Frequently Asked Questions

Receiving

We spend a lot of time using PO0410 to receive material against purchase orders. Can ATOMIC streamline the receiving process while still doing all the PO0410 transactions?

The ATOMIC RF module provides a user-friendly front end to the PO0410 receiving program. It allows receiving personnel to receive against multiple purchase orders at the same time from the “comfort” of their fork truck. ATOMIC RF also provides easy-to-use PO# and product lookup features, making it simple to receive against the proper purchase order.

We have a problem confirming the quantities on truckloads coming in match the packing lists. By the time we discover an inconsistency, we’ve already done the receiving transactions and have a whole mess to go through cleaning it up. Can ATOMIC help?

ATOMIC’s receiving module allows you to receive multiple pallets of material on one or more purchase orders, then “suspend” the receipt as a batch of scans. With the process suspended, you can generate “pending receipt” reports to determine the source of a mismatch between what you received and what the vendor says they shipped to you. If the discrepancy is due to a mistake on your end, just correct the product or quantity and accept the receiving batch.

Lot Tracking

We have certain products on which we’d like to track lot usage, but we’re not using lots in PRMS. Does ATOMIC offer alternatives?

Yes. Input lots on a work order can be entered at production reporting time and retrieved through various ATOMIC lot tracking reports and inquiries. The lots do not have to exist in PRMS when operators enter the data (though if they do, you can configure ATOMIC to validate their entries).

We need to track details that go beyond just the lot ID. Does ATOMIC handle unit-level lot tracking?

In addition to the lot ID, ATOMIC production entry screens support unit-level detail. For example, if you have a batch of purchased or manufactured product consisting of multiple numbered units with the same lot ID, you can enter the lot ID and the unit number used on the work order (“work order 123456 used case numbers 9 and 10 of lot id ABC123”).

Material Picking

I have a bank of machines that need material for the next 12 hours staged every morning. Does ATOMIC support the concept of a consolidated pick based on where I’m at on my schedules?

Yes, with the ATOMIC Material Staging Report, requirements for an entire room full of machines can be consolidated into one list (by part number) for your material handlers. The requirements are based on the real-time production status of the machines in question, taking into account when the work orders are expected to finish (based on where they're at on the schedule), how much material they've already been issued, and how much material is already set in the staging area. This can be particularly handy if you have a remote warehouse and need to move select requirements to a closer location for picking.

My planners and buyers have to jump through hoops all the time because material is frequently over-issued to work orders (i.e., they issue a full pallet of 1,000 units even though the job only needs 250). MRP assumes that the work order “ate” all 1,000 and tells them to make or order more. Can ATOMIC help me with this?

The ATOMIC SF module includes overissue logic that can be activated to eliminate your problem. When more than a certain percentage of a requirement is issued, ATOMIC can be set to optimistically assume the excess quantity will eventually be returned to stock. In your example, once the material handler had issued 1,000 units, ATOMIC would have backed out the 750 overissued units and put them into a special “overissue” warehouse. The material in this overissue warehouse is visible to MRP, so the panic button on material shortages is not hit while the work order is in production. If they issue more material or close the work order without returning the excess quantity, ATOMIC will assume they used the excess quantity and reabsorb it into the job.

I have a work center making a subassembly that is needed down the hall. Currently my material handlers are picking up the material and putting it away in the warehouse, only to find an hour later that someone else is picking it. Can ATOMIC streamline this process for us?

Absolutely! With the ATOMIC RF module, when a material handler picks up material at a machine, the system tells him where and when the material is next needed. Rather than wasting a trip to and from the warehouse, the material handler can take the material straight to the machine that needs it. Likewise, machine operators at the machine using the material can retrieve the product from the machine that made it and do the work order issue themselves.

Scheduling

Do I have to be “discrete” to use ATOMIC?

ATOMIC supports both discrete and repetitive environments — both types of orders can be scheduled and seen on the same machine. In our experience, shops that had been running in repetitive mode just to use the production scheduling workbench have found switching back to discrete mode made their operations easier to manage after implementing ATOMIC.

We have very imprecise information regarding when work orders are going to start and finish on our machines. What can ATOMIC do to help with this?

Using a sophisticated combination of standard rate information, machine schedules, shift schedules, break schedules, staffing plans, production entries and magic fairy dust, ATOMIC is constantly predicting when every scheduled work order in the facility is expected to start and finish — right down to the minute. The production rate, as set in your PRMS product router and/or work center master, is offset against net quantity reported and available production time. This allows ATOMIC to predict when jobs will complete based as much as possible on shop floor reality.

I have a number of machines that require subassemblies from other machines in my facility. Can ATOMIC help with the visibility of these jobs?

ATOMIC SF supports a unique work order-to-work order tie feature. For lean manufacturing environments, planners can use this feature to “link” one or more subassembly work orders to their corresponding parent work order(s). This, in turn, allows operators at one particular machine to see which work order(s) on which machine(s) they're waiting on. Since ATOMIC is also predicting when the tied jobs will start and finish, operators or planners can use this information and make an informed decision about rescheduling work orders, moving to a different machine, etc.

We need to run certain work orders back-to-back based on a certain bill of material component (i.e., run all blue ink jobs together). Unfortunately, our work order bills sometimes consist of a dozen different components. Can I set ATOMIC to show me when certain types of components on the schedule are changing?

ATOMIC allows you immense flexibility in defining the appearance and display format of your schedules. If there are particular components on the bill of material that impact scheduling, you can configure ATOMIC to show one or more of these components in the schedule alongside the work order number.

We need to run certain work orders back-to-back in order to minimize changeover on certain tools and dies. Is there a way ATOMIC can help see these changeovers?

The ATOMIC UDS (user-defined spec) module allows you to define custom fields that can be shown in columnar format on any production schedule, just like bill of material components. The person responsible for prioritizing the schedule can see these when determining the order in which jobs should be running.

We sometimes need to send tools out for repairs or maintenance. Until the tool comes back, we can’t run certain work orders. Unfortunately, the schedulers aren’t always aware of which tools are in and which ones are out and we end up having to shuffle schedules at the last minute. Can ATOMIC help?

You can define a limitless number of tool categories for your products in the ATOMIC UDS module. In addition to having these tools show up on the machine schedules, you can configure ATOMIC to show a status field that automatically denotes when the required tools are not in stock (the stock can be maintained in PRMS inventory or in a separate file). Schedulers can then be sure not to sequence work orders with missing tools too close to the top of the schedule.

I have a number of machines that need to run work orders based on the output sequence of a previous machine in the operation. Does ATOMIC support this concept?

ATOMIC SF includes an auto-scheduling feature that can automatically schedule and sequence work order steps based on the expected completion date & time of a prior operation. Alternatively, it can be set to auto-sequence work order steps based on the expected start date & time of a subsequent operation.

I have a department that is responsible for prepping tools and label stock for a whole bunch of different machines. They need to know which work orders are “on deck” to run on any of these machines about two hours in advance of their start. How does ATOMIC manage this?

The ATOMIC on-line prep station schedule is your answer. ATOMIC allows you to define special “prep” areas that are dependent on a select group of machines or machine types. ATOMIC automatically sorts the collective group of work orders based on their expected start times, so the employees in the prep area can prioritize their efforts based on the order in which the work orders are expected to begin at their respective machines.

Production Reporting

I would like to have the shop floor personnel enter production data, but the SF0320 screen is too complicated for them. There are just too many fields that don’t apply to them, and too many fields they can mess up. Does ATOMIC simplify this?

Immensely! ATOMIC was designed to “close the loop” between scheduling and production. To do this efficiently, production data really must be as real-time as possible — ideally entered right at the machines themselves. To facilitate this objective, the production entry screens must be simple enough for any machine operator to use. ATOMIC provides a front-end to SF0320 batch entry that makes the production data-entry process far less intimidating. You can configure the data entry screens to be as simple or as elaborate as you like. Furthermore, all screens are department-specific, so the data-entry window can look different depending on the type of machine or process being used. Some facilities or departments collect just the basics (i.e., production time and quantity), while others collect everything from lot tracing information to scrap details and employee numbers. It’t all up to you.

We use PRMS skid tickets for purchased items. Can ATOMIC track “make” items the same way?

Yes, ATOMIC can be set to create a skid ticket for each batch of production. A skid ticket cross-references to a product, quantity, lot and location. You can use this ticket to move material around the facility with minimal keystrokes.

We have jobs that sometimes make two or three products at the same time out of one component. To support this, we're creating multiple work orders and reporting production separately against each one, even though the work to make these products is all being done at the same time. Can ATOMIC handle something like this a little more cleanly?

ATOMIC was designed to support the concept of “by-products” (multiple outputs on a single work order) that is already in place in PRMS. You can report production on up to nine different products against one work order. The data entry screen for these by-product work orders is designed to make this concept easy to work with.

Note: There are some cost ramifications to consider when setting up by-products. CNX has identified these issues, all of which are documented in the ATOMIC SF documentation.

Will ATOMIC allow production data to be stored concurrently in more than one unit of measure (like “pounds and feet” or “cases and eaches”)?

In ways you might only dream of! The ATOMIC SF module was designed to allow production entry in more than one unit of measure at the same time. The entries may be stored as independent entries, or added to each other to arrive at a total. For example, if your company manufactures rollstock, you can store both the weight and length of each roll in the system (this information can then be used for more accurate shipping paperwork — see the Shipping section below). On the other hand, if your company manufactures units that are put into cases, you can enter whole cases and eaches separately to make for more accurate quantity counts (“20 full cases of 100 units, plus 12 separate units”).

Quality Control

My operators are not “remembering” to do mandatory calibration and gauge checks every two hours. How could ATOMIC “force” them to remember?

We have just recently completed beta testing an enhancement to the UDS module that allows you to define quality control data collection templates. These templates can be triggered during production entry based on machine elements such as aggregate quantity produced, hours logged, specific downtime codes, etc. This quality control module is not yet released — please contact CNX for more information.

Shipping

Will ATOMIC prevent me from shipping the wrong items to the wrong customer?

Yes (or at least, as much as a computer can force the issue). The ATOMIC RF module confirms that any items picked against a particular customer order are actually valid for that order.

Our pickers scribble in quantities on the picking list as they pull product for a customer order. Rather than sending that scribbled copy to the customer, we redo the packing slip in a separate system. Does ATOMIC have a packing slip print feature that can print what was actually picked?

Yes, the ATOMIC RF picking module facilitates paperless order picking. Once the order is fully picked, the packing slip then generates, printing product, quantity and lot information that exactly matches what the material handler has pulled.

Some trucking companies are threatening to fine us if we give them more than one bill of lading per truck load. Can I have multiple orders on a single bill of lading in ATOMIC?

Yes, ATOMIC allows any number of customer orders on a single bill of lading. Bills of lading are destination, customer and carrier specific. The bill of lading prints once all the orders bound for a particular destination/customer/carrier have been pulled and staged.

Does ATOMIC simplify the process of doing ship confirmation?

Yes, the process of shipping orders is made incredibly easy by virtue of having a single bill of lading for each destination/customer/carrier. Once the bill of lading is created, shipment confirmation for all the corresponding customer orders is accomplished simply by keying in the bill of lading number and tracking number. ATOMIC RF does the rest, ship-confirming the quantity picked on each customer order.

My customer orders material from us in feet, but we manufacture it in pounds. When PRMS converts the produced pounds to feet, we lose something in the conversion (depending on how the product was run). Can ATOMIC help with this?

CNX has extensive experience with this issue. ATOMIC allows production information to be stored separately in two units of measure (i.e., pounds and feet). If a product is manufactured in pounds but a customer orders in feet, using the standard LB-to-FT conversion may not result in the correct quantity if your products are subject to gauge or density variation. ATOMIC solves this problem by using the actual footage entered in production (instead of the theoretical footage based on the pounds) to show up on shipping paperwork. Inventory is then adjusted such that the customer is billed for the correct amount relative to their own unit of measure.

General

How can modifications to ATOMIC be accommodated?

CNX provides full source code with each licensed copy of ATOMIC. Our clients are free to make modifications to this source as needed, or they can take advantage of CNX contract programming services to customize the package to suit a particular nuance of their operation. Contact CNX for more information on custom programming options.

My coffee maker is acting up. Can ATOMIC fix it?

No, but nothing is out of the question for a future release!