Need to create a product traveler database (1 Viewer)

Vector

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Hi,
Can someone help let me know if it is possible to take a product traveler (a bunch of papers attached to each product as the product moves from one station to another getting assembled by operators and manually filled out certain specs e.g. temperature, pressure, component serial number by each operator on their specific station and dated and initialed) and turn it into tables and forms for operator at each station to fill out making sure they cannot move onto next step or next station unless they complete and initial step or station before it?
I am attaching a sample traveler spreadsheet for reference.
I am really hoping someone can help!
Thanks a bunch!!!
 

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The_Doc_Man

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There is no reason why this cannot be done other than the limits of your imagination. However, the first step (which appears to be at least partly done as evidenced by your document) is to define ON PAPER every step of your business process.

This "ON PAPER" definition DOES NOT CONTAIN CODE. It does not reference anything to do with Access. It is your Business Flow diagram. The reason for doing it this way is summarized by Old Programmer's Rule #1: If you can't do it on paper, you can't do it in Access. Because Access doesn't know your business. YOU do. Access is like a power drill or power nail driver. For it to work right, you still have to place, aim, and pull the trigger. Which you can't do unless you know EXACTLY where you are going. This paper document will be like your construction blueprints.

You are going to have to analyze the details of each step in your process because this business process includes some conceptual "things" as well as physical things. An "approval step" - to Access - is just as trackable as a paper document or a physical piece of hardware.

As to the more mechanical method of doing things: I'm going to suggest that you do some research on the following topics:

In general: Database Normalization. (On this forum, you can drop "Database" in your search, but on the web you should include both words.) Parent/child tables. Relationships. Relational Integrity.

On forms: Tab Controls. Parent-child form or main-sub form layout (either description is the same). Command Buttons and the Button Wizards.

My view of this would be to have one form that you use for a product traveler. You would need to identify each traveler uniquely. I see you have a job number and a serial number. These two things might be enough to identify things uniquely. If not (perhaps because the same job/serial can require more than one round of attention), you might also just use an AUTONUMBER ID for the traveler and make the job/serial/other stuff just descriptive info. Not my call either way. YOU have to decide what is going to work for your situation.

Once you have a form set up, you will either create a new traveler record or use the job/serial info to identify an existing traveler. There is a command button wizard that can be used to create a new record.

When you create a new record, this traveler will have a bunch of data associated with it, some of which will initially be blank, other parts you will fill in during creation. One item you can have is the "stage" or "station" or "step" number.

It would be possible for you to use a Tab Control (which appears to be, but actually is not, a sub-form). You would force the form's tab control to match the "step number" field and show only the information related to the traveler for that step. That is, once you select a traveler, the FORM tests the selected record to decide what tab control to display. When you complete the actions for that step, you would update the master record to show that another stage has been passed.

I suspect that you would need child tables to record details from each stage, as otherwise your master traveler record would get incredibly unwieldy. You can, if needed, put a different sub-form on each tab and then show only the questions & blanks (on the sub-form) appropriate to that stage.

This will be a lot to think about, but then again, your problem is non-trivial. You should not expect a trivial solution.
 

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