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      Racking and Unracking
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        Racking and Unracking

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          Racking

          Parts in a job shop are often put on Racks to be worked. Racking and unracking steps are essential to record for the completion of Station Timer inputs, Quality Management, and other analytical information.

          Racking Setup

          For racking to be performed and work as expected, a racking process node must first be created in a process.

          There are several places that racking can be performed:

          • Racking page
            • Found in the top right corner of the main page in the Racks tile ("Racking" hyperlink).
            • Displays all parts that can be racked, no matter the similarity.
          • Workboards
            • Open Work Parts or Work Racks when parts are in a racking node.
            • Displays all parts that can be racked together.
          • Work Orders
            • "SHOW DETAILS" on parts of a work order.
            • Displays all parts that can be racked together.
          • Sales Orders
            • If racking is the first step of the process, after saving parts to the sales order, a page will open that gives the ability to rack the parts immediately.

          In the above locations where racking can be performed, there are three sections displayed and many buttons with different functions:

          Notice:

          Custom inputs on parts do not apply to scheduling. Only the parts per rack defined below do. We cannot make the parts per rack a decimal, it accepts whole numbers only.

          Parts Ready to Rack

          This section lists the part numbers that are ready to be racked. Which parts are displayed in the table is dependent on where in Steelhead the racking is being performed. Nevertheless, the table has the following columns:

          Part Group Labels:

          Part Group Labels are available on the workboard Work Parts menu .

          • Easily add labels to a Part Group from a Work Order part details section, or a Work Parts page.
          • Part Group labels are organized from Part Number labels in Watch Tower, Workboards, and Work Orders.

          Screenshot 2024-01-24 at 11.31.39 AM.png

          There are multiple buttons in this section with different funtions:

          "SELECT ALL"
          With one part number selected, clicking this will select all other similar part numbers (highlighted green and all have the same future process nodes).

          "UNSELECT ALL"
          Will deselect all currently selected part numbers.

          "RACK SELECTED PARTS"
          Will direct you to a popup to fill out a few fields:

          • Rack - select which rack the selected parts are being put on.
          • Part Count - enter the count for each part number that is being racked.
          • % of Rack - enter the percent of space on the rack that the part takes up.
          • Timers editor - can change time segments for time user(s) spent on racking the parts if timers are present.
            • Can be done through "EDIT TIME SEGMENTS" button or Hours and Minutes fields to the right of the user.

          Screenshot 2024-01-24 at 12.15.37 PM.png

          Incompatible Specs:

          If parts are assigned to the same future Process Nodes, but are not highlighted green to be racked together, they may have mismatched spec parameters. If the spec field parameter ranges do not overlap to fulfill the spec, they need to be assigned to different racks.

          When to Use Percent of Rack

          Percent of Rack refers to the amount of space on a rack that a part takes up. This makes job costing more accurate. The amount of time spent on the rack gets distributed based on the percentages. Example: There are 90 small parts that take up 25% of the rack and 10 large parts that take up the 75%. The amount of time spent on parts could either be distributed by -

          • Percent of Rack - 25% (small parts) and 75% (large parts)
          • Amount of Parts - 90% (small parts) and 10% (large parts)

          Percentage of Racks is used for time allocation and job costing allocation. For another example, say you have WO A with 8 parts and WO B with 2 parts and you rack them and define WO A as 80% and WO B as 20%:

          • For job costing it will allocate it in those measures along with time allocation.
          • If you don't define percentages it will split both of those 50/50.

          This can interact with size as follows, if you have 100 parts on a rack (99 bolts, one car hood) the way it will usually go is this:

          • Steelhead will take the time/cost and divide it by 100 and allocate that to each part.
          • But, if you define the car hood as 80% of the rack and the bolts as 20%, the rack % function should work by allocating 80% of time/cost to the car hood and 20% to bolts.

          In these cases, distributing by amount of parts would be highly inaccurate, and using % of Rack is advised.
          More generally, it may also helpful for you to use this feature:

          • If empty racks sometimes get into your processes by accident.
          • If you treat many sizes of parts and would like to know how many of each fit on a rack.
          • If any manager or customer would like to know more information about how fast parts can be treated.

          "RACK TO MULTIPLE"
          Will direct you to a popup that will allow you to choose to rack by Part Quantity or Rack Quantity.

          • "PART QTY" - the following fields will display:
            • Unit
            • Parts to Rack (in unit chosen above)
            • Rack Types (used to filter the racks to be selected below)
            • Parts Remaining to be Racked (this will update as part counts are added to racks)
            • Racks (select racks and the part counts for each)
          • "RACK QTY" - the following fields will display:
            • Unit
            • Rack Count to Use (the number entered will add that amount of racks down below)
            • Rack Types (used to filter the racks to be selected below)
            • Parts Remaining (this will update as part counts are added to racks)
            • Racks (select racks and the part counts for each
          Rack Permissions:

          To be able to define rack types/quantities on a part number, the permission "write:planning" should be on.
          Additionally, permission to make changes to the process tree can be enabled with "write: process nodes".

          "Processed Tag" Settings:

          Some settings are offered for the racks processed tag.

          • The time after which a rack is considered processed may differ from when parts are considered processed depending on workflows, this allows for distinct points to be defined.

          Rack throughput reports will use this setting instead of parts processed tag.

          1. Create tag or use existing tag to set as the rack processed tag.
          2. In insights settings, select it in the corresponding drop-down.
          3. Tag recipe node with the racks processed tag.
          4. View rack throughput reports.

          Distribute Evenly Button:

          This button on the Rack to Multiple page will equally divide parts across the shown racks
          Screenshot 2024-11-04 at 12.34.59 PM.png

          Screenshot 2024-01-24 at 11.52.19 AM.png

          There are a few other buttons displayed on this popup:

          • "ADD RACK" (above Racks table) - Adds another rack column to the Racks table where a rack can be selected and a count can be entered.
          • "REMOVE EMPTY RACKS" (above Racks table) - Deletes any columns that either have no rack selected, or a rack selected but no part count.
          • Trash icon (in Actions column on Racks table) - Removes the row from the table.
          • Red check icon (in Actions column on Racks table) - Sets the count as the default parts per rack cpacity for the rack type and the icon will turn green.
          • Restore arrow icon (in Actions column on Racks table) - Will set the count back to the rack type default capacity.
          Trash Icon on Process Page:

          Processes can be deleted as well, on the process page the layout looks like this:
          Screenshot 2024-10-23 at 1.25.19 PM.png

          Racks Ready to be Assembled

          This section shows current racks with parts on them and allows them to be assembled onto other racks (super racks). View and select the racks to "assemble."

          The table has the following columns:

          There is only one button displayed in this section:

          "ASSEMBLE SELECTED RACKS" - a popup that allows you to assemble the racks you selected.
          1. Select the super rack to be assembled to.
          2. View the parts on each rack.
          3. A drop-down menu to select the part limiting capacity.
          4. An entry field to specify the percent of space on the rack that the sub rack takes up.

          Screenshot 2024-01-30 at 2.28.45 PM.png

          Part Limiting Capacity

          If there is more than one part number on a sub rack, there is the option to choose which one limits the capacity. It is advised to choose the part that is most limiting to the rack capacity.

          Racks Ready to Move

          This section shows current racks with parts on them and allows you to move the racks to the next step of the process. It also allows you to remove parts from racks and remove racks from super racks.

          Screenshot 2024-02-07 at 3.48.18 PM.png

          There are four main buttons in this section:

          "UNRACK MULTIPLE PARTS" - a popup menu that allows you to unrack many parts at once.

          • Available Racks section displays all racks and the parts on them.

            1. Select the parts to unrack in the Actions column or use the "SELECT ALL" button.
            2. Use the arrow button to unrack the particular parts or use the "MOVE SELECTED" button.
            3. Option to change the Units of the parts.

          • Unrack Racks section displays the Racks and Part Numbers to be unracked.

            1. Select any parts to not unrack in the Actions column or use the "SELECT ALL" button.
            2. Use the arrow button to NOT unrack the particular parts or use the "MOVE SELECTED" button.
            3. Option to change the quantity of parts to unrack.
            4. Option to change the Units of the parts.

          • Click the "SAVE" button to apply any changes.

          Feb-07-2024 16-03-45.gif

          "UNRACK PARTS" - A pop up menu that allows you to specify the number of parts on the rack to unrack.
          Screenshot 2024-10-02 at 11.22.22 AM.png

          "REMOVE RACKS" - A pop up menu that allows you to disassemble selected racks from the super rack.

          "MOVE RACK" - A popup menu that allows you to step or transfer the rack.

          • Lists the parts on the rack.
          • Choose STEP or TRANSFER.
          • Shows or allows selection for the node the rack is being moved to.
          • Shows and allows changing of station the rack is moving to.
            Screenshot 2024-10-02 at 11.21.44 AM.png
          Select All in Side Panel:

          Users may select all racks in the Work Parts/ Racks slide out panel.

          1. Move multiple racks with parts on them to a racking node.
          2. In the Work Racks slide out panel, find the 'Racks Ready To Be Assembled' section.
          3. Select the Select All button underneath the table to select all available racks.

          Warnings in Move Parts Menu

          Two warning messages to all Move Parts menus will alert users trying to move unracked parts out of a racking node.
          A Rack Parts button can be found in all Move Parts dialogs, so users can rack the parts easily.

          1. Move parts into a racking node.
          2. Try to move them out by any possible means.
          3. You should see two warnings before being able to move the parts out of the racking node.
            image.png

          Unracking

          Parts in a job shop are often taken off of racks. To keep track of this, there are multiple features in Steelhead to imitate this process and keep track of it in the best way possible. Parts must be racked before they are unracked.

          Unracking Setup

          For unracking to be performed and work as expected, an unracking process node must first be created in a process.

          There are several places that unracking can be performed:

          • Unracking page
            • Found in the top right corner of the main page in the Racks tile ("Unracking" hyperlink).
            • Displays all parts on racks.
          • Workboards
            • Open Work Racks when rack is at an unracking node.
            • Displays the parts on the particular rack.
          • Work Orders
            • "SHOW DETAILS" on parts on a work order.
            • Displays the specific parts on racks.

          Parts Ready to Unrack

          This section lists the racks ready to be unracked. Which parts are displayed in the table is dependent on where in Steelhead the unracking is being performed. Nevertheless, the table has the following columns:

          • Rack profile image
          • Rack name
          • Parts and Work Orders
          • Actions

          There are multiple buttons in this section:

          "UNRACK MULTIPLE" - works the same as the "UNRACK MULTIPLE PARTS" button found in the Racks Ready to Move section.
          "REMOVE RACKS" - a pop up menu that allows you to disassemble selected racks from the super rack (also found in the Racks Ready to Move section).
          "UNRACK PARTS" - a pop up menu that allows you to specify the number of parts on the rack to unrack (also found in the Racks Ready to Move section).
          "STRIP RACK + STEP PARTS" - a pop up menu that allows you to strip the super rack and move the parts.

          1. View the Racks to be Disassembled, the Parts, and the To Node the parts will be moved to.
          2. Click "SAVE" to perform the action.

          "UNRACK + STEP PARTS" - a pop up menu that allows you to unrack the parts and move them.

          1. View the Parts to be taken off the rack and the To Node that the part will be moved to.
          2. Click "SAVE" to perform the action.

          Screenshot 2024-02-08 at 8.41.15 AM.png

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