Using ShopFloorManager's ISOApproval your Company can meet the Requirements of ISO9000 by creating any number of Approval States that Files, Documents and Packets must traverse in order to be Approved for use in Manufacturing. Only Approved Personnel can OK each these Step by Step until Approved!

Process Flow Creation

Creating Process Flows: ISOApproval

Definition: Process Flow

A business process flow that controls, reports & records inputs & data during each process step while providing real-time visuals of these critical step by step processes. A Business process flow requires automated & manual inputs & data storage of the process steps while providing real-time visuals, charting & reporting of each process step to be effective. ISOApproval: (html) meets this definition providing businesses complete control & reporting of its Business' Processes!

Following is a Business Process Flow for Document SignOff & Approval using ISOApproval

How do you create/introduce Files & Documents into the Manufacturing/Engineering Environments while maintaining conditional SignOff & Approvals during the SignOff & Approval Process? When there are many Functional Departments that are part of the Approval Process how do you Create & Controlled Approval Flows that meet these Functional Departments specific requirements?

How can you tell where a File or Document is in the Approval Process? How does an Approval User know when they have Files & Documents to Approve? How do you manage & control who creates the Approval SignOff States & SignOff Flow Charts(A list of SignOff States)?

ShopFloorManager's Approval Process

ShopFloorManager has developed a Flexible SignOff & Approval System to handle and control all of the ISO requirements for any of your Files & Documents no matter how simple or sophisticated! The Simplest is to not use SignOff & Approval at all in which case all Files, Documents & Travelers are automatically approved when introduced into ShopFloorManager. Not recommended.

The most sophisticated can consist of SignOff Flow Charts that are comprised of series of SignOff States where each State can have Multiple Steps. This requires that Files associated with a SignOff Flow Chart will flow through multiple Functional Areas & Steps within these Areas before being Approved for Production. For example a File could be required to be Approved by Quality, Engineering & Manufacturing and in each of these Areas there could be multiple SignOff Approval Steps.

ShopFloorManager's ISO SignOff & Approval Process

Following is a list of easy Steps that are taken to implement ShopFloorManager's Approval Process. After creating these we will demonstrate how this works in the Real-World!

Creating User Groups for SignOff State & Flow Chart Creators

We will be creating a User Group with specific "Rights" for Creators of SignOff States & SignOff Flow Charts. We will also be creating a User Group with specific "Rights" for Approvers who only have Rights to sign-off "SignOff Flow Chart's States" for specific Files & Documents! Let's get started by starting ShopFloorManager's Runtime Application.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: User Groups... Icon

none

Note: On the ShopFloorManager Runtime Application above click on the User Groups Icon and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager: User Groups

As you can see below we have used ShopFloorManager's Hierarchal Feature to separate the various Rolls that are played by Users of ShopFloorManager. This Feature makes it crystal clear which Users have which Rolls. We have created a SignOff Structure called SignOffCreator to which we will be adding a User Group for creating SignOff States & SignOff Flow Charts!

Note: Users inherit their "Rights" from the User Groups they belong to so care must be taken to avoid Roll Cross-Over Right Conflicts!

none

Note: Click on the Hierarchal Structure SignOffCreator and then click the New button and the following Window will be displayed.

New User Group

We will be naming this User Group "Creator" to signify that its Users have the Roll of Creating SignOff States & Flow Charts.

none

Note: Fill in the Name field and click on the OK button and the following updated User Group Window will be displayed.

User Group: Rights

In the Window below click on the plus sign next to "Creators" and all of pluses next to its list of "Objects". At this time we will only be concentrating on selection of "Rights" associated with this User Group. There are 10 Categories from which to choose we will only be setting "Rights" for one of these Categories which will be for DNC Files. Others are similar!

In the following Window you can see we have selected User Group "Creators". We have expanded all of the "Objects" that are associated with this User Group for clarity. Normally you would have to click on the plus sign next to each "Object" to expand these Objects. We have highlighted the Rights.

none

Note: Click on the plus sign next to the DNC File Rights "Object" and you will see the right hand Window display all the "Rights" for DNC Files. See the Window Below.

User Group "Creator" - DNC File Rights

There are over 55 individual "Rights" that can be set for the DNC File Rights Category. For Users that need to Create SignOff States & SignOff Flow Charts we will only need to set 5 of these Rights.

Note: You may be tempted to add more Categories and or "Rights" to this User Group so it encompasses more Rolls but since it is possible that there may be Roll Cross-Rights conflicts that may be very difficult to sort out later we Strongly Suggest You DON'T!

In fact in general you should create specific Rolls with specific "Rights" and associate a User with multiple User Groups if you want a User to have multiple Rolls. Then should there be a conflict it is an easy matter to remove a User from a User Group to resolve conflicts.

Select 5 DNC File Rights
  1. Access Files in Accessible File Cabinets with Any Resource Collection Assignment
  2. Access Unapproved DNC Files
  3. Edit DNC File Approval and Signoff
  4. View DNC File Approval and Signoff
  5. View Mode All Files->Machines and Resource Collections
none

Note: You will notice that we have associated "Creators" User Group with a User called "Creator". Later when this User logs into ShopFloorManager as the User "Creator" he/she will only be able to Create SignOff States & SignOff Flow Charts because of the limited "Rights" given to this User Group!

We are now ready to create the User Group(s) that are responsible for Approving Files as the move through the SignOff Flow Chart Stages and the various Approval SignOff States. In the above Window click on the Hierarchy Engineering => SignOff Approvers => DNC Files then click on the New button and the Following Window will be displayed.

User Group: New User Group

none

Note: In the above Window add the Name "E_DNC_1" to the Name field and click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

User Group "E_DNC_1" - DNC File Rights

There are over 55 individual "Rights" that can be set for the DNC File Rights Category. For Users that need to Approve SignOff States in SignOff Flow Charts we will only need to set 4 of these Rights.

Select 4 DNC File Rights
  1. Access Files in Accessible File Cabinets with Any Resource Collection Assignment
  2. SignOff DNC Files
  3. View DNC File Approval and Signoff
  4. View Mode All Files->Machines and Resource Collections
none

Note: You may be tempted to add more Categories and or "Rights" to this User Group so it encompasses more Rolls but since it is possible that there may be Roll Cross-Rights conflicts that may be very difficult to sort out later we Strongly Suggest You DON'T!

In the above Window click on the Sign-Off States... and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Creating new SignOff States

Before we can start to apply SignOff & Approval to Files, Documents & Packets we need to create SignOff States & SignOff Flow Charts(Holder of SignOff States)! Let's start the process by creating SignOff States first and SignOff Flow Charts second!

none

Note: As you can see in the above Window that there are two default States which are part of ShopFloorManager! Unapproved & Approved. Looking above you realize that every existing User Group is in the Approved State. I.E. Once any File, Document or Packet is Approved all uses have access to these subject to other "Rights" restrictions.

You will also notice that only two Default User Groups have access to Unapproved Files: Everyone & Trusted Users. By default Everyone(all User Groups) doesn't have any of its Rights set but Trusted Users has all of its "Rights" set! Trusted Users is associated with the default User Administrator. The User Group Everyone is where you set Global "Rights" and care should be taken! It has no "Rights" by default! Now let's create a new SignOff State by clicking on the New button above. The following Window will be displayed.

New Sign-Off State: Engineering_1

none

Note: Select a name that is appropriate for your needs and type into the Sign-Off State name field. Click on the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

Sign-Off State: E_DNC_1

none

Note: As you can see above we have created multiple SignOff States for later use! Associate this User Group E_DNC_1 with the new "SignOff State" Engineering_1. We have also created a User(See how to create Users in another section) E_DNC_1_APPROVER and have associated this with the User Group E_DNC_1 enabling this User to Approve SignOff States for DNC Files. We have and will be creating additional User Groups & Users as needed for this instructional series! See the other SignOff Approvers above: Engineering & Manufacturing.

Sign-Off State: Additional

none

Note: We created additional Users(See how to create Users in another section) and additional User Groups as needed for this instructional series! See the other SignOff Approvers above: Engineering & Manufacturing. Click on the Close Icon and ShopFloorManager Runtime will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: Click on the Sign-Off Flow Charts... and the SignOff Flow Charts Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: In the Window above you can see that there is a Single Flow Chart which is the default Flow Chart and the simplest that can exist. Files are either Approved or Unapproved. You can also set a Global parameter where all Files are considered Approved. We will be creating a SignOff Flow Chart which is more sophisticated involving multiple approver Functional Areas and multiple approvers in one of the Functional Areas. Click on the New button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: Let's name this SignOff Flow Chart APPROAVEDNC_1 and click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: You can see the SignOff States we created in the Left Hand Window of the above form. We will be creating a SignOff Flow Chart that will include all of the SignOff States so we will need to include them in the Right Hand Window of this Form! Select each of the SignOff States in the Left Hand Window click the Arrow to move it to the Right Hand Window. See the following Window as the Last State is included in the SignOff Flow Chart.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: Once all of the SignOff States have been moved to the Right Hand Window click the Save Steps Button and the following Window is displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: Select the First SignOff State in the Right Hand Window and click on the "Require Sign-Off for Approval" Box and you will see a Lower Left Hand Window displayed with the User Groups that have been associated earlier with this SignOff State. If there are going to be multiple SignOffs for this State you need to establish whether it can be signed off in any order or in a Specific Order. For this State we will chose a Specified Order. We now need to select which one or both of these User Groups that are required to SignOff & Approve this State.

Select each User Group in the Lower Left hand Window and click on the Arrow to move them to the Lower Right Hand Window. See the Window Below. Since we have selected the option "Specified Order" E_DNC_1 will need to be signed off before E_DNC_2 and both will need to be signed off before the associate file is Approved for these States and moves to Engineering_2! Click on the Save Sign-Off List button.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: We will repeat this procedure for all of the SignOff States we want to participate in the SignOff & Approval. Once this is complete click on the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Sign-Off Flow Charts

none

Note: In the above Window you can see the list of SignOff States that are associated with the SignOff Flow Chart ApproveDNC_1. Any File assigned this Flow Chart will need to traverse these SignOff States before it is an Approved File.

We can now click on the Close Icon in the above Window and ShopFloorManager Runtime will be displayed!

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Select Login to Creator

none

Note: In the above Window we are now going to logout of the Roll "Administrator" and login as the Roll Creator which allows this User to assign a SignOff Flow Chart to a File. After logging out the following login screen will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Login to Creator

none

Note: In the above Window enter the User Creator and click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Login to Creator

none

Note: In the above Window Click on the Manage DNC File Icon and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Creator Select File for Edit SignOff & Approval

none

Note: In the above Window select a File you want to associate with a SignOff Flow Chart and click on the OK Icon and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Edit SignOff & Approval Form

none

Note: In the above Form click on the Approved(Depending on....) box and then on the "Copy Steps from Flow Chart" button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Copy Steps From Flow Charts

none

Note: In the above Window there are two Flow Charts to select from. We are going to chose the one we created previously: Approvednc_1. Select this Flow Chart and click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

Edit Approval & SignOff - Steps selected from Approvednc_1 Flow Chart

none

Note: As you can see in the above Window this File has been assigned the Sign-Off Flow Chart Approvednc_1. You can view the individual SignOff Approval Steps before this File is considered Approved for General use.

You will notice that in the Sign-Off Flow Chart above the first Sign-Off Approval Series in Engineering_1 are Step1: E_DNC_1 & Step2: E_DNC_2. Click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

Manage DNC Files

none

Note: As you can see in the above Window the File(0002.AGN4) has been updated and you can see it has been assigned the Sign-Off State Engineering_1 of the Sign-Off Flow Chart APPROVEDNC_1! Before this File can move on to the next Sign-Off Step it will need to have this Sign-Off State Approved! Click on the Close Icon above and the ShopFloorManager Runtime will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Login Window

none

Note: In Runtime above we will be logout as Administrator and logging in as E_DNC_1_approver. Click on the "File" Menu and then on the "Logout" Menu. The following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: Login E_DNC_1_Approver

none

Note: We are now going to login as E_DNC_1_approver as this User is responsible for the first Sign-Off of the File we selected for the Sign-Off Approval Process. In the Window above type in the User E_DNC_1_approver in the User Name Field and click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: User E_DNC_1_Approver

none

Note: In the above Window you will notice the letters OK in the Status Bar next to the Stop Sign Icon. This indicates that this User has Files waiting for Sign-Off. This User can click on OK Section in the Status Bar to display all of the Files, Documents & Packet he/she is required to SignOff. After clicking the OK Section the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: User E_DNC_1_Approver

none

Note: The above Window will display the number of Files, Documents & Packets that this User has to Approve before these move on to the next SignOff State within the associated SignOff Flow Chart. As we can see above there is only one File to SignOff. Click the OK button and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: User E_DNC_1_Approver

none

Note: You will notice in the above Window that there are two Icons with the OK Symbol. The first Icon with the Double OK can be clicked to see where in the SignOff Process this particular File resides. The second Icon button is used to Approve this File for this State. Select this File and click on the Single OK Icon(Right of double OK button) and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: User E_DNC_1_Approver

none

Note: As you can see this User has no more files to Approve. As part of the Approval Process when you selected a File to Approve the "View" Mode was automatically set to "Files Waiting for Sign-off". We want to select a different View Mode when we log back into SuiteRuntime. So click on the "View" Icon and the following Window will be displayed.

Select DNC File View Mode

none

Note: We need to change the View Mode so lets select "Files->Resource Collections and Machines" > and the following Window will be displayed.

ShopFloorManager Runtime: User E_DNC_1_Approver

none

Note: As you can see this User has no more files to Approve since the Approval Icon(Single OK) is grayed out. This User could view the SignOff List of Sign-Off States to see where this File resides in the Sign-Off List if he/she wished. We are now ready to Logout. Click on the Close Icon and log this User out of ShopFloorManager.

Copyright 2019 ShopFloorManager
All Rights Reserved
ShopFloorManager Registered Trademark of CCI.
Click here for ShopFloorManager

CAD/CAM Integration, Inc.
3 Bessom St. #212
Marblehead, MA 01945

Contact Information:
Phone: 1-781-933-9500
Fax: 1-781-494-9585
sales@shopfloormanager.com