Automatic Functions

• The orders are Manufacturing Order Proposals or Distribution Order Proposals.
• The Order Status is between one and 79 included.

Order Dependent Orders cannot be firmed.

Only the Manufacturing Order Proposals (MOPs) that have been firmed in the Planning application using the Firming order proposals automatic function since the last import from Infor M3 BE can be unfirmed.

You cannot unfirm MOPs that have firmed manually from Orders in the Planning application. You cannot unfirm Distribution Order Proposals.

Fully identical orders that are scheduled right after each other on the selected work center are interchanged so that they are scheduled in ascending order numbers. The order with the lowest order number is scheduled to start first.

The orders in a group must meet these conditions:

1. Same PEG-ID, which must be specified
2. Same item number
3. Same number of operations
4. Same order status, with the maximum value of 50

This information must be identical for all the operations:

1. Scheduled quantity
2. Operation time
3. Work center
4. Scheduled Work center resource
5. Forced start time
6. Operation Sequence Status 15 or less
7. Operation Status cannot be 60.

We recommend you to apply the sequence 15 to the operations on the selected work center. Consequently, the sequence can be kept. Otherwise, a new simulation will move the operations back again.

The Sequence Status 17 is applied from the first oven operation to all the subsequent oven operations. When the first oven operation is started, the Operation Status 60 is also applied to the subsequent oven operations.

When installing the Viewers, we recommend to select the parameter Timeout Control and set the parameter Version Control to Newest. This operation secures that non-active Viewers are sent to the Main menu to allow overwriting. The Viewer's version is automatically changed to the newest version while a notification is given that a new version has been activated.

This function allows calculating the difference in delay, positive or negative, in days compared to the last simulation. Before using the Compare Delay function, select one of these options:

1. Reset Compare delay. The saved compare delay value is reset. The Orders list only displays the delay from the most recent simulation.
2. Copy delay to Compare delay. The delay from the previous simulation is saved as the compare delay. The next calculated delay can be compared to the previous delay.

The Delay, the Compare delay, and the calculated difference between Delay and Compare delay are inserted on the Delivery Capacity tab in the Orders list. The total difference and average difference are also displayed.

We recommend that you set these operations up as an action in your workflow so that it fits into your process of working. This example shows a typical workflow:

1. Optionally, run Compare Delay with Reset Compare Delay.
2. Simulate following your scenario one.
3. Run Compare Delay with Copy Delay to Compare Delay.
4. Change the plan or Simulate again with the settings of which you want to compare the effect.
5. Analyze from Orders.

This function allows generating a co-sorting key for a selected work center. Select the constructor ID and the work center.

This function allows defining which features and options are mapped into the X, Y, and Z fields on the order header.

Features and options can be defined as different aspects of the product. Options can be defined as the possible values of each aspect. A feature group can be defined as a group of similar aspects. For example, the feature group can be size. The features can be women size and men size. The options are S, M, L, and XL.

The feature groups, features, and options are stored in the Planning application in the component Sequence Optimization Controls on the tab Configurations.

If all the fields X, Y, and Z are blank, then the XYZ information record is not created.

This function allows resetting the stock to zero for all the items.

This function allows propagating the CO external order number and order category through the order network and saving this information on orders.

If an order is delivering to several COs, then the CO with the earliest requirement date, that is, the due date, is the most important. Therefore the pegging is done to the earliest CO.

The Learning curve history is saved inside the entered horizon. If the plan start is moved forward in time, then the saved history is used by the Update Internal Capacity Model to move the learning curve progress accordingly.

The Distribution Order Proposal statuses are set to 60, which releases the DOP. To select the released DOP, specify the warehouse or the horizon.

This function allows setting or resetting the forced resource on the selected resources.

The Operation Selection section can be used to fine-tune the operation selection by performing one of these actions:

• Leaving out the operations that already have a forced resource or the operations in process
• Using a defined number of working days as a selection criterion

When using Infor M3 PWB, this section also enables the creation of an action for each operation that has set or reset a forced resource.

Only operations with no planned quantity are changed. The scheduling status of the changed operations is set to Not scheduled.

The Locked sequence control in the Preparation and Sequencing part of the Automatic simulation keeps the parallel production when performing an automatic simulation.

Select the work centers or the resources on which all the planned orders are to be affected.

This function complements material synchronization using the material synchronization parameter Respect due date from spare part customer orders. If the links are created during the material synchronization, only the shipping buffer from customer orders (external requirements) to manufacturing orders is copied.

This function allows creating orders for end items in the Planning application using the function End Item Orders - Create.

To decide to delete existing orders before the creation and to ignore the order number during the creation, use the fields in the Properties section.

This function allows inheriting the order priority from customer orders to delivering orders. You can also reset the changed priorities to the initial values.

If the inherited order priority is greater than the existing priority, then it is copied to the order priority or the network priority on the order header. If an order delivers to many external requirements (COs), then the priority from the most important external requirement is used.

The inherited priority is not exported back to Infor M3 BE. This action requires a customer modification of the parameter file.

This function also allows transferring the earliest receipt date from the external requirements to the MO's order header.

This function allows creating local macro orders. Local macro orders are aggregations of MOs or MOPs with these same characteristics:

1. Alias number (main product)
2. Routing
3. Scheduling number
4. Number of operations

Planning on aggregated orders provides a better overview and allows taking decisions at macro order level, but the plan is not as detailed as a plan that is made on all individual orders.

Select the order type, then the manufacturing orders or the out-of-manufacturing order proposals or both, to be gathered in a macro order. To sequence the orders inside the local macro order, you must create a co-sorting key for the first primary operation before you make the local macro order. First primary means the first operation without any parallel operation overlap code. Then select a From and To position from the co-sorting key for the sequence generation. You can also choose the due date as an order selection criterion together with the four mentioned above.

This function allows setting or resetting the forced start on local macro orders. This function allows preventing incomplete job reporting from causing the subsequent operations to be produced later than initially planned. To do so, a forced start is set on the subsequent operations that are calculated on basis of the actual start date of the previous operation. This function can only be used for local macro orders on operations with the sequencing statuses 10, 15, and 17 in schedule if they follow operations with the statuses 70, 80, and 90.

In this example, a started operation, Op 10, is reported as partially finished. The subsequent operations, Op 20 and Op 30, are planned immediately after the planned end of the operation Op 10. The earliest start date of the operation Op 20 is calculated on the basis of the last job reporting, that is, the last time stamp, and the reported quantity. If the job reporting is incomplete, the last time stamp could be any time and the reported quantity cannot be trusted either. The earliest start date for the operation Op 20 is then calculated based on the incomplete job reporting that indicates that the operation Op 10 is not on schedule. Consequently, the operations Op 20 and Op 30 may be moved forward in schedule.

This function allows freezing the subsequent operations, here Op 20 and Op 30, in the original schedule using a forced start date, Ready to start. The Ready to start date for these operations is calculated in this way:

Actual start time of the previous operation + operation time of the previous operation

The actual start time is transferred from the Infor M3 BE. The operation time used is the full production time, that is, the reported quantity, if any, is ignored.

This function allows keeping decisions in Infor M3 PWB that cannot be implemented in Infor M3 BE. When the data are imported, the non-implemented actions are returned to Infor M3 PWB. This function allows recreating actions of the types CHGWC1 and OPRSTATUS as decisions of the types "Set/unset forced resource" and "Set/unset forced start and/or sequencing status" when they are returned during import. When exporting actions again, the re-implemented actions are exported once more.

For example, you can use this function to keep macro orders based on forecasts in Infor M3 PWB. Forecasts cannot be implemented in Infor M3 BE, therefore they are returned to Infor M3 PWB. To keep the forecast, you can make the decisions again manually in Infor M3 PWB after every import or you can use this function to automatically recreate the decisions.

This function allows a more precise control of prioritization of the orders that contain one or more bottleneck operations.

This function allows selecting the operations that are planned on a selected work center, on the work centers of a selected report work center list or all the operations, irrespective of the work center. The selected operations are marked as priority controlling. Consequently, the Internal order priority calculation uses the latest end from the priority controlling operation instead of the latest end from the order. This means that the order is prioritized according to the priority controlling operation and its position inside the order (operation 10, 30 or 50).

A checkmark in the Operation priority flag field in the Operation Maintenance panel shows that the operation priority flag is set on the operation.

This function also allows removing an already set marking from the selected operations.

If another work center than the defined becomes critical for the priority calculation, this function allows selecting easily this work center as priority controlling instead.

This function allows calculating the correct tact and duration times for lean line production with these characteristics:

• Products move like a train from one station to the next.
• A product that has finished on a station cannot be moved on before the product on the next station is ready to leave for its next station.

An example could be an automatically moving car assembly line that consists of a number of stations in sequence.

This function allows calculating the setup time and the post operation time. The throughput of the line is controlled by the tact of the first station. The tact is the sum of the operation time and the setup time.

The lead time of the line is the sum of the first station's tact. The post operation time is the time from the rest of the stations.

This function allows calculating the coverage days, that is, how many days can be covered using on-hand balance, for all orders. We recommended you to use the default bucket ID. Therefore, the same Bucket ID is used to calculate the coverage days in the workbenches and on the orders.

The calculated coverage days are inserted on the order header together with the coverage days of the previous bucket. The values are displayed in the fields Coverage days and Previous coverage days on the Pull-up and Misc tab of the Order Maintenance panel.

This function allows setting or resetting a series group number on orders.

The Grouping control defines the grouping criterion. The operations on orders with the same item number or the same free group get the same series group number. Additionally, the Group on network priority and Group on Due date options can be used as grouping criteria.

When an operation in a series group is planned, the operation cannot start earlier than any already planned operation within the same group, that is, another operation with the same series group number on the order header.

During automatic simulation, this logic is used when calculating the earliest start or latest end:

1. Loop through all the already planned operations in the same group.
2. Calculate the operation end + series group buffer, from the item on the order header, for all the operations in the same group.

The operation cannot start earlier than the latest operation end + series group buffer on all the operations in the same group:

1. Using forward scheduling, an operation on one order cannot start earlier than the end of a previously scheduled operation on another order if both orders have identical series group numbers.
2. Using Pull-up, an operation on one order cannot end later than the start of an already pulled-up operation on another order if both orders have identical series group numbers.

The series group logic is put on top of the existing logic for calculating the earliest start. First the normal earliest start is calculated, without series group number. Then the earliest start is calculated for the series group. The resulting earliest start is the latest of these.

The end item orders are processed one by one. If an end item order is linked to one or more external requirements, then the largest color group number is propagated to the orders in the network below. If the color group number is zero, then nothing is propagated. If several end item orders exist in the network, then the color group number can be overwritten.

This function allows assigning a color group to the orders whose operations are scheduled on selected resources.

This function allows looping through the selected resources one by one and checking the operations that are scheduled on them. The order to which an operation belongs is then assigned a color group from a specified color group interval. The first order is assigned the first color group of the interval, the second order is assigned the second color group, etc. When the last color group in the interval is reached, the assigning starts over using the first color group again.

This function allows assigning the same color group to all the orders with the same main product. If the next order was to be assigned the color group 4, but has the same main product as the order that is assigned the color group 2, then it is also assigned the color group 2. The color group 4 is then assigned to the next order that does not have the same main product as one of the previous orders.

The number of orders to be assigned a color group can be reduced using a horizon that limits the selection to operations that are scheduled on the selected resources in a period of a specified number a days after the schedule start.

An example is to color or identify orders that are planned inside one week and linked to a PO. The planner can then contact the purchasing department to ensure the PO is expected to arrive on time. Therefore the order can be kept in the plan even if it depends on a PO.

Alternatively, to start the system at a certain time and the order import after MRP is finished, you can use Windows Scheduler or a similar function.

Mark orders for export

This function marks all orders for export to M3 Business Engine. This is selected by default during the importation of orders.

If you do not want to export a specific order, select Clear in the Set or Clear Export Mark field.

Propagate demand factors

This function calculates the percentage for these types of demands and saves the data in the order header.

For component orders, the percentage is calculated pro rata from the parent orders.

Set color on operations

This function is used to select a logic for the operation coloring of many reports including the Scheduling Board.