RE: Requesting suggestions for manufacturing app...

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1) Implement "flows". There are a handful of different flows, each of
which is basically an ordered list of steps or locations through which
a given lot will travel. To make things a bit trickier, there needs
to be the ability to have "subflows" as well. For example, a lot may
have to go through a re-work flow before continuing on with the
original flow.

Use these tables. Relate through the ID's. I'm assuming that the subflows
can be linked to the LotFlowID, because that is already associated with both
the LotID and the MainFlowID.

tbl_Lots
LotID (PK)
LotIDInfo

tbl_LotFlows
LotFlowID (PK)
LotID
MainFlowID
LotFlowInfo

tbl_MainFlows
MainFlowID (PK)
MainFlowInfo

tbl_Steps
StepID (PK)
MainFlowID
StepInfo

tbl_SubFlows
SubFlowID (PK)
LotFlowID
SubFlowInfo

2) Lot History. I need to be able to recall the entire history of any
transactions involving a given lot. The problem is that even though
each lot has a unique lot number, that lot number may change 3 or 4
times before the product is finished due to lot splits, combining
lots, temporary lots, etc. Really not sure where to begin tackling
this one.

Make a master table for similar lots, then use a linking table to show which
lots belong to the master lot. You might want to put a date field into the
linking table, tbl_AllLots, which can then be used for chronologically
showing which lots belong to the MasterLot.

tbl_MasterLots
MasterLotID (PK)
MasterLotInfo

tbl_AllLots
AllLotsID (PK)
LotID
MasterLotID
AllLotInfo

3) Comments. Kind of similar to #2. Need to be able to add one or
more short comments when necessary to individual lots. I guess I could
just add a text/memo field to the lot table, but the comments will
most likely be used very sparingly and so this seems like a huge waste.

This is the easiest one. Just make a table that will only store comments on
particular lots that you need comments on.

tbl_Comments
CommentID (PK)
LotID
CommentText

This may need some tweaking, because you will have some details that I don't
know about. But gives you a general idea of how to connect stuff for the
information you need. Even though there is the comments table, you may want
to have some comment fields in most of the linking tables, just so you can
make notes to yourself on why you did things at a certain place. Nice little
problem. Your forms are going to be fun to put together . . .
.

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