Assembly backflushing

When a line station order is reported complete in the Line Station - Assembly Orders (tiasl6510m000) session or the Report Line Station Order Complete Using Bar Code (tiasc2211m000) session, the material requirements and hours budgeted for that order can be backflushed. You can backflush the materials and hours with the Backflush Requirements (tiasc7241m000) session.

The backflushing topics discussed here are:

  • Floor stock
  • Backflushing mode
  • Quantity of parts backflushed
  • Number of hours backflushed

Floor stock

Floor stock items such as nuts and bolts are not backflushed in assembly control. To define an item as floor stock, select the Floor Stock check box in the Item - Warehousing (whwmd4600m000) session.

Backflushing mode

Backflushing is carried out for each clustered line-station order (CLSO) (see the Clustered Line Station Orders (tiasc7530m000) session). The number of CLSOs produced each day, depends on the mode you select with the Transaction Processing parameter, which you define in the Assembly Control Parameters (tiasc0100m000) session. For Order Based processing, each individual assembly order provides a CLSO for each line station, creating many CLSOs each day. For Line Station Based processing, there is only one CLSO each day, for each line station. All the hours and materials for all buckets, all line-station variants, and all line-station orders are clustered into one CLSO for each line station. This mode is for high-volume production environments.

Assembly parts

The parts required by the line station variant can be backflushed after the line station order is reported complete, with the Backflush Requirements (tiasc7241m000) session. The quantities required are calculated as described for the Build Assembly Part Allocation (tiasc7240m000) session. LN activates a warehousing order line which ensures the parts are delivered to the correct shop floor warehouse.

Floor stock items such as nuts and bolts are not backflushed in assembly control. To define an item as floor stock, select the Floor Stock check box in the Item - Warehousing (whwmd4600m000) session.

Man hours and machine hours

Man hours (also known as person hours) and machine hours are backflushed to People.

The number of hours backflushed is the sum of CT x MO ( Cycle Time x Man Occupation or Machine Occupation) for each line station variant, summed for either the assembly line, if Line Station Based, or for the line station, if Order Based.

  • If it is Line Station Based, the cycle time comes from the Assembly Line - Assignments (tiasc5510m000) session.
  • If it is Order Based, the cycle time comes from the Line Station Variant - Operations (tiasc2122m000) details session. You define the occupation in the Assembly Line - Assignments and Line Stations (tiasc5520m000) session, if Line Station Based, and in the Line Station Variant - Operations (tiasc2122m000) session, if Order Based.

If hours are present, the hours transactions with the status Closed are posted to People and processed automatically. The hours are posted to the employee linked to the line station. You can view the hours with the Assembly Hours (bptmm1160m000) session. You can also enter additional hours with this session.

Note: 

In the Assembly Control Parameters (tiasc0100m000) session, the Transaction Processing field determines how hours are booked:

  • Order Based

    Hours are booked for an individual assembly order. Order Based is used in low-volume environments.
  • Line Station Based

    The hours for line-station orders is added together, for each line station, to form one clustered line-station order (CLSO) for each day. Line Station Based is used in high-volume environments.

The values that are visible in the Clustered Line Station Orders (tiasc7530m000) session are used by Warehouse Management. When material backflushing is performed, the inventory for the assembly part is backflushed from Warehousing, and the Planned stock transactions in the Order - Planned Inventory Transactions (whinp1501m000) are reduced.