Process Instructions
Use
In process instructions, you can use predefined characteristics to define process steps that you want:
- To be executed manually by a process operator at a production line
- To be executed automatically by a process control system
You assign process instructions to the phases of the master recipe and process order.
Prerequisites
Process instructions that you assign to a phase in the master recipe and process order must be assigned to a certain
process instruction category. You must first have created these process instruction categories in
Customizing for
Process Management. They serve as a kind of template for the process instruction you use in the master recipe and process order.Every process instruction category you create in Customizing must itself be assigned to a
process instruction type.
Features
When defining process instructions, you must decide whether you want a process operator to process them manually or whether they will be processed automatically by a process control system. Depending on where the process instructions will be processed, you can pass on different types of information in them.
- To determine that process instructions are to be processed by a process operator, you define them for the
R/3 PI sheet. You can create two different types of PI sheets:
ABAP list-based PI sheet
The
browser-based PI sheet
- To determine that process instructions are to be processed automatically in the production area, you define them for process control systems.
You can define the following information in process instructions that are transferred to the R/3 PI sheet:
- Any type of information that can be displayed in the PI sheet. This includes:
- Long texts that you have created for the long text characteristic
- Contents of business characteristics, such as the material number, batch, and so on
- The order in which the process steps (phases) are to be processed
- Input fields to request data that is relevant to production and that the process operator must enter in the PI sheet
- Reporting of requested data using one or several process messages
- Calculation formulas to calculate values
- Function modules to jump from the PI sheet to other R/3 applications
For more information, see
Process Instructions for the R/3 PI Sheet.
You can define the following information in process instructions that are transferred to a process control system:
- Material numbers and material quantities that the process control system needs before production can be started
- Actual data on material consumption that you want the process control system to report to the R/3 System
For information on how to structure the information in process instructions for process control systems and the R/3 PI sheet, see
Process Instruction Structure.
Activities
When you release the process order, the system automatically performs the following activities:
- It combines the process instructions to form
control recipes.
It creates one control recipe for each control recipe destination of a process order.
According to your settings for the background job, it transfers the control recipes to the control recipe destinations that need the information to control and regulate the production process.