Capability (C046):— representing

Capability (C046):— representing_variance

Date: 2007/06/22 12:22:11
Revision: 1.30

Cover Contents Intro.Overview Info. model Templates Capabilities.Ref. data Issues

Business overview

This section provides a business level overview of this capability.

This capability represents a record of where the Product or Activity varies from the original intent and authorization and conditions for continued use has been granted.

This is illustrated in Figure 1 which shows conceptually how the authorization is represented.

Figure 1 — Representation of a concession

Information model overview

This section provides an overview of the information model that supports this capability.

Information model overview

The EXPRESS-G for the activity model is shown in Figure 2 below and explained in the following sections.

Figure 2 — EXPRESS-G for variance

Representing Concessions

A concession is represented by an Approval that is assigned (using Approval_assignment) to the subject of the concession. Typically the subject is a Product_as_realized or a planned activity (Activity). The Approval and Approval_assignment are classified as "Concession" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Concession) (Classification and reference data is described in C010: assigning_reference_data). The Approval representing the concession will have a status associated with it indicating whether the concession has been approved or not. See C019: assigning_approvals for details on assigning approvals. The possible approval status are represented by the following classes stored as reference data:

"Approved" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Approved) - the concession has not been approved with no restrictions of use;
"Rejected" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Rejected) - the concession has not been approved;
"Approved with concession" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Approved with concession) - the concession has been approved with restrictions.
"Withdrawn" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Withdrawn) - the concession has been withdrawn (approval no longer being sought).
"Not yet approved" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Not yet approved) - the concession has still to be approved (i.e. approval being sought).

An example of a concession is shown in Figure 3. This shows part (A) which should have a 1mm hole in it. The operator made an error and a 1.1 mm hole is the result. This is noticed and a concession is raised to check whether this can be used. The concession is approved with no limitations. The concession is represented by Approval (#1) and Approval_assignment (#2), and is granted against the Product_as_realized (#9).

NOTE Only the main entities required for representing a concession are shown in order to simplify the diagram.

Figure 3 — An approved concession

The basic template for concessions which can represent the scenario above can be found in assigning_concession and is illustrated from Figure
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through to Figure
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.

NOTE An expansion of the template to most of the entity instances can be seen in Figure
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.

Reasons for Concessions

The underlying reasons for the concession or waiver being granted may be based on performance measurements made on the product or may be an observed state of the product. These reasons are represented by a Justification that is assigned to the Approval by a Justification_assignment. The Justification_assignment is classified as a "Concession justification" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Concession justification), or other appropriate sub-class of "Justification assignment role" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Justification assignment role). The reasons for the waiver, such as the observed state or performance measure are recorded by assigning them to the Justification by a Justification_support_assignment which is also classified as a "Concession justification" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Concession justification), or other appropriate sub-class.

The basic template for assigning justifications which can represent the scenario above can be found in assigning_supported_justification
Error T1: DEX assigning_supported_justification not in Dexlib
and is illustrated in Figure
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, Figure
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, and Figure
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.

The reasons for a concession may also be recorded in documents, in which case the document (Document) is assigned to the Approval representing the concession by a Document_assignment which is classified as a [Documented_concession]
Error RDL1: The class Documented_concession does not exist in RDL at URI urn:plcs:rdl:std. Check the dexlib/data/refdata/rdl_index.xml
. There may be more than one document describing the "Concession" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Concession). These documents may also be related together. Details of representing documents is provided in C005: representing_documents. The assignment of the document can be achieved by use of the template assigning_document and is an optional characterization of the assigning_concession template - and is illustrated in Figure
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.

An instance diagram showing a concession and the reasons for the concession is shown in Figure 4. The concession is represented by Approval (#1) and Approval_assignment (#2), and is granted against the Product_as_realized (#9).

The reason for the concession being granted is that the part (Product_as_realized (#1)) has a 1.1 mm hole in it which is in tolerance. (The hole is represented by an Assigned_property (#11). Details of representing product properties are provided in C076: assigning_product_properties). This provides justification for the concession. This is represented by the Justification (#12) instance being linked to the Assigned_property (#11) by the instance Justification_support_assignment (#14). The Justification (#12) is then assigned to the approval representing the concession by Justification_assignment (#13).

In addition to or an alternative to using Justification (#12) the reasons for the concession can also be recorded in a document (Document (#17)) which is assigned to the Approval (#1) representing the concession by the Document_assignment (#16). The assignment of the document in this case shall be of type [Documented_justification]
Error RDL1: The class Documented_justification does not exist in RDL at URI urn:plcs:rdl:std. Check the dexlib/data/refdata/rdl_index.xml
to distinguish it from other documents.

NOTE Only the main entities required for representing a concession are shown in order to simplify the diagram.

Figure 4 — Concession and reasons for the concession

The template for this can be found in Figure

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.

Conditional concessions

In many cases, the concession will be granted with an associated restriction for use. For example, a part (B) should have a 1mm hole in it. The operator made an error and a 1.1 mm hole is the result. This is noticed and a concession is raised to check whether this can be used. The concession is approved, however with the limitation that it can only be assembled into an aircraft that will not fly in conditions above 25 degrees C.

The restriction is represented either by Document and/or by using Conditions.

Documented conditional concessions

When a document is used to record the condition under which the concession is given, the document (Document) is assigned to the Approval representing the concession by a Document_assignment which is classified as a [Documented_condition]
Error RDL1: The class Documented_condition does not exist in RDL at URI urn:plcs:rdl:std. Check the dexlib/data/refdata/rdl_index.xml
to distinguish it from others. Details of representing documents is provided in C005: representing_documents.

An example showing the use of a document to represent the condition of usage as described for part (B) above is shown in Figure 5. This shows Part (B) (Product_as_realized (#9)). fitted to an aircraft. Product_as_realized (#23). The concession is represented by Approval (#1) and assigned to / against Part B by Approval_assignment (#2). This concession places a restriction on the aircraft to which the part is fitted, so the Approval (#1) and assigned to / against Part B by Approval_assignment (#2). This restriction is described in the Document (#26) which is assigned to the concession (Approval (#1)) by the Document_assignment (#27). The Document (#26) should be classified as a [Documented_condition]
Error RDL1: The class Documented_condition does not exist in RDL at URI urn:plcs:rdl:std. Check the dexlib/data/refdata/rdl_index.xml
.

The assignment of the document can be achieved by use of the template assigning_document and is an optional characterization of the assigning_concession template - and is illustrated in Figure
Error Fig 2: There is no figure with id asg_conc_inst.png
(modifying the classification in the example as required).

NOTE Only the main entities required for representing a concession are shown in order to simplify the diagram.

Figure 5 — Documented conditional concession on part and assembly

Explicit conditional concessions

When the condition under which the concession is given is to be made explicit, a Condition is assigned to the Approval representing the concession by a Condition_assignment. The Condition_assignment is classified as a "Concession condition" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Concession condition). The inputs to the condition are represented by Condition_parameter. The use of condition is described in C026: representing_condition.

In other words, the Condition is used to represent the limitations, which if met, mean that the concession is approved.

This is illustrated in Figure 6 which shows Part (B) (Product_as_realized (#7)) fitted to an aircraft Product_as_realized (#23). The concession is represented by Approval (#1) and assigned to / against Part B by Approval_assignment (#2). This concession places a restriction on the aircraft to which the part is fitted, so the Approval (#1) is assigned to / against Part B by Approval_assignment (#24).

The concession is granted if the aircraft to which part (B) is fitted will not fly in conditions above 25 degrees C. This conditional concession is represented by Condition (#28) assigned to the concession, Approval (#1), by the Condition_assignment (#29). In other words, the concession is approved if the condition is met. The parameter of the concession is the operating temperature of the aircraft represented by the Assigned_property (#31). If this is below the 25 degrees C then the concession is granted.

The basic template for assigning conditions which can represent the scenario above can be found in assigning_condition and is illustrated in Figure
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toFigure
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.

NOTE The expression "below the 25 degrees C" is represented as the description attribute of a Document attached to an instance of Condition (#28). I.e. in a non computer interpretable form. This is illustrated as part of the template arrangement depicted in Figure
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and Figure
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.

Figure 6 — Concession on part and assembly

Characterization of variance

Identification

The concession, represented by an Approval, is identified by assigning it an identifier through the use of Identification_assignment.

NOTE Identification is described in C001: assigning_identifiers.

Assigning a Person or Organization

The person or organization who authorized the concession is represented by using an Approving_person_organization to assign a Organization or Person_in_organization to the Approval representing the concession

Assigning Dates

The date when the concession was granted is represented by the date on the actual_date attribute on the Approval.

NOTE The representation of dates is described the capability C036: assigning_date_time.

Limiting duration of concession by effectivity

The time period over which a concession is effective can be set by the assigning a Dated_effectivity to the Approval representing the concession, by using an Effectivity_assignment.

NOTE The use of effectivity is described in the capability: C006: assigning_effectivity.

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.

Template: assigning_concession (Short name: asg_conc)

This section specifies the template assigning_concession.

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

Description

This template describes how to assign a basic concession. A concession, at its simplest, is a specific type of Approval. This template effectively defines this through specifying the concession-class as the type of Approval. It uses and is dependant on the assigning_approval template. It allows sub-classes of concession to also be specified. It is assumed that, in most cases. the authorization is provided by a Person, rather than an Organization and that the Person authorizing the approval has the authority to do so. The Organization which contains the Person is represented. It does allow the authorization to be provided by an Organization.

Model diagrams

The EXPRESS-G diagram in Figure 1 shows the templates and EXPRESS entities that are required to represent the template "assigning_concession". The text highlighted in blue shows the template parameters.

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

The graphic for the template to be used in other EXPRESS-G diagrams is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 — The graphical representation of the assigning_concession template

Input parameters

The following input parameters are defined for this template:

asn_role (Default=Concession,Type='CLASS')

the type of Approval_assignment

The following classes and their sub-classes can be used:

classifications: "Concession" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Concession)

role_ecl_id (Default=urn:plcs:rdl:std,Type='URN', Optional)

The identifier of the External_class_library storing the definition of the class referenced by the parameter @asn_role.

status (Default=Not_yet_approved,Type='CLASS')

types of status allowed

The following classes and their sub-classes can be used:

classifications: "Approved" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Approved), "Approved_with_concession" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Approved_with_concession), "Rejected" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Rejected), "Withdrawn" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Withdrawn), "Not_yet_approved" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Not_yet_approved)

status_ecl_id (Default=urn:plcs:rdl:std,Type='URN', Optional)

The identifier of the External_class_library storing the definition of the class referenced by the parameter @status.

date_cn (Type='CLASS')

The name of the class being used to classify the role date assignment, e.g. the start date.

The following classes and their sub-classes can be used:

classifications: "Date_actual" (urn:plcs:rdl:std:Date_actual)

date_ecl_id (Type='URN')

The id of the External_class_library in which the date class is defined.

year (Type='INTEGER')

Calendar_date year_component

month (Type='INTEGER')

Calendar_date month_component

day (Type='INTEGER')

Calendar_date day_component

items (Type= 'SELECT (approval_item)' )

The items to which the approval is assigned

person_org (Type= 'SELECT (organization_or_person_in_organization_select)' )

The person or organization responsible for the approval

Reference parameters

The following reference parameters are defined for this template:

approval(Type='ENTITY (Approval)')

Allow the Approval entity instantiated in this path to be referenced when this template is used.

Note: The Approval entity can be referenced in a template path by:

%^target = $assigning_concession.approval%

where target is the parameter to which the Approval is bound.

approval_assgn(Type='ENTITY (Approval_assignment)')

Allow the Approval_assignment entity instantiated in this path to be referenced when this template is used.

Note: The Approval_assignment entity can be referenced in a template path by:

%^target = $assigning_concession.approval_assgn%

where target is the parameter to which the Approval_assignment is bound.

Instantiation path

The instantiation path shown below specifies the entities that are to be instantiated by the template.

A description of templates and the syntax for the instantiation path is provided in the Reading Capability Templates help section.

-- Call Assigning_approval.
/assigning_approval(
    status=@status,
    status_ecl_id=@status_ecl_id,
    items=@items,
    person_org=@person_org)/

-- Get the approval instance from the template call
%^approval_assgn = $assigning_approval.approval_assgn%
%^approval = $assigning_approval.approval%

-- Assign Ref data to Approval
/assigning_reference_data(
    items=^approval_assgn,
    class_name=@asn_role,
    ecl_id=@role_ecl_id)/

-- Assign the date of concession
/assigning_time(
    date_class_name=@date_cn,
    date_ecl_id=@date_ecl_id,
    year=@year,
    month=@month,
    day=@day,
    hour='0',
    minute='0',
    second='0',
    sense='.EXACT.',
    hour_offset='0',
    minute_offset='0',
    items=^approval)/

Instance diagrams

The instance diagram in Figure 3 shows an example of the EXPRESS entities and templates that are instantiated by the template:

/assigning_concession(asn_role='Concession', role_ecl_id='urn:plcs:rdl:std', status='Approved', status_ecl_id='urn:plcs:rdl:std', date_cn='Date_actual_creation', date_ecl_id='urn:plcs:rdl:std', year='2005', month='10', day='7', items='#9', person_org='#69')/

(an illustration of the consolidated assigning_concession template is shown in Figure 4 below.)

Note that the templates assigning_approval, assigning_time, and assigning_reference_data are used in the diagram. Note that either template representing_organization or templates representing_person_in_organization and assigning_identification must be present to make the approval complete. In this diagram, the assignment of an approving organization was done as follows:

@69 /representing_organization(org_id='Bike Rent Limited', org_id_class_name='Organization_name', org_id_ecl_id='urn:plcs:rdl:std')/

Figure 3 — Entities instantiated by assigning_concession template

The instance diagram in Figure 4 shows the graphic symbol for the template that is to be used in other instance diagrams. The example template is:

Figure 4 — Instantiation of assigning_concession template

Characterizations

The following section details how the assigning_concession template can be optionally characterized by assigning other constructs to it. These are characterizations commonly applied to the template. The ISO 10303-239 EXPRESS model may enable other assignments to the entities instantiated by the template.

The EXPRESS-G diagram in Figure 5 shows the possible characterizations of the template "assigning_concession".