Allow only business process relevant inspection type to be created.

[Former Member]

Dear Friends,

We are using ECC6.00 and have also implemented QM module. Here users are activating inspection types which are not in our business process. They activate this in the material master.

For example inspection type 02 is not used in our business process, but users activate 02 and subsequently not able to handle the inspeciton lots.

Can we restrict authorisation for the users to create only business process relevant inspection types. I searched in SU24 for t.code MM01 and not able to find any objects which restricts this.

Experts kindly provide details of how this can be handled in the system.

Regards,

M.M

[Former Member]

Dear Swarnali,

Thank you for your suggestion of raising an SAP OSS message. Wish to inform you some of our shop floor practise ( as you have dwealt with the subject in depth) . We are now in an era where every shop floor machines and equipments have extensive poka yoke (mistake proofing).

After Globalisation in India, we find more foreign customers also who visit our shop floor insisting on poka yoke(mistake proofing) -> why? because they do not want time and money to be wasted unnessarily and moreover on safety aspect.

As per your explanation and as per my earlier reply , there is in every work spot, huge display boards with the S.O.P -> can you say that our process will be 100% free from mistake because of the placards placed in our work spot.

One simple example which will make you understand very clearly the control in system only will help people is our SDN forum. Earlier we can create N number of messages most of it will be repeated and there was no control. The Forum guideline is again an S.O.P for us to learn and work according to it ? how many of us follow. Now after not more than 10 open threads can be available at any point of time (control established by SDN), the forum looks more tidy.

Now even if we want to create a new one and we have already 10 open, we cannot create unless we forecibly complete (whether our problem is solved or not).

This is exactly the control which can help users like us. This is the same our shop floor users are asking for.

Hope that you now understand.

Regards,

M.M

[Former Member]

Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your active participation and earnest guidlines provided. I am totally in agreement with your views. I wish to express my opinion which is as mentioned below.

1) Controls are not provided by SAP

2) Extensive tranining is given to the users

3) IT support desk is available to cater to the users problem.

Do you think that the presence of all the above will prevent users from commiting mistakes in the system?

Whatever said and done, users are more familiar with the shop floor business practise, when it comes to achieving the same in the system when you explain and provide a detailed S.O.P, you cannot still guarantee 100% mistake proofing.

As our friend Fire Fighter explained, we have also carried out the steps of escalating it to the higher ups but the question asked by them to the IT team is "Why should system give room for mistake creation?" and " Why is there so many other options available in the system which is no way relevant to my business scenario and why then you instruct us not to select this or that"

When such questions are raised, and moreover when users believe or start to believe that there can be no way by which error can occur in the system , the credibility on the system will start to gain momentum. On the contrary if there is place for the users to commit mistake, in the busy shop floor atmosphere, users should be very cautious in spending more time to understand and provide the correct details, we IT people will only be asked the questions as mentioned above.

All said and done, finally if WE IT people do not provide solution for the users problem, the affected people at last will be the service provider (i.e., WE IT people ) and no one else.

Hope you all understand my view point. correct me if my views are wrong.

Regards,

M.M

[Former Member]

Hi MM,

I understand your concern and I myself have encountered this many times, on the both sides of the table as I started my SAP career as simple end user.

But our users should also understand the thing that every system has a limitation. Even when they are in shop floor and using a machine, they can not operate it above its threshold point. Thats why we train people before sending them on shop floor. so that silly mistakes are avoided. Same is the case with IT industry. We are giving authorization to very selected people whom we train and expect to work in a proper manner. If they are messing up in such a manner, better to give the authorization to people who are more capable and responsible.

And I can suggest you to contact SAP OSS if its so necessary, they may suggest some enhancements.

[former_member42743]

I agree that we need to provide an IT solution when it makes sense and is reasonably doable. So much of this depends on the actual system you are working with. In a small system it might be very easy to say knock out the 02 inspection type from being used, (number range, no inspection usage configred, delete all the inspection type confg, etc).

In larger systems that support many business groups, it can be much more difficult. You may have one business group that uses the 02 and another that doesn't. Many places probaly have sites that use deadline monitoring, (09's) and those that don't. It then becomes much harder to limit what folks can and can't do. In some areas, you can't just turn off the functionality for a select group because it affects many other areas.

I expect QM power users and people in charge of master data to be held at at a higher accountability level then the average users. Especially QUALITY people!!! LOL

But you are right. If IT can resolve an issue, we should. But management has to understand that every add-on, every customization, every "special" thing we do, adds additional cost to the system. Maybe not right now, but it can be very significant when a major upgrade is required.

Another option that might be worth looking at is a correction process rather than a preventive program. You could set up a program that runs in batch daily, reviews materials that have changed that day, and then for certain business segments deletes any inspection types that have been activated that are not allowed for the plant or business org. I wouldn't hard copy the values in the program but create a Z-table that holds the plant number and alllowed inspection types. You could even add in a column for material type as well. So you'd have entries for each plant/mtrl type/insepction type combination. If the program finds an inspection type for a material not allowed according to the table, then it deletes it, or at least deactivates it.

FF

[Former Member]

Dear Friends,

Anyone there with a suitable option. Your help will be highly appreciated.

Regards,

M.M

[former_member662213]

Hi Magesh,

As you had already searched out all options regarding the authorization of inspection lot.

One of the possible options can be:

Exhaust the number range, i.e., in the go to SNRO, choos the object as "QLOSE", go to edit number ranges, for number range 02, maintain the "To Number " equivalent to Current Number.

This will help you in the following ways:

Since the number range has been exhaused or over, whenever system tries to automatically create inspection lot, it will raise an error saying that number range is exhaused, thus the users will be forced to remove the inspection type "02" from the material master .

Another option you can try, is the delinkage of inspection type and inspection lot origin from the customization. Again it will raise an error right at the time of either material master or at the time of inspection lot creation.

Thus, there wont be any new inspection lots created.

Or you can work on some of the options which disallow the creation of inspection type.

Thanks

SUMIT

Please give points if the answer helps you !

[former_member42743]

I will say up front that I don't have any better answers than what has been provided already. Sumit provdied some very interesting ideas that I wouldn't have thought of.

But just from a business standpoint. The IT group can't be expected to cover every issue and situation and shouldn't have to. You're probably not in a position to push back, unfortunately, most of us are not. But honestly, if quality mangers and power users don't understand their own processes to the extent that IT has to protect them from themseleves, then frankly they need to be fired or at the very least, retrained.

I would serioulsy try to push additional training on those users that continuly do this. If it is one or two people that continually don't "get it" then maybe a word or two with their upper management is in order.

Really, if they can't understand which inspection types to activate and not activate, how can they be trusted to manage specifications, inspection plans, etc....

What can help with this would be a formal CAPA process, (like quality notifications), where each time this happens, a formal complaint is raised and investigated.

FF

[Former Member]

Totally agree with Fire Fighter. Every issue can not be solved through SAP, it has its limitation too. So better dont go for such complicated things, maintenance can be proved to be hard to do.

If you are not left with any other option, note down default settings and remove 02 form customization (Though its not the right thing to do)

[Former Member]

Dear sujit,

Thank you for your guidance. I checked the information in the system and i find that in SU24 when you search based on the authroisation object Q_MATERIAL, the transaction codes displayed dosen't include MM01.

Wish you inform that i want the inspection setup 02 to be restricted for the users in MM01 and MM02 transactions and not in QA11 or QA32.

Further on discussion with our basis, it was revealed that only the transaction codes for which this object is applicable will be effective if this is maintained and since MM01 or MM02 are not reflected, maintaining this will not be fruitful.

Kindly explain how this can be achieved.

Regards,

M.M

[Former Member]

Hi

I went through all possible ways that I know, but sorry could not find any check to inspection type in mm01.

Lets see if anyone comes up with some idea. Till then, you can stick to restricted authorizations and ask users to be very specific in using insp. types. Tell them athe consequences that may arise coz of messed up inspection types.

[Former Member]

Dear Swarnali,

Thank you for your immediate reply. The suggestion mentioned by you had already been adopted. Only Quality users can create Quality views. My problem is with the Quality users only. Users of Quality are activating 02 also inadvertently in the material master, even though they had been instructed to maintain only inspection types pertaining to their business process.

In the above condition, now i am trying to restrict authorisation for the inspection type for the user.

Experts kindly provide solution.

Regards,

M.M

[Former Member]

Refer

Ask BASIS to explore the role based on object Q_INSPTYPE or create your own role with objects

[Former Member]

Hi

Talk to BASIS people to provide restricted authorization for MM01, you can also put authorization check in such a way that only people with authorization can use QM view of material master. Discuss the scenario with BASIS.