As-built records: hardware that differs from the CAD
Real hardware is rarely built exactly to the released design: a bore ends up 0.03 mm too large and is accepted, a purchased part is replaced by a second-source part, a weld is reworked, a different alloy is used because the specified one was not in stock. TeamCraft so far only knows the as-designed side (items, revisions, BOMs). This page records how PLM and adjacent systems model the as-built side and what TeamCraft adopts. Date: 2026-11-06.
How other systems do it
| System / practice | Physical unit | Link to the design | Departures from the design |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTC Windchill (MPMLink, Service) | serialised part instance / as-built and as-maintained structures | instance of a part version; the as-built structure starts from the designed BOM | deviations and waivers as change objects; actual installed parts recorded in the instance structure |
| Siemens Teamcenter (Manufacturing / MRO) | physical part with serial or lot number | as-designed revision the unit was built to | as-built structure records the actually installed physical parts; deviation and nonconformance objects with disposition |
| Aras Innovator | Product Instance / serialised part (as-built, as-maintained) | refers to the part revision and its BOM | quality items (nonconformance, CAPA) linked to the instance |
| ERP (SAP, Odoo, ERPNext) | serial numbers and lots on stock, installed base | material number, sometimes revision level | quality notifications; not a structure comparison |
| AS9100 / ISO 9001 practice | serial-numbered article with a build record (traveller) | drawing and revision built to | nonconformance report (NCR) with a disposition: use as is, rework, repair, scrap (often also return to supplier); repair and use as is need engineering (MRB) approval |
Common ground:
- The unit is its own object, identified by item and serial (or lot) number, not a revision of the design. Many units point to one design revision; a unit keeps pointing to the revision it was built to after the design moves on.
- The as-built structure starts as a copy of the designed BOM and is then edited to what was really installed; comparing the two shows the differences.
- Each departure is a record of its own with what was designed, what was built and a disposition. A unit with an undecided departure is not accepted/delivered.
- As-maintained (repairs and replacements in service) is the same structure over time: a new state of the unit’s record, the old state stays for traceability.
What TeamCraft adopts
- Item type
as_built(numbersAB-000001): one item is one physical unit (or one lot). It has the normal lifecycle, revisions, files (photos, measurement reports, a 3D scan, the traveller) and change orders. A new revision of the as-built item is a new state of the same unit (rework, repair, retrofit = as-maintained); the old revision stays. - Build record per as-built revision: the design revision it was built to (a part, assembly or software revision), serial or lot number, build date, note. The serial number is unique per design item. The design revision may be in work, in review or released; an obsolete one is refused. Like the basis links of a simulation, the record belongs to the revision: editable only while it is checked out, copied by Revise, frozen at release.
- As-built BOM = the normal BOM of the as-built revision. Record a built unit on a part or assembly creates the as-built item with the design’s BOM copied in; the existing cross-item BOM comparison shows design → as-built.
- Deviations per as-built revision: kind (dimension, material,
component, process, other), feature, as designed, as built,
disposition (open, use as is, rework, repair, scrap), note.
Values are text (
12.000 +0.018/0→12.035), because tolerance notations vary too much for one numeric model. - Release rule: a change order with an as-built revision cannot be submitted while that revision has no build record or an open deviation. The engineering decision (MRB) is the change order’s review itself.
- Design side: a Built units card on the design revision lists the units built to any of its revisions, with serial, built-to revision, open deviations and a marker when a newer design revision is released. A design item that units were built to cannot be deleted.
- Later, not now: change propagation to built units (retrofit campaigns), serial numbers on as-built BOM lines (installed serialised components), numeric tolerance checks, import of measurement reports.
Sources
- AS9100D, clause 8.7 Control of nonconforming outputs (dispositions use-as-is, repair, rework, scrap; customer approval of use-as-is/repair).
- Vendor documentation of PTC Windchill, Siemens Teamcenter and Aras Innovator on serialised/as-built/as-maintained product structures (public product overviews; no licensed material was used).