Job Closing

Version: As of version 16.03

Purpose

Production Jobs are used to plan the quantity of items to be produced within a pre-defined time frame using a specified set of materials and labor. When a Job is started, the materials are issued, after which finishing/relieving occurs. Once the Job is complete, it must be closed. The act of closing a Job indicates all actions, such as issuing, relieving, and finishing, have been completed on that Job and lets employees know that no further work or production is required.

Closing and finishing may occur simultaneously, but some companies may use the closing process to review all transactions that have occurred on the Job. Several items and actions on Jobs should be verified prior to their closure including any difference between standard and actual costs, the quantity of items consumed and issued, and Worker time logged. Depending on the strictness of company policies, the acts of and permissions for finishing material on a Job and closing the Job can be segregated. This separation of permissions allows one user to perform all finishing transactions and a second user to review these transactions and, if approved, close the Job. Information on how to restrict user permissions is available via the Managing Users and User Security page.

Closing a Job will relieve all materials issued to that Job. Therefore, if the quantity of material issued to a Job is more than was consumed on the Job and is not considered waste (and therefore should not be relieved), it should be de-issued prior to closing the Job (if inventory is set to backflush), otherwise it may all be relieved upon closure. The inventory relief behavior is dictated by the selections made in Production Options.

Security and Configuration

Security/Permissions See your system administrator for security access.

To close a Production Job, one must first exist in the system. This Job must still be open or re-opened and have materials issued to it.

For material relief from Shop Area Locations, the following should be taken into consideration:

If relieving material from Shop Area Locations only:
- The finished goods or produced parts must have the "Backflush BOM at job" flag checked on the Properties tab of the Item Master.
- The Locations tab on the Shop Area specified on the Job header must contain inventory locations.
  - Note: The Locations tab may contain multiple Locations listed in the order in which inventory relief will occur.
- The Raw Materials or items/components that may only be relieved from the Shop Area Locations must have the "Restrict job relief to shop area locations" flag checked on the Properties tab of the Item Master record. When quantities are finished on Jobs containing this Shop Area, the system will check the inventory Locations on the Shop Area in order to relieve necessary material. If the locations do not contain sufficient material, the system will prompt the user that there are insufficient quantities.
If relieving material from Shop Area Locations first:
- The Raw Materials or Components that will be consumed when finishing the produced part will not have the "Restrict job relief to shop area locations" flag checked on the Properties tab of the Item Master.
- The Locations tab on the Shop Area specified on the Job header must contain inventory Locations. Note that the Locations tab may contain multiple Locations listed in the order in which inventory relief will occur. When quantities are finished on Jobs containing this Shop Area, the system will check the inventory Locations on the Shop Area in order to relieve necessary material and move to the on hand FIFO lots at the Facility specified on the Job if the Shop Area Locations do not contain sufficient inventory. In this case, users will not be prompted if the Shop Area contains insufficient inventory. They will be warned, however, if insufficient inventory is found at the Facility on the Job, which is normal system behavior.

Related Processes

Procedures

Verifying a Job is ready to be closed

Several items and actions on Jobs should be verified prior to their closure: any difference between standard and actual costs, the quantity of items consumed and issued, and Worker time logged. To investigate these items, generate a Job Reporting "Job Cost Summary" report for open Jobs. Differences between standard and actual costs can be investigated via the "Material Costs" button. Analyzing these numbers should answer the questions "Was too much material used?" and "Was the material used too expensive?" Basically, was there a dollar or quantity variance and should standard costs be updated as a result. If standard costs should be updated, do so on the appropriate Item Master records then refresh the report to calculate the new variances. Once a Job is deemed ready for closure, continue with the steps detailed in the "Closing Jobs" section.

There are two ways to close a production Job within DEACOM - the Close/Relieve method and the Input Production method. In situations where the amount of inventory issued is greater then what was used when finishing, users may wish to de-issue the excess before closing the Job.

Closing a Job using the Close/Relieve method

Navigate to the "Job Summary" or "Job Detail" report via Production > Job Reporting.
Click the "Close/Relieve" button on the Job Summary or Job Detail form, which will call the Close/Relieve form.
All lines that are available to be finished will appear in the form. If the "Show lines with zero left to finish in input production" is set to true in , lines with zero left to finish will appear as well.
At this point, the next steps depend on what is required to close the Job. If all the items have been finished on the Job, users will just need to verify the information is correct and check the "Close Job" box before clicking the "Save" button. If users will need to enter or modify finish quantities, or choose different Locations and Location Types, then proceed to the next step. See the opening section on the Input Production page to see how DEACOM populates the default Location Type and Location for materials.
Select a line of the Job and click the "Modify" button on the toolbar to display the Close/Relieve Job Modify form.
This form is used to modify the finish quantity, leftover quantity, specify different Location Types and Locations, and add item attributes.
Make the appropriate changes on the form.
If additional job lines will need to be modified, click the "Next" button, otherwise click the "Save" button. If modifying multiple Jobs lines, be sure to click the "Save" button on the Close/Relieve Job Modify form.
The Close/Relieve Job Modify form will be closed and the user will be returned to the Close/Relieve Job form.
Ensure the "Close Job" box is checked and click the "Save" button to complete the process.
1. Note: If the "Print Job Labels After Finish" box is checked, users will be presented with the Copies to Print form.

Closing a Job using the Input Production method

Navigate to Production > Input Production.
Select the Facility.
Enter the Job Number.
Ensure the "Part Number" field is populated and correct. If not populated, select a Part Number.
Enter in the quantity being completed in the "Completing" field.
Enter in correct Location Type and Location for material (i.e. where the material is being finished to). See the opening section on the Input Production page to see how DEACOM populates the default Location Type and Location for materials.
Enter a lot number or have it pre-populated using the "Lot # Expression" in Inventory Options.
Ensure "Print Job Labels After Finish" flag is checked if printing labels with each finish.
If this is the completion of the Job, check the "Close Job" flag and click the "Save" button to complete the process.

Note: Co-products can be used when using the Input Production and Close/Relieve forms. For information on Entering co-production quantities with these forms, refer to the Handling Co-Products and By-Products page.

Handling excess issued material and backflushing

What happens to excess issued material?

If the amount of inventory issued is greater then what was used when finishing, it is a good idea to de-issue the excess material so that it may be used on a different Job at a later time. This can be done by using the De-Issue/Un-Reserve transaction, which is used to de-issue lots that have been previously issued to jobs to put that inventory back into a status of inventory instead of allocated to a specific job. This should be done prior to closing the Job. For information and the process related to De-issuing materials, refer to the Issuing and Reserving Material page. If material is not de-issued before the Job is closed, all excess material will be relieved from the system.

How is material backflushed?

Backflush accounting is when the manufacture of a product is completed prior to recording all of the related issuances of inventory that were required to create the product. This property can differ item by item and is defined on a Part's Item Master Properties tab. The default used when Parts are created is dictated by the "Backflush BOM at Job Finish" flag in Inventory Options. Checking this flag on a Part makes the system relieve only the materials necessary to produce the Finished Goods and takes those materials from the Locations defined on the Shop Area selected on the Job.

The "Over-Issue %" defined on a BOM line is the percentage that will be added to the Required and To Issue amounts when issuing materials to Jobs, but not be relieved when backflushing the BOM of the finished item. This option can be used together with "Scrap %" (also defined on the BOM line) as the Required and To Issue amounts will include both the Scrap and Over-Issue amounts. When material is finished on a Job, the quantity backflushed will only include the Scrap %, leaving the Over-Issue % in WIP to be handled manually. Any amount left in WIP (instead of being de-issued) will be relieved when the Job is closed. If the issuing process will not be used by a company or for a specific Job, then the Over-Issue % will have no effect. Additional information on backflushing can be found on the Additional Options When Managing Formula Revisions page.

Understanding material relieving options

How is material relieved from Shop Areas?

For companies who use backflushing, in addition to defining a collection of similar machines or Work Centers, Shop Areas in DEACOM may also contain inventory Locations. The concept of Shop Area inventory Locations is used in situations where customers wish to have inventory stored at a Shop Area Location and then backflushed, as a result of production, from only the Shop Area inventory Location or from this Location first before attempting to backflush from regular inventory. Keep in mind, if material is specifically issued to a Job and therefore in WIP, this material will always be used first before the system attempts to obtain quantities from the Shop Area Location or the FIFO lots on hand at the appropriate Facility. Additionally, base DEACOM configuration does not require a Shop Area to be selected when entering Jobs. Therefore, if this method is being employed, companies must ensure that each Job has a Shop Area selected.

If relieving material from Shop Area Locations only:
- The system will only attempt to relieve the required materials necessary to finish the Finished Goods or produced part quantities from the inventory Locations specified on the Locations tab of the Shop Area specified on the Job.
- To employ this method:
  - The Finished Goods or produced Parts must have the "Restrict Job Relief To Shop Area Locations" flag checked on their Item Master Properties tab.
  - The Locations tab on the Shop Area specified on the Job header must contain one or more inventory Locations, listed in the order in which inventory relief should occur.
- When quantities are finished on Jobs containing this Shop Area, the system will check the inventory Locations on the Shop Area to relieve necessary material. If the Locations do not contain sufficient material, the system will prompt the user that there are insufficient quantities.
If relieving material from Shop Area Locations first:
- The system will first attempt to relieve the required materials necessary to finish the Finished Goods or produced part quantities from the inventory Locations specified on the Locations tab of the Shop Area specified on the Job. If sufficient quantities are not available at the Shop Area inventory Locations, the system will then move to the on hand FIFO lots at the Facility specified on the Job. In this case, users are not restricted to only relieving from Shop Area Locations.
- To employ this method:
  - The Finished Goods or produced Parts must have the "Restrict Job Relief To Shop Area Locations" flag cleared on their Item Master Properties tab.
  - The Locations tab on the Shop Area specified on the Job header must contain one or more inventory Locations, listed in the order in which inventory relief should occur.

When maintenance jobs are created via MRO, the Shop Area on the job header is supplied from the Work Center Shop Area as identified on the routing of maintenance task listed on the job. When creating maintenance jobs outside of MRO, the system uses the following hierarchy for indicating the Shop Area:

The Work Center Shop Area from the revision of the latest maintenance item added to the job.
If no maintenance tasks/items have Work Center Shop Area, then the Shop Area from the revision header on the job.
Then the default Shop Area set via Production > Maintenance > Shop Areas.

How is material relieved as issued?

Relieving material as issued is appropriate when allowing production finishing at a variable yield greater than specified on a BOM without calling for additional material to be issued to a Job. Likewise, configuring items and BOMs without this property prohibits additional finishing beyond BOM quantities. Configuring this property is accomplished via the "Relieve As Issued At Job Finish" flag on the Item Master Properties tab and on the Edit BOM Line form's Issuing tab.

Checking this flag is desirable when yield variation occurs irrespective of precise BOM specified yield.
Leaving this flag unchecked is desirable when specific or calculated batch yields should not vary from BOMs to Production.
Using the "Relieve As Issued" Item Master property is appropriate if a Raw Material or a Subassembly always needs to be relieved as issued on all production Jobs.
Using the "Relieve As Issued" BOM Line property is appropriate if a Raw Material or Subassembly is to be relieved as issued in some formulas but not others. This option would leave the same flag unchecked on the Item Master.
In addition, there is a "Show Lines With Zero Left To Finish In Input Production" flag in Production > Options > WIP tab. If checked, the system will display a prompt asking the user to confirm they wish to proceed with finishing a job in situations where items on the BOM are flagged to relieve as issued but nothing is issued to the Job.
- The security setting "Jobs -- Override prompt for relieving as issued" determines if users will be able to finish in situations where nothing has been issued. If set to true, the system will display a yes/no prompt when finishing on jobs where nothing has been issued. If the user clicks "Yes", they may continue with finishing the job. If set to false, prompt is simply “OK” and finishing the job is aborted.

Additional Information

Analyzing closed Jobs

Reviewing the details of closed Jobs ensures standard costs and variances over time have been accurately recorded. Analyzing the consumption and production rates of Jobs also gives insight into potential maintenance needs. For example, generating a Job Reporting "Job Cost Summary" report for closed Jobs may show that Bottling Line 1 uses a certain number of bottles to complete 10 Jobs whereas Bottling Line 2, which is identical to Line 1, uses 20% more bottles to produce the same amount of material. This may mean that maintenance is required or the scrap factor for the Part(s) should be updated so that bottle consumption and scrap is not underestimated.