About document requirements in RamBase
Document requirements are planned documentation requirements for a single produced unit. Documentation may be required for internal records or for the final generation of the customer's Manufacturing record book.
Requirements are elements that are directly connected to the Production work order and follow a life cycle status flow to indicate whether the required document has been provided or not. Requirements are also containers for the document file itself.
A requirement is met when a file, matching the file type defined in the document requirements, is uploaded to the Production work order (PWO) or any other connected object like Product unit (LCM), Sales order (COA), Goods reception (SSA), Purchase order (SPO), Purchase order responses (SOA), etc.
Once this connection is made between the requirement file type id and document using the same file type id, the requirement changes Status from 4 to 8. The requirement status is always shown in any application where requirements are listed. This gives a precise indication of whether the document is present or not.
As production comes to an end, all requirements should be met. The files in the requirements are collected for the Manufacturing record book (MRB).
The following text will focus on creating an understanding of what document requirements are in RamBase and how they are fulfilled in the production and purchase process.
(For a step by step guide, please refer to The process of creating a Manufacturing book of requirements - Procedure.)
Document requirements flow
Requirements are to some degree automated from setup on File types (FIT). The automated requirements follow three stages:
Any operation can be defined on a File type (FIT) to automatically create a requirement. This means that if the operation is included in a Product structure (KITART), all file types that have this operation defined will generate a requirement for documentation. This requirement connects itself to the KIT and is hereby defined as a planned requirement.
Planned requirements are connected to Product structures (KIT) and hold information about the file types it requires when the Product structure (KIT) is selected for a Production work order (PWO). These planned requirements are templates that form the base for document requirements when used in a Production work order (PWO). Planned requirements will always be directly connected to Product structures (KIT), Product structure (KITART), and Production work order structure (KITDOC). When a Product structure (KITART) is used in production, it is copied into a Production structure (KITDOC) and connected to the Production work order (PWO). All planned requirements are copied to the new KIT structure, KITDOC. As production is being planned, new requirements can be added to the structure. When a Production work order (PWO) reaches Status 5 - Ready, all planned requirements are used as a base to generate document requirements that attach to the Production work order.
Document requirements are formed firstly from planned requirements on structures. The planner can also create new requirements directly on the Production work order (PWO) after production has started. These requirements are considered “last-minute requirements” and will not reflect back to the Product structure (KITART) as a planned requirement. These requirements only apply on this particular Production work order (PWO). These requirements have a status life-cycle and will terminate as the Production work order (PWO) is shipped to the Customer (CUS). The status starts in Status 4 - Requirement not met, where no document is connected to it, and it goes to Status 8 - as a document with the matching file type is connected to the Production work order (PWO),or one of the related object entities.
In summary, planned requirements and requirements can be created independently from the automated process, on the Product structure (KIT) and in the Production work order (PWO). Planned requirements added to Product structures (KITART) will follow to the next production, while planned requirements added to a Production structure (KITDOC) will not, as it is only used once for the particular Production work order (PWO).
Document requirements for production applications
Defines the base data of what will become requirements when used in Product structures (KITART).
Add operations, parts or resources to a file type and it will generate planned requirements to all active KITs. It will not generate requirements to Production work orders (PWO) as these are already planned and will not be subjected to automation.
Product structures (KITART) and Production structures (KITDOC)
When building structures, planned requirements are automatically added if operations or parts are used that is also specified on file types. In the designer there is the Documentation requirements area to the left that lists all planned requirements. This area also allows the planner to directly create new planned requirements or delete them.
This designer view applies to both Product structure (KITART) and Production structure (KITDOC). Adding planned requirements to a Production structure (KITDOC) will automatically generate requirements to the connected Production work order (PWO), when the structure version is activated. If planned requirements are later added to the Production structure (KITDOC), requirements are not automatically created for the Production work order (PWO), but in this case the planner can reload requirements from plan from the Production work order (PWO) in the context menu, by selecting the View document requirements option and clicking the Load from plan icon.
After the kit version has been activated, Planned requirements can be accessed for viewing and editing document requirements from a new icon in the top icon bar. This icon will open the Planned requirements popup which are connected to the Product structure (KITART). This icon is also available in the Production structure (KITDOC) application.
The Planned requirements popup also includes a Rebuild button on the grid footer. This function will delete all planned requirements and create new requirements from File types (FIT).
Production work order (PWO) application
In the context menu, the View document requirements option is available. This option will open the same popup as in Product structure (KITDOC). The Document requirements popup will display the current statuses of requirements that indicates if requirements have been met or not. If a requirement is met, it will have Status 8, meaning it has one or more documents connected to it. Connected documents will not be displayed in this popup, but they can be inspected in the Manufacturing record book (MRB) application.
In the Document requirements popup footer there are three buttons:
Buttons | Result |
|---|---|
New button | Click the New button to create a new planned requirement in the Create new planned requirement popup. The following fields and buttons are available in following popup:
|
Reset from plan button | Click this button to delete all requirements and create new requirements from the Planned requirements in the Product structure (KITART). |
Load from plan button | Click this button to keep the current requirements, and recheck and add requirements from the Planned requirements in the Product structure (KITART). |
Document requirements in the purchase process
In the Purchase order item (SPOITEM) application, a purchaser can select requirements from the Production work order (PWO), to specify the kind of documentation the supplier must provide. These requirements can be created and selected in the Requirements and attachments tab in the Purchase order item (SPOITEM) application.
Click the Create new requirement button and select a type in the Select type dropdown menu.
The tab has two lists:
Document requirements
Documents
These requirements will then be available in the Receive goods (RPP) application.
The Document requirements lists documents from both the linked Production work order (PWO), and the Purchase order item (SPOITEM). The Include checkbox is used to create a link between the documents on the Production work order (PWO) and the Purchase order item (SPOITEM).
Note
This is only for external work as these Purchase order items (SPOITEM) will have a direct link to the Production work order (PWO). Other Purchase order items (SPOITEM) for parts will not show requirements initially, but requirements can later be added and linked to the Purchase order item (SPOITEM) in the Goods reception (SSA) process.
Documents that have a direct link to the Purchase order item (SPOITEM) will have the Include checkbox checked in the Documents list and can be inspected by clicking the File manager , found in the Toolbar and then selecting the Files for ... option.
When sending the Purchase order (SPO) to the supplier, the user can use the Select attachments for email to select which files are shared in the share portal. The same principles apply for Purchase order responses (SOA), but the document requirements will be collected from the source Purchase order (SPO).
Manufacturing record book (MRB) document requirements
From the main Production work order (PWO), click on the Context menu and select the Document status overview (MRB) option.
This will open the Manufacturing record book (MRB) application. Click on the Document list tab to see the complete list of all requirements and documents.