Conflict checking

The conflict checking function identifies tags and clearances that provide conflicting information for the same component. By checking for these conflicts before tags are applied or restored, you can reduce the risk of physical tag conflicts occurring in the field.

Potential conflicts can occur during the application or restoration phases of the clearance process. In a clearance record, you can manually check for conflicts by selecting the Conflict Checking from the More Actions menu. This action is available for working or admin clearances, including clearance revisions, that have a status of Draft, Waiting for Approval (WAPPR), Approved (APPR), Ready, Active, or Approved for Release (RELEASE). The purpose of the manual conflict check is to identify any conflicts that exist for the current clearance. Typically, you resolve any conflicts that directly affect clearance application, revision, or restoration before soliciting the corresponding Shift Supervisor approval.

You can also configure the Shift Supervisor approval actions for clearance application, revision, and restoration to include an automatic conflict check. The purpose of the automatic conflict check is to identify any conflicts that are prohibited in the context of the pending Shift Supervisor approval. Typically, you resolve these conflicts within Maximo® before Shift Supervisor approval is granted and the status of the clearance is changed. Alternatively, these conflicts must be resolved externally prior to the application, revision, or restoration of tags in the field. You use the Organizations (Nuc) application to define conflict checking settings. You can define different settings for different sites.

Types of conflicts

The conflict checking rules identify three different types of conflicts:

Position conflict: Occurs when two different tags specify conflicting positions for the same component. The conflict can involve two different application positions, two different restoration positions, or a restoration position that conflicts with an application position.

Tag type conflict: Occurs when two different tags specify conflicting tag types for the same component.

Usage conflict: Occurs when a clearance defines a tag for a component that is the subject of another clearance. The subject of a clearance is the component that the clearance boundary is designed to isolate.

The conflict checking rules do not identify as conflicts any changes of tag type or position that are specified for the same tag during the process of clearance revision. These differences are valid in the context of the clearance revision process. In addition, no conflict exists when two compatible tags are defined on the same clearance for the same component, and one of the tags specifies the value for no position control.

Conflict check results

The results of a conflict check are displayed in the Conflict Check window. Potential conflicts are grouped by category:

Tag application conflicts: Position or tag type conflicts that relate to tag application details on the current clearance or clearance revision. By default, conflicts must be resolved before Shift Supervisor application or revision approval is granted and the clearance status is changed to Approved. However, the automatic conflict check includes an option to accept the reported conflicts and manage them externally.

Tag restoration conflicts: Position conflicts that relate to tag restoration details on the current clearance or clearance revision. By default, conflicts that are reported for the current clearance must be resolved before Shift Supervisor restoration approval is granted and the clearance status is changed to Approved for Restoration (RESTORE). Conflicts that are reported for a clearance revision must be resolved before Shift Supervisor revision approval is granted and the status of the clearance revision is changed to Approved. However, the automatic conflict check includes an option to accept the reported conflicts and manage them externally.

Clearance conflicts: Usage conflicts for components that are tagged on the current clearance. A clearance conflict never prohibits Shift Supervisor approval, however, a warning is always displayed.

Within each category, only one conflict at a time is displayed for each tag. If multiple conflicts exist for the same tag, conflicts are displayed in succession following the resolution of the previously displayed conflict.

The action that is used to execute the conflict check determines the scope of the results. When you manually check for conflicts, the results include all conflicts for the current clearance, including tag application, tag restoration, and clearance conflicts. When the conflict check is automatically executed, the results include any tag conflicts that are prohibited in the context of the pending Shift Supervisor approval, and clearance conflicts.

The following rules apply:

When you initiate Shift Supervisor application approval, tag application conflicts for the current clearance are displayed.
When you initiate Shift Supervisor revision approval, tag application and restoration conflicts for the current clearance revision are displayed. Tag application conflicts apply to tags on the current clearance that have a status of Draft. Tag restoration conflicts apply to tags on the clearance revision that have a status of Pending.
When you initiate Shift Supervisor restoration approval, tag restoration conflicts for the current clearance are displayed.

The automatic conflict check includes an option to cancel Shift Supervisor approval and another option to accept the reported conflicts. If you accept the reported conflicts, Shift Supervisor approval is granted and the status of the clearance is changed accordingly. However, you must employ administrative controls that are external to Maximo to manage the accepted conflicts appropriately. Accepted conflicts are not tracked on either of the conflicting clearance records. However, a flag is added to the relevant tag application and restoration screens in the conflicting clearance records to inform operators in the field that tag conflicts were accepted.

Resolution of potential tag conflicts

Tag application and restoration conflicts must be managed appropriately to ensure that physical conflicts do not arise in the field. The conflict check results include contextual information for each conflict, including tag and clearance status details, to support this task.

The status of the clearance on which the conflicting tag is present determines the impact of the conflict on the current clearance. The following rules apply:

A conflicting clearance that has a status of Waiting for Approval (WAPPR) indicates that a conflicting position or tag type is planned but not yet implemented for the component. This type of conflict can be resolved on either clearance.
A conflicting clearance that has a status of Approved for Restoration (RESTORE) indicates that a conflicting position is specified for the component. If the conflicting tag has a status of Pending, indicating that the component has yet to be repositioned, this type of conflict can be resolved on either clearance. If the conflicting tag has a status of Restored, this type of conflict must be resolved on the current clearance.
A conflicting clearance that has a status of Approved (APPR), Ready, Active, or Approved for Release (RELEASE) indicates that a conflicting position or tag type has already been approved or implemented for the component. This type of conflict must be resolved on the current clearance.