Line Material Tracking#

Estimated time to read: 16 minutes

Material Tracking is at the core of any Manufacturing Execution System (MES). A typical plant will have many different types of Materials and a variety of Resources that may be linked to form a processing line.

As Materials change their characteristics during the course of the manufacturing process, capturing the real-time state of Materials, and having a clear understanding of what is happening, and how, to Materials as they progress from one Resource to the next, is essential for production floor operations.

Knowing how to manage and process Materials in a Line Resource (Resource with Processing Type defined as Line) is at the core of Line Material Tracking and is a critical part of an effective process in the discrete manufacturing sector.

This document will guide you through the setup of a Line and the Material Tracking whilst on it.

Overview#

In the context of this tutorial, a Line consists of a set of linked Resources (example: equipment connected through a conveyor belt). Material Tracking throughout a Line differs from the regular Material Tracking, so over the next sections it is explained how to model a production process with a Resource that has its Processing Type defined as Line (Line Resource), and how to track a Material through it.

The image below shows a Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Line and its individual Resources, a practical example of a Line Resource:

Concepts#

The table below describes the main concepts related to Line Material Tracking:

Table: Line Material Tracking main concepts

To link the concepts presented above, the object model is shown in the figure below:

Setting up a Line#

To track a Material through a Line, you need to create not only the Line Resource, but also the Sub-Resources, as well as all the Sub-Steps of the Line Flow. The next sub-sections will cover the Line production process configuration steps in more detail.

Create a Line Flow#

The Line Flow describes the sequence of Sub-Steps matching the individual operations performed throughout the Sub-Resources of the Line Resource. The Line Flow is intended for Sub-Materials. To create a Line Flow, the Steps of Processing Type defined as Process (Sub-Steps) must already be created.

The Line Flow must have the Flow Type defined as Line, as shown in the image below:

Create a Main Flow#

The Main Flow describes the sequence of high-level Steps intended for the Main Material which also includes the Line Step. To create a Main Flow, the Processing Type of the Steps must be defined as Process and the Line Flows must already be created.

The Main Flow must have the Flow Type defined as Sequential, Alternate or Non-Sequential Block.

The production Step for the Line Resource must be marked as a Line Step and one or more Line Flows must be added to the Line Step, as shown in the image below:

In the Line Step, the Line Flow Context must be defined. This context will determine which Line Flow will be used when tracking in a Material in the Line Step, since there may be more than one Line Flow for the same Line Step. The Line Flow Context configuration is shown in the table below:

Table: Line Flow Context properties

Create a Line Resource#

The Line Resource is a virtual Resource that represents all the Sub-Resources that make up the Line. To create a Line Resource, the Sub-Resources of the Line must already be created with the Processing Type defined as Process.

The Line Resource must have the Processing Type defined as Line and the option Enable Sub-Material Tracking must be set to true.

In the Manage Resource Structure wizard, the Sub-Resources of the Line should be configured, as shown in the image below:

Configure the Required Services#

A Resource provides Services and Materials require Services at a Step, as defined by the Service Context. To configure the Services, they must already be created in Critical Manufacturing MES with the Processing Type defined as Process.

The Service is configured through the Manage Services wizard found either through the Resource or in the Service page, as shown in the image below:

Considering the given SMT Line example and the concepts described so far, the combination of both schemes is shown in the following figure:

Caption:

Configure the Bill-of-Materials Context#

The Material consumption for the production of a Product (Target Product) in a Step is defined through the configured Bill-of-Materials (BOM).

The BOM must have the Scope defined as Materials and the Units must match the Step Units.

The BOM is configured in a Step through the Add BOM Context Record wizard, as shown in the image and detailed in the table below:

Table: BOM Context properties

The table below describes how the Line Assembly Mode, as defined in the Line Flow Context, works together with the Assembly Type, as defined in the BOM Context:

Table: Line Resource Material consumption

Configure the Durables Context#

The Durables required in a Step are defined through the configured Bill-of-Durables.

The BOM must have the Scope defined as Durables.

The BOM Items are configured through the Manage BOM Items wizard of the BOM, as described in the table below:

Table: Manage BOM Items properties

The BOM is configured in a Step through the Add Durables Context Record wizard, as shown in the image below:

Configure the Recipe Context#

To process a Material in a Step, and if a Recipe is needed in the Line Flow, this Recipe must exist and be added in the Recipe Context. At the Resource level, the property Recipe Management Enabled must be true.

The Recipe is defined through the Add Recipe Context Record(s) wizard, as shown in the image below:

Configure the Checklist Context#

If a Checklist is required the necessary context information must be defined.

The Checklist is defined through the Add Checklist Context Record(s) wizard, as shown in the image below:

Line Context Resolution and Validation#

The Line Flow Context resolution is performed when tracking in the Main Material in the Line Step. At this moment, the Line Flow for the Sub-Materials is selected.

For the Line Step, the Recipe, Durables, BOM, Data Collections, Documents, and Checklists are resolved normally for the Main Material and the Recipe and BOM of Durables Instances are created for the Main Material.

At the same time, for the Sub-Steps, the Recipe, Durables, BOM, and Data Collections are resolved always using the Main Material in the Context resolution. Any Recipe and BOM of Durables Instances are created at this time and will be applied for all the Sub-Materials when tracking through the Sub-Steps.

The validation of Durables and Consumable Feeds required throughout the Line Flow is performed depending on the defined Line Validation Mode.

Using a Line#

Before tracking in a Material in a Line Resource, it is necessary to set up the Line. Depending on the Line configuration, there are validations regarding the Line Durables, Consumables, and Recipe Parameters definition.

Perform Setup#

The Line set up information can be accessed in the View Setup wizard. This is available in the Resource View of the Resource, with the Processing Type defined as Line, by selecting the Material to be tracked in, as shown in the image below:

The View Setup For Material at Resource wizard will display the available information in each of its tabs:

Taking an example of a Line Resource with the Line Validation Mode defined as At Track In, all the Line Sub-Resources will be validated, at Track-In, regarding:

• The Durables required through the different Line Sub-Steps that must be attached to the Sub-Resources Position as defined in the BOM of Durables, as shown in the image below.
• The Consumables required throughout the Line Sub-Steps that must be attached to the Sub-Resources Consumable Feeds Position as defined in the BOM.

Track-In a Material#

At track in, information on Durables, BOM, and Recipe is displayed for the entire Line and Line Sub-Resources. For the Line Resource Recipe, the Recipe Parameters can be filled and edited, as shown in the image below:

When tracking in the Main Material in the Line Step, the Flow Path of the Sub-Materials is defined and the Sub-Materials are moved to the first Sub-Step of the resolved Line Flow.

If the Line Step has the Sub-Material Track State Depth set to 1, then the Sub-Materials can be tracked in, as shown in the image below.

The Assembly in the Sub-Steps may be performed when tracking in the Main Material, depending on the defined Line Assembly Mode:

The Sub-Materials can be tracked in and tracked out in the Sub-Resources through the Line Resource or Line Step Views, as shown in the image below:

Material Information#

After tracking in a Material in a Line Resource, the processing information regarding the Sub-Steps, Sub-Resources, Durables, BOMs, and Recipes of the Sub-Material throughout the Line Flow can be viewed in the View Line Setup wizard, as shown in the images below:

The View Line Setup wizard will display the available information in each of its tabs:

Record Material Losses#

To record losses on Sub-Materials, you can select the Sub-Material and open the Record Material Los/Bonus wizard, or you can select the Top-Most Material and opening the Record Sub-Material Losses wizard, as shown in the image below:

Losses with Loss Step Considerations#

When trying to record losses with a Loss Step, you need to know that for the loss to be considered for analytical purposes (such as the Resource and Material Cubes, the Yield, Rate of Quality, and OEE KPIs), then the Material where the losses are being recorded must have been processed at the Loss Step.

When attempting to set up this scenario for a Line Step, containing a Line Flow, the following practical considerations are needed:

• The Loss Step must be set according to the hierarchy of the Material where the Loss is being recorded:

  • If the Material is the Top-Most Material, which was processed in the Line Step itself, then the Loss Step should the part of the Line Step.
  • If the Material is a Sub-Material, which was processed in the Steps of the Line Flow, then the Loss Step should be one of the Steps of the Line Flow. Alternatively, it can also be collapsed into the Top-Most Material, and then the loss can be recorded with the Loss Step being the Line Step - consider that, in this last case, the loss will not be traceable to the Sub-Material.

• If a Split is required between the Line Step and the Step where the Loss is recorded, then the quantity where the Loss will be recorded must be kept in a Material which has been processed in the Loss Step. This means that:

  • If the Loss is in the Top-Most Material, there are two options:
    • The Split occurs when the Original Material (the Material that is being split) is in the Line Step, in state In Process or Processed, and the Loss is given in the New Material, that is, the Material created during the split.
    • The Loss is given in the Original Material directly.
  • If the Loss is in the Sub-Material, there are two options:
    • The Split occurs while the Sub-Material has not yet reached the Loss Step in the Line Flow - in this case, the Top-Most Material may be split, with the Sub-Material being transferred to the new Top-Most Material.
    • The Loss is given in the Sub-Material while its Top-Most Material is the Original Material, that is, the Material that was processed in the Line Step.

Track-Out Material#

The Main Material can be tracked out, as shown in the image below, if the Step has the Sub-Material Track State Depth set to 1, and after all the Sub-Materials are processed in the last Sub-Step. If the Step has the Sub-Material Track State Depth set to 0, it is possible to track out the Main Material immediately after it has been tracked in.

The Assembly in the Sub-Steps may be performed when tracking out the Main Material, depending on the defined Line Assembly Mode.