Approval chains
Decisions that cost money or change how you build go to the right people in order before they take effect. They cover failed goods, engineering changes, corrective actions, store requests and asset changes. With no set-up the usual managers approve; you add levels without code.
PLANSFrom Growth
The problem it solves
- An inspector decides to use a failed lot as it is, and nobody senior knew until the customer complained.
- A BOM is changed on the floor's word, and the next 500 pieces are built to a drawing nobody approved.
- The plant head wants to see every scrap decision above a quantity, but the software knows only one approver.
How it works
- Each kind of request has a chain per Entity, made when its feature is installed and for each new Entity. With no set-up it has one level: the usual approvers, such as the Quality Managers for non-conformances.
- To add levels, an Approvals Administrator opens Approvals > Configuration > Approval Chains and picks the chain. A level is named users, a group, or a person found on the request.
- For only some requests, add a second chain with Only For and more levels, for example non-conformances above a quantity. Keep one chain with an empty Only For for the rest.
- When someone presses Send Decision for Approval on a non-conformance, or submits an engineering change or a CAPA plan, the chain starts. The approvers of the first level are told and get a to-do.
- They decide on the web in the record itself or in Approvals > To Approve, or in the SmartMy Manufacturing app. After the last level the record moves on by itself; sent back, it returns with the reason.
Everything it does
What goes through a chain in SmartMy Manufacturing
- Non-conformance: the decision on failed goods (Use As Is, Rework, Return to Supplier or Scrap) before it is carried out. The Quality Managers with no set-up (Growth)
- Engineering change: a new BOM version or document change before it is applied; the Manufacturing Managers with no set-up (Scale)
- CAPA: the corrective and preventive plan before work on it starts; the Quality Managers with no set-up (Scale)
- Store request: material asked from the store; the Store Keepers with no set-up (Scale)
- Asset change: revaluing, impairing, changing the life of, selling or scrapping a fixed asset; the asset managers with no set-up (Scale)
Who approves a level you add
- Users you name, everyone in a group of the request's Entity, or a person found on the request
- Any one approver of a level decides; for two signatures, add two levels
- If a level finds nobody: the request cannot be submitted (to start with), the level is skipped, or its usual approvers decide
- Only For can use the quantity affected on a non-conformance and the amount on an asset change
Rules
- Requester May Approve: on for every chain the system makes, so a quality manager who raised a non-conformance may decide a level they approve
- The person a request is about never decides it
- Only For chains are tried from the top; the first that fits is used
- Each Entity has its own chains; a new Entity copies those of its parent
- Each level's decision, who and when, is kept on the record. A non-conformance or CAPA sent back returns to Open or Draft with the reason in its history. An engineering change sent back is marked Rejected with the reason
After the decision
- Non-conformance: Carry Out does what was decided. It releases the hold, scraps the stock, opens the return to the supplier or keeps the lot on hold for rework
- Engineering change: Apply makes the new version current, or it takes over by itself on its effective date
- CAPA: the plan moves to In Progress and each action becomes a to-do for its owner
- Asset change: the change is posted once approved
Who uses it
Quality ManagerApproves non-conformance decisions and CAPA plans with no set-up.
Manufacturing ManagerApproves engineering changes with no set-up.
Plant head or ownerApproves the largest scrap, rework and asset decisions at a level you add.
Approvals AdministratorAdds levels, Only For conditions and stand-ins.
Where you use it
- Web: Approvals > Configuration > Approval Chains (Approvals Administrators); Approvals > To Approve and My Requests
- Web: Quality > Problems > Non-conformances and CAPA. Manufacturing > Products > Engineering Changes. Inventory > Operations > Store Requests. Invoicing > Fixed Assets > Asset Requests
- The SmartMy Manufacturing app: My approvals for every approver, shown when something waits (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not on Starter: Starter has no quality, engineering or asset requests
What you control
Settings
- Levels and their approvers, per kind and Entity
- Only For conditions, such as the quantity on a non-conformance
- If Nobody: The request cannot be submitted, to start with
- Requester May Approve: on to start with
Notifications
- Request Waits for Your Approval: to the approvers of the level. In the app inbox and by email (app push built in, not switched on yet)
- Non-conformance Decided: to the person who raised it, when the decision is approved or sent back; in the app inbox and by email
- Approvers also get a to-do for each request waiting
Questions
Who approves before we set anything up?
The usual managers of the Entity: Quality Managers for non-conformances and CAPA, Manufacturing Managers for engineering changes. Store Keepers for store requests and asset managers for asset changes. Any one of them decides.Can scrap decisions above a quantity go to the plant head?
Yes. Add a Non-conformance chain with Only For a quantity above your limit, with a second level for the plant head. Smaller decisions keep the one-level chain.Can the person who raised a non-conformance approve it?
Yes, if they are an approver of the level: Requester May Approve is on to start with. Switch it off on the chain to make someone else decide.Do production orders or purchase orders need approval?
Not in SmartMy Manufacturing. Production and purchase orders are confirmed by the people with the right role. The chains cover quality decisions, engineering changes, CAPA, store requests and asset changes.Related features
PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTQuality checks with sampling (AQL), held lots and non-conformanceCheck material as it comes in, each step on the floor, the finished product and goods going out. Each check has a sheet and a sample worked out from the lot. A failed check holds the lot, raises a non-conformance whose decision is approved, and a Rework decision makes the rework order.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTEngineering changes with approval, BOM versions from a date and where usedA change to an item's components, steps or drawing is raised as an engineering change order. It makes a new version of the bill of materials to edit and goes through approval. It takes over from the date you choose, with the old version kept.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTCAPA: corrective and preventive actions with five whysWhen a problem keeps coming back, raise a CAPA. Ask why five times, write the root cause, and plan corrective and preventive actions with owners and dates. Have the plan approved, and close it only when you have checked that it worked.PRODUCTION AND JOB WORKStore requests: sent from stock, or bought only what is missingAnyone asks the store for what they need, for a plant or a department, and says what it is for. Once approved, the store sends what it has and asks purchase to buy only what is missing; the request, purchases and transfers stay tied together.ASSETSFixed assets: register, depreciation, tax book and work in progressEvery machine, compressor, forklift, die and computer your factory owns sits in one register with its cost, depreciation and book value. A machine can depreciate by the hours it ran in production. Income-tax depreciation is worked out by block beside the books. A new shed gathers its cost until it becomes an asset.ACROSS SMARTMY MANUFACTURINGNotificationsThe right people hear when a machine calls for help, a breakdown is raised or a quality check fails. They also hear when a job work challan is overdue or a request waits for their approval. Job workers get the challan details when material leaves. Email and the in-app inbox need no set-up.
See your shop floor on it.
Tell us what you make, how many machines and people you run, and how production is recorded today. We will set up a line with you and run a job on the terminal.