For OPC UA users that may not be familiar with ISA 95 Part 4 Job Orders the following section provides a brief overview of key elements of job order management.

ISA 95 defines a Job Order as a request for a unit of work to be executed. Typically, these are the lowest level scheduled objects in a work schedule, as shown in Figure 1. In ISA 95 a Work Schedule defines all the activities to be accomplished to meet a production request (or production order). A Work Schedule is made up of one or more Work Requests, depending on how the work is to be split, such as one order for packaging of 1,000,000 bottles, to be executed as 4 separate work requests of 250,000 bottles each. Each Work Request is made up of one or more Job Orders which define the work to be done in a work center (such as a packaging line or production line).

Figure 1 – Work Schedule, Work Request, and Job Orders

Job Orders have a procedure or workflow that is followed, either automatically or manually. Typical Job Orders in serialization are packaging orders for specific products. The Job Order contains all the variable information about the order, such as quantity to be packaged, various values to be printed on labels, and any options, such as inserts to be added or case packing options. Each Job Order identifies a Work Master to be used. Work Master is the ISA 95 term for the procedure that is to be followed. Examples of Work Masters include ISA 88 Master Recipes or ISA 95 Workflow Procedures.

Job Orders are often sent from Level 3 MES/MOM systems to batch execution systems, automation systems (PLCs and DCSs), or workflow systems for manual operations. An often-used implementation is to have an ERP or MES sent Job Orders to specific parts of production. In Figure 1, for example a production line is executing one set of Job Orders, a packaging line is executing another set, synchronized with the production line, a palletizing line, synchronized with the packaging line, an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) system that executes a job to move materials from the palletizer to a AWS (Automated Warehouse System). Each of these systems perform independent job, with their own local Work Masters and workflows.

A Job Order contains values for job specific parameters (such as “Use By Dates” to be applied to labels), material requirements (such as an identification and quantity of the material lot to be produced), equipment requirements (such as which packaging line to use), personnel requirements for the job order (such as training requirements), and physical asset requirements (such as which testing equipment to use).

The information objects identified in Figure 2 are used to describe a Job Order. This is a subset of the ISA 95 Part 4, Edition 2 Job Order model, intended to meet a large percentage of situations where nested resource requirements and external linkages are not needed. See the ISA 95 Part 4 specification for details on the attributes and relationships.

Figure 2 – Job Order Information Model

• Job Order – The specification of a job to be executed.
• Job Order Parameter - Additional information associated with the Job Order is represented in name/value pairs and defined Job Order Parameters.
• Personnel Requirement – Information associated with the Job Order that defines additional personnel and/or person requirements.
• Equipment Requirement – Information associated with the Job Order that defines additional equipment class and/or equipment requirements.
• Physical Asset Requirement – Information associated with the Job Order that defines additional physical asset class and/or physical asset requirements.
• Material Requirement – Information associated with the Job Order that defines additional material class, material definition, material lot, and/or material sublot requirements.

See Annex C for examples of Job Orders.

Note that the data types and enumerations used in this companion specification use the ISA 95 names, with the ISA95 prefix.

A Job Response is a report on work done for a Job Order. The information objects identified in Figure 3 are used to describe a Job Response. This is a subset of the ISA 95 Part 4, Edition 2 Job Response model, intended to meet a large percentage of situations where nested resource actuals and external linkages are not needed. See the ISA 95 Part 4 specification for details on the attributes and relationships.

Figure 3 – Job Response Information Model

• Job Response – The report on the execution of a Job Order.
• Job Response Parameter - Additional information associated with the Job response is represented in name/value pairs and defined Job Response Parameters.
• Personnel Actual – Information associated with the Job Response that defines additional personnel and/or person actuals.
• Equipment Actual – Information associated with the Job Response that defines additional equipment class and/or equipment actuals.
• Physical Asset Actual – Information associated with the Job Response that defines additional physical asset class and/or physical asset actuals.
• Material Actual – Information associated with the Job Response that defines additional material class, material definition, material lot, and/or material sublot actuals.