Plant Specific Part and BOM Management with MPMLink

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, 4/23/19

1. How many plants do you currently manage in Windchill?

o Three, corresponding to Plants in SAP.

2. What are the types and volume of attributes that you manage currently in
Windchill or you are planning to do so?
o Configurable Module (common)
A Configurable Module is a Parent to an overloaded structure that will be configured based on
Options and Choices to generate a new part number for unique configurations. Generally set to
No.

o End Item (common)

The details page of a context has a table to display parts identified as End Items for easy access.
For example, in a GT Assembly context, only the highest level part representing the GT might be
identified as an end item. In a manufacturing context, the shippable products might be
identified as end items. Generally set to No.

o Number (common)
Number is typically auto generated by the Windchill™ system based on rules set by the
administrator. This number is unique and represents the Part across Enterprise Systems such as
Windchill and SAP. Equivalent to SAP Material number.

o Name (common)
Name is a required attribute. Name consistency is required. Generating part names is detailed in
001508-MS, GT Parts Naming Convention. Name and Part Geometry will be concatenated to
form the SAP Material description, and the combined length must be less than 40 characters.

o Assembly Mode (Part Types)

Identifies whether the part is an assembly or a component. This field is required when you
create a new part and it can be updated. The following options are available:

a. Component
A part that has no child parts and is comprised from a single material source.

b. Separable
The part is an assembly that can be disassembled without destroying it. For example, a
mechanical assembly put together with removable fasteners such as screws.
 c. Inseparable
The part is an assembly that, once built, cannot be disassembled without destroying it.
For example, a welded metal assembly.

o Assembly Mode (Kit Types)

a. Separable
A kit of parts consumed in a common activity that is managed in inventory as a single
entity. This kit can be partially used and refilled as needed.

b. Inseparable
Kit that comprises of a Set of similar parts that must be manufactured, stocked, and sold
together. Example: Diaphragm segments, seal rings, segmented cylindrical parts
machined in the same operation.

o Source
Source attributes consists of three options:

a. Make
Manufacturing is performed internally within the MHPSA manufacturing facilities.

b. Buy
Buy shall be the default value if the source is undefined. If the part was created with
Source attribute set to buy, it is considered that the part could be purchased externally
from multiple sources.

c. Buy Single Source

If a part was created with the Source attribute set to Buy- Single Source, then the part is
expected to have only one manufacturer identified. In this case, Manufacturer and
manufacturer part number shall be specified.

o Default Trace Code (common)

Indicates whether manufactured copies of a part are traceable by a serial or lot number.

a. Lot
The system tracks the individual manufactured copies of the given part by its lot
number. It is assumed that all physical parts in the lot are basically identical since they
are created in the same manufacturing run.

b. Lot/Serial Number
The system tracks the individual manufactured copies of the given part by its lot and
serial number. It is assumed that all instances in the lot are basically identical since they
are created in the same manufacturing run. However, unlike lot number tracking, the
enterprise assigns an individual serial number to the part as well as a lot number.

c. Serial Number
The system tracks individual manufactured copies of the given part with a serial
number.
 d. Untraced
The system does not track individual manufactured copies of the given part.

o Default Unit (common)

The base unit of measurement applied to the part. Values include each and as needed along
with a number of volume, length, and weight choices in the English or metric system. Assembly
usage unit of measure may be different if a conversion factor is applied.

o Gathering Part (common)

Identifies a part that is not manufactured, but is created to facilitate the CAD design by acting as
a “part container.”
Gathering parts do not appear in product structure reports such as a BOM, and their children
are rolled up to the next higher-level assembly in the product structure tree.

o Phantom Manufacturing Part (common)

For “Design” view of a part, “Phantom manufacturing part” attribute is typically set to “No”.
Phantom manufacturing parts are parts or assemblies in the manufacturing BOM which cannot
be allocated to process plan operations. From a business perspective, these parts and
assemblies are typically items that are non-stockable, but which can be published to ERP or MRP
systems to refer to multiple parts with one material that will “explode” when utilized.

o Life Cycle Template

Life Cycle Template is auto-assigned by the system. Life cycle template includes all possible life
cycle states of the part and define the transition requirements from one state to another.

o Team Template
Team Template is auto-assigned by the system.

o Location
Location allows the user to specify the folder location of the new created part. The default
location is where the user clicked on “New Part” action. Most Products and Libraries will have an
additional “Manufacturing” folder that should be selected when creating Mfg. views. This
makes it easier to browse when multiple views of the same part exist.

o Service Kit (common)

This attribute identifies a part as a service kit or not. A service kit can include individual parts
that make up the kit. MHPSA has defined several “Kit (X-YY)” part types to allow for a unique
number format and unique visual representation of the object in structure. Set this attribute to
“Yes” for kit part types and “No” for part types.

o Default Serviceable (common)

Indicates whether the part will be, by default, included in a parts list publication item. Should be
yes for any part that will typically be included in a Parts Catalog.
 o Qualification Code
Qualification Code represents supplier qualification requirements for the part. Qualification
code is specified in detail in SOP-OPS-195-RQ001. There are multiple number/letter
combinations that define different supplier deliverables and inspection sampling rates. Most
parts using these codes will be defined by a combination of attributes, drawings and
specifications. In addition, there are COTS, COTS+, and OOEM codes that are defined below.

a. COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf)

This code indicates that the component is typically available “off-the-shelf” to common
industry standards, such as ANSI, SAE, ISO, DIN, JIS, etc. The combination of the
Standards defined in the Standards attribute and the Part Geometry should be sufficient
to allow Procurement to define the part without specific related documents.

b. COTS+ (COTS-Plus)
This code indicates that some specific modification is required of a part that is otherwise
COTS. For example, drilling a safety wire hole in the head of a bolt that is otherwise
orderable from a vendor catalog. Basic features are defined as for COTS. Additional
documentation or a combination of standards may be used to define the non-COTS
features.

c. OOEM (Other Original Equipment Manufacturer)

This code may be applied to any part type, not just Part (Other-OEM). This code
indicates that the part is manufactured to specifications proprietary to a particular
manufacturer. One example is a Nord-Lock washer. These parts require only
specification of the Manufacturer and Mfr. Part Number attributes for complete
definition, but additional attributes such as Part Geometry and Material should be
specified if available for common understanding and searchability.

o Part Geometry
Part geometry is used to specify basic geometry information for the part. It is typically used on
hardware such as bolts, nuts, gaskets, piping components and instrumentation components.
Reference 001508-MS, GT Parts Naming Convention. If the Quality Code is set to “COTS” this
field, together with the Standards field should provide a procurable product definition.

This field will be concatenated with Part Name if the part is published to SAP, so it is important
to plan for a combination of Part “Name + Part Geometry” that does not exceed the 40
character SAP description limit.

o Manufacturer
This field is used to identify the relevant Manufacturer for an “Other OEM” part or any part with
an “OOEM” Quality Code. This field is limited to a list of Manufacturers that also exists in SAP.
Consult a Windchill administrator if you require a values that is not in this list.
 o Mfr. Part Number
This field is used to record the Manufacturer’s Part Number for an “Other OEM” part or any part
with an “OOEM” Quality Code. Even if Mfr. Part Number is used as the primary part number,
the value should be replicated here for consistency of publishing to SAP.

o Height / Length / Width

These three attributes denote the physical size of the part, in terms of a “bounding box” that
would contain the part. Important for logistics purposes.

o Mass
The mass of the part. Important for logistics purposes.

o Design Authority ID
The technical group responsible for the definition of the part.

o G-Code
G-code attribute for GT flow path components that are designed as part G-Code tree.

o Test Pieces
Test Pieces attribute is used to specify a symbol/code for sampling material test pieces. The
symbol/code represent specific testing requirements. The Code requirements are defined in
Technical Standard MSF1-A410. This attribute is commonly used on but not limited to forged
and cast parts.

o Standards
This text field is used to list company or industry specific standards applicable to the part,
especially if they are industry standards that may not be available in Windchill as documents to
link to the part.
If the Quality Code is set to “COTS”, this field is required to reference the industry standard
specifications that identify the “Commercial Off-The-Shelf” part.

o Special Comments
Used to convey design comments, e.g. similarity/differences to other parts, etc.

o MHPSA Comments
This field is used on M-GT parts where it is not desired to remove original comments, but
additional comments are required for clarity within MHPSA.

o Ref. Torque
Reference Torque attribute only applicable to fasteners. This attribute is used to specify a
reference recommended torque value for the part. The actual torque of the part in the
application is specified on the assembly BoM if different from reference.

o Ref. Torque Comments

Reference Torque comments is a text field that is used to specify additional instructions such as:
Hand Tightening, Refer to drawings, stretched length management, torque tolerance, etc.
 o Old Material Number
Old material number attribute is used to document the legacy “Drawing-mark” part number. If a
new part was previously represented in SAP by a different material number, that material
number should be included in this field.

o Production Drawing(s)
This field lists the manufacturing drawing(s) and the mark or balloon number on the drawing(s).
For example: 123456-MC-01. A part can be defined by multiple manufacturing drawings. To add
additional fields for production drawings, click on the “+” button. Production drawings should
also be documents in Windchill, and should be linked in the “Described by Documents” table on
the Related Objects tab.

o Material
This field defines the constituent material by specification and should be left blank for assembly
parts. Multiple materials may be specified. To add additional fields for alternative materials, click
on the “+” button. If the specifications are available as documents in Windchill, they should also
be linked to the part in the “Reference Documents” table on the Related Objects page.

o Security Labels
Security labels on objects combine with security levels granted to users to determine object
visibility in the system. In general, if you are creating a part definition for our suppliers, the
Security Level will be “SL3”, and the Export Controlled Technology setting will be “TechData”.
Other codes are required for more or less sensitive intellectual property and technologies that
should not be exported per US regulations. Consult BP-SPT-002-RQ003, Technical Data Marking
& Handling for more information.

3. Do you currently manage Alternate or BOM types in Windchill? Do you have use
case for this in future?
o Our view structure is Des>Mfg>Plant1/Plant2/Plant3 (+ Des>Service)
o We bring in design data from our parent company, and also generate
design data internally. The Mfg. view is used to extend the external
definition and handle BOM reconfiguration for execution across multiple
plants, where required. The plant view is used to create the execution
BOM, i.e. only what is needed (e.g. assembly PN only w/o structure for
buy item).
o We currently have the OOTB BOM types plus Sales and Service.
o Sales maps to a “Sales BOM” type in SAP
o Service is used when a part is manufactured and repaired in the same
SAP Plant. We use SAP Customer Service for repair.
4. How important you see to have the plant information managed upstream in a
system like Windchill MPMLink?
o Very important to allow parallel processes for finalizing design definition
and execution strategy.
o Also very important for Design to have an understanding of the execution
strategy/data for impact analysis
o
o Very difficult from a cultural change point of view.
o My goal is to move “execution strategies” into Windchill. Common
language descriptions of business intent in different functional areas, i.e.
planning, import/export, inventory management, purchasing, quality. Then
blow out the descriptions using ESI where the strategy has a one to many
relationship with ERP attributes. Similar in concept to SAP “MRP Profile”
for other areas of master data.
o Many agree on the idea, few agree how to get there.

5. How you manage the supplier chain? (Internal versus external) What are the
main GAP's you see in Windchill MPMLink in that area?
o If manufactured, Mfg. Eng. is responsible for downstream views. If
procured, component/service engineering is responsible.
o Externally, we leverage packages very heavily. Our entire supplier facing
documentation is encrypted using Adobe Experience Manager (Livecycle),
so packages are used as collectors and custom processes handle export
of the data and encryption.
o GAP: A Technical Data Package (TDP) link cannot be published with ESI,
and a TDP cannot be “collected” if affected by change activities. Nor can
it be managed by standard change processes, so using it as a “real”
object breaks consistency in change process.
o Work Around: Robot creates a “TDP Document” on TDP approval routings
that gets associated to the plant view and published to SAP. This allows
procurement to specify the TDP as the defining document by number and
revision, which are the same as the Package Object.
o Near term, we’ll move to document level distribution for “components” with
SAP IDOC triggered document delivery, so greatly reduced use of
packages in the future.
o Will continue to use Packages for complex part/assembly procurement.

Other Gaps:

Policy management by view would be nice. For example, manufacturing role can’t
revise the Design view but can revise the Mfg or Plant view for the same object type in
the same context.
How to view Plant specific data “integrally” to the part, i.e. the attributes can’t be added
to the structure view?

Challenges:

I like the general concept of “assigned Plant” where we have components that do not
require BOM restructuring, but BOM restructuring is frequently required to support the
execution strategy. I am concerned that the clicks saved by the knowledgeable users is
more than offset by the difficulty of training two different paradigms for what represents
the “Plant definition”, i.e. does it require that the Plant view exists or just that the Plant
ED object exists on a view.