On the IRCs tab, you get an overview of all inspection release certificates (IRCs) of the current order. Here you can create, modify, and delete IRCs. IRCs can only be deleted if none of its item shipments has been assigned to a release note. To see the item shipments of an IRC, you can either double-click in the IRC Number field or click the Details button.
If the project default ZP_IRCAPRQ is set to N (default), data can be changed at any time by any user. An approval of the IRC is not required to continue the workflow, that is, to place an item shipment on a release note. If ZP_IRCAPRQ is set to Y, only users that have been assigned to the current order as inspector on the P.70.73 Order Reference screen can create and modify IRCs as long as the Ready for Approval indicator is not set. Once the IRC is marked as ready for approval, no further changes are possible on the IRC. In the next step, the IRC must be approved by a user who has the IRC APPROVAL privilege granted. After an IRC has been approved, only users that have been assigned to the current order as expediter on the P.70.73 screen can modify the IRC. Moreover, the item shipments of an approved IRC can then be placed on a release note.
The IRC Number field displays the name/number of the inspection release certificate (IRC). IRC numbers must be unique within the combination of project and order number. That is, the same IRC number can be used within the same project but for different orders. Only within an order must the IRC number be unique. You can double-click in this field to open another window where the item shipments of this IRC are displayed. See the description of the Details button below for the details.
If the project default ZP_EXPRULE is set to Y, IRC numbers are automatically created. The IRC rule that is applied is given by the project default ZP_IRCRULE. IRC rules are defined on the P.10.78 Expediting Rules screen. The IRC number is shown once you enter an IRC date and move to the next record or commit the data. Automatically generated IRC numbers cannot be updated.
The IRC Date field shows the date of the IRC. The date of an IRC must be earlier than the date of any release note that might have already been assigned to any item shipment with this IRC number. A date in the future is not allowed.
The IRC Quantity field shows the total of all quantities placed on the IRC. If no item shipment is assigned, 0 (zero) is displayed. If different quantity units are found on the associated item shipments, this field remains empty. The unit for the IRC quantity is shown in the Quantity Unit field.
The Actual Inspection Date field shows the date on which the inspection of the material actually took place. The date entered here is copied over from the actual date for the destination (of the routing method of an item shipment) that has been marked as 'Inspection.' The actual inspection date must be earlier than or equal to the IRC date.
The Ready for Approval indicator shows whether the IRC is ready for approval. This indicator is only of interest if the project default ZP_IRCAPRQ is set to Y. In that case, an IRC must be approved before the workflow can continue. When you select this check box, an email is automatically sent to the expediter(s) of the order with a notification that the IRC is ready for approval. As a prerequisite to enable the emails being sent out, an email template must be defined for template type EXPEDITING on the A.10.51 Email Templates screen. This template must be assigned to the project default ZP_EMT_IRC.
In the Approved by field, the name of the user who approved the IRC is displayed. The Approved Date field shows the date when the IRC was approved.
In the Comment field, you can enter any comment on the IRC.
Users with the IRC APPROVAL privilege granted can click the Approve button to approve the selected IRC. The software fills the Approved by field with the current user and the Approved Date field with the current date. If the approval of an IRC is required (project default ZP_IRCAPRQ is set to Y), the expediter can start with modifications on the IRC after the approval. Prior to the approval, he cannot apply any changes.
When you click the Reverse Approval button, the approval of the selected IRC is revoked. Only users with the IRC APPROVAL privilege granted can reverse the approval of an IRC. If the approval of an IRC is required (project default ZP_IRCAPRQ is set to Y), the approval can only be reversed if none of the item shipments assigned to the IRC can already be found on a release note. If you click this button, the Approved by, Approved Date, and Ready for Approval fields are cleared. If the approval of an IRC is required, the inspector can apply changes to the IRC again after the approval has been reversed and the Ready for Approval indicator has been reset.
Click the Details button or double-click in the IRC Number field to open another window where the item shipments assigned to the selected IRC are displayed.
For more information, see MCS.
On the IRCs tab, the fields and button beside the Details button on P.70.72 can be used to populate an IRC with item shipments having the same MCS number. You can also use the Forecasted Delivery Date, Last Info Date, and Info Type fields to populate the values that have been entered to the item shipments assigned to the current IRC. Select the name/number of the MCS from the LOV in the MCS Number field the item shipments of which are to be assigned to the IRC. In the Forecasted Delivery Date field, you can use the LOV to select the forecasted delivery date. The forecasted delivery date is copied over for all item shipments to which the IRC will be assigned. This forecasted date is then marked as set manually. In other words, this date is displayed with a cyan background color on the Expediting Dates block. You can select the last date on which any information has been entered for an item shipment from the LOV in the Last Info Date field. This is an optional field. If you enter a value, it will be copied over on the item shipments that are assigned to the IRC. Future dates are not allowed. In the Info Type field, you can select the type of the last information update from the LOV. Any task defined on the P.10.56 Events and Tasks screen can be entered. You can double-click in this field to open this screen. If you enter a value, it will be copied over on the item shipments that are assigned to the IRC.
If the Overwrite indicator is selected, item shipments that have already been assigned to any IRC will also be assigned to the IRC provided that no release note has been assigned. If an item shipment has been assigned to a release note, the IRC will no longer be overwritten. If you do not select this check box, only item shipments that have not been assigned to any IRC so far will be taken into account. This check box is not used when no MCS is entered and one of the other fields is just filled to populate all item shipments of the selected IRC with the new value.
Select the Ignore IRC check box if you just want the Forecasted Delivery Date, Last Info Date, and/or Info Type fields to be populated. The selected item shipments will not be assigned to the current IRC. This check box is only of interest if no MCS number has been entered.
Although you can use the Ignore IRC option, it is necessary that at least one IRC has been defined for the agreement.
Otherwise, the fields in the populate section are not activated.
If you click the Populate button, the following operations are executed:
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If an MCS number is provided, all item shipments that have been assigned to the selected MCS number but that are not on a release note are assigned to the current IRC.
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Depending on the setting of the Overwrite check box, only item shipments without an IRC (indicator not marked) or all item shipments (indicator marked) are taken into account. By default, the MCS quantity and the item shipment weight are copied over on the IRC. But these values can be modified. The actual inspection date of the IRC is copied over as the actual date for that destination of the routing method that has been marked as being of type 'Inspection'.
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If no MCS number has been entered, the values entered in any of the other fields are copied over on all item shipments that are assigned to the current IRC. Please note that in the case of the forecasted delivery date, only item shipments that have not been placed on a release note so far are modified.
You can also use the Populate button after selecting item shipments on the Item Shipments tab (Sel check box selected). Then click this button either with or without entering additional information such as the forecasted delivery date. In this case, the current IRC is assigned to all selected item shipments (provided that the usual, known prerequisites are fulfilled) and possibly the additional information is populated. The Overwrite check box is taken into account in this case but only for the assignment to the IRC, not for the additional information.