San Ramon, CA – June 20, 2001 – Reducing the burden placed on MRO materials groups, the Illustrated Parts List (IPL) component of Relevant Business Systems new, advanced MRO module quickly pulls together the parts needed for any particular job, even though on-condition repairs cannot be determined until after a technician review specifies the required labor and material. Created especially for aircraft and related maintenance organizations, as well as other businesses that deal with the service and repair of their customers’ items, users can use the Relevant advanced MRO module to maintain information generated about the returned item from the initial receipt of the part through quoting, repair, shipping, and invoicing.

“Contrary to normal ERP (enterprise resource planning) and many MRO processes, the parts and labor required for component repair are not identified until after the unit hits the shop,” explains Patrick Garrehy, Relevant Business Systems' President and CEO. “Only with technician review can an MRO operation determine the labor and materials needed. Thus, the system must have its own item master and bill of material, otherwise known as a Illustrated Parts List.”

The Relevant MRO module’s IPL component adds detail to normal item master and bill of material capabilities. For example, the item master maintains parts by a combination of item number and manufacturer, giving the MRO organization the ability to segregate items by part number and, within part number, by manufacturer code. Each item is provided its own cost record and transaction history.

The advanced module also allows the bill of materials to add figure and index numbers to the standard bill, allowing the same item to appear multiple times on the same level of the bill with different figure and index numbers. This is especially helpful when using the bill of materials to locate items on a drawing.

“The ability to create unique Bill of Materials (i.e. IPL) pick lists, automatically specifying the components required for the type of service or repair being performed, is paramount,” adds Garrehy. “For example, if an item is returned for normal maintenance, a pick list should be generated including only the items required for this task. If the same item is returned for a major overhaul, a different pick list must be generated, including all of the components required for that task. Of course, any additional parts required, whether on the bill of materials (i.e. IPL) or not, can be added at any time, prior to repairing through shipment of the item.”

The IPL component is available on the Relevant advanced MRO module now.