Setup and Line Clearance#

The Setup and Line Clearance feature supports the configuration and execution of Resource preparation between Material processing. It ensures that Resources are correctly prepared and verified before Material production, reducing errors like contamination or mix-ups.

Overview#

In this tutorial, we will explore expand the following sections:

• Feature Overview – explaining how Setup and Line Clearance is envisioned to be used
• Scenario – presenting a simplified example to understand the logic
• Configuration – showing a step-by-step guide with screenshots and links to key documentation
• Execution – using the feature to run the setup and see it in action (video included)
• Final Notes – pointing out some additional insights and considerations

Feature#

Line clearance ensures that all equipment and workspaces are clean and free from leftover materials or documentation from previous jobs. It is a way to help get the Resource ready for the next job while avoiding mistakes like mixing up labels or contaminating the final Products.

This process happens before the track-in of a Material, and it is commonly required in two typical use cases:

• Always: Setup is required every time a new Material is tracked in.
• On Change Over: Setup is only required when specific characteristic of the Material processing context changes (for example: Product, Product Group, Service, etc.).

Scenario#

To assess how this industry and production requirement is addressed by Critical Manufacturing MES, let's consider a simplified model:

• Facility: General Facility
• Area: Area 1
• Flow and Steps: General Flow with Step 1 and Step 2
• Products and Product Group: Product A, belonging to Product Group 1; and Product B belonging to Product Group 2
• Resources and Services: Resource 1 - providing Service A.1 and Service B.1; and Resource 2 - providing Service 2

Regarding Step 1:

• Product A requires Service A.1
• Product B requires Service B.1

• If the incoming Material requires a different Service than the previous one, setup is required, containing:

  • A Checklist
  • A Data Collection

Regarding Step 2:

• All Materials require Service 2

• Setup is always required before starting production, containing:

  • A Checklist

• If the incoming Material belongs to a different Product Group than the previous one, a different checklist must be used.

Configuration#

Basic entities like Calendar, Facility, Area, Services, Product Groups, Products and Parameters won’t be detailed.

There are four entities whose configurations require closer attention: Steps, Resources, Checklists, and Data Collections.

Resource Configuration#

For Resource 1, setup needs to occur when the Material to be processed requires a different Service as the previous one.

The following properties must be configured:

• Setup Mode: On ChangeOver.
• Use Different Setup Operations:: False (default).
• Setup Begin and Complete Mode: Manual Begin and Complete.

Resource 2 must always go through the setup process, regardless of the Material or any related details. However, it’s still necessary to evaluate which setup is required based on the changeover characteristic of the Step.

The following properties must be configured:

• Setup Mode: Always.

• Use Different Setup Operations:: True.

  This property is enabled when the Resource supports multiple setup types, such as one required during a changeover and another when no changeover is involved.

• Setup Begin and Complete Mode: Manual Begin and Complete.

The following images display the general configuration settings of the Resources:

Step Configuration#

The Step configuration defines which characteristic should be evaluated when determining whether a changeover is required.

For Step 1, the setup is required if the Material being tracked in requires a different Service than the previous one, and for this reason the Setup Characteristic property must be set to "Service".

For Step 2, a setup considering change over is required if the Material being tracked in has a different Product Group than the previous one, and for this reason the Setup Characteristic property must be set to "Product Group".

Checklist#

As for the Checklists involved in the setup process, they must be configured to be executed in a Long Running mode. Below is an image showing the general configuration of three different Checklists.

When configuring the Smart Table MaterialChecklistContext, it's important to account for two possible scenarios in Step 2:

• A new Material is processed and belongs to a different Product Group than the previous one, triggering a changeover and requiring a specific Checklist.
• A new Material is processed and belongs to the same Product Group as the previous one, requiring a different Checklist, but not considered a changeover.

Data Collection#

Similar to the Checklist, the Data Collection must be configured to be executed in a Long Running mode. Below is an image showing the general configuration of the Data Collection:

The Smart Table configuration for MaterialDataCollectionContext should be as follows:

This is the Master Data file used to create this model.

Execution#

In this section, we will explore the Perform Setup and Perform Pre-Setup operations. The key difference between them is:

• Perform Setup prepares the Resource for a Material that is about to be processed.
• Perform Pre-Setup prepares the Resource in advance for a Material that is not yet at the Step where the Resource will be used.

To test and execute this functionality, we will follow a detailed use case, outlined step by step and demonstrated in the video below.

Resource and Step 1#

The system will prevent processing any Material unless the required setup is completed.

In the Resource 1 view:

• Select a Material with Product "Product A" and choose Perform Setup, completing the setup Checklist and the required Data Collection.
• Track-in and process the Material with Product "Product A".
• Process a second Material with Product "Product A" — this should proceed without a new setup, as it uses the same Service.
• Attempt to process a Material with Product "Product B" — this should fail, as the setup for Product B hasn’t been completed yet.
• Select the Material with Product "Product B" and again choose Perform Setup, completing the Checklist and Data Collection as required.
• Track-in and process the Material with Product "Product B".
• Process the second Material with Product "Product B".

Resource and Step 2#

The system will prevent processing any Material unless the required setup is completed.

In the Resource 2 view:

• To explore another option, select Perform Pre-Setup from the top ribbon and choose a Material with Product "Product A" that is still in Step 1. This action should trigger the Setup 2 Changeover, preparing the Resource in advance.
• Since Resource 2 always requires a setup, when the Material reaches Step 2 and is ready to be processed, a new setup must be performed, this time triggering the Setup 2 Checklist.
• Move the Materials from Step 1 to Step 2.
• Perform Setup again for the Material with Product "Product A".
• Track-in and process the Material with Product "Product A".
• Attempt to process another Material (either Product A or B) this should require a new setup.
• Select a Material with Product "Product A" and Perform Setup. Since this is not a changeover, the system should trigger only the Setup 2 Checklist.
• Perform Setup for the Material with Product "Product B". As this is a Product Group changeover, the system should trigger the Setup 2 Changeover Checklist.
• Track-in and process the Material with Product "Product B".

Final Considerations#

The Setup and Line Clearance functionality is triggered and overrides the previous setup feature when the Resource Setup Mode is set to anything other than "Not Required" and a Setup Characteristic is defined on the Step.

Otherwise, the system will fall back to the legacy setup behavior, which requires Data Collections and Checklists to be configured as Immediate.