Prepare template structure for transfer to manufacturing sites

Explanation

This activity is used to prepare a template structure for its transfer to a site in IFS Manufacturing. The IFS/Complex Assembly MRO solution uses a service structure in IFS/Manufacturing Standards. To create this service structure, we need to transfer and transform a template structure from IFS/Fleet and Asset Management to a product structure in IFS/Manufacturing Standards. The transfer of a template structure that consists of real parts and all its alternates to a product structure which is solely made up of position parts can be divided into the following sub processes:

Transfer the Template Structure to a Temporary Table

This process is controlled from IFS/Fleet and Asset Management. All the parts for the template will be transformed to position parts during the transfer. Click Prepare Transfer to Manufacturing to initiate the transfer. The first time the transfer is initiated a transfer prefix must be specified. A position part is generated by concatenating following values:

The transfer prefix for the top part
The delimiter from object properties
The catalog number for the structure position

All the parts in the structure must have a unique catalog number in order to generate position parts. The generated position part number is automatically created in IFS/Part Catalog. These position parts can be viewed in the Position Parts page. The top part revision of the position part is set as its owner while the template part revision points to the structure position in the current template. Note: In the Part Revisions per Position Part page, you can view all valid parts (including alternates) for a given position part.

All branches of the top part's structure is broken down to lower levels. In addition, all alternates are also broken down to lower levels. These alternates can have different structures (different number of positions). Therefore, the final structure in IFS/Manufacturing Standards will represent all the possible configurations of the object.

The prepared structure can be viewed in the Prepare Template Structure for Manufacturing/Prepared Transfer tab. The total structure for the selected top part which includes all templates and all alternates on all levels will be displayed in this tab. This is a good place to verify that your structure is as expected before continuing the transfer to IFS Manufacturing.

Create Product Structures in IFS/Manufacturing Standards

The template structure is retrieved from the temporary transfer table and product structures are generated for it at the required sites. The site to which the structure is to be transferred must have the MRO Enabled option enabled. Click Transfer to Manufacturing from the Transfer Template Structure/Transfer to Site tab to complete the transfer. This process is initiated and controlled from IFS Manufacturing.

Through relevant functionalities in IFS/Manufacturing Standards the position parts in the structure are registered as inventory parts and the product structures are created.
For each position part in the structure transfer, all the modifications will be retrieved. Furthermore, for each modification, all the affected parts are retrieved.
The history log for the transferring of structures to sites in IFS/Manufacturing can be viewed in the Transfer Template Structure/Template Transfer History tab.

Automatic Part Transfer

Additions to a template structure can be transferred automatically to IFS Manufacturing.

The configuration of a template structure can change during it's lifecycle. For instance, structure positions may be added or removed as a result of an embodied modification or an internal requirement. It is possible to control how new structure positions are to be transferred to manufacturing with the AUTO_TRANSFER_STR object property.

If the property value is set to FALSE, you need to perform a manual transfer of the entire structure which will create new revisions of product structures with the latest template configuration as described in sub processes 1 and 2. If the property value is set to TRUE, which is the default setting, new structure positions will be transferred automatically to manufacturing for all valid sites. Valid sites are all sites to which the parent template is already transferred and to which the user is allowed. An automatic part transfer will not create new revisions of the product structures. Instead, the latest product structure revision of the parent part will be updated with the new position. For example, if you have added a motor to a pump, the latest disassembly and assembly structure revisions of the pump will be updated with a new component line for the motor. In addition, product structures and routings, such as disposition and repair, will be generated for the new structure position. Automatic transfer is initiated when the new structure position is activated.

Following will occur as part of an automatic part transfer:

A position part is generated for the structure position at all user-allowed sites to which the parent template is successfully transferred. This includes all instances where the structure position is valid for use.
The phase in date of the position part is set to the latest phase in date of the parent part.
For all relevant top parts, the temporary transfer table is updated with the new position part and corresponding real and alternate parts.
Modifications applicable for the new structure position are transferred to manufacturing for user-allowed sites. That is, active modifications where the given part is defined as an assigned part revision, where affected parts are defined, and the modification is not yet transferred.
The position part is added as a component line to the latest Disassembly and Assembly structures of the parent position part. In addition, if the position part has a structure, Disassembly and Assembly structures are created for the position part.
Disposition and repair structures and routings are created for the position part (and its structure).
A record is generated in the template transfer history to indicate the success or failure of the part transfer.

If automatic part transfer is enabled (AUTO_TRANSFER_STR = TRUE), and a structure position is removed from a transferred template, the corresponding position part will be removed automatically from the temporary transfer table. The position part will not be removed automatically from the relevant manufacturing structures.

Automatic Transfer of Alternates

When defining alternates for template structure entries that will be used in a Complex Assembly MRO flow, introduced alternates can be transferred automatically to IFS Manufacturing. However, it is possible to control how the new alternates are to be transferred to Manufacturing with the AUTO_TRANS_ALTERNATE object property.

By default, the property value is set to TRUE, meaning that new alternates will be transferred automatically to Manufacturing for all valid sites. By setting the value to FALSE, automatic transfer of alternates to Manufacturing can be turned off. If automatic transfer is turned off, a manual retransfer of new alternates can be done by executing the Transfer Alternates to Manufacturing command from the Template Structure Prepared for Transfer to Manufacturing page. This command will:

Execute the Prepare Transfer to Manufacturing functionality to get all new alternates to the temporary transfer table.
Update Manufacturing with the new alternates without creating new revisions on the IFS/Manufacturing side.

Behavior is similar to what happens when adding alternates while the automatic transfer of alternates is turned on, but the new command handles multiple alternates simultaneously, instead of adding them one by one.

Prerequisites

The template structure must be complete. In other words, valid alternates must have been defined for the template, and all structure positions of the template structures in use must have a catalog number. Furthermore, when the catalog number for the components in an alternate part structure is the same as the catalog number for the prime part structure, the structure position for the two structure must also be the same. This integration between the two structures is required in order to set components to alternate parts at a later stage. For more information on the required setup for template alternates, refer the document Define Alternates Parts in a Template structure.
The template structure must be in the Active status.
The top part revision must be connected to a product and model in IFS/PDM-Configuration.

System Effects

If catalog numbers are missing in the template structure or the structure has not been set active, an error log is generated. The number of error logs for the template structure is shown in the No of Errors field.
Position parts are entered in IFS/Part Catalog.
The Transfer Prepared Date and Transfer Prepared By fields are updated for the selected template.
The prepared template structure is available for transfer to IFS Manufacturing sites.
Error logs are generated in the Error Log Entries page. Once the template transfer is successful, these error logs can be removed from the system.