Archive for the ‘Production training’ Category

Hi Axapta mate!

The training is written in a simple manner. It is useful for both the beginners and the advanced Microsoft Dynamics AX users.

You can follow me on Facebook to be aware of the current status of the Production training.

The content of the Production training includes the following topics:

1. Introduction (Core Concepts in Production)
2. Bills of Material
3. Work Centres/Resources
4. Routes and Operations
5. Production life cycle includes the following topics:
   • Creating a Production Order
   • Estimating
   • Scheduling
   • Releasing
   • Shipping Components
   • Starting
   • Posting a Job in Shop Floor Control
   • Posting a Job Manually
   • Reporting as Finished
   • Ending
6. Master Planning

Let’s begin.

Full PDF version

I have prepared the full PDF version of the Production training for Dynamics AX 2009. You can download it right now!

Technorati Tags: Production training

Hi! Today we will learn what the Production module is used for and understand the basic building blocks of production.

Why does the company need to have the Production module? …The answer is for managing and accounting the Production. What is Production? Production is a process of creating products. And, what is a product?

From Wikipedia:

“The noun product is defined as a “thing produced by labor or effort” or the “result of an act or a process”, and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce(re) ‘(to) lead or bring forth’.”

So the Production module is used for the following purposes:

• Setting up materials (product structure) and resources (operations) required for a product creation.
• Accounting the product production process (accounting materials and resources required for producing a product).

In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, a product is an item of the BOM item type (BOM – Bill of materials). Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details.

Setting Up Materials Required for Product Creation (Product Structure)

Product structure contains the information about the materials that are required for building the product.

Item of the BOM item type (product) must be associated with the Bills of Materials.

From Wikipedia:

“The bill of materials (BOM) is a list of the raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, components, parts and the quantities of each needed to manufacture an end product”.

To view the BOM associated with the item, in the Item form, select necessary item and click the BOM > Lines menu button.

In our demo data, the 1101 item is associated with the BOM-1101-1-1 BOM. In the BOM line form, we can see the components that are used in order to produce the 1101 item.

Setting Up Resources Required for the Product Creation (Operations)

An operation contains information about the resources that are required for building the product.

An item of the BOM item type must be associated with the Route. A Route defines operations and their sequence required for producing the product. The operation contains information about the working time and the required resources. So, we can say that:

• BOM contains information about the materials required for building the product.
• Route contains information about the working time and the resources required for building the product.

Resources are presented in Microsoft Dynamics AX as work centers. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, a work center can be of the following types:

• Machine
• Tool
• Human
• Operator
• Vendor

To view the Route associated with the item, click the Route button in the Item form.

In our demo data, the 1101 item is associated with the 1001 Route. In the Route form, we can see the operations (work centers, working time) that are used for producing the 1101 item. We will learn how to understand the information presented in the Route form in the next lesson.

How are the operations and the materials connected?

Each material is manually associated with a specific operation.

1. In the Item form, click the BOM > BOM lines menu button.
2. Go to the General tab and enter the necessary operation in the Oper. No. field.

With the help of the BOM designer, do the following:

1. In the Item form, click the BOM > Designer menu item.
2. Drag and drop product materials to a specific operation.
   

   BOM designer form

Accounting Product Production Process (accounting materials and resources required for production of a product)

A production order is used for managing the product creation process. It can be created from a sales order.

The production order follows a sequential “production life cycle”. The life cycle reflects the actual steps that are taken to manufacture an item. It begins with the creation of a production order and ends with a finished, manufactured item that is ready for the customer. Each step in the life cycle requires different kinds of information.

When the production order is ended, items that will be consumed are deducted from the inventory, the created product is added to the inventory and the costs of materials and resources are recorded to the general ledger accounts.

We will study the production order life cycle in detail later in the future lesson.

Training lesson summary:

In this training lesson we have studied:

1. Production module is use for:
   • Setting up materials (product structure) and resources (operations) required for creating a product
   • Accounting product production process (accounting materials and resources required for producing a product)
2. Product is an Item of the BOM item type.
3. Product is associated with a BOM and a Route.
   • Bills of Material – BOMS
     A Bill of Material or a BOM defines the recipe for making a product. Think of it as a list of ingredients which includes all the sub-assemblies, components, and raw materials required for making a single finished product.
   • Routes and Operations
     A production route defines the process which is used for making a finished product. Sequential steps, or operations, are created which describe the Work Centres involved in the production process and how much time it takes to carry out each operation.
   • Work Centres
     Work Centres represent production resources available to a company for making products. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, a Work Centre can be a Machine, a Tool, a Human Operator, or a Vendor.
4. A Production order is used for managing the product creation process.

In the next training lesson, we will create and set up a new product.

Technorati Tags: BOM, Routes/Operations, Work Centers

Hi there! Today we will work with Bill of materials (BOM) and cover the following topics:

• Create a BOM items and a component items
• Create a Bill of materials (BOM)
• Configure a Bills of materials. Working with a BOM configuration and an item configuration.
• Setup relations between a BOM item and a BOM
• Sales order and BOM.

Let’s assume that our Company has decided to start producing a chair. As Product Designers, we will create a new BOM in the Microsoft Dynamics AX.

A Product Designer analyzes what components are required for build a chair.

The chair has the following components:

• Back
• Seat
• Chair base
• Castors
• Arm pads
• Arm brackets
• Task chair control

First, the Product Designer must create the components required for the BOM.

Creating Components

Let’s create the back, seat, chair base, castors, arm pads, arm brackets, and task chair control items. I will use the same demo data. Just to recall, our demo data is accessible here.

We have already created the Bottle and Can items in this training lesson. So, now it must be easier to create new items. To create an item perform the following steps:

1. Go to Inventory Management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Create a new line (Click CTRL + N).
3. Select the Blank record template (if you have more than one record template).
4. Fill in the fields with the following values:
   • The Item number field with the 0001 value.
   • The Item name field with the Back value.
   • The Item group field with the Packaging value. If you don’t understand what the item group is used for, read this lesson.
   • Go to the General tab.
   • The Inventory model group field with the FIFO value. If you don’t understand what the inventory model group is used for, read this lesson.
   • The Dimension group field with the CF-W (Color, Configuration, and Warehouse dimensions) value. If you don’t understand what the dimension group is used for, read this lesson.
5. Save the line (CTRL +S).
6. Set up dimensions for the Back item. We assume that the Back item has two configurations: Cruiser and Bigboy, and two colors: Black and Silver.
   • Click Setup >Configurations button. The Configuration form opens.
   • Create the Cruiser configuration dimension. Click CTRL + N.
   • Fill in Cruiser in the Configuration and Name fields. Save the line.
   • Create and save the Bigboy configuration.
     

     Back configurations

   • Close the Configuration form.
   • Click Setup >Colors. The Colors form opens.
   • Create the Black color dimension. Click CTLR + N.
   • Fill in Black in the Color and Name fields. Save the line.
   • Create the Silver color dimension.
     

     Back Colors

   • Create dimension combinations. Read more about dimension combinations here.
   • In the Colors form, click the Combinations button. The Combinations of item dimensions form opens.
   • Click the Create combinations button. The Combinations of item dimensions form opens.
   • Click the Select all button. All dimension combinations are selected.
     

     Combinations of item dimensions form

   • Click OK. The Combinations of item dimension form shows only two combinations. That is because this form shows the combinations for the Silver color.
   • Close the Combinations of item dimensions form.
   • Close the Colors form.
   • Make sure that all dimensions combinations are created.
   • In the Item form, click Setup > Item dimension combinations button. Make sure that all combinations are created.
     

     Combinations of item dimensions

We have created the Back item with the following configurations: Bigboy, Cruiser and with colors: Black and Silver.

Repeat the same steps and create items with the following dimensions:

• Seat item. Item number 0002. Seat configuration: round seat and grubby seat. Seat colors: Black and Silver.
• Chair base item. Item number 0003. Chair base dimension group is F-W (configuration and warehouse). Chair bases configuration: highrise alloy and alloy base.
• Castor item. Castor dimension group is F-W (configuration and warehouse). Item number 0004. Castor configuration: standard and chrome hooded.
• Arm pad item. Item number 0005. Arm pad configuration: AP1 (Flat polyurethane arm pad) and AP2 (“Z” polyurethane arm pad). Arm pad colors: Black and Silver.
• Arm bracket item. Item number 0006. Arm bracket configuration: AAB1 (Adjustable arm bracket) and AAB3 (Adjustable trigger arm bracket). Arm bracket colors: Black and Silver.
• Task chair control item. Item number 0005. Task chair control dimension group is F-W (configuration and warehouse). Task chair control configuration: STENO04 (steno lever lock) and STENO22 (steno reflex control).

I have prepared the data and definition files with the above-mentioned items. If you don’t want to repeat the same steps, just download these files and import them to Microsoft Dynamics AX. If you don’t know how to import demo data, read this lesson. During import, you will be asked to overwrite several tables, in this case select all tables and click OK. After the end of process, go to the Item form and make sure that all items are there. Do this in the test environment (test company), because your custom items will be overwritten.

Creating BOM Item

Now, the Product Designer creates the Chair item. To create the Chair item, he or she performs the same steps as when creating an ordinary item: BOM item type.

1. Open the Item form (Inventory Management > Common Forms > Item details).
2. Create a new line.
3. Fill the Item number field with the 0050 value.
4. Fill the Item name field with the Chair value.
5. Item group = Packaging
6. Item type = BOM
7. Go to the General tab.
8. Inventory model group = FIFO
9. Dimensions group = F-W
10. Save the line.

We assume that the company has the following types of chairs: Black and Silver with Standard, Business, and President configurations.

You can ask why the Product Designer creates the Chair item only with the Configuration item dimension (Dimension group = F-W, i.e. Configuration and Warehouse) and without the Color dimension? This is because in Microsoft Dynamics AX, only Configuration dimension of a BOM item can affect the configuration of BOM components. In other words, the Product Designer can’t set up relations between the Chair colors and the Chair component colors.

So, the Product Designer creates the following configuration dimensions: StandardB (Standard + Black), StandardS (Standard + Silver), BusinessB (Business + Black), BusinessS (Business + Silver), PresidentB (President + Black), and PresidentS (President + Silver).

Create these dimensions for the Chairs item in the same way as for the other items:

1. In the Item form, click Setup > Configurations. The Configurations form opens.
2. Create the StandardB (Standard + Black), StandardS (Standard + Silver), BusinessB (Business + Balck), BusinessS (Business + Silver), PresidentB (President + Black), and PresidentS (President + Silver) configurations.
   

   Chair configurations

3. Close the Configurations form.

As we can see, there is no difference between the item with the Item item type and the item with BOM item type. The only difference is when the cursor is on the item of the BOM item type, the Route button and the BOM menu button are available in the Item form. As I know, in the new version of Microsoft Dynamics AX, the Item type field will be removed from the Item form.

We create the BOM item but this item doesn’t have the receipt of components. The BOM will be created a bit later.

Creating Sub-BOM Items

The Product Designer decides to create additional BOM items: Chair arm and Substructure. This is because the Chair arms items are produced and stored independently and the Substructure items must be referenced as one item (what for, we will know a bit later).

The Chair arm item will contain the Arm pad and the Arm bracket components.

Substructure will contain the Chair base, Castors, and Task Chair control components.

These BOM items will be used as components of the Chair item and will be called sub-BOMs.

Note: Create a sub-BOM item for BOM components if these components are managed together. Generally, several BOM components need its own level in the BOM if, at a particular stage, the components must be:

• Tracked
• Stored
• Sold

We already know that BOM item should contain only configuration dimension active.

Let’s assume that the Substructure item must have the following configuration dimension: Base, Business, and Lux.

And the Chair arm item must have the following configuration dimension: StandardB (Standard + Black), StandardS (Standard + Silver), ExtendedB (Extended + B), and ExtendedS (Extended + Silver).

In the next chapter, will specify the combination of components + dimensions that must be used for each chair item configuration dimension.

Let’s create sub-BOM items. Sub-BOM item is the ordinary item with the BOM item type:

1. Open the Item form (Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details).
2. Create a new line.
3. Fill the Item number field with the 0010 value.
4. Fill the Item name field with the Chair arm value.
5. Item group = Packaging
6. Item type = BOM
7. Go to the General tab.
8. Inventory model group = FIFO
9. Dimensions group = F-W
10. Save the line.
11. Create configurations.
12. In the Item form, click Setup > Configurations. The Configurations form opens.
13. Create the StandardB (Standard + Black), StandardS (Standard + Silver), ExtendedB (Extended + Black), and ExtendedS (Extended + Silver) configurations.
14. Close the Configurations form.
15. Repeat the same steps for the Substructure item. Item number is 00020, Configuration dimension: Base, Business, and Lux.

I have created data file with the BOM and Sub-BOM items. You can download it here.

Creating BOM

We create the BOM items but these items don’t have the receipt of components. Let’s create the BOM.

As we learned from the previous training lesson, BOM is used to set up materials required for a product. BOM is a list of raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, components, parts and the quantities of each needed to manufacture an end product.

Let’s create a new BOM for the Chair item:

1. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Bills of materials. The BOM form opens.
2. Create a new line (click CTRL + N).
3. The BOM field will be filled in automatically. It is because the number sequence for BOM is set up. (Inventory Management > Setup > Parameters > Number sequences tab > “BOM” line.)
4. Fill in the BOM for Chair value in the Name field.
5. Select site 2 in the Site field.
6. Save the line (click CTRL + S).

The Product Designer decides to create one BOM for all possible Chair configurations and colors instead of creating separate BOMs for each combination of Chair configuration and color. The Microsoft Dynamics AX allows creating one BOM for all possible configurations with the help of BOM configurations and Item configurations.

The advantage of configurations is that only one BOM item and one BOM is required.

The Product Designer sets up the following lists of components for the Chair item:

• The Standard Chair item must contain the following elements:
  • Back – Cruiser
  • Seat – Round seat
  • Substructure – Base
  • Chair arms – without chair arms
• The Business Chair item must contain the following elements:
  • Back – Cruiser
  • Seat – Round seat
  • Substructure – Business
  • Chair arms – Standard
• The President Chair item must contain the following elements:
  • Back – Bigboy
  • Seat – Grubby seat
  • Substructure – Lux
  • Chair arms – Extended

All these three BOMs must be combined into one. Also, all BOMs must exist in two colors: Black and Silver.

To combine all BOMs in one, the Product Designer decides to create the following BOM configurations: BlackCh, SilverCh, Substruct, and Arms. BOM configurations depend on the BOM item configuration, each BOM configurations can be enabled or disabled.

Let’s create BOM lines for the Chair item.

1. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Bills of materials. The BOM form opens.
2. Find the BOM for Chair BOM. Click the Lines button. The BOM line form opens.
3. Crete a new line (CTRL + N) for the Black Back component.
4. Fill in 0001 in the Item number field.
5. Select Black in the Color field.
6. Select 22 in the Warehouse field.
7. Set 1 in the Quantity field.
8. Type BlackCh in the Configuration group field. Press the Tab keyboard button.
9. The Create configuration group form opens.
   

   Create configuration group form

10. Fill in the BOM configuration description: Black chair. Click OK. The new BlackCh BOM configuration is created. You can find one in the Configuration groups form (Inventory Management > Setup > Bills of materials > Configuration groups).
11. In the BOM line form, go to the General tab and make sure that the Line type field contains the Item value (the BOM field group).
12. Save the line (CTRL + S).
13. Crete a new line (CTRL + N) for the Silver Back component.
14. Fill in 0001 in the Item number field.
15. Select Silver in the Color field.
16. Select 22 in the Warehouse field.
17. Set 1 in the Quantity field.
18. Type SilverCh in the Configuration group field. Press the Tab keyboard button.
19. The Create configuration group form opens.
20. Fill in the BOM configuration description: Silver chair. Click OK. The new BlackCh BOM configuration is created.
21. In the BOM line form, go to the General tab and make sure that the Line type field contains the Item value (the BOM field group).
22. Save the line (CTRL + S).
23. Repeat the same steps for the Seat component.
24. Crete a BOM line for the Chair arm component. Repeat the same steps but fill in Arms in the Configuration group field and 2 in the Quantity field.
25. Crete a BOM line for the Substructure component. Repeat the same steps but fill in Substruct in the Configuration group field.

The BOM line form will have the following view:

Now the Product Manager must set up how the BOM configuration group depends on the BOM item configuration:

1. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Set the cursor to the 0050 Chair item.
3. Click the Setup > Configurations menu button. The Configuration form opens.
4. Select the StandardB (Standard + Black) configuration and go to the Configuration selection tab. This tab is used for setting up the actual configuration of the BOM Line (components) for the selected BOM item configuration.
5. For the Chair Standard + Black configuration we should set up:
   • Back – Cruiser Black
   • Seat – Round seat Black
   • Substructure – Base
   • Chair arms – without chair arms
6. Create a new line.
7. In the Group field, select the BlackCh configuration group.
8. In the Item number field, select the 0001 (Back) item.
9. In the Configuration field, select the Cruiser item configuration.
10. Save the line.
11. The Product Manager doesn’t create a line for the SilverCh configuration group. So, all BOM lines that belong to the SilverCh group will be excluded from the Chair item with Black configuration.
12. Now, when the Customer purchases the Standard Black chair, the chair will contain the Black Cruiser back. If it is not clear enough, don’t worry as below you can see an example. Let’s continue setting up BOM lines for the StandardB (Standard + Black) configuration.
13. Create a new line.
14. In the Group field, select the BlackCh configuration group.
15. In the Item number field, select the 0002 (Seat) item.
16. In the Configuration field, select the Round item configuration.
17. Save the line.
18. Create a new line.
19. In the Group field, select the Substruct configuration group.
20. In the Item number field, select the 0020 (Substructure) item.
21. In the Configuration field, select the Base item configuration.
22. Save the line.

The Configuration selection tab of the Configuration form will have the following view:

We can see that the 0050 item Standard Black Chair doesn’t have the Arms group on the Configuration selection tab. This is because the Standard Chair configuration doesn’t have the chair arms.

The BOM item configuration is a components combination, such as a chair arms and a back that can be specified for a BOM item during the ordering process.

Set up the remaining chair configuration according to the Product’s Designer list of components for the Chair item.

I recommend that you set up at least one configuration yourself. Then, you can download the file with chair configurations set up.

Checking how it works

Let’s check how the Sales Manager will use the BOM item configurations in a daily work. To do this, we assume that the 1101 customer orders the Standard Black Chair item:

1. Go to the Accounts Receivable > Common Forms > Sales Order Details. The Sales order form opens.
2. Create a new sales order for the 1101 customer.
3. Create a new sales line.
4. In the Item number field, select the Chair item.
5. In the Configuration field, select the StandardB (Standard + Black) configuration.
6. Select site 2 in the Site field.
7. Save the line.
8. To check what components the standard black chair consists of, do the following.
9. In line area of the Sales order form, click the Functions > Explode BOM menu button.
10. The Explode BOM form opens.
    

    Chair components. Explode BOM form.

We can see that the Chair item doesn’t have any components. This is because Microsoft Dynamics AX doesn’t know that the Chair BOM item uses the BOM for Chair BOM. Let’s set up a reference between the BOM item and the BOM. For this purpose, the BOM versions is used.

1. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Bills of materials. The BOM form opens.
2. Find the BOM item for Chair BOM.
3. In the Versions area, create a new line (set the cursor to the empty grid and click CTRL + N).
4. Select 0050 (Chair) in the Item number field.
5. Save the line.
6. Approve the version. Click the Approve button in the Versions area.
7. The Approve version form opens. The employee id assigned to your Axapta User will be filled in automatically (is taken from Administration > Users > select current user > User relations button > General tab > Employee field). Click OK.
8. Activate the version. Click the Activate button.

That is all, now the Microsoft Dynamics AX knows that the Chair BOM item uses the BOM for the Chair BOM.

Let’s check what the Explode BOM form will contain now:

1. Go to the Accounts Receivable > Common Forms > Sales Order Details. The Sales order form opens.
2. Find the created sales order.
3. To check what components the standard black chair consists of, click the Functions > Explode BOM menu button in the line area.
4. The Explode BOM form opens.
   

   Black standard chair components. Explode BOM form.

We can see that the black standard chair consists of:

• Back (0001) – Cruiser Black
• Seat (0002) – Round seat Black
• Substructure (0020) – Base
• Without chair arms

This is what we expected.

If you select the StandardS (Standard + Silver) chair configuration and have set up this configuration, the Explode BOM form will have the following view. If you haven’t set up this configuration, the Explode BOM form will be empty.

Sometimes it is required that the Sales Manager has the possibility to select component dimensions himself. For example, if the Customer orders the chair with Black Back and Silver seat. The Microsoft Dynamics AX can handle this case.

1. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Find the 0050 (Chair) item.
3. Go to the General tab.
4. Select the Configurable check box in the Product configuration group.
5. Save the line.

Let’s check what has changed for the Sales Manager.

1. Go to the Accounts Receivable > Common Forms > Sales Order Details.
2. Find the created sales order.
3. Select the new configuration for the sales order line
4. The Configure item form opens. The Infolog with a warning shows. This is because the 0010 (Chair arm) and 0020 (Substructure) BOM items aren’t associated with BOMs.
5. On the Chair arms record, select the ExtendedB (Extended + Black) configuration.
6. On the Black chair record, select the 0001 (Back) item in the Item number field and Bigboy in the Configuration field.
7. On the Silver chair record, select the 0002 (Seat) item in the Item number field and Grubby in the Configuration field.
8. On the Substructure record, select the Business configuration.
   

   Configure the chair. Configure item form.

9. If the Chair configuration with the same settings exists, this configuration will be shown in the bottom grid. Otherwise, the grid is empty. Click OK.
10. Since the chair configuration with the required components configuration doesn’t exist, the Configuration creation form opens.
    

    Create new chair configuration. Configuration creation form.

11. Fill in the name for the new configuration in the Configuration field. For example, Test. Click OK.
12. The new chair configuration is created and this configuration is used in the sales line.
    

    Sales order form. New chair configuration.

    You can check that the new configuration is created. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Item details > find the Chair item > Setup > Configurations.

    

    Chair configurations. Configuration form.

As you can see, in the Configure item form, we can’t configure more than one item from the configuration group. If you want to select the black bottom and black seat it can’t be done.

Let’s check what components there are in the Customer order:

1. In the line area of the Sales order form, click the Functions > Explode BOM menu button.
2. The Explode BOM form opens.
   

   Chair components. Explode BOM form.

We can ensure that ordered Chair consist of black back and silver seat.

Creating BOMs for the Chair Arm and Substructure BOM Items

Now, we will create BOMs for the Chair arm and Substructure items. We will do this in the same manner as creating the BOM for the Chair BOM.

The chair arm contains the Arm pads and Arm brackets elements.

The substructure contains the Chair base, Castors, and Task Chair control.

Let’s create the Chair arm and Substructure BOMs:

1. In the BOM form, create a new line (press CTRL + N).
2. The BOM field will be filled in automatically.
3. Fill in the BOM for Chair arm value in the Name field.
4. Select site 2 in the Site field.
5. Save the line (press CTRL + S).
6. Repeat the same steps for the Substructure BOM.

In Microsoft Dynamics AX, we can configure the BOM in two ways:

• In the BOM line form (Inventory Management > Common Forms > Bills of materials > Lines button).
• With the help of the BOM designer (Inventory Management > Common Forms > Bills of materials > Designer button).

Let’s create the list of components with the help of the BOM line form for the BOM for Chair arm:

1. In the BOM form, set the cursor on the BOM for Chair arm.
2. Click the Lines button. The BOM Line form opens.
3. Create the first line for the Arm pad component.
4. In the Item number field, select the 0004 item (Arm pad).
5. In the Color field, select the Black color
6. Select 22 in the Warehouse field.
7. Fill in 1 in the Quantity field.
8. In the Configuration group field fill in the ArmPadB value. Press the Tab keyboard button.
9. The Create configuration group form opens.
10. Fill in the BOM configuration description: Arm pad black. Click OK. The new ArmPadB BOM configuration is created.
11. Go to the General tab and make sure that the Line type field contains the Item value.
12. Save the line.
13. Create the second line for the silver arm pad.
14. In the Item number field, select the 0004 item (Arm pad).
15. In the Color field, select the Silver color
16. Select 22 in the Warehouse field.
17. In the Configuration group field fill in the ArmPadS value. Create new Arm pad silver BOM configuration group.
18. Fill in 1 in the Quantity field.
19. Go to the General tab and make sure that the Line type field contains the Item value.
20. Save the line.
21. Repeat the same steps for the Arm bracket component (BOM configuration groups are ArmBrackB and ArmBrackS)

The BOM line form will have the following view:

In the same way, create the list of components with the help of the BOM line form for the Substructure BOM. BOM configuration groups are Chair base, Castor, TaskChair. Note that the BOM for Substructure must contain 4 Castors.

The BOM line form will have the following view:

Now, we will assign the BOM items to the BOMs with the help of BOM versions.

For the Chair arm BOM item:

1. Go to the Inventory Management > Common Forms > Bills of materials. The BOM form opens.
2. Find the BOM for Chair arm record.
3. In the Versions area, create a new line (set the cursor to the empty grid and press CTRL + N).
4. Select 0010 (Chair arms) in the Item number field.
5. Save the line.
6. Approve the version. Click the Approve button in the Versions area.
7. The Approve version form opens. Employee id assigned to your Axapta User will be filled in automatically (Employee id is taken from Administration > Users > select current user > User relations button > General tab > Employee field). Click OK.
8. Activate the version. Click the Activate button.

Repeat the same steps for the Substructure BOM item.

That is all, now Microsoft Dynamics AX knows that the Chair arms item uses the BOM for Chair arms BOM and Substructure item uses the BOM for Substructure BOM.

You can download the demo file with the resulting data.

Configuring the Chair Arm and Substructure BOM Items

The last thing is setup relations between item configurations and BOM configurations for the Sub-BOM items. We already configure the Chair item.

We have created the following configurations for the Chair Arm and Substructure items:

1. Chair arms: standard and extended in black and silver colors
2. Substructure: Base, Business, and Lux.

But we don’t specify components configurations for BOM item configurations.

Let’s assume the following:

• The Standard Chair arms item must contain the following elements:
  1. Arm pad – AP1 (Flat polyurethane arm pad)
  2. Arm bracket – AAB1 (Adjustable arm bracket)
• The Extended Chair arms item must contain the following elements:
  1. Arm pad – AP2 (“Z” polyurethane arm pad)
  2. Arm bracket – AAB3 (Adjustable trigger arm bracket).
• The Base Substructure item must contain the following elements:
  1. Chair base – Highrise alloy
  2. Castor – Standard
  3. Without Task chair control
• The Business Substructure item must contain the following elements:
  1. Chair base – Highrise alloy
  2. Castor – Standard
  3. Task chair control – STENO04 (steno lever lock)
• The Lux Substructure item must contain the following elements:
  1. Chair base – Alloy base
  2. Castor – Chrome hooded
  3. Task chair control – STENO22 (steno reflex control)

Perform BOM item configuration yourself.

Summary

You can download the demo file with the resulting data.
In this training lesson, we have studied the following:

1. How to create a BOM item. What the difference is between an ordinary item and a BOM item.
2. How to create a BOM.
3. How a BOM can be configured. What an Item configuration and a BOM configuration are.
4. Hot to set up relations between a BOM item and a BOM. What a BOM version is used for.
5. How to create a sales order for the BOM item with specific configuration.
6. Configure a BOM item in a sales order manually.

In the next training lesson, we will study Routes.

Technorati Tags: Bills of Material, BOM configuration, BOM item, BOM version, create a BOM, Sales order and BOM

Introduction

In this training lesson, we will learn what a work center is and what its parameters are.

Machines, tools, people, and vendors that a company may use within a manufacturing process are defined as Work Centers which are created from within the Basic module.

The four types of a work center are:

• Machine
  The most common type of work center, where one or more machines may be defined.
• Tool
  Tools that are used within a manufacturing process should be defined as this type.
• Vendor
  Define subcontractors to be of the type Vendor.
• Human Resource
  Any work carried out by people or teams must be defined for later attachment to a route operation.

Work Centers of a similar type or capability can be grouped together in order to form a pool of resource capacity. The system can use them when planning production. Each work center is related to a calendar which defines the availability of the resource throughout the working year. A work center which belongs to a group can inherit the properties of that group, thus saving time and effort in the setup and maintenance of the data.

Setting Up a Work Center

For setting up a work center, we will use this demo data (the same as for the Trade and Logistics training). To review work centers, go to Basic > Common Forms > Work center groups. The Work center groups form opens. Remember that in Microsoft Dynamics AX a work center can be created only inside a work center group.

A work center group can contain one or several work centers. Usually work centers that perform similar functions and are generally used interchangeably are combined in one work center group.

A work center group contains default parameters for a work center. If you click the Work centers button, you can make sure that the work center contains almost the same parameters and tabs.

Why does Microsoft Dynamics AX have work center groups? In the next training lesson, we will set up routes. A route determines the sequence of operations required for building a finished product. Each operation can be associated with a work center group. In this case, when a route is scheduled, an available work center (from the work center group) will perform the operation.

We will use the 011 work center group. This work center group contains the 01101 and 01102 work centers. To verify this, click the Work centers button.

Now, we will analyze a work center group parameters. Since a work center group and work center parameters are similar, we will only analyze the work center group parameters.

Working Time

A work center is the company resource. All resources have limitations. Working time limit is defined with the help of a calendar. The default calendar used for the 011 work centers is Standard2. Let’s investigate the working time limit for the Standard2 calendar:

1. Click Basic > Calendar. The Calendar form opens. Find the Standard2 calendar.
   

   Calendar form

2. Click the Working times button. The Working times form opens. This form contains the information about working days and times.
   

   Working times form

We can see that on May, 28 – 29 the calendar is closed (this is Saturday and Sunday), so work centers from the 011 work center group are not available on Saturday and Sunday. Also, we can see that during a day, work centers are available from 8 till 12 and from 13 till 17 (the lunch time is between 12 and 13). (The Closed for pickup check box is used for a warehouse (warehouse working time is also set up with the help of a calendar) and it means the item can’t be picked up from the warehouse on this day.)

For example, if the operation is running for 3 hours and is started at 4.00 p.m. on Friday, it will be finished at 10 a.m. on Monday. The start and end dates for operations are calculated during the production scheduling process.

How is working time set up for the calendar? Of course, working time can be set up manually but for all days within a year it is very tedious. For this purposes the working time template exists. When a new calendar is created, the Working times form is empty. To create working times for the calendar, the user clicks the Compose working times button. In the Compose working times form, the user specifies the start and end dates and the working time template.

The working time templates are set up under Basic > Setup > Calendar > Workingtime templates.

In the Working time template form, the user can specify working time per day.

The 011 work center group has the following working time: from Monday to Friday, from 8 till 12 and from 13 till 17.

Input Location

One of the major work center parameters is the input location (especially if the Warehouse management is used). An input location defines the place in a warehouse where a work center is situated. This information is used when Microsoft Dynamics AX defines the place where BOM components are to be delivered. We will study the delivery process in the Production life cycle training lesson.

Let’s set up an input location for the 011 work center group:

1. In the Work center group form, select the 011 work center group. Go to the General tab.
2. Select 2 in the Site field, and the value 23 in the Warehouse field. Now, we want to specify the location. If we look up the Location field nothing is shown. That is because a work center can be assigned only for a production input location. But, the 23 warehouse doesn’t contain any production input location.
3. To create a production input location in the warehouse 23, go to Inventory management > Setup > Inventory breakdown > Locations. The Locations form opens.
4. Create a new record with the following values:
   • Location type = Production input location
   • Warehouse = 23
   • Aisle = 01
   • Max.pallets = 100
   • Height = 360
5. Now, we can set up a location for the Work center group.
   

   Work center groups form, Input location

Ledger Posting

As you may already know, all company activities should be recorded to ledger accounts in a monetary equivalent. A work center is no exception. When a BOM item is processed, all expenses and the cost of work must be recorded to the general ledger. The Financial Manager sets up general ledger accounts that must be used for this purpose on Ledger tab of the Work center groups form.

When a BOM item is processed, all expenses are recorded to the WIP issue account and the same amount of money (the cost of work for the processed BOM) is recorded to the WIP account (work in process). When the BOM production is finished, the previous accounts are reversed, the expense is recorded to the Issue account and the same amount of money (the cost of work for the produced BOM) to the Offset account. But the expenses and the cost of work can be recorded to the general ledger accounts from a costing group (the Work center groups form, Operation tab, Cost categories field group). It depends on the production order posting type. This type is set up when a production order is created – in the Create production order form, Setup field group, Ledger field. To use the ledger account from the work center, the Item+Work center value must be selected.

Financials is a very interesting part of the company routine. I started learning financials from this site. After the production module, I am planning to start the Financial module.

Default Parameters for Operation

Each work center is used to perform some operations for the BOM item. So, the work center group contains default parameters for the operation. In the next training lesson, we will study routes and operation in more detail.

Shortly, each operation consumes time from a work center it is assigned to. Capacity term relates to the operation. It shows the number of processed BOM items during specific time (usually per hour) for the operation in a specific work center. When a production order is scheduled, the time required for the operations is calculated and reserved.

To set up default capacity parameters for the operation, go to the Times tab and fill in the Run time and Process quantity fields. For example, if during 1.5 hours only 4 chairs can be painted (painting is an operation), the Run time field must be filled with the 1.5 value and the Process quantity field with the 4 value. These values will be default for the “paint” operation in the current work center. Note that for all operations in the current work center, these values will be default.

This is the easiest way to set up default time required by an operation. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, the required time can be calculated in four different ways:

• Standard (as describe above)
• Capacity
• Batch
• Work center batch

The calculation formula is set up at the operation level (we will see this in the training lesson). By default, the Standard method is used.

Other default fields for operation that are used during the calculation of the required time are:

• Capacity unit
• Capacity
• Batch capacity

They are placed on the General tab, in the Capacity field group:

Other default fields for the operation are placed on the Operation tabs.

We will discuss these fields in the Routes and Operations training lesson.

Summary

In this training lesson, we have studied the Work centers. As you may have noticed, the parameters that relate to work center set up are not so numerous. A lot of work center parameters are the default parameters for operations.

The major work center parameters are a work center type, an input location, a calendar, and ledger accounts. Other work center parameters are: production unit, efficiency percentage, operation scheduling percentage, finite capacity, bottleneck resource, and vendor name. All other parameters are default parameters for operations.

Technorati Tags: Production input location, Production posting type, Work Centers/Resources, Working calendar, Working time templates

Introduction

In this training lesson, we will learn how to set up route and operations and what they are used for.

A route or a production route in Microsoft Dynamics AX brings together a sequence of steps or operations which defines a manufacturing process. Like a production BOM, a route must be approved before it is used in a live production order and must also be marked as active.

An operation within a route is attached to a specific work center, which defines a person, machine, tool, or vendor who is to carry out the work.

A route can be defined and attached to more than one item in the same way that an operation can be defined and attached to more than one route. In this way a company can build up a library of operations which may be reused on many routes.

The following examples demonstrate the principle:

Route : 0010 – Fairy Cake
Operation Number	Description	Work Center	Run Time
10	Mix	Food processor	120 seconds
20	Bake	Oven	45 minutes

Route :  0020 – Fruit Cake
Operation Number	Description	Work Center	Run Time
10	Soak Fruit	Sink	12 hours
20	Mix	Food processor	600 seconds
30	Bake	Oven	60 minutes

Notice that both previously mentioned production routes contain the same operations attached to the same work centers and only the run time differs.

Route

Let’s create a new route for the Chair item:

1. Go to Production > CommonForms > RouteDetails. The Route form opens.
   

   Route form

2. In the header area, create a new line and set the Name field to Wooden chair. The Item group field is used for convenience – when the user will assign a BOM to the route, BOMs from the item group will be shown first.
3. In the Versions area, create a new line with the following values: Item number = 0050, Site =2. We make sure that the route can be assigned to different items. For example, if different types of chair are produced in one way but have different number of components, they can be assigned to one route.
4. In the Versions area, click the Approve button. In the Approve version form, select the employee and select the Approve route check box, and then click OK.
5. In the Versions area, click the Activation button.
6. The Route form will have the following view:
   

   Route form, Wooden chair

Note: A route only contains operations and does not depend on BOM components. But, operation parameters can be set up per BOM. In other words, if a chair and a fishing rod use the same route, then the operations to process these BOMs are the same but can consume different time.

Operations

An operation is a task or a process connected with the production of an item. To set up operations, go to Production > Setup > Routes > Operations. The Operations form opens.

As you can make sure, the Operations form contains only two parameters: Operation (operation identification) and Name (short description).

That is because an operation can be assigned to different work centers. So, an operation can consume different time in different work centers. For example it takes one hour to paint 4 chairs in one work center, while in the other work center the same operation consumes 2 hours (because the number of workers differs). So the Operations form can’t have multiple parameters because they vary from one work center to another.

When an operation is assigned to a route, the route operation (or an operation with parameters) is created. All route operation parameters are filled in by default from the work center. In the previous training lesson, we have discussed what work center parameters are the default ones for an operation.

Let’s imagine the following chair production process: chiseling chair elements from wooden block (chiseling), varnishing all wooden elements (varnishing), preparing chair elements for assembly (drilling), sewing seat and back for a chair (sewing), assembling a chair (assembly), and packing a chair (pack)

Let’s set up these operations in Microsoft Dynamics AX:

1. In the Operations form, create the first line with the following parameters: Operation = Chiseling, Name = “Chiseling chair elements from wooden block”. Save the line.
2. Create the second line with the following parameters: Operation = Varnishing, Name = “Varnishing wooden elements”. Save the line.
3. Create the third line with the following parameters: Operation = DrillingCh, Name = “Preparing chair elements for assembly”. Save the line.
4. Create the forth line with the following parameters: Operation = Sewing, Name = “Sewing seat and back for a chair”. Save the line.
5. Create the fifth line with the following parameters: Operation = Assembly, Name = “Assembling chair”. Save the line.
6. Create the sixth line with the following parameters: Operation = Pack, Name = “Packing a chair”. Save the line. The Operations form will have the following view:
   

   Operations form, new operations

Now, we can create the route operations:

1. Open the Route form. Go to Production > CommonForms > RouteDetails.
2. Find the route for the 0050 chair item and click the Route button. The Route form opens. This form is used for creating route operations.
3. Create a new route operation line. In the upper area, create a new line with the following parameters: Oper.No. = 10, Operation = Chiseling. Save the line.
4. Create route operation parameters. In the bottom area, create a new line with the following parameters: Item code = Table, Item relation = 0050, Site = 2, Work center = 011. When the work center is selected, all operation parameters are filled in from the selected work center.
   

   Route form, Chiseling operation

   Make sure that the Setup and Times tabs contain the same values as the Setup and Times tabs in the work center. The route operation parameters can be changed. Note: Operation parameters can be set up per BOM item.

5. Create all other operations and assign them to the 011 work center (repeat the same step as for the first operation). The Route form will have the following view:
   

   Route form, All operation

Note: When several route operations are assigned to the same work center, all operation parameters are the same. So, time required for assembling one chair and time required for sewing one chair is the same.

Route Networks

If you close the Route form, the “There is more than one closing operation” error message will be shown. Operations in a route must be attached to each other in a logical way to reflect the production process. The operation in a route is identified by an operation number (the Oper. No field) and is linked with the help of the Next field.

Let’s create the simplest production flow in the Route form:

1. Find the Chiseling operation and fill in 20 in the Next field.
2. Find the Varnishing operation and fill in 30 in the Next field.
3. Find the DrillingCh operation and fill in 40 in the Next field.
4. Find the Sewing operation and fill in 50 in the Next field.
5. Find the Assembly operation and fill in 60 in the Next field.

It is the easiest route network, because each operation goes step by step. The real production process can have a complex network. The Microsoft Dynamics AX allows creating the following operation constructions:

• Independent operations. In this case, operations are started independently. The following picture from the Microsoft Production training illustrates this structure:
  

  Independent operations

• Simultaneous operations.
  

  Simultaneous operations

But, these operation structures can be created only when the Route network check box is selected in the Parameters form (Production > Setup > Parameters > Routes field group > Route network check box).

Note: When the Route form closes, the route is updated. Actually the user can set up a complex structure (with an independent operation and simultaneous operations) with the Route network check box cleared, but when the user closes the Rote form, the structure will be updated to a simple “step by step” network.

Let’s create an independent operation structure for the Sewing operations, so that workers can start sewing backs or seats for chairs independently from wooden components: Find the DrillingCh operation in the Route form and fill in 50 in the Next field.

Several words about simultaneous operations: they can be used in both simple and complex route networks. A simultaneous operation is a process where several work centers are used at the same time. Simultaneous operations use the capacity of several work centers at the same time, for example, they can use a machine, its operator, and possibly a specific tool. To set up simultaneous operations, you must use the same operation number and the Priority field.

Let’s assume that the Chiseling operation uses the human and the machine work:

1. Since we have set up the Chair route for the site 2, we should create a machine work center in this site. Go to Basic > CommonForms > Workcentergroups. The Workcentergroups form opens. We will change the site for the available machine work center group. Find the 005 Cutting Work Center Group (1) and change the Site field vale from 1 to 2. The warning message “The change of Production unit and/or Site takes effect on orders only after a rescheduling is run.” will be shown.
   

   Work center groups form, Machine work center group

2. Go back to the Route form and create a new line for the simultaneous operation with the following input: Oper.No = 10, Priority = Secondary1, Operation = Cutting. Note that the simultaneous operation must have a different name (Chiseling – human work and Cutting – machine work), which to my mind is not convenient. Save the line.
3. Assign a machine work center. On the Overview tab, create a new line with the following values: Item code = Table, Item relation = 0050, Site = 2, Work center = 005. Save the line.
   

   Route form, Simultaneous operations

When a production order is scheduled, the operation parameters from the primary simultaneous operations are taken into account. All other simultaneous operations are secondary, therefore their capacity is not taken into consideration. We will check how it works in the Times consumed by operation section of this training lesson.

Route Operation Parameters

Most of the operation parameters are transferred from a work center the topic that we have already discussed shortly in the previous training lesson.

The main operation parameters are:

1. Time consumed for performing operations on BOM items
2. Cost of the operation
3. How operations is treated in Microsoft Dynamics AX

In this paragraph, we will discuss these operation parameters in more detail.

Times Consumed by Operation

In Microsoft Dynamics AX, an operation can be divided into the following parts: Queue before, Setup, Process, Overlap, Transport, Queue after. These parts are called Jobs. Each job is a separate logical unit. Jobs are assigned to employees for processing.

Let’s assume that the Varnishing operation has the following jobs: Setup, Process, and Queue after.

Let’s set up the time required for these operation jobs:

1. Open the Route form. Find the created Wood chair route. Click the Route button. The Route form opens. In the Route form, find the Varnishing operation.
2. Go to the Times tab and fill in the following values: Setup time = 0.5, Run time = 3, Queue time after = 2. The Time tab will have the following view:
   

   Route form, Times tab, Varnishing operation

   This means that the 011 work center requires 0.5 hr (for preparing a working place) + 3 hrs (for varnishing) + 2 hrs (for drying) = 5.5 hours for varnishing one BOM item. Note that only the run time is quantity dependent. This means that for varnishing two BOMs the 011 work center requires 0.5 hr (for preparing a working place) + 3 hrs * 2 (for varnishing) + 2 hrs (for drying) = 7.5 hours.

We have calculated the process time (the run time) on the basis of the values from the Run time and Process qty fields, but in Microsoft Dynamics AX the process time required for processing job for one BOM item can be calculated in four different ways. It depends on the operation formula parameter which located under Route form > Setup tab > Consumption calculation field group> Formula field.

The Formula field has the following values:

• Standard: Process time = Run time / Process quantity. For example, in our case the 011 work center requires 3(Run time field value) / 1 (Process qty. field vale) = 3 hours for process job (run job).
• Capacity: Process time = 1 / (Capacity / Factor). In this formula, the run time always equals to 1 hour. The capacity value is taken from a work center (Basic > Common Forms > Work center groups > General tab > Capacity field group > Capacity field). The factor value is taken from the operation factor parameter (Route form > Setup tab > Factor field, see the previous image).
• Batch: Process time = (Run time / Process quantity) * Produced quantity. As we can see, this is the standard formula multiplied by the produced quantity; produced quantity is taken from a production order. Actually, I can’t imagine what this formula can be used for, because it should return the consumed run time per one BOM.
• Work center batch: Process time = (Run time / (Batch capacity / Factor))* Produced quantity

A route can have a complex network with independent and simultaneous operations (as described in previous topic). Let’s assume that a route has the following network:

Time consumed by Operation 1 and Operation 2 can be different. But, what if the production process requires that these two operations end or start at the same time? Unfortunately, in Microsoft Dynamics AX the user cannot set up relations between independent operations.

By default, Operation 3 will start after the longest previous operation ends, or in other word when all previous operations end. We can change the default flow. For example if Operation 1 will run 3 hours and Operation 2 will run 1 hour, we can set up Operation 3 to start when Operation 2 ends (the smallest operation). It is difficult to assume when this flow can be used. For this purposes, the Link type field is available in the Route form. If Operatin3 must start when Operation2 ends, the route should have the following link type values:

Note: In a simple route, a network operation always starts after the previous operation ends.

In our example, we have both independent and simultaneous operations. Let’s check how this works. First, we should set up the run time for all route operations:

1. In the Route form, select the Chiseling operation.
2. Go to the Times tab and fill in 1 in the Run time field.
   

   Route form, Run time field

3. Repeat the same set up for all operations except the Varnishing operation, because we have already set up time for this operation.

Then, we will create a production order and run the job scheduling:

1. Go to Production > CommonForms > ProductionOrderDetails. The Production orders form opens.
2. Create a new line. The Create production order form opens. In the Itemnumber field select item number 0050 (Chair), in the Configuration field select the BusinessB value, in the Site field select the value 2 (transfer the route and the BOM from the active version). Make sure that the Quantity field is set to 1.
   

   Create production order form

   Click OK.

3. The new production order will be created. Click the Update > Job scheduling menu button.
   

   Production orders form, Job scheduling

   We will learn the Production order life cycle in the next training lesson.

4. The Job scheduling form opens. Click OK. As a result, I have received the “Working time Cut has not been specified for 6/16/2011” error message:
   

   Error message: Working time Cut has not been specified

   This is because the Cutting operation is performed in the 005 machine work center group. This group uses the Cut calendar. All that you need to do is to create working time for the Cut calendar by going to Basic > CommonForms > Calendar > finding the Cut calendar > clicking the Workingtimes button > clicking the Composeworkingtimes button > selecting the Std-Day working time template, and then clicking OK.

5. Run the Job scheduling process once again. In the Productionorders form, click the Update > Jobscheduling button. The Job scheduling form opens. Click OK. As a result, I have received the “Working time Standard has not been specified for 6/16/2011” error message. This is because during the job scheduling process, master planning transactions are created. Master planning uses the Standard calendar (Master planning > Setup > Parameters > General tab > Update field group > Today’scalendardate field) that doesn’t have the working time. All that you need to do is to create working time for the Standard calendar by going to Basic > CommonForms > Calendar > finding the Standard calendar > clicking the Workingtimes button > clicking the Composeworkingtimes button > selecting the Std-Day working time template, and then clicking OK.
6. Run the job scheduling process once again. In the Productionorders form, click the Update > Jobscheduling button. The Job scheduling form opens. Click OK. The job is executed correctly.
7. To check the process result in the Productionorder form, click the Jobs button. The Jobs form opens.
   

   Jobs form

   We can see the operations are divided into jobs. The operation 20 is divided to Setup, Process, and Queue after jobs, this is because we have set up the time for this operation parts. The operation 40 is an independent operation and we can see that the generated job starts on 8:00 A.M. 6/16/2011 (independent from other jobs). Simultaneous operations generate simultaneous jobs that start and end at the same time (Oper.No 10). The time consumed by simultaneous jobs is calculated on the basis of primary simultaneous operation parameters. For convenience, the visual view of operations and jobs is available in Microsoft Dynamics AX. In the Production orders form, click the Gantt button. The Gantt chart form opens. Expand work centers and you will see the following picture:

   

   Gantt chart form

We can see that jobs consume some time from the work center. Microsoft Dynamics AX uses an available work center from a work center group specified on the operation.

One more parameter that influences the time consumed by an operation is the Qty. of work centers which located on the General tab of the Route form). If this field contains, for example, the value 2, two simultaneous jobs will be created in two work centers. It can be used to speed up the operation. Let’s check how it works:

1. Since the production order already exists, we can change the operation parameter for this order. In the Production orders form, click the Route button. The Production route form opens.
2. For example, we want to speed up the Assembling operation. Find this operation in the Productionroute form, and change the number of work centers from 1 to 2. The dialog box opens offering the user to change the time, click OK.
   

   Production route form, 2 work centers

3. Close the form and run the job scheduling process. In the Production orders form, click the Update > Jobscheduling button. The Job scheduling form opens. Click OK.
4. To check the job scheduling results, click the Jobs button in the Production orders form. The Jobs form opens. We can see that two jobs for Operation 50 are created. As a result Operation 50 starts at 9:00 and ends at 9:30. In this way we speed up the operation execution time involving two work centers.
   

   Jobs form, 2 work centers

You can view the result in the Gantt chart.

Let’s review. In this topic we have studied the following:

• Operation is divided into jobs.
• How the time consumed by an operation in a work center is set up. What the Times tab, Formula field, Qty. of work centers field are used for.
• How consumed time is calculated for independent and simultaneous operations.

Several notes:

• Simultaneous jobs can be created on the basis of simultaneous operations or when an operation uses more than one work center.
• Setup job always links Hard to Process job.

Cost of Operation

We have already discussed that an operation is divided into jobs. The cost of an operation is a sum of all jobs’ cost. Job cost is defined with the help of cost categories.

Open the Route form under Production > Common Forms > Route details > Find the Wooden chair route > Click the Route button.

On the Setup tab, cost categories are specified:

The cost category contains the rate per hour. We can see that only the Setup and the Process job costs can be specified (with the help of the Setup category and Run time category fields). This means that other job types such as Queue before, Queue after, Transit are used only for calculating the time consumed by operations not the cost (these job types can only be reported as started and ended).

In our case, all operations except Cutting have the same values in the Setup category and Run time category fields because they are handled in the same work center group (these parameters are filled in by default from the work center group).

Let’s check what the cost of the setup time is. In the Setup category field, right-click and select Go to the Main Table Form. The Cost categories form opens.

We can see that the cost of Setup time is 12 per hour. On the Ledger-Work centers tab, the general ledger accounts that will be used for recording costs for this category are available.

The Process time uses the HTSProc cost category and the cost of the Process time is 10. One more cost category is available in the Route form is Quantity category. This cost category specifies the quantity-dependent cost. The Setup and Run time categories contain the time-dependent costs.

Let’ check the cost of a BOM:

1. Open a scheduled production order (Production > Common Forms > Production order details).
2. In the Production orders form, click the Inquiries > Price calculation menu button. The Calculation form opens.
   

   Calculation form

   We can see that the total cost price of a produced chair is 620.82. The cost price of BOM components is zero (the lines from 2 to 5). The first Chiseling operation contains only 1 hour of run time and 1 product to produce, so the cost of this operation is 1 * 10 (from the run time cost category) + 1 * 1 (the form quantity cost category) = 11 (lines 6-7). The rest of costs are calculated in the same way except the last two lines.

The last two lines are indirect costs. This type of cost depends on BOM or route costs. The rate for indirect costs is set up in the Costing sheet. Let’s check what rates are set up for the LAB_OVH and PLANT_OVH indirect costs:

1. Go to Inventory management > Setup > Bills of materials > Costing sheet setup. The Costing sheet setup form opens.
2. In the Costing sheet tree, find and select the tree node Root > COGM (Cost of goods manufactured) > Indirect cost > Fix_OVH (Fixed cost overheads) > PLANT_OVH (Plant overheads).
   

   The Costing sheet setup form

3. To find the rate for this indirect cost, go to the Calculation tab. In the Surcharge field group, find the rate for the site 2 with Current active status:
   

   The Costing sheet setup form, Percent

   We can see that the basis for calculating indirect costs is the manufacturing and material costs. The percent of plant overheads cost is 3. The cost rate of operation is set up in the cost categories (the Setup or Run time cost categories), cost categories are united in cost groups, then in the Costing sheet the cost groups are assigned either to material or manufacturing costs. Let’s calculate the PLANT_OVH cost. In our example, the operation setup cost category is HTSSetup, it belongs to the LAB_HTS cost group, and this cost group belongs to the manufacturing cost (see the previous cost sheet image).

   

   Cost group

   The operation run time cost category is HTSProc, this category also belongs to the LAB_HTS cost group, so this cost is also for manufacturing. The quantity cost category also belongs to the Manufacturing cost. Since the operation cost category is transferred to job cost category, the manufacturing cost will be calculated in the following way: Manufacturing cost = jobs’ setup cost + jobs’ process cost + jobs’ quantity cost. PLANT_OVH = 0.03 * Manufacturing cost. We can see the jobs costs in the Calculation form (all lines except the first 5 lines). If we sum all costs, we will receive the 594 amount, if we multiply this amount by 0.03, we will receive the 17.82 amount (exactly the same amount as in the PLANT_OVH line, Total cost price field in the Calculation form). In Microsoft Dynamics AX, it is possible to see all costs summed up in a costing sheet. In the Calculation form, go to the Costing sheet tab.

   

   Calculation form, Costing sheet tab

4. The base amount of LAB_OVH is Manufacturing costs and the rate is 1. Note that it is not in percent. Try to understand why the LAV_OVH cost equals 9. As for me, this is not very easy

How Operations are Treated in Microsoft Dynamics AX

We already know that an operation can be divided into jobs. A job can be included or excluded from calculation of operation consumed time and cost. This is controlled with the help of a route group. Route groups are set up on operations. Open the Route form under Production > Common Forms > Route details > Find the wooden chair route > Route button.

In our case, all operations use the same route group:

Let’s analyze what parameters are available for the route group: Open the Route group form under Production > Setup > Routes > Route groups.

On the General tab, the following parameters are available:

• Estimation and costing field group is used to control whether the setup job cost, run time job cost, or quantity cost are included in the production cost. For example, if the Calculation setup time and Calculation run time fields are empty, the Calculation form will have the following view (after the Estimation process):
  

  Calculation form (example)

  Compare this image with the previous Calculation form image to make sure that the Setup and Run time costs are not included.

• We will understand the meaning of the Automatic route consumption field group in more detail in the next lesson. Shortly, these fields are used to automatically finish a job without a job registration process. This can be used when the cost of the job is calculated correctly and doesn’t require the manual input.
• Feedback field group is used during the production finish process. If the Report operation as finished check box is cleared, an operation must be finished before the production is finished.

On the Setup tab, the following parameters are available:

• The Activation check box is used to control which job types will be created for the operation. Note that if a job is not created, the time consumed by this job will not be included in the production time. For example, if the Queue before and Setup jobs have the Activation check box cleared, then after the job scheduling process, the Jobs form will have the following view:
  

  Jobs form (example)

  Compare this image with the previous Jobs form image to make sure that the end time differs and the Queue before and Setup jobs are not created.

• The Job management check box is selected if the job must be registered and finished. If a job must be finished, a production order can’t be reported as finished until the job is finished.
• The Working time check box specifies if work center working time is taken into account when job start and end time is estimated. For example, if this check box is cleared for the Process job the Gantt chart form will have the following view:
  

  Gantt chart form (example)

  Compare this image with the previous Gantt chart form image. We can see that only the process for the operation 40 starts from the very beginning of the day (not taking the work center calendar into account). All other processes are connected to each other, but why does the process for the operation 10 start at 10:00 A.M.? It is because the Production module is connected with the Master planning module. The default start time for the first production job is taken from Master planning > Setup > Parameters > Planned orders tab > Planned order field group > Receipt time field.

• The Capacity field is used to set up whether a work center is unavailable during processing a job. In our example, when the Process job is being executed, the work center can’t execute another job. But, when a chair item is drying (the Queue after job), the work center can execute another job, if it is available. Let’s check the reserved work center capacity under Basic > Common Forms > Work center groups > Find 011 work center group > Inquiries > Capacity load button.
  

  Capacity load form

  We can see that 5.50 hours are registered for Monday (but the sum of jobs on Monday for the work center group 011 is 7.50 hours) and 3.00 hours are registered for Tuesday. Let’s find out what jobs reserve the time in the work center 01101. In the Work center groups form, click the Work centers button. The Work centers form opens. Select the work center 01101 and the click the Dispatching button. The Dispatching form opens.

  

  Dispatching form

  We can see that the Queue after job does not reserve any time in the work center.

Summary

Good work! In this training lesson, we have studied the following:

• Route: what it is and how it is created
• Operation: what it is and how it is created
• Route networks: simple operations, independent operations, and simultaneous operations
• Route operations: what they are and how they can be created
• Jobs: what they are and how they can be generated
• Time consumed by an operation: how the start and end time is calculated for a production order, what the consumption calculation formula, operation link type, simultaneous operations, Qty. of work center, calendars, and Gantt chart are.
• Cost of operations : how a price for the production order is calculated, what indirect costs, costing sheet, cost category, cost group are
• How an operation is treated in Microsoft Dynamics AX: what a route group and capacity load are

In the next training lesson, we will learn how the Production process is realized in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

 

Technorati Tags: cost category, cost group, costing sheet, independent operations, Jobs, operation link type, route group, Route network, Routes and Operations, simultaneous operations, Time consumed by an operation

Introduction

Hi! In this training lesson, we will learn the main production process steps and their realization in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

I have decided to create a new Universal Recorder BOM item that will consist of items from the standard demo data and with a simple route. We will learn the most complex flow of production process that will include the warehouse management (the item arrival and shipment flows) and the job management.

Prerequisite Setup

In this topic, we will create and check all data that is required to complete a production process. We will do the following:

• Create a new Universal Recorder BOM item.
• Create a new Universal Recorder BOM. BOM will consist of components 1601 and 1602. Check the warehouse management parameters.
• Create a simple Universal Recorder route. Check the job management parameters.
• Purchase BOM components (1601 and 1602) to make them on-hand in stock.

Creating a New BOM Item

We have already discussed what a BOM item is and how it can be created in this training lesson. Shortly, a BOM item is a regular item whose Item type field contains the BOM value.

Let’s create a new Universal Recorder BOM item:

1. Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Create a new line with the following parameters:
   • Item number = 0000
   • Item name = Universal Recorder
   • Item group = Packaging
   • Item type = BOM
   • Inventory model group = FIFO
   • Dimension group = N-W

To understand what the Item group, Inventory model group, and Dimension group parameters are used for, read the “Item setup” training lessons from the Trade and Logistics training.

Creating a BOM

A BOM is a receipt of a BOM item (like a cake receipt containing a list of ingredients). In the Bills of Material training lesson, we have already discussed how a BOM is created and set up. In our example, the “receipt” of the Universal Recorder BOM item will include items 1601 and 1602. This is not logical as Universal Recorder contains a lot of different elements (a microchip, a decoder, a sound-recorder head, etc.). But to understand the production process, it does not matter whether a BOM contains all required components. We will assume that only items 1601 and 1602 are required to assembly the Universal Recorder. These items are taken from the standard demo data and already contain the Warehouse management setup.

Let’s create the new Universal Recorder BOM:

1. Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Bills of Materials. The BOM form opens.
2. In the header area, create a new line with the following values:
   • Name = Universal Recorder BOM
   • Site = 2
3. Click the Lines button. The BOM line form opens.
4. Create a new line with the following values:
   • Item number = 1601
   • Warehouse = 22
   • Quantity = 1
5. Create another line with the following values:
   • Item number = 1602
   • Warehouse = 22
   • Quantity = 1
6. The BOM line form will have the following view:
   

   BOM line form

7. Close the BOM line form.
8. In the Versions area, create a new line with the following values (assign a BOM item):
• Item number = 0000 (Universal Recorder)
9. In the Versions area, click the Approve button. Select employee 7210, select the Approve Bill of materials check box in the Approve version form, and then click OK.
10. In the Versions area, click the Activation button.
11. The BOMform will have the following view:
    

    BOM form

Let’s analyze the BOM components: items 1601 and 1602. These items must have the setup that uses the Warehouse management features. Note that we will analyze only item 1601, because item 1602 has the same parameters.

First of all, item 1601 must have the Site, Warehouse, Location, and Pallet dimensions active:

1. Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Find item 1601 and go to the General tab. The item uses the N-WLP dimension group.
3. Right-click the Dimension group field and select the Go to the Main Table Form option. The Inventory dimensions form opens. Make sure that the Site, Warehouse, Location, and Pallet Id dimensions are active.
   

   Inventory dimensions form

Item 1601 must be set up so that the registration and picking steps are mandatory. The Registration step ensures that a pallet with items is placed in a certain warehouse location. The Picking step ensures that the item is picked from the warehouse location. If, for example, the registration step is not mandatory, then the item can be received in a warehouse when an Invoice is posted without any previous steps.

1. Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Find item 1601 and go to the General tab. The item uses the FRP_PICK inventory model group.
3. Right-click the Inventory model group field and select the Go to the Main Table Form option. The Inventory model groups form opens. Go to the Setup tab and make sure that the Registration requirements, Picking requirements, and Consolidated picking methodcheck boxes are selected.
   

   Inventory model groups form

    

The pallet type for item 1601 must be set up so that to receive, store, and issue items and the quantity of an item that can be loaded to the pallet must be specified:

1. Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Find item 1601 and go to the Setup tab. Make sure that the Pallet type and Pallet quantity fields are populated.
   

   Item form, Setup tab

And, the last two settings that item 1601 must have are a Store zone and a Picking location. A store zone is used to define locations for storing items during the item arrival and registration process, a picking location is used during the shipment process.

1. Go to Inventory management > Common Forms > Item details. The Item form opens.
2. Find item 1601 and then click the Setup > Warehouse items menu button. The Warehouse items form opens. We will work with warehouse 22; so select the line with warehouse 22 and then go to the Locations tab. Make sure that the Store zone and Picking location fields are populated.
   

   Warehouse items form

We will go through all steps of Production process later in this training. In the Trade and Logistics training you can study in detail the Item arrival and registration and Shipment processes (how Store zone, Picking location, Pallet type etc. parameters are used).

Creating a Route

A route contains operations that must be executed in order to produce a finished good from components. In the previous training lesson, we have already discussed in detail how a route can be created and set up. In this training lesson, we will create a simple route with one operation. Let’s reuse operations from the standard demo data. Assume that only the “Enclosure Assembly” operation is required to build the Universal Recorder.

Create a simple route:

1. Go to Production > Common Forms > Route details. The Route form opens.
2. In the Header area, create a new line with the following value:
   • Name = Universal Recorder Route
3. Click the Route button. The Route form opens.
4. In the header area, create a new line with the following value (set up an operation):
   • Operation = Assem_Encl (Enclosure Assembly)
5. In the lines area, create a new line with the following values (set up a work center):
   • Item code = Table
   • Item relation = 0000 (Universal Recorder)
   • Site = 2
   • Work center = 011
6. The Route form will have the following view:
   

   Route (operations) form

7. Close the Route form.
8. In the Versions area, create a new line with the following values (assign a BOM item):
   • Item number = 0000 (Universal Recorder)
   • Site = 2
9. In the Versions area, click the Approve button. Select employee 7210, select the Approve route check box in the Approve version form, and then click OK.
10. Click the Activation button.
11. The Route form will have the following view:
    

    Route form

Let’s analyze the parameters that are required for the job management. In the Route training lesson, we have studied all route and operation parameters in detail.

Each operation can be divided into jobs. During job scheduling, the following jobs can be created for each operation: Queue before, Setup, Process, Transport, and Queue after. To create jobs, the corresponding job time must be specified. We will specify the time only for the Setup and Process job, so that only these jobs will be created.

1. In the Route form, click the Route button. The Route form opens.
2. In the lines area, click the Times tab. Specify the following values: Setup time = 2 hours, Run time = 3 hours. The Routeform will have the following view:
   

   Route form, Times tab

The Route group defines how the operation will be handled in Microsoft Dynamics AX. We can see that the Assem_Encl operation uses route group 10 (see the Figure “Route (operations) form”). Let’s analyze what parameters are set up for route group 10:

1. Go to the Production > Setup > Routes > Route groups. The Route group form opens.
2. Select route group 10 and then go to the General tab. We can see that all check boxes in the Automatic route consumption group box are selected. In this case, the route consumption step will be executed automatically. Since we are interested in going through all the production steps, this group is not acceptable.
   

   Route group form

3. Route group 20 has all mentioned check boxes cleared, so this group is acceptable (make sure yourself).

We need to change the route group from 10 to 20 in the Route form. Go to Production > Common Forms > Route details > Find the Universal Recorder Route > Click the Route button > Change Route group from 10 to 20.

One more parameter that is required for Warehouse management is work center production location. In the Work center training lesson we have set up the 01-00-0-0 production input location for the 011 work center (see the “Input location” paragraph and set up production location if you omit this step).

Purchasing BOM Components

We have already set up all parameters that are required for the production process lifecycle with the warehouse and job management. But, before starting the production of a BOM item, we must have all BOM components in the warehouse (i.e. on-hand). In this topic, we will purchase the BOM components – items 1601 and 1602.

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Summary

In this training lesson, we have gone through the Production lifecycle with the warehouse and job management.

The main steps of the production lifecycle are:

1. Creating a production order.
2. Estimation. The cost price is calculated.
3. Scheduling. The start and end date and time is scheduled.
4. Release the production order. Pick component items and deliver to a work center.
5. Start the production order. Post time and components quantity consumed during executing jobs: manually, automatically, in the Shop Floor Control module.
6. Report as finished. Produced items become available in the warehouse.
7. End the production order. Financial update. Transfer cost from Shop Floor Control.

Technorati Tags: Production end, Production report as finished, Production scheduling, Production start, Productione estimation