Object Data Management

Object Data Management (ODM) provides effective data management solutions in a product development scenario with embedded data management functionality. LN ODM ensures that the product data is handled properly and that the most stringent product lifecycle management processes are applied. ODM provides fully integrated document management, change management and folder management facilities for LN users. The package includes an object browser and an advanced query and report functionality. You can attach documents to LN objects, and view the corresponding files attached to documents.

You can use Object Data Management (ODM) to manage data related to ERP.

The main functions and features of Data Management are described in these topics:

  • Document Management
  • Change Management
  • Folder Management
  • Query
  • System tables (Setup)

Document Management provides general document management facilities to LN. Document Management ensures the efficient and secure use of consistent and reliable document information.

Document Management provides the following features:

  • Controlled access to Document
  • Secure storage of document contents
  • Document life cycle support
  • Management of document revisions
  • Viewing and editing the contents of all types of files, for example, CAD files and scanned documents
  • Management of the relationships between documents and other objects in the LN database

  • Documents

    Documents contain physical files or Hard Copies. Hard copies can be attached to a document revision. A document is a logical entity if no hard copies are attached to the document and is used to group other documents.

  • Document Revisions

    A document revision enables you to track the life cycle status of document. Document revisions are created by default when a document is created. A document revision is uniquely identified by a document ID and document type.

  • Document Life Cycle

    The lifecycle of a document from concept stage to completion stage. The document lifecycle involves various phases, such as In Design, Submitted, Approved, Released, Withdrawn, Expired, and Rejected.

  • Document Management Configuration Tasks

    The LN administrator must perform the following tasks related to document management configuration:

    • Miscellaneous tasks
    • Tasks related to registering document hard copy details
    • Tasks related to file management

  • Document Types

    Assigned to every document. Each document type is assigned a revision mode that is applicable to all documents of that document type. The document mask and document revision mask can be dependent upon the document type. The document types determine whether the hard copies and files attached to document revisions must be assigned revisions. Examples of the type of documents a company keeps can be, safety regulations, assembly documents, wiring diagram, maintenance instructions, drawing documents and standard documents.

  • Files

    You can save the contents of a document in one or more electronic files. To register any type of electronic file, you can link the electronic file to a document revision with the status In Design. The document type of the document revision determines whether the files are assigned with revisions, if any. The files must reside in directories that are registered in LN by the LN administrator.

  • Import files to ODM

    The capability to import files to ODM enhances the document management functionality, enabling the user to import the files from a legacy system to ODM. You can link all the imported files to a single ODM Document or can link each of the files to a unique ODM Document. Additionally, you can link ODM Documents to LN entities like service order, purchase order, engineering items and so on.

  • Hard copies

    A document and the documents contents can be stored as a hard copy in the form of paper, polyester film, and so on. The hard copies are stored in a specific location, depending on the ease of use and requirements. The definition of a hard copy includes the specification of the storage medium and the location.

Change Management deals with the fundamental concept of change. This module controls the processes of product changes. Change, particularly in industry, is a constant and critical factor. Effectively, in the real time scenario, the frequent upgrade and customization of products--due to quality improvements, cost reductions, manufacturing innovations, and customer satisfaction issues--requires an accurate and foolproof method to manage the change implementation process.

  • Change Request

    The change request is the preliminary step in a change process. You can initiate change from various sources (internal or external to the organization) in the form of change request. These requests are processed by eliminating trivial requests, or by combining similar requests. An authorised user can create a change request.

  • Change

    The change refers to the change header. All related change requests are linked to one change. If you create a new change, the first version of change proposal is created automatically. You can also create a change without a change request.

  • Change Proposal

    The change proposal is a version-controlled entity of a change. A new change proposal is created by default when a change is created. The proposal can be approved or rejected. When the proposal is approved, the status of change changes to Approved. If the proposal is rejected, the status remains the same ( Created). If the proposal is rejected, you can create a new proposal with all the linked entities.

  • Change Order

    A version of the change proposal has a list of proposed effectivity dates, which are recorded as change orders. A change order can exist independently of a change proposal. Change orders are linked to the change proposal. A change order can be selected for effectivity dates. To control the effective and expire dates of more than one change order, you can define a parent child dependency between two change orders. The hierarchical dependency between two change orders, creates a bill of change orders (BOCO). A BOCO has two levels of hierarchy. You can link the change orders in BOCO to the change proposal.

  • Change committee

    The committee of a chairperson and reviewers who implement a change using change management. Only authorized users can create a change committee. the reviewers of the change committee submit the change proposal for review. The reviewers provide their recommendations and the final decision lies with the chairperson of the committee.

You can use Folder Management to maintain folders. Folders simplify the management of product information. You can use folders to group-related information of various types, for example, engineering items and drawings, which enables simple and fast information retrieval.

  • Creating and Maintaining Folders

    The folder is an entity that can contain other LN objects defined in LN ODM. Folders are containers that carry LN objects for communication or grouping purposes. Any LN entity can reside inside a folder. A folder is a data item that can contain a group of related objects.

  • Objects Contained in Folders

    A folder is a data item that contains a group of related objects. Folder Management includes the following activities:

    • Create a folder: You can create folder and subfolders for various subjects.
    • Delete a folder
    • Link the objects defined in LN ODM. Use the folder content function to place the object in the folder.

  • Folder Status

    When you create a new folder, the folder receives the Design/Created status and you can change the contents of the folder. If the folder is in Design/Created status, use the content profile to place the objects defined in LN ODM, in the folder. After the initial design stage, you must lock the folder. The folder status changes to Locked and you cannot modify the folder's contents and properties. To change the properties or content of a folder, the folder must be unlocked and the folder status changes to Design/Created.

The Queries and Reports generates timely and essential information, which provides strategic advantage to an organization. Reports help present information in a structured format.

The Queries and Reports module provides the following features:

  • Define and execute queries for all ODM objects.
  • Define, implement, track, store, and display the query conditions for ODM objects.
  • Store the query result sets and re-run the queries on the stored data
  • Enabling the filtering of the session data, based on the query result set, for both base and linked queries.
  • Enable setting the role assignments based on queries.
  • Access reports generated from Change Management, Document Management, and Folder Management modules
  • Create, view, or print reports based on objects.
  • Display query results in various formats

The main objective of queries is to provide a framework to facilitate query based object search mechanism. The Report functionality enables you to view the results of a query in the form of a report in various formats.

The System tables (Setup) provides administrative facilities for the LN ODM . The ODM configuration sessions enable the ERP administrator to maintain tables that contain organization data, and to configure the system to reflect organization requirements, including determining the functions that different types of users can perform on different types of ODM objects.

Some of the ODM configuration objects are specific to the Document Management, some of which are used by multiple modules in the package, and some are LN system configuration objects that are included in the System tables (Setup) module for completeness.

The ERP administrator must maintain the following types of configuration data:

  • Data related to Document Management tasks
  • Data related to Change Management tasks
  • Data related to Folder Management tasks
  • Data related to query and reports
  • Data related to common ODM parameters and external application integrations
  • User authorizations based on groups of actions
  • Object mask for generating object identifiers
  • Valid reasons for performing actions

The ERP administrator is also responsible to import and export system data when required.

  • Object Browser

    Use the object browser to define and categorize relationships between objects in LN ODM. The Object Browser offers a hierarchical view of multiple level objects, and the relations among the objects.

  • Object Links

    To indicate relationships between objects, you can create links between the objects. You can set up links between objects of the same type, or between objects of different types. The LN ODM system configuration determines the type of objects that you can link.

  • Object Masks

    Object masks enable you to automatically generate unique object identifiers and with a constant format. The LN administrator sets the object mask configurations to generate identifiers in the format the organization uses.

  • Defining Object Masks

    You can define mask codes for every object defined in ODM. One or more mask codes can be defined for every object. The mask code is system data that identifies the mask configuration to be used for the object attribute. If more than one mask code is defined for an object, LN determines which mask configuration of the active mask code will be used in each situation. One exception applies to the doc_rev and folder objects that will have two mask codes. These two mask codes are required to generate the temporary revision and permanent revision in case of document revision and folder ID and folder revision in case of folders.

  • Task Group

    The task group function enables you to maintain the task group and the group's linked tasks. Each task group can have a unique user role, the user role's attached objects, and the summarized attributes of tasks, such as total tasks, tasks completed, estimated cost, and total actual cost.

  • Reviewers List

    Reviewer are defined for a committee. The committee can be a change committee or a document management committee. A chairperson heads the committee who is authorized to add or delete the reviewers for that committee. This committee can be used in Change Management or in Document Management or in both scenarios.

  • Defining Hosts

    A computer that the Document Management module accesses is defined as a host. Client computers from which the LN sessions of Document Management module are invoked, computers with file servers, as well as all the computers in which the vault server component is installed are defined as hosts.

  • The Vault Server

    The vault server is an essential component of file management in the Document Management module. The vault server is responsible for transferring all files to and from the PC's hard drive, mounted drives, and other protected areas. The files are moved and copied between various areas.

  • Defining and assigning areas

    All directories accessed from document management must be registered as areas. The directories include the directories in which users edit files, as well as the directories that document management uses to store protected files.

  • Mounting Areas and Assigning User Access

    The mount area is the work area that must be loaded/mounted on the client computer of the user who must access or save the files in that work area. The work area is located on a remote host. When a mounted area is used, the files are registered and saved in the work area specified in the definition of the mount area. The path you see on the local host can be viewed when a mount area is defined.

  • Revision Modes

    The mechanism used to assign revisions to a document depends on the revision mode that the LN administrator assigns to the document type.

  • Object Families

    An object family consists of related objects and is used to maintain links between objects. Use the Object Families (dmsys1512m000) session to define a new object family.