This chapter explains how descriptive flexfields are used in Work in Process.
This chapter covers the following topics:
Descriptive flexfields allow you to customize your application to store information specific to your business needs.
The following discussion highlights where you can define and view descriptive flexfields and provides business examples of how you might use them.
You can use descriptive flexfields to enter information that is unique to your business. For each descriptive flexfield, you can enter up to 15 segments. For each segment, you can use value sets to control the information you are able to enter. You can also make your descriptive flexfields context-sensitive to control when to enter specific information. You can update descriptive flexfield information at any time.
You can update descriptive flexfield information as you use Work in Process. For example, if you add a descriptive flexfield to a production line that you later associate with an assembly, you can update the production line descriptive flexfield without modifying the original production line flexfield information.
You can enter descriptive flexfield information when you define bill of material components, routing operations, and operation resources in Oracle Bills of Material. The system automatically transfers this information when you use these components, operations, and operation resources in Work in Process. For example, if you add an operation to a job, the system automatically transfers the descriptive flexfield information for that operation from Oracle Bills of Material.
You can enter descriptive flexfield information when you define production lines and shop floor statuses. The system automatically transfers this information when you use these lines and statuses within Work in Process. For example, if you assign a shop floor status to the intraoperation step of a job, the system automatically transfers the descriptive flexfield information for that shop floor status to the job.
The system upgrades descriptive flexfield definitions and data when you install new releases.
Related Topics
Descriptive Flexfield Segments Window, Oracle E-Business Suite Flexfields Guide
Planning Your Descriptive Flexfield, Oracle E-Business Suite Flexfields Guide
You use the Descriptive Flexfield Segments window to define descriptive flexfield structures. Flexfield structure can contain up to 15 segments. You can customize descriptive flexfields by entering values and value sets for each segment. Values and value sets are used to determine what data can and cannot be entered in descriptive flexfields.
The following table lists the source windows where you can enter descriptive flexfields information as well as the where used windows that display this information.
Note: Many where used windows are accessed using gateway windows and buttons. These where used windows are documented by giving their navigational path which includes both the gateway window and the button. For example you can access the Material Requirements (where used) window from the View Discrete Jobs window by choosing the Components button. In this case the where used window is documented as View Discrete Jobs [Components]. Also, unless otherwise noted, all source windows are Work in Process windows. Windows are listed in alphabetical order.
Bills of Material (Oracle Bills of Material/components flexfield)
Material Requirements
View Material Requirements
Simulate Discrete Jobs (Components)
Close Discrete Jobs (Components)
View Discrete Jobs (Components)
View Repetitive Schedules (Components)
Discrete Jobs
Close Discrete Jobs
Pending Jobs and Schedules
Purge Discrete Jobs
View Discrete Jobs
Labor Rates: no where used window
Parameters: no where used window
Pending Move Transactions
View Move Transactions
Pending Production Lines
Associate Lines and Schedules
Repetitive Schedules
View Repetitive Schedules
Pending Jobs and Schedules
Purge Repetitive Schedules
Resources (Oracle Bills of Material /resources)
Routings
Operations
View Resource Requirements
Close Discrete Jobs
View Discrete Jobs
View Repetitive Schedules
Resource Transactions
View Resource Transactions
Schedule Groups: no where used window
Shop Floor Statuses
Standard Operations (Oracle Bills of Material)
Routings
Operations
Simulate Discrete Jobs
Close Discrete Jobs
View Discrete Jobs
View Repetitive Schedules
WIP Accounting Classes: no where used window
WIP Material Transactions
View Transactions
You can insert, update, and view information using descriptive flexfield structures.
The following table illustrates the relationships between windows that display descriptive flexfields. It is composed of groups of windows that contain the same descriptive flexfield information. For each window, the base database table containing the descriptive flexfield is shown as well as information on whether you can insert, update, or simply view descriptive flexfields in the window.
Windows that are accessed using gateway windows and buttons are documented by giving their navigational path which includes both the gateway window and the button. For example you can access the Material Requirements (Where Used) window from Discrete Jobs window by choosing the Components button. In this case the Where used window is documented as View Discrete Jobs [Components]. Also, unless otherwise noted, all source windows are Work in Process windows.
| Window Name for Move Transactions | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move Transactions | N/A | X | - | - |
| Pending Move Transactions | wip_move_txn_interface | - | X | X |
| View Move Transactions | wip_move_transactions | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Resource Transactions | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Transactions | wip_cost_txn_interface | X | - | - |
| Pending Resource Transactions | wip_cost_txn_interface | - | X | X |
| View Resource Transactions | wip_transactions | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Move Transactions | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIP Material Transactions | mtl_material_transactions_temp | X | X | X |
| View Transactions (Oracle Inventory) | mtl_material_transactions | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Completion Transactions | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Completion Transactions | mtl_material_transactions_temp | X | - | - |
| View Transactions (Oracle Inventory) | mtl_material_transactions | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Discrete and Repetitve Requirements | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills of Materials (Oracle Bills of Material/components flexfield) | bom_inventory_components | X | X | X |
| Material Requirements | wip_requirement_operations | X | X | X |
| View Material Requirements | wip_requirement_operations | - | - | X |
| Material Requirements Simulate Discrete Jobs [Components] Close Discrete Jobs [Components] Purge Discrete Jobs [Components] View Discrete Jobs [Components] Purge Repetitive Schedules [Components] View Repetitive Schedules [Components] |
wip_requirement_operations | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Discrete and Repetitive Operations | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Operations (Oracle Bills of Material/operations flexfield) | bom_standard_operations | X | X | X |
| Routings (Oracle Bills of Material/sequences flexfield) | bom_operation_sequences | X | X | X |
| Operations | wip_operations | X | X | X |
| View Operations | wip_operations | X | ||
| Simulate Discrete Jobs [Operations] Close Discrete Jobs [Operations] Purge Discrete Jobs [Operations] View Discrete Jobs [Operations] Purge Repetitive Schedules [Operations] View Repetitive Schedules [Operations] |
wip_operations | - | - | X |
| Standard Operations (Oracle Bills of Material/resources flexfield) | bom_std_op_resources | X | X | - |
| Routings (Oracle Bills of Material/resources flexfield) | bom_operation_resources | X | X | - |
| Operations [Resources] | wip_operation_resources | X | X | X |
| View Resource Requirements | wip_operation_resources | - | - | X |
| Resource Requirements Simulate Discrete Jobs [Operations][Resources] Close Discrete Jobs [Operations][Resources] View Discrete Jobs [Operations][Resources] View Repetitive Schedules [Operations][Resources] |
wip_operation_resources | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Discrete Job Information | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discrete Jobs | wip_discrete_jobs | X | X | - |
| View Discrete Jobs | wip_discrete_jobs | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Repetitive Schedule Information | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Repetitive Schedules | wip_repetitive_schedules | X | X | - |
| View Repetitive Schedules | wip_repetitive_schedules | - | - | X |
| Window Name for Production Lines | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production Lines | wip_lines | X | X | |
| Associate Lines and Assemblies | wip_repetitive_items | X | X | X |
| Window Name for Shop Floor Statuses | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shop Floor Statuses | wip_shop_floor_status_codes | X | X | - |
| Assign Shop Floor Statuses | wip_shop_floor_statuses | X | X | X |
| Window Name for Discrete Jobs and Repetitive Schedules (Miscellaneous) | Base Table | Insert | Update | View |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work in Process Parameters | wip_parameters | X | X | X |
| Work in Process Parameters | wip_valid_intraoperation_steps | X | X | X |
| Persons (Oracle Human Resources/employee flexfield) | per_people_f | X | X | X |
| Persons (Oracle Human Resources/address flexfield) | per_addresses | X | X | X |
| Persons (Oracle Human Resources/assignment flexfield) | per_assignments_f | X | X | X |
| WIP Accounting Classes | wip_accounting_classes | X | X | X |
| Labor Rates | wip_employee_labor_rates | X | X | X |
You can transfer the descriptive flexfield information defined in Oracle Bills of Material to Work in Process as you create discrete jobs and repetitive schedules. Work in Process takes a snapshot of the bill of material requirement, operation, and resource descriptive flexfield information as you create jobs and schedules with bills and routings and as those bills and routings are exploded. You can modify this information in Work in Process without affecting the original bill of materials or routing.
Work in Process allows you to transfer descriptive flexfield information on production lines, and shop floor statuses when you use these lines and statuses.
For example, as you associate a production line with a repetitive assembly in the Associate Lines and Assemblies window, Work in Process takes a snapshot of the production line definition from the Production Lines window and carries it over to the Associate Lines and Assemblies window. The descriptive flexfield that you defined for the production line defaults to the descriptive flexfield in the Associate Lines and Assemblies window. If you change the original descriptive flexfield in the Production Lines window, the descriptive flexfield in the Associate Lines and Assemblies window is not affected. You can change the descriptive flexfield information in the Associate Lines and Assemblies window at any time.
Descriptive flexfields allow you to easily extend the standard functionality of Oracle Work in Process. The following business examples demonstrate ways that you can use descriptive flexfields to support specific business needs:
Management of Outside Processor Sterilization
Note: Descriptive flexfields are not required. The objective of these business scenarios is to highlight the flexibility of descriptive flexfields. You should experiment and review the results of different approaches to determine how best to use them.
Suppose you are an electronics manufacturer that tests printed circuit boards in a plant. You want to use descriptive flexfields to collect test results and failure information.
You measure four test results during room temperature testing and two different test results during high temperature testing. You use this information to verify the performance of each board against specifications and collect product and process trend information.
If a board fails any of these tests, it is sent to the central debugging department for analysis to determine the cause of the failure and suggested repairs. You perform Pareto analysis on the failure information collected during the debugging process as the basis of your continuous process improvement efforts on the board line.
Use the descriptive flexfield in the Standard Operations window in Oracle Bills of Material to set up the fields for each of the pieces of test information you wish to collect at the test and debug operations. For the test operations, you should create a value set that specifies acceptable limits on test results. For the debug operations, you should create a value set that comprises all causes included in the Pareto analysis and one that includes all possible repairs. As such, whenever you use any of these operations in a routing, Work in Process includes these descriptive flexfields.
Next, you must set up your quality data collection method. You can modify a copy of the Move Transactions window or create your own move transactions window (taking advantage of the Open Move Transaction Interface) to require entry of test results on moves out of a test operation and failure and suggested repair information on moves out of a debug operation.
Use the descriptive flexfields on move transactions to store the data you collect. You can validate your test results against acceptable limits to force moves to a debug operation if required. For the failure information, set up the descriptive flexfield to require use of one of the predefined failure reasons, and entry of predefined repairs.
Once you have collected the actual test results and failure information, you can use a number of Oracle tools to analyze and report the information.
Use the descriptive flexfield in the Move Transactions window to set up segments for each of the pieces of test information you wish to collect at the test and debug operations. For the test operations, you should set up a segment with a value set that specifies acceptable limits on test results. For the debug operations, you should set up one segment with a value set that comprises all causes included in the Pareto analysis and another segment that allows entry of suggested repair information.
You can use the context-sensitive capabilities of descriptive flexfields to require entry of test results on moves out of a test operation, and failure and suggested repair information on moves out of a debug operation.
Once you have collected the actual test results and failure information, you can use a number of Oracle tools to analyze and report the information.
Suppose you are a medical device manufacturer that uses a vendor to perform sterilization outside processing. You want to use descriptive flexfields to create labels that indicate whether assemblies have been sterilized
Modify the descriptive flexfield on the Operations window to indicate the need for and number of sterilization labels. Create a value set that specifies an acceptable range of values you can enter for your sterilization labels.
When you receive sterilized assemblies from your vendor, use the Move Transactions window to move the assemblies to the next operation and require entry of the number of sterilization labels to be printed. You can use a number of Oracle tools to create a report that prints your actual labels. You can further modify the Move Transactions window to launch that report upon recording the label information. Next, you can set up a printer close to your receipt area to immediately apply the labels to your sterilized material.