Rename Serial

General

The Rename Serial functionality is used to change a part number and/or serial number on a VIM serial.

Changing the part number and/or serial number of a serial is a common practice within the aviation maintenance industry. A serial may be modified in such a way that the part is transformed from one part number to another. The modification may be performed when the object is In Operation if it is a minor modification, or during overhaul if it is a modification (no matter what kind) that is planned to take place during overhaul. The Rename Serial functionality also supports occurrences where the part number registered on a serial is determined to be incorrect and needs to replaced with the new valid part number.

In order to successfully rename a serial several prerequisites must be fulfilled. Furthermore, several validations will be performed in IFS/Vehicle Information Management (IFS/VIM), IFS Distribution and IFS Manufacturing before the serial is renamed.

For more information on the validations performed in IFS/VIM refer to the online help file Rename Serial.

For more information on the validations performed in IFS/PARTCA refer to the online help file Rename Serial Part.

Performing a Serial Rename

Before a serial can be renamed there are several prerequisites that need to be fulfilled. The primary prerequisite used when determining if a serial rename is allowed is based on the value entered in the Current Position field for the from-serial and to-serial.

The from-serial must have the current position In Facility, In Inventory, Issued (to a shop order or work order), or Contained (and the top serial has the current position In Facility, In Inventory, or Issued, i.e., to a shop order or work order. Note: It will not be possible to reverse the issue transaction once the serial is renamed.

The to-serial (if existing) must have the current position Unlocated and an operational status of Renamed.

Note: In the part serial catalog, it is only possible to rename a serial part that is stored in the inventory, provided that no reservation exists for the serial part and that it is not defined as a VIM Object, Equipment Object, Project Delivery Object or a Plant Design Object.

Part Property Settings and the Rename Serial functionality

Property settings are evaluated and updated when the part number, serial number or both the part and the serial number is changed on the serial. The following sections give a detailed description of the properties that are evaluated.
Note: For the properties which are not mentioned in the list below, the serial will retain the properties that are valid for the to-part number. It is essential that you perform the renaming of a serial carefully since alternative possible implications may arise as a result of the rename.

Part Catalog Properties

• The UoM field must have the same value for both the from-part number and to-part number.
• Both the from-part-number and the to-part-number must have no value assigned in the Default Input UoM Group field.
• Catch UoM must be disabled for both from-part-number and to-part-number.
• The to-part-number must not have the Position Part check box selected.
• The Allow Condition Code check box must have the same setting for both the from-part-number and to-part-number.
• Only serials having Ownership Company Owned or Customer Owned is allowed to be renamed. The Ownership data must be the same for both the from-part-number and to-part-number.
• The Configurable check box must be cleared for both from-part-number and to-part-number.
• Both the Inventory Serial Tracking and After Delivery Serial Tracking check boxes must be selected for both from-part-number and to-part-number.
• The Lot/Batch Tracking field must have the same setting for both the from-part-number and the to-part-number.

Part Serial Catalog Properties

• Operational Status for the from-serial must be Not Applicable, Planned for Operation, In Operation, or Out of Operation.
• The from-serial must have the Locked for Update check box cleared.
• When renaming a serial, be it the serial number or part number, the to-serial has to be validated to ensure that the renaming process will change the part into a valid serial part, i.e., it is not allowed to change to a serial part used in another renaming chain. Example: Serial A1 has been renamed to A2, then to B2. Serial C1 has been renamed to C2, then to D2. It is OK to rename B2 to A1 or A2, since both A1 and A2 is previously used by serial B2. It is not OK to rename to C1, C2, or D2 since these serials are not previously used by B2.

Inventory Part Properties

• The serial number for the to-serial must not be pre-allocated by the Serial Reservation functionality.
• Part Status: To ensure that a part number change is possible to perform the On Hand Qty property for both from-part-number and to-part-number must be Onhand Allowed.
• The Supplier Invoice Consideration list box value Periodic Weighted Average must not be used for the from-part-number or the to-part-number.
• The Zero Cost list box setting must be the same for both the from-part-number and to-part-number.
• Standard logic is used for Expiration Date and Receipt Date handling. This means that expiration date and receipt date is carried over to the new serial.
• If the from-serial is found in inventory during rename, the from-serial must be stored on a location of type Picking, Production Line, and Floor Stock.
• The to-serial must not be found in inventory, i.e., there must not be an inventory part in stock record holding qty one to be found.
• The from-serial must not be reserved.
• Both the from-serial and to-serial must not be locked for counting.

Serial Rename Tracking

It is possible to track a serial's life through the serial number and part number changes.

The Renaming group box on the Part Serial/General tab holds information about the serials preceding part number and serial number, as well as information of the part number and serial number this serial has been renamed to.

Note: You can rename a serial multiple times. The Part Serial Rename History window holds the full backwards and forwards information of a serial.

System Effects

The following system effects will take place once a serial is renamed.

• The part number, serial number or both part number and serial number for the serial is changed.
• The part number change is reflected by inventory transactions if the serial is found in inventory during rename.
• Operational Status is set to Out of Operation for the to-serial if the to-serial already exist in Part Serial, i.e., the serial is renamed back to a previous serial.
• Operational Status for the to-serial is set to the same value as the from-serial if the to-serial does not exist, i.e., the serial is not renamed back to a previous serial.
• Operational Status is then set to Renamed for the from-serial.
• Current Position for the from-serial is transferred to the to-serial, then Current Position for the from-serial is set to Unlocated.
• Operational Condition for the from-serial is transferred to the to-serial, then Operational Condition for the from-serial is set to Non Operational.
• If Condition Code is enabled for the from-serial and to-serial the value assigned to the from-serial is transferred to the to-serial.
• A Part Availability Control that is applied to the from-serial is transferred to the to-serial.

Inventory Transactions and the Rename Serial functionality

If the serial number is changed for a serial, the SERREN+/SERREN- transactions are used to handle the serial number change. If only the part number or both the part number and serial number is changed for a serial, PARTREN+/PARTREN- transactions and PRENREVAL+/PRENREVAL- events are used. Observe the following example:

Example: A serial with part number A and serial number 1 is renamed to part number B with serial number 1.

First the from-serial A/1 is issued from inventory at value 100.

If the to-part number is using Inventory Valuation Method Standard Cost = 200 the to-serial B/1 is received into inventory at value 200.

If the to-part number is using Inventory Valuation Method Weighted Average the to-serial B/1 is received into inventory at value 100.

A new weighted average has to be calculated for the new part/site/cost level.

If the to-part-number is using Inventory Part Valuation Method FIFO or LIFO the to-serial B/1 is received into inventory at value 100.

A new entry to be added to the FIFO/LIFO table.