Component Inspection Release Notes

released December 12, 2023

Bug Fixes

• After a previous update, subcomponent dispositions were no longer getting set to Good when the assembly disposition was set to Good.

released November 16, 2023

Bug Fixes

• In some cases, users would receive an error when saving if they are editing an existing inspection.
• When manually changing a component Disposition, the disposition would revert back to the Previous Disposition when the user changed one of the inspection elements.
• After the previous update, new subcomponent records were getting created for components that did not have data (ex: bearings getting created at a wheel lathe station).
• UpdateTimestamp option was not available for assembly types other than Wheelsets.
• Element Alerts were not updating the user interface to indicate the warning or error.
• When a user was required to change their password, they were prompted twice.
• The assembly search screen only allowed searching by serial number of subcomponents. If the assembly also has a serial number, that field was not available.

Updates

• Admins can now disable the ‘Today’ history information on the inspection tiles on the home screen.
• Language resources are now based on the users culture preference instead of the machine setting. If no preference is configured for a user the machine settings will be used instead.

Features

• Login by barcode – Users can now log in by scanning a barcode. The barcode must contain the exact username. Optionally the barcode can contain the users password. If no password is included in the barcode the username will be populated in the logon prompt and the user will have to enter the password manually.
• Demount Chart Recording – Users can record a force vs distance or force vs time chart when demounting a component.
• Inspection Grouping – Inspections can now be assigned to groups to organize inspections for shops that perform multiple inspections at the same station. Grouping is available for Component Inspections as well as Machine Inspections.

released February 6, 2023

Bug Fixes

• Unattended mode was still prompting the user for a login.
• Machine Inspections were not including newer Custom Views in the list of views to select from.
• Standalone versions were failing to register components with Railinc
• When editing the settings on the General tab, the Save button would not enable unless the user also made a change to one of the Inspection Options.

Updates

• Support for the new ‘ShowGridlines’ feature was added for Grids in a custom view.
• Expression Editor was updated to use the new block based editor for a more userfriendly interface.
• Expressions can now include c# script expressions for advanced functionality.
• When saving an inspection, the name and revision of the custom view being used is now saved along with the other inspection information so we can use that revision when editing or viewing the inspection in Shop Manager.
• A DAQ Status toolbar was added to quickly view the current values of all DAQ tags. This toolbar can be popped out to a floating window so it can remain on screen or be moved to a second monitor (if available).

released August 29, 2022

Bug Fixes

• Certain version mismatches between application files would cause the application to crash.
• Incorrect report server settings would cause applications to crash.
• The New Component by Default setting was being incorrectly ignored.
• The History screen now uses the appropriate offset time for start of day.
• Previous values were not loading correctly for Assembly subinspections when the Load Previous Value option was selected.

Features

• Get Help
  • The support file generated by the Get Help and Get Logs features now includes a serialized list of the application settings as well as other relevant troubleshooting files.
• Login
  • Component Inspection now works with the advanced password requirement options. Users logging in with insufficiently complex passwords will be prompted to update their password before continuing.
• Standalone
  • When running the standalone version of Component Inspection, administrators can now import bulk data operations via files.
    • ***This feature SHOULD NOT be used without direct instruction from the AIC Support team.
• Element Alerts
  • Component Inspection will now use the new Element Alert conditions to set the inspection and component status accordingly
• The settings dialog now allows the user to review the inspection settings without entering Edit mode.

released July 15, 2022

Bug Fixes

• After the last update, inspections configured for ‘new component by default’ were not remaining on the data entry screen after saving or canceling, but were instead getting returned to the home screen.
• For customers that register components from Component Inspection, modifications requests would fail in some cases, and change the registration status from Success back to Fail, even though the component was still registered.

released July 13, 2022

Bug Fixes

• For some users, Component Inspection would crash after leaving the downtime screen.

Features

• Element Alerts – You can now define ‘Alert’ conditions for your component and inspection elements. Similar to validations and business rules, these Alerts will notify you when the data you enter violates the alert condition. Unlike validations and business rules, you can specify a Severity of Error, Warning, or Message. Alerts with severity of Error, still prevent the user from saving the data. However, a Severity of Warning will still notify the user of the alert, but allow them to save the data anyway. For more information on Element Alerts, contact our support team or browse our Help documentation.
• Data Acquisition – You can now configure inspection elements to populate the data from a data acquisition device (such as a PLC) to automatically collect measurements, pass/fail conditions, etc. Contact us for more information if you have automated processes such as UT, MPI, Back to Back, Radial/Axial runouts, etc and would like to look into automatic data collection for your inspections,

released May 3, 2022

Bug Fixes

• When setting the Disposition of a component to SCRAP, the user was prompted to select a scrap reason, even if no scrap reasons were configured. This prevented users from setting a componen to SCRAP when there were no scrap reasons for that component type.
• When selecting the History Fields for an Inspection Option from the Machine Settings dialog, the list of available fields was being based off the component type instead of the inspection type. This caused the History search to fail and not return any results if the inspection were configured as a Component inspections but the component was an assembly.
• When creating a new assembly as part of an inspection, the Assembly Configuration field was not being set automatically, even if there is only one possible Assembly Configuration for that assembly type.
• The Customer field was not defaulting to the last value (or a specific value) even when a default value was selected in the Machine Settings.

Changes

• Chat, Get Logs, and Get Support menu options have been consolidated into a Help menu in the menu bar in order to reduce clutter and improve appearance on low resolution devices.
• When using the new OEE feature, the prompt to select the downtime is now shown modally to prevent the user from entering data or changing screens until they have selected the reason for the missed production rate.
• Testing computer clock – On startup, the computers clock is compared with the time from an internet server and if the time differs by more than 24 hours the user is prompted to confirm the computer clock time. Several users had issues where the computer clock would reset to 1/1/2009 or a similar date because the computer’s internal battery had failed, and this should help detect these issues.

released April 15, 2022

Bug Fixes

• Registration ‘toast’ notifications lost their animation in a previous update.
• The list of available locations in the Defaults and Requirements list was not including all locations in the Destination list of the Locations tab.
• For stations configured to build an assembly by entering existing subcomponents, manually entering the subcomponent WIP ID no longer loaded the existing subcomponent record, but instead tried to apply a new WIP ID to a new subcomponent. Scanning the WIP ID barcode was still correctly loading the subcomponent.
• The list of Destinations on the Locations tab of the Inspection Settings was not always updating when switching between settings for inspections when multiple inspections were configured.
• If an elements requirement condition was not specified at the time an inspection was originally configured, that element could not be selected as Required, even if the requirement condition had been set at a later time.
• The OEE feature was creating multiple downtime events if the run rate had elapsed before the user had saved his work. It would also create downtime events even if the user manually set the machine downtime first.
• After the previous update to add an optional Description field for Recalls, Component Inspection failed to detect recalled components unless the update to add the description field had taken place.
• After the previous update to add the optional Material Tracking feature, the Edit Most Recent option on the search screen failed to load the component for editing unless the Material feature was installed.
• When navigating to the search screen, the History for the current day was being loaded in the background and the most recent component was being displayed in the details section, even if the user had not yet performed a search.

Changes

• Standalone installer now supports label printing and data collection for Bearings.
• A new AvailableCustomers property has been added to allow setting the Customer property of components and assemblies during an inspection.

released March 3, 2022

Bug Fixes

• After a recent update, the Edit Most Recent option stopped working on the Search/History screen. This prevented some users from being able to edit an inspection that they just saved.

released March 2, 2022

Bug Fixes

• Document viewer menu failed to open on lower resolution monitors (1024×768), users where unable to view or select any of the documents under the menu display.

Features

• Standalone application
  • New Backup feature allows to create backup files of your database as a preventative measure or to migrate to a new computer.
  • New Restore feature allows to move your Standalone machine to a different computer, using the same database. To use this feature, you will need to install the application in the new computer and select the option to load the database from an existing backup file.

released Feb 15, 2022

Bug Fixes

• When using the Auto Generate CID feature, Component Inspection failed to generate CIDs where the idNumber portion was greater than 32767. This has not been fixed to allow generating CIDs between 0 and 9999999999.

Changes

• You can now disable specific barcode types during an inspection to prevent users from accidentally overwriting data. From theMachine Settings dialog, select and edit the Inspection Option you want to disable the barcode type(s) on. On the ‘Component Scan Order’ tab, check the box for CID, WIP ID, or one or more component types to ignore barcodes of that type while on the Perform Inspection screen. This does not affect searching for components on the Search screen.

New Feature

• Added support for Material Tracking. You can now record a list of optional parts and the quantities used as part of the inspection/transaction. For example, when inspecting a traction motor you might want to record the number of leads replaced, or the number of bolts or nuts used, etc. Record this information for each operation and get a total parts list for each component. For more information about our Material Tracking feature, contact AIC Rail.

released January 17, 2022

Bug Fixes

• Installer for Component Inspection Standalone was creating duplicate inspection options when ran multiple times to update the application or settings. Fixed issues with the installer not updating the registration settings also.
• Application would crash if machine was in an active downtime event and the user tried navigating to the search screen, or if the application was configured to go to the search screen upon login. This has been fixed so the user is directed to the Downtime screen so the user can return the machine to service.
• Application would crash if user tried to Reconnect a barcode scanner from the Scanners dialog and the scanner was not available. Attempts to delete a scanner that was not connected would fail with no error message.
• Barcode Label wizard would not add, update, or remove labels in some cases.

Changes

• When viewing the details for an assembly or component, the Registration status link now opens an interactive dialog that lets the user view the registration response and information and also download the XML request/response files. These files are often requested by Railinc when troubleshooting registration issues and previously it was difficult to obtain the files for Standalone license customers that don’t have access to Shop Manager.

released December 3, 2021

Bug Fixes

• When creating a new assembly, Business Rules and Requirements were not updating if the rule depended on subcomponent elements or properties and those element or property values changed.
• Wheel, Axle, and Bearing subcomponent CIDs were not being parsed from the barcode after a previous update forced the barcode data to UPPERCASE.

released November 12, 2021

Bug Fixes

• Chat feature was updated to prevent users from chatting with themselves
• List of BarcodeModifiers was not refreshing after adding a new modifier. The application had to be restarted to show the new modifiers.
• Screen resolutions lower than 1024×768 would prevent the startup from completing, but would not show an error. The user now gets a warning if the resolution is lower than recommended, but will continue with the startup once the warning is acknowledged.

Changes

• Get Support feature now includes a field for an existing support ticket number. If you already contacted AIC about your problem and they provided you a support/incident number, include it in your Get Support request to expedite support for your issue.
• Improved error messages when your application cannot connect to the database server.

New Features

• Disposition filters – you can now configure your inspection to only allow specific dispositions (Good, Scrap, Rework, Hold). Refer to our User Guide for more information.

released October 20, 2021

Bug Fixes

• History and Search screens were not able to scroll the list of results using the mouse wheel. This has been fixed.
• Login dialog no longer displays above other application windows when Component Inspection is run in windowed mode.

Changes

• Reports dialog for Standalone licenses was changed to make the report names larger and easier to click on.
• Reports dialog for Standalone licenses now shows ‘No reports available’ instead of a blank dialog when there are no reports loaded.
• Reports dialog for Standalone licenses now includes an Import option for importing new reports
• Chat feature now requires Use Chat permission to initiate a chat session with another user. Users can still receive chats from another user that has Use Chat permission, even if they do not have the Use Chat permission.

New Features

• Barcode Modifiers are now available to fix issues with barcodes that do not meet the AAR Component Tracking requirements or have other problems that need to be corrected before the data is processed.

released August 18, 2021

Bug Fixes

• Business Rules were not being applied in some cases, allowing data to be saved even when business rules were violated.

released August 17, 2021

Bug Fixes

• Update Service wasn’t being notified when the application was shut down or a user logged out, causing Shop Manager’s Update Manager dialog to indicate a user was logged in even when they were not.
• In some instances, the Pass/Fail/Scrap input was not setting a component disposition to SCRAP when Scrap was selected.
• If user changed the Disposition of a component to SCRAP using the Disposition drop down, the user would be prompted to select a scrap reason, but the disposition would be set back to the previous disposition after a reason was selected. Scrapping using the ‘Scrap Other’ popup or one of the Pass/Fail/Scrap controls still worked correctly.
• Defaulting the assembly configuration to ‘last value’ wasn’t working for some users.
• An optional database update was causing all subcomponent records to be saved, even if the user did not enter any data. The issue reported was that a wheelset was showing to have bearings after it was saved at an inspection station, even when the bearings had not been applied from Bearing Press Recorder.

released August 9, 2021

Bug Fixes

• Element requirements were not being enforced in some cases, allowing components to be saved even if they were missing one or more required fields.
• Trying to apply a new WIP ID to an existing component on an assembly was causing an error upon save that a duplicate component already exists.
• The Print option on the History screen was not being enabled unless the current day had one or more items in the history. This prevented the user from printing the history for a previous day until they saved data for the current day.

released July 17, 2021

Bug Fixes

• When using the label printing feature, the label was not printing correctly if the display was being scaled from the Windows Display Settings.
• Editing an existing inspection record was overwriting the ‘next cid’ setting, causing the next new inspection to select a CID that was already saved. This prevented the user from being able to save unless they manually modified the CID back to an unused number.