A Guide To Oracle Quality: An Oracle White Paper
A Guide To Oracle Quality: An Oracle White Paper
A Guide To Oracle Quality: An Oracle White Paper
ABSTRACT
This paper introduces the reader to the concepts of quality management in Oracle Quality and
reinforces that understanding with the aid of a business case that spans across the Work In
Process (WIP) and the Purchasing modules. As we walk across the shopfloor and the receiving
bay, we study the data collection process from the perspective of Oracle Quality business flow.
The paper also covers the enhanced features that have been added to Oracle Quality through
Family Packs G, H and I.
SCOPE
This paper covers the basic business flow for Oracle Quality. It also takes a close look at Global
Specifications (Family Pack I), Parent Child Relationships (Family Pack H) and Collection Plan
Security (Family Pack G), to obtain a better understanding of Oracle Quality as it stands today.
This paper is intended for an audience familiar with Work In Process and Purchasing
transactions and desirous of gaining an insight into how to set up a quality inspection process at
strategic junctures to ensure that products are conforming to specifications and of how to define
those specifications, standards and measurable parameters in the first place, using Oracle
Quality.
Oracle Quality is integrated with the Oracle Manufacturing and Distribution applications to
provide consistent quality data definition, data collection and data management across the
enterprise and throughout the supply chain. Oracle Quality application can be used to gather
user-defined quality data. Data collected and input into Oracle Quality may come from functions
such as purchasing, service, shopfloor inspection or directly from the customer, to name a few.
Quality data can also be collected in a totally standalone method or may be linked to third party
systems. It is possible to import data from other systems to give the users a full view of the
quality process in their plants.
The organization manufactures steel shafts for use in different assemblies and also for sale as
spares. One such product is the item SS180/15. The prefix “SS” stands for steel shaft. 180
specifies the finished shaft length of 180mm and 15 specifies the finished shaft diameter of
15mm. The organization receives the raw material for SS180/15 in the form of a rough-cut job,
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which is in fact a cylindrical steel shaft of length measuring approximately 200mm and diameter
measuring approximately 20mm. This raw component is termed as SRCJ200/20 (“SRCJ” for
steel rough cut job and 200/20 signifies length/diameter). This component undergoes the
“Cutting” operation to have its length trimmed to 180mm. The result is the intermediate product
SCJ180/20 (“SCJ” for steel cut job and 180/20 signifies length/diameter). This component now
undergoes the “Turning” operation to have its diameter reduced to 15mm. The result is the
intermediate product STJ180/15 (“STJ” stands for steel turned job). In the final operation,
STJ180/15 undergoes ”Grinding” to attain a smooth and presentable finish. The end result or the
final assembly is SS180/15.
Thus, moving down from the final assembly level, SS180/15 has STJ180/15 as its component.
STJ180/15 has SCJ180/20 as its component. SCJ180/20 has SRCJ200/20 as its component
(refer Fig 1). This process will be mapped into 3 separate routings of a single operation each.
To suit our quality inspection scenario, we have defined five collection elements. These are
! SHAFT LENGTH
! SHAFT DIAMETER
! FAILURE CODE
! MY ITEM
! MY SERIAL
Besides these five collection elements we have also used some predefined collection elements
viz., Quantity, Inspection Result, Transaction Date and UOM Name, to name a few.
Note: Oracle Quality provides a (seeded) reference information type collection element – Item.
This collection element can be used in collection plans wherein data is to be collected against
items or item codes. However, sometimes customers prefer to define and use a reference
information type collection element instead of the Item collection element. An example would be
the case of the organization that prefers the term Device or Product Code instead of Item in
their collection plan. Though this leads to the creation of redundant collection elements, since
they all point to the same data object – the item, Oracle Quality allows users to define reference
information type collection elements to suit their terminology or business case. MY ITEM is a
collection element defined and used in this paper, to demonstrate this very point.
But, before we probe into the rationale for these collection elements, let us take a brief look at
the collection element types available in Oracle Quality. Oracle Quality provide us with three
predefined collection element types, Attribute, Variable, and Reference Information which are
available in the list of values (henceforth referred to as LOV) in the field Element Type when we
define the collection element.
Variable collection element type represents numerically measurable parameters. They can and
often do, have a range of acceptable values defined as specification limits. In this paper, SHAFT
LENGTH and SHAFT DIAMETER are the two Variable type collection elements. As the names
suggest, one measures the length of the shaft and the other measures the diameter. For SHAFT
LENGTH the desired value (Target Value) is determined as 180 MM. However, the upper
specification limit has been set at 182 MM and the lower specification limit has been set at 179
MM. Similarly, specification limits have been determined for SHAFT DIAMETER.
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Reference Information collection element type refers to common objects defined in other
Oracle Applications. When transactions are performed in Oracle Purchasing, Inventory, Service,
Work In Process or in Flow Manufacturing, the values of related reference information collection
elements are then automatically entered in the collection plan, if they are available on the parent
form. Thus Reference Information collection elements are also known as context elements
because their values are derived in the context of transactions entered and saved in these
applications. In this paper, we have defined two Reference Information type collection
elements. These are, MY ITEM and MY SERIAL. As their names suggest, these collection
elements will draw their values from the corresponding objects (item code and serial number) as
used in Oracle Inventory.
Specifications document the requirement to which a product, process or service should conform.
Oracle Quality supports three types of specifications: Item Specification, Supplier
Specification and Customer Specification. Item specifications can be used to define the
standards for items irrespective of the supplier from whom it is procured or the customer for
whom it is manufactured. Customer and supplier specifications are used to define the standards
for items sold to or purchased from specific customers or suppliers respectively. When defining
specifications, the user is required to select the appropriate radio button Item Spec, Supplier
Spec or Customer Spec to classify the type of the specification. In this paper, we have defined
two specifications SPEC_SCJ180/20 and SPEC_STJ180/15. SPEC_SCJ180/20 is meant for the
item SCJ180/20. This is an Item specification that measures the length of the item SCJ180/20
using the collection element SHAFT LENGTH. Similarly SPEC_STJ180/15 is meant for the item
STJ180/15. This is an Item Specification that measures the diameter of the item STJ180/15
using the collection element SHAFT DIAMETER.
The Global Specifications feature was introduced in Manufacturing Family Pack I. Some
specifications in Oracle Quality can now be used across organizations if users need to use
identical specifications in two or more organizations. Prior to Family Pack I, the specifications
were setup per organization and a specification could not be shared with other organizations.
There are often plants that produce the same product to the same specifications. In such a
scenario, it is necessary to maintain the specs at each organization. But, this cannot be achieved
so long as the specifications cannot be shared across the organizations. If the specifications
cannot be shared, they may go out of synch which can adversely impact the manufacturing of
the product. The Enhancement in the form of Global Specifications, resolves this issue.
Enhancement Request 1941132 was logged for this feature to be made available.
Quality collection plans determine what data to collect, where to collect it, and what action to
take based on the results. A collection plan is a test plan or inspection plan, consisting of a group
of collection elements that we want to collect and analyze for a given business case. In this
paper we have defined a Collection Plan to inspect the outcome of the Cutting operation and a
Collection Plan to inspect the outcome of the Turning operation. These have been named 01
SCJ COLLECTION PLAN and 01 STJ COLLECTION PLAN. A Collection Plan has also been put
in place to inspect the outcome of the Grinding operation (01 SS COLLECTION PLAN). As an
additional exercise, we shall perform a Receiving Inspection for the raw component SRCJ200/20
using a collection plan called 01 SRCJ COLLECTION PLAN.
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Define item SS180/15 using the Finished Goods template.
Define items STJ180/15 and SCJ180/20 using the Subassembly template.
Define item SRCJ200/20 using the Purchased item template.
For each of these items, except for SRCJ200/20, set Serial Generation to At Receipt.
SRCJ200/20 has Serial Generation set to No Control.
Assign each of these items to the organization (M3 in this paper).
Defining a Resource
Define a machine type resource named LATHE. Attach this resource to the METAL_FAB
department (predefined in Vision database).
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Fig 1. The Bill Of Material for SS180/15
Note: Only Collection Elements, which are enabled, can be attached to a Collection Plan.
Collection elements can be disabled but not deleted, if results are associated with them.
Click on the Spec Limits button. Because we are defining a Variable type collection element,
we would be defining the specification limits for this parameter.
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The lower and upper reasonable range limit ensures that we collect values that make sense. The
system does not allow entry of values that lie outside the Reasonable range.
The collection elements we define are stored in the table QA_CHARS along with the
specification limits.
Save your work. For SHAFT DIAMETER, we shall enter the Specification Limits later.
Recall: When defining Variable type collection elements, we had clicked on Spec Limits button
to specify upper and lower acceptable values.)
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Fig 2. The values for the Attribute type collection element FAILURE CODE
We shall now define two Reference Information type Collection Elements, MY ITEM and MY
SERIAL. Item and Serial Number are common objects defined in Oracle Inventory. This is why
reference information type collection are also known as context elements because their values
are derived in the context of transactions entered and saved in other Oracle Applications (Oracle
Inventory in this case).
Note: The LOV for Actions displays the values from the master list of actions available in Oracle
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Quality. These values are stored in the table QA_ACTIONS. All information in this table is pre-
seeded and should not be changed.
ACTION ID
------------------------------------------------------------ --------
Display a message to the operator 1
Reject the input 2
Send an electronic mail notification 10
Execute a SQL script 11
Execute an operating system script 12
Launch a concurrent request 13
Create a Corrective Action Request 14
Post an entry to the Quality Action Log 15
Place the job on hold 16
Assign a shop floor status to the intraoperation step 17
Assign a lot status 18
Assign a serial status 19
Assign item status 20
Place the supplier on hold 21
Place a document or release on hold 22
Hold all schedules building this assembly on this production 23
Assign a value to a collection element 24
Accept the shipment 25
Reject the shipment 26
Assign an ASL Status 27
Launch a Workflow 28
Create a work request 29
Create a Maintenance Work Order 30
23 rows selected.
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Fig 3. Action Rules for the Collection Element MY ITEM
The Action Rules we have defined for the collection element MY ITEM can be queried at the
table level as follows:
To summarize, this is what the collection element MY ITEM has been programmed to do:
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MY ITEM = STJ180/15 Display a message to the Use Test Plan for the Turning
operator operation
We shall now define the second Reference Information type collection element.
Note: As discussed earlier, we can make this specification SPEC_ SCJ180/20 global, by
assigning it to multiple organizations.
First, query and retrieve the specification SPEC_ SCJ180/20 in the Specifications definition form
(Fig 4). Now, click on the Org Assignments button at the bottom of the form (Fig 4). This will
bring up the Organization Assignment form for Specification SPEC_ SCJ180/20 (Fig 5).
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Fig 4. The Org Assignments button in the Specifications form
The list of organizations in Fig 5 is generated automatically to correspond with the org
assignment in the Master Item form. As Fig 5 shows, the specification name in each organization
defaults as the original name of the specification prefixed by a white space and the organization
code. We have assigned this specification to organizations M1 and M2. So the specification
SPEC_SCJ180/20 that was defined in M3 is now shared by orgs M1 and M2 as well. In fact, we
can assign the spec to as many orgs in the list as required.
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This specification assignment form can only be used when creating a new specification.
Note: In the collection elements definition form, no specification limits had been defined for this
collection element. Those values can now be entered in the Specification Elements screen.
Note: The above definition of Specifications demonstrates that there are two ways of entering
specification limits data for a collection element.
(i) when defining the collection element itself in
Quality > Setup > Collection Elements > (B) Spec Limits
(ii) when attaching a predefined collection element to a Specification.
If (i) is used, then the specification limits defined will default in any Specification to which this
collection element is being attached. The user can override these default values.
Similarly, (ii) can be used when the same collection element is likely to have different
specification limits under different specifications.
The master table for Specifications defined is QA_SPECS. This table has a parent–to–child
relationship with QA_SPECS_CHARS.
Our Specification SPEC_SCJ180/20 has been defined for the item SCJ180/20 using the
collection element SHAFT LENGTH. This information can be culled from the tables as shown
below.
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SQL> select substr(msib.segment1,0,15) ITEM,
2 substr(qc.name,1,15) COLLEC_ELEMENT,
3 substr(qsc.target_value,0,6) TARGET,
4 substr(qsc.upper_spec_limit,0,5) USL,
5 substr(qsc.lower_spec_limit,0,5) LSL,
6 substr(qsc.upper_reasonable_limit,0,5) URL,
7 substr(qsc.lower_reasonable_limit,0,5) LRL
8 from MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_B msib,
9 QA_CHARS qc,
10 QA_SPECS qs,
11 QA_SPEC_CHARS qsc
12 where qs.item_id = msib.inventory_item_id
13 and qs.spec_id = qsc.spec_id
14 and qc.char_id = qsc.char_id
15 and msib.organization_id = qs.organization_id
16 and qs.item_id in(select inventory_item_id
17 from mtl_system_items_b
18 where segment1 = 'SCJ180/20')
19 and qs.spec_name = 'SPEC_SCJ180/20'
20 and qc.name = 'SHAFT LENGTH';
For the first collection elements MY ITEM, MY SERIAL and Job, ensure that all the three
checkboxes Mandatory, Enabled, and Displayed are checked. For the collection elements
SHAFT LENGTH and FAILURE CODE, the Mandatory checkbox will remain unchecked, while
the other checkboxes will remain checked.
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Fig 6. Defining the Collection Plan for SCJ180/20
Note: We have attached five collection elements to this Collection Plan. The first three are of
type Reference Information, the next one is of type Variable and the last one is of type Attribute.
Defining Values and Actions for the individual collection elements in 01 SCJ
COLLECTION PLAN
With the cursor still on the FAILURE CODE line, click on the Values button.
We shall be copying the predefined values for FAILURE CODE onto this Collection Plan.
The Values window opens up looking for Short Code and Description values. Click on the
Defaults button. This opens the window Copy Values for (M3) – FAILURE CODE. The message
reads - You can copy the entire list of values defined for this collection element. These
values appear in the “Collection Elements – Values” window. The message is referring to
the values we had defined for collection element FAILURE CODE. To copy these values into the
collection plan, click on the Copy button. Once the values are copied onto the Values window,
review the values. The Value IMPRECISE DIAMETER will not apply to the Collection Plan for
SCJ180/20 because we shall only be measuring the length of the shaft here. So delete this value
from the values window.
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Fig 7. Selecting and copying the FAILURE CODE values for 01 SCJ COLLECTION PLAN
Now, place the cursor on MY ITEM under Quality Collection Elements. Click on the Actions
button. This opens the Quality Actions screen. Now click on the Defaults button. The same
message with reference to copying the values of the collection element appears again. Click on
the Copy button.
The Action Rules defined previously for MY ITEM will default. The Action Rule of Seq 20 refers
to the item STJ180/15. This item is not relevant to the current Collection Plan. Therefore, delete
this Action Rule (Seq 20).
Close the Quality Actions window.
Save your work.
Now, place the cursor on SHAFT LENGTH under Quality Collection Elements. Click on the
Actions button. Enter Seq = 10, set Condition to less than (<). Select the radio button Spec
Limit.
Select from the LOV From = Lower Specification Limit.
With the cursor still on the line of Seq = 10, click on the first field under Action this Rule
Invokes.
From the LOV select Assign a value to a collection element.
Click on the Action Details button. This opens the Assign a Value screen.
The system now prompts for the name of the collection element to which a value needs to be
assigned if the SHAFT LENGTH value is less than the lower specification limit.
Enter Assign to = FAILURE CODE. Select the Formula radio button. In the textbox, enter
‘SCRAP’ (the single quotes must be entered). Click OK. Refer Fig 6.
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Fig 8. Defining Action Rules for SHAFT LENGTH in 01 SCJ COLLECTION PLAN
Similarly, enter another Action Rule for SHAFT LENGTH collection element.
Enter Seq = 20, set Condition to greater than (>). Select the radio button Spec Limit.
Select from the LOV From = Upper Specification Limit.
With the cursor still on the line of Seq = 20, click on the first field under Action this Rule
Invokes.
From the LOV select Assign a value to a collection element.
Click on the Action Details button. This opens the Assign a Value screen.
The system now prompts for the name of the collection element to which a value needs to be
assigned if the SHAFT LENGTH value is greater than the upper specification limit.
Enter Assign to = FAILURE CODE. Select the Formula radio button. In the textbox, enter
‘IMPRECISE LENGTH’ (the single quotes are mandatory). Click OK.
In the final step, we shall associate this collection plan with the WIP move transaction and have
it triggered at the move between Queue of operation 10 and To move of operation 10 for the
Routing of SCJ180/20.
In the Collections Plan form, click on the Transactions button. This opens the Collection
Transactions form. Under Quality Collection Transactions, for the field Transaction
Description, select Move Transactions (Oracle Work in Process) and check the boxes
Mandatory and Enabled. Checking the Mandatory box ensures that the user will have to enter
the quality collection plan data in order to be allowed to process the move transaction.
Now click on the Trigger Name field under Collection Triggers. From the LOV select From Op
Seq Number. Set Condition to equals (=), From = 10.
Add a second trigger.
Trigger Name = From Intraoperation step. Set Condition to equals (=), From = Queue.
Add a third trigger.
Trigger Name = To Op Seq Number. Set Condition to equals (=), From = 10
Add a fourth trigger
Trigger Name = To Intraoperation step. Set Condition to equals (=), From = To move.
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Fig 9. Assigning 01 SCJ COLLECTION PLAN to the WIP Move Transaction in the routing
of SCJ180/20
Note: In the trigger (Fig 9), all the conditions must be met for the trigger to work.
Note: Collection Plans when defined are stored in the table QA_PLANS.
The following query on this table displays all the Collection Plans defined for organization M3.
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4 order by name;
NAME DESCRIPTION
------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------
01 SCJ COLLECTION PLAN COLLECTION PLAN FOR SCJ180/20
General Receiving (M3) General Receiving Plan
PO Inspection Plan (M3) Standard Purchasing Inspection Plan
Recv/Inspection (CM52293) (M3) Inspecting Power Supplies
Service Request Tracking (M3) Service Request Tracking Plan
Shipping Plan (M3) Shipping Collection Plan
WIP Test (M3) Work In Process System Test
Another table to take note of is QA_PLAN_TRANSACTIONS. This table stores the transaction
information defined for a specific collection plan. Oracle Quality allows the user to define a
collection plan for specific transactions, as well as to enter quality results for these plans while
executing the parent transactions. A plan can be associated with one or more transactions.
Therefore, if a Plan is attached to more than one transaction, then the field plan_transaction_id
(primary key) stores a unique value for each Collection Plan and transaction combination. The
transaction_number field stores the value of the transaction, which is associated with the plan.
The seeded values for transaction_number are
1 = Move transaction (Oracle Work in Process),
6 = Receiving transactions (Oracle Purchasing),
20 = Service Requests (Oracle Service),
21 = Inspection Transactions (Oracle Purchasing)
PLAN_TXN_ID TXN_NUM
----------- ----------
537 1
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Fig 10. Error when trying to commit a transaction without entering Quality Results
against a mandatory Collection Plan
Click OK
Now click on the Quality icon on the toolbar, as shown below to enter quality results.
Enter the Item Number = SCJ180/120 and tab out. The system pops the following message:
Fig 12. Action Message defined against MY ITEM in 01 SCJ COLLECTION PLAN
This is a warning message to remind the user that the shopfloor production results have to be
compared to the specifications attached to the cutting operation.
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This message comes because when defining the collection element MY ITEM, under Action
Rules we had defined (Action Rule Seq 10), that when MY ITEM equals SCJ180/20, then the
Action this Rule Invokes is Display a message to the operator and that message was
defined as Use Test Plan for the Cutting operation.
So in the Quality Results window, every time the operator enters the item as SCJ180/20, this
message will pop up.
Click OK, once the data entry is complete. This will close the Quality Results form and bring us
back to the Move Transactions form. Click the Save button. The Move transaction gets
committed.
Note: When we enter the shaft length data, if we enter a value less than the Lower Specification
limit, then the Failure Code defaults as SCRAP. This piece cannot be reworked and will have to
be scrapped. Similarly, if we enter a value greater than the Upper Specification limit, the Failure
Code defaults as IMPRECISE LENGTH. This length will have to be trimmed further (reworked).
For serial Number 104, the length equals the Target length but it was found that the piece had
suffered physical damage. Hence we manually selected the Failure Code value of DAMAGE
from the LOV. Also, if we try to enter any value that lies beyond the range specified by the
Reasonable limits, we get either of the two messages depending on the value we entered:
APP-QA-16081: Value must be less than or equal to the Upper Reasonable Limit of 183.5
APP-QA-16080: Value must be greater than or equal to the Lower Reasonable Limit of 178.5
As of now all these 10 units of SCJ180/20 reside at the To move of Operation 10. What
business decisions would these quality results trigger? The units with serial numbers 102 and
103 will have to be reworked. The unit with Serial Number 101 will have to be scrapped. A
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decision will have to be taken on what to do with the physically damaged unit at Serial Number
104.
Before we proceed any further, we can review the quality results through the utilities provided in
Oracle Quality.
Quality > Results > Charts > Pareto Charts
Fig 14. Pareto chart for failures recorded for SCJ180/20 during WIP Move transaction
We will therefore perform the completion transaction for the 6 units that were inspected and
found to be without fault (Serial Numbers 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110).
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WIP > Material Transactions > Completion Transactions
Subinventory = Stores, Quantity = 6
Click on the Lot/Serial button.
Enter serial Numbers 105 to 110.
Commit your transaction.
These 6 units are now completed into the Stores subinventory which was the completion
subinventory for SCJ180/20.
Note: Seq 40 is where 01 STJ COLLECTION PLAN differs from the previous plan 01 SCJ
COLLECTION PLAN, with collection element SHAFT DIAMETER replacing the collection
element SHAFT LENGTH.
Defining Values and Actions for the individual collection elements in 01 STJ
COLLECTION PLAN
With the cursor still on the FAILURE CODE line, click on the Values button.
Click on the Defaults button. This opens the window Copy Values for (M3) – FAILURE CODE.
The message reads - You can copy the entire list of values defined for this collection
element. These values appear in the “Collection Elements – Values” window. The
message is referring to the values we had defined for collection element FAILURE CODE. To
copy these values into the collection plan, click on the Copy button. Once the values are copied
onto the Values window, review the values. The Value IMPRECISE LENGTH will not apply to the
Collection Plan for STJ180/15 because we shall only be measuring the diameter of the shaft
here. So delete this value from the values window.
Now, place the cursor on MY ITEM under Quality Collection Elements. Click on the Actions
button. This opens the Quality Actions screen. Now click on the Defaults button. The same
message with reference to copying the values of the collection element appears again. Click on
the Copy button. The Action Rules defined previously for MY ITEM will default. The Action Rule
of Seq 10 refers to the item SCJ180/20. This item is not relevant to the current Collection Plan.
Therefore, delete this Action Rule (Seq 10).
Close the Quality Actions window.
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Now, place the cursor on SHAFT DIAMETER under Quality Collection Elements. Click on the
Actions button. Enter Seq = 10, set Condition to less than (<). Select the radio button Value.
Enter From = 14.25.
Note: Unlike in the previous Collection Plan we want the shaft diameter to be not less than
14.25, which is an absolute value and not a specification limit. So we are entering the absolute
value of 14.25.
With the cursor still on the line of Seq = 10, click on the first field under Action this Rule
Invokes.
From the LOV select Assign a value to a collection element.
Click on the Action Details button. This opens the Assign a Value screen.
The system now prompts for the name of the collection element to which a value needs to be
assigned if the SHAFT DIAMETER value is less than 14.25.
Enter Assign to = FAILURE CODE. Select the Formula radio button. In the textbox, enter
‘SCRAP’ (the single quotes must be entered). Click OK.
Similarly, enter another Action Rule for SHAFT DIAMETER collection element.
Enter Seq = 20, set Condition to greater than (>). Select the radio button Spec Limit.
Select from the LOV From = Upper Specification Limit.
With the cursor still on the line of Seq = 20, click on the first field under Action this Rule
Invokes.
From the LOV select Assign a value to a collection element.
Click on the Action Details button. This opens the Assign a Value screen.
The system now prompts for the name of the collection element to which a value needs to be
assigned if the SHAFT DIAMETER value is greater than the upper specification limit.
Enter Assign to = FAILURE CODE. Select the Formula radio button. In the textbox, enter
‘IMPRECISE DIAMETER‘ (the single quotes must be entered). Click OK.
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Fig 15. Action Rules for SHAFT DIAMETER in 01 STJ COLLECTION PLAN
In the final step, we shall associate this collection plan with the WIP move transaction and have
it triggered at the move between Queue of operation 10 and To move of operation 10 for the
Routing of STJ180/15. This setup will be identical to the setup created in Fig 9.
In the Collections Plan form, click on the Transactions button. This opens the Collection
Transactions form. Under Quality Collection Transactions, for the field Transaction
Description, select Move Transactions (Oracle Work in Process) and check the boxes
Mandatory and Enabled. Checking the Mandatory box ensures that the user will have to enter
the quality collection plan data in order to be allowed to process the move transaction.
Now click on the Trigger Name field under Collection Triggers. From the LOV select From Op
Seq Number. Set Condition to equals (=), From = 10.
Add a second trigger.
Trigger Name = From Intraoperation step. Set Condition to equals (=), From = Queue.
Add a third trigger.
Trigger Name = To Op Seq Number. Set Condition to equals (=), From = 10
Add a fourth trigger
Trigger Name = To Intraoperation step. Set Condition to equals (=), From = To move.
Now when we enter the item name and tab out, we get the following message, as expected.
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Fig 16. Action Message defined for MY ITEM in 01 STJ COLLECTION PLAN
Serial Number 202 will probably need to be reworked. But for now, we shall complete the job for
serial numbers 203, 204, 205 and 206.
When we try to save the Move transaction, the Backflush screen pops up requiring us to enter
the serial numbers (105 to 110) of 6 units of SCJ180/20 that had been completed into Stores
subinventory. Enter the required data and save the transaction.
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We have now reached the final stage where the shaft has to undergo the Grinding operation.
Here, STJ180/15 will get processed into SS180/15.
We shall now create a collection plan for WIP Completion. This plan will apply to our final
assembly SS180/15.
With the cursor on the Quantity Passed line (Seq 50), click on the Actions button.
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Fig 18. Action Rule and Details to calculate Quantity Failed for collection element
Quantity Passed
Fig 19. Associating the tokens used in the Formula (under Action Details) to collection
elements
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Fig 20. Action Rule and Detail to calculate Percent Passed from Quantity Passed
Finally, let us decide on some Action Rule if the failure percentage exceeds a certain number
say, 40%. In the main Collection Plans window, place your cursor on the Percent Failed line (Seq
80). Click on the Actions button. Enter an Action Rule such that if the Percent Failed is greater
than 40%, then this rule should invoke the following actions:
(i) Place the job on Hold (select from the LOV)
(ii) Display a message to the operator (select from the LOV)
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Fig 21. Action Rules if the collection element Percent Failed exceeds 40%
The message to be displayed to the operator can be typed in as shown in Fig 21.
You can even choose the Action Send an electronic mail notification and then click on the
Action Details Window. You would then be able to compose the notification mail.
Special Note: If we want to enter the WIP Completion Quality Results for each individual serial
number then we will have to define one more Action Rule.
Ensure that the cursor is on the collection element MY SERIAL (Seq 30).
Now click on the Actions button.
Set Seq = 10, Condition is entered, select the Value radio button.
In the region Action this Rule Invokes, select Assign a value to a collection element.
Now, click on the Action Details button.
Assign To = Quantity
Select the radio button Formula and enter 1 in the textbox.
Note: What would be the implications if this Action Rule were not defined for MY SERIAL?
This is what would have happened.
When we perform the entry of Quality Results during WIP Completion for each serial number of
the final assembly (SS180/15), the value that would default against each serial number in the
Quantity field would equal the Job Completion Quantity. This will lead to incorrect figures in the
Quantity Failed field once we enter the Quantity Passed. The figure below demonstrates this
(assuming we have a WIP Completion quantity = 4).
The reason for this is that Quantity is a collection element of type Reference Information. It
therefore, derives its value from the context in which it is used. The context we have chosen is
Work Order Completion and the system takes the WIP Completion Quantity from the Work
Order as the "Quantity" (which is 4 in the above example).
But we want the system to default a Quantity of 1 every time we enter a serial number, since the
serial number represents “1 Each” of the final assembly. To achieve this very objective, we
defined the above action Rule against the collection element MY SERIAL.
But, in this case we have decided not to enter the WIP Completion Quality Results for each
individual serial number. Rather we shall enter the results for the entire completion quantity in
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one line. Therefore, to automate the calculation of the collection element Percent Failed, we
shall enter another collection element to Quantity Passed.
In the Action Rules screen for Quantity Passed, enter another line with Seq 10.
The Rule would be:
When Quantity Passed is entered, assign a value to the collection element Percent Failed using
the formula (1-&qtypass/&qty)*100. Thereafter, do not forget to click on the Variables button
and attach the tokens qty and qtypass to collection elements Quantity and Quantity Passed
respectively.
Finally, we will associate this collection plan with the WIP Completion transaction.
In the opening form of the Collection Plan, click on the Transactions button.
Select the Transaction Description as Completion Transactions (Oracle Work in Process).
Check the Mandatory and the Enabled checkboxes.
In the collection Triggers region, select Trigger Name = Item, set Condition equals(=) and
From = SS180/15. This setup ensures that when we perform a WIP Completion transaction for
SS180/15, it will be mandatory for the user to enter Quality results into the 01 SS COLLECTION
PLAN.
We shall now create a Discrete Job for the final assembly SS180/15.
WIP > Discrete > Discrete Jobs
Job Number 62468
Assembly = SS180/15
Status = Released
Quantity = 4
Completion Subinventory = FGI
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Fig 23. Quality Results for 01 SS COLLECTION PLAN
Here we find that only one of the 4 pieces of SS180/15 have been cleared after inspection.
Click on the OK button. Immediately the following message pops up:
Fig 24. The Action Message defined against the collection element Percent Failed in 01
SS COLLECTION PLAN
Click OK. The Enter Quality Results screen will get closed bringing us back to the WIP Assy
Completion screen. Click on Done.
On querying the Discrete Job 62468, we find that the job status has changed to On Hold.
We shall now perform a receiving inspection for our purchased component SRCJ200/20.
For this exercise, we have defined a Supplier “Quality Metal Works” (Supplier Number = 8004).
This supplier has Type set to Manufacturing and Receipt Routing set to Inspection Required.
Note: The plan_type_code field in the table QA_PLANS, specifies the value in the Plan Type
field. The three seeded values are
1 = WIP Inspection, 2 = Supplier Inspection, 3 = FGI Inspection. However, the user can define
his own plan types in Quality > Setup > Collection Plan Types.
The spec_assignment_type field in the table QA_PLANS points to the specification assignment
type associated with this plan. The possible values are:
1 = Validate data using Item specification,
2 = Validate data using Vendor/Item Specifications,
3 = Validate data using Customer/Item Specifications
4 = No specifications used for data validation
To display this information for the all the collection plans in this paper, we use the following
query:
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SQL> select substr(name,0,30) NAME,
2 substr(plan_type_code,0,10) PLAN_TYPE,
3 spec_assignment_type SPEC_TYPE
4 from QA_PLANS
5 where name like '01%'
6 order by creation_date;
With the cursor on the Inspection Results (collection element) line, click on the Actions button.
In the Quality Actions window enter two Quality Action rules as shown below.
Fig 25. Action Rules for collection element Inspection Result in 01 SRCJ COLLECTION
PLAN
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Fig 26. Action Rules for collection element Inspection Result in 01 SRCJ COLLECTION
PLAN
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Fig 27. The Inspection field in the Receiving Transactions form prior to entering Quality
Results
Click OK.
Save your work.
Based on the Inspection Results, we shall now perform the Receipt into Inventory.
Purchasing > Receiving > Receiving Transactions
Find the Receipt using the Receipt number or the PO number.
The Receiving Transactions form now displays two lines.
For the 43 units of SRCJ200/20 that were “Accepted”, Destination Type displays as Inventory
and the Inspection field displays as Accepted – Inspection. For this line select Subinventory
= Stores.
For the 7 units of SRCJ200/20 that were “Rejected”, Destination Type displays as Inventory
and the Inspection field displays as Rejected – Inspection Required. For this line select
Subinventory = MRB (Material Review Board). A business decision will have to be taken of how
to process theses 7 units of rejected SRCJ200/20.
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Fig 29. Assigning the Accepted and the Rejected material to different subinventories
Once again we shall view the quality Results using graphical utilities.
Fig 30. Entering data to generate the Pareto Chart for Quality Results against 01 SRCJ
COLLECTION PLAN
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Fig 31. Pareto Chart for Quality Results against 01 SRCJ COLLECTION PLAN
Fig 32. Quality Results for 01 SRCJ COLLECTION PLAN viewed through Inquiries
Based on Customer requirements and field implementations, the product development team for
Oracle Quality had previously published a customization solution for parent-child collection plans
in Note 152288.1. In Family Pack H, Oracle Quality is formally supporting this functionality in
the application. Family Pack H provides for parent-child collection plans, which allow for
establishing parent child relationships between plans and collected quality data. A parent-child
relationship allows Quality users to launch multiple child collection plans from a parent plan.
History relationship is a specific type of parent child relationship that supports the ability to
automatically collect historical data on a child plan thereby keeping a record of any change made
to the records in the parent plan.
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We shall explore these features through the business case that follows under this section.
Note: The parent-child functionality delivered in Family Pack H is only supported on the Oracle
Forms based platform, including direct data entry and transaction integration. The parent-child
functionality is not supported for the mobile and self-service execution components.
The organization in this paper, sometimes procures shafts from suppliers. This procurement
process includes the entire range of steel shafts listed in this paper – SRCJ200/20, SCJ180/20,
STJ180/15 and SS180/15. The quality division has set up some collection plans of type
Receiving Inspection, to inspect the quality of these shafts when received from the supplier. At
the top of the hierarchy is the parent plan 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION. This
collection plan simply records the item, the serial number and the inspection result of whether
the shaft is to be accepted or rejected. Now, if the shaft is rejected, then the type of defect, which
the shaft suffers from, needs to be identified and recorded. This information is captured in the
collection plan 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS. Thus, 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS acts as the
child plan for 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION. However, once the defect is identified,
an analysis is done on the probable cause of the defect and the observations need to be
recorded in the form of Comments, which can be comprehensive and detailed. The collection
plan 01SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE ANALYSIS comes into the picture to capture this very
information. Therefore, 01SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE ANALYSIS is the child plan for 01SHAFT
DEFECT ANALYSIS.
This is a fairly simple example, but the purpose it serves is to demonstrate how the information
flow can be designed to cascade from one parent plan to its child plan and from there on to plans
lower down the line. The Parent child architecture for capturing quality results becomes very
effective in situations where one parent quality collection record requires more than one child
collection records. Taking an example from our business case, a shaft received from the supplier
can be assigned the inspection result status of Reject. But an analysis of this shaft reveals that it
has more than one defect. So, this shaft can have a Defect Code of Surface and Chemical (the
meaning of these codes has been explained later). So the parent plan 01SHAFT
PROCUREMENT INSPECTION will contain one record for this shaft identified by its item code
and serial number. But since we are recording the Defect Code also (besides item code and
serial number) in the child plan 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS, this (child) collection plan will
have two records for the same item code and serial number. One record will have the Defect
Code value as Surface and the other will have the Defect Code value as Chemical.
Also, we shall define a child plan for 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION titled 01SHAFT
INSPECTION HISTORY. This child plan will have a relationship type of History with its parent
plan. Using the History Relationship would mean that whenever a record is created or updated in
the parent plan 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION, the details of that record along with
the name of the user who entered the data and the date and time stamp when the record was
entered – all the information would get captured in the child plan 01SHAFT INSPECTION
HISTORY.
Before proceeding any further, using the System Administrator responsibility, we have created
four users – USER1, USER2, USER3 and USER4. We have assigned the Manufacturing and
Distribution Manager Responsibility to each user, so all the functions of Oracle Quality are
available to these users.
Log in as USER1.
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Description = Inspection Plan for Steel Shaft when purchased from Suppliers
Plan Type = Receiving Inspection
Include the following Collection Elements:
Seq 10, MY ITEM
Seq 20, MY SERIAL
Seq 30, Inspection Result
For Inspection Result, define the same actions and action rules as shown in Fig 25 and Fig 26.
The Mandatory, Enabled and Displayed checkboxes are checked for all the collection elements.
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We shall now define the parent child relationships.
Fig 33. Selecting the parent plan from the collection plans listed in organization M3
Select the plan 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION. Click on the Select button on the
bottom right or the top right of the screen. The Parent Plan field now gets populated with this
value. Similarly select 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS for the field Child Plan. In Plan
Relationship Type, select Parent Child. This is the only relationship type value available in the
LOV. Set Child Data Entry Mode = Immediate, as shown in Fig 34.
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Fig 34. Selecting the Child Data Entry Mode
Note: As Fig 34 shows, there are four child data entry modes.
! Immediate: this means that when entering data in the parent collection plan, the user will
be prompted to enter the corresponding quality results for the applicable child plans.
Without doing so, the user will not be able to save the record in the parent plan.
! Automatic: once the user enters the record in the parent plan, the system will insert a
number of rows (as specified by the user, if he selects this option), in the applicable child
plans.
! Delayed: here users have the choice to enter results in the applicable child plans at a
later point of time. To do so, they would need to click on the Enter Child Records button.
! History: any time data is entered or updated in the parent plan, a record is inserted in
the History plan automatically by the system. This helps maintain an audit trail of all
additions and changes made to the data in the parent collection plan.
Once the data entry mode for the child plan is selected, click on the Next button.
We are now required to enter the Parent Child Collection Element Relationship. We want all the
data from the parent plan to get copied into the child plan. So, we use the Relationship Type as
is copied to. This is the only relationship type that relates from parent to child. All other
relationship types (refer Fig 35 below), relate from the child to the parent. All the relationship
type elements other than is copied to are numerical type elements and serve to copy the data
from the child plan to the parent plan, whenever such a requirement arises in quality data
collection.
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Fig 35. Establishing the relationship between the collection elements of the Parent and
the Child plans
The Parent Child Key check box is selected to indicate that the Parent Element value and the
Child Element value are logically linked together. For example, in the Parent Plan, we are
collecting the inspection result against an item and the serial number for that unit. In the Child
Plan, we are going to record the Defect Code against that serial number for the item. It is logical
to store the item number and the serial number in both the parent and child collection plans to
establish this link.
We will now have to define the Parent Child Collection Plan Criteria.
Note: The idea here is that when Inspection Result = Reject in the Parent Plan (01SHAFT
PROCUREMENT INSPECTION), then the user would be prompted to enter the Defect Code in
the Child Plan (01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS). We shall be using the same criteria (Inspection
Result = Reject), to link 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS to its child 01SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE
ANALYSIS. This setup would ensure that as soon as we enter the Defect Code for the item in
01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS, we would be required to enter our comments in the child plan
01SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE ANALYSIS.
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Fig 36. Selecting the Inspection Result value in defining the Parent Child Collection Plan
Criteria
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Fig 38. Summary of the Parent Child relationship before confirmation
Fig 39. The message on successfully creating the Parent Child relationship
This completes the first of the three Parent Child relationships that we are going to define in this
paper.
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Enter the data as detailed below.
Select from the LOV, Organization = M3 – Dallas Manufacturing
Parent Plan = 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS
Child Plan = 01SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE ANALYSIS
Plan Relationship Type = Parent Child
Child Data Entry Mode = Immediate
Enter the Parent Child Collection Element Relationship as shown in the table below.
We will now create our third and last Parent Child relationship.
Enter the Parent Child Collection Element Relationship as shown in the table below.
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Submit the relationship.
The Parent Child Relationship is successfully created.
We shall now enter the Quality Results for the Parent Child Collection Plans that we have set up.
Quality > Results > Entry > Enter Quality Results
Enter Collection Plan = 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION
In the Results region, enter the first record.
Item = SS180/15
Serial Number = 411
Inspection Result = Reject
and then tab out.
This time when you select the drop down list in the Child Plan field, it shows the child plan as
01SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE ANALYSIS. Select this plan from the list.
Now, click the Enter button.
This will open the Enter Quality Results screen for 01 SHAFT DEFECT CAUSE ANALYSIS. As
defined earlier in our setup, the Item Number, Serial Number and Defect Code values are copied
from the parent plan. The field to be entered now is Comments.
Enter your observations in Comments.
We are now back to the Quality Results screen for 01SHAFT DEFECT ANALYSIS.
Again click on the OK button.
The message pops up stating that 1 record has been applied and saved.
Accept the message and click OK.
We are now back to the Quality Results screen for 01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION.
Save your work.
We have now entered one complete set of records for the Parent Child relationships we had
formed between the three collection plans using the Immediate Child Data Entry Mode. This
process can be repeated for as many records as are required to be entered.
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We shall now see the impact this exercise has had on the collection plan 01SHAFT
INSPECTION HISTORY.
Quality > Results > Inquiries > View Quality Results
Enter Collection Plan = 01SHAFT INSPECTION HISTORY
Click on the Find Plan button.
Fig 40. The record inserted into the History Collection Plan
The Child Data Entry Mode being History, as a child plan, 01SHAFT INSPECTION HISTORY
will always carry a record corresponding to any creation or updating of data in the Parent Plan
01SHAFT PROCUREMENT INSPECTION.
Some new tables have been introduced in Oracle Quality to support the Parent Child
Relationship feature. These are:
! QA_PC_PLAN_RELATIONSHIP: This table stores the parent_plan_id and the
child_plan_id, along with the relation type.
! QA_PC_ELEMENT_RELATIONSHIP: This table stores the relationships between the
parent and child plan elements.
! QA_PC_CRITERIA: This table stores the criteria for the child plans to be applicable.
! QA_PC_RESULTS_RELATIONSHIP: This table stores the relationship between two
parent and child result rows.
Some new views have also been introduced in Oracle Quality to support the Parent Child
Relationship feature. These are:
! QA_PC_RESULT_COLUMNS_V
! QA_PC_PLAN_COLUMNS_V
! QA_PC_CRITERIA_COLUMNS_V
Currently Oracle Quality does not limit the access of users to Quality Collection Plans. When the
user initially signs on with the user_id and password this is the only limit we have to accessing
Collection Plans and making updates. In Manufacturing Family Pack G, improved security has
been added to Oracle Quality. The enhancements for this area are:
! Provide security for results by collection plan
! Define security constraints for results entry
! Define security constraints for results update
! Define security constraints for results deletion
This means an operator (or a group) is given privilege to perform a set of functions (say, enter
and view only) on a set of collection plans (say, PLAN A, PLAN C and PLAN F).
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Quality > Setup > User Groups
Enter User Group Name = GROUP A
Now, we shall add members to this group as shown below
We shall now grant privileges to each group with reference to collection plans.
Quality > Setup > Grant Privileges
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GROUP B 01SHAFT Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
DEFECT CAUSE
ANALYSIS
Now to turn Security on, set the Profile Option QA:Collection Plan Security = Yes.
Since we are already logged in as USER1 let us verify how many collection plans are visible to
USER1 (belonging to GROUP A).
The same applies to the enter and update privileges too, when we access the respective forms.
CONCLUSION
The data collection structure in Oracle Quality comprises collection elements, specifications and
collection plans. Collection elements are the basic building blocks of this data collection structure
and are used in specifications as well as in collection plans. Oracle Quality provides three
seeded collection element types – Attribute, Variable and Reference Information type. The
nature of the parameter that needs to be inspected or monitored, determines which collection
element(s) to use in the collection plan. If a collection plan is made mandatory, then the
transaction to which it is attached cannot be completed and saved without entering the quality
results.
Manufacturing Family Packs G, H and I have introduced some major features in Oracle Quality.
Specifications defined in one organization can now be shared across multiple organizations. This
is made possible through the Global Specifications feature introduced through Family Pack I.
Parent Collection plans can now launch multiple child plans once the relationship has been
established between them. This feature was incorporated in Family Pack H. The privileges to
change, enter, view, update and delete collection plans have been introduced through Family
Pack G. This makes it possible to fine-tune the security of collection plans by assigning specific
privileges with respect to each plan to specific groups of users.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This paper would not have been possible without the assistance received from these individuals.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Saumit Mandal CPIM, is a Senior Support Engineer and a BDE for Core Manufacturing at
Oracle’s India Support Center, Bangalore
Oracle Corporation
World Headquarters
500 Oracle Parkway
Redwood Shores, CA 94065
U.S.A.
Worldwide Inquiries:
Phone: +1.650.506.7000
Fax: +1.650.506.7200
www.oracle.com
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