Engineering Assistant (EA) Workflow

Related Documents: Engineering Roles Epicor Usage Project Delivery Overview Information and artifact flow (DRAFT)

Position Overview

The Engineering Assistant (EA) plays a central role in setting up and managing various job types within Epicor. This document covers the procedures for creating and managing different job types.

Table of Contents

  1. Primary Job Creation
  2. Sample Job Creation
  3. Manufacturing Job Creation
  4. Job Scheduling

Primary Job Creation

Initiate Job Creation

  1. Add Sales Order Line:
    • Add a new line on the sales order
    • Use the next available job number in the part field
    • Use the Project Manager (PM) provided description
    • Set the quantity on the sales order line to one (1)
  2. Configure Line Details:
    • Input the Project ID in the line details
    • Add the Truck ID on the releases tab

Configure Job Entry

  1. Open Job Entry:
    • Open the job in Job Entry
    • Add the job number to the part field
  2. Create Demand Link:
    • Create a Make to Order demand link
    • Search for the corresponding sales order line

Define Operations

Add operations under the assemblies tab in the following order:

  1. Production Engineering - First operation
  2. Subsequent Operations - Document shop labor hours (recorded under “Production Standard”)
  3. Inspection - Final operation with:
    • No hours attached
    • Marked as “Final Operation”
    • Marked as “Auto Receive”

Finalize and Schedule

  1. Mark Engineering Complete:
    • Ensure the “Engineering Complete” checkbox is marked prior to scheduling
  2. Save and Schedule:
    • Save and schedule the job
    • This will populate required-by and start dates based on the Truck ID’s ship date

Sample Job Creation

Gather Information

Obtain key information from the PM, including:

  • Project number
  • Transmittal number
  • Architectural material tag (ARCH Tag)
  • CWKA material tag
  • Description of the sample material (e.g., paint code, species, stain, finish, sheen)
  • Quantity of samples
  • Size of samples
  • Truck ID (for the ship date)

Name and Quantity

  1. Create Job Description:
    • Use the specified formula: Project_Name, Transmittal_Number, ARCH_Tag, CWKA_Tag, Description (paint_code, species, stain, finish, sheen, etc), Quantity, and Size
    • Example: 1085_Lucas Retail, TRA-001, ARCH-01, MDF01, Paint (SW7004, Maple, Dark Walnut, Satin, 30%), 3 samples, 4"x6"
  2. Set Job Number:
    • Use the next available job number in the format XXX.SMP.XXXXX for the line
  3. Set Quantity:
    • Set the quantity to one (1) on the sales order line
    • The actual quantity of samples is noted in the description
  1. Add Project Information:
    • Add the Project ID
    • Add the Truck ID
  2. Create Demand Link:
    • Create a Make to Order demand link
  3. Add Operations:
    • Add Mill Samples operation
    • Add Finish Samples operation with:
      • Checked as “Final Operation”
      • Checked as “Auto Receive”
    • Note: Production Engineering (PE) and Inspection operations are not required for sample jobs

Scheduling and Notification

  1. Mark as Engineered:
    • Mark the job as Engineered
  2. Set Required By Date:
    • Input a default required by date of one week from the request date, unless a Truck ID is present to populate it
  3. Notify PM:
    • Notify the PM if the job needs to be assigned to a truck (if no Truck ID was initially provided)
  4. Nonstandard Substrate:
    • If a sample requires nonstandard substrate, the PM is responsible for:
      • BOMing the material to the Sample Job
      • Marking it “Ready To Purchase (RTP)”

Manufacturing Job Creation (Wood Components - WC and Metal Components - MT)

Pre-Requisites

  • Create manufacturing jobs after the corresponding Manufacturing (MFG) parts have been created
  • Ensure MFG parts are BOM’d to their respective primary jobs

Job Naming and Linking

  1. Format Job Number:
    • Wood components: Project_Number.W.000
    • Metal components: Project_Number.M.000
  2. Set Part Number:
    • The part for the manufacturing job is listed in the MFG part format:
      • Project_Number.WC.00000 (for wood components)
      • Project_Number.MT.00000 (for metal components)
  3. Identify Primary Jobs:
    • Use the “Time Phase” feature (right-click on the part number) to identify all primary jobs where the MFG part is BOM’d
  4. Create Demand Links:
    • Create a Make to Job demand link for each line of the primary job Bills of Material (BOMs) that include the MFG part
    • Important: Ensure the MFG part on the primary job’s BOM is marked “Make Direct” for the demand link to be created

Operations and Scheduling

  1. Add Operations:
    • Start with Production Engineering as the first operation
    • For complex parts, seek input from:
      • Project Advisor
      • Production Manager
      • Metal Team Lead
    • For simple WC molding profiles, a general rule of thumb can be applied
  2. Add Project Information:
    • Add the Project ID under the Project tab
  3. Set Required By Date:
    • Set the Required By date equal to the ship date of the parent (primary) job
  4. Save and Notify:
    • Save and schedule the job
    • Notify the engineer that the job is created

Quantity Management

  • If quantity changes: If the quantity of the part on the primary job changes after a WC job has been requested, it is the Engineer’s responsibility to inform the Production Planner of the change
  • Job structure: WC jobs are typically one-to-one (one part to one job), but a single WC job can produce parts for multiple primary jobs

Job Scheduling

Job scheduling is handled via the Scheduling Dashboards in Epicor. See Epicor Usage - Engineering Scheduling for detailed procedures.

Key Responsibilities

  • Update job scheduling due to ship date changes using scheduling workbenches in Epicor
  • Monitor data health and troubleshoot scheduling issues
  • Coordinate with PMs and Engineers on scheduling conflicts
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