Processing Orders

After the order is released, the shop floor operator responsible for the Pre-Assembly operation can start working on the bicycles for this order. The shop floor controls (SFCs) corresponding to the bicycles to be produced appear listed in their production operator dashboard (POD). All the actions that the shop floor operator performs for each bicycle and the information they want to record throughout the manufacturing process, are collected using the POD. This information is stored and can later be accessed for quality purposes, through reports or dashboards.

The shop floor operator who is responsible for the execution of the first step reviews the SFCs that are queued at their operation using a POD. In the POD, the operator usually enters the used resource and logs the start of the manufacturing operation by choosing a respective button.

The POD is the user interface that is used by the users to perform a multitude of activities on the shop floor against the SFC. This user interface is highly customizable and can be adapted to a multitude of use cases. The POD can be used, for example, to capture assembly or quality data, and to the display 3D working instructions. The possibilities of adapting the POD will be covered in a later unit of this course.

If required and maintained, work instructions can be displayed to the operator explaining the details of the manufacturing process. In addition, the operator can enter the number of components that were consumed during the operation and collect other data that is required to document the production process. For example, component serial numbers, used inventory numbers, and other data. The collected data helps to build the SFC genealogy. Genealogy provides visibility to trace component issues quickly, efficiently, and precisely to their points of use in all products. For example, if a product fails, it can be traced back to where the product was built, how it was built, and with what components it was built. The defect can even be traced down to the vendor and the quality personnel can identify other SFCs affected by the defective component.

If in-process quality inspection is required, the operator enters the respective data in the POD.

After the operator has finished their work, the SFC is completed at this operation and the system routes the SFC to the following operation. Based on the data provided by the operator, the next operation can be the next manufacturing step that is maintained in the routing (default flow). The next operation can also be a special operation triggered by a captured defect.

In our example, after the shop floor operator completes the work at the Pre-Assembly operation activity, the SFC will be placed at the Assembly operation activity, if no other action is required. 

The production process continues until all production steps are executed for the SFC. When the operator at the last manufacturing step completes the SFC, the SFC status is set to done and the product is put into inventory.