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Tip of the Week: 10 Ways to Succeed at an OEE Project Where 90% Fail

Kathy Barthelt 0 105471 Article rating: No rating
  1. Collect the requirements. Learn from everyone with the intent of developing a phased approach to implementing on your shop floor with OEE being Phase 1. 
  2. Create your list. Capture all of required functions, taking into account what the “output” of the system will be. What does the plant manager need to see in real-time? What KPI’s does each line need displayed in real-time? What reports are required?
  3. Insist Upon Real-time. In the moment data for the right OEE is the right approach. If it’s possible, collect the data automatically. Remember that real-time feedback to line operators results in an automatic increase in OEE.
  4. Evaluate your lines. Focus where production counts can be monitored automatically. If the data is in your PLC’s, can you get it out? OPC communication is the right way to go here. If not, the approach is to install a new dedicated PLC with sensors installed on each line.
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BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: 5 Ways to Motivate Your Employees

Anthony Etzel 0 50615 Article rating: 5.0

Here are 5 ways you can motivate your employees to give their best every day:

1. Train Your Employees

2. Give Your Employees the Right Tools

3. Automate Processes

4. Give Your Employees Real-Time Feedback

5. Provide Incentives to Do More

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: 5 Ways to Motivate Your Employees

Kathy Barthelt 0 80090 Article rating: No rating

Here are 5 ways you can motivate your employees to give their best every day:

1. Train Your Employees

2. Give Your Employees the Right Tools

3. Automate Processes

4. Give Your Employees Real-Time Feedback

5. Provide Incentives to Do More

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

Read more

BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: Multi-level Shop Order Release Due Dates

Anthony Etzel 0 54256 Article rating: 5.0

Previously, Material Requirements Planning (MRP) preferred practices meant that the component’s due date was the same as the parent’s shop order release date. Because MRP trends have changed, the preference for this due date is the day before the release date of the parent. Although Infor LX already has this functionality in Shop Order Maintenance programs (SFC500), users could not change how due dates were determined for lower level shop orders in Multi-Level Shop Order Release, SFC530D.

This enhancement provides an additional parameter for Multi-Level Shop Order Release. This parameter allows the user to change how the due date of the child components is determined. The user is now able change how the due date is determined for multi-level shop orders. If the Due Date of Children parameter is set to 1=Yes, the due date of the child components is the same as the release date of the parent. If the parameter is set to 0=No, the due date is the day before the release date of the parent.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

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Baan/LN Tip of the Week: How is Your Productivity?

Kathy Barthelt 0 79115 Article rating: No rating

Are your employees not as productive as you’d like them to be? Are jobs not getting completed on schedule? 

Without actual data, making decisions about how efficient your operation is will be difficult. Start tracking actual time to complete each operation. Compare different production lines running the same job. Is one line running more efficiently? If so, start looking at why. Track downtime, setup, etc. Once you start really analyzing each piece of the puzzle, you can begin to uncover areas that are ripe for improvement.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

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Tip of the Week: Create a Repeatable Process

Kathy Barthelt 0 96617 Article rating: No rating

If you’ve been successful doing something in the past, you want to keep doing it that way. Are your procedures documented? Do you have workflows defined? Would creating video tutorials be helpful, especially for new employees? Giving employees the tools to be successful helps to ensure the success of the business as a whole.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

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BPCS/LX Tip of the Week: 6 Powerful Steps to Win With Automation

Anthony Etzel 0 51522 Article rating: 5.0
  1. Eliminate paper shop packet and distribution of the paperwork to the shop floor.     
  2. Eliminate manual (paper-based) recording activities and the need to key in the transactions.
  3. Easy electronic scheduling by sequence and changing job priorities.
  4. Evaluate differences using actual times compared to standards.
  5. Improve data accuracy and eliminate the need to chase and fix errors.
  6. Practice Real-Time data reporting to monitor efficiencies and identify problems as they occur.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

Read more

Baan/LN Tip of the Week: 6 Powerful Steps to Win With Automation

Kathy Barthelt 0 79904 Article rating: No rating
  1. Eliminate paper shop packet and distribution of the paperwork to the shop floor.    
  2. Eliminate manual (paper-based) recording activities and the need to key in the transactions.
  3. Easy electronic scheduling by sequence and changing job priorities.
  4. Evaluate differences using actual times compared to standards.
  5. Improve data accuracy and eliminate the need to chase and fix errors.
  6. Practice Real-Time data reporting to monitor efficiencies and identify problems as they occur.

Optimize Your Manufacturing Today!

Read more
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Tips:  LX | BPCS | M3

Improves control over PO costing changes during invoice entry by replacing passive warnings with an intentional override action.

  • In ACP500D3 (Invoice Entry PO Costing), users previously could unintentionally accept changes by pressing ENTER, even when quantity to cost or amount to cost values had changed.

  • A new “F14 to Override” warning message replaces the old message:
    “Details have changed. Press enter again to accept data.”
    This ensures users acknowledge and confirm significant changes explicitly.

New System Parameter:

  • “Apply GRN Costing Tolerance for PO Costing” (optional):

    • Within tolerance: Displays the original message —
      “Details have changed. Press enter again to accept data.”

    • Outside tolerance: Triggers the new override requirement —
      “F14 to Override”

Benefits:

  • Enhances oversight and reduces unintentional cost acceptance.

  • Enables better control of PO costs when invoice details differ from expectations.

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Last

Tips: LN | Baan

Kathy Barthelt
/ Categories: Infor LN & Baan Tips, Technology

Infor LN & Baan Tips & Tricks for TECHNOLOGY: Data Sharing Methods (Advantages and Disadvantages)

Depending on the multicompany scenario you choose, an implementation team must decide whether or not tables must be logically linked or if data must be synchronized in another way to achieve availability of data across various companies. 

There are 3 ways in which data may be shared among companies. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each:

  1. Logical Table Linking - If two companies use the same physical data, the physical table exists, or is used, in only one company: the physical company. Each piece occurs only once: one instance of the same data. If the term logical table linking is used, users from multiple companies use a single physical instance of the data. If the company tables are on the same server, this can be accomplished by logical table linking. Access to specific data can be restricted, if required.

    • Advantages: Logical Table Linking takes place in real time; therefore, the moment a record is created or modified in one company, a record becomes available in all other linked companies as well. The setup and maintenance of logical table linking is easier than the setup and maintenance of data replication. Logical table linking is extremely reliable because this type of linking is independent of network connections and user interventions. 

    • Disadvantages: Table sharing implies that all attributes for a record are the same in all companies. Therefore, suppose you share the item table and, for a particular item in a company, the product class is XXX. In this case, in all other companies, the product class for this item must be XXX as well.

  2. Data Replication - In this situation, each company has exactly the same data, but each company has a unique copy of the data. The same piece of data exists in multiple (physical) places: multiple instances of the same data. The process to copy the data is called data replication.

    • Advantages: Rather than using table sharing by means of the logical linking of tables, you can replicate the content of tables between companies. The advantage is that, on company level, some (non-key) attributes of a record can differ by company. For example, if the bills of materials are replicated instead of shared, for each company, you can link a different warehouse to the bill of material. As a result, the bills of materials can be the same across all companies and only the warehouses differ. Using replication, you can also make only a subset of the records available in other companies. For example, if you replicate items between companies, in a sales company, for example, by means of the item group, you can only make end items available. In addition, you can replicate only a subset of items, for example, depending on the item group. Note that replication also requires that the referenced tables are replicated or shared.

    • Disadvantages: Replication is not in real time, and therefore, for processes that require real-time integrated data as the financial integration processes, replication is not an option. For replication, you also must take into account the sequence in which you replicate. First, you must replicate the child tables and then the parent tables, and therefore first the business partners and then the purchase contracts. During the replication process, the data must be frozen. This point is of particular importance if the replication process takes a lot of time.

  3. Manual Syncronization - If only a small number of records are the same between some companies, you can enter, maintain, and keep the records synchronized manually. Note that the more dynamic data is, the more difficult this process is. This solution is strictly procedural. Therefore, depending on the discipline of the users, the solution is error sensitive: data can be forgotten, updated too late, or typing errors may occur.

  • Advantages - The main advantage is the flexibility so that only the data that really must be shared can be kept synchronized. By manually keeping data synchronized, not all attributes of a record need to have the same value.

  • Disadvantages - The main disadvantage is that this method depends on user interaction. Therefore, the method depends on the user’s time - because the method is not a real time procedure and the user may forget to update the data - and users can make mistakes.

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Kathy Barthelt

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