Actuals

When the planned use of resources does not match the actual use of resources, then an actual is used. The actual records the true values of resources during production, which can be compared to expected use. Work process segments have specifications, but no way to record actual values. Using actuals makes it possible to take a true measurement of the resources that were used.

Each actual corresponds to an existing equipment, material, or personnel resource.

IProductionRuntime Service Interface

Creating actuals and editing their properties is managed using call methods of the IProductionRuntime Service Interface. Form more information about these properties, see Production Runtime Call Methods.

Example

Suppose you have a workflow for attaching a wheel to a hub. You specify in the work process definition that during the production process, one wheel/rim assembly and six lug nuts are consumed. Now, you want to write an application that tracks your inventory of lug nuts, so you can replace them when needed. One way to do that would be to simply subtract six lug nuts from inventory every time the process runs. But sometimes a lug nut is defective, or was stripped while the operator tried to add it, and another one is needed. Now seven lug nuts have been consumed. With an actual, you can record that seven lug nuts were used instead of six, so the inventory count can be maintained accurately.

By having these values associated with the specifications, you can also tell when your production is in control. If your inventory seems to be shrinking faster than it should, you can write queries to return the difference between actual and specified values for the last month’s work requests. You can use the queries to spot the point where you are using more resources than you specified. You can then drill down through the work responses looking for correlations with other specifications. Maybe you find that the spoilage rate for lug nuts goes up whenever an operator used air hammer #2. So you order an inspection of the hammer, and find out that it’s not sealing the lug nuts correctly due to a flaw, and fix it.

Specification properties and their actual properties go a level deeper. Suppose you specify that a beer batch must cook for 2 hours at 135 degrees. Then your final beer batch goes through quality assurance and does not pass inspection. How can you determine what went wrong? You can run a query that compares actual measured values against specification values, to find anomalies. Your query shows that, the actual measured temperature during cooking was 110 degrees, not the specified 135 degrees. So you inspect the cooker, and find out it has a defective thermostat.