Computer repair history notes

[rcastorani]

I know this has been discussed many times over, but I'm curious as to what everyone is using for keeping a record of repair history for their devices. I would love to use the JSS for this, but am currently limited to an Extension Attribute text field or the History->Add Note section, and both have their limitations (many of them).

There is a great feature request and discussion that is unfortunately marked as Implemented, however I don't feel it has been implemented in a fashion that works intuitively for most people: https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/featureRequest.html?id=293

Are you collecting this information inside or outside of the JSS? And how? My spreadsheet is starting to get a bit out of hand...

[mm2270]

Have you experimented with using attachments in the JSS to the device record?

[rcastorani]

No, not at all in fact. I'm curious as to how you would use that instead. Also, it doesn't look like this field is searchable in the JSS, which would definitely be a downside.

[mm2270]

You're right. Its not at all searchable, which is a downside. On the upside, you can put literally almost anything you want there. A scan of a service record. A PDF image, plain text files. You aren't limited in how they are formatted because they're attachments, so just about anything could be uploaded there.

But... if you want something searchable, I would think an Extension Attribute of some kind would be the only valid option. Are the notes actually searchable in v 9.x? I haven't used them yet, so I don't know. If they are, that would be another option, but as you mentioned, neither is all that flexible.

[davidacland]

Not sure if you are able to access GSX but it has APIs that could be used to get the official Apple repair history.

We are doing quite a few repairs so use a separate system. IMHO I don't think Casper is the right tool for recording that type of info. We're using a custom FileMaker database that can read and write to Casper using the REST API, although there are lots of off the shelf support ticketing systems that would do the job.

[rcastorani]

@mm2270 After adding the EA called Notes, and entering some data into a computer record, it is then searchable. I guess one way is to have a few of these fields and use them for different repairs - hopefully a single computer doesn't rack up more than 5 repairs or else it could easily get out of hand.

@davidacland Unfortunately I do not yet have access to GSX. Although that would be a nice feature, it would still leave out any out-of-warranty repairs or insurance repairs. I agree that, at least the way it stands now, the JSS is not a great tool for recording this information. That is partly the reason I am asking how others are handling it. I've considered a FileMaker database as well so that's good to know you have it working. Thanks for the input.

[gachowski]

If Apple does the repairs, they use to throw in the towel after 3 repairs. : )

[Simmo]

@rcastorani Why would GSX exclude your out of warranty or insurance repairs? Unless third party parts are used the repair should still be done through GSX.
Non-AASP repairs are highly frowned upon by Apple and whomever is doing them would have difficulty sourcing Apple parts, so the chances are fairly high that it would all be done through GSX.

[rcastorani]

Ah, ok, I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the clarification.

[Chris_Hafner]

Casper doesn't seem like the proper tool for this. We DO have GSX access and yet we log our own repair notes through tickets in our help desk system (which is tied via API to an internal inventory/asset management system that we've developed in house). This way, we can take, keep and sort data from anything we want. We do pull GSX info from casper, but not on a per repair basis. Mostly warranty expiration on our BYOD units. You're idea about getting that into filemaker pro or nearly anything else sounds like the proper way to go.

To go even further. Having an Apple Certified Technician on hand is super useful. Read as, it's nice to have Apple pay us to repair our own units while having direct access to all of the data they have!