not display.
- The Device Selection window will display devices created using the
Service Request Input Wizard and devices created using Device
Maintenance.
- The Device Selection window will also display devices that are not
installed on customer accounts.
- Enter information into the Search Criteria section and click the Refresh icon
to
update the devices that display in the window.
- If the orange Incomplete icon
displays in the bottom right corner of
the search window, all devices in the search have not been included in
the window.
- If the search contains many devices, the window may only display some of the
devices in order to load the window faster.
- Click on the orange Incomplete icon
if you would like to load all of the devices in the
window.- NOTE - Springbrook Community™ users will not be able to use the Incomplete icon
to display all of the available records. Data grid filters will need to be refined in order to display all records that meet the filter criteria.
- Right click on the data in the window and select Export to MS Excel
Workbook to create an MS Excel spreadsheet of the information that displays
in the window. This allows you to create a report of the filtered devices in
the window that includes most of the important information attached to the
device.
- Highlight a device and click the Modify icon
to open the selected device.
- Highlight a device and click the Delete icon
to delete a device.
- If the device is attached to history records, such as meter
readings, you will not be able to delete the device.
- Use the Create icon
drop-down menu to select the type of device you
would like to create. This will open the Device Maintenance window.
- Before creating a new device, make sure that the device type of the
device has been created (UB> Maintenance> Water, Gas or Electric
Device Type).
- The device type will determine the manufacturer, model number, size, number of
digits on the meter, number of usage periods (used for grouping peak
and non-peak usage) and unit type of the device.
2 View the general information on the device.
- The Device Maintenance window will vary depending on the type of device being
created (gas, water, electric), and whether the device is installed on a UB
customer account.
- The titles of the tabs and the fields that display in those tabs will
vary based on the type of device being created.
- Additional tabs such as the Connections, Consumption and Attached
Devices tabs will display on the window if the device is installed on a
UB customer account.
- The first tab of the Device Maintenance window is where the device type and
device information is entered and the title of the tab will vary.
- The fields in the Device Type section will not be enabled, but they will
populate with information after the device type has been selected.
- Click the Manufacturer field label to attach a device type to the
device.
- Device types are created on the Device Type Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Backflow, Electric, Gas, or Water
Device Type).
- After a device type has been selected the fields in the Device Type
section will populate with the information attached to the device type.
- The Device section will display fields that are specific to the device and will
vary based on what kind of device (gas, water, electric, etc.) is displayed
in the Device Maintenance window.
- The Status drop-down menu is the status of the meter and will
default to active when a new device is created using an add device
service request. If the device is created using the Device Maintenance
window, the Status field will default to Inactive.
- The Status drop-down menu does not directly relate to the connection status of
the device. The connection status is set up on the Connections tab of
the Device Maintenance window.
- The Last Reading field will display the last reading on
the device if it has been removed from a UB customer account.
- The Installed Account and Installed Address
fields will display information if the device is attached to a UB
account.
- The Installed Account field will display the active UB customer account
number attached to the lot the device is installed on.
- The Installed Address field will display the address of the lot that the
device is installed on.
- Enter a Serial Number. This is a required field because it identifies
unique devices of the same model and manufacturer.
- The Serial Number can be up to 16 alphanumeric characters long.
- The Register ID field displays on all meter devices and is used to
record the register identification numbers of touch read meters.
- The Register ID field can be up to 16 alphanumeric
characters long.
- If the device is a radio read meter, enter an MXU identification number
in the MXU ID field.
- The Purchase Date is used to record the purchase date of the device.
- The MXU ID field displays on all meter devices and is used to report the MXU
identification number of a radio read meter.
- The MXU ID field can be up to 16 alphanumeric characters long.
- If the meter is a touch read meter, enter a register ID number in the Register ID field.
- The Inventory Status drop-down menu updates as service requests are processed on the device.
- The Installed status is for devices that are installed on a UB customer account. The address
of the lot the device is installed on displays in the Installed Address field and the UB customer account number displays in the Installed Account field.
- When a remove device service request is processed on the device the Inventory Status
will change to Testing.
- The device will have an Inventory Status of Pending if an Add Device service request has
been performed on a customer account but has not been committed.
- While the device has an inventory status of Pending all of the fields on the Device Maintenance
window will be disabled.
- The Inventory Location field is used to enter the location of the device if it is not
installed on a UB customer account. For example, if the device is located in a
warehouse, you could enter the shelf and row of where the device is located in
the warehouse.
- The Inventory Location field is not the same as the location where the device was
installed on a lot. That information is stored with the connection information
on the Connections tab in the Location field.
3 The Connections tab displays the UB accounts that a device has been attached to.
-
This tab will display if the device is currently installed or has ever been installed on a UB account.
- The Route and Sequence fields display the route and sequence
number of the device.
- The Service Address field displays the address of the lot the
device is installed at.
- The Lot Number of the lot where the device is installed is an
optional column in the window.
- The Install Date is the service date entered on the add device
service request that installed the device on the UB customer account.
- The service date is entered in the Service Date field on
the first step of the Service Request Input Wizard.
- The Remove Date column is the date the device was removed from the
customer account using a Remove Device service request.
- The Status drop-down menu displays the Connection Status of the device on
the account.
- The Status column will display Removed if a Remove Device Service
Request has been performed on the customer account attached to the
device.
- The Status column will display Active if the device is installed on a
customer account.
- The EDU field displays the EDU units attached to the device. Depending on
how the service rates are set up, the EDU value may affect the calculated
billing on a UB customer account.
- To see if the EDU value will be used when calculating a billing, open
the Service Rate Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Service Rates).
- If the Use Lot Units toggle is not checked, and the Multiply minimum,
Multiply consumption or Multiply consumption level toggles are checked on the Service Rate
Maintenance window, the EDU value on the device will be used when
calculating a billing.
- The Lot Number displays the lot number where the device is installed.
- By default this column will not display in the window. You can add the
Lot Number column to the window by right-clicking the mouse on the
column headings.
4 The Consumption tab displays the meter readings on the device.
- If the device has been attached to multiple accounts, the meter readings of
each account will display in the window. If a meter reading is attached to a
service request, the meter reading will not display on the Consumption tab
until the service request is committed (UB> Service Request> Commit). Meter
readings on uncommitted service requests will not display on this tab.
- Highlight a device reading and the fields in the Consumption and Time of Use
Periods sections will display the information attached to the highlighted
meter reading.
- You will not be able to modify billed meter readings. If you need to
modify a billed reading, delete the reading and create a new reading.
- If the Billed, New Read and Estimated toggles
display in the window, you will not be able to change the selection of those
toggles from the data display section of the window. If you would like the
change the Billed or Estimated toggle, highlight the meter
reading and change the value in the Consumption section.
- The New Read toggle cannot be changed from the Consumption
tab. The New Read toggle will be checked if the reading
was created in UB> Meter Management> Input New. If the reading was entered
on a service request or from the Device Maintenance window the New
toggle will not be checked.
- Highlight a device reading and click the Delete icon
to delete the highlighted meter reading.
- You will be able to delete a billed meter reading. This allows you to
modify billed meter readings.
- Click the Create icon
to add a new reading to the device. This will add a new device line
item in the window. You can also enter a meter reading in UB> Meter Management> Input New.
- The Customer Number field will populate with the customer number
that is active on the lot the device is attached to.
- The Customer Sequence field is the sequence number of the
active UB customer account attached to the lot where the device is
installed.
- The Read Date field will populate with the current date.
- The Reading Year and Reading Period will
populate with the current calendar year and month.
- The Reading Period and Reading Year fields are important if
you generate bills based on meter readings of a certain period. The
reading period and year are selected during the Generate step of
the New Billing process (UB> New Billing> Generate).
- The New Billing process will only generate bills on meter readings of a certain
period if Period is selected in the Meter Reads to Bill drop-down menu (UB> Utilities> Setup>
Billing tab).
- Enter a Description of the meter reading if desired.
- The Description field can be up to 32 alphanumeric characters long.
- Enter the meter reading in the Reading field.
- The consumption on the reading will not automatically calculate based in the entered
meter reading. Do not forget to enter a consumption amount in the
Time Of Use Periods section after entering a meter reading.
- The Power Factor Cons and PF Percent fields are used for power factor calculations.
- The Power Factor Cons field is used to set the consumption level that will be used if the reading falls below the Power Factor Threshold specified on the Device Type Maintenance window.
- The PF Percent field will populate with the power factor percent calculated when the reading is imported. This percent is calculated using the following equation:
- Calculated PFP = COS ( ATAN ( KVAR Cons / KWH Cons ))
- COS=cosign, ATAN=arctangent
- If the PF Percent is greater than the Power Factor Threshold specified on the Electric Device Type Maintenance window, the standard demand consumption will be used when the reading is billed.
- If the PF Percent is less than the Power Factor Threshold specified on the Electric Device Type Maintenance window, the reading will be billed based on the value in the Power Factor Con field.
- The Banked Cons field displays the total amount of banked consumption for the reading.
- Banked consumption is a result of a solar meter generating more KWH than the electric meter billed for a read period. This banked consumption can then be credited towards a subsequent billing.
- Check the Estimated toggle if the meter reading is an estimated
reading.
- Check the Billed toggle if the meter reading has already been
billed or if you do not want the reading to generate a billing.
- The consumption on a billed meter reading will not be billed when a New Billing batch
is generated.
- Enter the consumption amount of the meter reading in the Time of Use
Periods section.
- Time of Use Periods is an optional feature used to separate consumption into multiple
usage periods and allows you to bill consumption at different rates.
Time of Use Periods are generally used to bill peak and non-peak
rates.
- If you are not using Time of Use Periods, enter the consumption into the field
labeled Consumption Period 1. This will be the only field
enabled if you are not using time of use periods.
- If you are using Time of Use Periods, enter a portion of the consumption in each
usage period that applies.
- You can view how a service rate will be applied to each usage period on the
Consumption Levels tab of the Service Rate Maintenance window
(UB> Maintenance> Service Rate).
- Click the Save icon
to save the meter reading.
6 The Miscellaneous tab displays the miscellaneous information attached to the device
and includes a Notes field.
- The fields are used to enter information on the device that is outside the
current scope of the Springbrook version. The information entered into these
fields can be used in reporting by including these fields on a QBE report (UB>
Maintenance> Query by Example).
- These fields will display on the Meter table of the QBE report.
- The labels of the miscellaneous fields can be set up in Miscellaneous Field Labels Window (SS>
Utilities> Miscellaneous Field Labels).
7 Track any changes made to the device.
- Click the Audit Trail icon
to open the Audit Trail window.
- Use the Search Criteria section to sort the displayed audit trail.
- The Audit Trail History section will provide details about any changes made to the device including the date of the change, type of change made, user that made the change, and data table that was edited.
- Click here for information on the Audit Trail window.
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