Abstract: In the present invention, a product is manufactured in a manufacturing process controlled and tracked using a manufacturing execution system or MES. An engineering change is made to the product specification while units of the product are in the manufacturing process. The product unit is reworked to match the changed specification. The engineering change implementation function of the manufacturing execution system identifies the products units to be reworked, provides instructions for the rework, and tracks that all affected product units are reworked to the changed specification.

Abstract: A business process is defined as a sequence of process steps where each process step is performed by an assigned user. A workflow route to support the business process provides a sequence of steps where each step corresponds to a business process step and has an associated user to execute the step. The user can be a set of users or an automated program. A workflow system can implement the business process by executing the corresponding route. A route is defined before the route is executed. However, the routes for some business processes cannot be completely defined before start of execution because of organizational boundaries, complexity of business process, number of choices, etc. The execution of a route can be adapted to a business process through use of a step in the route where the user associated with the step can specify subsequent steps and associated users for execution in the route.

Abstract: The invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a catalog, catalog query, and item identifier to specify an item that has a number of configurations or features. The item identifier is used in business transactions between the trading partners. In the present invention, a configured item is associated with a two-part item identifier where one part is a systematically assigned, fixed length field that provides systematic identification of the catalog and the second part is a variable length field to identify the item in the catalog. A catalog and catalog query provide a means to generate the two-part item identifier based on the description of the configured item identifier. A catalog query with the item identifier can query the catalog to determine the description of the item.

Abstract: The invention relates to systems and methods to validate data in a design document transmitted over a computer network from a design organization to a contract manufacturer for manufacturing a product. The computer implemented system includes computer software for storing a past version of the design document, receiving and storing a new version of the design document, storing a dictionary, comparing the new version to the past version of the design document to detect a change in the data. If there is no change, the program stops. If there is a data change, the software sets the past version to the new version of the design document, and uses the dictionary to correct and validate the data that has changed between the past and new version which results in a design document with data to use for the contract manufacturer only.

Abstract: In the present invention, items are described with a compact item descriptor where two items with the same compact item descriptor are interchangeable. The compact item descriptor can be generated for an item using a classification process and a set of parameters with values that describe the item.

Abstract: The present invention is related to the control of services provided by devices attached to a network such as the Internet where multiple users use the device.

Abstract: The current invention is related to the use of the Internet to track and control items manufactured in a process composed of a sequence of process steps at workcenters. The sequence of process steps and workcenters is described as a route. A shopfloor system is used to control the manufacture of the item by guiding the item through the sequence of workcenters and providing information on the process step to be done at each workcenter. Information on the item as it is manufactured is also collected. The present invention provides a web service where Internet devices are designated as workcenters and provides the functions to track and control the manufacture of items in manufacturing processes described by routes.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic product description transfer between a trading partner that designs a product and a trading partner that manufactures the product and more particularly to the organization and use of a catalog of component information used in the generation of process documents and programs to adapt an assembly process to assemble the product as specified in the electronic product description. In the present invention, a consolidated component catalog provides the information for a component used in the assembly of a product in two sections: an assembly process independent section and an assembly process dependent section. The assembly process independent information is used to correct and validate the product description information. The assembly process dependent information is used to generate the programs and documents to adapt an assembly process to assemble the product described in the product description.

Abstract: This invention is related to a workflow system, and more particularly to a workflow system with a route where the route defines the sequence of workflow nodes, the process steps and assignment of users, to control the steps of a business process. The route designates a specific user to process the node (a private node) or designates that any user in a set of users can process the node (a shared node). The workflow system provides a user with a queue of active nodes that are to be processed by the user from which the user can select the node to process. The queue can include both private nodes and shared nodes. When a user selects a shared node to process, the node is removed from the queues of other user that share the shared node. The route can designate that the user that processes the first node in a sequence of shared nodes processes all the nodes in the sequence of shared nodes.

Abstract: This invention is related to the communication of information to support the validation and test operations in a distributed manufacturing or repair process.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a physical item identifier affixed to a physical item for tracking the item using physical identification systems. The invention further discloses the catalogs, catalog queries and processes to provide the information to initialize the item in the physical identification systems.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic catalogs and changes in a buyer's catalog based on changes in a suppliers catalog. An item in a buyer's catalog has a part number (an item identifier) and information associated with the item. The item is provided by a supplier, which has a supplier catalog with a supplier part number for the item. The buyer's catalog has an Approved Manufacturer List that associates the item with the supplier part number. The item information in the buyer's catalog is modified when the item information in the supplier catalog is modified.

Abstract: The invention relates to information exchange when a design organization sends a design document to a manufacturer. The design documents may have errors and, once detected, the errors may not be corrected by the design organization. The documents may be resent with a small number of changes or perhaps no changes at all, but may have errors that have been seen before. The documents may have many items that are not important to the receiving organization. A dictionary is used to validate and correct the documents. Changes in the dictionary may require changes in the information used by the manufacturer.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a catalog, catalog query, and item identifier to specify an item that has a number of configurations or features. The item identifier is used in business transactions between the trading partners.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic product description transfer between a trading partner that designs a product and a trading partner that manufactures the product and more particularly to the organization and use of a catalog of component information used in the generation of process documents and programs to adapt an assembly process to assemble the product as specified in the electronic product description. In the present invention, a consolidated component catalog provides the information for a component used in the assembly of a product in two sections: an assembly process independent section and an assembly process dependent section. The assembly process independent information is used to correct and validate the product description information. The assembly process dependent information is used to generate the programs and documents to adapt an assembly process to assemble the product described in the product description.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the conversion and validation of item identifiers, part numbers, in documents that describe a manufactured product.

Abstract: This invention is related to automation of business or manufacturing processes control and tracking using workflow technology where the process is represented in the form of a route, a step-by-step description of the process. The route is used to control and track a document or manufactured item through a process. In particular, the present invention is related to the representation of the route and the tracking of the document or manufactured item in multiple systems that use the information. In the present invention, a business or manufacturing process is divided into discrete process steps and the sequence of steps is described as a route. A workflow system uses the route to control the document or manufactured item so that the process steps operate on the document or manufactured item in the sequence described in the route. The workflow system can track the state of the document or manufactured item as it progresses through the steps of the route.

Abstract: This invention is related to workflow systems to support the control and execution of business processes and in particular business processes where the information is in the form of files. In the present invention, a business process is divided into steps where each step is executed by a person or program. A route is a representation of the sequence of steps in the process. The route can be used in a workflow system to control the execution of each step and track the progress of the route and hence the progress of the business process. Workflow systems have been applied to business processes where the information to be processed can be read on or entered into a computer screen.

Abstract: The invention relates to a form route manager in a computer network. In one embodiment, the form route manager includes a sequenced list of e-mail addresses, means for determining if an e-mail received in the e-mail system originates from the last e-mail address in the sequenced list, and if so, deleting the e-mail, and if not, sending the e-mail to the next e-mail address in the sequenced list. In another, the form route manager includes a sequenced list of e-mail addresses, means for receiving a web page, including the document and a step indicator, means for determining from the step indicator and the route, whether it is the first step, the next step, and the next e-mail address, means for updating the step indicator to the next step, the e-mail address to the next e-mail address, and if it is the first step, assigning a second URL to the document, and means for sending the e-mail with the second URL, the updated step indicator and the document to the next e-mail address.

Abstract: This invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the use of a catalog and item identifier to specify an item that has a number of configurations or features so that the specified item can be ordered. In the present invention, a configured item is associated with a two-part item identifier where one part is a standardized, fixed format field and the second part is a variable format field. A catalog provides a means to generate the two-part item identifier based on the description of the configured item. The item identifier can be used to order an item matching the description of the configured item.