NCR Management

About the NCR Management Application

A non-conformance occurs when a serial number or material lot does not meet the specification or requirement of a process, system, internal policies and procedures, customer requirements, and regulatory body. The NCR Management application in the Plant Applications Universal Client enables you to:

Search and build a queue of user selected non-conformances.

Select a disposition action to define a detailed disposition plan.
Keep record of non-conformities and the corrective actions taken to address them.

The non-conforming parts are in the form of a defect created in the Operations and Work Queue applications in the Plant Applications Universal Client.

The NCR Management application tracks parts based on a serial number included in the defect. After an operator creates a defect on an operation for a Production Unit, the associated serial number and operation are placed on hold in the Operations or Work Queue application, and the operators working on that associated serial number are clocked off, by default.

Note: This behavior can be changed to keep the user clocked on.

You can then access the defect details in the NCR Management application, and then select an appropriate disposition for the defect.

Disposition of Defects

A disposition is an action taken to resolve a non-conformance. The disposition method you select for a defect in the NCR Management application determines the disposition plan for the defect.

A disposition plan includes the disposition, a description of the corrective actions to be taken (by using an action tree), and any additional instructions to be followed to address the non-conformity. You configure the disposition action reason tree in the Plant Applications Administrator, and then you run a script file to link the disposition action reason tree for selection in the NCR Management application.

The disposition method that you select in the NCR Management application is described in the following table.

Disposition	Effect
Use As Is	The non-conforming part is acceptable for being used as is.
Continue to process (CTP)	The non-conforming part can undergo operations up to the specified CTP operation, at which point a defect can be addressed.
Clear	The non-conforming part does not require any corrective action and is not considered defective.
Scrap	The non-conforming part cannot be used and should be scrapped.
Rework	The non-conforming part can be used after performing rework on the specified operation.

For more information, refer to the Dispose of a Single Defect topic.

Access Defects

About This Task

As a Quality engineer, you can search for defects in the Home page of the NCR Management application.

Note: As an operator, you can create defects in the Operations or Work Queue applications. For more information, refer to the Create a Defect topic. As a Quality engineer, you can perform disposition on defects that are in Submitted status. For more information, refer to Dispose of a Single Defect topic.

Procedure

Log in to the  Plant Applications Universal Client.
Select NCR Management.
The Home page appears.
Enter any of the following in the search bar to search for the associated defects:
- Serial/Lot number
- Non Conformance number (NC)
- Work Order number (WO)
- Plan number
The entry is added to the Queue.
Select the appropriate item from the Queue.
The defects for that selected Serial number, NC, WO, or Plan are displayed in a table with the descending sort order applied to the MODIFIED ON field (the field values of the last modified defect appear first in the table). The number of defects that appear in a page depends on the resolution of your screen.
Note: The create plan functionality is enabled only in the Non-Conformance (NC) view, that is, when you search for defects using the Non Conformance number.

Refer to each read-only field for a defect as described in the following table.

Field	Description
STATUS	The status of the defect. Following are the different statuses of a defect: Submitted: The defect is Submitted for disposition. Indicated by . Active: The disposition plan for the defect is active. Indicated by . Not a Defect: The defect is considered invalid. Indicated by . Closed: The disposition plan for the defect is completed. Indicated by .
SERIAL/LOT#	The material lot number or serial number that was put on hold.
OPERATION	The operation for which the defect was created.
SUMMARY	The summary entered when the defect was created in the Operations or Work Queue application.
DEFECT TYPE	The defect type selected when the defect was created in the Operations or Work Queue application.
DISP STATUS	The disposition action status. Following are the disposition action statuses: Submitted: The disposition method has been submitted. Active: The disposition method is in progress. Completed: The disposition method is completed.
DISP	The type of disposition method selected.
CTP/REWORK	CTP: Specifies a higher sequence operation. Work can be performed until it reaches the CTP operation. REWORK: Specifies an operation that must be completed prior to completing the disposition.
PLAN MODIFIED BY	The name of the user who last modified the plan.
PLAN MODIFIED ON	The time stamp when the plan was last modified, in the format mm/dd hh:mm (for example, 11/14 15:01).
ACTIONS	The actions you can perform on a serial/material lot number. Includes the following: Add serial number to queue: Select the icon to add a serial number to the queue. When you select the serial number from queue, you can view all the defects created for that serial number. Disposition: Select the icon to choose the disposition plan. Menu: Select the icon . Includes the following options: View: Select this option to view details of the defect. Edit: Select this option to edit the non-conformance details added by the operator in Operations and Work Queue Applications. Enabled only when the defect is in the Submitted status or when the defect is in the Active status and the selected disposition method is Continue to Process. History: Select this option to view all the actions performed on the defect by the user. Note: In the History grid, click to view ADDITONAL INFORMATION related to the defect. Remove from Plan: Select this option to remove the serial/ material lot number from the associated plan. Enabled only when the defect is in submitted status. Note: When you remove the serial/material lot number from a plan, the disposition button is not enabled. You can dispose of the associated defect only by creating another plan for the serial/material lot number.

 Select a field (that is, column heading) to sort the field values in the ascending order (A to Z [case-sensitive] for letters, smallest to largest for numeric data, and oldest to newest for dates) or descending order (Z to A [case-sensitive] for letters, largest to smallest for numeric data, and newest to oldest for dates).
Filter a Defect
Select to dispose of a defect that is in Submitted status. Alternatively, you can dispose of multiple defects at a time. For more information, refer to Dispose Multiple Defects .

Dispose of a Single Defect

About This Task

As a Quality engineer, you can define the disposition plan for defects in the Submitted status.

Before You Begin

Ensure that you have configured the required disposition action reason tree in the Plant Applications Administrator, and then linked the disposition action reason tree for selection in the NCR Management application by using an appropriate script file.

Procedure

Access the defect that you want to dispose.

Note: You can dispose of a defect only if it is in the Submitted status, which is indicated by , in the Home page.
Select for the defect that you want to dispose.
The Disposition window appears.

In the Select Disposition drop-down list box, select an option as described in the following table.

Option	Description
Clear	Select Clear if the defect raised for the non-conforming part is not considered as a defect.
Continue to process (CTP)	Select Continue to process to allow work on the non-conforming part, and then select the operation until which you can continue the operations process, in the Select Operation drop-down list box.
Use As Is	Select Use As Is to use the non-conforming part in the operations as it is.
Scrap	Select Scrap to discard the non-conforming part.
Rework	Select Rework to rework on the non-conforming part, and then select the operation on which the part should be reworked, in the Select Operation drop-down list box.

Select Select Disposition Action Reason.
The Select reasons window appears.
In the Select reasons window, select a corrective disposition action reason and the associated subreasons, as applicable.

Tip: In the Search box, enter a disposition action reason to search for, and then select the reason from the reasons list.
Optional: In the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION box, enter any relevant information such as a URL, contact details of the supplier, or any information that is helpful to perform the root cause analysis of the non-conformance.
Select Submit.

Results

Following actions take place based on the selected disposition.

Disposition Type	Result
Clear	The status of the defect is set to Not a Defect, indicated by . The hold on the serial or material lot number and the operation on which the defect was created is released. The hold on all future operations associated with the serial or material lot number is released.
Continue to process (CTP)	The status of the defect is Active, indicated by . The status of the defect is automatically changed to Submitted when execution on the work order reaches the specified CTP operation. When the defect is in Active state, the Hold moves to the specified CTP operation. The current serial number or lot will be released from Hold. When the CTP operation is reached, the operation will be released from Hold but the serial number or lot being worked on will again be placed on hold. The defect status is now back in Submitted state.
Use As Is	The status of the defect is set to Closed, indicated by . The hold on the serial or material lot number and the operation on which the defect was created is released. The hold on all operations associated with the serial or material lot number is released.
Scrap	The status of the defect is set to Closed, indicated by . The hold on the serial or material lot number and the operation on which the defect was created is released in the Operations or Work Queue application. The hold on all operations associated with the serial or material lot number is released in the Operations or Work Queue application.
Rework	The status of the defect is set to Active, indicated by . After completion of the rework operation, the status is changed to Submitted, indicated by . Lot hold is created on the serial number and operation hold (on the operation on which the defect was raised) is released. The hold on all other operations associated with the serial or material lot number is not yet released. The hold is released after completion of rework.

Dispose of Multiple Defects

About This Task

As a Quality engineer, you can dispose multiple defects at once by creating a plan.

Procedure

Create a Plan.

Note: A plan can only be created in NC view.
Enter the plan number in the search bar. The plan is added to the queue in the Home page.
Select the plan number from the queue. All the defects associated with the plan appear on the Home page
Select .
The Disposition page appears. The disposition page displays the number of defects being disposed.

In the Select Disposition drop-down list, select an option as described the following table.

Option	Description
Clear	Select Clear if the defects raised for the non-conforming parts are not considered as defects.
Continue to process (CTP)	Select Continue to process to allow work on the non-conforming parts and then select the operation till which you can continue the operations process, in the Select Operation drop-down list box.
Use As Is	Select Use As Is to use the non-conforming parts in the operations as they are.
Scrap	Select Scrap to discard the non-conforming parts.
Rework	Select Rework to rework on the non-conforming parts and then select the operation on which the parts should be reworked, in the Select operation drop-down list box.

The Select reasons window appears.

In the Select reasons window, select a corrective disposition action reason and the associated sub reasons, as applicable.

Tip: In the Search box, enter a disposition action reason to search for, and then select the reason from the reasons list.
Optional: In the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION box, enter any relevant information such as a URL, contact details of the supplier, or any information that is helpful to perform the root cause analysis of the non-conformance.
Select Submit.

Results

The status of the defects is changed based on the selected disposition method. For more information, refer to Results section of Dispose of a Single Defect topic.

Create a Plan

Procedure

Enter an NC number in the search bar. All the defects associated with the NC number appear on the Home Page.

Note: In NC view, a check-box is enabled against each defect in the grid.
Select the defects for which you want to create a plan.
Select . Create a Plan or add to an existing Plan window appears.
Select Add to a New Plan radio button to add the defect to a new plan.
Select any of the listed plans in the window to add the defect to an existing plan.

Tip: You can search for an existing plan using the Search box.
Select Apply.
Optional: Repeat step 1 to step 6 with other NC numbers, to add defects from multiple NC numbers to a single plan.

Edit CTP Disposition Method

About This Task

As a Quality engineer, you can modify any or all of the CTP disposition details when it is in the Active state:

The operation until which the lot can be processed.
The disposition method can be changed from the Continue to Process to any of the other disposition methods such as, Clear, Scrap, Rework or Use as is.
The disposition action reason.
The additional information related to disposition.

Procedure

Enter the plan number associated with the defect that is in the Continue to process disposition method.

Tip: When you dispose of multiple defects, the plan number is added or selected by you when you create a plan. When you dispose of a single defect, the plan number is generated when you submit the disposition method. The plan number is displayed in the PLAN column of the grid on the Home page.
Select .

Note: When CTP disposition method is selected for a Plan, all the defects in the Plan are moved to Active state. You can select , to edit CTP disposition method. For more information, refer to Edit CTP Disposition Method section.
If at least one of the Serial Numbers/Lots completes the CTP operation (the defect moves to Submitted state), you are not allowed to the edit CTP disposition method.
The disposition button is disabled. Only when all the Serial Nos / Lots complete the CTP operation (the all defected are moved to Submitted state), the disposition button is re-enabled to dispose the Plan.

The Disposition page appears.

Modify the Disposition details as follows.

To change the operation until which the lot can be continued to process:

Modify the operation in the Select operation drop-down list box.
Select Select Disposition Action Reason to modify the disposition action reason.
The Select reasons window appears.
Modify the reasons in the Select reasons window.
In the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION box, modify any relevant information such as URL, contact details of the supplier, or any information that is helpful to perform the root cause analysis of the non-conformance.
Select Submit.

To modify the disposition method of the defect:

Select any of the following options in the Select Disposition drop-down list box:

Option	Description
Clear	Select Clear if the defect raised for the non-conforming part is not considered as a defect.
Use As Is	Select Use As Is to use the non-conforming part in the operations as it is.
Scrap	Select Scrap to discard the non-conforming part.
Rework	Select Rework to rework on the non-conforming part, and then select the operation on which the part should be reworked, in the Select operation drop-down list box.

Select Select Dispostion Action Reason to modify the disposition action reason.
The Select reasons window appears.
Modify the reasons in the Select reasons window.
In the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION box, modify any relevant information such as URL, contact details of the supplier, or any information that is helpful to perform the root cause analysis of the non-conformance.
Select Submit.

To modify the dispostion action reason:

Select Select Dispostion Action Reason to modify the disposition action reason.
The Select reasons window appears.
Modify the reasons in the Select reasons window.
Select Submit.

To modify the additional information related to disposition:

In the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION box, modify any relevant information such as URL, contact details of the supplier, or any information that is helpful to perform the root cause analysis of the non-conformance.
Select Submit.

Results

Scenario	Result
When the operation for Continue to process method is changed	The hold is released on the previously selected operation, and a hold is created on the operation selected in Step 3.
Disposition method changed to Clear	The hold is released on the operation selected previously for CTP disposition. The defect status is changed to Not a Defect. Disposition status is changed to Completed.
Disposition method changed to Rework	The hold is released on the operation selected previously for CTP disposition. Hold is created on the operation at which the lot is currently on. The lot goes to the rework operation. The defect status is Active. It is changed to Submitted after rework operation is completed. Disposition is Active till rework is completed. It is changed to Completed after rework operation is completed.
Disposition method changed to Use As Is	The hold on the operation selected previously for CTP disposition is released. The defect status is changed to Closed. The disposition status is changed to Completed.
Disposition method changed to Scrap	The part is scrapped. The defect status is changed to Closed. The disposition status is changed to Completed. All other defects related to the lot are scrapped and the following comment appears in the table next to those defects: Forcefully closed by being scrapped on nonConformance : <NC number>

Filter a Defect

About This Task

section class="section context">You can filter a defect in the Home page of NCR Management application based on the filter criteria you select.

The NCR Management application pages use the filter indicators as described in the following table. These indicators appear in the columns in the table.

Indicator	Description
	Indicates that the filter is not applied to the column.
	Indicates that the filter is applied to the column.

Note: The filter that you apply to a column is restricted to only that page. If you access any other application in the Plant Applications Universal Client, your filter selection is not retained in the NCR Management application.

Log in to the Plant Applications Universal Client.
Select NCR Management.
Select for the field column on which you want to apply a filter.
A window containing the following options appear:
- A list box containing a list of first 20 values available for the selected field with a case-sensitive ascending sort (A to Z [case-sensitive] for letters, and then lowest to highest for numbers). Move the vertical scroll bar in the list box to fetch more available field values. The vertical scroll bar appears when you hover over the list box.
- A Search box where you can enter a search text to refine the field values list.
- A Select All check box to select all field values including the field records that have no data.
- A (Blanks) check box to filter field records that have no data.
  Note: This check box appears only for the SUMMARY field.
Select the check box corresponding to one or more field values on which you want to filter the defects.

Tip: Alternatively, in the Search box, enter search text to refine the field values list that match the search criteria. As you enter characters in the Search box, the field values list is automatically filtered to display only values that contain the search text. The matched field values are case-sensitive. A message appears if no field value is available corresponding to the entered search text. To select all field values, select the Select All check box.
Select Apply.

Tip: Select Cancel to delete your selections and go back to the earlier page.

Results

The defects based on the applied filter criteria appear in the selected page, and the applied filter indicator

appears for the field. You can apply filters on multiple fields in a page to refine the filtered data.

Tip: To clear a filter applied on a field, select

for the field on which you want to remove the filter. Then, in the window containing the list of field values, clear the selected check boxes, and then select Apply. You can also select

to modify the applied filter on a field.