Search Results ben_pl_info_types




Overview
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Overview

BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES is a configuration table in the Oracle Advanced Benefits (BEN) module that defines the catalog of plan information types available within a benefits implementation. Each row represents a distinct category of supplementary data that can be captured against a benefits plan — for example, provider network identifiers, coverage tier details, or plan-specific eligibility attributes. In Oracle EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, this table sits at the foundation of the benefits setup model, providing the metadata that drives the display, validation, and storage behavior of plan-related information.

The table is owned by the BEN schema and carries a primary key constraint named BEN_PL_TYPE_INFO_TYPES_PK, defined on the INFORMATION_TYPE column. Under the heuristic Data Vault classification supplied with the ETRM metadata, BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES is described as a standalone object, meaning it exhibits no foreign-key dependencies on other tables in the documented model. In practice, this suggests modeling it as a reference or hub-style entity whose natural business key is INFORMATION_TYPE, with the remaining descriptive attributes treated as satellite content. Its role is fundamentally reference-oriented: it supplies controlled vocabulary rather than transactional volume.

Key Information Stored

The documented physical schema contains sixteen columns. The most significant are:

  • INFORMATION_TYPE — The primary key and the core business identifier. This code uniquely names each plan information type and is the value referenced by dependent configuration and transaction tables elsewhere in the BEN schema.
  • DESCRIPTION — The user-facing label rendered in the Oracle Forms-based setup UI and in concurrent program output.
  • ACTIVE_INACTIVE_FLAG — Controls whether the information type is selectable during plan configuration. Inactive rows are retained for historical integrity.
  • MULTIPLE_OCCURENCES_FLAG — Governs whether a plan may store more than one value for this information type. This flag directly influences downstream data entry behavior and cardinality.
  • LEGISLATION_CODE — Scopes the information type to a legislative jurisdiction, enabling country- or region-specific plan attributes within a global implementation.
  • ZD_EDITION_NAME — The editioning indicator used in 12.2 online patching and edition-based redefinition environments. It participates with INFORMATION_TYPE in the unique index BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES_N1 and must be considered in any query run against a 12.2.2 database.
  • Audit and concurrency columns — LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, CREATION_DATE, CREATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN, and OBJECT_VERSION_NUMBER provide the standard EBS WHO-column audit trail and optimistic locking support.
  • Concurrent manager columns — REQUEST_ID, PROGRAM_APPLICATION_ID, PROGRAM_ID, and PROGRAM_UPDATE_DATE record the concurrent request that last created or modified the row, which is useful when tracing setup data loaded by seed or migration programs.

The unique index BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES_N1 on (INFORMATION_TYPE, ZD_EDITION_NAME) is the effective business-key candidate in a 12.2.x environment, whereas the primary key on INFORMATION_TYPE alone reflects the logical model.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical usage centers on setup validation, migration auditing, and reporting joins. A standard lookup of active information types for a given legislation might read:

  • SELECT information_type, description, multiple_occurences_flag FROM ben.ben_pl_info_types WHERE active_inactive_flag = 'Y' AND legislation_code = :p_legislation ORDER BY description;
  • Detecting duplicate or conflicting definitions across editions: query BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES and group by INFORMATION_TYPE to confirm a single active row after an online patching cycle.
  • Auditing recently changed setup: filter on LAST_UPDATE_DATE and LAST_UPDATED_BY to identify who modified plan information type configuration during a release window.
  • Migration reconciliation: compare the set of INFORMATION_TYPE values in a source instance against the target, using REQUEST_ID and PROGRAM_ID to identify rows inserted by a specific concurrent program.

Because the object is low-volume and reference-oriented, it is frequently extracted in full and cached in reporting layers or converted into a value set for use by concurrent program parameters.

Related Objects

The ETRM metadata classifies BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES as standalone, so no explicit foreign-key relationships are documented. In the functional model, however, the following objects depend on or reference it:

  • BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES_N1 — the unique index on (INFORMATION_TYPE, ZD_EDITION_NAME) that enforces business-key uniqueness in 12.2.x.
  • BEN_PL_TYPE_INFO_TYPES_PK — the primary key constraint declared on INFORMATION_TYPE.
  • Plan-level information tables within the BEN schema that store captured values, joining to BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES.INFORMATION_TYPE to resolve descriptions and flags.
  • Benefits setup forms and concurrent programs that populate REQUEST_ID, PROGRAM_ID, and PROGRAM_APPLICATION_ID, and which read this table to render available information types.
  • Legislation-driven configuration views that restrict INFORMATION_TYPE values by LEGISLATION_CODE.

Administrators and technical consultants should treat BEN_PL_INFO_TYPES as the authoritative registry for plan information type codes when building extracts or diagnosing setup discrepancies in Oracle Advanced Benefits.