Plan Your XFRACAS Implementation

Before you begin, the person who will be making practical decisions about how to configure XFRACAS for your organization will need to gather some information to prepare for the initial configuration after the website is installed. The specific configuration steps are discussed in Initial XFRACAS Configuration. Minimum data requirements are summarized here to help you plan ahead.

System-wide Preferences

You will need to plan ahead for some of the system-wide preferences that are relevant for the initial configuration. Be prepared to answer the following questions:

• Does the website need to use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) support?
• Will the web server be configured for Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication? If so, will it use the default variable (Auth_User) or do you need to configure XFRACAS to recognize a different variable?
• Will you allow users to upload file attachments? If so, will the files be stored in the database or uploaded to the web server?
• What is the port and address for the SMTP server that will be used for e-mail notifications? Will TLS be used to secure SMTP?

For a comprehensive list of all preferences, see “Managing Preferences” in the admin help.

Entities

XFRACAS can be configured with a single entity (where all users share the same configuration settings and data) or with multiple entities (where each entity has its own separate user permissions, settings and data).

For example, you might choose to create separate entities within XFRACAS if your organization has different business units or functional teams that require the website to be configured for different needs, processes and/or terminology. You may also need separate entities if there’s a requirement to segregate some portion of the data.

• The system-wide preferences, companies, contacts and locations will be the same for all entities in the database.
• The user permissions, systems and most configuration options can be managed separately for each entity.

Your XFRACAS license determines the number of entities that you can create for your implementation.

Users and Security Groups

You will need to compile at least the minimum details for new user accounts. After XFRACAS is installed, you will be able to create user accounts via the website or import details from an XML file or Microsoft Active Directory. The minimum information required for each user includes:

• first name, last name
• domain\username (Windows login)
• e-mail address

You will also need to plan the security groups that new users will be assigned to (e.g., read-only, regular, admin). This is more efficient than assigning permissions individually to each user.

For a comprehensive list of all user categories and permissions, see “Managing Users” in the admin help.

Systems/Parts/Templates/BOM

You will need to decide how your organization will track incidents. After XFRACAS is installed, you will be able to define system configuration(s) via the website or import the data from an XML or Excel file or from XFMEA/RCM++.

Generic Template

If you plan to track by part number/version (not serial number) or by process/task, you only need to create generic template(s). This requires the following information:

• At least a number and name for each part (or process)
• An understanding of how the parts (or processes) are related hierarchically
• A list of users who are responsible for specific parts (or processes) — this is required for at least one item and recommended for all top-level items

Serial Numbers

If you plan to track by specific instances of a part or system (identified by serial number when applicable), you will need to create the following:

• A generic template that identifies the types of parts and responsible users (as described above)
• A serialized configuration for each individual system that you are tracking — this requires a unique serial number for at least each top-level system

Either approach can be used to gather data for analysis in Weibull++, RGA or XFMEA. Serialized systems allow you to track issues for specific customers and collect more accurate reliability data for further analysis. However, such systems can be considerably more complicated to set up and manage.

For more information, see “Managing System Templates” and “Managing Serialized Systems” in the admin help.

Review Sample Data from Current FRACAS (if Applicable)

If your organization has previously used any other FRACAS systems or processes, you will need to do the following:

• Assemble and review sample data to help identify the specific fields you wish to configure in XFRACAS (e.g., required fields you want to continue to capture, new fields that are currently lacking, etc.).
• Compile any “pick lists” that will be available throughout the site (e.g., modes of operation, fault codes, etc.). You will be able to create these lists via the website or import them from Excel or XML.

For more information, see “Managing Details” and “Managing Lists” in the admin help.

Contacts, Companies, Locations

If you plan to use the Customer Support interface, you will also need to gather details for any contacts, companies or locations that you want to predefine in the site.

For more information, see “Managing Contacts,” “Managing Companies” and “Managing Locations” in the admin help.