SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM) Interview Questions
What is SAP PM ?
- The R/3 Plant Maintenance (PM) application component provides you with a comprehensive software solution for all maintenance activities that are performed within a company. The uniform, graphical user interface is particularly user-friendly and quickly meets with acceptance, thanks to the numerous possibilities that are available for tailoring it to meet individual requirements.
- The data and functions of all maintenance procedures performed within a company can be fully interconnected.
- The openness of the R/3 System enables you to use external systems that are integrated with the PM component, such as geographical information systems (GIS), computer-aided design (CAD) systems and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.
Is the functional location structure indicator unique across the system?
Across clients but not systems.
What must you do if you have assets (functional locations) with the same number in several plants ?
You must use the plant reference number as the first level of the functional location structure.
What is the menu path for displaying the structure of a functional location in list form and as a graphic ?
plant maintenance>technical objects>functional location>structural display
Give five examples of functional location structures.
Chemical Process, Energy (power station), Property Management, Transport, Steelworks, Production line.
What steps must be defined in customizing for alternative labeling ?
Activate alternative labeling and indicators for primary label. Create a new structure indicator, define labeling system.
How do you define an own view for alternative label ?
Activate alternative labeling, define labeling systems for functional locations, enter label internal view.
What level of functional locations should be changed for alternative labeling ?
Second level functional locations are to be changed, in changing master records extras>alternative labels>overview, change label 'internal view' choose structure indicator and press refresh.
What is the menu path for creating a user profile ?
Plant maintenance>technical objects>functional location>labels>user profile.
What functions are determined by the category of the functional location ?
Change documents, status profile, asset, object information key, partner determination, measuring point category.
What are activities of a SAP PM ?
The 'SAP Plant Maintenance' comprises of the following activities such as inspection, to measures and establish the actual condition of a technical system, preventive maintenance to measures and maintain the ideal condition of a technical system, repair to measures and restore the ideal condition of a technical system and other measures that need to be taken using the maintenance organization.SAP PM is closely integrated with other modules (for example, Materials Management, Production, Sales and Distribution, Personnel Management, and Controlling) the data is always kept current and processes that are necessary for Plant Maintenance and Customer Service are automatically triggered in other areas (for example, a purchase requisition for non-stock material in the Materials Management/Purchasing area).
Explain the meaning of equipment master.
1. Equipment Master pertains to one of the master data elements within the domain of Operations & Maintenance i.e. The SAP Plant Maintenance Module.
2. The business object "Equipment" is an individual, physical object that is to be maintained independently. It can be installed in a technical system or part of a technical system.
You can manage all types of device as pieces of equipment (for example, production utilities, transportation utilities, test equipment, production resources/tools, buildings, PCs).
Since many of these physical objects are managed as "assets" in Asset Management, the term "piece of equipment" was chosen for objects defined from a technical perspective, in order to avoid confusion with the activated tangible assets.
You define and manage each piece of equipment in the Plant Maintenance (PM) System in a separate master record and can set up an individual maintenance history for each one.
For an equipment master record what fields need to be filled in ?
Depends upon the Equipment. Normally, the fields which used to maintain in an Equipment master are:
Equipment Category, Constr.type (serialized), Planning Plant, Work center, Plant, Maintenance plant, Location. You can attach an equipment to another using superior Equipment filed.
How to configure system to allow notification type change ?
You can define in SPRO the "Allowed change of notification type". Please follow the below path:
Maintenance and Service Processing --> Maintenance and Service Notification --> Notification Creation --> Notification types --> Allowed change of notification type
Why change data not display in order ?
- Please check if the check box for change documents is checked or not in Customizing
- PATH:- Plant Maintenance & customer service --> Maintenance & service processing --> Maintenance & service Orders -->Functions & settings for order types --> Define Change Docs,Collective Pur.Req.Indicator,Operation No.Interval
How over heades are calculated and from where the formula is picked ?
- My client has default setting of 10% overhead and now they want to change.
- Plant Maintenance and Customer Service--> Maintenance and Service Processing--> Maintenance and Service Orders--> Functions and Settings for Order Types-->Costing Data for Maintenance--> and Service Orders--> Maintain Costing Sheet
- Select the costing sheet that you are using and push costing sheet rows, next see the column overhead rate, select the row and push overhead rate.
Is it necessary to run the IP Transaction code for each maintenance plan that we have scheduled ?
Yes, if it is needed that the plan should generate orders it needs to be scheduled either in background job or needs manually executed.
Where to get the table which is having user status with Notification number. (not the system status).
1. From table QMEL get OBJNR(object number) using the QMNUM( notification number).
2. Using this OBJNR get STSMA( Status Profile) from table JSTO.
3. Using the OBJNR get STAT(object status) from table JEST.
How do you distinguish, in a simple manner, between Equipment that is being charged and not charged for service ?
Define different equipment categories. Standard equipment reference categories for 'Internal Machines' and 'Customer Equipment' exist.
How do you distinguish between company and customer owned equipment? Equipment on land owned by the company and land leased by the company ?
Same as Q1. Explore combinations of equip. category and equipment types to achieve the design objective.
How do you define equipment/material loaned/leased to a customer ?
Read documentation on 'Structuring Technical Systems' in 'Plant Maintenance / Service management' modules. You need to define sales area (sales org/dist channel/division) for an equipment with equipment category being one for which the equipment reference category is 'Customer Equipment'.
How can we block service to a customer? It has to be done through the FL, since most of the Equipment belongs to the company and is loaned to the customer.
Deactivate the FL. This allows no further creation of transaction data (service orders, etc.). However, the existing orders can be processed and closed. The deactivation can be reversed at a later date.
Where is a Service Contract assigned to a piece of equipment ?
Service contract is assigned to a material. Material is assigned to the equipment in the equipment master. This functionality is not intended for managing equipment bought from vendors (where we are getting service rather than providing service).
Is purchasing information (Vendor, date of purchase, etc.) copied from MM to the equipment when it is being created ?
Not in the standard system. But it can be done with ABAP batch jobs.
When you maintain an assembly in a piece of equipment, is it possible to get maintenance history of the assembly? Do you have to create it as a piece of equipment ?
As maintenance orders are created for FL/equipment only, maintenance history can only be tracked at that level, not at assembly level. Assemblies are mere structuring devices to have spare parts linked to equipment in a structured manner. However, in PM orders, you can mention the assembly along with the FL/Eq. Depending on your reporting needs; an ABAPer could use the 'PM Assembly' field in PM orders.
What is the use of the field "Standing order"? What kind of order is it ?
Standing orders are used to carry out on-going maintenance jobs and settle them at month end rather than creating a fresh PM order every time. Using order hierarchies, you could attach sub-orders to the standing order and settle them to the standing order to provide you with more precise recording of maint costs at sub-order level as well as a budget monitoring at the standing order level.
What is the integration between PM and QM in SAP ?
There are many interwoven activities.
Let us consider one practical issue of Spare Parts purchase.
We prefer to inspect incoming material for compliance of our requirement.
1.While creation of material master, tick the 'Post to insp. stock' box in the Purchasing Tab.
2. If we do not want a task list / Result recording oriented inspection, in Quality tab, choose appropriate selections,
3.When that Spare is received, it will go to Quality Stock.
4. Maint. person can check it and transfer the stock to "Unrestricted Stock" through MB1B via 261 movement, giving a reason as Accepted after Inspection or Rejected.
5. Above procedure is a practical example of PM QM integration.
