Assign installation requirements

You assign required installations at each step in a procedure. A run step can’t close until all of its required installations are complete, the same way it can’t close while a required field is empty.

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Assign installs to a step

Open the procedure’s Steps tab, select a step in the step queue, then open the Assigned Parts section in the right rail. This is where you assign installation requirements to the selected step. The Assigned Parts section has two parts. The top shows the installation requirements assigned to the step currently selected in the procedure step queue. Below it, a part selector and mBOM version picker let you choose which associated part’s mBOM version you assign from, followed by that mBOM’s items. To add an assigned install to the step shown in the procedure window, click the + button next to the mBOM item. Installation requirements assigned to a step appear in the upper half of the panel. You can partially assign an mBOM item to a step. Each assigned part shows the quantity assigned to the step, a slash, then the total mBOM quantity (for example, 2/5). While the procedure is editable, the assigned quantity is an editable field you can adjust directly. To remove an installation requirement from the step, click the remove control on its row in the assigned list. The requirement removes immediately. The control is available while the procedure is editable. You can release a procedure for a released mBOM while you draft a future version of the same mBOM. Once you fully assign an mBOM item, it is shaded green on the mBOM panel. Turn on the Hide assigned toggle to remove fully assigned mBOM items from the view for a more streamlined assignment process. With Hide assigned off (the default), every mBOM item stays visible, with fully assigned ones shaded green.

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Substitutes

The crossing arrows highlight substitutes on the mBOM, showing which other parts are listed as substitutes.

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Reference designators

Just as you set a minimum quantity to close a step, you can assign reference designators that must be satisfied before the step closes. Assign them per installation requirement from the reference-designator dropdown in the Assigned Parts section; the badge shows how many of the requirement’s designators are assigned. At run time, the operator assigns each installed unit to a specific reference designator, and the step can’t complete until every assigned designator has an install.

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Switch the pinned mBOM version

Move the procedure’s pin from the mBOM row in Assigned Parts. The version shown there is read-only until you start a switch:

1. Click Switch on the mBOM row. The version picker becomes editable.
2. Pick the version you want. Each option lists its status, such as Released.
3. Click Confirm.

When a newer released version exists, the row also offers a shortcut: a notice naming that version, with an Update button that moves the pin straight to it. The pin stays editable while the procedure is in draft, even when the step’s content is locked. When the procedure already has assignments to reconcile, ION asks you to confirm the switch before it commits the pin. Assignments that still fit the new version carry over. Under Reconciliation impact, the confirmation lists each part that does not, and why:

• A part is Reduced on a step when the new version needs fewer of it than you’ve assigned across steps. ION can’t choose which step to reduce, so it unassigns the part from all of them.
• A part is Removed from a step when the part isn’t in the new version at all.

Click Switch & reconcile to commit, or Cancel to keep the current pin. Reassign any unassigned part from the new version once the switch completes. The switch clears this procedure’s assignments on every revision of the part, then recreates the ones that carry over on the version you pinned. That means the dialog can open with nothing to carry over: it’s telling you the target version holds assignments left behind by an earlier revision copy, and confirming clears them.

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Install inventory on a run step

You can install inventory from the run step itself, the same way you install inventory on the aBOM. You can’t complete a step until all run step build requirements have their minimum quantities and reference designators satisfied. The inventory list includes any available substitutes. To require mBOM parts to be assigned to steps before a procedure can be released, see Enforce mBOM parts assigned to steps.

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Permissions

To create, update, and delete installation requirements on procedures, grant yourself a role with the CreateStepPartRequirement, UpdateStepPartRequirement, and DeleteStepPartRequirement permissions.

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How ION handles mBOM changes

Your mBOM can change after you release a procedure. For more on changing build requirements, see Editing build requirements. The following changes don’t require a procedure revision:

• Removing a part removes the associated installation requirements from associated procedures, so you can remove parts without revising the procedure.
• Updating the part number on an existing mBOM requirement updates all installation requirements in associated procedures automatically with the new part number.
• Updating the name of a reference designator updates all installation requirements in associated procedures automatically with the new reference designator where it is called out.
• Adding substitutes shows the new substitutes on all installation requirements.
• Increasing the quantity of an mBOM requirement has no effect on associated procedures.

The following changes require a procedure revision:

• Adding a part. A newly added mBOM part isn’t associated with any procedure until you revise the procedure to assign it to a step.
• Reducing the quantity of an mBOM requirement. You can’t reduce the quantity below what is assigned to a procedure. To reduce it, create a new procedure, then up-version the mBOM.

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Best practices

• Installs don’t propagate across batches. Each batch ensures traceability for every run within it. Because you select the specific inventory you install, ION restricts installs to individual runs to keep inventory tracking accurate.
• Assign installation requirements while the procedure is in draft. You can add, edit, or remove a step’s installation requirements only while its procedure is in draft; once the procedure is released, its requirements are locked, so up-version to a new draft to change them. You can’t add installation requirements to a standard step in the step library on its own. Assign them on a build-type procedure that calls out the standard step.
• Train technicians on installation requirements. The installation requirements on a step are a minimum. Installing a part through the aBOM counts toward that minimum: ION attributes the install to a run step, selecting the step automatically when the part is required on only one step, or prompting you to choose the step when it’s required on more than one. If you aren’t confident your procedures will stay stable, set the minimum installation quantity to zero and list the needed quantity in the step content, so you can make changes as needed.
• Build requirement quantities on run steps can’t be redlined, and you can’t add or remove a run step’s build requirements mid-run. If your organization has enabled editable run-step build requirements, you can swap a required part for an approved substitute. To allow run steps to complete without required installs, enable Allow run steps to complete without required install in your run enforcement settings.

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As-required, continuous-usage, and consumable parts

Associate a build requirement to a step only when it will always be installed. Add a part as a 0-quantity build requirement to associate it with a step without requiring an install to close the step. A 0-quantity requirement doesn’t block step completion. Use it to surface an optional or as-needed part, and record any actual usage in the step content. To make an install required, set the quantity to any value greater than zero. For example, if you always apply epoxy but the amount differs each time, set the requirement to a quantity greater than zero and note the amount used in the step content. When a part is not always installed, don’t attach it to a step. Instead, you can:

• Keep it in the mBOM without a step association.
• Add the build requirement to the aBOM during the run when needed.

For example, if a shim is only occasionally required to level a plate, leave it unassociated in the mBOM and add it to the aBOM only on runs where it is required. If a run is blocked because a required install was assigned incorrectly, you can temporarily allow steps to complete without it:

1. Have an admin enable Allow run steps to complete without required install in the run enforcement settings.
2. Update your procedure and build-requirement associations following the best practices in this section to prevent future disruptions.