"Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization."

 

TST products are designed to work in many scenarios. Plant GIS through Mapworks is optional. Plant accounting is optional. All modules are optional.

The following are provided to demonstrate some of the deployed configurations.

Work Order and Asset Management, all modules

• Plant GIS
• Graphical staking
• Service locations, CIS integration
• Job costing
• Plant accounting
• G/L and CPR
• Materials management
• Purchasing
• Asset management

Work Order and Asset Management Management, no map

• Job estimating
• Job costing
• Plant/Utility accounting
• G/L and CPR
• Materials management

WAMS , ERP warehousing

• Plant GIS
• Graphical staking
• Job costing
• Plant accounting
• G/L and CPR
• Materials status synced from ERP system
• Asset management

Job Costing and Export

• Job estimating
• Job costing
• Export to G/L
• Materials management
• Purchasing and RFQs

 

 

ERP and Accounting Systems

Most implementations of Plantworks require some amount of transactional handshaking between Plantworks and ERP / accounting systems. The following are typical examples:

• Labor from Payroll to Plantworks work order accounting
• Invoices from A/R to Plantworks work order accounting
• Material costs from Plantworks to G/L
• Work order asset account closing entries from Plantworks to G/L

Material management is an important integration concern as warehouse can be managed either by Plantworks or by ERP / accounting.

Integration Methods

Integrations can be automated, assisted via import/export, or manual.

During onboarding, TST Client Services will perform a needs analysis to help work out what integration points are needed. Cost-benefit analyses can be provided to determine what methods are appropriate. Clients can start with non-automated integrations and optionally upgrade to automated integrations in a later implementation phase.
Plantworks Access Library (PAL)

TST has developed proprietary integration technology to facilitate efficient and reliable automated systems integrations.

The Plantworks Access Library (PAL) is a Microsoft .Net component which provides the technical infrastructure for external applications to access cloud-hosted Plantworks data. PAL is utilized by our own Mapworks and Mirror Database products.

PAL is also the lynchpin technology in our integration with partner Civic Systems.

Other technologies can also be leveraged for integrations, e.g. web services, FTP, SSIS, custom development.

Philosophy

Our experience with the industry says that needs are diverse, and even systems that speak the same language can speak different dialects. We don’t create one standard socket and demand that you go find an appropriate plug. Our integration technology is flexible, and we do what it takes to make it work in your shop.

One size does not fit all

Our customers are diverse in their GIS, staking, financial, and reporting needs. Our products are designed to be flexible with minimal compromise. TST Client Services makes sure that things are working well. You can always talk to us about a problem, custom report or feature, training, review of process, or any opportunity to make the systems work better for your shop.

Onboarding

When engaging a new client, TST performs a Business Process Analysis to take a good look at everything relevant to your operation – existing assets, charts of accounts, stocks, construction units, maps. We also have a look at your people, paperwork, and processes.

We then propose some degree of Business Process Re-engineering to nail down how TST systems will work best to achieve the new client’s goals.

Ticket managed support

TST manages client issues through standard ticket tracking. You will always know the status of any ticket.

Plantworks data is cloud-hosted and may be accessed only through the Plantworks application. Utility clients who want to keep a copy of their data on-premises may do so through the Plantworks Mirror Database product.

Example power user functions:

• Import into Excel
• Ad-hoc querying
• Utility-managed local reports
• Utility-managed imports and exports
• Utility-managed joins with other enterprise data

Technology

Mirror Database may be Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, or MySQL (open source, managed by Oracle). The synchronization app runs in a standard Windows environment. The mirror is optimized for readability by power users.

The Mirror Database sync application leverages our Plantworks Access Library (PAL) component, which is also used by Mapworks and for systems integrations.

Client-driven configuration

Plantworks and Mapworks are driven by each utility’s configuration. A few examples:

• Construction unit definitions
• Stock definitions
• Chart of accounts
• Construction equipment
• Tax districts

Standard controls

TST products have many out-of-box controls to configure client operating experience. The following can be controlled for each utility, for example:

• Module activation
• Work order workflow
• Auto-numbering work orders, purchase orders, plant assets, etc.
• Optional form fields

Product enhancements

Plantworks and Mapworks can operate in many diverse scenarios. Client needs determined at onboarding time, or after some experience with the systems, drive product enhancements.

TST welcomes good ideas wherever they come from. We built an entire sister product for Central Services Association, a joint action agency in Tupelo, MS.

Integration

TST has many options for systems integrations, including custom methods and custom programming. Please see our integrations page or contact us for inquiry.