A Configuration Change Request is created when a configuration for a configurable part on the demand order is changed, and the change affects a started supply in production. You use the configuration change request information to investigate if the requested changes can be done on the already started supplies. The provided information is a result of a comparison of the original production structure and the new structure which are based on the old and new configuration IDs. Once the investigation using the affected order information concludes and it is determined that the requested production changes can proceed, the configuration change request is approved. Following approval, the production changes can be manually applied to the production orders. If the decision is that the requested changes cannot be done, the configuration change request is set to decline and the configuration on demand order needs to be updated manually.
The information that is displayed in the configuration change request can be different, added, or removed: components, structure work guidelines, operations, operation work guidelines, and tools.
The Configuration Change Request is initially created in Planned status. As this is in Planned status, it is possible to do another configuration change in the Edit Configuration assistant page. As a result, the existing Configuration Change Request is overwritten by the newly created Configuration Change Request.
For the sites with started supply orders, the Allow Configuration Changes for Started Supplies setting must be enabled to allow configuration changes at the customer order line level. Disabling this setting would result in an error when there are started supplies, preventing configuration changes from being conducted.
When a configuration change occurs in the customer order line level and affects the started supplies, a new record is created automatically on the Configuration Change Request page.
This record is created in Planned status and the Characteristic Changes tab contains all the changes related to the configuration characteristics. The list of characteristics is a comparison between the new and old configuration IDs.
Below is a list of information that can be viewed that displays all characteristics included in the Characteristic Changes tab, the new and old values of configuration option value/characteristic quantity are shown to identify the differences. This information is especially important for the user if the configuration on the demand order needs to be reverted to the original configuration if the configuration change request is declined.
When the Configuration Change Request is released, an interim order is created using the new configuration ID and a comparison is done between the interim order structure and the existing production structure. The result can be viewed in the Affected Orders tab which lists the started orders which are affected by the configuration change. The affected order type (DOP order, Shop Order) and the order references are displayed for each affected order in the Affected Orders list.
Note: If needed to view the interim order details, use the configuration change request ID in the interim order header search where you shall use the search field ‘Description’ where the configuration change request ID exists.
In the Affected Orders tab, there is a set of indicators to show the objects affected by the configuration adjustments. The indicators are Component Changed, Work Instruction Struct Changed, Operation Changed, Work Instruction Routing Changed and Tool Changed. By looking at this indicator it is possible to get an overview of the changes that occurred due to the configuration change. If all indicators are disabled, it indicates that no component or operation changes are needed but revision or alternate can have been changed which can be viewed on the Details page of the affected order.
For each affected order listed in the Affected Orders tab, there is a record created on the Affected Order Detail page. By selecting the affected orders in the Affected Orders tab, it is possible to navigate to the Affected Order Detail page to view the details. This helps determine if the requested changes can be made to the started production orders.
The Affected Order Detail page provides all the details related to the changes that are needed for the objects to facilitate the new configuration. In the header section the relevant order references are shown and in the Order Changes section, the objects which need changes are listed. The objects are Component, Operation, Structure Work Guideline, Routing Work Guideline, and Tool.
When there is a change required for one of the attributes connected with a Component, Operation, Structure Work Guideline, Routing Work Guideline, or Tool, a record is included in the Order Changes section. The result is listed as Additional, Absent and Different in the Order Changes tab.
For the object types mentioned above, there is a set of attributes connected for each object type. When an attribute should be changed due to the configuration change, it is included in the Order Changes section with the relevant object including the new and old attribute values.
The attributes considered for the changes are listed below.
Once the order changes are listed in the Order Changes tab, the relevant production representative can review the required order changes by looking at the object types and the changed attributes.
After considering the current status of the started production orders, the production representative can decide whether the change can be Approved or Declined.
If the Affected Order is in Approved status, it means that the required order change can be performed in the started production order and the production representative has agreed with the changes.
If it is Declined, it means that the required order change cannot be performed at the started production order and the production representative has not agreed with the configuration change.
Note: After further reviewing the changes, if it is decided to change the decision later, it is possible to revert the decision using Revert Approval or Revert Decline commands unless the Configuration Change Request is Approved or Declined.
When all the Affected Order records are Approved, the responsible representative for the configuration change request can change the Configuration Change Request to Approved status. If at least one Affected Order record is Declined the Configuration Change Request can only be set to Declined status.
If the Configuration Change Request is in Approved status, it means that production representatives are allowed to do the requested production changes.
If it is Declined, it means that the required configuration change cannot be accepted, and the configuration changes must be reverted at the customer order line.
If another configuration change is done when the Configuration Change Request is in Declined status, a new Configuration Change Request will be created in Planned status if the new configuration change affects a started supply. The earlier declined Configuration Change Request will be changed to status Cancelled.
If the Configuration Change Request is Approved,
When the Configuration Change Request is in Approved status, it implies that the order changes in Affected Order Records can be conducted to apply the new configuration.
By looking at the Order Changes listed on the Affected Order page, the relevant configuration structure changes can be done for each affected order.
Update Supply Configuration in DOP orders can be done when the connected configuration change request has the status Approved or Completed.
Configuration IDs will be updated on DOP orders and the supply orders if the supply order is started on this level and is affected by the configuration change. Configuration IDs on closed supply shop orders will not be updated.
Changes of components, operations, work guidelines, and tools in started supply orders will not be updated automatically, update of the above objects must be done manually.
These changes are examples of production changes that need to be done manually.
Once all the manual changes are conducted for each order change listed in the Affected Order record, the status can be changed to Completed status.
When all the Affected Order records are in Completed status, the Configuration Change Request can be changed to the Completed status.
The Configuration Change Request, which is in the completed status, indicates that the configuration changes have been done to the started supplies, and the new configuration is applied to the supply order.
Once the Configuration change request status changes to Completed status,
To allow configuration changes with started supplies in the internal manufacturing site, the Allow Configuration Changes for Started Supplies setting must have been enabled for the internal manufacturing site as well.
Enabling this setting triggers the creation of a Configuration Change Request when a configuration change is made to an external customer order, including information about the started supply order at the internal manufacturing site.
If the external customer order has the supply code Internal Purchase Direct or Internal Purchase Transit and the supply code is DOP in the internal customer order, there will be an information alarm generated in the DOP header of the internal manufacturing site to inform the production team that there is an incoming configuration change. Once the Incoming Customer Order Change Request is completed, above mentioned alarm will be replaced by the standard configuration alarm. If the supply code is Shop Order in an internal customer order, the pegged shop order cannot be received until the Configuration Change Request is Completed or Cancelled.
When the external customer order in demand site has the supply code DOP and a configurable subcomponent exists as internally purchased in a DOP structure, the internal purchase order must be unpegged to handle with the new configuration if started supplies exist in the manufacturing site. Solving the configuration alarm in the demand site will create a new purchase requisition/purchase order to handle the internal purchased part with the new configuration. Steps to handle this are described in the section Complete the Affected Order and Configuration Change Request in this document.