Optional Required Parts Rules

Some parts, like packaging, may truly be optional on a manufacturing record. Other parts may instead be substitutable, where another part number could be consumed during manufacturing without compromising the integrity of the final product. Substitutable, or alternate, parts are considered 'optional required parts' in DataNinja, meaning that at least one (or all) of the parts must be consumed during manufacturing.

Optional Required Parts

Optional required parts have 2 rule sets to choose from: ANY or ALL. The OR rule requires that at least 1 of the involved parts be consumed during manufacturing, while the ALL rule requires that all of the involved parts be consumed. At least 2 parts listed on the BOM must be marked as optional in order for the Optional Rules menu to show up.

Clicking on the 'Optional Rules' button will switch the Required Parts tab to a new section, and you can always return to the Required Parts list by clicking the 'Back' button.

Click 'Add your first rule' to open a new aside. Name the rule something related to the involved parts for easy traceability, and in case you need to set up multiple rules on the same BOM.

Select the rule Type, and choose which optional parts on the BOM you want to be linked to this rule; at least 2 must be selected. If all possible Optional parts have been added, the dropdown field will disappear. Click Save when done.

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'ANY' vs 'ALL'

Selecting 'ANY' as the Type means that at least 1 of the associated optional parts must be consumed during manufacturing- maybe both, but not neither. 'ALL' means that at least a small bit of each optional part must be consumed during manufacturing- not only one, and not neither.

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Parts Dropdown

Remember that only parts that have been marked as optional will show in the dropdown in the aside. If a part is marked as required, or 'Consumed = Always', then it will not show.

Now, on the Required Parts tab, in the Required column, the parts added to the optional rule will show the rule they have been added to, with a link to the rule.

During Manufacturing

When a manufacturing record uses a BOM that has optional rules set, each part on a rule will be marked with a 'Rule' box that will show the name of the optional rule it is part of when hovered over.

If there are multiple optional rules set up, each rule should show as a different color on the manufacturing record, for easy tracking.

If the record is signed off without the rule requirements being met, an error will show across the top of the screen saying 'Rule evaluation failed'.

The error message will display the rule expression (requirement) and the involved parts. If you see || between the listed parts, that means the rule is an 'ANY' rule, while && is an 'ALL' rule.

If 'False' comes after any part number, that means that there was no quantity of the part consumed on the manufacturing record.

Note that if a required part is not consumed, a different error shows.

Once all required parts have been consumed, all optional part rules have been met, and any other manufacturing requirements have been completed, the record can be successfully signed off.

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Consumed Quantity for Optional Rule Parts

Parts linked to an optional rule that are under- or over-consumed will trigger an escalation, even if the combined total is equal to the required total (e.g., total capsules needs to be 50 and you consume 25 of part A and 25 of part B, but the Lower % variance for both is set to 85. 25/50 = 50% variance, 50 < 85, so escalation is triggered for both parts). The exception is if the rule is an 'ANY' rule, and only 1 optional part has any quantity consumed; the part with no consumed quantity does not trigger an escalation.

You can adjust the Variance Ranges on the optional parts to avoid the escalation.