Activity Types for Helm CONNECT Logistics

This article will explain how to set up activity types for Helm CONNECT Logistics.

Activity Types

To create and use activity types, you need to subscribe to either Helm CONNECT Logistics, or Helm CONNECT Maintenance plus the Logbook module.

Activity types are used differently within each product line.

To learn how to set up activity types for Helm CONNECT Maintenance, see Activity types for Helm CONNECT Maintenance.

Activity types are categories for organizing the activities your assets perform. Unlike events, which occur in a single moment of time, activities have a start time and an end time and can change the workflow of an asset.

Creating activity types

Use the Setup > Events > Activity Types tab to create and manage your activity types.

To create an activity type

1. Go to the Setup > Events > Activity Types tab.
2. Click New Activity Type.
3. In the Name field, enter a name for the activity.
4. (Optional) In the Accounting Code field, enter a code if appropriate.
5. (Optional) In the Tags field, add existing tags or create new ones. Tags are useful for filtering and reporting.
6. From the Type list, select the appropriate type for this activity. If you're not sure, select None. You can edit it later. See notes below.
7. Click Save Changes.
8. (Optional) Configure custom fields for your activity type if required.

When you create activity types for Helm CONNECT Jobs

• Accounting Code: Add an accounting code to an activity type if you want it to be part of your revenue allocations.
• Tags: (Optional) You can select existing tags or add new tags here. Tags are useful for filtering in History tabs and in reports.

The Type list provides the following options:

• None: Select this option when the activity type is not a primary, running to, or running from.
• Primary: You can specify whether or not an activity type is a primary or secondary activity by selecting or clearing the Primary check box. You can use primary activities when creating your billing rules by indicating that certain rules only apply to primary activities. You can also use them when setting up a trip type by setting a primary activity to be the default activity type for that trip type. Depending on the industry, examples of secondary activities could be idle or dry dock.
• Running To: Only one activity type can be configured as Running To; this activity can be used in trip planning and billing to capture and calculate 'running to' time.
• Running From: Only one activity type can be configured as Running From; this activity can be used in trip planning and billing to capture and calculate 'running from' time.

Configure custom fields for activity types

If you need to add functionality to your activity types, you can do this by creating custom fields.

1. Go to the Setup > Events > Activity Types tab.
2. From the list on the Activity Types tab, click the activity type you want to configure, then click the Configure button.
3. Define the custom fields as required, then click Save Changes.

When configuring fields, you can do the following:

• Add a field by dragging it from the list on the left to the panel on the right.
• Specify whether or not a field is required by selecting or clearing the Required check box.
• Remove a field by clicking the red X icon.

• Add the custom field by clicking + Custom Field and completing the necessary details.

  Note Depending on your permission settings, or the features your company subscribes to, you may not have access to custom fields. Custom fields are managed on the Setup > Operations > Custom Fields tab.

Watch the video

Watch this video to see how to set up your activity types in Helm CONNECT: