A structure contains information on the parent item, components, attachments, and descriptive elements. Each standard component on a structure can have multiple reference designators and substitute components.

User can create either an engineering or manufacturing structure, copy an existing structure, associate an ICC structure, or reference a common structure. When a user creates a structure, it exists only in the current organization. To use a structure in another organization, user must either copy it or reference it as a common. User can create structures for only those items on which the user has edit privileges.

All types of bills (standard, model, option class and planning) except the product family bills can be created in product Workbench. Date, revision, and unit effective structures can be created. Creation of serial effective structure is not supported in the current release of Product Workbench.

   To create a structure:

1. Select an item from favorite items list or from item search results and invoke the create structure dialog through the right click 'create structure' action.

2. If the selected item is an engineering item, the Engineering check box will be selected and cannot be edited. In case of a manufacturing item, user can choose to create a manufacturing or engineering structure.

3. Select a structure type and a structure name. Only those combinations are available for which a structure doesn't already exist for the selected item.

4. Specify the effectivity control for the structure being created. Choose from date or revision effectivity.

   Additional Information: Revision effective structures are always of type Engineering.

5. Provide a description for the structure.

6. Choose whether the structure being created is a preferred one for the selected structure type.

7. Check the Open structure after creation if you want to continue editing the structure.

8. Click the OK button. This will open up the new window where the user can specify other information related to the structure. The structure is not yet saved.

9. Select the top node, right click, and select Add in the structure window to open the Add Components window. You can also open the Add Components window by dragging and dropping an item from the favorites list, item search results or from another structure window.

   In the Add Components window, add one or more components to the node selected in the structure window through the following actions:

   • Perform item simple search by providing the complete or partial item number/description and clicking on the simple search button. In case of a single match, the item gets automatically selected in the Add Components window. In case of multiple matches, a new window showing all the search results is shown and the user can select one or more items from this window:

     1. To select a set of adjacent rows, select the first row and hold down the shift key and select the last row to include.

     2. To select non-adjacent rows, select a row or a range of rows and then hold down the Ctrl key and keep selecting the rows to include.

   • Perform an advanced parametric search and add one or more items from the search results.

   • Create new items and add them as components.

   • Provide the complete or partial item number in a new row in the Add Components window, by double clicking on in the Item Name column. Behavior is similar to the simple search described above.

   Additional Information: You can only select valid components in the Add Components window. Refer to the Bill of Material User's Guide for these dependencies.

10. Review the components selected in the add component dialog and make necessary changes. The changes that can be done are as follows:

    • Use a fixed component revision instead of floating (default behavior). Users can better manage design configurations with Fixed or Pre-specified revision. During a design phase, subassemblies may go through rapid changes and the consumers of the subassembly can shield themselves from these changes by fixing the revision of the component subassembly until they choose to change it. In case of certain subassemblies, engineers of the consuming subassembly may always want to pick the current revision of the subassembly. A fixed component revision caters to both usages.

      Attention: Consuming applications like WIP, APS, MRP,etc EBS applications do not support Fixed Revision of the Component. Manufacturing BOMs therefore cannot have components with a fixed revision.

    • Specify an item sequence and/or an operation sequence

    • Modify the default quantity of 1

    • Modify the effectivity range i.e. start and end date in case of a date effective structure and a start and end revision of the parent for revision effective structure.

    • Remove one or more items selected in the add component dialog.

11. Click the OK button to add the selected components to the node selected in the structure window.

12. Repeat steps 9-11 for adding components to lower level subassemblies to create a multi-level structure.

13. Optionally specify reference designators, substitute components and optional routing operations for applicable components in the structure.

14. Review and modify the structure information i.e structure/component attributes, attachments, effectivity etc as per requirements and save the structure in place or on a change order.

   To associate an ICC structure with an item:

If an item belongs to an item catalog category with an associated structure, you can associate this ICC structure with the item. ICC structures are useful when many of the items within an item catalog category use a similar structure. After associating an ICC structure with an item, you can add components, but you cannot edit or delete components or component attributes from the item's defaulted ICC structure.

For more information about ICC structures, see Creating an Item Catalog Category Structure.

1. Follow the steps described above in "To create a structure:"

2. In order to associate an ICC structure with an item, specify the following during the structure creation process:

   • Verify that the item is an Engineering item.

   • Select the same structure type and structure name as the ICC structure.

   • Select revision effectivity control.

   If the system finds an ICC structure to associate, you receive the message "Components inherited from Item Catalog Category exist for this Structure. To view the inherited components, please save the Structure.".

3. Save the structure.

   You can now add components to the structure if you choose as described in "To create a structure:".

   To create common structures:

If two or more organizations manufacture the same item using the same bill of material, user can define the bill in one organization and reference it from the other organizations. Necessary changes must then be made to the referenced bill. This greatly reduces the effort involved in maintenance of the structure information by centralizing the controls.

Optionally, you can reference all but the following five fields in a bill, maintaining these fields by individual bill of material:

• Supply Type

• Sub Inventory

• Locator

• Operation Sequence

• Include in Cost Rollup

The following notes apply while creating common structures:

• User cannot reference another structure as a common if that structure also references a common. In other words, user cannot create a chain of common references.

• User can only reference another structure as a common if it has the same structure name assigned to it.

• If the current structure that a user is creating is a manufacturing bill, the common bill must also be a manufacturing bill.

• User can only reference bills from organizations that have the same item master organization as the current organization.

• If components already exist for the new bill, user cannot reference another bill as a common.

• If the new assembly is in a different organization than the bill you reference, all component items must exist in the new bill's organization. This also applies to substitute components.

1. Open the create structure dialog.

2. Provide the information related to the structure being created. (Refer previous section for more information)

3. In the common structure section on the create structure dialog, choose the scope as organization.

4. Enter the organization for the item to reference as a common bill.

5. Enter the structure to use as a common.

6. Optionally, select the Enable Attributes Update box. Selecting this box enables you to update the following fields in the bills that reference this common bill:

   • Supply Type

   • Sub Inventory

   • Locator

   • Operation Sequence

   • Include in Cost Rollup

7. Choose OK.

   A window opens that displays all components in the structure. The common structure has an icon indicating that it is common and all of the components in the common structure are shaded.