Business DEX Overview

Issue: RBN-4 by Rob Bodington (06-06-28) [minor_technical, closed] - {Type = contents}
TEMPLATE: representing_dated_effectivity Error in path: %^dated_effectivity = Dated_effectivity.% should be %^dated_effectivity = Dated_effectivity% Template assigning_time. Rather than biding directly to the reference parameter of a sub template. e.g. Dated_effectivity.start_bound -> $representing_date_time.date_time% It is better to introduce a local ref parameter. E.g. %^start_date_time = $representing_date_time.date_time% Dated_effectivity.start_bound -> ^start_date_time

Comment: (Rob Bodington 06-06-28)
Modified

There are two applications of effectivity that are possible with this capability. The first of these is configuration effectivity (used intimately with product configuration), and the second - a more independant, general usage.

Configuration effectivity allows attachment of effectivity information to occurrences of component parts in the context of a particular configuration item. This enables the specification of the valid use of a part occurrence in the context defined for a particular product configuration. This controls the constituent parts that are planned to be used for manufacturing end items of a particular product configuration within a dated time period or for a certain lot or serial number range of the end items.

The Effectivity entity supports the specification of a domain of applicability for product data. Effectivity is a generic concept defining the valid use of the product data to which the effectivity is assigned.

This capability allows assignment of general validity periods to product data that control the usage of these product data independent of any particular life cycle or context.

This is achieved through the Effectivity_assignment entity which may refer to one or more target items (instances) of product data that the validity period is assigned. The types of product data to which an effectivity may be assigned are defined in the effectivity_item select type.

Hence, the validity period of Effectivity may be applied to different types of product data, potentially specifying an additional role in which the effectivity is assigned.

NOTE    The assignment of effectivities is often done during the approval process, i.e, when releasing product data for the next stage of the development process, it gets effectivity information assigned to determine when and in which context these product data may be used.

Information Model Overview

The following diagram shows the different capabilities required for assignment of effectivities.

Figure 1 —  High-level Information Model Overview

NOTE    The target entities will largely exist in other capabilities.

The following diagram provides a more detailed overview of effectivity and it's subtypes.

Figure 1.1 —  Detailed Information Model Overview

NOTE    The subtypes cannot be mixed during instantiation, although different types can be related through effectivity relationships.

NOTE    Subtypes and relationships involving of time interval are shown separately in a subsequent section.

Effectivity

Effectivity is a key concept to control the valid use of product data. The effectivity entity supports the specification of a domain of applicability for product data. Effectivity is a generic concept defining the valid use of the product data to which the effectivity is assigned.

The subtypes of Effectivity include;

• Dated_effectivity
• Serial_effectivity
• Lot_effectivity
• Time_interval_effectivity

These subtypes, which are discussed in detail later, restrict the domain of applicability of the associated product data to a date range, a particular lot or serial number range, or to a time interval respectively.

Effectivity Assignment

The validity period of Effectivity may be applied to different types of product data, through the Effectivity_assignment entity.

Effectivity_assignment provides a set of items, which refer to the instances of product data, to which the validity period is assigned. The types of product data to which an effectivity may be assigned are defined in the effectivity_item select type.

The Effectivity_assignment entity should have a role associated with it through the entity Classification_assignment. This classification should be used to distinguish between, e.g., required, planned, or actual, effectivities of an object.

The class assigned through this mechanism is normally represented as an external_class as defined within an external_class_library. This is described more fully in the capability C010: assigning_reference_data.

The Instance Model: EXPRESS entities and attributes

The instantiation of the EXPRESS entities and attributes used to support the requirements of Item_usage_effectivity, dated_effectivity and serial_effectivity are shown in the figure below.

Figure 2 —  Effectivity Assignment Instance Diagram

NOTE    the definition of the time period is provided in a later example

#460=PART_VIEW_DEFINITION('', 'design view on sleeve assembly', '', #230, (#830), #450);

#560=NEXT_ASSEMBLY_USAGE('su-2', 'single instance usage', 'su2 - front', #660, #460, $, '');

#660=PART_VIEW_DEFINITION('', 'design view on hub assembly', '', #230, (#830), #650);

#7018=EXTERNAL_CLASS_LIBRARY('http://www.lsc.co.uk/RDL/MoD/PLCS/Identifiers/', '');

#7024=EFFECTIVITY_ASSIGNMENT(#7025, $, (#560));

#7025=TIME_INTERVAL_EFFECTIVITY($, 'tpvfa_001', 'time period validity for assembly', #7026);

#7033=CLASSIFICATION_ASSIGNMENT(#7034, (#7024), $);

#7034=EXTERNAL_CLASS($, 'planned period', $, #7018);

NOTE    for clarity, the example is incomplete (instances #230, #830, #450, #650 and #7026 are not shown).

Dated_effectivity

The Dated_effectivity entity is a subtype of Effectivity that applies onwards from a point in time, or between two points in time which define the start (start_bound) and end (end_bound) of the Dated_effectivity. These points in time may be specified as date or a date and time, or by an event occurrence.

Depending on whether the end_bound attribute is specified, the actual domain of time defined by a Dated_effectivity is:

• either, the time interval between the start and end date or event;
• or, the open time interval that starts at the start date or event.

If the end_bound is an event that actually identifies a point in time that comes before the start_bound, then the actual domain of effectivity is empty.

NOTE    If both attributes are specified with dates, the end_bound shall be greater than the start_bound.

Figure 3 —  Dated Effectivity Instance Diagram

NOTE    In this example, the effectivity defines a valid start date (planned) as indicated by the classification "planned start" (#7042). A date and a time (with time zone) specifies when the validity begins.

NOTE    That a secondary bound was not necessary (optional) or would be redundant since the role of the effectivity is to only identify the start_bound (beginning) of the validity.

#560=NEXT_ASSEMBLY_USAGE('su-2', 'single instance usage', 'su2 - front', #660, #460, $, '');

#7018=EXTERNAL_CLASS_LIBRARY('http://www.lsc.co.uk/RDL/MoD/PLCS/Identifiers/', '');

#7023=DATED_EFFECTIVITY($, $, $, #7029, #7035);

#7029=DATE_TIME(#7032, #7030);

#7030=LOCAL_TIME(15, 27, 30., #7031);

#7031=TIME_OFFSET(5, 0, .BEHIND.);

#7032=CALENDAR_DATE(2004, 6, 12);

#7040=EFFECTIVITY_ASSIGNMENT(#7023, $, (#560));

#7041=CLASSIFICATION_ASSIGNMENT(#7042, (#7040), $);

#7042=EXTERNAL_CLASS($, 'planned start', $, #7018);

Serial_effectivity

A Serial_effectivity is a type of Effectivity for which the domain of applicability is defined as a possibly open-ended interval of serial numbers. The start_id is the first valid serial number and the optional end_id is the last valid serial number. If the value for end_id is not specified, the interval of applicability has no upper bound.

NOTE    In the context of the PLCS Schema, Serial_effectivity is only used to specify the valid use of a part occurrence in the context of a serial number range for end items of the identified product configuration, i.e., Product_configuration.

Figure 4 —  Serialized Effectivity Instance Diagram

NOTE    In this example, the effectivity defines a validity range of serial numbers.

NOTE    Although a separate classification assignment is not necessary, we have included one for clarity. The name of the class assigned needs to be agreed by those exchanging the data if using this feature.

#560=NEXT_ASSEMBLY_USAGE('su-2', 'single instance usage', 'su2 - front', #660, #460, $, '');

#7018=EXTERNAL_CLASS_LIBRARY('http://www.lsc.co.uk/RDL/MoD/PLCS/Identifiers/', '');

#7036=SERIAL_EFFECTIVITY($, 'Front brake abs', 'Valid serial number range', 'UK-075UYF-12791-14E-3701', 'UK-075UYF-12791-14E-4700');

#7037=EFFECTIVITY_ASSIGNMENT(#7036, $, (#560));

#7038=CLASSIFICATION_ASSIGNMENT(#7039, (#7037), $);

#7039=EXTERNAL_CLASS($, 'planned', $, #7018);

Lot_effectivity

The entity Lot_effectivity is a subtype of Effectivity. It defines the domain of applicability as a given batch of end items. The lot_id specifies a production batch of end items for the manufacturing of which the effectivity applies and the lot_size specifies the size of the batch of end items for the manufacturing of which the effectivity applies.

NOTE    In the context of the PLCS Schema, Lot_effectivity is only used to specify the valid use of a part occurrence in the context of a unit of manufacture of the identified product configuration, i.e., the Product_configuration.

Figure 5 —  Lot Effectivity Instance Diagram

NOTE    In this example, the effectivity identifies a batch/lot of products and the number (size) of units to be processed. There is no constraints on the form of the lot identifier.

NOTE    Although a separate classification assignment is not necessary, we have included one for clarity. The name of the class assigned needs to be agreed by those exchanging the data if using this feature.

#560=NEXT_ASSEMBLY_USAGE('su-2', 'single instance usage', 'su2 - front', #660, #460, $, '');

#7018=EXTERNAL_CLASS_LIBRARY('http://www.lsc.co.uk/RDL/MoD/PLCS/Identifiers/', '');

#7022=UNIT('count', .T.);

#7043=LOT_EFFECTIVITY($, 'Front brake abs', 'Valid lot/batch', 'UK-075UYF-12791-14E-3701+', #7044);

#7044=VALUE_WITH_UNIT(#7022, LENGTH_MEASURE(999.));

#7045=EFFECTIVITY_ASSIGNMENT(#7043, $, (#560));

#7046=CLASSIFICATION_ASSIGNMENT(#7047, (#7045), $);

#7047=EXTERNAL_CLASS($, 'actual', $, #7018);

Time_interval_effectivity

The entity Time_interval_effectivity is a subtype of Effectivity for which the domain of applicability (the effectivity_period) is defined as a possibly open. However, this entity only provides the ability to identify a time interval - it does not define the interval itself. For that we use the subtype of this Time_interval_with_bounds, which provides a start (primary_bound) and an optional end (secondary_bound) time, but also a duration (duration_from_primary_bound). This type of effectivity enables the specification of an interval of time through one boundary and the duration of the interval.

NOTE    These bounding points in time may be specified as date or a date and time, or by an event occurrence.

NOTE    In the context of the PLCS Schema, Time_interval_effectivity is only used to specify validity periods for the associated product data.

Time_interval_relationship

A Time_interval_relationship, relates two instances of Time_interval together. The relating_time_interval represents the first (or proceeding) time interval and the related_time_interval represents the second (or latter) interval. The relation_type attribute provides the context of the relationship. There are no set values for the types of relationships, so these must be agreed between the parties involved. One type of relationship might be "decreasing" - meaning that the intervals get shorter from one to another. This might be a useful function where the configuration being assembled depends upon something the dwindling life expectancy of the fabricating tool or the decreasing amount of a raw material or resource which is consumed by the process concerned.

Figure 6 —  Time Interval Relationship

Figure 6.1 —  Time Interval Effectivity Instance Diagram

NOTE    In this example, the effectivity defines a validity period which began on Jun 12th 2004 at 3.27pm GMT-5hrs and was valid for a total of 6.5 hours.

NOTE    that a secondary_bound was not (necessary or) defined for the time interval and that the classification and assignment items have not been shown here.

#7025=TIME_INTERVAL_EFFECTIVITY($, 'tpvfa_001', 'time period validity for assembly', #7026);

#7026=TIME_INTERVAL_WITH_BOUNDS($, 'duration of manufacture', 'time required for manufacture', #7029, $, #7027);

#7027=DURATION(#7028, PLANE_ANGLE_MEASURE(6.5));

#7028=UNIT('Hours', .T.);

#7029=DATE_TIME(#7032, #7030);

#7030=LOCAL_TIME(15, 27, 30., #7031);

#7031=TIME_OFFSET(5, 0, .BEHIND.);

#7032=CALENDAR_DATE(2004, 6, 12);

Effectivity_relationship

An Effectivity_relationship is an association between two instances of Effectivity . The meaning of the relationship is represented with the relation_type attribute. An effectivity_relationship may be used to define an effectivity with respect to some other effectivity or to express some dependency between two effectivity objects.

Figure 7 —  Effectivity Relationship Instance Diagram

#7025=TIME_INTERVAL_EFFECTIVITY($, 'tpvfa_001', 'time period validity for assembly', #7026);

#7036=SERIAL_EFFECTIVITY($, 'Front brake abs', 'Valid serial number range', 'UK-075UYF-12791-14E-3701', 'UK-075UYF-12791-14E-4700');

#7048=EFFECTIVITY_RELATIONSHIP('Constraint', 'The serial effectivity constrains the time interval effectivity', #7036, #7025);

NOTE    The relation_type attribute is used to specify the type of the Effectivity_relationship and therefore should be populated with predefined values of which both sides of the exchange have a common understanding. The value ’constraint’ for the name attribute should be used to indicate that the validity period defined by the related_effectivity should be within the time period of the relating_effectivity. The value ’inheritance’ for the relation_type attribute should be used to indicate that the related_effectivity shall not define its own validity period, but inherits the validity period from the relating_effectivity (this inheritance might occur over a chain of interrelated effectivity_relationship instances). There are no further standard mappings specified for the name attribute. Additional values must be agreed upon mutually.

Characterization of model

Classification

For an Effectivity that identifies a period of time, if applicable, the following values shall be used for the Role attribute (as instantiated through an instance of Classification_assignment):

• 'actual period': The actual period during which the Effectivity lasted;
• 'actual start': The actual date in the past when the Effectivity became effective;
• 'actual stop': The actual date in the past when the Effectivity ceased to be effective;
• 'planned period': The period associated with the Effectivity defines a planned period of time during which the associated object is or was supposed to be effective;
• 'planned start': The date or event associated with the Effectivity defines the date or event when the Effectivity is or was supposed to start;
• 'planned stop': The date or event associated with the Effectivity defines the date or event when the Effectivity is or was supposed to stop;
• 'required period': The associated object must be kept effective for this period;
• 'required start': The date or event associated with the Effectivity is a due start date. Conformance to this bound is expected;
• 'required stop': The date or event associated with the Effectivity is a due stop date. Conformance to this bound is expected.

For examples of classification please refer to the examples above.

The class assigned through this mechanism is normally represented as an External_class as defined within an External_class_library. This is described more fully in the capability C010: assigning_reference_data.

Additional Usage Guidance

Implicit Assignment of Effectivity

Effectivity can be implicitly assigned when managing the composition of a configuration. Configuration composition management is concerned with the specification of the different product configurations that exist for a given product concept, and the association with product data that is necessary to build those configurations. This includes the identification of the actual constituents that are to be included in a planned unit of production of a Product_configuration and their valid usage.

Capability C063: representing_product_configuration describes the context of product configuration management but we reproduce those parts necessary below to describe the implicit assignment.

The association of effectivity information to different types of product data can be achieved through the Item_usage_effectivity entity. This entity represents a tuple of; a resolved_configuration (an instance of Item_design_association - see C063: representing_product_configuration), an effectivity_domain (an instance of a type of Effectivity), and an item_usage_relationship (i.e. an instance of a type of View_definition_usage, such as Next_assembly_usage (see C003: representing_assembly_structure).

The reference to an instance of Item_design_association allows control of the constituent parts (e.g. an instance of Part_version or Part_view_definition) that should be used to build the physical instances of a Product_configuration through the referenced design which is a type of version_or_definition. Hence, the effectivity is related to parts, assembly and configuration - implicitly.

The composition of the product configurations for planned units of manufacture may be controlled for a given time period, lot, or serial number range (See the sections above for the use of these).

NOTE    It is recommended to not instantiate the Effectivity instance as standalone instance, i.e., an effectivity should always be assigned to some product data either by using the Effectivity_assignment or by using the relevant subtype of effectivity in conjunction with Item_usage_effectivity, or the effectivity should have a relationship to some other effectivity that is assigned to some product data through Effectivity_relationship. Furthermore, it is always recommended to instantiate an effectivity as one of its subtypes, unless the definition of the effectivity is based on some other effectivity using Effectivity_relationship.

Capability templates

The following sections define a set of templates for the capability, where a template is a specification of a set of entities that need to be instantiated to represent a given set of information.

This section specifies the template assigning_dated_effectivity.

NOTE  An explanation of a template and the associated instantiation path is provided in the Template overview section.

Figure 1 —  An EXPRESS-G representation of the Information model for assigning_dated_effectivity

Figure 2 —   The graphical representation of template assigning_dated_effectivity

Figure 3 —  Entities instantiated by template assigning_dated_effectivity

Figure 4 —  Instantiation of template assigning_dated_effectivity

This section specifies the template representing_dated_effectivity.

NOTE  An explanation of a template and the associated instantiation path is provided in the Template overview section.

Figure 1 —  An EXPRESS-G representation of the Information model for representing_dated_effectivity

Figure 2 —   The graphical representation of representing_dated_effectivity template

Figure 3 —  Entities instantiated by representing_dated_effectivity template, when only start_bound attribute is used

Figure 4 —  Entities instantiated by representing_dated_effectivity template, using both start and end_bound dates

Figure 5 —  Instantiation of representing_dated_effectivity template

This section specifies the template assigning_conditional_effectivity.

NOTE  An explanation of a template and the associated instantiation path is provided in the Template overview section.

Figure 1 —  An EXPRESS-G representation of the Information model for assigning_conditional_effectivity

Figure 2 —  The graphical representation of the assigning_conditional_effectivity template

Figure 3 —  Entities instantiated by assigning_conditional_effectivity template

Figure 4 —  Instantiation of assigning_conditional_effectivity template

This section specifies the template assigning_effectivity.

NOTE  An explanation of a template and the associated instantiation path is provided in the Template overview section.

Figure 1 —  An EXPRESS-G representation of the Information model for assigning_effectivity

Figure 2 —  The graphical representation of the assigning_effectivity template

Figure 3 —  Entities instantiated by assigning_effectivity template

          #1 = TASK_METHOD_VERSION_ASSIGNMENT($,(),'/IGNORE');
          #2 = EFFECTIVITY('/IGNORE','/IGNORE','/IGNORE');
          #3 = EFFECTIVITY_ASSIGNMENT(#2,'/IGNORE',(#1));
          #5 = CLASSIFICATION_ASSIGNMENT(#7,(#3),'/IGNORE');
          #7 = EXTERNAL_CLASS('/NULL','Effectivity_target','/IGNORE',#8);
          #8 = EXTERNAL_CLASS_LIBRARY('urn:plcs:rdl:sample',$);
          #10 = CLASSIFICATION_ASSIGNMENT(#12,(#2),'/IGNORE');
          #12 = EXTERNAL_CLASS('/NULL','Design_effectivity','/IGNORE',#8);
        

Figure 4 —  Instantiation of assigning_effectivity template

This section specifies the template representing_serial_effectivity.

NOTE  An explanation of a template and the associated instantiation path is provided in the Template overview section.

Figure 1 —  An EXPRESS-G representation of the Information model for representing_serial_effectivity

Figure 2 —  The graphical representation of the representing_serial_effectivity template

Figure 3 —  Entities instantiated by representing_serial_effectivity template

Figure 4 —  Instantiation of representing_serial_effectivity template

This section specifies the template assigning_serial_effectivity.

NOTE  An explanation of a template and the associated instantiation path is provided in the Template overview section.

Figure 1 —  An EXPRESS-G representation of the Information model for assigning_serial_effectivity

Figure 2 —  The graphical representation of the assigning_serial_effectivity template

Figure 3 —  Entities instantiated by assigning_serial_effectivity template

Figure 4 —  Instantiation of assigning_serial_effectivity template

Related capabilities

This capability "Assigning effectivity" is related to the following capabilities:

• C063: representing_product_configuration

Dependent capabilities

This capability "Assigning effectivity" is dependent on the following capabilities:

• C010: assigning_reference_data

Model reference data

The following classes of reference data are required for this capability:

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