Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) elements are normally used to define the construction planning, organization, and control of a project.
In SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM), you can also use WBS elements to carry out pure budget planning and control; in this post, we’ll look at them here from that perspective.
Creating WBS Elements in SAP PM
To use WBS elements, use Transaction CJ01 (Create Project) to define a project (for example, plant maintenance budgeting) and then use Transaction CJ11 (Create WBS Element) to create several levels of WBS elements as a basis for a budgetary structure. Instead of working with separate transactions, you can use Transaction CJ20N (Project Builder) to set up both the project and its WBS elements in a single step.
The following are possible criteria you can use for orientation:
- Asset-oriented: For example, each top-level functional location has a budget.
- Maintenance group-related: For example, mechanical workshop, electrical workshop.
- Activity-related: For example, for maintenance, repairs, overhaul.
The following sections will establish the prerequisites, discuss how to assign budgets and WBS, and explain the budget availability check.
Budget and WBS Assignment
Budget planning is normally done in a top-down manner and assigned to the WBS elements of each budget on an annual basis using Transaction CJ30 (Create Original Budget; see figure below). The cumulative column shows the portion of the overall budget that has already been distributed across the yearly budgets.
If you want to distribute budgets on a system basis, you should then enter the WBS Element responsible for the budget into the master record of the technical object( see figure below).
When you use the Customizing option Transfer from Project or Investment Program and specify for the order type that the project number should be carried over into the order (assignment = X), the WBS element is automatically transferred to the order, thereby assigning the order to the WBS element. You can view this assignment on the Additional Data tab of the order (see figure below), where you can also perform a manual assignment or change an existing one.
Assigning WBS Elements in SAP PM
Assigning orders to WBS elements automatically can be customized by using user exit IWO10010 with a custom assignment routine. Depending on the technical object, for example, you can find the right WBS element here for the order type and maintenance activity type. This automatic assignment saves the user time-consuming manual assignment, increasing acceptance.
Budget Availability Check
The budget availability control of WBS elements involves both an active and a passive availability control:
- Active availability control: Active availability control means that, for each actual posting (for example, time confirmation, goods issue), the system checks whether the WBS budget is sufficient. Depending on the settings in the budget profile, a warning or error message may be issued.
- Passive availability control: Passive availability control means that the system provides you with sufficient reporting options to check your budgets. Costs charged to the order then appear in the budget overview for each WBS element.
The figure below (Transaction S_ALR_87013557 [Report Budget/Actual/Variance]) shows a WBS with several elements to which budgets were assigned. Ongoing plant maintenance tasks are then shown in the actual costs and/or the remaining availabilities.
Budgeting with WBS Elements in SAP PM
Behind the WBS elements, either an actual plant maintenance project exists, or you can use the elements for purely budgeting purposes in order to manage the ongoing budget. Thus, from a plant maintenance perspective, you can budget all plant maintenance activity using WBS elements.
To budget with WBS elements, the following prerequisites must be satisfied:
- You have assigned your technical objects (equipment, functional locations) a WBS element in the master record.
- You have used the Customizing function Define Transfer of Project or Investment Program for each order type with an assignment with an “X” to ensure that the WBS elements will be transferred from the master record into the order.
- You have used the Customizing function Maintain Budget Profile to create a budget profile and assign your WBS elements.
- You have used the Customizing function Define Tolerance Limits to define the limits for your controlling area and your budget profile, the thresholds at which warning messages and error messages are issued, thereby activating active availability control.
Conclusion
WBS elements can be an attractive tool for budget monitoring because you’ll have active availability control, the activation of which prevents the order budget from being exceeded due to actual postings. With reporting tools, you also have the option of passive availability control.
Editor’s note: This post has been adapted from a section of the book Plant Maintenance with SAP S/4HANA: Business User Guide by Karl Liebstückel and Markus Seidl. Prof. Dr. Liebstückel was a professor of information management and business software at the Technical University Würzburg-Schweinfurt in Germany, and he has approximately 40 years of experience in the field of enterprise asset management. Markus is a chief solution architect at SAP with more than 25 years of experience in the field of enterprise asset management.
This post was originally published 3/2020 and updated 5/2026.
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