Follow these steps to review and subsequently repair cycles:
1. From the Data Mgmt menu or Data Management Home tree view node, select Cycles.
2. Select the cycle status to review: Complete, Incomplete, or All
3. Select the filters of cycles to include:
Valid (either Completed Cycles or Cycles in Progress) - the OD pair is an OD pair that has been entered into the RMS database, and the placement location matches the subsequent release end location (the release at the end of the cycle not at the beginning);
Invalid (either Completed Cycles or Cycles in Progress) - the OD pair does not match an OD Pair that has been entered into the RMS database, or the placement location does not match the subsequent release end location (the release at the end of the cycle not at the beginning);
Labeled, Unlabeled, or All (either Completed Cycles or Cycles in Progress) - cycles that have been reviewed already and have been labeled G - GOOD, B - BAD - CANNOT REPAIR, or S - SPECIAL CAUSES (i.e. Shop time, derailment, etc.);
NOTE: As of version 5.11.01, RMS automatically labels cycles S - SPECIAL CAUSES that contain bad order events.
With Billing, No Billing (excludes labeled cycles), or All. No Billing means no related shipping instruction is available or has been attached to these cycles (Note: a shipping instruction may be entered for this cycle, but if the bill / ship date differs from the cycle loaded release date more than +/- 7 days (this is the default value, it can be changed - See Reference Values - Relate BOL Days), RMS will not attach it to the cycle). Only the cycles that you choose will show up on the report.
4. Enter the desired date range and select how to apply that date range (i.e. When cycle starts or When cycle ends).
Note: Incomplete cycles are automatically selected based on when the cycle starts. Cycles start with the release event and end with the subsequent release event.
5. Click OK - you will see the following window.
6. Double-click a row on the grid or highlight a row and click the Edit button to review a particular cycle.
7. If the cycle needs to be fixed (if you do not wish to fix the cycle, go to step 12), you may edit an existing sighting, add a new sighting or delete an existing sighting. To edit a sighting, double-click on the grid row or highlight the row and click the Edit Sighting button. To add a new sighting, click on the New Sighting button. To delete a sighting, highlight the row and click on the Delete Sighting button.
Note: When adding or modifying sighting records, a one character comment can be entered in the Comments field as a reminder that this was a manually entered record or any other meaning you want to assign to it - this is not required.
Note: If you add, delete or edit sightings for a cycle, the changes will not be reflected until the Create Cycles process has run. The reason for this is because when sightings that are part of a cycle are altered, RMS deletes the cycle record and then re-creates the record during the Create Cycles process. When a cycle is re-created, all of the cycles following it, for the same railcar, are re-created as well. This is done because a cycle that has been created incorrectly usually causes following cycles to be created incorrectly. Don't worry, they will all be recreated in the next Create Cycles.
12. You may label a cycle; this will enable you to include or exclude these labeled cycles in your reports. To do this, click on the Drop Down command button on the right side of the Label text box. Choose one of the following status:
G - GOOD - The cycle is completely accurate. (This is provided for backward compatibility with older versions of RMS, it is not recommended that you use this status)
S - SPECIAL CAUSES - The railcar was bad ordered or spent time in the shop for some other reason.
B - BAD - CANNOT REPAIR - Choose not to repair the cycle.
Then click the Save Cycle Changes button. To remove a label, clear the entry in the Label text box and click the Save Cycle Changes button.
NOTE: As of version 5.11.01, RMS automatically labels cycles S - SPECIAL CAUSES that contain bad order events.
Note:
A normal cycle begins with a release (either load or empty) event; several arrivals and departures are typically included until the destination is reached. At the destination you will see at least one of the following events (in the order shown): Arrival Final Destination, Placement Constructive, Placement Actual. The last sighting record for a cycle should be the next release event (this must be the opposite load / empty status as the release event that started the cycle); this sighting is also used as the first sighting for the following cycle. There is an option that you can set in the Import Properties (from Data Management) Options window where, if checked, RMS will create a new cycle on the ending Release event regardless of the load / empty status. This option is useful if you have railcars that are unloaded and then re-loaded before being released back to the railroad. If you do not have re-loads, it is recommended that you do not choose this option since creating cycles based on load / empty changes provides the most accurate results.
