This activity is used to rename a serial by changing the part and/or the serial number of the serial.
During its life-cycle a serial may need to be changed for one or more reasons. This change can be handled through the Rename Serial functionality described in this activity. Observe the following example:
Assume that you have created a serial (XXYY) in IFS/VIM. At its creation you did not know the actual serial number and have therefore assigned a temporary system generated serial number to the serial. You now know the actual serial number and need to update serial XXYY with the new serial number. Furthermore, at some stage of use it has been noted that the serial XXYY contains an incorrect part number. This part number must be changed and the correct part number incorporated in XXYY. The part number and serial number change can be performed on the serial simultaneously.
When the part and/or serial number of a serial is changed, the operational status of the old serial (i.e., the serial before the rename) is set to Renamed and its operational condition is set to Not Applicable. The new serial containing the changed part and/or serial number will receive the operational status that the old serial had prior to the rename. Note: If the change of a part number or a serial number caused the serial's configuration to become invalid, the operational status of the new serial is automatically set to Out Of Operation.
If a Supplier Loaned serial is being renamed, please note that it will not be possible to return the renamed serial using the Purchase Order through which it was received. The reason for this limitation is that the Purchase Order only allows you to return items that have been received. You need to use a Customer Order to return a Supplier Loaned serial which has been renamed.
The following table shows the information that can be updated when performing the rename of a serial:
Serial information | Instances where the information should be modified |
Rename Reason | Enter the reason for renaming the serial. You can select from three predefined values, which are Correct Typing Error, Modify Generated Serial Number and Modification Compliance. |
Manufacturer | If the manufacturer of the old part number and new part number differ, the manufacturer of the new part number must be entered. |
Manufacturer's part number | If a new manufacturer is entered the corresponding manufacturer part number must be entered as well. Furthermore, some manufacturers change their part numbers once an overhaul is performed or when a modification is completed. In such instances, the new manufacturer part number can be updated on the serial. |
Maintenance program data | When the part number of the serial is changed the current maintenance program may not be valid for the new part number. If so, you need to modify the data to include the valid maintenance program. You can also choose to disconnect the serial from a maintenance program when performing a part number change. |
Template information | When the part number of the serial is changed you may need to change the template of the serial as well. If the serial belongs to a structure, it will be possible to extend the new template information to the rest of the serials in the structure. |
Cancel Running Tasks | When renaming a serial all running tasks for the serial must first be cancelled. Enter the cancellation cause that will be used to cancel the tasks. |
Update History | When the part and/or serial number of a serial is changed, you can choose to update existing history records for the serial with the new part and/or serial number. You can also choose to retain the old part and/or serial number in the history records for the serial as well. Note however that when the rename reasons Correct Typing Error or Modify Generated Serial Number is used, the history records are required to be updated with the new part and/or serial number. Therefore, all the check boxes for Update History will be selected by default and cannot be cleared. |
Apart from the information detailed above you can enter additional information, for example, a journal note highlighting the reasons for the part and/or serial number change.
If access control is established, you can only rename the serials to which you have access. This is done by assigning a user to an access group which is defined in basic data. The access groups will be used to spread access to all or selected parts and serials in a structure. If only the serial number is changed when renaming a serial, the new serial will automatically receive access rights from the old serial. However, if the part number of the serial is also changed, access rights from the old serial will not be updated on the new serial.
When renaming a serial leading to a part identity change, there can occur differences in templates, such as, new structure positions or removed structure positions. If empty or not installed structure positions exist in the serial structure but do not exist in the new template revision (i.e., the template of the serial after the rename), these empty structure positions will be removed automatically from the structure. If structure positions exist in the new template which are not present in the serial structure, these structure positions will be added automatically to the serial structure as empty structure positions when performing this activity. Empty or not installed structure positions refer to the structure positions where expected serials or parts are missing from the serial structure.
Serial Structure Information/General
Rename Serial - Enter General
Information (Step 1 of 6)
Rename Serial - Enter Part Information
(Step 2 of 6)
Rename Serial - Enter Template
Information for the Structure (Step 3 of 6)
Rename Serial - Cancellation of Tasks
(Step 4 of 6)
Rename Serial - Update History (Step 5
of 6)
Rename Serial - Confirm Rename of
Serial (Step 6 of 6)
Data required to be entered in the first step of the assistant:
Data required to be entered in the second step of the assistant:
Data required to be entered in the third step of the assistant:
Data required to be entered in the fourth step of the assistant:
Data required to be entered in the fifth step of the assistant:
Note: If the rename reasons Correct Typing Error or Modify Generated Serial Number have been selected, all the check boxes in this step of the assistant will be selected by default and cannot be modified.
* If the renaming of a serial were to be reversed, the check boxes in this step of the assistant will be selected or cleared based on the previous settings defined when renaming the serial.
The final step of the assistant contains some additional information with regard to the rename of a serial. It is recommended that you read this information before you click Finish to close the Rename Serial assistant.