1. Administration Fundamentals
Work Orders
Welcome to this session of the Alma Administration Fundamentals Training where the focus will be on configuration considerations related to work orders.

2. Overview Work Order Types Work Order Departments Work Order Statuses
Agenda
Overview
Work Order Types
Work Order Departments
Work Order Statuses
Session Review
In this session we are going to discuss work orders, what they are, how they may be used in Alma, and configuration possibilities.

3. Work Orders Binding Digitization Cataloging Preservation etc.
Work Orders are intended to help you increase your level of inventory control when physical items are removed from the shelf and sent for processing to an internal library department. Typical examples are binding, cataloging or preservation activities. Rather than simply leaving a placeholder or a note on the shelf when you take a physical item for internal processing, Alma uses a different approach. By creating a work order for the item, Alma updates the status of the item to indicate that it is currently undergoing internal processing.
SHTURMAN ARCHIVES

4. Work Orders
Primo
End users searching in Primo will see immediately that the item is undergoing internal processing as well as when the item is expected to be available again.

5. Work Orders
Alma
Staff searching in Alma will know where the item is and its current status.

6. Work Order Departments Work Order Statuses
Agenda
Overview
Work Order Types
Work Order Departments
Work Order Statuses
Session Review
Work Orders in Alma have three components:
Work Order Type
Work Order Department
Work Order Status

7. Types, Departments, Statuses
Work Order TYPE
Work Order DEPARTMENT
Work Order STATUS
Binding Preservation Cataloging etc.
Bindery Digitization Dept. Cataloging Dept.
etc.
Glue
Relabel
Tape…
The Work Order Type represents the internal process that the item is undergoing such as cataloging. The Work Order Department is the department in the institution or library to which an item is transferred in order to undergo this process. For example, the Cataloging Department. The Work Order Status represents the stage or status of the item in that process such as backlog, original cataloging, foreign language cataloging, copy cataloging, and so on

8. Work Order Types
As already stated, work order types represent an internal process, such as cataloging, preservation, binding, technical services, etc.

9. Work Order Types
Work Order Types may be created at the institution level or at the library level. Our best practice recommendation is to create work order types at the institution level. Among other things, this allows you to use a work order type for multiple library-level departments in distinct libraries.

10. Work Order Departments
A Work Order Department is a unit to which the item will be transited when you create a work order of this type in Alma. A Work Order Department differs from a Location in the following ways:

11. Work Order Depts. vs. Locations
Owns Inventory Y N
Provides Patron Services
Locations have physical inventory; work order departments have no physical inventory. Even though items are sent to the work order department for processing, those items are not owned by the work order department.
Locations can have circulation desks, which support check-out, check- in and reshelving activities; work order departments cannot circulate or reshelve material.

12. Work Order Departments
You can create more than one work order department for a given work order type. Similar departments in different libraries may all be associated with a single work order type (if the work order type was created on the institution level).

13. Work Order Depts. – Served Libraries
A work order department can process items owned by any library in the institution, regardless of whether the department is on the institution level or a library level.
A given department can be associated with only one work order type. If a single internal processing department in your library handles more than one work order type, consider making one of the work order types a status, instead of its own work order type.
You can create distinct work order types and departments. Alternatively, you can create additional statuses for a given work order type and department to reflect the additional activities performed in this department. Each alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages.

14. Work Orders - Departments
Work Order Dept.
Work Order Type
If this is indeed one physical department at your institution where all staff are sitting in the same room or area or in close proximity to each other, our recommendation is to use a single department with additional statuses. Doing so saves a lot of transferring, scanning and changing of 'Currently at' locations and makes for a smoother workflow within the department.
Work Order Status A
Work Order Status B
Work Order Status C

15. Work Orders - Departments
On the other hand, if your institution has different physical departments, we recommend creating distinct work order departments. If each department performs distinct processes, we recommend creating distinct work order types, each with its own statuses. Again, all of this can be configured at the institution-level in Alma and, in fact, this is what we recommend, even though there may be distinct libraries involved.
Work Order Dept. A
Work Order Dept. B
Work Order Type A
Work Order Type B
STATUSES
STATUSES

16. Work Order Statuses
The final component of Work Order configuration is the Work Order Statuses. Work Order Statuses represent the possible stages or steps of processing that take place at the work order department.

17. Work Order Statuses
Work Order Statuses are associated with a Work Order Type. This means that all work order departments associated with a given work order type will have the same statuses available. Statuses are descriptive – not prescriptive. Creating a work order status does not mean that the item undergoing processing in the work order department will necessarily go through this particular status or stage of processing. Statuses are possible steps – not required steps – through which the item may pass.

18. Work Orders
Primo
When an item is at the work order department, searching for the item in the Alma repository will display the item’s current status within the department. In Primo, the name of the department is displayed, but not the current status.
Alma

19. Session Review Overview Work Order Types Work Order Departments
Agenda
Overview
Work Order Types
Work Order Departments
Work Order Statuses
Session Review
In this session, we learned about Work Orders. Work Orders are designed to help increase your inventory control by managing items that require internal processing.
Work Order Types represent the internal process that an item is undergoing
Work Order Departments represent the department to which an item is sent to undergo internal processing. Work Order Departments are associated with a given – and only one – work order type. Work Order Departments do not own and cannot circulate physical inventory. Work Order Departments can process material owned by multiple libraries provided those libraries are Served Libraries of the Work Order Department
Work Order Statuses represent the stage or status of the item in that process. Work Order Statuses describe the possible stages of processing, but do not define a workflow or ordered sequence of steps through which each item undergoing the process must pass, that is: descriptive not prescriptive; Work Order Statuses are configured as part of the work order type, which implies that all departments associated with that type will see the same list of possible statuses

20. Thank you!
Thanks for listening today. If you have any questions about anything covered in this session, please discuss them with your Ex Libris project team. We look forward to seeing you in our next session of the Alma Administration Fundamentals training.