Building a Unit-level Recipe or Production Specification

You can enter specifications at either the unit level or at the central level. For more information about managing specifications at the central level, see Product Property Introduction.

When you enter specifications within the plant model, you can enter specifications for all variables under a specific production unit or you can narrow the available variables and select a specific variable group.

Step 1: Creating Unit-level Recipes

  1. In the Plant Model, navigate to the desired production unit or variable group.

  2. Right-click the unit or group and choose Enter Specifications For <unit or group name>. The Pick Transaction dialog box appears.

  3. Enter a descriptive name for the transaction. It is a good idea to provide a descriptive name, as it partially documents the operation you are about to perform.

  4. Click OK. The Specification Management window appears.

INFORMATION: The variables are color-coded. Central specifications have a green background. Unit-level specifications have a grey background. Corporate specifications have an orange background. If a specification value has been overridden, it will be yellow.

  1. Click the Add Products/Characteristics button in the toolbar of the Specification Management window. The Products dialog box appears.

  2. On the Load Product Families tab, load one or more product families by selecting the product family in the Unloaded list and clicking the Move Selected button.

NOTE: If product families are already loaded, the dialog will default to the View Products tab.

  1. On the View Products tab, select one or more products from the Unloaded list and move them into the Loaded list by clicking the Move Selected button. Loaded products on the View Products tab represent products that will appear in the Specification Management window to enter specification values against.

  2. Close the Products dialog box to return to the Specification Management window.

  3. To view limits other than the target, click the Specification Toolbar button. The Specification toolbar appears

  4. Click the appropriate icon to view the column for a given specification limit.

  5. Type in appropriate specification values. Changes to specifications are indicated with a blue font color.

  6. When finished, close the Specification Management window. The Confirmation dialog box appears.

  7. Click Yes to approve the transaction. The Approve Transaction dialog box appears.

NOTE: Click No if you want to approve the transaction at a later time. To approve a pending transaction, expand Product Management, Specification Transactions and then Pending.

  1. optional: In the Transaction box, type a descriptive name for this transaction.

  2. optional: In the Effective Date box, enter a date and time the transaction will take effect.

NOTE:  Specifications cannot be made effective for times in the past. Setting a past Effective Date will make the change effective at the time it is approved.

  1. optional: Select a group from the Approved Group list.

  2. Click OK.

Step 2: Attach Unit-level Variables to Plant Level Specifications

  1. Locate (or create) a variable whose specifications will be managed at the plant level.

  2. Right-click the variable, and choose Edit <variable name>. The Variable Sheet appears.

  3. If the Specification Property and Specification Variable columns are not visible, click the Column/Row Visibility button. The Column/Row Visibility dialog box appears.

  4. Select Specification Property and Specification Variable in the Hidden list and move to the Visible list by clicking the Move Selected button.

  5. Close the Column/Row Visibility dialog box to return to the Variable Sheet.

  6. Scroll to the Specification Variable column and click the ellipsis. The Select Property/Characteristic dialog box appears.

  7. Select the appropriate specification variable from the list and click OK. The specification variable is entered in the column and the specification property is automatically entered in the Specification Property column.

  8. Click the Save button to save the variable and attach it to the unit-level specification.

When attaching a specification to a variable, all previous specifications that applied to the variable will be immediately expired and will automatically assume any specifications that are currently in effect for the selected property / specification.