Process Instruction Category

Definition

Process instruction categories are standard process instructions that have been predefined in Customizing for Process Management . Usually, they have not been assigned specific characteristic values. They provide the template for the characteristic-based process instructions that you can edit in the process instruction overview of the master recipe and the process order.

As well as characteristic-based process instructions, you can also define XStep process instructions in the XStep editor. For more information, see ( XSteps) Execution Steps .

If you want to create characteristic-based process instructions in the master recipe and process order, you must always enter a process instruction category that has been predefined in Customizing. The characteristics of this process instruction category are copied into the characteristic-based process instruction. You can, however, change or delete the characteristics and assign process-specific values to them. You can thus adjust your process instructions to the specific requirements of your master recipe or process order.

The standard system comprises a number of standard process instruction categories that your can use or copy to define your own process instruction categories. You can define your own process instruction categories in Customizing for production planning – process industries under Process Management -> Process Instructions -> Define Process Instruction Categories (General)

Use

In the process instruction category, you define:

To which process instruction type a characteristic-based process instruction belongs
The information you want to convey in the characteristic-based process instructions, which means that you assign characteristics, and if required, characteristic values to the process instruction category

Using process instruction categories in the master recipe and process order has the following advantages:

You only need to define the structure of similar process instructions once in a plant.
Only users defining instruction categories in Customizing need to have a detailed knowledge of the control systems and the communication formats they require.
All other users who create process instructions during process planning can refer to the predefined process instruction categories.