Business Workflows#

Business Workflows is a tool within Critical Manufacturing MES that allows users to design DEEs using a low-code visual interface with drag-and-drop tasks. It is ideal for building workflows to address simple scenarios and is managed as a system-versioned entity.

These applications can be used for standalone functions or event handling. In this tutorial, we'll focus on the event handling use case.

This tool is designed for users who are not IT experts, but who have a basic understanding of workflows, which you will have at the end of this tutorial.

Overview#

In this tutorial, our goal is to walk through three progressively complex scenarios, each reflecting possible use cases in a client factory environment:

• Shipping a Material
• Preventing a Material from starting production
• Placing a retrieved Material to start production

Throughout these scenarios, we'll explore the following key concepts:

• Business Event Tasks
• Material, Resource and Notification MES tasks
• Reference Syntax
• Addition of inputs and setting override

Syntax#

Before diving in, it is important to understand the syntax used to reference data that will be used as inputs in your workflow.

Each task available in the workflow has a unique name, along with its defined inputs and outputs. To reference this data, there is a structure to be followed.

If you want to access the input of a given task, this is the syntax used: {{$task_name.input_or_output_name}}.

• Example: {{$MaterialTrackOutPost_1.Material}}

If you want to access properties within the input of a give task, this is the syntax used: {{$task_name.input_or_output_name.property_1.property_2.[...].property_n}}.

• Example: {{$MaterialTrackOutPost_1.Material.LastProcessedResource.Type}}

To know more about this, check out Business Workflow Task.

Scenario: Ship Material#

Consider a production context with multiple production Flows, where the final Step in each Flow is a pass-through Step with the Allow Shipping flag set to true.

The requirement is: when a Material reaches these Steps, it should be automatically shipped to a new Facility - the Distribution Center.

Configuration#

To configure this scenario in the system, we start by identifying the trigger. What initiates the workflow?

The answer is: when the Material changes Step. This leads us to select the Business Workflow event Material.ChangeStep.Post.

Next, the system must evaluate the current Step the Material has reached. This highlights the need for a Logic Task If, where the condition checks if the Is Shipping Allowed property of the Step is set to true. If so, the Material should be shipped to the Distribution Center, which requires the use of the MES Material Task Ship.

Follow the tabs below, from left to right, to navigate through the resulting configuration:

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the configuration process:

1. Start by creating a new Business Workflow. Select the Business Event best suited for this scenario:
   • Material.ChangeStep.Post
2. Drag and drop the Logic Task If, and set the following condition:
   • {{$MaterialChangeStepPost_1.Material.Step.IsShippingAllowed==true}}
3. Drag and drop the MES Material Task Ship, and configure its inputs:
   • Material: {{$MaterialChangeStepPost_1.Material}}
   • Facility: Distribution Center
4. Save and set this version as effective.

You can find the exportable file of this scenario here: XML File.

Testing#

Preconditions:

• Ensure there is a Flow with a Step where shipping is not allowed — this is where the Material should initially be.
• Define another Step with the Is Shipping Allowed property set to true, either within the same Flow or in a different one.
• Confirm that Facility relationships are configured to allow shipping between the current location and the Distribution Center.

Test scenario:

• Perform a Move Next on a Material, where the next Step has shipping allowed.
• Alternatively, perform a Change Flow and Step to one where shipping is allowed.
• In both cases, the Material should transition to In Transit, indicating that it was successfully shipped.

Scenario: Prevent Material from Starting Production#

Consider a manufacturing scenario where a minimum of 10 units of the primary quantity of the Material is required for production to begin.

The requirement is: if a Material is dispatched and this minimum is not met, it should automatically be placed on hold with the "Quantity Below Minimum" Reason, and the Resource should transition to the Unscheduled Down state.

Configuration#

The trigger for this scenario is the dispatching of a Material, which means the appropriate Business Event for this workflow is Material.Dispatch.Post.

Since there is a condition based on the primary quantity of the Material, we need to use a Logic Task If to evaluate whether the quantity is less than 10. If the condition is met, two actions should occur:

• The Material should be placed on hold, using the MES Material Task Hold task.
• The Resource where the Material was dispatched to should be set to the Unscheduled Down state, using the MES Resource Task Change State task.

Follow the tabs below, from left to right, to navigate through the resulting configuration:

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the configuration process:

1. Start by creating a new Business Workflow. Select the Business Event best suited for this scenario: Material.Dispatch.Post
2. Drag and drop the Logic Task If, and set the following condition: {{$MaterialDispatchPost_1.Material.PrimaryQuantity<10}}

3. Drag and drop the MES Material Task Hold, and configure its inputs:

   • Material: {{$MaterialDispatchPost_1.Material}}
   • Reason: Quantity Below Minimum

4. Drag and drop the MES Resource Task Change State, and configure its inputs:

   • Resource: {{$MaterialDispatchPost_1.Resource}}
   • State: Unscheduled Down

5. Save and set this version as effective.

You can find the exportable file of this scenario here: XML File.

Testing#

Preconditions:

• The Resource to be used must be in a state other than Unscheduled Down.
• The Hold Reason must be created and associated with the Step being used.
• The primary quantity of the Material must be less than 10.

Test scenario:

• Perform a Material Dispatch.
• After dispatching, the Material should be placed on hold with the appropriate Reason, and the Resource should transition to the Unscheduled Down state.

Scenario: Place Retrieved Material to Start Production#

Consider the scenario where the requirements are: if a Material is retrieved from the Warehouse Step, it should automatically be moved to the Step where production starts, by updating its Flow and Step.

Additionally, a Notification should be sent indicating that the Material is ready for production. This notification must have the information about the Product, Step, and Facility associated with the Material.

Configuration#

The trigger for this scenario is when a Material is retrieved, which means the appropriate Business Event is Material.Retrieve.Post.

A condition must then be evaluated to ascertain whether the Step from which the Material is retrieved is the Warehouse Step. This requires the use of the Logic Task If task. If the condition is met, two actions should follow:

• The Flow and Step of the Material should be updated, which calls for the use of the MES Material Task Change Flow and Step task.
• A Notification should be sent, using the MES Notification Task Create Notification task. In this case, we'll use a general notification that dynamically displays the Material name, along with its Product, Step, and Facility.

To achieve this dynamic content, we'll introduce a new concept: adding inputs to override task settings — such as the message content in the Create Notification task.

Adding Inputs and Outputs#

To add new inputs or outputs, use the icon located on the left pane of the designer, on the input or output section.

After clicking it:

• Provide a name that starts with a letter and does not contain whitespaces or special characters.
• Then, select the appropriate Type from the list of available options.
• Lastly, define the Collection Type.

To know more about this, check out Business Workflow Task.

Going back to the scenario, follow the tabs from left to right to see the resulting configuration for the first three tasks:

To make it easier to read, you can see continue following the tabs from left to right to see the configuration of the MES Material Task Create Notification task:

Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the configuration process:

1. Start by creating a new Business Workflow. Select the Business Event best suited for this scenario: Material.Retrieve.Post
2. Drag and drop the Logic Task If task, and set the following condition: {{$MaterialRetrievePost_1.Material.Step.Name=="Warehouse"}}

3. Drag and drop the MES Material Task Change Flow and Step task, and configure its inputs:

   • Material: {{$MaterialRetrievePost_1.Material}}
   • Flow Path: Production Flow:A:1/First Step:1

4. Drag and drop the MES Notification Task Create Notification task, and configure its settings and inputs:

   • Settings:

     • Name: [Empty]
     • Description: Material Ready For Production
     • Type: General (value must exist on NotificationType Lookup Table)
     • Title: Default title (to be overriden)
     • Description: Default Description (to be overriden)
     • Severity: Information (value must exist on NotificationSeverity Lookup Table)
     • Assignment: Everyone
     • applicable filer: None
     • Mode: Manual Single User

   • Inputs:

     • Add input

       • Name: Title
       • Type: String
       • Collection Type: None
       • Value: "{{$MaterialRetrievePost_1.Material.Name}} Material is ready for Production."

     • Add input

       • Name: Details
       • Type: String
       • Collection Type: None
       • Value: "Product: {{$MaterialRetrievePost_1.Material.Product.Name}} <br\> Step Name: {{$MaterialRetrievePost_1.Material.Step.Name}} <br\> Facility Name: {{$MaterialRetrievePost_1.Material.Facility.Name}}"

5. Save and set this version as effective.

You can find the exportable file of this scenario here: XML File.

Testing#

Preconditions:

• The Warehouse Step must have a required storage Service, and there must be a Resource available to provide it.
• The Material to be used should already be stored.
• The Generic Table NotificationSeverity must contain an entry for the configured Notification Type.

Test scenario:

• Perform Material Retrieve.
• After retrieval, the Material should move to the defined Flow Path, and a Notification should appear displaying the Material name, Product, Step, and Facility.

Final Notes#

Caption#

You can customize the caption of a task, which controls the text displayed on the block and its associated fields. While it is not mandatory and holds no functional impact, it can improve clarity and readability within the workflow.

For example the default Caption for the MES Material Task Hold task is:

• Hold Material {{input.Material}} with {{input.HoldReason}} Reason.

However, you can modify this caption by adding or removing appearance inputs in the task block. Here's an example of a customized version:

• Hold Material {{input.Material}} with {{input.HoldReason}} Reason and if I wanted, I would be able to say the comment here {{input.Comment}}

For more information on caption, check out Business Workflow Task.

Input#

Inputs are the data values required for a task (function) to execute. These values typically come from direct properties of entities referenced by "parent" tasks. No attributes or inherited Product Characteristics are available as inputs.

Inputs can be either referenced dynamically or hardcoded. For example, assuming the task has an input called "Resource", you can:

• Reference it dynamically: {{$MaterialTrackOutPost_1.Resource}}
• Hardcode the value: Baker-01

Both are valid, depending on the use case.

For more information on inputs and syntax, check out Business Workflow Task.

Output#

Some tasks come with automatically defined outputs, such as {{$this.Material}}. These outputs represent the result of the task itself and may be required by other system processes or dependencies.

It is strongly advised not to remove these outputs, as doing so could impact the proper functioning of the workflow or system behavior as a whole.

This syntax is not used as an input in other tasks—it's specific to the task's own context.

For more information on outputs and syntax, check out Business Workflow Task.

Tasks#

If you want to explore other tasks, checkout this Business Workflow Tasks.