BOM process planning module

Citation

(2002), "BOM process planning module", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 74 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2002.12774bab.010

BOM process planning module

Keywords: Manufacturing, Engineering, Software

Manufacturing engineers looking for a tool to help them determine how a product will be brought together during manufacture or taken apart and reassembled during modification and maintenance can now reportedly benefit from HMS-BOM, a new bill of materials module that HMS Software has added to its HMS-CAPP computer-aided process planning system.

Said to extend dramatically the functionality of the second generation HMS- CAPP software, HMS-BOM is said to enable manufacturing engineers to define, control and navigate an as-planned product structure or MBOM (manufacturing bill of material).

HMS states that by offering the ability to manipulate and manage multi-level product structures within HMS-CAPP, HMS-BOM not only ensures more accurate materials requirement planning, but also increases visibility and accessibility to the MBOM structure. This, in turn, gives manufacturing engineers the ability to move easily through the information that defines a product's process definition.

The main benefit claimed of HMS-BOM is that it enables manufacturing engineers to define a partbased multi-level MBOM that is independent from, but closely linked to, the process plan documents that describe how each item is to be manufactured, assembled, installed or serviced.

HMS-BOM supports multiple BOM views, including drawing-based engineering (EBOM), either of which can be used as a baseline to create a partbased MBOM view. This means that HMS-BOM can perform important comparisons between BOM views, such as comparing an MBOM to its corresponding EBOM to check that the MBOM ultimately results in the 'as-designed' configuration of the product.

Among the main features claimed of HMS-BOM is its ability to support multiple item types such as raw material, detail parts, assemblies and configurable Items. This makes it possible to apply business rules specific to each item type. Other key features include an easy way to define the parent-child relationship between an item and its components, and the ability for manufacturing engineers to define substitute parts quickly and accurately. When an item is identified as a substitute for another item, it indicates that the substitute can be used in place of the original item anywhere in the BOM.

To this end, the new software supports the use of manufacturing synthetic parts in place of engineering parts. Within the MBOM view, the engineered part is removed and replaced by the manufacturing synthetic part, with the new part number identified as an alternative to the original engineered part usage. This reportedly means that when comparisons are made between an EBOM and its corresponding MBOM to check configurations, HMS-BOM can recognise where a manufacturing synthetic part has been used instead of an engineered part.

Other areas that the new software handles include item removals, salvaged items, make- from and make-on-assembly items and installation plans where the item configuration is defined using the part-based BOM in HMS-BOM. HMS-BOM offers multiple BOM views, the ability to control the part content of an item using model/variant/ unit or date, and EBOM to MBOM migration. Whether full BOM or net change migration, HMS-BOM uses either a drawing- based EBOM or a part-based EBOM as the baseline for the MBOM and, as new items are released or as existing engineered items are revised, these new bills of material are migrated into the MBOM view.

In addition, powerful BOM analysis capabilities is said to mean that HMS-BOM can compare any two bills of material, resolving any substitute or alternative part usage issues. HMS-BOM can also display the net difference between bills of material as components are added and deleted or when volumes change.

Details available from: HMS Software. Tel: +44 (0) 1746 766439; Fax: +44 (0) 1746 768395; E-mail: gknight@hmsware.com; Website: http://www.hmssoftware.com