The Product Manual briefly mentions a dis-assembly method, but what does it do in practice and when would you use one?  This article attempts to answer those questions by means of an example.

Say for example that you use parts called A, B and C in your methods, and you can buy them from various suppliers as usual.  However, let’s say that A, B and C are in fact parts of a connector (for example) and you can buy a whole connector cheaper than the component parts.  By using a dis-assembly method attached to the connector, Match-IT will buy it and create a works orders to take it apart as needed; i.e. if it needs to acquire an A and/or B and/or C – which will have been defined as parts in other methods.

If the connector has an our part num of X and the relative value of A, B and C is 40%, 40%, 20%, the setup in the materials catalogue will look like this:-

X (can be purchased ticked and suppliers attached as usual)
METHOD (dis-assembly option selected)
  STEP (normal works order step)
    PART (self)
    OUTPUT A (40%) (the percentages are set manually - only you know the values)
    OUTPUT B (40%)
    OUTPUT C (20%)

A (nothing ticked)
B (nothing ticked)
C (nothing ticked)

“PART (self)” can be added to the method by dragging in a PART record from the list on the right – it defaults to “(self)” – i.e. use myself as the kit.  Similarly the output records can be dragged in and then edited to define what they create; A, B and C in this case.  If the connector cost £10 the cost of A, B and C will be £4, £4 and £2.

Any method requiring a whole connector will just have a “PART X” in its method somewhere as per normal; nothing special will happen; the connector will be bought and used like any other part.

If an A, B or C is required in a method, Match-IT will buy a whole connector X, create a works order to take it apart, using itself as kit and attach 3 outputs A, B and C, which will need to be booked in as the outputs of the works order.

Now say for example that a part called Y requires an A, the eventual schedule will partially look like this:-

WO(Y) < A < WO(X) < X < PO(X)
        B < 
        C < 

Unless of course there is some A in stock, in which case that will be used instead.

This is a very simple example.  The dis-assembly method can also have resources to do the work and they will be costed as per normal.  Other parts and/or tools may also be needed.

When you use the resource shutdown facility, what you are in effect doing is adding resource weeks to the system. Resource weeks are records that define availability. Each record spans one week and has a start date.

So to cancel a previous shutdown, go into the list of resource weeks:-

Functions | Standing Data | Resources | Resource Weeks

Then locate and Remove the relevant resource week records one by one.

When printing a document, you can tell Match-IT to use an alternative paper design as follows:-

1. Select the second tab of the printing window – Print Options.
2. Tick the Use an Alternative paper checkbox.
3. Select the desired paper design using the ellipses button.
4. Continue as normal.

The screenshot below shows an example of printing a sales order acknowledgement; you would use the ellipses button to select a paper design other than UserOrderAck.

We build Match-IT every night and you can always upgrade to the latest release of the current version.  Sometimes we’ll tell you that a feature or fix will not be available until a particular version is released, which we will announce in a news item.

You can subscribe to news items via the footer of this website to get email updates, or by following us on facebook or twitter.

The free issue stock facility operates as described below:-

1. There is a flag in the material record – Is Free Issue. Note that the flag is against the material, not a PART in a method.

2. When this flag is set, it triggers the scheduler to create a new type of purchase line – free issue – and associate the customer for the schedule demand with it.

3. There is a free issue purchase schedule similar to the normal purchase schedule.

4. Lines in the free issue purchase schedule can be approved and printed, but it’s optional.

5. The event diary system nags for free issue stock, as for a normal purchase.

6. When booking-in goods, selecting a free issue item against a non-approved purchase line will auto approve it.

7. You can buy things directly from customers if you wish, there is no need to create another supplier record for them. Similarly, you can sell things to suppliers.

8. 6 and 7 are possible because you can associate two account references with a supplier/customer. One for use when selling and the other for use when buying. The appropriate account code will be passed to the accounting system. They can be the same.

Match-IT will always find the cheapest route through a schedule; i.e. when evaluating alternative materials, resources and purchases/sub-contracts.

Use of the URGENT flag forces Match-IT to change strategy to find the quickest route, but only when doing ASAP schedules. URGENT has no effect on JIT schedules. Note that (as has always been the case) if a JIT schedule fails, Match-IT will turn around and perform an ASAP schedule.

A STEP dwell time allows you to specify a delay in days between sequential STEPs finishing/starting.

Most companies approve works orders (WO) in a different order to that in which they were scheduled. This can result in non-optimal use of stock; for example Match-IT may be asking you to kit from two batches of the same material whereas in fact you know you can kit it from a single batch.

The effect of such non-optimal kit lists can be felt in stores. Another result of starting works orders in this way is self-referential returns; meaning that Match-IT will not let you start WO A because it wants a return from WO B (because B was scheduled first). To overcome both of these issues we now always perform a reschedule of a WO when it’s approved. These reschedules ignore all kit tentatively allocated to other WOs waiting to be approved – resulting in optimal kit for the WO that is being approved. The side-effect of this is that if you start lots of works orders in a different order to that in which they were originally scheduled, they will appear to be unkittable – because another WO has ‘stolen’ it’s kit when it was approved.

However such works orders can usually be approved because alternative kit will be found during it’s own approve-time schedule. This behavior is not appropriate to all companies and so there is a default to turn auto-approve scheduling off should you require it. A pending tweak is to extend the kit state flag (K) to include a character implying ‘this WO was kittable but it’s kit has been stolen and now it’s not kittable without an approve schedule’. The above logic also applies to sub-contract purchase orders. The difference is that Match-IT performs the reschedule when the SCPO is created. Again a default exists to disable the auto scheduling.

When starting Match-IT after a windows crash or lock-up, Match-IT will automatically start in recovery mode. Sometimes Match-IT will tell you that a recovery station has not been nominated; this note explains how to nominate one.

1. Make sure that nobody is using Match-IT.

2. Start Match-IT on the station that you wish to nominate as your recovery station. In normal circumstances the recovery station should be your server because recovery often involves a lot of computational effort. If you do not have a server, choose a powerful workstation.

3. Press the space bar when you see the grey splash screen appear with the Match-IT logos. This will take you into a window that allows you to set/clear various start-up options.

4. Click on the tab that says /recover and then press the button labelled Add this option. Now press Resume.

That’s it, you have now nominated a Match-IT recovery station. You should always use the recovery station when starting Match-IT after a windows crash or lock-up. It’s good practice to make sure that everybody is logged out of Match-IT first.

Many early users will be using paperwork designs that cannot be edited without some rework by Match-IT. Later system moved to completely user-editable paperwork designs. This note points the way forward if you would like to start moving from the old style paperwork to the new user-editable paperwork.

A good place to start is probably your works order because it doesn’t go out of the company and you can probably live with a few anomalies while you get it right. It’s always best to edit an existing paperwork design rather then create one from scratch and that’s what we’ll do here.

Your works order paperwork is controlled by a layout that a MC module default called Make Job Card Layout points at; the default may be called Job Card Layout on older systems. We’re going to use this default to access the layout responsible for generating the paperwork and change that – we’re not going to change the value of the default itself. This will become clearer later.

Press F4 to get a list of defaults. Click Show all classes and then type mc and Enter to locate on the MC module (Class) defaults. Move down to the default mentioned above
and select it, then press the System Value button. The first thing to remember is that this default has a layout as it’s value and that a layout is something that contains a reference to a printer and a paperwork design – so we don’t want to change the layout that the default points to, but rather, the paperwork that the layout points to. Click on the ellipsis (…) button next to System Value and then click the Detail button. You are now looking at the detail of the layout that the default points to.

You’ll see that that the printer is defined in the first tab and the paperwork in the second tab. Click on the tab called 2. Paper and then click the ellipsis button next to the Paper prompt. You can now select a new paperwork design. You’ll see one called UserJobCard with the E column ticked – meaning it’s one of the new editable paperwork designs. Click on this paperwork design and then click the Select button. You have now changed the paperwork design that the Job Card layout is pointing to. You’ll see that the Editable flag is now ticked in the Paper Properties box. Save and Close the layout, Close the Select Layout window and Close the System Default window.

When you approve works orders now, the new editable design will be used. Go with the standard design for a while and then decide on changes you would like to make.

To edit a paperwork design, use the above technique to navigate to the Available Papers browse and click Edit (rather than Select), or fire off the Available Papers browse directly. It’s probably not in your current menu structure so you’ll need to get to it via the Processes+GoAnywhere menu. It’s an OL module process called Available Papers. Select that line and Execute it. Now find the UserJobCard paperwork and Edit it.

You are now in the “List and Labels” design form. Read the help via the ?+Contents menu. Use File+Save to save any changes. Make simple changes first while you get used to it. There are options for previewing your changes and for viewing a list of the fields that you can include in the design (View+Windows+PopupVariables).

To get help on what the variables available contain, use the Match-IT help file. From the Help+HelpTopics menu item, double click on Reference and then Report Files. This is a list of all the reporting files. Double-click on a file to see an explanation of the fields it contains.

There are also some standard OL module defaults that you can include in the design. These are available for selection from the Variables section of the popup window and contain things like your company name and address. They also contain standard header and footer text for documents that you can change on a per customer/supplier basis (because they are defaults).