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210 CHAPTER 6 The Production Process

Tasks
Confi rmations can be recorded for the entire order or for specifi c operations
or suboperations. When a confi rmation is recorded for the entire order, then
all operations in the order are automatically confi rmed. Confi rmations at the
operations level can be recorded in several ways, as explained below.

• Time event confi rmations record setup, processing, and teardown
times. Confi rmations can be recorded for both machine time and
labor time.
• Time ticket confi rmations record confi rmations periodically. An
operation can be either partially or fully confi rmed. Partial confi r-
mations consist of data accumulated since the previous confi rma-
tion. Consider, for example, a production order in which 30 units of
a material are to be processed. The work center employee decides
to enter two confi rmations. If the fi rst confi rmation is for 20 units,
then the second one will refl ect the quantity subsequently pro-
duced, that is, 10 units.

• Collective and fast entry confi rmations confi rm multiple operations
at the same time.
• In milestone confi rmation, the confi rmation of an operation auto-
matically confi rms the preceding operations. Imagine, for example,
that one of the operations in a sequence is an inspection operation.
Those units that pass inspection are confi rmed, while the remaining
units are sent for rework. In this case, the preceding operations are
confi rmed for the quantity that passed inspection.
• Progress confi rmation periodically indicates the total progress of an
operation at the time of the confi rmation. Revisiting our example
of 30 units of a material, when using progress confi rmation, the ini-
tial confi rmation will indicate 20 units, and the second will indicate
30 units.
The above discussion assumes that confi rmations are entered into the system
manually. As previously stated, the production process may involve the use of
external systems such as PDC systems. In such cases, the PDC system auto-
matically provides the confi rmation data.

Outcomes
The obvious outcome of the confi rmation step is that the data associated
with the work actually completed are recorded. In addition, the production
order is updated to refl ect the quantity of materials that were produced,
the activities and operations that were completed, and the dates when the
work was performed. The order status is set to either completely confi rmed
or partially confi rmed, depending on whether the entire order quantity was
produced. In cases of partial confi rmation, the work center employees can
make additional confi rmations as they produce more of the material. Because
confi rmation indicates that production in one or more work centers has
been completed, capacity reservations in these centers are reduced. The work
centers can then be used for other purposes.

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