Create an inventory process (cont.)
NOTE: This lesson plan is designed for use in our Tutorial system where hands-on exercises and datasets can be created without affecting your Production Idencia system. If you viewing this lesson plan from within your production Idencia site, please contact your customer liaison for access to our Tutorial site for hands-on learning.
On your mark... get set...
Wait! Wait! One more thing...
Now that you've created placeholders for the TEXT information (Product Status) and DATE information (Inventory Date) that you want to capture, you can get started creating the process itself. But before we do that, let's just get a quick overview of a process' component parts.
Processes
The heart of the Idencia system is the Process. A Process is a series of Steps performed on a mobile device and used to collect information about a serialized item. Processes are built via the Idencia Management Portal, but can only be run on the Idencia Mobile Application.
Process Steps
Processes consist of a collection of steps. Each step captures a specific piece of information about an individual item. There are several different types of steps available.
- Pass/Fail Steps - A Pass/Fail Step is used to record a simple Pass or Fail entry. This is the most commonly used Step type. Some examples of Pass/Fail steps include things like "Form Cleanliness" as part of a Pre-pour inspection process. Or "Height within spec?" as part of a Post-pour inspection process.
- Set Text Custom Property Value Step - A Set Text Custom Property Value Step is used to collect all textual information. To use a Set Text Custom Property Value Step you first must create the Text Item Custom Property to use and then assign the Item Custom Property to the step. Examples of Text Custom Property Steps are entering a Form ID, a concrete batch number, or an item status.
- Set Numeric Custom Property Value Step - A Set Numeric Custom Property Value Step is used to collect all numeric information. To use a Set Numeric Custom Property Value Step you first must create the Numeric Item Custom Property to use and then assign the Item Custom Property to the step. Examples of Numeric Custom Property Steps are entering a Slump value, or measured length.
- Set Date Custom Property Value Step - A Set Date Custom Property Value Step is used to collect a date. To use a Set Date Custom Property Value Step you first must create the Date Item Custom Property to use and then assign the Item Custom Property to the step. Examples of Date Custom Property Steps are entering a date of delivery, design date, or an inventory date.
- Set GPS Location Step - A Set GPS Location Step is used when you want to record your GPS Location when you scan a tag. If a GPS Location is set, a map showing that location will be displayed when you view that Item in the Management Portal.
- Take Picture Step - Using a Take Picture Step, you can take a picture during a Process to record a visual image that is stored with the item. The picture is displayed when you view that Item in the Management Portal.
- Add Item to Job Step - Using the Add Item to Job Step, you can move stock items into a specific Job.
- Remove Item from Job Step - The Remove Item from Job Step is used to remove an item from a job and add it to your stock inventory.
- Capture Signature Step - A Capture Signature Step is used when you want to capture the signature or initials of a particular person. You can capture a QC Inspector's initials at the end of a QC process, or capture a delivery driver's initials when a load is approved for delivery. The signature is displayed when you view that Item in the Management Portal.
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Scan Tag Step - Using the Scan Tag step, you can provide mobile application users with the ability to scan another RFID tag or Barcode (or manually enter a serial number) in order to create an association between two items. For example, you might want to affix RFID tags or Barcode labels to the outside of each of your molds and forms. Your Pre-pour process could then be updated to include a "Scan Tag" step where the user scans the barcode of the form, creating an association between the serial number of the product being produced and the form or mold in which it was poured.
Process Phases
Process steps are grouped into one or more Phases. You can build long complex processes with multiple phases or short, simple, single phase processes. For example, you could build one long process called Precast QC that includes a Pre-pour phase, a Post-pour phase, and Final Visual Inspection & Acceptance phases. Or you could build three separate, single phase processes.
One of the most common ways to determine whether to build one long, multi-phase process or multiple short processes is whether or not all of the potential phases of the process must be completed in a particular order, or must be completed before any other process can be started.
When considering how to organize and build your processes, keep in mind the following:
- A given item can only go through one process at a time
- Once a process is started it can be paused and resumed later, but must be completed or deleted before another process can be started
- A process is not considered complete until all phases of the process are complete\
Process Availability
When creating a process, you must decide whether the process will be available to existing items or only available when a new item that does not exist in the system is scanned.
A process like Add to Shipment, for example, will probably be available to existing items. Rarely would your business process call for you to add an item to a shipment before a QC process or an Inventory is complete. By the time you are ready to add an item to a shipment you will probably have run at least one other process, so the Add to Shipment process will need to be available to existing items.
A process like QC Pre-pour Check, however; will most likely be run against a brand new item. You wouldn't run a pre-pour check on an item you've already poured and scanned into your system. So, the QC Pre-pour Check process would probably not need to be available to existing items. More on that later...
For now... Let's get started!
The next article in the Idencia 101 Tutorial will be a step-by-step walk through of creating an Inventory process using the Item Custom Properties you created earlier. Once you have the process created, you'll be able to test it for yourself on a mobile device.
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