Modification Programs in IFS/Vehicle Information Management

Before a modification program can be defined, the definition of the modification must be registered. For more information about how to define the modification, refer the online help file: About Modification Definition. After entering data about the modification, you may enter your modification program by assigning parts, part revisions and detailed information for each assigned part revision to the modification.

Part numbers have to be assigned to the modification. When these part numbers are entered, it has to be decided whether the modification should be executed at next visit in any workshop, at next interval maintenance, or at a calculated time based on the defined operational parameter(s) or a calendar interval. To execute the modification at next visit in workshop or at next interval maintenance, you need to define the appropriate values.

If the modification is to be executed at a calculated time, based on the defined operational parameter(s) or a calendar interval, intervals for when the Terminating Action should be performed for this modification has to be set up. The terminating action is performing the actual modification of the serial or serial structure. It is possible to define the execution of the modification based on one or more operational parameters per assigned part. It will also be possible to define one calendar interval or unit as one of the parameters for a given part. For more information, refer the online help file: Activity Define Terminating Action on Modification. The default behavior will be to calculate due date for all operational parameters and the calendar interval, and then trigger the execution of the modification by selecting the one giving the earliest due date. It is also possible to indicate, the Last Due Date Trigger Execution on the part number, that the parameter that comes last should trigger the execution of the modification.

Inspections can be defined in order to determine whether the modification needs to be complied with or not. For more information, refer the online help file: Activity Define Inspections on Modification.

Information on how modifications should be executed, is defined per modification and part number.

Allowed revisions per part number for a modification must also be defined. If the modification is defined with assignment type By Revision All Serials, all serials defined for the part number and revision entered for the modification, will be assigned. If a modification is defined with By Serial Range, all serials with serial numbers defined in the serial ranges for the modification will be assigned. The serial range is not connected to the revision of the part number, only to the part number. For more information about definition of serial ranges, refer the online help file: Activity Define Serial Range.

Structure Impacts and Post Maintenance Checks may also be defined for a modification.

When part revisions have been connected to a modification, you may enter References and Affected Parts for the modification. If the modification requires compliance with another modification, or excludes compliance with another modification, in order to be performed, this must be registered as a reference. Each part that must be worked on or inspected in order to claim modification compliance, must be specified as an affected part.

If the modification leads to a part identity change on an assigned and/or affected serial, the serial will be renamed automatically when the modification (with execution type Terminating Action) is performed and will contain the new part number and revision registered during the definition of the modification. In order to successfully perform the automatic renaming of a serial the system will perform several validations during the definition of a modification and modification program. The first validation is performed when a new part number and revision is entered on the assigned/affected part. Next validation is performed when the modification is activated. The validations are also performed when a modification task (i.e., a modification task leading to a part identity change and containing the execution type Terminating Action) is distributed to a maintenance order for execution in a work shop, when the modification task is included in a work scope and when the modification task is finished from a work order or shop order (when Complex Assembly MRO is used). Following is a list of the valid validations performed by the system:

A warning message is generated if the new part number is not a valid alternate or if the maintenance program is not valid for the new part number. You are recommended to read through this message before continuing with [or canceling] the activity. You will not be allowed to activate the modification if the manufacturer is not valid for the new part number. 

Definition of Instructions with operations, material lists and tools and facilities for a modification, should be defined. When a modification task is due and operations, materials and tools and facilities have been registered, these data are transferred to the work order when it is distributed.