Configuring a Sampling Plan in a Step and Flow#

After you create the Sampling Plan, apply it through conditions in the Flow Structure. The conditions are Step Sampling and Sampling Plan.

Sampling Plan#

The Sampling Plan condition determines a Material's eligibility for sampling according to the configuration specified in the Sampling Plan. For more details on flow conditions, see Create Flow.

Scenario#

In a sterile syringe manufacturing line, each Syringe goes through Molding, Assembly, Plunger Insertion, Sterilization, and Marking. At the Sterile Integrity & Seal Inspection step, the Sampling Plan determines whether each lot is sampled. For example, Critical Manufacturing MES may require sampling every hour. When Syringes reach this step, the system selects only the eligible lot for sterile integrity and seal-strength testing, while the remaining lots proceed directly to the next step. This ensures compliance with medical safety standards and verifies sterility and sealing quality without slowing high-volume production.

Configuration#

• Create the necessary Critical Manufacturing MES entities to support the scenario, such as Steps, Flows, Resources, and Services.
• Create a Sampling Plan of type Time-Based with a Time Frequency of 1 hour (SP_PressureTest).

• Create a new version of the Flow and mark the Sterile Integrity & Seal Evaluation step as Optional.
• Add the condition Sampling Plan and select SP_PressureTest.

Execution#

On the Sampling Plan page, in the Instances section, you can verify that for the defined Material Product context, the system selects one Material belonging to that Product for sampling every hour. In this example, the Last Sampling Date is 12:16 PM, which means the next Material selected for sampling will occur from 1:16 PM onward.

Until one hour has passed since the last sampled Material, Track-Out & Move-Next skips the optional Step of the Flow where the Sampling Plan condition is defined for every Material of the specified Product instance.

Once the hour passes, the system selects the next Material belonging to the specified Product instance for sampling and processes it in the Step where the Sampling Plan applies.

See this scenario demonstrated in the following video:

Step Sampling#

Step Sampling is a condition available in the Flow Structure for Flow Items that are optional. Its purpose is to evaluate whether a Material qualifies for sampling according to the sampling configuration defined for the selected Step.

Scenario#

In an automotive assembly line, Engines pass through multiple production Steps. During the Cylinder Honing step, Critical Manufacturing MES evaluates whether a lot should later be inspected based on a Sampling Plan, in this case every 10th Engine. The Engines continue through assembly normally, and only the previously selected Engines perform the Torque Inspection step. This ensures machining quality is monitored without slowing down the line, as the inspection is performed at the stage where torque can actually be measured.

Configuration#

• Create the necessary Critical Manufacturing MES entities to support the scenario, such as Steps, Flows, Resources, and Services.
• Create a Sampling Plan of type Counter-Based with a Counter Frequency of 10.

• Define the Cylinder Honing step as the Sampling Plan Evaluation Step for the Sampling Plan SP_TorqueSampling. For configuration details at the step level, see Manage Sampling Plans.

• Mark the Torque Inspection step as Optional.
• Add the condition Step Sampling, selecting Cylinder Honing as the Sampling Step.

Execution#

On the Sampling Plan page, in the Instances section, you can verify that for the defined Material Product context, the system selects every 10th Material belonging to that Product for sampling. In this example, the Current Sampling Counter is 1, which means the next Material selection for sampling will occur once the count reaches 10 at the Sampling Step Cylinder Honing.

Until the Current Sampling Counter reaches the 10th Material, Track-Out & Move-Next skips the optional Step of the Flow where the Sampling Plan condition is defined for every Material of the specified Product instance.

Once the Current Sampling Counter reaches the 10th Material, meaning 10 Materials of that Product have been processed in the Cylinder Honing step, the system selects that Material for sampling and processes it in the Step where the Sampling Plan applies.

For more information about Sampling Plan conditions, refer to Create Flow.

See this scenario demonstrated in the following video: