Recording of times and quantities produced in real time from the machine
Module Description
The Production Web Interface (PWI) app allows production operators to record times and quantities directly from workstations on board machines so that they are recorded in real time in Business Central.
The visualizations are simple and easy to use even on touch devices.
Setup
PWI Setup
To get started, you need to enter the required data into the PWI Setup, which can be found in the menu.
The fields that must be filled in for the interface to function correctly are:
- Time Journal Def. Name and Time Journal Batch Name: Batch dedicated to writing and recording production times
- Output Journal Defined Name and Output Journal Batch Name: Batch dedicated to writing and recording the recording outputs
- Real-time output posting: if active, it automatically records all Quantity type rows inserted in the Operations Log, otherwise these must be recorded manually
- Real-time time posting: if active, it automatically records all the Time type rows inserted in the Operations Log, otherwise these must be recorded manually
- Prod. order result counter:
- Check previou Routing line: in the case of multi-phase production routing, a check will be set to ensure that the phase preceding the one started is completed; otherwise, an error will be displayed.
- Barcode separator: enter the separator that will then be used in PWI to separate any barcode that will be scanned (or entered manually) in the production order search
- Check previous Item quantity: if activated, it allows you to limit the output quantity that can be recorded by PWI to the quantity recorded in the previous routing phase
- Stop posting costs: if active, records downtime with cost, otherwise downtime with 0 cost will be recorded.
In the Multiple Activities tab, however, there are the separators needed for simultaneous search and activation on multiple production orders.
- Production Orders Separator
- Production order line separator
- Production order routing line separator
PWI Users
To log in from the terminal, you need to enter the users on the “PWI Users” page, which can be searched from the menu.
All users who need to access the portal will be encoded inside it.
- Username and Password: indicate the username and password that can be used for login
- Name : full name of the user, it will be displayed within the portal
- Status: Identifies whether the user is active or inactive.
- Badge Code: can be used for authentication instead of username and password
- Visibility filter type: Allows you to decide for each PWI user the type of filter to set for viewing production orders. The settings allow you to choose between Production Area Group, Production Areas, or Work Centers.
- Visibility filter: you can enter the filter for the visibility of operations in PWI based on what you chose in the previous field.
- Component View: Allows the PWI user to view the list of components present in the current production order
- routing View: Allows the PWI user to view the entire routing associated with the current production order
- Email: You can specify the email address for the PWI user.
Within PWI it is taken for granted that all production is managed in one location.
Functionality
Only production orders in Status = Released with routing lines entered on the Production Area Group, Production Area or Work Center for which the user has access (visibility filter in PWI Users) are visible and recallable in PWI.
Each operation started in PWI writes to the Operations Log , a BC table, from which the actual records will then be produced.
Records within the Operations Log are divided into:
- Hours: These are the lines recording the machine's working hours.
- Quantity: these are the lines of recording of production outputs
The recordings that will be made, automatically or manually, from the Operations Log will respectively produce capacity movements and item accounting movements linked or not to the production order.
Login
On the initial login page, enter your Badge or Username and Password.
If the badge, user name, or password are incorrect, this error will be displayed:
Otherwise, the Homepage miniform will be displayed.
Home Page
Inside the main page, a functional bar is visible at the top:
- the name of the logged in user is visible at the top right
- the company logo is present at the top left, which can be customized for each individual installation
- Home Action, allows you to return to the home page view from any point in the PWI portal
- Exit action that allows you to log out
The following fields are visible in the left section:
- Search for production order: allows you to search for the process to be activated
- Generic downtime : can be used when it is necessary to record generic downtime in a production area
- Multiple Tasks: Allows N operations to be activated simultaneously.
In the right section, the operations in progress on the PWI user are visible:
Search Production Order
The production order search box can be used in two different ways:
- Manual , entering production order number + Barcode separator in PWI setup + Production order line number + Barcode separator in PWI setup + Operation number
-
Barcode reading , using the button next to the box
you can open the camera and read a barcode / QR code that will contain the same string entered in the previous step.
The final result will be the same.
Upon validation, a screen will automatically open showing:
- Selected production order number
- Item number and description on the production order
- Operation No. of the selected routing line with the production area / work center indicated on it
- Expected quantity
- Output quantity
- Waste quantity
At the bottom you will see two functions:
- Processing
- Stopped
The choice allows the user to activate the
Processing and declaration of parts
The “Processing” action allows the user to start the calculation of working times when the machine starts.
By clicking on Start, the Operation Log lines for the desired phase will be generated in BC:
The line will have:
- Movement number: system progressive
- Movement type: Hour as it is the machine's hour recording
- Username: identifies the movement recording badge
- Production Order Status, Production Order No., Production Order Line No.: Identifies the production order line on which the processing has been activated
- Operation No.: indicates the routingline on which the processing was started
- Type: indicates the type of recording; for lines of the Time type, the Production Area or Work Center will always be used, while for the Quantity type, the Production Area will be used.
- Nr.: identifies the production area or work center where the processing or pouring is being carried out
- Name: Displays the name of the production area or work center entered in the No. field.
- Start date-time: identifies the start date and time of the processing
- End date-time: at this moment the job is active so the end date and time are not yet populated
- Hours Worked: Only if End Time is populated, this field will calculate the total working time.
- Operation Type: Identifies the type of operation. "Run" is used for processing line hours, while if the recorded hours are for a downtime, the field is populated with "Stop."
- Item No.: This item displays the item being produced. It is populated for all transaction types.
In this case the activity will be displayed among the ongoing operations on the PWI user's Home Page with the "Processing" type:
By clicking on the job in progress, the production order tab opens, where the initial section contains the same information as the job start screen.
Since the operation is in progress, the user who started the processing and the start date and time of the processing are also shown in the blue box:
With the actions below you can declare the pieces produced or conclude the processing .
The Part Declaration allows you to perform outputs on the open routing line with processing. This action can only be used on Processing -type activities and only when processing is in progress . Declarations can also be performed partially.
Within the parts declaration form, it is possible to make two different types of declarations:
-
Output declaration: indicate the quantity produced and, if necessary, the related traceability. Using the
You can enable the system to automatically detach the numerator, if set in the item setup. Using the confirmation action will record the relevant Operation Log lines in BC.- Movement number: system progressive
- Movement Type: Quantity
- Username: identifies the movement recording badge
- Production Order Status, Production Order No., Production Order Line No.: Identifies the production order line on which the processing has been activated
- Operation No.: indicates the routing line on which the processing was started
- Type: indicates the type of registration; in this case it will indicate Production Area or Work Center based on the declaration
- Nr.: identifies the production area or work center where the processing is being carried out
- Name: Displays the name of the production area or work center entered in the No. field.
- Start date-time and End date-time: only in the case of Quantity type Logs, these dates match the output recording date.
- Operation type: in the case of quantity type logs it will be = Execute because it is recorded at the moment the processing is in progress
- Output Quantity: Quantity paid by PWI
- Item No.: This item displays the item being produced. It is populated for all transaction types.
- Batch No., Serial No., Pallet No.: identifies any traceability indicated in PWI at the time of declaration
-
Rejection declaration: In the event of rejection, indicate the quantity to be rejected and the reason, choosing from the coded rejection reasons. In BC, these reasons can be entered in the table. Rejection codes. Upon confirmation, the system writes the operation log as follows:
- Movement number: system progressive
- Movement Type: Quantity
- Username: identifies the movement recording badge
- Production Order Status, Production Order No., Production Order Line No.: Identifies the production order line on which the processing has been activated
- Operation No.: indicates the routing line on which the processing was started
- Type: indicates the type of registration; in this case it will indicate Production Area or Work Center based on the declaration
- Nr.: identifies the production area or work center where the processing is being carried out
- Name: Displays the name of the production area or work center entered in the No. field.
- Start date-time and End date-time: only in the case of Quantity type Logs, these dates match the output recording date.
- Operation type: in the case of quantity type logs it will be = Execute because it is recorded at the moment the processing is in progress
- Output quantity: 0
- Scrap Quantity: Populated with the scrap quantity declared by PWI
- Reject code: reports the reject code chosen by the operator in the declaration
- Item No.: This item displays the item being produced. It is populated for all transaction types.
- Batch No., Serial No., Pallet No.: identifies any traceability indicated in PWI at the time of declaration
When recording a quantity, whether output or waste, PWI automatically updates the Output Quantity and Waste Quantity data in the header of the current job:
When the expected quantity is paid in full, a red banner will appear under the quantities at the top of the job in progress sheet. However, as per standard, the system allows you to record more than expected.
The End action allows you to conclude the current process. In Business Central, the Operation Log line created when the process was started will be closed by setting the Date - End Time and the Hours worked will be automatically calculated:
The production order will no longer appear in the list of jobs in progress on the PWI user's Home Page.
As long as the production order is not closed in Business Central, it will remain available in PWI for new postings.
Stopped
The Stop action will open a screen identical to the one used to start the job. To start calculating the stop time, you must therefore use the Start action.
In this case the operator will be asked to indicate the reason for the detention by choosing from the detention codes encoded in BC:
In this case, the ongoing activity will be visible on the PWI user's Home Page with the "Stopped" type:
When the activity starts, a line in the Operations Log will be written as follows:
- Movement number: system progressive
-
Movement type:
- Time: Recording machine or downtime hours
- Quantity: Recording of output payments
- Username: identifies the movement recording badge
- Production Order Status, Production Order No., Production Order Line No.: Identifies the production order line on which the stoppage has been activated
- Operation No.: indicates the routing line on which the stop was started
- Type: Production area or work center based on activation
- Nr.: identifies the production area or work center on which maintenance is being performed
- Name: Displays the name of the production area or work center entered in the No. field.
- Start date-time: identifies the date and time the stoppage began
- End date-time: not populated because the arrest is still ongoing
- Hours Worked: Only if End Date - Time is populated, this field will calculate the total downtime.
- Operation Type: Stop because the activity is stopped
- Stop code: reason for stop indicated by the operator in PWI
- Item No.: This item displays the item being produced. It is populated for all transaction types.
- Generic stop: inactive, in this case it is a stop but attributed to a process
The only action that can be performed from an ongoing hold is to close the hold itself using the End action:
Closing the lockout will set the End Date - Time in the Operations Log and will automatically calculate the Hours worked:
Generic stop
The Generic Downtime action on the PWI Home page can be used when you need to record downtime not related to a specific process. This includes machine downtime due, for example, to scheduled maintenance or part replacements on the machine that are not related to the process in progress. The time will not be attributed to a production order.
In the view that opens, enter:
- Type: Indicate whether you want to act on the production area or the work center.
- No.: then select the production area or work center to record in; the choice will be subject to the Type set on the previous page. The possible choices in this field are subject to the visibility filter set to PWI User. If the user can see a production area, they will also be able to see all their work centers.
- Fixed price code: the fixed price codes set in Business Central will be visible in the table of the same name.
Once the required data has been entered, you can activate the recording of downtime using the Start action:
A generic hold is then started which will be visible on the home page among the Operations in progress with type = Generic hold:
In BC, a record with Movement Type = Time will be created in the Operations Log .
This will not be linked to any production order as it is a generic stop on the machine, but will report the data of the production area selected by the user.
As long as the shutdown is in progress, the Start Date - Time will be inserted in the PWI log record but the End Date - Time will remain blank.
To resume a pending hold, select it from the Current Operations list on the home page; from here, you can close the hold using the End action:
When the lockout is closed, the End Date - Time will be set in the Operation Log created prior to activation and the Hours Worked will be automatically calculated:
In detail the final line in the Operations Log will have:
- Movement number: system progressive
- Movement type: Now as it involves recording the hours the machine is down
- Username: identifies the movement recording badge
- Production Order Status, Production Order No., Production Order Line No.: Not populated because the downtime record is not directly linked to a production order
- Operation No.: indicates the routing line on which the processing was started
- Type: indicates the type of recording; for lines of the Time type, the Production Area or Work Center will always be used, while for the Quantity type, the Production Area will be used.
- Nr.: identifies the production area or work center where the processing or pouring is being carried out
- Name: Displays the name of the production area or work center entered in the No. field.
- Start date-time: identifies the date and time the detention operations began
- End date-time: identifies the end date and time of the detention operations
- Hours worked: Total hours the machine was down; calculated as the difference between the Start Date-Time and the End Date-Time
- Operation type: when identifying a stop, the field is populated with Stop .
- Arrest code: reason for the arrest
- Output quantity: On the quantity type lines, it identifies the quantity of output poured
- Item No.: This item displays the item being produced. It is populated for all transaction types.
- Generic stop: Active, identifies that the recording is for a stop not connected to a production
- Last error: If batch row generation fails, this field will log the issue. This will be explained in more detail in the following paragraphs.
Multiple activities
Again, you can enter the string manually or use the function to scan a barcode/QR code.
The string must be composed of:
Production Order No. + Production Order Line Separator in PWI Setup + Production Order Line No. + Production Order routing Line Separator in PWI Setup + Routing Operation No.….
The sequence can be repeated for all orders you want to start. It is important that the various sequences on different production orders are linked by the Production Order Separator inserted in PWI Setup:
Upon confirmation on the Home page it will be possible to view ongoing operations linked to each other and with type = Processing:
In this case, it will not be possible to choose between processing activities and downtime activities.
Each order will then be handled individually as described in the previous paragraphs.
Closing multiple activities will occur simultaneously for all active jobs in that group; it is therefore not possible to close the job on a single production order if it is part of a group.
Operation Log lines are handled the same way as in the previous paragraphs but are linked using the Group No. field.
This field allows the job closing to split the total time across all orders within the group based on the quantity on the production order line.
Operation Log Recording
If the Real-time output recording and/or Real-time time recording flags are active in the PWI Setup, the system will automatically carry out what is written in the following paragraphs at the same time as writing the relevant Operation Log movement.
Batch creation and recording
The sequence of actions will be:
- Operation Log Recording: This allows the system to report the movements within the relevant batches indicated in PWI Setup
- Output Batch Recording: For generating output and reject deposits
- Capacity batch recording: for recording processing, downtime and general downtime
- Batch recording of consumption: this last action will depend on the setting of the accounting method on the produced items
Registrations can also be made on partial orders, there is no need to wait for the order to be completed in production.
The function that allows you to write batches is “Generate batch lines” and is found in the Operations Log ribbon:
You will need to confirm your action before proceeding as the batches will be emptied before writing new logs, so make sure you have no unrecorded rows before continuing with the log validation operation.
If you select yes, the batches indicated in the output message and capacity will be compiled:
All lines in the Operations Log of any type that have the End Date - Time field populated will be processed.
The data will be reported in the respective registration batches:
- Operation Log of Movement Type = Quantity -→ Output Recording Def. Name and Output Recording Batch Name
- Operation Log of Movement Type = Time -→ Time Recording Def. Name and Time Recording Batch Name
After the Operation Log lines have been reported in the batches they are deleted and reported in the Operation Log Archive table.
To make the actual recordings, you will need to enter the batches and make the recordings.
The output recording batch will contain both output and reject payments. If the item has active traceability management, it will be automatically populated based on the operator's entry in the Operation Log line.
At this point you can also edit the lines before saving them with the specific Save action:
By opening the Capacity Recording batch from the menu, you can also record processing and downtime. Generic downtimes will be assigned a generic progressive document number:
For both actions, if the batch writing and any recording are successful, the selected lines of the operation log will disappear and will be available in the Operation Log Archive.
In case the output or capacity batch writing fails, this error will be handled in the Last Error field of the log lines and the lines will not be deleted from the Operations Log :
Once the error is resolved, the records can be reprocessed. It's possible that not all records in the Operations Log will fail; in that case, some will be processed and some will remain in the Operations Log.
If the posting method is set = Backward then some consumption may be incorrect when recording the output.
If automatic output recording is not active in PWI Setup, the error will be displayed as per standard when recording records in the output batch.
If automatic recording of Quantity type operation logs is provided, the error will be shown in the Last Error field of the log itself.
If the accounting method is set to manual, it will also be necessary to follow the consumption recording as foreseen by the project.