How the HCM Data Loader Worker.dat file works — the worker business object and its components, the METADATA/MERGE pipe-delimited format, and how to load it into Oracle Fusion HCM.
HCM data doesn’t use FBDI — it uses the HCM Data Loader (HDL). Instead of CSV, HDL uses pipe-delimited .dat files, one per business object, zipped and loaded through Data Exchange. The core worker object file is Worker.dat.
A single Worker.dat file carries the worker and its child components, each identified by a METADATA line and MERGE data lines:
Worker — person record and hirePersonName — namesPersonLegislativeData — gender, marital status, legislationPersonAddress — addressesPersonEmail / PersonPhoneWorkRelationship, WorkTerms, Assignment — employmentEach section starts with a METADATA line listing the attributes, followed by MERGE lines with the values, pipe-delimited. For example:
METADATA|Worker|PersonNumber|StartDate|ActionCode MERGE|Worker|100025|2015-01-01|HIRE METADATA|PersonName|PersonNumber|EffectiveStartDate|LastName|FirstName MERGE|PersonName|100025|2015-01-01|Smith|Alex
Generate Worker.dat (and related object files) with METADATA/MERGE lines.
Package the .dat file(s) into a single ZIP.
Upload through Data Exchange → HCM Data Loader → Import and Load Data.
Check the HDL import status, fix rejected lines, reload, and reconcile counts.
Real PeopleSoft → Fusion HCM load via HDL: PeopleSoft → Oracle Fusion HCM case study →
It’s the HCM Data Loader file for the Worker business object — a pipe-delimited .dat file carrying the worker and its components (PersonName, PersonAddress, WorkRelationship, Assignment, etc.), loaded through the HCM Data Loader.
FBDI loads ERP objects via CSV and interface tables; HDL (HCM Data Loader) loads HCM objects via pipe-delimited .dat files such as Worker.dat, zipped and imported through Data Exchange.
Each business-object section has a METADATA line listing attributes, followed by MERGE lines with pipe-delimited values, e.g. METADATA|Worker|PersonNumber|StartDate|ActionCode then MERGE|Worker|100025|2015-01-01|HIRE.
Syntra generates and loads FBDI/HDL for every object at scale — with source extraction, mapping and reconciliation built in. Skip the hand-built templates.