online help: product engineering - aras

Online Help: Product Engineering

Copyright 2006 Aras Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

ARAS CORPORATION Copyright © 2006 Aras Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Aras Corporation Heritage Place 439 South Union Street Lawrence, MA 01843 Phone: 978-691-8900 Fax: 978-794-9826 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.aras.com

Notice of Rights

Copyright © 2006 by Aras Corporation. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, V1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/).

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.

Aras Innovator, Aras, and the Aras Corp "A" logo are registered trademarks of Aras Corporation in the United States and other countries.

All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Notice of Liability

The information contained in this document is distributed on an "As Is" basis, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or a warranty of non-infringement. Aras shall have no liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this document or by the software or hardware products described herein.

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Table Of Contents System Setup..................................................................................................................3

Parts .............................................................................................................................23

BOM ..........................................................................................................................30

BOM Relationship ..................................................................................................36

Goals .........................................................................................................................47

Reports......................................................................................................................49

Documents....................................................................................................................55

Sourcing........................................................................................................................63

Change Management....................................................................................................71

PR - Problem Report .................................................................................................72

The ECR....................................................................................................................78

The ECN....................................................................................................................84

Dashboards...................................................................................................................91

Glossary........................................................................................................................97

Index .............................................................................................................................99

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About Product Engineering Aras Product Engineering is a business ready solution for product definition and engineering change management across your company and with suppliers and customers.

Development metrics are collected as a result of ongoing engineering processes for the measurement of progress against goals and presented in graphs, reports, and scorecards for visual management.

Benefits: Visibility into key development indicators increases engineering effectiveness

and provides a basis for continuous improvement Manage product definition processes securely online to develop high quality

products on time and on budget Engineering change management reduces cycle times and streamlines business

operations Control product information release between departments, divisions, suppliers,

and customers for effective coordination Reuse of product and process information increases productivity and controls

costs Industry best practices for configuration management and engineering change

are incorporated using the CMII principles and processes Unparalleled flexibility enables application modification to address proprietary

engineering processes and specific competitive practices

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System Setup

System Setup This section deals with the administrative setup of Innovator, and should be accessed by an authorized user. This chapter is not intended as end-user documentation and instruction.


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Assumptions and Prerequisites The Administrator in charge of the Innovator implementation, deployment, and maintenance is strongly advised to acquire the appropriate training. Prerequisite courses offered by Aras Corporation include Innovator Admin I and the Innovator Workflow training courses. Additionally, those administrators who will be building complex business logic extensions should attend the Innovator Programming course. Familiarity with the information covered in those courses is a prerequisite for the successful configuration.

Please see the Innovator Administration Guide for general Innovator client and server configuration instructions.

This application includes a Dashboard feature which requires the Adobe SVG Viewer to be installed on any client machine accessing this capability. A typical installation of the Adobe Acrobat Reader usually installs the Adobe SVG Viewer as well. If you do not have this viewer, go to http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main.html to install it.

System Setup

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Setting up Identities Setting up the Identities is similar to building a company organization chart. Here is a list of steps to make this process easier.

1. Create identities for the top level department headings, for example: Engineering, Sales, and Marketing.

2. For each top level heading, create subordinate departments. For example, Engineering might have: Development, Support, and QA. Support, in turn, might further consist of: Customer Support, Documentation, and Training. Make sure you add the subordinate departments as members to their respective group identities.

3. Once the departmental structure is in place, create individual user identities and add them to their respective departments. In Innovator, one user identity can belong to more than one group.

Aras Product Engineering has built in group identities that control workflows of specific items, item creation, item access, etc. , and therefore hold specific permissions. These identities and their roles are based on CMII standards. Below is a description of these identities:

CM group - Configuration Management group, consists of CSI, CSII, and CSIII CSI - Change Specialist I - the personnel who drive the change process

in the organization. The CSI determines who is technically responsible for problem verification, which changes are higher priority than others, whether an ECR can be approved through a fast track or if it needs a review board involvement. The CSI is also responsible for determining if the required change has a wide impact, and can bring others into the review process.

CSII - Change Specialist II - the personnel who complete the change process in the organization. The CSII decides when the approved changes get implemented, when the actual documents get changed, and if any requests can be combined into a single change notice.

CSIII - Change Specialist III - the personnel who implement the change in the production process of the affected part. The CSIII decides when the change goes into production and how it affects the existing production flow. By default, CSIII is only active in a change management workflow during the last phases of an ECN.

Component Engineering - the personnel responsible for managing the Parts that a company uses, as well as for the Sourcing aspects of these parts - manufacturers and vendors, and the lifecycles associated with these items.

CRB - the Change Review Board - this personnel is responsible for several steps in the ECR process. When an ECR has wide or complex implications, the CRB is called to review the change and provide input into the process.

All Employees - the employees of the company All Customers - the customers of the company. This is relevant if the customers

may file PRs. All Suppliers – the suppliers that a company uses

The next step is to connect the these Identities with the company structure created earlier. When entering members for the above Innovator Identities, try to enter the


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highest level groups possible. For example: when configuring All Employees, enter the top level departments; when configuring Component Engineering, enter not only the engineering departments but also the Sourcing and Purchasing departments.

Take a look at the Permissions matrix to see how these Identities are involved in the different lifecycle states and workflows of various items.

System Setup

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Permissions Below are permissions and roles matrices for the following: Part, Document, Manufacturer, Vendor, Manufacturer Part, PR, ECR, and ECN. Note that the Owner is the identity specified in the Assigned Creator property of the item, the Creator is the user who originally created the item, and Manager is the identity specified in the Manager property when creating the User.

The column titled Promote to Next State in Lifecycle shows who has the permissions to promote the item to the next lifecycle state. Often the only permission is Internal. This means that the lifecycle is attached to some internal process (usually a workflow of some item), which automatically promotes this item to the next lifecycle state when specified criteria are met.

Here is the permissions matrix for Parts and Documents:

Here is the permissions matrix for Sourcing items:

Here is the permissions and roles matrix for PRs:


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Here is the permissions and roles matrix for ECRs:

And, finally, the permissions matrix for ECNs:

System Setup

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TOC Access Depending on the membership of the user in an Identity (e.g., CSI or Component Engineering), each user will see different folders on the main navigation tree. Currently there are only two identities that control these settings - All Employees and World. For each of the ItemTypes in this application, an administrator can alter the TOC Access permission which controls the visibility of the business objects.

As shown above, only the Employees get to see the Sourcing folder, as well as the ECN folder of Change Management.

System Setup

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Configuring Sequences Sequences are used for automatic numbering of PRs, ECRs, and ECNs. Sequential numbering is an option for Parts and Documents. This section shows how to configure the appearance of a sequence to comply with your company's requirements.

To see the pre-defined sequences: 1. From TOC, select Administration, then Sequences.

2. Search as usual, and you should see the following available sequences: Document, Part, ECN, ECR, and PR.

Let's use the ECN sequence for an example.

To configure a sequence: 1. Open the ECN sequence for Edit

2. You should see the Sequence form like this:

3. Here is a list of the properties and their contribution to the sequence

configuration:

a. Name - the name of the sequence item.

b. Prefix - the alpha-numeric prefix of the generated number. For example, by default, all ECNs will have an ECN number: ECN-10000x.

c. Suffix - similar to Prefix, except added to the end of the number. For example, if you were to specify a suffix of -GTX, the ECN number would look like: ECN-100001-GTX.

d. Pad With - specify the character to fill in the required number of spaces


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e. Pad To - the total number of characters for the number, excluding the prefix and the suffix

f. Step - the increment by which the number differs from the previous and next.

Here is a couple of examples to show how these properties work to together to create a sequence configuration.

Example 1:

If the above values are entered, then the ECN numbers would be as follows: ECN-xxxx1003, ECN-xxxx1004, ECN-xxxx1005, etc.

Example 2:

If the above values are entered, then the ECN numbers would be as follows: ECN-00001020xpj, ECN-00001030xpj, ECN-00001040xpj, etc.

System Setup

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Dashboard Maintenance The system administrator is responsible for updating the data used to calculate points on the dashboard charts. Let's look at the Engineering Efficiency dashboard as an example.

Each dashboard consists of charts. The Engineering Efficiency dashboard contains the ECR Cycle Time and Standard vs. Fast Track charts.

To access the specific data Metrics: 1. From TOC, go to Administration, Dashboards.

2. Select the Engineering Efficiency dashboard, and open it for edit. Notice that there are two charts associated with this dashboard.

3. Right click on the Standard vs. Fast Track chart in the table, and select View

"Charts" from the popup menu. The Chart form should display. Each chart contains the meta data about the chart itself, such as the axes set up, labels, legend, borders, etc., as well as the chart series, or the metrics that are used to plot the data.

System Setup

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4. Select the Fast Track ECRs chart series in the table, right click, and select View

"Metrics" from the popup menu. You will see the metrics form. This is the form that you will be updating.

Take a careful look at this form. Notice that the current quarter is the only one that has the Calculate box checked. This is because the values are calculated quarterly, i.e. how many fast track ECRs were created this quarter? Once the quarter is over, the final value is kept, and does not have to be recalculated again. Also, checking the Calculate box will refresh the data based on the Query each time a user views the dashboard.


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So, at the end of each quarter, the system administrator has to update any metrics which are date driven. In this example, the query is updated to calculate for the next quarter, and keep the current quarter's value unchanged. Here is how to do this.

To update the metrics to calculate for the next quarter: 1. Choose the Current metric value, and select Copy from the right-click popup

menu.

2. Create a new line, and Paste. Your metric now looks like this:

3. Go back to the line labeled Current. Change the label to the quarter that it refers

to, in our case - Q1 '05.

4. Uncheck the Calculated box. The final value that was calculated for that quarter will be retained in the Value column.

5. Edit the newly created line.

6. Change the Sequence number of the new entry to 9 (or the next increment).

7. Change the Label of the new entry to the next quarter, in this case Q2 '05.

8. Select a new color.

9. Click on the Query item to bring up the text editor dialog. Notice that the query basically has two dates in it. It will collect all fast track ECRs in the system that have a creation date greater than a particular date and less than another date. It

System Setup

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is these two dates that we will change to reflect the new quarter. In our case, or Q2 '05, the first date will be 04/01/2005, and the second date will be 07/01/2005. So, the query will look like this:

10. Save everything, and repeat this process for all other chart metrics.


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Classification Specific Properties Both Part and Document types have initial classification structures. In this application, the normal Innovator classification display has been altered. Normally, a Parameters tab displays all the class-specific properties in an Item’s form. The Parameter tab has been disabled. Instead, these class-specific properties are dynamically displayed on the Item form.

Parts class structure can be changed and expanded to reflect customer needs. Currently, the class Part has four subclasses - Component, Assembly, Material, and Software. You can add subclasses, change them, add a new level of subclasses, and more importantly, add class specific properties that would apply only to the specified class. Here are a few examples.

Let's say that for parts classified as software, you want to add a property called Build Number. Here is what you would do.

To add a class specific property: 1. From TOC, Administration folder, select ItemTypes, search for Part, and open

Part for edit.

2. Add a new property, name it Build Number.

3. Click on the Class Path cell of the new property to open the class path form. Select Software, and exit.

4. Save Part.

5. From TOC, Administration folder, select Forms, search for Part, and open the Part form for edit.

6. Click on the properties icon . Select Software's Properties, build_number.

7. Place the new field on the form.

8. Select the Field Physical tab. Uncheck the Visible check box. This property will automatically become visible when a Part classified as Software is created, but will remain invisible for all others.

9. Save, Unlock and Exit from the Part form.

You might want to edit the class structure first, or perhaps add new classes, and then add properties to the newly defined classes.

To add a new class to the class path: 1. From TOC, Administration folder, select ItemTypes, search for Part, and open

Part for edit.

2. Click the button Class Structure under the words ItemType. The class structure form will be displayed.

3. Right click any node to add subordinates.

4. Once done, save the class structure, and save the Part ItemType before adding properties.

System Setup

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5. To add class specific properties for newly created classes, see above.

If you add a subordinate class, you may also wish to add a class specific border to the form to identify to the user which class is responsible for the additional properties. For example, say you add a subclass to Material, called Raw. Your class structure would look like this:

Now, you could make your form look like this:


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To add a class specific border to a form: 1. From TOC, Administration folder, select Forms, search for Part, and open the

Part form for edit.

2. Search for parent class border, in our case, material_border.

3. Go to the Field Physical tab, and check the Visible box. The border should appear on the form. We will come back later and turn it off, but for now it's easier to position the subclass border if we can see the parent border.

4. Go to the Field Type tab and copy the HTML code of the material border.

5. Click on the New HTML button to create a new HTML field.

6. Under the Field Type tab, paste the copied HTML code from material_border.

7. Name the field classname_border, which in our case would be raw_border.

8. Position the border where desired on the form.

System Setup

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9. Edit the HTML code to give it a different label if desired, and different height, if desired. In the example above, the final HTML code looked like this:

10. Under Field Label, make sure that no label is set.

11. Once the border looks good, go to Field Physical and uncheck the Visible box.

12. Remember to uncheck the Visible box in the parent class border.

13. Save, Unlock and Close the form.

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Parts

Parts Parts are the basic item of any BOM management application, and can be one of the following classification types: Component, Assembly, Material, or Software. The classification can be extended, as needed, by your Innovator system administrator. A part can be bought, or made in-house. It can have alternates and substitutes. It can have a Bill of Materials (BOM) associated with it, a list of manufacturers (AML) approved for making this part, a list of vendors (AVL) approved for purchasing this part, a list of documents (such as drawings or specs) associated with the part, and many other options.

Below is the underlying Data Model for a Part. Each of the relationships shown in the figure below is described in detail in the following chapters.


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.

The Part is the central item in the diagram above. Going up the tree, you see that a part, usually a top level assembly, will be associated with a Model. A Product can contain more than one Model. If we take the Ford Motor Company for an example, a product could be anything that is bought by the customer, such as a Ford Mustang. One of the models would be GT, and that, in turn, would be associated with a specific Part that is internal to the company.

Parts that represent a combination of components have a BOM (Bill of Materials) relationship with other parts. For example, in the Mustang GT parent part, the BOM might contain child parts like engine, body, tires, etc. For each child part listed in the BOM relationship, you can define a Substitute part to be used for that specific assembly. If the parent part is an electrical component, such as a circuit board, and its BOM child

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parts contain say resistors, you can define the specific instances and their reference designators in the Instance parts.

Each Part can have an alternate part or parts, which acts like a substitute part, except that the alternate applies to all assemblies where the part is used.

Each Part can have a list of documents associated with it, such as specifications, drawings, diagrams, and anything else. Each document is stored in a specific File, which is also attached to the parent Part.

If the Part is bought, the AML stores the corresponding manufactured part, as well as the manufacturer who produces it and the vendor who sells it. Of course there may be more than one manufacturer or vendor for any given Part.

Each Part can have a cost and weight goals associated with it. The actual cost/weight can then be tracked and compared to the goals. Goals may also be "rolled up" from a BOM.

Here is a basic path of part creation: 1. Create a part

2. Create a BOM for a part

3. Create Alternates list for a part

4. Create an AML for a part

5. Create a Documents list for a part.

6. Update design and manufacturing Goals for a part.

Each part also has a life cycle associated with it, as shown below.

For a Part, the life cycle is controlled automatically by the workflow of an ECN where this part appears on the affected items list. When a part is first created, it is automatically given the Preliminary state. To release a Part, see The ECN in the Change Management book.


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Create a Part

To create a part: 1. From TOC, select Design. You should see Parts and Products in the submenu.

2. Right-click on Parts, and choose New Parts... from the popup menu.

3. You will see a Parts form where you define the new part by entering values for its properties. Notice the list of properties on the left side of the screen, such as Created By and Generation, these are updated automatically.

4. For each part property shown in the form, enter a value to define the part's

unique characteristics.

a. Part Number - the part number of the part

b. Revision - read only property, keeps track of the revisions for this part

c. State - read only property, refers to the life-cycle state of the Part

d. Name - the name of the part

e. Type - select whether the part is a component, an assembly, a material, or a software

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i.Expand the list of available choices by clicking the + icon, next to Part.

ii.Select the type of part by clicking on it.

iii.Click the green check mark , on the toolbar, to complete the selection. This will close the selection dialog.

f. Unit - a unit of measure for the part. Currently this can be either each, inches, feet, millimeters, centimeters, or meters.

g. Make/Buy - designates if the part is made in house, or is bought from a manufacturer.

h. Cost - read only field. The cost is calculated based on the estimated or actual costs of the parts and assemblies in the BOM of the part. It could also be a target cost of the part itself. For more information on Cost, go to Goals.

i. Long Description - the long description of the part.

j. Assigned Creator - is responsible for the design or the content of the part, usually an engineer and a member of the Component Engineering group Identity. An


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assigned creator is often identified as the Owner of the item. This may not be the same person who enters the parts data into Innovator and who appears in the Created By field to the left of the screen. There are two ways to enter information into this field.

i.Type in the name of the identity. If you make a mistake, when you leave this field, the error checking will take place, and if no identity to match the typed in text is found, the field will be left blank.

ii.Click on the ellipses next to the field, which will popup a window of all users that can be selected.

iii.If no users appear, click on the Search icon. Select the user, then click the green

check mark to complete the selection.

k. Designated User - is responsible for managing, using, and reviewing the part. See the Assigned Creator steps of entering data into this type of field.

l. Effective Date - the date when this part actually goes into production or whatever process that requires its participation. This is different than the release date, which gets generated automatically when the part reaches the Released state in its life cycle.

0. Save, Unlock, and Close the new Part.

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BOM

BOM Any part may have a BOM, or a Bill of Materials, associated with it. A BOM (also known as a Parts List) is basically a list of components, parts, materials, or other assemblies that are used to put together this part. For example, a jet engine may be classified as an assembly, and its BOM may contain: a fan, a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, and an afterburner. All of these items contained in the BOM of the jet engine are Parts, and they would probably be classified as assemblies. These child-parts would also have their own BOMs that would contain a list of parts - components, materials, or assemblies - required to put each part together. For example, the turbine's type may be set as Assembly, and it may contain components such casing, turbine blades, rotor shaft, and many others.

There are several ways to populate a BOM of a part. One way is to create all the child parts necessary to populate a BOM, and then to simply relate these parts to each other. This process is described in Create a BOM. This process is great if you already have many parts in the system, and you wish to build a new assembly using existing parts. The other method is to access the BOM tab of a part from its parent, see Editing Parts within a BOM, and create the necessary parts right from there. This is a convenient way to populate nested BOMs, or to quickly create BOM structures and dependencies without getting bogged down with the details of each particular part. These details would still have to be filled in later, but at least the structure would already be in place.

Every parent part that has child parts in its BOM is said to have a BOM relationship with its child parts. Within this relationship you may define substitutes for the child part that are effective for the specified parent only. Also, in the case of electrical components, you can specify instances and reference designators within the Instances tab of the BOM relationship.

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Create a BOM

To populate a top-level part BOM: 1. Open the selected Part for edit.

2. The Part form will appear, with the BOM tab selected.

3. Select Pick Related from the drop-down box next to Actions

. Should you choose to create parts right from the BOM table, see Create Related from BOM.

4. Click on the New Item icon next to the drop-down box.

5. A new popup window displays the parts list from which the required parts can be chosen. You can search in this window for the parts that you need, using the basic searching techniques.

6. Select the part or parts that you want included in the BOM and click the green

check icon to complete the selection. The chosen parts will appear on the BOM tab of the parent part.

Now that you are done populating the BOM parts list, look carefully at the column names. You should see two more properties for each item that are specific to the BOM relationship - Quantity and Reference Designator. The quantity is the number of these particular parts that are required by the parent part, while the reference designator, used primarily in electronic assemblies, indicates the actual placement of each part on its parent, per drawing or specification. The reference designator is explained further in BOM Relationship: Instances.

To enter Quantity: 1. Click on the quantity property and enter the number of parts required to build the

parent part.


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Parts

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Editing Parts within a BOM Once you have a part with a BOM table, it may look something like this:

The parent part shown is an F41 Turbine. It is an assembly, and contains the parts shown above in its BOM. The 4th part, 12Casing Assembly, is also an assembly and will most likely have a list of parts in its own BOM. For this example, we will assume that all the parts necessary for every parent part have been created separately. So, here we can use the nested editing to add the parts to their corresponding BOMs. We will use the turbine assembly as an example.

To edit a part from its parent's BOM tab: 1. Open the part to edit it. In our case, the F41 turbine was opened, as shown

above.

2. Under the BOM tab, select the child part and right click. Here we could choose the 12Casing Assembly.

3. From the popup menu select View "Parts".

4. You will see a Parts form, for the child part that you selected, in our case for the 12Casing Assembly. Notice that it is in View mode, not Edit mode (you can tell because the Pick Related drop-down box is disabled). So, in order to add parts to

the BOM, you must first lock it, by clicking on the lock icon on the main tool


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bar.

Note: In general, if you access a related part from its parent, it will be unlocked. You then have to manually lock it, should you wish to edit it.

Note: If you are unable to lock an item, then it may be already locked by another person or you don’t have update permission for the item.

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6. From here, you can populate the BOM table as described in Create a BOM. Here is an example:

7. If you wish to continue, and populate the BOM of a child part, say the BOM of the 12inner case in the example above, make sure that you save the part you are working

with first. You do not have to Save, Unlock, and Close , because that would close

the form that you wish to continue editing, but you do have to Save .


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BOM Relationship

BOM Relationship A BOM relationship is the relationship between the parent part and each of its child parts, defined in the BOM table of the parent. So, for example, say we have a parent part, the F41 Turbine, and in its BOM table we specified the following parts: 11Casing; 1smBlade; 2smBlade; and 12Casing Assembly.

To view the BOM relationship of each of the child parts: 1. Open the Parts form of the parent part (in our case the F41 Turbine).

2. Select the child part in the BOM table, in our case the 12 Casing Assembly.

3. Right click on the child part to bring up the popup menu.

4. Select View "BOM".

5. A new form will be displayed, showing the relationship between the parent (the F41 Turbine) and the child (the 12 Casing Assembly).

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Notice that the relationship has two tabs: Instances and Substitutes. Click on the links to learn more about them.

Instances

Substitutes


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Instances The instance meta-data is used primarily in electronic diagrams, and consists of the Reference Designator, the XYZ location, the angle, and the side (Top or Bottom) from which the location is measured. For example, a circuit board may contain 4 equal resistors. The reference designator is a label, assigned to each instance of the resistor. The resistor is further identified by its location on the diagram. Here is an example:

To specify instance data, consider a part, such as a circuit board JB-11: 1. Edit the part, and select the resistor from its BOM table.

2. Right click, and select View "BOM" from the popup menu.

3. Click on the Lock icon to edit the BOM relationship.

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4. Click on the New Item icon to add instances. Your list could look something like:

5. Save, Unlock, and Close to return to the parent item. It should still be in Edit mode.

6. You need to manually manage the comma separated list of resistor reference designators with the explicit entries in the Instances tab. For example,

7. Save, Unlock, and Close .


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Parts

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Substitutes The substitutes tab for a BOM relationship lists parts that could be used instead of the child part in the making of the parent part. So, for example, if the parent part is an F41 Turbine, and the child part is a 12 Casing Assembly, perhaps a 112 Casing Assembly or a 122 Casing Assembly could be used instead of the 12 Casing Assembly to make the F41 Turbine. However, if the 12 Casing Assembly was also used to make a different turbine, say, F44 Turbine, this substitution would not be allowed there. So, to summarize, the parts listed in the Substitutes table of the BOM relationship define substitutes to be used for the child part in the assembly of its parent part only; this is not a global substitution. To learn how to specify global substitutes, see Alternates.

To add a substitute: 1. Edit the parent part.

2. In the BOM tab of the parent, select the child part for which you want to create a substitute.

3. Right click on the child part, and select View "BOM" from the popup menu.

4. Select the Substitutes tab.

5. Notice that the BOM Relationship item is in view mode. To add items, you need

to lock it first, by clicking on the lock icon on the main tool bar.

6. Make sure that Pick Related is selected in the Actions drop-down box.

7. Click on the New Item icon next to the drop-down box. This will open a new dialog from where you can search and select parts you wish to specify as substitutes.

8. Save, Unlock, and Close .


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Create Related from BOM Sometimes you may wish to quickly set up a skeleton structure of parts that are related to each other through their BOMs, without filling out all the details and particulars of each part. In this situation, the option of creating parts right from the BOM list of the parent part is ideal. Basically, this creation process is nothing more than a series of grid edits in the BOM table.

Here is how to create parts from BOM: 1. Open the parent part for edit.

2. Click on the BOM tab.

3. Select Create Related from the drop down box next to Actions.

4. Click on the New Item icon , next to the drop down box.

5. A new line appears in the BOM table. For the purposes of creating a structure, all you need to enter is the part number of the child part. You may also want to enter the quantity of these child parts required by the parent.

6. Once the list is complete, Save the parent part.

7. Now, you can right click any child part in the BOM list, select View "Parts" from the popup menu, and the child's part form will be displayed. If you wish to add a BOM structure to the child, make sure you unlock it first, and then you can repeat

the steps starting at step 2. Make sure you Save or Save, Unlock, and

Close when you are finished.

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Alternates For any given part, there may be alternate parts that could replace it. Each company defines the criteria of an alternate part differently. For example, say a car manufacturer produces two different wheel covers. One may be very fancy, and the other may be the basic no frills model. Both wheel covers fit over the same wheel, and from the point of view of mechanics one could very easily replace the other. However, from the marketing point of view, these wheel covers are not interchangeable, and therefore could not be defined as each other's alternate parts.

The concept of alternates has global implications. If part1 is an alternate of part2, then part1 could be used instead of part2 in every assembly or every other place where part2 is being used. In order to define a possible replacement part that is assembly specific, see Substitutes in the BOM Relationship.

To add an alternate part: 1. Edit the part for which you would like to define an alternate.

2. Click on the Alternates tab.

3. Make sure that Pick Related is selected in the drop-down box next to the Actions.

4. Click on the New Item icon. A Parts Search Dialog will come up. Use the standard search methods to locate the parts you wish to designate as the alternates.

5. Click on the Green Check button to complete item selection, then Save,

Unlock, and Close the parent Part.


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AML AML is a list of approved manufacturers who produce the associated Part. Innovator manages this list of Manufacturer Parts, created through the steps outlined in Sourcing. Here, we link those parts to our parent part.

To create an AML: 1. Edit the part to which you would like to add the AML.

2. Click on the AML tab.

3. Click on the New Item icon , next to the Pick Related drop down box. (Here you only have one choice - Pick Related. To learn how to create manufacturers, go to Sourcing.)

4. A selection dialog appears, listing all the available manufacturer parts.

5. Select the required parts, and click on the green check mark .

6. The Sequence number is the preference of one manufacturer over another. The lowest is the most preferable.

7. Save, Unlock, and Close the parent Part.

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Create Document from Part There are two ways to create documents associated with a part. The first method, described in Documents, is to fully specify a document by entering a value for each of its properties. If you have done that, and would like to associate these documents with a part, then go here. The other method of creating part documents is to create them right from the Part form. This method does not allow for full document specification, but it's great for creating an initial skeleton structure that has all the required associations. Below is a description of how to use the grid edit to create related documents.

To create a document from part: 1. Select the part and open it for Edit.

2. Click on the Documents tab.

3. Select Create Related from the drop down box next to

Actions, and click on the New Item icon .

4. A new line in the Documents table is created. Fill out the Document Number, the Revision, and the document Name.

5. To enter a value for Type, you can either type it in, or hit F2. F2 will bring up a selection dialog, from which you can choose: Drawing, CAD Model, Specification, Software, or Miscellaneous.

6. If you wish to enter other properties values, select this document's table row, right click and select View Documents from the popup menu.

7. This will bring up the Documents Form, where a complete list of properties can

be found. To learn more about these, go to Documents.

8. Save , or Save, Unlock, and Close the parent part.

A document created from the parent part is automatically associated with it. However, if you created a document outside the parent part, follow the steps below to associate it.

To associate a previously created document with a part: 1. Select the part and open it for Edit.

2. Click on the Documents tab.


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3. Select Pick Related from the drop down box next

to Actions, and click on the New Item icon.

4. You will see a search dialog with all previously created documents. Click Search

to get a full list of documents.

5. Select the document(s) required, and click the green check mark to complete the selection.

6. The documents should appear in the list under the Documents tab of the parent part.

7. Save , or Save, Unlock, and Close the parent part.

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Goals

Goals Goals can be set based on cost and weight of a Part with calculation of the roll-up value of its child parts. Values may be entered as either target, estimated or actual. These three properties play a crucial role in the goal roll-up for a part. Here is an example of how it works.

Let's say a parent part, named Parent, has two child parts - child1 and child2. The child parts have a Target cost goal, of $10 each. The Parent has a Target cost goal of $15. You must specify at least a target goal for the parent in order to initiate a roll-up.

Target Estimated Calculated

Child1 10

Child2 10

Parent 15

Now, let's say that child1 is about to be bought, and we estimate its cost to be $15. The Parent will then have :


Child1 10 15

Child2 10

Parent 15

The Target goal for the parent, in this case cost, will remain as long as at least one of the child parts has a Target value for its goal. However, as soon as all children have an Estimated goal value, or an Actual goal value, the parent's value changes to Calculated. So, let's say the child2 Estimated cost is now 12. Here is what the values will look like:


Child1 10 15

Child2 10 12

Parent 15 27

Now, let's say child1 has completed its life cycle, and the Actual goal value is 17. The parent will be immediately recalculated to reflect this change, and the parent's Calculated value will be 29. The same process takes place if child2 gains an Actual goal value - the parent is immediately recalculated.

Here is another example of the goal value calculations, this time for a multilevel BOM.


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Entering Goals Whether you are setting up cost or weight goals the process is the same. To understand how the goal values are rolled up, see Goals examples.

To enter a goal value for a part: 1. Open the part for edit.

2. Click on the Goals tab.

3. Click on the New Item icon to create a new line in the Goals grid.

4. Select Cost or Weight from the drop-down box in the Goal column.

5. Enter the value in the Target, Estimated, or Actual column.

6. Save, Unlock, and Close the part.

A word of caution: Calculations are unitless. You should make sure that the values are all entered in the same units. In other words, if entering cost, make sure that the currency is the same. If entering weight, make sure that all parts are measured in the same units.

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Reports

Reports Reports allow the user to see complex, multi-level information in a well organized layout. For any Part there are three types of reports available: Multilevel BOM report - which shows all the parts in the parent part's BOM, along with their position in the hierarchy and quantity; BOM Quantity Rollup Report - which displays all the parts necessary for the top level part and their quantities; and finally the BOM Costing Report - which calculates the cost of the part, based on the actual or estimate costs of its children parts.

To access these reports: 1. Select the part for which you want a report

2. Right click and select the report you want from the popup menu

Or

1. Select the report you want from the Reports menu on the main menu bar.

Let's take a look at each of these reports for a special test case.

Multilevel BOM Report

BOM Quantity Rollup Report

BOM Costing Report


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Multilevel BOM Report Here is a typical Multilevel BOM Report for a part called "my parent".

This report shows the indenture level of each part, its name, part number, and quantity.

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BOM Quantity Rollup Report To understand the quantity roll-up, let's take a look at the Multilevel BOM report of a part called my parent first. Notice that the 1/8 screw part appears at different levels of the BOM.

Now, let's look at the BOM Quantity Rollup Report for the same part.

Notice that there are 5 1/8screw parts present in my parent, and in 3 in each 2ndlevelChild22. Since there are 4 2ndlevelChild22's in my parent, the report takes 3 1/8screw parts (for each 2ndlevelChild22), multiplies by 4, and adds 5 from the top level part. The total is 17 screws.


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BOM Costing Report This report is particularly helpful when viewing the Actual, Estimated, and Target goals for a part. To see how these values are calculated, see Goals. Here is an example of this report:

This is basically a Multilevel BOM Report, with the cost columns added.

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Products The term “Product” and “Model” can have different relative meanings in different companies and industries. In Innovator, a product is defined as something that is bought by the customer. For example, for the Ford car company, one of the products could be the Mustang. Each product contains at least one model, which in turn has a one-to-one relationship with a top level assembly Part. In the Ford example, the Mustang model could be a Mustang GT. Sometimes a company will sell not only the actual product model, but also a tool kit, or a repair kit, or some sort of supplement. This can be defined as another model within the same product.

Here is how to define a product: 1. From TOC, select Parts, then Products

2. Right click and select New Products... from the popup menu.


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3. A new Product form will be displayed. Below is an example form that uses the Ford Mustang example.

4. Enter the values for the following properties:

a. Product Number - this is the product identification accessible to the outside world.

b. Name - product name

c. Description - product description

5. To add a model:

a. Click on the New Item icon . A new line in the table grid will be generated.

b. Model Number - the external model identification provided to the customers

c. Name - the model name, also available to the customers

d. Release Number - additional external identification for software products

e. Version Number - additional external identification for software products

f. Part Number - internal part number of an existing, predefined Part. Hit F2 to choose from a list of available parts.

6. Save, Unlock, and Close to save the Product.

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Documents

Documents Parts often have one or more documents associated with them. A document could be a drawing, a CAD model, a specification, specific software, or any general, miscellaneous document. Documents are an important component of any part, since they describe how to make the specific part, or its expected performance and function. Documents also play a very important role in Change Management.

There are two ways to create new documents in Innovator. The first and the recommended way is to create the documents first, then attach them to the specific parts through the Pick Related button. The second way is to create the documents and link them to a specific Part in one step right from the Part dialog. We will look at both methods.

Create new Document

Create Document from Part


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Create a document To create a new document:

1. From TOC, select Documents, then right click and select New Documents... from the popup menu.

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2. A document dialog will appear, see the example below. Assign values to the following properties:

a. Document Number - similar to a part number, a character field which should contain a unique identification number for this document

b. Revision - read only property, keeps track of the revisions for this document

c. State - read only property, refers to the life-cycle state of the Document. The life-cycle state is automatically controlled when the document is affected by an ECN.

d. Name - the name of the document

e. Type - select whether the document is a Drawing, CAD Model, Specification,

Software or Miscellaneous. Click on the green check mark to complete the


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selection. Depending on the type selected, extra properties may appear below.

i.Drawing - Drawing size and Drawing Scale need to be filled in.

ii.Specification - Specification Type select Functional or Material from the drop down box.

f. Authoring Tool - select the authoring tool from the drop down box

g. Version - enter the version of the authoring tool

h. Description - the description of the document

i. Assigned Creator - is responsible for the design or the content of the document, usually an engineer, and may not be the person who enters the document data into Innovator and who appears in the Created By field to the left of the screen. The assigned creator is also referred to as Owner. There are two ways to enter information into this field.

i.Type in the name of the identity. If you make a mistake, when you leave this field, the error checking will take place, and if no identity to match the typed in text is found, the field will be left blank.

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ii.Click on the ellipses next to the field, which will popup a window of all users that can be selected.

iii.If no users appear, click on the Search icon. Select the user, then click the green

check mark to complete the selection.

j. Designated User - is responsible for managing, using, and reviewing the document. See the Assigned Creator steps of entering data into this type of field.

k. Effective Date - the date when this document actually goes into the process that requires it; usually it is the same as the effective date of the part with which it is associated. This is different than the release date, which gets generated automatically when the document reaches the Released state in its life cycle.

Once the document is created, you need to associate it with a file or files where it is contained. See Attaching Files to a Document.


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Attaching Files to a Document After creating a document, the next step is to attach files. One document may have more than one file attached to it. For example, a CAD model may have the actual drawings file and a red line file.

To attach files to a document: 1. Select the document and open it for Edit. You should see a document form.

2. At the bottom, you will see a Files tab.

3. Click on the New Item icon .

4. A directory search dialog will appear. Browse to select the file that you wish to attach, then click OK.

5. To enter a value for File Type, you have two choices. You can type in the value, and if it is not correct, when the field loses focus, the value will be erased. The

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second option is to hit F2, then Search in the resulting dialog, select the

required file type identification, and click on the green check mark to complete the selection.

6. You can enter Comments if you so choose.

7. The Sequence number is automatically generated.

8. Repeat these steps to enter all files associated with the parent document.

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Sourcing

Sourcing This section of Aras Product Engineering simplifies sourcing, or part acquisition. The center of this concept is the Manufacturer Part. See the data model below.

Each defined Part can have one or more Manufacturer Parts associated with it. For each Manufacturer Part, there is only one manufacturer who makes it, but there can be many vendors who sell it.

The easiest way to navigate around Sourcing, is the following: 1. Create Manufacturers

2. Create Manufacturer Parts

3. Create Vendors

4. Add Manufacturer Parts to the AML of the corresponding Part.


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Create Manufacturers Manufacturers produce parts that may be used in products of other companies. Typically a manufacturer would go through an approval process, based on your company's criteria. In Innovator this process is modeled by a life cycle,

which offers two states for manufacturers once they have been approved - Approved, and Preferred. A preferred manufacturer would meet even higher criteria. An Inactive state is also available for Manufacturers that were once Approved, but are no longer used. When manufacturers are first created, before the approval process takes place, they are assigned to a Preliminary state. Typically a component engineer (a member of the Component Engineering group identity) would be responsible in updating the life cycle of the manufacturers.

To create Manufacturers: 1. From TOC, select Sourcing, then Manufacturers.

2. Right click and select New Manufacturers... from the popup menu.

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3. A Manufacturer Form will be displayed:

4. Enter values for the following properties:

a. Name - the name of the manufacturer

b. Main Phone - the phone number of the manufacturer

c. Contact Name - the name of the person who is the main contact for this manufacturer

5. Save, Unlock, and Close to complete Manufacturer creation.


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Create Manufacturer Parts A manufacturer part has a one-to-one relationship with a manufacturer. Many different manufacturers may produce similar or even equivalent parts. You need to create a manufacturer part for each manufacturer, even if the parts that they produce are identical.

To create a manufacturer part: 1. From TOC, select Sourcing, then Manufacturer Parts.

2. Right click and select New Manufacturer Parts... from the popup menu.

3. A Manufacturer Parts form will be displayed:


a. Part Number - this is the part number of the part as identified by the manufacturer

b. Name - the name of the part

c. Description - a long description of the part

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d. Manufacturer - the manufacturer associated with this part. Click on the ellipses

to select a manufacturer from the list.

5. Save, Unlock, and Close to complete the Manufacturer Parts creation.


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Create Vendors A vendor may sell the same part from more than one manufacturer. For example, a paint store may sell red paint from different paint companies. Vendors, just like manufacturers, usually go through an approval process, represented by a life cycle in Innovator.

When a vendor is created, it is granted a Preliminary state. Then, it is up to the Component Engineering group, or perhaps even a sourcing group, to approve the particular vendor. Vendors are approved based on company specific criteria, such as delivery time agreements, or volume discounts. A Preferred state is granted to a vendor that qualifies for an even higher set of criteria. An Inactive state is reserved for vendors that no longer qualify for approval, even if they were approved in the past.

To create Vendors: 1. From TOC, select Sourcing, then Vendors from the menu on the main tree.

2. Right click and select New Vendors... from the popup menu.

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3. A Vendor Form will be displayed:


a. Name - the name of the vendor

b. Main Phone - the phone number of the vendor

c. Contact Name - the name of the person who is the main contact for this vendor

d. Under the Parts tab, provide the list of parts that this vendor supplies. You can either pick from the list of manufacturer parts created earlier, or you can create new manufacturer parts right from this table.

i.Select Pick Related from the drop down box next to

Actions, click the New Item icon , and select from the list of existing manufacturer parts. OR

ii.Select Create Related from the drop down box next to Actions,

click the New Item icon , and enter values for the table properties inside the grid. This process will create a new manufacturer part that can be accessed later and revised.

iii.A Catalog Number is a vendor-specific designator for a manufacturer's part.

5. Save, Unlock, and Close to complete Vendor creation.

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Change Management

Change Management Change management is the process by which any required changes to parts or documents are initiated, designed, reviewed, and implemented. Managed change allows a company to improve its products and become more successful. Innovator is a great tool that makes the change process smoother and easier, while simultaneously allowing the company to identify stumbling blocks in its change management process in order to enhance performance even further.

The Configuration Management group consists of several key Identity groups, including the Change Specialists I, II, and III, that coordinate and drive the change process. Although the problems or change requests can be entered by others, the change specialists make the decisions to advance these changes from state to state.

There are three basic items in Change Management: PR - problem report - used to report any problem with a part or document; can be

initiated by company employees, or customers ECR - enterprise (engineering) change request - used to request a change in a

part or document ECN - enterprise (engineering) change notice - used as the authority to actually

make changes to parts and document, as well as the notification that the items have changed.

Let's look at each of these items in detail:

PR

ECR

ECN


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PR - Problem Report

PR - Problem Report A PR is used to report any found problem. It does not force any kind of resolution, nor does it automatically initiate a corrective process. When created, it simply alerts the company that an issue with a part or a document has been found. This problem is then reviewed, verified, and approved. Of course it can also be rejected. A PR can be entered by a customer, or an employee, or anyone who has access to the part or document in question. For a software company, a PR could be equivalent to an issue entered into the helpdesk. For a services company, a PR could be a complaint call received from a customer. Let's take a look at the workflow map of a PR to understand what happens once the PR is entered into the system.

When the PR is created and saved in the system, a workflow process is initiated and it immediately enters the Review PR activity. Change Specialist I is responsible for reviewing the PR, and making the decision to either reject the PR, or to send it on for verification. If the PR is sent along the verify path, the CSI (Change Specialist I) assigns an Owner to this PR. An Owner is an engineer who is responsible for the research necessary to verify and identify the problem precisely. During the Verify PR activity, the Owner verifies the PR, performs the necessary research, enters the resulting information into the PR form, and then makes a decision whether to send it on for approval, or to reject it. If rejected, the PR enters the PR Unverified activity. If verified, the PR enters the Approve PR activity. During this activity in the workflow process, the CSI looks over the PR form, makes certain that all the necessary information is entered and promotes the PR to the PR Pending activity. Here is another view of what happens in terms of roles and permissions as the PR goes through its workflow activities and the corresponding life cycle states. Here the Owner is as described above, the Creator is the user who initially creates the PR, and CM is the Configuration Management group.

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The final PR states - PR Rejected, PR Unverified, and PR Pending are used to classify PRs in reports.


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The PR Process Creating a PR is a process of several stages, completed by different people or identities. The first part is completed by a PR creator, who can be pretty much anyone, including a customer. Let's take a look at the PR form and go through the steps that the creator needs to perform.

To create a PR: 1. From TOC, select Change Management -> PRs, and New PRs... from the

popup menu. Here is a PR form:


a. PR Number - automatically generated, assures uniqueness

b. Title - the title of the PR, should be as descriptive as possible

c. Application Environment - the background information about the product or the surroundings as they affect the product at the time of the problem occurrence; for example, for a software product, it could be the version or the server used; for a mechanical part it could be the temperature and the humidity level.

d. Sequence of Events Leading Up To The Problem - the exact steps taken that led to the problem

e. Description of the Problem - the problem description

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f. Status - read only field. The status refers to the life cycle state of the PR, and the life cycle is in turn controlled by the workflow. So, as the PR goes through different workflow activities, it's state is updated automatically.

g. Affected Part - every PR is filed against a part or a document or both. Specify the part here.

h. Affected Document - every PR is filed against a part of a document or both. Specify the document here.

i. Basis - there are two choices for the basis of the problem: administrative hierarchy and physical hierarchy.

i.Physical hierarchy refers to the part itself and any document associated with it. A bug in a software would be classified as a physical hierarchy.

ii.Administrative hierarchy refers to anything that is connected with the process of running the business. An error in an expense report procedure would be classified as an administrative hierarchy.

3.Save, Unlock, and Close the PR.

At this point the PR Creator is finished. Quite often the PR Creator would not be able to complete all the necessary fields from above, because they may simply not know the answer. That is why the next step of the process is completed by CSI, who is responsible for reviewing, verifying, and completing all information entered by the PR Creator. On save and close the PR enters the Review PR lifecycle activity, and is sent to the In Basket of the CSI. The CSI then verifies that all the information necessary so far is present, and that it is correct.

To Review PR: 1. The CSI can now either proceed with the review process, or reject the PR. If the

CSI chooses to continue the review, then values are required for the following properties:

a. Priority for Tech Review - the lower the number the higher the priority

b. Reported By - select an identity that reported the problem, could be the creator of the PR

c. Assigned Creator - assign an identity to be responsible for investigating the problem (usually an engineer or a technical liaison). The Assigned Creator will have to verify the problem and provide detailed information about its origin and possible corrective actions. Assigned Creator is most commonly referred to as the Owner.

2. Save, Unlock, and Close the PR.

3. Update the activity and vote to Verify.

This completes the Review PR activity, and the PR now goes to the Owner's In Basket, who is responsible for the Verify PR activity in the workflow cycle. (Reminder! The Owner is specified by the Assigned Creator property in the PR form)

To Verify PR:


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1. The Owner has the option of immediately voting Not Verified. However, if he does not, then he is responsible for the following properties:

a. Problem Verification - the steps taken to verify the problem, and any special conditions or descriptions of the problem itself.

b. Ramifications If Not Resolved - an assessment of what would happen if this problem is not remedied

c. Severity - the severity of the ramifications, with the lowest number being the highest severity

d. Phase Caused - the product development phase in which the problem was caused.

e. Phase Found - the product development phase in which the problem was found.


3. Update the activity of the PR, and vote Verified, or Not Verified.

This completes the Verify PR activity. If the Owner voted Verified, then the PR is sent back to the CSI's In Basket, and enters the Approve PR activity.

To Approve PR: 1. The CSI should now check that all necessary information is present. He may also

attach auxiliary files if any exist.


3. Update the Activity and vote Approved.

This completes the PR process. The CSI will still have control over all the PRs that are in the system, no matter what their final state may be. For example, several PRs may be pending until they are all incorporated into one ECR. Therefore, when the final action does take place, the CSI needs to update the Final Action field with this information as well.

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Reports-PR No matter what activity the PR is entering, what state the PR is in, or who created it, the CSI has access to all PRs in the system. The CSI can view the following reports about the PRs:

PR log report - shows a list of all the PRs, their current status, who created them, and who is assigned to each.

PR report - a printable view of the PR form.

These reports are accessible from the Reports menu choice in the main menu bar.


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The ECR

The ECR An ECR is usually either a response to some PRs or a result of proactive thinking used to identify a problem. An ECR is filed to request a change to parts or documents where a problem occurs, or will occur if no action is taken. Of course an ECR filed to prevent problems and improve the product is better than an ECR filed to correct an already existent problem - it allows more time for solution design and a thorough approach that would take into account all ramifications of the proposed change. Sometimes an ECR is filed to correct a very localized problem, that does not have far reaching consequences, and so it may be pushed through the system quickly using the Fast Track approach. Let's take a look at the workflow map of an ECR.

The ECR workflow begins with the Submit ECR activity. The creator of an ECR must vote to Submit the ECR, designating that the ECR is ready for review. The ECR then enters the Review ECR activity, assigned to the CSI. The CSI reviews all the information entered by the creator of the ECR, and decides to either reject the ECR, or to submit it for technical review. If the CSI decides to reject the ECR, it goes back to the creator, who can review the rejected ECR with comments from the CSI, and then either resubmit or cancel the ECR. If the CSI decides to proceed with the ECR to technical review, he will then assign an Owner to the ECR. The Owner is the person responsible for the technical review, someone who can identify and verify not only the problem itself, but who has a wide enough view to see the ramifications of the problem (and the solution). The Owner receives the ECR when it enters the Technical Review activity. The Owner conducts the technical review and provides data, comments, and recommendations. He then sends the ECR to its next activity - Route ECR. Here the CSI again picks it up, and he has to make a decision - is it a fast track ECR, or does it need the full Change Review Board (CRB) involvement? Different companies have different criteria for making this decision. Usually, this decision depends on the cost estimates, the timing, and the nature of the problem itself. However, the CSI does have the authority to make this decision. He can either vote CRB Approve or Fast Track Approve. Let's look at the Fast Track Approve first. If voted to fast track, the ECR enters the next activity, Disposition ECR for which the Owner is again responsible. At this point, the Owner makes the decision to approve or disapprove the ECR. He can also send the ECR back for more investigation. That completes the fast track approve. If the CSI votes CRB Approve, back at the Route ECR activity, then the ECR enters the Prepare CRB activity. The CSI is responsible for deciding whether a CRB meeting is necessary, or if an online CRB meeting will suffice. The CSI also prepares all the necessary information to present to

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the CRB. Either way, whether online or in person, the CRB selects one of the following choices - to require more information, to approve the ECR, or to disapprove the ECR.

Here is a table of all the life cycle states, workflow activities, and permissions for each.

The final states of the ECR - ECR Cancelled, ECR Approved, and ECR Disapproved are used by the CSI to keep track of all the ECRs in the system. Just like with the PRs, there are two types of reports available for viewing the ECRs - the ECR Log Report, and the ECR Report. The ECR Log Report displays a table of all ECRs in the system, their current state, who is responsible for them, and which ECNs might contain them. The ECR Report is basically a printable view of the ECR form. These reports are accessible from the Reports menu choice in the main menu bar.


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The ECR Process The ECR process begins with the ECR form. Although there is just one form, different users will be responsible for entering data in specific fields. To get a good overview of the ECR process, please see The ECR. Here, the steps will be described in more detail.

Let's look at the ECR form.

Here are the first fields that need to be filled out, either by the creator of this ECR, or by the person entering the information for the creator.

To submit an ECR: 1. From TOC, select Change Management, ECRs, and create a new ECR.

2. Enter the data for the following properties:

a. ECR Number - read only field, server assigned

b. Title - the title of the ECR, should be as descriptive as possible

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c. Administrative or Physical Hierarchy

i.Physical hierarchy refers to the part itself and any document associated with it. A bug in a software would be classified as a physical hierarchy.

ii.Administrative hierarchy refers to anything that is connected with the process of running the business. An error in an expense report procedure would be classified as an administrative hierarchy.

d. Corrective Action or Product Improvement - specify whether the ECR is a result of an already occurring problem that needs a corrective action, or whether this ECR is taking a proactive approach in order to prevent a possible problem, thereby improving the product.

e. Requested By - the person who requests the change.

f. Source - the source of the ECR - Internal, Customer, or Supplier

g. Proposed Solution - the solution proposed by the ECR Creator.

3. Add entries to the Affected Item table as follows:

a. Type - part or document

b. Affected Number - hit the F2 key to search for the Part that is to be changed through this ECR

c. Revision - read only field

d. Action - the action being taken on the part, can be add, change, or delete.

e. Interchangeable - applicable when the action is change; indicates whether the new part will be interchangeable with the old part

4. Save, Unlock, and Close the ECR.

5. From TOC, go to My Innovator, My In Basket. The ECR should appear there, since you were the Creator of the ECR.

6. Check over the data entered, and when the ECR is complete to the best of your ability, update the activity and vote Submit.

Once the ECR is submitted, it goes to the CSI's In Basket, and the Review ECR activity begins. The CSI is responsible for the following steps.

To Review the ECR: 1. From TOC, go to My Innovator, My In Basket, and open the ECR.

2. If the ECR does not meet criteria, you may wish to reject it immediately. To do that, update and vote to Reject.

3. Verify that all information entered so far (see the Submit ECR activity above) is correct.

4. Enter the following information:

a. Fast Track - check the box if this ECR will follow the Fast Track work flow

b. Priority for Tech Review - the lower the number, the higher the priority


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c. Assigned Creator - assign the technical Owner of this ECR - the engineer who will be responsible for technical review of the problem and the ramifications as well as the review of the solution

5. If this ECR is in response to a reported problem, go to the PRs tab and enter all the filed PRs that should be resolved with this ECR.

6. Verify that all items that are affected by this ECR are listed under the Affected Items tab.

7. Verify that all the necessary files are attached under the Files tab.


9. Update, and vote to send to Tech Review.

Once the ECR is sent to Technical Review, the Assigned Creator (also known as the Owner) of the ECR receives it in his In Basket. The Assigned Creator performs the technical review according to the company's policy and procedure, after which he is responsible for the following steps.

To perform the Technical Review of the ECR: 1. From TOC, go to My Innovator, My In Basket, and open the Review ECR

activity.

2. Fill in the following properties:

a. Problem Status - select the appropriate value from the drop down box - Confirmed, Not Confirmed, or Another Problem

b. Solution - select the appropriate value from the drop down box - Requester Solution or Another Solution

c. Nonrecurring Cost Estimate - check the box if it's less than $200, and enter the actual estimate in the text box. This is the one-time cost estimate of implementing the solution for the ECR.

d. Recurring Cost Estimate - enter the recurring cost estimate in the text box. This is the difference in the unit cost of the part as a result of the change. Select UP or Down from the drop down box to indicate if the unit cost went up or down as a result of the ECR.

e. Key Implementation Timing Factors - enter the key timing factors for the implementation of the ECR.

3. Verify that all information in the ECR is correct.


5. Update, and vote to Complete.

Once the Assigned Creator is done with the technical review and has updated the activity, the ECR enters the Route ECR activity, assigned to the CSI. Here the CSI basically has to make a decision whether to send the ECR on the fast track approve, or whether the CRB involvement is necessary for approval.

To route the ECR:

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1. From TOC, go to My Innovator, My In Basket, and open the ECR.

2. Make certain that the Key Implementation Timing Factors field has correct data in it.

3. Select the Priority for implementation - the lower the number the higher the priority.

4. Verify that all other information is correct and that all necessary files are attached.


6. Update and vote to either Fast Track Approve or CRB Approve.

At this point all the data necessary has been entered into the ECR. No matter which route the ECR takes - fast track or CRB, there are two final outcomes that are possible - ECR Approved or ECR Disapproved. Refer to The ECR to track the workflow process as the ECR completes each activity.


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The ECN

The ECN The ECN is a process by which the changes are implemented within an organization. There are three types of changes that can take place: 1. a part or document can be added; 2. a part or document can be changed; 3. a part or document can be deleted. When a new part is added the ECN process is used to take the part from its Preliminary state, to a Released State. When a part is changed or deleted, the ECN takes it from the Released state to the Superseded state. Let's take a look at the Life Cycle Map of a part, while keeping in mind that this process occurs automatically as the Part is created, reviewed, or changed through an ECN:

Below is the work flow map of an ECN:

The ECN is typically initiated by a member of the CM group. One of the change specialists fills out the required information, attaches the ECRs and the files necessary for the ECN review, and then submits the ECN. During the ECN Planning activity, the CSII reviews the information and makes decisions about the propagation of the change up the parts assembly line. For example, every company has its own rules dealing with the conditions under which a part receives a new revision or maybe an entirely new part number. Also, the parent parts, or the containing assemblies, may require a change of revision or part number. The CSII would consider all of these changes and make decisions and recommendations. The CSII also assigns an Owner to this ECN, who is the engineer or the technical person responsible for the technical implications of the change and its ramifications. The ECN is then transferred to the Owner during the Update Documents activity. The Owner is responsible for updating the BOMs, specifications, drawings, and any other specified documents affected by this change. The affected parts requiring the change of documents may be not only the parts being changed directly, but also the parent parts or the containing assemblies. The ECN is then transferred back to the CSII who reviews the documents during the Review Documents activity. The CSII can then either reject of approve the ECN. On approval, the ECN advances to ECN Audit. After the audit is completed the ECN is released, which also automatically updates the life cycle state of the affected Parts and Documents. Here is a table summary of the workflow activities and life cycle states of the ECN:

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The ECN report is available to display a printable version of the ECN form. This report is available as a menu choice from the main menu bar.


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The ECN Process The ECN process is used to add new parts or documents, to change parts or documents, or to mark them for deletion. Let's take each one of these actions and go through its process step by step. Keep in mind that only the members of the CM group can initiate the ECN process. It will help to have the ECN form in front of us to refer to it, as we go through the required steps.

To take any ECN action: 1. From TOC, select Change Management, ECNs, and create a new ECN.

2. Fill out the information for the following properties:

a. ECN Number - read only, server assigned sequence

b. Title - the title of the ECN

c. Status - read only, shows the life cycle state of the ECN

d. Basis - check either the Administrative or Physical Hierarchy

i.Physical hierarchy refers to the part itself and any document associated with it. A bug in a software would be classified in the physical hierarchy.

ii.Administrative hierarchy refers to anything that is connected with the process of running the business. A an error in the expense report procedure would be classified in the administrative hierarchy.

e. Priority - the priority of this change, the lower the number the higher the priority

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f. Assigned Creator - the engineer in charge of all technical aspects of this change notice, also referred to as the Owner.

g. Effectivity Date - the date on which this change notice goes into effect in production

h. Customer Approval Required - check if the change requires customer approval

i. Description - the description of the change

j. Special Instructions - any special instructions that accompany this change.

3. Under the ECRs tab, add any ECRs that are combined or included in this ECN

4. Under the Files tab, specify the files that carry required information for this ECN

Now, depending on which action you would like to take - to add a new part or document, to change a part or document, or to delete a part a document - the following steps will be different.

To add a new Part or Document: 1. Under the Affected Items tab do the following:

a. Click on the New Item icon to create a new line in the table.

b. Type - select Part or Document from the drop down box.

c. Affected Number - for adding a new part, leave this blank

d. Rev - read only field, the revision of the part

e. Action - since we are adding a new part, select Add

f. Interchangeable - leave it blank

g. Superseding number - hit F2, find and select the Part or Document that is being added

h. Superseding Rev - leave blank

i. In Field - leave blank

j. In Service - leave blank

2. Save, Unlock, and Close the ECN

To change an existing Part or Document: 1. Under the Affected Items tab do the following:


b. Type - select Part of Document from the drop down box.

c. Affected Number - hit F2, find and select the Part or Document that is being changed

d. Rev - automatically filled in


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e. Action - select Change from the drop down box

f. Interchangeable - a change is defined as interchangeable, if the new part can be replaced or modified without causing any change in functionality to the surrounding parts. If the interchangeable flag is checked, the same part number will be retained. Otherwise, a new part number will need to be assigned.

g. Superseding number - when the interchangeable flag is set, the superseding number is automatically filled in. Otherwise, the CSI should enter the new part number.

h. Superseding Rev - leave blank; the revisions will be entered automatically by Innovator according to the Interchangeability rules.

i. In Build - select the action to take on the parts that are currently being built; the choices are: Use Existing, Rework, or Scrap

j. In Service - select the action to take on the parts that are currently in service; the choices are: Use Existing, Rework, or Scrap

2. Save, Unlock, and Close the ECN.

To delete an existing Part or Document: 1. Under the Affected Items tab do the following:


b. Type - select Part of Document from the drop down box.

c. Affected Number - hit F2, find and select the Part or Document that is being deleted

d. Rev - filled in automatically with the Affected Number

e. Action - select Delete from the drop down box

f. Interchangeable - leave blank

g. Superseding number - leave blank

h. Superseding Rev - leave blank

i. In Build - select the action to take on the parts that are currently being built; the choices are: Use Existing, Rework, or Scrap

j. In Service - select the action to take on the parts that are currently in service; the choices are: Use Existing, Rework, or Scrap

2. Save, Unlock, and Close the ECN.

This process does not actually delete the part or document from the BOM of its parent part. Delete serves as a tag, to indicate to the CSI that the BOM needs to be modified.

Once the ECN is saved, the creator needs to submit it.

To submit the ECN:

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1. From TOC, go to My Innovator, My In Basket, and select the Submit ECN activity.

2. Update the activity for this ECN, and vote to Submit.

Once the ECN is submitted, it goes to the CSII for the ECN Planning activity. During this activity the CSII may provide the following information: the new part numbers for the parts that are not interchangeable and that are being changed; affected items that may be up the parent tree from the actual part being changed; affected documents of the parent assemblies (such as BOMs), etc. Since each company will have their own rules regarding new part numbers or new revision generation, the CSII is responsible for entering this information manually. The only automatic update that Innovator will do, is if the part is being changed, and it is interchangeable, it will be advanced to a new revision. This automatic update will take place once the ECN is released.

Once the ECN Planning activity is done, the ECN follows the workflow process laid out in The ECN.

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Dashboards

Dashboards Dashboards are graphics compiled from the data in the Innovator database, to help the management gain a good overall picture of how the business is progressing. In order to view these dashboards, the Adobe SVG Viewer must be installed. See prerequisites for instructions.

There are five dashboards that come standard with Innovator: Design to Goal Engineering Efficiency Engineering Optimization Product Innovation Time to Manufacturing


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Design to Goal In these charts, the Cost and Weight actual numbers are represented as a percentage of goal. So, for example, 130 means 30 % over goal. These numbers are compiled and plotted for each quarter.

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Engineering Efficiency The Engineering Efficiency dashboard consists of two charts. The Standard vs. Fast Track ECRs plots the number of Standard and Fast Track ECRs for each quarter. The favorable trend is to have the Fast Track ECRs increasing, and the Standard ECRs decreasing. The second chart, The ECR Cycle Time shows the number of days it takes an ECR to go through a cycle. These numbers are averaged for each quarter, and plotted alongside the goal. The desirable trend is to have these numbers diminishing over time.


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Engineering Optimization For the Engineering Optimization, the goal is to optimize the parts usage in such a way that the same parts could be reused in many different products, while the introduction of new parts would be kept to a minimum. The first chart shows the number of already existent parts being used in products. Ideally, the trend here would be up. The second chart shows the number of new parts introduced for each quarter. Ideally, this trend would be down.

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Product Innovation This dashboard tracks the progress of product innovation. The first chart tracks the number of ECRs filed as Corrective Action and those filed as Product Improvement for each quarter. Of course the desired trend is to see Corrective Action going down, and Product Improvement going up. The second chart tracks the source of the ECRs, or how many ECRs were initiated internally, by customers, and suppliers for each quarter. If the ECRs initiated by customer complaints is going up, it is probably a good warning sign.


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Time to Manufacturing Time to Manufacturing dashboard keeps track of how many days it takes for a part or a document to get from the Preliminary state to the Released state. The first chart shows the progress for parts. The second chart shows the progress for each type of document - CAD Model, Drawing, and Specification.

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Glossary

A AML: Approved Manufacturers List

AVL: Approved Vendor List

B BOM: Bill of Materials

C CM: Configuration Management group

CMII: Configuration Management as specified by The Institute of Configuration Management (ICM)

CSI: Change Specialist I

CSII: Change Specialist II

CSIII: Change Specialist III

E ECN: Enterprise (Engineering) Change Notice

ECR: Enterprise (Engineering) Change Request

P PR: Problem Report

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Index

A

Actual Goal value ...............................48

AML .............................................23, 45

AVL ....................................................69

B

BOM...23, 30, 31, 33, 37, 39, 42, 43, 50, 52, 54

BOM Costing Report ..........................54

C

Calculated Goal value ........................48

Change Management 77, 78, 80, 84, 86, 91, 93

Cost .......................................48, 49, 54

Create 26, 31, 42, 43, 45, 46, 60, 70, 72, 74, 80, 86, 93

D

Dashboard ..... 15, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102

Documents................. 23, 46, 59, 60, 65

E

ECN .......................................77, 91, 93

ECR .......................................77, 84, 86

Estimated Goal value .........................48

G

Goals ............................... 48, 49, 54, 97

I

Instances................................30, 37, 39

M

Manufacturer..........................69, 70, 72

Manufacturer Parts........... 45, 69, 70, 72

Model .................................................55

Multilevel BOM................. 30, 31, 37, 51

Multilevel BOM Report .......................51

P

Parts ..23, 26, 30, 31, 33, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 59, 69, 70

Permissions .........................................7

PR.................................... 77, 78, 80, 83

Products.......................................23, 55

Q

Quantity........................................31, 52

R

Reference Designator ..................31, 39

Reports .......... 23, 50, 51, 52, 54, 78, 83

S

Sourcing.................................69, 70, 74

Substitutes ...................................37, 42

T

Target Goal value...............................48

V

Vendor .........................................69, 74

W

Weight..........................................48, 49