News

       

Version 2.3.8 Released

 

On-line Training

09/25/2009: Fall 2010 Classes Announced:  Current Software is pleased to ADD an advanced training module on PARTS ONLY scheduled for November 19th to our standard ExtraFleet on-line training offered from October 22nd  through November 12th 2009.  The five modules will be presented in five(5) 3 hour classes on the dates listed below between, 11AM and 2PM Eastern Time at a cost of $200/student/per class.  It is very important to arrive at class on time especially on the first visit.

                             I.      Learning your way around ExtraFleet and initial set up. April1, 2008

                            II.      Setting up the databases.  April 8, 2008

                           III.      Day to Day operations.  April 15, 2008

                           IV.      Reporting.  April 22, 2008

 

Version 2.2.257 Released

11/25/2008:  Version 2.2.257 is available for download and installation from the customer area.  This update corrects some new items found in the software with PO's and the Vehicle Update Wizard in additions to some corrections to the Work Order module where the mechanic pull down was appearing empty and the focus after the New button was no longer on the equipment field.

Version 2.2.238 Released

11/10/2008:  Version 2.2.238 is available for download and installation from the customer area.  This update corrects some unanticipated reporting problems found in version 2.2.231 primarily related to reporting.

Version 2.2.231 Released

11/3/2008:  Version 2.2.231 is available for download and installation from the customer area.  This update corrects some unanticipated reporting problems found in version 2.2.21o when we enhanced the multi-site capabilities of the software.

Version 2.2.210 Released

10/23/2008: Version 2.2.210 is now available for download and installation from the customer area for eligible customers.  This is a significant update that corrects some previous problems in addition to paving the way for the Technician WorkStation and expanding the capabilities of multi-site operations.  You can look forward to an upcoming series of updates over the next 90 days that will add new features and reporting options.

Technician WorkStation(TWS) 

10/09/2008:  We are very pleased to introduce you to the Technician WorkStation (TWS).  In our opinion this is the single most significant product offering we have ever made.  We created TWS to:  

  • Save time and money
  • Complete work orders in real time
  • Capture exact labor hours for each job
  • Shrink your need for parts inventory 

The TWS package includes a touchscreen monitor, a bar code scanner, and the software that will take your shop into the 21st century without paper, without keyboards and most important of all, without a special person required to enter paper work orders that have already been created by someone else.

Saving Time and Money:  Since the computerization of fleet maintenance management most fleets have continued to write paper work orders and turn them into a clerical person for “re-entry” into the computer.  This made sense since those first management systems were both expensive and relatively complicated to use.  The paper work order has its faults because they are not always easy to read and the labor hours are a rough estimate.  They can also pile up on someone’s desk waiting for entry and this sets off a chain reaction that affects inventory levels, PM Schedules and cost reporting.

As we enter the 21st century technicians are more computer literate and management systems are more graphic and easier to use.  We believe the time has come to push work order entry onto the shop floor and into the hands of the technicians.   This same technique has already been applied to fuel and mileage entry by providing key pads at the fuel pump (replacing the clipboard) where drivers create fuel and mileage transactions.  This has saved thousands of keystrokes and hours of data entry over transcribing the data from the fuel sheets.  Applying this to work order entry saves even more.

The ExtraFleet Technician Workstation uses an ATM style touch screen interface to walk technicians through the work order process while automatically capturing their labor hours.  Parts entry is simplified by taking advantage of bar coding and parts from history.  Simple interaction with the touch screen throughout the day captures all of the shop floor’s activities as they occur.  Because TWS is connected to ExtraFleet there is complete access to repair history and inventory levels.  We have also added on screen warnings about overdue PM’s.

All of this is accomplished without paper and without keyboards.  Most important of all, this is accomplished without clerical data entry.  This is the single largest cost savings opportunity available in fleet maintenance management because work order processing is the most data intensive task performed on a day to day basis.  Whoever is doing this job now can use their time to check completed work, order parts and produce reports.  Some shops may be able to eliminate the clerical data entry position completely for an annual savings in the thousands of dollars.

Real Time Work Orders:  Capturing the work as it occurs offers tremendous advantages.  PM Schedules are suddenly up to date because the schedule is updated as the work occurs without the time lag waiting for clerical data entry.  Parts inventories are accurate because inventory levels are adjusted as the parts are used.  This also means increased accountability because the data is fresh.  Managing the work flow becomes a dynamic process instead of simply reviewing what happened days after the fact.

Everything that happens via TWS happens in real time and this means that you will be able to accurately answer that phone call about when someone’s equipment will be ready.  You will also be able to respond instantly to requests for information on the status of anything happening in your department.

Exact Labor Hour Capture:  Paper work orders contain “estimates” for the amount of time required to perform each job.  Capturing exact labor hours in a paper environment would include running back and forth between the job and a time clock.  Adding up estimated hours at the end of the week usually leaves a lot of time unaccounted for. 

TWS captures exact labor time for each job and captures indirect labor attributable to breaks and work performed for departments including your own (shop clean-up).  At the end of the week you should expect to have a very close match between pay hours and the hours accounted for in the fleet maintenance management system.  You might be surprised to learn your accountability ratio using the paper work order.  Run a mechanic labor report and see for yourself.

Shrinking Your Parts Inventory:  Processing work orders in real time provides the opportunity to more closely manage parts inventory especially if you are using the automatic parts re-order functions of ExtraFleet.  We match the on hand quantity against the re-order point to create a purchase requisition.  Real time processing reduces the amount of time between when the on hand quantity reaches the re-order point and when you know it’s time to re-order.  When there is a lag in paper work order processing you need to carry more on the shelf to cover the time lag.

Hardware:  The TWS includes both a touch screen monitor and a bar code reader.  You will need to supply a computer for each Technician Workstation.  The operating system can be MS Windows XP or higher, Vista™ works great here and maybe best of all.

Software:  The TWS software is loaded onto the Technician WorkStation machine.  Each workstation counts as a user on the system so please be aware that if you have ExtraFleet multi-user with five(5) users you may need additional licenses.

Cost:  $1,700.00 per work station including the touch screen monitor, the bar code reader, and the technician workstation software.

On Line Training

03/18/2008 First Classes Announced:  We are pleased to announce the availability of on-line ExtraFleet training in four modules beginning in April 2008.  The four modules will be presented in four(4) 3 hour classes on the dates listed below between 11AM and 2PM EDT. 

                             I.      Learning your way around ExtraFleet and initial set up. April1, 2008

                            II.      Setting up the databases.  April 8, 2008

                           III.      Day to Day operations.  April 15, 2008

                           IV.      Reporting.  April 22, 2008

New Software

11/22/2005 Remote Fuel Module Complete  The ShirtPocket WorkStation remote fuel program is now fully available to all ShirtPocket WorkStation users.  This is the ultimate tool for any fleet that services its fleet in the field.  Capture fuel, meter readings, fluids dispensed, and miscellaneous parts and record the info in ExtraFleet when you return to the shop.  Since remote fuel resides on the same device with the ShirtPocket WorkOrder, performing any service or repair in the field becomes a paper-less, more accurate means of keeping pace with far flung maintenance tasks that can easily fall through the cracks.

Documentation

01/19/2007 Documentation Update  The full system documentation has been updated to reflect changes over the last several months.  You can download this updated version of the documentation from the customer area.

11/23/2005 Documentation Update  The full system documentation has been updated substantially and is now available for download.  We have added two Appendices to the instruction manual; Appendix 1- Setting Preferences, and Appendix 2- ShirtPocket User Manual.

8/1/2005  Full System Documentation  I'm not quite sure if I am ready to refer to the documentation as final, but using the work "Draft" doesn't quite fit anymore.   One thing is for sure is that its a "living" document that has been continuously re-worked and revised since its original release.  Next up, "Context Sensitive On Screen Help" that will incorporate the best of this document into the direct field by field assistance.  As always, if there is an area that you feel needs more attention, please let me know by email to tom@currsoft.com  

6/23/2005 Full System Documentation (Draft)  86 pages and more than 26,000 words later, the system documentation is in useable form now including a table of contents and page numbers.  This will be a work in progress for quite awhile to come but your comments on the content, layout, etc. are greatly appreciated.  We attempted to use a conversational style and as much step by step, "how to" as possible.  If there is some particular area that you feel as though needs more attention please let me know by email to tom@currsoft.com 

Updates

5/21/2007 Version 2.1.48  This update corrects some meter update problems we were having during special circumstances. Corrections were also made on deducting supplies from inventory and on certain other transactions between the work order and parts inventory. PM Meters are now updating correctly after a meter change.  All PM data is now included during report export. Please consult the update readme for a more complete list of the changes made.

2/5/2007 Version 2.1.17  Items added to purchase orders are now arranged on the PO in the order they were added.  The mileage calculation for date ranges on the fuel and fluid consumption report was revised to ensure proper readings.

1/15/2007 Version 2.1.3  This release focused attention on reporting with additional improvements made to the report designer to add more fields for selection and to improve the output.  The standard reporting areas received attention as well with fixes made in cost per meter reporting, fuel transactions by department, and certain screen prints like, parts.  The Work Order received a new button on the item line that will be labeled "Outside Item" if the job is being performed in-house, or "In-house Item" if the job is marked as an outside repair.  This will allow the quick addition an outside item to a work order.  The report designer has been re-located on the report menu, it now appears at the bottom and it also shows a listing of the last four(4) saved reports you have run from your workstation.

11/15/2006 Version 2.0.4800  More work was accomplished on Purchase Orders in this version mostly related to release numbers.  In addition, new fields were added to the custom reporting area under cost reporting, and more fields were added to the find criteria screen in the parts database.  The "Create New Database" selection under advanced in the utilities was enhanced to make it easier to use and to avoid any possibility of database overwrite.

09/22/2006 Version 2.0.4735  Purchase orders, requisitions and work orders all received corrections and enhancements in this update.  Most of this involved problem solving and needed modifications.  In addition, we made corrections to the tax table, the Work Order Summary report and the custom report designer.  The auto-synch function for the ShirtPocket WorkStations was updated to account for new data structures.

08/18/2006 Version 2.0.4696  This version corrects a work order printing problem we were having on certain printers.

06/22/2006 Version 2.0.4690  PM Performance report has been totally renovated.  Preferences area was re-worked in two areas; Next PO Number and PO Status selector along with other combo box selections.  "Associated RO" is now available for selection under cost reporting.  The parts usage report was modified to show parts totals only when selected.  Tires have also now been included in the parts usage report.

05/02/2006 Version 2.0.4655  Changes in this version include screen print modifications at each data file.  With a data file on the screen, touch the print button to print out the contents of the data record.  The replace meter routine has been reworked to work better.  The parts pick list on Parts from History now includes Bin#'s and so does the parts pick screen.

01/30/2006 Version 2.0.4561 This update includes changes to the Management Control Center and permits the creation of of PM Work Orders by clicking on a due PM from the PM list in the MCC.  Other changes were made to fast fuel to accommodate fast fuel entry for customer equipment, the addition of a "Cloning" function in cost transactions, and corrections in the cost per meter report (totals only) to provide just the totals.

01/13/2006 Version 2.0.4481 This is an extensive update that includes numerous changes to the cost transaction screen and the way purchase orders and requisitions function.

12/23/2005 Version 2.0.4463 This is an interim update that corrects a parts quantity editing problem that was reported on Wednesday of this week.

12/22/2005 Version 2.0.4460 This version refines the ShirtPocket WorkOrder and RemoteFueling programs, improves the data import in utilities, corrects inventory deduction process when making direct entries at the transaction screen and adds vendor history to manually generated requisitions.

11/22/2005 Version 2.0.4446 ShirtPocket WorkStation software updates to improve the "auto-synch" function and Work Order "comments" editing.  Fast fuel entry screen area improved to recognize vendor in the transactions and to deduct from fuel and fluids inventory.  Added ability to print EFI transaction error screen for use in editing.  Added bin number to the "Non-used" parts report to aid in finding the parts that are not being used.  Added "Vendor" as a selector on the parts usage report to identify the source of outside parts on work orders.  Dozens of other small corrections and refine-ments including; report print formatting, cost transaction screen adding omitted "invoice" field, widening the date column on the PM Schedule screen, etc.

10/13/2005 Version 2.0.4402  Standardized report header, footer, and font and included the addition of user logo on reports, work orders and purchase orders.  Deduction from inventory repaired for fuel transactions made through costtran.

08/15/2005 Version 2.0.4330  "This piece of equipment already has an open work order, warning" has been added to the work order module.  Added multiple selection criteria to "print multiple work order" report.

07/29/2005 Version 2.0.4270  Custom report designer enhancements and site related improvements and fixes were the two main accomplishments within this update.  We are updating approximately once per month now and there are items remaining on our list for improvement.

07/07/2005 Version 2.0.4230  This update corrects a problem editing the on-hand quantity in the browse window on the parts screen.  If you have made a large number of "manual edits" to your parts on-hand quantity recently please contact us as soon as possible for some hands on assistance.  If you have been using the Hand Held to collect inventory data and to update the on hand quantities you will NOT need to contact us.

05/31/2005  Version 2.0.4208  We have been busy as usual making more improvements.  For a complete list of changes and fixes, click on the link to "Update Documentation" in the customer area.  This will provide you with a complete list of items from this and previous releases.

05/23/2005 Version 2.0.4179 was released today and includes report fix ups, and two new settings in preferences, one to avoid the sign-in, the other to automatically pop-up the Management Control Center.

05/05/2005  Version 2.0.4137 was released today and will become available this afternoon at the customer login site in the upper left corner of the Home Page.

 

Web News

5/27/2005 Customer Forum Added   We have very high hopes that this new feature in the customer area will evolve into a Virtual Users Group.  There are so many things possible with an interactive place to exchange public messages related but not necessarily limited to the Current Software/ExtraFleet experience.  Everyone will have an opportunity to participate and we certainly hope you give it a try.  Remember, you "must" be an active customer who is eligible for the latest downloads and technical support available from the customer area.

04/28/2005 Current Software Website is Now Under Construction  Please bear with us while we create a new and improved web site that will deliver the latest news and the best content we can put together. 

 

 

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