MainBoss Newswire

July 2005

 

Topics:

  1. MainBoss Exported Report: Calculating labor hours in Excel
  2. Benefits of online training
  3. Upcoming Tradeshows: Orlando and Calgary

 

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1.      MainBoss Exported Report: Calculating labor hours

When exporting a MainBoss report and viewing it in Excel, the data is displayed in raw format. This means that no formatting has been done (bold, underline, etc) nor are any values, such as labor hours, totaled. Therefore a user has to format the data in order to obtain a useful exported report. Most formatting is straightforward: delete the columns of data that are not required and bold the titles, etc. Users should note that monetary values are displayed in cents, so each value first has to be divided by 100 in order to get the accurate dollar value for material costs. For example, the exported report may show a cost value of 100, which actually means $1 since the original value is shown in cents.

 Similarly, labor hours are displayed in a raw format that needs to first be formatted before the user can find out a total number of hours. In an exported report, labor times are displayed in the following format: HHMMSS or HHHHMM, where H stands for hours, M for minutes and S for seconds. To illustrate, the issue duration (ISDUR) column in the exported history report may show a value of 0000200. This field shows labor hours and has the format HHHHMM, meaning that 0000200 stands for 2 hours. A value of 0000145 would stand for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

In order to obtain an accurate total of labor hours, a formula must be applied to the raw data listed. The formula will be provided here – all you have to do is follow the following steps:

1.      Open the exported report (i.e. History Report) in Microsoft Excel

2.      Find the Labor Duration data, which, for the history report, should be in column DD with a heading of ISDUR  (other reports will have a different heading and column number where the labor hours are displayed).

3.      Click on the column to the right of the ISDUR Column (in this case, it would be column DE) and from the Excel menu, choose Insert -> Column. This will put an empty column beside the column containing the labor duration data.

4.      Give this new column a title. In field DE1 type in: HOURS

5.      Now enter the formula which will calculate your hours. In field DE2, type in: =INT(VALUE(DD2)/100) + MOD(VALUE(DD2), 100)/60  where DD2 represents the first field containing the raw labor duration data. Once you have typed in the above formula, press ENTER on your keyboard and Excel will calculate the hours for field DD2 for you and record the result in DE2.

6.      Copy the formula to the rest of the DE column.

7.      In order to get a total number of labor hours, scroll down column DE until you get to the last entry. In the field right below the last entry, type in the following formula: =SUM(DE2:DExxx), where DE2 represents the first field in the column to contain a value and DExxx represents the last field in the column to contain a value. Press ENTER on your keyboard and Excel will calculate the total number of labor hours for you.


If you have any questions about calculating labor hours from an exported report and are a support plan subscriber, please feel free to contact your technical support representative.

 

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2.      Benefits of online training

Now that Thinkage Ltd offers both onsite and online training to MainBoss customers, a customer must decide which method of training is most appropriate. Travel cost and time, the computer skill level of the attendees, how flexible the dates for training are and whether the training will be a refresher course or cover material that is new to the attendees are all factors to consider. A recent article in Compliance magazine states, “online training is ideal for awareness, refresher and just-in time training, and is well suited to transferring knowledge in a self-paced environment” (Kirsch, Compliance Magazine, June 2005). Online training can generally be delivered faster because no travel arrangements need to be made. It can also be more cost effective if the cost of traveling is relatively high. As stated in the article by Ron A. Kirsch, “online training can help to reduce the cost of delivering training as much as 40 to 60 percent” (Kirsch, Compliance Magazine, June 2005).

While online training has many benefits, onsite training is still more effective when attendees have little knowledge of the MainBoss software and/or very basic computer skills. The trainer is able to give more one-on-one time to each attendee when everyone is gathered face to face in one room.

If you are considering MainBoss training, please feel free to contact your MainBoss representative who will be happy to discuss which training method will be best suited to your needs.

 

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3.      Upcoming Tradeshows

Thinkage will be attending the following tradeshow to demonstrate MainBoss:

·        APPA 2005 Educational Facilities Leadership Forum at the Walt Disney Dolphin Resort in Orlando, FL from August 4-6, 2005. Visit us at booth 438!

·        BOMEX 2005 at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary, AB from September 15-16, 2005. Visit us at booth 506!