Re: Report Distribution

>  From:    Paul Fenstermacher

>  What can anybody recommend for report distribution?  
>  I want to be able to produce cover sheets from batch jobs 
>  and route to specific outq's.  
>  Also need to be able to create "groups" that will get specific reports.  
>  When a new user is added he can just be added to the pertinent group 
>  and automagically receive his reports.  
>  We have a home grown application now but it is difficult to maintain.
>  
>  Thanks.
>  
>  Paul Fenstermacher
>  Bass Pro Shops
>  paulf@basspro.com

This is a issue first of corporate policy & culture, then second how to 
implement & train end users.  There is something we are not using called 
SEPARATOR PAGES that you might want to check out on CHGPRTF.  We do use print 
priority fairly heavily to group reports that do not need to be printed right 
away, but in reality when I have a compile at priority-last & it starts 
printing a 1,000 page compile, it will be on page 200 when someone wants 
their 1 page report right now.

We also have problems with report distribution because many people share the 
same printers ... there is a stream of reports with different people's stuff 
intermingled & our work force covers a spectrum of: 
people who think this printer is for their exclusive use & reply to messages 
that mess up other users;
people who get rattled when there is a simple printer forms change or 
alignment message;
people who do not understand the difference between hold-release report 
stop-start printer;
people who came from a single threaded desk top PC environment who do not 
understand multi-user queue environment and come looking on printer for a 
report that still has not run off of the jobq;
many other combinations.

We've given them menus of SYSTEM STUFF so that without requiring command line 
authority, people can do
WRKSPLF & see all reports run under their user-id
WRKOUTQ (& there is a default that plugs in based on several factors) & see 
all reports that ran for their department
Check on status of what is running in their JOBQ & their other sessions

We let auto config name devices DSP75 PRT06 etc. then we change the names so 
that they connect with where they really are located, so that instead of 
having to remember "Where the heck is DSP47 & which printer is it that is in 
the conference room?" the naming is obvious to everyone.
JIT1 is session # 1 of the Plant Manager office
MFG1 is session # 1 of the Production Supervisor office
BUY1 is Purchasing Session on address 1 of a port
BUYA is Purchasing Session on address 1 of another port in same office area
SALJB is Sales Dept Jeff Machine Session 2
LENGDC is Engineering office in Lawrenceville Dave office Session # 3
LAWPRTLP is the printer at LAWRENCEVILLE facility that used to be called LP 
on M/36
GWDPRTOQ is the printer in GREENWOOD facility that used to be called OQ on 
M/36 because it shared by QC & shipping

We have setup output queues that are named after departments like 
QSHIPL means shipping from our LAWRENCEVILLE facility
QSHIPG means shipping from our GREENWOOD facility

Each printer has a shelf nearby for other people's reports ... you sort 
through what's there & take yours & leave the rest ... sometimes there are 
secondary shelves for reports that are obviously for some department that has 
a high volume compared to the frequency with which someone visits to get 
their stuff, so that we do not all have to be sorting through the same pile.

Each user can have all their reports print right away with no action required 
by the user ... they then can dig into what they need to extract from the 
pile of what everyone printed.

However, the default is to have all reports go on hold, so that users can 
delete what not want & release what they want.  There are people who do 
inventory transactions intermittently all day long who like to print their 
audit trails about one hour before quitting time, and put them in a binder.  
By releasing them to print at one time, they do not have to sort through 
everyone else's reports to find theirs.

Some departments have reversed corporate default.
Shipping department has certain programs output to a PC printer (shipping 
forms) and other programs output to green bar printer (lists of what were 
shipped) & all of it prints without anything on hold.

We have programming standards, such as every report has on the top line the 
user that requested it, or was running the program that generated it, the 
program name that created it & other data to both help the users know 
functionality of the data & help MIS when we are asked to modify some report. 
 We have extended this to Query ... the foot of a Query report is the name of 
the Query so someone can regenerate with different data thru RUNQRY or 
WRKQRY, and when we put this in a CL, we also put that on the foot, to help 
people find that Query on one of our menus.

There is a scenario in which one person generates reports for other people at 
other locations.  We added to the prompt screen ... who is this report FOR 
... which defaults to a name based on the facility & department from which 
the report is generated (playing games with device work station names & user 
profiile text area), then they can leave the default or change it, then when 
the report prints it has on the top who it is FOR, and someone sees that on 
the printer, tears it off & sticks it in the right mail box or user desk.

Al Macintyre  ©¿©
http://www.cen-elec.com MIS Manager Programmer & Computer Janitor
When in doubt, read the manual, assuming you can find the right one.
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