What is Oracle Quality About?

Oracle Quality is integrated with the Oracle Manufacturing and Distribution

applications to provide consistent quality data definition, data collection and
data management across the enterprise and throughout the supply chain.

Data collected and input into Oracle Quality may come from functions such
as purchasing, service, shopfloor inspection or directly from the customer, to
name a few. Quality data can also be collected in a standalone direct data
entry mode or may be linked to third party systems.

The Oracle Quality data collection framework comprises:

 Collection Elements
 Specifications
 Collection Plans

This is about all that we need right now to get started with the consultants at
OSS. A much detailed overview of Oracle Quality is available in the Quality
User Guide and the Quality Implementation Guide.

Jeff’s Example to Andy: The Case of the Linear Hub

Jeff has explained the fundamental concepts in Oracle

Quality using specific examples from OSS.

As Andy reads through Jeff’s notes he begins to visualize the

process

OSS purchases an item called the Linear Hub from its

suppliers. This component is used in manufacturing the
Executive Swivel Chair. When this part arrives at the
receiving bay it undergoes inspection by OSS inspectors. The
dimensions that the inspectors measure are – height,
diameter and finish. In Oracle Quality, these dimensions
become theCollection Elements.

These collection elements need to have some measurable

values within certain tolerance limits. These acceptable
values are defined underSpecifications.
Finally, there needs to be a data structure to hold the
collection elements and the specifications. This structure tells
you which collection elements are relevant, when to collect
the data and what actions to take based on data collected in
specific collection elements. This is the Collection Plan.

In the case of the Linear Hub, the physical inspection occurs

when the item arrives at the receiving bay. So, the collection
plan for the Linear Hub should be triggered when the
receiving transaction takes place. When to trigger a
collection plan is a feature built into the collection plan
structure itself.

With his vast experience Andy begins to see the larger

picture. Oracle Quality will do more than just streamline his
organization’s quality processes. It will bring those processes
closer to compliance with some international quality
standards, such as ISO 9000, paving the way for certification
in the future.

Next: Collection Elements in Oracle Quality

Specifications for OSS

A Purchasing Collection Plan for Office Smart

Solutions

A Receiving Inspection Plan for an Item

Collection Elements in Oracle Quality

Collection elements are on Dave’s mind as he takes notes
from Becky Klein. Becky is the tool room specialist at Office
Smart’s Naperville plant. Dave Cromwell is the Quality Lead
at OSS. He is interested in listing the parameters and
dimensions that are used at the Naperville plant. Becky
knows all about that.

The Case of the Linear Hub

Dave and Becky are discussing the Linear Hub. This item has
three main parameters that come under inspection.

 Hub Height

 Hub Diameter

 Hub Finish

Height and Diameter have numerical

values. Finish is measured in grades.

Dave sets up the first Set of Collection Elements

Dave sets up Height as shown below.

Whatever Dave enters in the Prompt field will appear in the

column heading for the given element when quality results
are entered. As we see above, the moment we enter the
element name and tab out of the field, the same value
defaults in thePrompt field. This value can be overwritten.

Dave wants the user to be aware that the data to be entered

in the Hub Height column during quality results entry has to
be entered in inches. Dave enters an appropriate message in
the Hint field. The user will see this message at the bottom
of the screen during quality data collection.

Also, because Hub Height is a Variable type element, Dave

sets the Data Type to be Numeric.

Dave sets up Hub Diameter in much the same way. But for
the element – Hub Finish, Dave has to enter a set of non-
numeric values. This is because Hub Finish is
an Attribute type element. The values he enters carry
descriptions as shown below.

Dave would create elements for quality data collection for

other items at OSS in a similar manner in consultation with
Becky.
 Specifications for OSS Items
Specifications (also referred to as a spec) help define the
acceptable range of values within which an item under
inspection will pass the test. Office Smart Solutions (OSS)
will need to define a separate spec for each item. Their
business process so demands. However, depending on the
business need one spec can be applied to more than one
item.

Here, Dave creates a Spec for the Linear Hub defined as item
number LH101. If specs are item-specific then it is a good
practice to carry the item code or number in
the Specification Name.

Specs are of three types:

 Item Spec

 Supplier Spec

 Customer Spec

Here, Dave creates an Item Spec for LH101.

However, as the name suggests, a Supplier Spec defines

acceptable range of values for collection elements relating to
an item coming from a specific supplier. If Dave were to
define a Supplier Spec for LH101, then he would have had to
enter the Supplier code in the screen below.

Similarly, a Customer Spec defines acceptable range of

values for collection elements relating to an item going to a
specific customer. If Dave were to define a Customer Spec
for LH101, then he would have had to enter the Customer
code in the screen below.

So, what's Acceptable?

Dave defines the values given to him by Becky. For the

Linear Hub LH101, the acceptable range or the Spec Limits
are as follows.

Dave saves his work. The Spec is created in Draft status. In

that status, a spec will not be available for use with a
collection plan.
The spec can be routed through the e-signature approval
process. However, if the e-signature setup is non-existent
then the spec status changes to No Approval Required.

The spec is now available for use.

A Purchasing Collection Plan for Office

Smart Solutions
A Collection Plan (also refereed to as a quality collection plan
or simply a collection plan) brings together the Collection
Elements and a Specification and ties them to create the
data object that drives quality inspections.

Quality Plans in Oracle Quality tells you

 what data to collect during the quality inspection

 at what stage of the process this data needs to be

collected

 what actions to take based on the quality data collected

There are many types of quality plans. These are listed in

detail in the Quality User Guide. The data structure remains
the same for all the different quality plan types available in
Oracle Quality. Here, we shall see one of the most widely
used quality plans being created – the Receiving Inspection
Plan.

Dave prefers Collection Plan Templates

Oracle Quality comes with a number of seeded collection plan

templates that can be used to create user-defined collection
plans. Dave decides to use these templates so as not to have
to create plans from scratch.
There is another factor that weighs in favor of using the
seeded collection plan templates. Let us consider the
example of the Receiving Inspection plan. Oracle Quality
mandates that Receiving Inspection plans must include the
following collection elements:

 Inspection Result
 Quantity
 UOM Name
 Transaction Date

Also, these collection plan elements must be defined

as Displayed, Mandatory andEnabled.

Dave knows that copying from a template ensures that all of

these points are complied with while creating a plan from
scratch carries the risk of something getting overlooked.
Hence the templates approach.

First things First, Dave creates a Reference Collection Plan

Dave intends to use the Copy Collection Plans feature in

Oracle Quality to create a user-defined plan that would serve
as the master copy. He seeks out the template for the
Purchasing Inspection plan and finds it.
Now, quality plans are organization-specific. So, Dave has to
specify which organization the template should be copied to.
This will be OSN – Office Smart Naperville, the organization
Dave’s team had defined earlier here. This is shown below.

Having determined the destination organization, Dave has to

decide the name of the quality plan that would be created as
a copy of the template.

Dave chooses to follow a naming convention that has served

him well in past implementations. The plan that is an
immediate copy of the template will have underscores (_) in
its name. This will differentiate it from other quality plans
that will be derived from this one.

Dave names his plan as OSN_PO_INSPECTION_PLAN as

shown above. The prefix denotes the inventory organization
to which the plan belongs.

The Copied Collection Plan needs Fine Tuning

Dave queries for OSN_PO_INSPECTION_PLAN in the

Collection Plans form to verify that it was indeed created. He
finds it is there! Dave looks at the collection elements in the
plan that came with the seeded template. He feels he needs
to add more collection elements keeping in mind the
Receiving Inspection process.
Dave adds the following collection elements to the plan:

 Supplier
 PO Number
 PO Receipt Number
 Inspector
 Entered by User

These are a few of the collection elements that come pre-

defined with Oracle Quality.

What Next?
Here’s what Dave is thinking. Dave knows that OSS would need a separate collection
plan for each item in the OSN org. He therefore plans to make
OSN_PO_INSPECTION_PLAN the Reference Plan or a Master Copy which would then be
copied into individual item-specific plans.

However, some of the most important tasks that help define a collection plan are yet to
be done. The individual collection plans will need to be assigned to the correct
transaction. Triggers will need to be defined, Action Rules associated with specific
collection elements and Specifications assigned to collection plans.

That is what Dave sets out to do in the next section.

A Receiving Inspection Plan for an Item
Dave Cromwell the Quality Lead at Office Smart Solutions
(OSS) is about to create the first Receiving Inspection Plan
for Office Smart Solutions (OSS). In the previous section, he
had created a master copy or reference collection plan from
the Template Receiving Inspection Plan. He would now use
this reference or master plan.

Creating an Item Specific Plan from the Master Plan

Dave copies the Master Plan into a new plan that he prefers
to call – PO INSPECTION LH101 VER 01. Dave believes that if
every item is going to have its own receiving inspection plan
then it makes sense to include the item number in the
collection plan name. Also, by his experience Dave knows
that clients almost always ask the same question – Can a
collection plan have versions? The answer is – No. But, a
simple workaround is to include the version number in the
plan name.

Collection Elements Specific to PO INSPECTION LH101 VER

01

The item LH101 has three collection elements that need to

be inspected and – three parameters that must be measured
and compared to the specification when the parts are
received. These are:
 Hub Height
 Hub Diameter
 Hub Finish

Dave had defined these collection elements in an earlier

section. Dave adds these collection elements into the
Inspection Plan for LH101.

When adding collection elements into a collection plan,

the Seq field determines in what order the collection element
columns will appear in the Quality Results entry screen.
Because, these 3 collection elements will be measured in
succession, Dave ensures that they have consecutive
sequence numbers of 31, 32, and 33.

When to Invoke the Collection Plan?

Oracle Quality needs to be told at what stage a collection

plan should be called into action. There are two features
embedded in the collection plan that help fix this “point-in-
time” coordinate.

The first of these is the Quality Collection Transaction.

Quality data can be collected during specific transactions in

 Flow Manufacturing
 Purchasing
 TeleService
 Work in Process
 Enterprise Asset Management
 Advanced Service Online
 Mobile Supply Chain Applications
 Warehouse Management System
 Shop Floor Management
 Oracle Process Manufacturing and
 iSupplier Portal

Dave wants the system to recognize that the collection plan

he is working on needs to be invoked during the receiving
transaction. So from the list of seeded transactions he selects
the one he needs, as shown below

Having selected the

transaction, he must
ensure that
the Enabled checkbo
x is checked. If this
is overlooked, then
the collection plan
will not be triggered
during the receiving
transaction.

Also, collection plans such as this one, which are linked to

receiving inspection are marked as Mandatory by Oracle
Quality. For Receiving Inspection Plans,
theMandatory checkbox cannot be unchecked.

The second and more specific way of pointing out as to when

the collection plan will be triggered is to use the very same
thing – triggers!

The triggers that you can use with Oracle Quality come
seeded or pre-defined. Dave wants this collection plan to be
called every time the item LH101 is received. So, he defines
the trigger as shown below.

An Important Point:Associating a Transaction Type to a

collection plan is mandatory if you want to invoke the
collection plan during a specific transactional flow or business
process. But triggers are optional.

Quality data can also be entered into a collection plan in

direct data entry mode. If a collection plan is created for
direct data entry, then it need not be associated with any of
the available transaction types.

Linking a Specification to the Receiving Inspection Plan

Dave has defined a specification for the item LH101 in

an earlier section. He now specifies that the system look for
this specification when the PO INSPECTION LH101 VER 01
collection plan is to be used.

Assigning Actions to Collection Elements

Dave knows that in Receiving Inspection plans the pivotal

collection element is the one called - Inspection Result.
This is a seeded collection element that has two pre-defined
values – Accept and Reject. Each of these values goes into
a Rule. And to each of these Rules there is
an Action assigned.

The first Inspection Result value is:

The Action assigned to this Rule is:

The second Inspection Result value is:

The Action assigned to this Rule is

The seeded Actions of Accept the shipment and Reject

the shipment are used by the system to ensure that the
items being received (in Purchasing) are marked
asAccepted or Rejected, once the inspection is completed.
This demonstrates the tight integration that Oracle Quality
has with Oracle Purchasing.

Dave uses this feature to create a rule wherein if the Hub

Height measurement lies outside of the Specification Limits
then the Inspection Result would flip toReject.

Dave applies the same rule to Hub Diameter.

So, the four possible combinations would be as follows:

Hub Height Hub Diameter

Inspection Result Status
Measurement Measurement
Outside of Spec Limits Within Spec Limits Reject
Within Spec Limits Outside of Spec Limits Reject
Outside of Spec Limits Outside of Spec Limits Reject
The user will have to manually set the
Within Spec Limits Within Spec Limits
status to Accept

For the collection element Hub Finish, the values Dave had
defined here, need to be imported into the collection plan PO
INSPECTION LH101 VER 01. To do this, Dave positions the
cursor on the Hub Finish collection element and clicks on
the Valuesbutton. He gets the following message.

Dave clicks on the Copy button. The values he had defined

earlier for this collection element are imported into the
collection element.

The benefit of doing this for an Attribute type collection

element is that when the user comes to this collection
element column in the Quality Results Entry screen, he will
find a list of values there. He need not type in the pre-
defined values.

Now, Dave is ready to present this collection plan to the

Purchasing Inspection people.