Generating Assembly Orders

Assembly orders are created only if the the following criteria are met:

• The Assembly Status, which is displayed in the Product Variants (tiapl3500m000) session, is Open.
• The To Be Deleted check box in the details of the Product Variants (tiapl3500m000) session is cleared.
• The Planned Offline Date in the Product Variants (tiapl3500m000) session falls within the assembly order time fence of the roll-off line. The assembly order time fence is defined per assembly line in the details of the Assembly Lines (tiasl1530m000) session.
• The Assembly Line Structure Status of the roll-off assembly line, which is displayed in the Assembly Lines (tiasl1530m000) session, is Actualized.

• The item has the following characteristics:

  • The item type is Generic.
  • The item is Serialized.
  • The item's item ordering data exists.
  • The item ordering system is FAS.

The creation of assembly orders is a complex process, because much data must be combined. The flow of this process can be outlined as follows:

1. Based on the selection of the product variants in the current session, the product variant structures are generated. Refer to the online help of the Generate Product Variant Structures (tiapl3210m000) session for a detailed explanation of this process. Note that the product variant structure is generated only if the External Product Variant Structure check box is cleared in the details of the Assembly Planning Parameters (tiapl0500m000) session. If this check box is selected, LN uses the present product variant structure.
2. The assembly line structure is initialized in Assembly Control. The line structure must be determined, because, for each supplying assembly order, the parent assembly order must be known.
3. The line structure is browsed, starting from the end of the roll-off line to the start of the supplying assembly lines. While browsing the line structure, the following data is registered: First, the data is registered if generic sub-items are assembled in another company, and second, the assembly parts and operations that are related to an engineering module. The first action is used to determine which assembly orders must be generated. Each company requires its own assembly order. The second action is used to gather information for the creation of line-station variants (LSVs). This information is taken from the flattened assembly parts and operations, and is evaluated based on effective dates and units. The required materials and operations are stored by line station. For more information on line-station variants, refer to Line station variants and line station orders.
4. The LSVs are determined and/or created in Assembly Control. LSVs store the assembly parts and operations that are required for a specific assembly order by line station. LSVs can be reused, which means that the LSV can also be used for other assembly orders if these orders require the same assembly parts and operations on the line station concerned. This way, the LSVs reduce unnecessary data and enhance performance.
5. The assembly orders are created, starting with the roll-off line. For each line station, an LSO is created based on the appropriate LSV.
6. The Assembly Status, which appears in the Product Variants (tiapl3500m000) session, is set to Planned. If the creation of the assembly orders was not successful, the Assembly Status remains Open, and assembly lines for which no assembly orders were created are considered the next time the current session runs.

A line station order can have the following statuses:

• Planned
• Frozen
• Ready to Start
• Completed
• Closed

You can generate assembly orders based on different selection criteria such as the following:

• Roll-off Line

• Product Variant

• From Item

• To Item

To review the assembly orders, complete these steps:

1. Select a previously generated assembly order with the Planned status. Double-click the assembly order and view the details on the General tab.

   Some of the crtitical information that this tab provides you with is as follows:

   • Assembly Order Status
   • Offsetting Required: If this check box is selected, the line station orders (LSOs) of this assembly order must be offset. For more information on line station orders, refer to Line station variants and line station orders.
   • Item: The end item of the assembly order.
   • Serial Number: The serial number of the end item. The serial number is attached to the order when the order is sequenced.
   • Product Variant: A unique configuration or specification of a configurable item. The specification results from the configuration process and includes information such as feature options, company, and assembly line.
   • Sell Multiples of Same Configuration: If this check box is selected, a sales order line with this product variant can have an order quantity greater than one. An assembly order always has an order quantity of one. More than one assembly order can be required to fulfill one sales order line.

2. Click the Planning tab. Some of the crtitical information that this tab provides you with is as follows:

   • Requested Offline Date: The date when work on the assembly order must be completed.
   • Planned Offline Date: The date when work on the order must be completed.
   • Assembly Start Date: The date when work on the assembly order is planned to start on the assembly line.

To review line station orders, complete these steps:

1. Select an assembly order and click Line Station Orders on the appropriate menu. The Assembly Order - Line Station Orders (tiasc2510m000) session starts.

   A list of all line-station orders related to your selected assembly order is displayed. These line station orders are created when your assembly order is generated.

2. Select a line station order. Click Line Station Variants on the appropriate menu. Use this Line Station Variants (tiasc2520m000) session to view line-station variants (LSVs). A line-station variant is a device to reduce unnecessary data and enhance performance.

   For more information on Line-station variants, refer to Line station variants and line station orders.

The concept of LSVs is based on the reuse of data between identical assembly orders, which has the following advantages:

• Identical operations and materials are stored only once, rather than for each assembly order.
• Reduced storage of unnecessary data, which leads to enhanced performance.