| Benefits of the Assembly Control Module |  |
| Assembly Control overview Use the Assembly Control (ASC) module to schedule and control assembly orders. Assembly control can be used in high-volume and low-volume environments. You can select a line station or order based processing at the time of implementation, based on your requirements. System performance is enhanced, and the data storage capacity is reduced through the use of the following: Line-station based transaction handling. Transactions are carried out by period. Line-station variants. Orders are stored by common variants rather than individually. The functionality of Assembly Control can be roughly divided into the following sections: Sequencing. The assembly orders can be remixed and scheduled by Assembly Control. Dispatching. Material requirements are dispatched to the shop floor or to a supplier, and work instructions can be printed. Many of these processes are run by process triggers. Monitoring. Events are reported to ERP LN in order to continue the assembly process using real-time activities. Costing. Most of the financial calculations are carried out outside the scope of Assembly Control. Cost components can be defined on either a detailed or aggregated level, or a combination of the two. Assembly planning overview The Assembly Planning module is used to plan the assembly of product variants and to generate assembly orders in Assembly Control. Assembly Planning carries out the planning for the assembly of product variants and generating assembly orders for assembly lines in a mixed model flow production environment, which is characterized by high volumes and many variants of complex products. Before you can use Assembly Planning, you must set the APL parameters in the Assembly Planning Parameters (tiapl0500m000) details session. Note that the behavior of several sessions depends on one or more of the following parameters: Is Master Company If this check box is selected, your current company is defined as the master company. The master company can be one of the companies of the assembly line, or a separate company. The master company is used to store master data, such as product variants and BOMs. You can only maintain data and run processes if you work in the master company. This rule applies to Assembly Control, where you define the assembly line structure, and to Assembly Planning. In Assembly Planning, one exception is the Configurable Item - Assembly Line (tiapl2500m000) session. If this check box is cleared, the fields in this session are disabled. Note You can select this check box only if no assembly orders are present in this company. You can clear this check box only if no product variants are present in this company. External Assembly Parts and Operations If this check box is selected, an external source delivers the flattened assembly parts and operations to Assembly Planning. If this check box is cleared, the assembly parts and operations are flattened during the calculation of the assembly part requirements. External Product Variant Structure If this check box is selected, the generic BOM relations between the generic end item and the engineering modules are delivered to Assembly Planning from an external source. ERP LN provides no functionality to copy this information to the product variant structure. If this check box is cleared, the generic BOM relations between the generic end item and the engineering modules are copied from the generic BOM to the order-specific BOM when you run the Generate Product Variant Structures (tiapl3210m000) session. Note The product variant structure defines the following types of relations: The relation between generic items and generic sub-items. These relations are always copied when the product variant structure is created, which is upon order entry, when the created product variant is saved. These relations can occur on several levels, not only directly below the end item. The relation between generic items and engineering modules. Only these relations are affected by the current parameter. Test Mode If this check box is selected, the Assembly Planning module operates in test mode. In test mode, you can maintain data that is otherwise maintained by external packages. If the External Assembly Parts and Operations check box is selected, the following data is maintained externally: Operations, which is displayed in the Operations (tiapl1500m000) session Operation assignments, which is displayed in the Operation Assignments (tiapl1510m000) session Product variant structures, which is displayed in the Product Variant Structures (tiapl3510m000) session If the External Assembly Parts and Operations check box is selected, you cannot maintain this data from within ERP LN, unless you operate in test mode. In test mode, you can also run the Actualize Assembly Line Costing Data (ticpr0215m000) session for a manually chosen effective date. The main processes in Assembly Planning are as follows: The product variant is generated. The product variant structure is generated. The assembly part requirements are calculated. The assembly orders are created. The following sections provide an overview of these processes. For detailed information, refer to the online help of the related sessions, and to the related topics listed at the end of this document. Step 1. The product variant is generated The product variant is generated on sales order entry. In the Sales Order Lines (tdsls4101m000) session, the sales order line specifies the generic item that is sold, and other data, such as the required offline date and price. For production purposes, the information that is entered on the sales order line is stored in a product variant. The product variant represents the specific product that is sold. You can view the product variant in the Product Variants (tiapl3500m000) session. Step 2. The product variant structure is generated So far, the product variant is only a reference to the product without production data. This production data must be determined by solving the relations to the generic sub-items and engineering modules that make up the generic end item. These relations are solved based on effective dates or units, or both. When PCF is not used, the generic sub-items and engineering modules are retrieved from the generic BOM, which you can view in the Generic Bill of Material (tiapl2510m000) session. The result of this process is stored in the product variant structure, which is displayed in the Product Variant Structures (tiapl3510m000) session. If you use PCF, the relations to the generic sub-items and engineering modules that make up the generic end item are solved against the Generic BOM in the PCF module. The relations to generic sub-items are solved when the product variant is generated, that is, on sales order entry. The relations to engineering modules are solved in a separate process. You can run this process through the Generate Product Variant Structures (tiapl3210m000) session. The Calculate Assembly Part Requirements (tiapl2221m000) session, the Create Assembly Orders (tiapl3201m000) session, and the Refresh and Freeze Assembly Orders (tiapl3203m000) session can run this process also. The assembly parts and operations that are required to assemble the end item are stored below the level of the engineering modules. In the Flattened Assembly Parts and Operations (tiapl2520m000) session, you can view the parts and operations per engineering module. The operations are defined in the Operations (tiapl1500m000) session. Operations are assigned to line stations in the Operation Assignments (tiapl1510m000) session. Note the following: Generic sub-items can have their own generic sub-items. One or more engineering modules can be related to each generic item. If the External Product Variant Structure check box is selected in the details of the Assembly Planning Parameters (tiapl0500m000) session, only the relations between the generic items are solved. The relations to the engineering modules are delivered from an external source. In ERP LN, there are three ways to retrieve the flattened parts: Import: To import the flattened parts and operations, you must select the External Assembly Parts and Operations check box in the Assembly Planning Parameters (tiapl0500m000) session. Define manually. Obtain through EDM, which involves a flattening procedure. In ERP LN, the flattened parts and operations are delivered from an external source. Therefore, the External Assembly Parts and Operations check box in the Assembly Planning Parameters (tiapl0500m000) session is always selected. Therefore, you can maintain the data in several sessions only if you work in test mode. Product variants that are no longer required can be deleted by the Purge Product Variants (tiapl3200m000) session. Step 3. The assembly part requirements are calculated If the product variants and product variant structures are generated, the assembly part requirements can be calculated, and assembly orders can be created. Assembly part requirements are calculated based on the product variant structures and the flattened assembly parts. The assembly part requirements are calculated for product variants whose planned offline date falls within the demand time fence. The demand time fence is defined in the details of the Assembly Planning Parameters (tiapl0500m000) session. The calculation is based on segment schedules that indicate on which date the assembly parts are required for each segment, based on the offline date of the assembly order. Segment schedules are displayed in the Segment Schedules (tiapl4500m000) session. When the assembly part requirements are calculated, they are transferred to Enterprise Planning. Step 4. The assembly orders are created Assembly orders are created for product variants whose planned offline date falls within the assembly order time fence of the roll-off line. The assembly orders are created by Assembly Planning, but are stored and carried out in Assembly Control. In a multicompany situation, assembly orders are created for each company. Assembly orders can only be created for assembly lines that are actualized, which means that the lines are released for use in the production process. Only assembly lines that are valid can be actualized. You can validate and actualize assembly lines in the Actualize Assembly Lines (tiasl1231m000) session. You can also validate the assembly lines in the Validate Assembly Lines (tiasl1230m000) session. Assembly order creation uses the concept of line-station variants (LSVs). LSVs store the materials and operations per line station. You can use the Refresh and Freeze Assembly Orders (tiapl3203m000) session to refresh and freeze assembly orders. Refreshed orders are updated with changes in the product variant or product variant structure. Frozen orders are no longer updated automatically. Frozen orders can be updated manually only in Assembly Control. The update of assembly orders also applies to the concept of LSVs. The update determines whether the LSVs that can be created based on the new product variant and/or product variant structure will differ from the existing LSVs. If the LSVs will differ, new LSVs are created, where required, and sent to Assembly Control. In the Product Variant - Assembly Lines (tiapl3520m000) session, you can view on which assembly lines a product variant is assembled. The session displays whether the required assembly parts are already allocated in Assembly Control, and whether the assembly order on the specified assembly line is frozen. On another assembly line, the same order can be non-frozen or only partly frozen. The Assembly Control (ASC) module can support the following concepts: Optimize the sequence in which the customer orders are assembled. Different shifts: Each operating at different line speeds, that is, takt times. For more information, refer to cycle time. Partial Freeze: You can change the specifics of the ordered item, even when assembly of that item has already started. For more information, refer to freeze. Multicompany/multisite: Enterprises today have multisite assembly structure, often across the nations. The Assembly Control solution supports assembly processes in multisite environments. Use the process-triggered workflow to reduce manual inputs: Workers must be able to assemble the products in an optimal fashion, aided by an information system. In a flow-oriented assembly environment, progress is highly predictable. The Assembly Control module requires minimal user input. Predictable tasks can be automated using Process Triggering, which reduces non-value added tasks and increases efficiency levels. Bar code techniques: Printing and reading information using bar codes, reducing manual inputs, and increasing efficiency and accuracy. Just-in-Time techniques: The demand and supply of the material, that is JIT item, to the assembly line is synchronised to the last minute. ERP LN Assembly Control supports the JIT techniques by a wide range of supply methods and supply optimization methods. Collaboration with external suppliers: ERP LN Assembly Control supports the delivery of goods by an external supplier; directly to assembly Line, at the correct time, to the correct place, in the correct order ( supply in line sequence ), using Purchase Schedules and EDI. Efficient costing techniques: Line-station-based costing, Hours and Materials Back Flushing per line station or segment of the line instead of per order, which reduces system overhead and improves performance. For more information, refer to Assembly order costing. High volumes: Assembly environments often deal with high volumes of complex configurations and related execution orders. The ERP LN Assembly Control (ASC) solution supports high-volume assembly environments from a functional perspective and a performance perspective. After Sales Service: Unique serial numbers can be generated for every end item and assembly part, for example, the VIN number. Existing standards and legal formats can be supported. As Built information is collected when the product is assembled to support the process of lifecycle management. |