What does the Works Order Processing module do?
The Works Order Processing module allows you to plan works orders to meet customer requirements. It helps you load the works orders to your machines so that deliveries can be made on time. It records the progress of work through your factory and at your sub-contractors.
Key features
- Allows you to control how works orders are created from sales orders and stock shortages.
- Tracks work in progress down to container level.
- Uses barcodes for reliable data collection.
- Controls quarantine, scrap, rework and concessions.
- Fully supports complicated family tools.
Is it suitable for my business?
The Works Order Processing module is suitable for any manufacturing business which makes parts in batches.
Create works orders
The module shows you the total requirements for each finished part from the Sales order processing module, and helps you plan the quantities and due dates of works orders to fulfil these requirements.
You can automate the generation of works orders into a regular material requirements planning run.
There are a number of rules which the system can use to decide works order quantities. These include:
- Create one works order per sales order line
- Look ahead a number of days or a number of sales order lines to fulfil many sales order lines with one works order.
- Keep stock between specified minimum and maximum levels.
You can combine these rules in various ways, and have different rules for different parts if you need to.
Create a work-to list for each machine
Most customers use the Finite capacity planning module to allocate works order operations to machines and thus produce a work-to list for each machine.
If you do not wish to use the Finite Capacity Planner, the module allows you to specify on which machine each operation is to be performed.
Material traceability
Material traceability explains now the system tracks all materials and work in progress to container level.
When you start a works order operation on a machine or workstation, the system displays the raw materials required for that operation. You then find a container of each raw material and scan its tin ticket to tell the system which containers of raw material you are using. The system allocates new tin numbers for the containers of parts manufactured by the operation, and links the tin numbers of the raw materials to the tin numbers of the manufactured parts. This gives traceability of the raw materials used to make each tin of manufactured parts.
As containers of parts move through your factory, the output tins from one operation become the input tins to the next operation, until the manufacturing process is complete. At each operation more raw materials may be added to the traceability history. When a container of finished parts is complete it is put into stock with its tin number and tin ticket.
The system prints a tin ticket for each operation on each tin within a works order. This allows raw material traceability down to tin level. The tin tickets are bar-coded to eliminate errors in recording the progress of each tin. The tin ticket can have operation instructions printed on it, or the system can issue a separate sheet of instructions for the works order.
When an operation on a tin is started, the tin numbers of the raw materials for that tin are recorded. This allows you to trace the material used for a tin right back to the certificate of conformance number from the supplier. The system ensures that raw material is issued in practical quantities, for instance that material for Wickman multi-spindle lathes is issued in multiples of six bars.
When tins move between operations, the bar-codes on the tin ticket are used to record their progress.
When a tin is inspected and rejected or quarantined, a reject note is raised automatically, and further operations on the tin are prevented until the quarantine has been resolved. You can raise concessions for a part. You can set the expiry of the concession as a date, a works order, or a tin.
If you are producing parts for consignment stock, the system can print carton labels with the correct consignment stores and customer stores locations.
Sub-contract operations
If you use sub-contractors for some operations, you can use the Sub-contract order processing module to control sub-contract orders.
Transfer to finished parts stock
Once the final operation is complete, a tin is accurately counted and passed to the Stock control module which puts it into finished parts stores ready for despatch to the customer by the Sales order processing module. The software can connect to electronic counting scales to carry out accurate counting of small parts.
Family tools
A family tool is a tool which produces two or more different parts in a single cycle of the machine. These are commonly found in plastics moulding and presswork.
The system fully supports family tools of any complexity. Having set up manufacturing information for each member of a family, you create a special family part to represent the family as a whole. You can specify how many of each member there are in the family.
The bill of materials of the family part tells the system how much material is required to make the whole family.
Your customer will place sales orders for each individual member of the family, but when you create a works order for a family member, the system automatically creates a works order for the family part. This can be overriden if you need to run a tool with one or more cavities blanked off.
Once the works order is in production, each member of the family is put into a separate tin with its own tin number and tin ticket. This allows each member of the family to have different secondary operations if required. It also allows you scrap and quarantine individual members of the family independently.
Recipe control
The system has a recipe control facility for operations which involve mixing or blending of raw materials in proportion according to a recipe. The operator is told how much of each ingredient in the bill of materials is required for a batch. He keys in the actual amount of each indgredient as he adds it to the mix. This information can be taken directly from electronic scales or other metering equipment if required. If the operator makes a mistake and puts in too much of one ingredient, the system recalculates the quantities of the other ingredients to keep the recipe within tolerance.
Full traceability of all ingredients is maintained during this process.
Reports
You can obtain reports of work in progress at any time, by works order number, tin number, machine, or part number. You can also trace a tin of parts back to the supplier of its raw materials.