What's New in Plant Applications in 2023

Welcome to the newest version of Plant Applications. The features of Plant Applications 2023 include:

Installation Changes

  • Optimized Standard and Enterprise installers.
  • Added support for custom configuration file which is used to add service custom property values. The custom configuration file helps retain the modified settings during upgrade.
  • Supports NodeRed application for the Enterprise Edition Web Client installation.
  • Added flash upgrade capability for Enterprise Edition Web Client.

Application-Wide Changes

  • Added support for allowing the user to add Prod_Code and Prod_Desc of up to 500 characters for a material or product. If you choose to make use of the expanded values for Prod_Code and Prod_Desc, any spLocal stored procedures or functions that define variables or table variables for the Prod_Code or Prod_Desc columns of the Products_Base table will need to be updated with data type nVarChar (1000) to support the expanded values of the new column widths or SQL Overflow errors could be encountered.
  • Supports Jaeger Tracing tool which adds the request tracing to each service and provides browser based visualization for faster investigation of performance issue and request failures. It also adds the capabilities to dynamically render a visualization based on service to service interaction.
  • Supports changing the logging level at each micro-service level and enables services to pick up the logging level dynamically without restarting the individual service.
    Note:
    For Work Order service, you need to do a restart.
  • Added Performance Metrics section on Plant Applications REST Services and Core Services to the Documentation portal.

Activities

Added support for Manual Historian Variable.

Web Client Changes

You can now view the long date and time format in Plant Applications Web client applications and the Date Time display formats are aligned with the browser language. Also, some user interface error messages are modified to make them more user friendly.

Receiving Inspection

Added support for a new production status to the receiving inspection workflow called "unapproved supplier".

Web Reports (Classic)

  • The new web reports released as stand-alone installer with PA2022 is now integrated with PA2023 Software suite. New web reports include features such as multiple browsers support, Proficy UAA authentication, and Security fixes.
  • Enhanced the web reports to display event details with user friendly names.

Process Orders

You can now return a serial/lot using the Return tab introduced for the BOM items in the Unit Operations, Work Queue, and Process Orders applications. However, you can only return a serial/lot that was consumed and cannot return more than the consumed quantity. The Return tab appears next to the Consume tab when you select a BOM item.

Autolog (Preview)

A new feature Autolog has been added. Using this application, user can view autolog displays for the following events:

  • Time-Based
  • Production-Based
  • User-Defined

For Production-Based and User-Defined events, data can be entered by event name, and for Time-Based, data can be entered by time. Comments, product specifications, and operating procedures can be applied and reviewed.

Line Overview

A new feature Line Overview has been added. Using this application, an operator can review summary of a particular machine such as:

  • Availability
  • Downtime event on the machine

For a machine, when:

  • The availability is 100% and the downtime is 0 minutes, then there are no downtime events recorded.
  • The availability is 0% or below 100% and downtime is > 0 minutes, then there are downtime events recorded.

Work Order Manager

  • The Customs tab functionality is added to the Work Order Manager application. The custom tab enables you to create, modify, delete, and add input parameters.
  • Supports Pre/Post calls for manual work order completion.
  • Added the ability to change BOM consumption actuals. This feature is also applicable to Unit Operations, Work Queue, and Process Orders.
  • The workorder DB schema table is created to include the statuses of the following entities:
    • WorkOrder
    • MaterialLotActuals
    • SegmentActuals
    • CompleteQuantityRecords

    You can use the work order DB schema information to generate reports that are helpful in identifying and resolving the issues in Plant Applications. You can view the detailed information in the SQL Programming topic in the Development Tools section in Plant Applications Help.

    This feature is also applicable to the Route Editor.

Route Editor

  • Using the Route Editor, you can configure variables to be collected during the execution of the operation by an operator. Variables added to a route can be material variables, which can be collected at any operation. Work unit/equipment variables can be associated to the operations configured to execute on the work unit.
  • Allow selecting units from all route enabled lines when editing work orders.
  • Supports mandatory BOM items for Mutually Exclusive Set.
  • Supports displaying BOM Formulation Item properties.
  • In the Route Editor application, you can now link a BOM Item to multiple operations by selecting the required Operations or Mutual Exclusive Operations Set in the OPERATION column for a BOM material. For each operation you can set upper and lower quantity tolerances. Also, you can set the mandatory quantity to be consumed from the allotted quantity of BOM parts.
  • Previously, when the user route enabled a line, either from the Administrator thick client or Web administrator, the schedule view created defaulted to AddSecurity = Administrator and without any security group. Under this configuration, to create a Work Order or Process Order, the view required to be modified to allow a security group and give all PA users admin access to the group. Now, the Route Enable function is modified and creates the default schedule view without security group and the AddSecurity display option set to Manager.
  • In the Route Editor application, now you can upload documents of PDF format more than 25 MB file size. However, documents more than 100 MB in size may affect the performance based on the internet speed. You can now specify the size limit of the document by modifying the property value maxFileSizeToUploadInMb in the route-app-prod.yml file. You must specify only integer values.

Work Queue

  • You can now view the execution of all the operations in a single window. From the Work Queue and Unit Operations applications, when you select the () icon for a serial/lot, the LOT EXECUTION HISTORY panel appears with the list of associated operation(s). You can access the statuses of all the operations associated with that serial/lot. You can access groups of operations. Also, you can view the serial/lot and its associated lots.
  • You can now control the popup behavior of the SN/Lot selection if only one SN/Lot exists. In the Work Queue application, a new app.config property singleLotUnitPopupBehaviour is added to control the pop-up behaviour. If the property value is set to False (Default), the SN/Lot selection popup does not appear if only one SN/Lot exists. If the property value is set to True, the SN/Lot selection will prompt the operator to select the SN/Lot even if there is only one option for SN/Lot selection.
  • Provides a rich text box functionality to the common quality/autolog component in the Work Queue. The feature is also applicable to Unit Operations application.
  • Now you can consume Risk Release BOM item in the Unit Operations and Work Queue application. However, for a non-serialized lot, you can consume risk release BOM item only when the full quantity is marked as Risk Release. When you accept to consume risk release BOM item, an NCR is automatically created for the serial/lot that is clocked on.

Configuration

In Configuration application, the following changes are added to the Standard Tab Applications list:

  • Added Genealogy application.
  • For the Receiving Inspection application, you cannot hide the default tab. The ON/OFF toggle switch will be in disabled mode.

Also, the Genealogy application is added to the Custom Tab Association list.

BOM Editor

  • In the BOM Editor application, you can now add substitutions for any BOM item. You can also edit the existing list of substitutions. To facilitate this enhancement, SUBSTITUTIONS column is added to the Item Details section of a BOM item. You can select Add Substitutions to add a substitution material for any BOM item. You can select the list of substitutions to edit existing substitutions, if any.
  • In the BOM Editor application, you can now navigate through the properties for BOM Item's Material and BOM Formulation item, and also view the BOM Formulation Header Properties.

Genealogy

The Customs tab functionality is added to the Genealogy application. The custom tab enables you to create, modify, delete, and add input parameters.

Non Conformance

  • Added ability to generate a Non Conformance record on the target lot(s) when a BOM item with a Risk Release disposition is consumed on a discrete work order in Work Queue or Unit Operations apps. The target lot(s) is automatically placed on Hold and must go through the normal defect management process before completion.
  • Added a “View NC” action to the main Non Conformance grid, replacing the panel that was shown at the bottom of the grid. View NC dialog combines defect and disposition summaries in one consolidated look.
  • Added ability to display "Continue to process" (CTP) operations that are marked as Mutually Exclusive in the Dispositions drop-down list.
  • Allows users to manage known disposition types in the system by updating the display names, context type and assigning optional workflows to each type.
  • Approval workflow has been added to the Non Conformance process. Submitting any Discrete or Receiving Inspection dispositions that have a workflow configured will now move the defect to a “Pending Approval” state. Approval Cockpit application users can approve or reject these transactions.
  • Added ability to create defects from within the Quality tab of Work Queue and Unit Operations applications. User can now:
      • Attach files during defect creation process.
      • Attach files during defect disposition process.

      Defects are now created with an auto generated Plan.

      Failed Criteria grid has been added to major components of Non Conformance process. Failed Criteria is a list of all variables that were out of specification during creation of the defect.

  • Allows an engineer to choose to rework an already executed operation, create many operations as a rework group, or search for a template of already created operations/groups of operations. These created operations support:
    • Providing sequence #/order for operation within a group
    • Operation name and description
    • Documents to support instructions are each operation
    • Adding BOM items not within the original BOM formulation
    • Requesting changes of BOM actuals to switch out
    • Configuring unit and product variables
    • Completing an operation without all mandatory variables collected when a non-conformance is created due to a failed criteria
  • Added ability to configure a pre/post custom call when submitting a defect. Added ability to configure a pre/post custom call during Lot Acceptance in Receiving Inspection application. Users can no longer perform lot completions if any variable is outside of the specification limit and does not have a corresponding defect.
  • In the Unit Operations and Work Queue applications, now you need permission to modify the AFFECTED QUANTITY of a non-serialized product while creating a Non-conformance. This will split the defective items of a serial/lot. You must provide permission to split the serial/lot in the Security application.

ERP Integration

  • ERP can now import BOM Formulations into Plant Applications.
  • ERP can now import or export Data Entry Plans. You can import a data entry plan using the Plant Application ERP Scheduler service in two ways:
    • Export a Plant Applications data entry plant from a source system via the ERP Export service and use the JSON of the response as an input to the ERP Scheduler service /importOrders/importDataEntryPlantJobs.
    • Create an import data entry plant JSON from a third-party system.