Repair - Best Practices

This article provides best practices on how to configure WATS to work more efficient in your production with regards to the Repair module in Operator Interface (OI).

Using barcode scanners and identify barcode contents

OI supports scanners by default, but the requirement is that the scanner is configured to send a prefix (CTRL+Q) and suffix (CTRL+Y) in order to read the barcode contents. On a successful scan, the unit is checked in automatically, which will avoid manual typing errors and make the check in process more efficient.

If barcodes in your production contain more information than the Serial Number, WATS may be configured to identify the specific parts of the barcode based on identification rules, such as if both Serial and Part Number is specified.

The standard barcode identification format is <SerialNumber>/<PartNumber>/<Revision>/<BatchNumber>. Custom formats may be added as per request to our support e-mail.

Setting a start page

If you are mainly using OI for Repair/Rework, setting the start page to "Repair" will navigate to this feature immediately after a unit has been checked in, which will save some time. Start page is set in OI Configuration (Station Configuration).

Setting a default repair operation

This may be useful if you are using one repair operation for all type of repairs. In the Repair module, that operation is automatically selected when beginning a new repair analysis (no need to select from drop down list).

Default repair operation is set in the OI Configuration (Advanced Configuration -> Locked Processes). There must be only one repair operation in the list set as "Is locked" in order for this to work.

Set UUT binding on the repair operation

If you want to force or prohibit linking a UUR report to a UUT report, this may be adjusted in the WATS Control Panel under Configure & Settings / Processes by selecting the repair operation in the grid, and then by clicking "Edit Repair Operation".

In the UUT binding property, you may set this to one of the following values.

• Required
  • Must select and confirm the UUT report to be linked to, and cannot proceed if there are no UUT reports to select
• Optional
  • May link to UUT report, or specify a test operation.
• Never
  • Must specify a test operation