Applications: Wagstaff uses outside processing (OP) to cope with lack of capacity, nonexistent in-house operations (plating, anodizing, spectral analysis inspection, blast and painting, etc.) and/or specialized manufacturing.

Shop Floor: For production activity control, a single work center number (#68) is designated for all outside processing. Components of the work center are set up conventionally, except that the plan is to dollars rather than hours. Queue time assigned varies by the type of outside processing (e.g., zinc plating uses 48 hours and blast and paint could be 72-96 hours), and is specific to part numbers.

Coding: Drawing notes for a part requiring OP contain a company-specific OP code (4-digits max.) which details the specific type of processing required and can be incorporated in the routing description of the operation. For example, AN2N stands for anodizing to code 2 and no drawings are needed. (Anodizing Code 2 is an industry standard — "MIL-A-8625{E} Type III Class 1, natural color with seal anodic coatings, for aluminum and aluminum alloys") available to suppliers on demand or as needed.

The value of this approach is that, whether OP is temporary or permanent, the process requirement can be accessed in-house for a future "make" decision, or at the supplier for the "buy" decision with no changes to the BOM or drawing. An alternate production routing would be needed to enable both cases.

Purchase Orders: POs which bring in non-BOM material (e.g., MRO supplies) can use the OP code as the line item part and description being purchased. (Example: "PO #xxxx will buy 37 each, on line 1, of AN2N/PN# to be supplied by 1/31/98.") Receipt of this line does not add to the MRP load, while allowing payment for the OP. A computer link between the PO and the manufacturing order will close work center 68 on the routing when that particular PO line item is received, making the next work center in the routing available. This next available routing is also used to inform the stores/receiving area where the OP parts are needed.

Quality/Inspections: Under the circumstances detailed below, incoming inspection of OP material is not required as it comes back in-house, and the material may proceed directly to the next internal operation: (1) suppliers' processes are qualified in advance, and (2) manufactured parts going out for OP are verified for correctness prior to being sent out.

Cost Accounting: If the invoice for OP is received prior to or at receipt of the parts, the costs are automatically rolled up into the "as built" cost of the order. If the supplier submits an invoice monthly, the OP costs are added to the cost of a project or inventory, manually, by cost accounting personnel, without impacting the shop floor.

Thank you, Sherry and David, for sharing your experiences with us concerning outside processing.

Dear APICS: Are there standardized part descriptions available for use by businesses?
Reply: The answer to this question is a qualified "yes." My reservation is based on the scope of standardization. For example, it is fairly common for large, long-established companies to have developed their own sets of descriptors, particularly if they have used significant part numbering schemes. However, another division or the company next door may use a (somewhat) different set of descriptors for the same items.

Moving the scope outward, there are reputed to be some industry-based descriptor schemes, too. These have been hard to track down. We know that at least some companies and supply chains in the grocery industry and the textile and apparel industry have been able to standardize on Uniform Product Codes (UPC) and transaction codes to improve responsiveness and lower transaction costs, significantly. However, this does not mean that the product/part descriptors are standardized. Contact with the Uniform Code Council, responsible for assigning and maintaining the first six digits of the UPCs (company identifier), confirms that the descriptors are the responsibility of the firm assigned a company code.

An ambitious standardization effort is that of the American Petroleum Institute (API), Petroleum Industry Data Exchange (PIDX), the Construction Industry Institute and other collaborators which have created an electronic identification system for standard, cross-industry descriptions and part numbers. The system is known as CIMIS (Common Industry Material Identification Standards) and is accessible via the Internet at www.cimis.com. CIMIS Data Center, 1220 L Street NW e-mail: [email protected]