New functions in ipolog 4 Material Flow

• Sequences:

  • The material flow export now also includes the planned grouping chains for full and empty goods, so that this excerpt again reflects all planned views of the process chain editor.

  • In addition, the grouping chain transport relationships are also taken into account in the group building submodule (only direct transports), so that specific transport groups can also be stored for them.
    Of course, the export of the group building is then also updated so that it also takes the grouping chains into account in the result.

  • When reimporting the LMG (Logistical Quantity Framework), the empties area of the grouping chains are now also updated accordingly, so that the reimport and update behavior between the grouping chains and the Logistical Quantity Framework is now complete.

• Adjustments in manpower calculation:

  • The personnel requirements view and the calculation have been adapted so that the personnel requirements for grouping chains can now also be fully taken into account in the calculation.

  • For this purpose, we have first of all extended the columns in the manpower calculation in such a way that, in addition to the already existing ones, the log ID for the respective process or the name of the grouping chain is now also displayed in the detailed evaluation.
    In addition, you can now also see for which type of process chain the personnel requirement is calculated. Here there is the standard process chain, the standard grouping chain and the standard empties chain for the empties. Then follows the exact name of the respective standard process chain.
    In addition, it is also indicated at which stage the process is carried out. As a result, we have now created significantly more transparency for the values listed in the manpower calculation.
    Of course, these values are also included in the export of the manpower calculation.

  • As a next step, we have adjusted the manpower calculation so that they are calculated on the basis of the parameters set in the standard process chain editor and the transports performed per shift. You can find more information about the calculation of personnel requirements on our documentation.
    This adjustment is for us now also the foundation that we can calculate the manpower evaluation also for grouping chains.

  • In addition to adjusting the calculation logic from the manpower calculation, above the calculation results will also show for which simulation day the results have been calculated and on which number of orders the calculation is based.

• Performance improvement in decision tree:

  • In our decision tree (assigning parts to standard process chains), we have been able to significantly improve performance again, so that saving should now run much faster, especially in large planning scenarios.

• Other adjustments:

  • In the process chain editor, only the results that apply to the entry in the "Filter search" are output directly in the filter. If this is confirmed with "OK" afterwards, also in the list with the part information on the left side in the supply chain editor only those results are displayed which were contained in the filter before.

  • In addition, we have adjusted the warning messages in the process chain editor so that they are now more comprehensible when reimporting from the logistical quantity framework.

  • In the group building submodule (only direct transport means), we have now also reworked the filter again, so that this filter now works analogously to the process chain editor and also the errors contained therein, such as the filter after the "Source" column, work again.

  • In the process chain editor, the parameters such as opening stock, reorder level, safety stock, box matrix, replenishment quantity or theoretical line stock (for empties) can now also be imported when the material flow import is performed.

  • In the default process chain editor, it is now possible to change the layout level not only for the normal standard supply chains, but also for the deafult disposal chains and default grouping chains, even though they are already in use.

  • In addition, we have updated the LMG mapper, so that they have the latest version of this again in the help tools.

Known issues: 

• Currently, editing repaired routes causes a crash.

• In the Layout Editor, the save button remains active if material areas have been discarded after being assigned to layout levels. The problem is solved at the latest after a restart.

• In transport network editor, the undo behavior for path restrictions is not always working correctly.

• When entering an initial stock of 0 in the process chain editor, there is a crash.

• The shortest path is currently not completely displayed in the process chain editor for single-variety parts. Only the tips of the arrows can be seen here.

• In the process chains for bundlers, after creating a new breakpoint and automatically assigning it, there are sometimes minor problems with the update.

• In the process chain editor, the stack factor is not overwritten with the values from the logistic quantity structure if manual changes have been made before.

• Minor problems occur in the KPI monitor during the update after certain actions. These should be fixed after a restart at the latest.

• After editing a shift in the Shift Plan Administration view, a crash may occur.

• There is currently a crash after a layout reimport that affects the process chains.

• There is currently no update in the group formation as soon as the container has been changed. In addition, the capacitive utilization is not calculated correctly for manned means of transport.

• In the waypoint analysis, the display of the concrete transports over this point is missing when evaluating according to the entire day. However, for all other time units the display is correct.

• When clicking on a process for loading and unloading in the Transport Gantt, it is possible that an incorrect order is selected in the order list.

• In Shift Plan Management, shifts may be swapped when importing shift plans that cover more than one day. In addition, small display errors can occur in Shift Plan Management.

Fixed issues:

• As soon as a layout has a certain format this has led to a crash in rare cases. We also discovered these and were able to fix them successfully. Also it can be that with certain layouts not always all environment geometries were completely indicated. Also a shift or wrong scaling could occur here. All this has been solved with the new version.

• In the export of the order list the part name was missing. We have now added it back so that the export contains all the relevant information for tracking the orders.

• The assignment of a standard disposer chain or standard bundler chain to a standard supply chain can now be cancelled again and a change can be made to the assigned chains. After reassigning the previously assigned standard chains, a crash no longer occurs.

• After changing default grouping chains, the material areas in the supply chains are retained again. This makes planning easier again.

• In the deafult grouping chain editor, a deafult groupingl chain can now be assigned again without any worries and then it is possible to switch to the transports.

• When deleting certain connections between points in the transport network, crashes occurred. We have solved these crashes so that it is now possible to continue working in the transport network.

• In Shift Plan Management, discarding changes caused unwanted side effects. We have now identified and fixed these side effects.
• Furthermore, the name of a shift schedule can now be changed again directly after creating it or after importing it.

• It is also no longer possible to switch to another submodule while saving the logistical quantity structure.

• In the group building, the filter always did not work completely. We were able to solve this by unifying the filter with the one in the supply chain editor right away. Besides that, we were able to fix other problems that occurred during filtering.

• Up to now, there has always been a crash when changing the tug on a route with the 3D view open. This no longer occurs.

• During the calculation of transports it is now no longer possible to change the simulation day.

• In addition, the weight of load carriers and load units is now calculated correctly again.

• When creating a new tugger in resource management, a 3D geometry is now displayed again.

• Also, the 3D geometry is fully displayed again from direct transports when they are duplicated.

• The display of the utilization of trailers in the Transport Gantt is now fully visible again.

• When creating the layout structure, the default name of a new layout level is now directly in the edit mode when it has been created.

• Also, the display of imported content in a scenario in the cockpit is now updated correctly again.

• If a transport order cannot be transported during the order time window because the transport speed stored in the path network editor submodule is too low, a corresponding error message is now output.

• The save button now becomes active again in the resource management, for example when the name or the distribution time of a worker is saved.

• After hiding the 3D view, the Transport Gantt no longer shifts, so that it is now available again completely and transparently for the analysis of the individual processes of a means of transport - even if the 3D view has been hidden.

New functions in ipolog 4 Workspace

• We have revised the icons in the Layout Editor, Material Zone Editor and 3D View to make them more comprehensible.

• In the Layout Editor, polygonal areas can now be individually designed, so that not only rectangles are available for placement.

• In addition, a hint is currently given in the Layout Editor if a surface with identical name is already included as soon as a new surface is created.

• In the Material Provisioning Editor it is possible to adjust the box matrix. Since it was currently difficult to understand which box matrix is currently selected, we have now highlighted the current value. This should make the currently selected box matrix more comprehensible.

 Alpha:

• Currently, containers and empty shelves can be dragged and dropped from the Resource Catalog. However, they are currently only displayed in the Material Provisioning Editor and are not included in other exports.

Known issues: 

• When creating a new scenario, a product cannot always be selected directly in the Worker Gantt. A restart is necessary for this.

• In the Material Provisioning Editor, the colors of the containers are lost after "Renew Placement".

• In the Material Provisioning Editor, there is a crash if an incorrect area name or container name is entered.

• If a shelf that is too small is assigned via the Material Provisioning Editor or the Catalog and the "Use Outside Corner" function is also deactivated, the containers disappear. If the "Use Outside Corner" option is subsequently activated, there will be a crash.
  Currently, it is possible that shelves and bins cause a collision if they are moved to another face or the Outside Corner Area via certain paths.

• When renaming areas, the area names are not always updated immediately everywhere. As a result, containers placed on the floor cannot always be placed on the Outside Corner Area.

• If container rotations that differ from 0,90,180, 270 and 360 degrees are included when importing the V3 process file, then an error message is issued that the staging requirements do not match the layout.

• When creating new stations, it is currently not possible to change the direction of the station. Changing the direction is currently only possible in the Layout Editor directly when clicking on a surface. In addition, there are problems with zooming when creating many stations.

• After changes in the Worker Gantt, it is always recalculated automatically, even if Auto-Recalculate is deactivated. Also the function "Move activities to other products" is currently not available to the full extent.

• In the Material Zone Editor it is currently not possible to delete empty shelves.

• When moving bins, the edge of the new material zone is not correctly taken into account if it is different from the edge of the old material zone. As a result, the containers retain their original position for the time being and are not rotated.

• In certain edge cases, the leading edge of polygons does not always know when it is completely occupied.

• In some scenarios the referenced facilities may be displayed shifted in the 2D views.

• Currently there is a crash when a scenario change is performed after a timeout and relogin.

• A crash occurs when all projects are synchronized in the Production Flow View after previously syncing the Facilities.

• A crash can occur when exporting the "Write Diff Excel Report".

• In the Conveyor Editor, the position and orientation are not used immediately after a restart. Here you have to click again on the corresponding station in the Conveyor Editor.

• If a production program is activated when exporting from the 4MF package, this can lead to a crash. We recommend here to export the provision requirements, if these are desired, via the separate button.

• In addition, when using the colorizer, updating problems can occur in some cases, for example when containers are moved.

• There are also currently minor errors in the Animation Control.

Fixed issues:

• When re-importing an exported Excel file, it sometimes led to unwanted numerical values if the content of certain fields consisted only of numbers. As a result, the original contents were overwritten with other numbers. This problem no longer occurs - we have checked and adjusted all corresponding columns for this purpose.

• When referencing a scenario to another scenario via the Production Flow View, it sometimes happened that the facilities were shifted in the 3D view and were not visible in the 2D view. This is no longer the case.

• Via the export of the 4MF package, the shelf levels are now included when the exported shelves are imported again.

• We were able to resolve a crash that occurred when adding Facilities directly from the Catalog.

• We were also able to resolve another crash that occurred when deleting a container and then opening a scenario.

• When importing a finely placed Excel file, it no longer happens that the import overwrites the entries in the Conveyor Editor. These are now retained despite repeated import.

• Outside Corner Areas could be solved by mistake, which led to a crash. However, these areas are not editable or even deletable. This is now actually the case again.

• Containers now no longer end up on the Outside Corner unwantedly by changing a value in the "Picktime" field. Containers now retain their position again when a value is edited in this field.

• Material faces with more than four corners are now correctly duplicated in the Layout Editor again, so that the duplicates correspond to the originals, just with a different name.