Relationships between 2 rev-controlled workspaces are broken.

[david.cliftonAMV2A]

Relationships between 2 rev-controlled workspaces are broken.  Upon an ECO release, the relationships as designed do not default to Latest Rev of the updated items.  And as an Administrator and Creator, I would prefer all Relations to be always Bi-Directional.  Not auto-change to uni-directional or carry-forward unless I make them so.

This functionality has a negative impact on the Related Attachments Section of the Attachments Tab on any related rev-controlled item because the new Latest Rev does not appear on items just released via ECO!  What was Latest Rev now is listed as Superseded.

A Contract Manufacturer (3rd party user), who only has read access to Latest Rev, therefore no longer has a convenient shortcut to all related item attachments.  The newly Superseded (and Working) revisions are no longer present/visible!

Besides providing the CM with a convenient link to all related Latest Rev Attachments for Assemblies, Components, Test Specs, Assembly Instructions, etc. The Related Attachments Section of the Attachments Tab also serves as a flag to the CM that there “are” related items they should be cognizant of and review.  Without having to check the Relationship Tab every time.  While true that CMs should and could be trained to always check the Relationship Tab, it is not always guaranteed that they will.  Considering CMs may be world-wide and have frequent employee turnover without notice.

As the current functionality is apparently satisfactory with many FLC users, and does work well when not used across rev-controlled workspaces, it would be very beneficial if there could be an Admin controlled “switch” to force Relationships to default to “Always Show Latest Rev” when selected.  And to always preserve a bi-directional relationship.  Not automatically change to carry-forward/uni-directional post-ECO release. 

This "switch" could be set if one’s business use case makes sense to set it so.

[bryce_crawford]

I would like to second this. I am new to Fusion and setting up our system to function the way I would like it to. We have test specifications that apply to multiple items. having the relationship default to a specific rev is not ideal for me.

Items in revision controlled Workspace A, need to be related to the most recent revision of test specification in revision controlled Workspace B. As of now, I can set up the link, but when I revision test specification in Workspace B the item in Workspace A has a link to a superseded version instead of the current version. It appears this was changed and then possibly reverted back?

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-lifecycle-forum/revisions-and-the-relationships-tab/m-p/596680...

If someone can clarify if it is possible to reference the latest revision of an item in a different workspace, that would be appreciated.

[david.cliftonAMV2A]

Bryce,
I'm living with your pain every day.

Update: Last December (2017) and January (2018) Autodesk development performed an audit of FLC customer data to see, based upon how many bi-directional relationships were in use, what the impact might be if a change to the current functionality would be.
Here is the reply I received:
"We have finally reviewed the data in other customers' sites and unfortunately there are way too many bi-directional relationships in use out there for us to change the default and current behavior. We are currently reviewing options and I hope to get back to you with an answer soon. The immediate solution we see is to use uni-directional relationships, I understand this is not your preferred option, so I have asked for other alternatives."
I must say that Autodesk admitted that my use case where Contract Manufacturers whom I prevent having access to Superseded or Working revisions are negatively impacted by this current functionality is "correct". But have not heard anything more since.
Without any further communication from Autodesk on this topic since January, we at Boa have taken different steps depending on the data set and workspace.

1. We've decided to link all related rev-controlled documents to the assembly Bills of Material for which they apply. Unfortunately, that ends our "purely only components with costs" rollup strategy we've tried to maintain for 24 months. Soon, related Docs will be on the BOMs of all components, sub-assemblies, and assemblies. We are in "prep" mode currently as this is a massive undertaking. As you may know, the Import Tool does not allow cross-workspace functionality. I must create a "Helper" workspace to temporarily build the BOM structures before then transferring the data to the target workspace. Major pain.

2. In select workspaces I have created Relationship Sections on the Details Tab where I maintain in a Matrix fields containing derived "links" to the latest Rev of related items. Such as Molds to Parts and Parts to Molds. This choice is admittedly very high maintenance on my part (Administrator) as the links need constant monitoring and manually updating post-ECO releases. But the payoff for our Contract Manufacturers in China is worth the effort.

3. Some remaining workspaces on the existing Relationship Tab I manually re-add new latest Revisions and Working Revs (twice, to both related items) after ECO releases. I also take that opportunity to delete any superseded revs from both. Again, very time consuming. Some documents are related to hundreds of items....
I plan on attending Accelerate 2018 this September in Toronto. In fact, I "early-bird" registered today. I hope to find both Martin Gasevski and Bastien Mazeran while there and hopefully have face-to-face discussions on this and some other items as well. And maybe they will have an update for me!

Best Regards,

DAVID A. CLIFTON
MANAGER OF DOCUMENT CONTROL
-
OFFICE: 303 382-6190
SKYPE: david.clifton@boatechnology.com
ADDRESS: 3575 Ringsby Court
Suite 200, Denver, CO 80216 USA
BOAFIT.COM

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