Estimation Master Data

Estimation Master Data

Apart from the data used for the actual calculation, the estimation can create data that is used in the following areas:

• Planning
• Job Costing
• Analysis

It is crucial to create a systematic, well-structured set of master data. Careful preparation ensures that the calculation is done as intended and simplifies future maintenance. Properly set up master data leads to efficient work processes, allowing you to focus on the quality of the calculation.

General Construction of the Estimation Master Data

The estimation is constructed from two layers:

- Master data
- Calculation units

Parallels can be drawn to the construction of a house:

Foundation

The first layer is a solid and thoroughly thought-out foundation. This includes the total functionality of the system, similar to planning the distribution of rooms, water, heating, electricity, and sewage in a house.

Functions

The second layer contains all the functions of the system, which consist of various elements such as walls, roof, windows, and so on. These elements are combined creatively to meet the total needs and ensure practical functionality.

Master Data

The foundation of estimation is a structured and well-thought-out master data system that accurately reflects the rules and prices the company uses as a basis for calculations. A calculation determines the actual cost for the company to produce a given task.

Master data consists of detailed information about your company within the following categories:

• Cost centers (machines, etc.)
• Hourly rates
• Price lists
• Speeds
• Scrap
• Items

The different categories of master data are created and maintained separately. They are joined to form a whole through the cost centers and the items.

Calculation Units

Calculation Units are based on the master data and function like electronic building blocks—small spreadsheets that calculate specific parts of a task. They ensure uniform calculations across the company and are not dependent on the individual performing the calculation.

Example - CTP Time: Open document (preparation, imposition, terminal time, etc.) - CTP Time: PDF (preparation, imposition, control time, etc.) - CTP 52 x 74: CTP plate production - CTP 72 x 104: CTP plate production

By creating these CTP calculation units, you can calculate the price for CTP work on an order by selecting the relevant combinations.

General View

We will elaborate on the estimation's main elements, starting with master data, then moving to calculation units and their application in order calculation. This overview will provide insight into content, principles, and relationships before detailing master data setup.

Master Data General Content

Cost Center

A cost center calculates the cost of time spent on a task and is essential in master data. It can represent a machine, location, or person and always has a fixed hourly rate.

Configuration

Each cost center can have one or more configurations. Each configuration must include all operations required for pre-calculation. For instance, a machine cost center might include details about machine parameters related to a specific print process.

Operations

Each configuration includes all the operations to be pre-calculated. The level of detail should reflect how you would manually pre-calculate.

Other Master Data

From a cost center (or its configurations and operations), you can access other files containing calculations about department, hourly rates, speeds, scrap, and price lists.

Item Card

The item card is central to master data, used to calculate material and subcontractor usage. It includes special terms regarding prices, price lists, quality, format, warehouse treatment, and bookkeeping.

Example of Master Data

To calculate the cost of printing with a 4-color printer, the following master data is required:

Printer

Used for producing 4-color print and 2-color brochures. Includes setup time and different hourly rates for perfection.

Cost Center

Created as a "Printing machine" type.

Configurations

Defined for different states of the printer with varying hourly rates and machine parameters.

Operations

Includes all operations to pre-calculate for each configuration.

Hourly Rates

Set up for both 2-color and 4-color operations.

Items

Includes materials used in printing (ink, paper).

The diagram below illustrates the chosen master data.

Once the necessary decisions about master data are made and entered into PrintVis, the company can perform an estimation.

How Master Data and Calculation Units are Related

When performing calculations, users need to select and combine relevant data to calculate the task at hand. This requires filtering and combining extensive master data into manageable units called Calculation Units. Each Calculation Unit calculates a specific subset of the task.

Calculation Units To accurately calculate tasks in a print example, you need to create a Calculation Unit for each cost center configuration. Each Calculation Unit must be linked to the cost center, utilizing the configuration, selected operations, and materials from items to pre-calculate the printing process.

Calculation Units and List of Units

Combining Calculation Units (e.g., a printer and paper) into a List of Units simplifies system use. The user selects the relevant List of Units, and the system transfers all Calculation Units in the list to the estimate, performs the calculation, and displays the result.

Using the Estimation Functionality

When first using the estimation for a task, the user selects the List of Units and Calculation Units based on the customer’s needs. The estimation calculates total costs, both internal and external, and displays the result. Once created, this data can be reused and adjusted for future tasks and customers.

Setting Up Master Data

Setting up master data involves maintaining a general view of the process while managing details of master items.

The workflow of setting up Master Data for Estimation

The process consists simply of these sub-tasks:

- Defining the purpose of the company's use of the calculation system
- Collecting information
- Transforming the collected information
- Entering the information into PrintVis

The Purpose

Review and decide which existing calculation rules to carry over into the new system. This defines the framework for automation and manual decision-making.

Collecting

Gather details of the production system, including functions, hourly rates, speeds, and procedures.

Transforming

Prepare collected information based on new system rules, adapting it to fit PrintVis capabilities. This requires a deep understanding of both the old and new systems.

Data Entry

Enter the transformed data into the new system. Knowledge of relevant tables and data entry methods is essential.

Note: It is crucial to address all sub-tasks with equal priority. Any errors should be identified and corrected promptly to maintain the integrity of the process.

Descriptions of Master Data Categories

The relationship between different master data categories must be understood. Each category's data must be transformed to fit the system's structure.

Cost Center

Cost centers are created in a single table. Essential fields include:

• Code
• Name
• Department
• Type

Configurations

Details are defined in the Configuration window, which consists of a card and a table.

Card

Includes tabs for General, Machine, Planning, Calculation, and Info. Typically, you fill in the General and Machine tabs, with the Calculation tab being auto-filled by the system.

General Tab

Basic configurations relevant if a machine can operate in different states with varying hourly rates or parameters.

Machine Tab

Specific details about the machine's operations.

Operations

Operations define the time units used at a cost center. For example:

• Printing Machines: Setting up, blending colors, place adjustment, printing.
• CTP and Film Output: Setting up, imposition, terminal time, CTP-output, film-output, filing.
• Finishing: Various fold-types a machine can handle.

Example: A table of operations for a 4-color printer.

Calculation of Time Consumption

Operations focus on the duration of events and are calculated using the equation:

[ \text{Number of times} \times \text{Time used per operation} \times \text{Price} ]

For each "time calculation line" in a calculation, the following factors need to be defined:

Number of Times the Operation is Done

Type	Description
Possibly automatic	The value of this field can either be a fixed number that you input, or a reference to a formula in the system's collection of formulas.
Not automatic	The user must indicate a value to be used in the pre-calculation.
Missing Inputs	If neither Formula Code nor Quantity is filled in, and if the price calculations need a figure, the pre-calculation will stop and display a red *. The user must then enter a value.

Time Used per Operation

Type	Description
Possibly automatic	This factor is obtained by either binding a Speed Table to the operation or by entering a fixed speed into the field Speed or by entering a fixed number of hours into the Hours field.
Not automatic	The user needs to make an estimate and enter a value in the field Time Consumption when pre-calculating. If neither Speed Table, nor Speed nor Hours are filled in, and if the price calculations need a figure, the pre-calculation will stop and display a red *. The user must then enter a value.

Price

Typically derived from hourly rates in the cost center configurations. Special hourly rates for specific operations can be created, or prices can be picked from a price list.

Automatic Calculation

The program will only calculate operations automatically if the factors in the formula

[ Number of times * Time used per operation * Price ] consist of the following combinations of field input:

Number of times	Time used per operation	Price	Formula
Speed table	Hour Rate or Price list	Formula	Speed
Hour Rate or Price list	Quantity	Speed table	Hour Rate or Price list
Quantity	Speed	Hour Rate or Price list	Hours

Speed Tables

Speed tables define how time is calculated for operations. The Speed Tables window is divided into an upper part (overview of created speed tables) and a lower part (lines in the selected table).

Specification of Speed in Table

Specify the speed by combining two fields: Unit of Time and Hours.

Examples

From quantity	Unit of time	Hours	Formula
1	5000	1	= 5000 units/hour

From quantity	Unit of time	Hours	Formula
1	1	0.5	= 1 unit / 0.5 hours

Differentiating Table Lines

You can specify when a speed changes by using the From Quantity field, which indicates when a given speed table line should be used:

From quantity	Unit of time	Hours	Formula
1	3000	1	= 3000 units per hour
1001	8000	1	= 8000 units per hour
5001	8300	1	= 8300 units per hour
10001	8700	1	= 8700 units per hour

Note: You can also differentiate by Product Group, Time Group, Format Code, Paper Quality, Weight, and Number of Sections.

Weight	From quantity	Unit of time	Hours
1	3000	1
1001	8000	1
5001	8300	1
170	1	3000	1
170	1001	7500	1
170	5001	7800	1
250	1	3000	1
250	1001	6000	1
250	5001	6500	1

From the information about the paper's weight the program will choose the speed table lines that must be used to calculate the required time.

The program can show an overview of the different speed tables in the system. The overview contains not only the fields Code and Text, but also a number of fields that offer extended possibilities for setting up each table:

- Format Type
- Find best format
- Formula 1
- Formula 2 
- Per process
- Speed Principle
- Calculation

Scrap Tables

Scrap tables define how scrap is calculated for a process. They are primarily used for printing machines, finishing machines, and possibly other sections.

Scrap Tables Window

The Scrap Tables window is similar to the Speed Tables window, with an upper part for the list of created scrap tables and a lower part for the lines in the selected table.

Apart from the fields Code and Description, the overview only contains the field Format type. The format can be an important parameter in scrap calculations; as there many format terms when calculating a job, the Format type field is used to indicate exactly which format is meant.

The fields in each table line can be broken up into two groups according to their function in the table:

- Fields that are used to differentiate the system's choice of table lines for scrap calculation.
- Fields that are used directly to calculate scrap.

Fields used to differentiate the system's choice of table lines

1. Fields to Differentiate Table Lines: Scrap Group, Format Code, Sheet Weight, Number of Runs, From Quantity (net print).

Fields to Calculate Scrap

• Per Processing Scrap
• Sheet Scrap and Following Sheet Scrap
• Plate Scrap and Following Plate Scrap
• Per Shift Scrap
• Per Plate in Shift Scrap
• Scrap % Running

Note: The same scrap is usually calculated for all plates unless specified otherwise.

Hourly Rates

Each cost center has a basic hourly rate used for calculations. You may need to create rates for additional configurations or operations.

Cost Center Rates Table

The table includes fields for general descriptions and rate entries, with some fields used for calculation and others for illustration.

Groups for Differentiating

The estimation system includes groups for differentiating tables:

• Time Groups: Affect speeds and time calculations.
• Scrap Groups: Affect scrap calculations.
• Price Groups: Affect hourly rates and price lists.

Time groups: The groups can differentiate speeds and thereby the calculated time for the operations they influence. This, of course, influences cost and/or sales prices indirectly.

Scrap groups: The groups can differentiate scrap and thereby paper usage. This influences costs and/or prices indirectly. Time and scrap groups are oriented towards production and are typically called 'EASY', 'DIFFICULT', etc.

Price groups: The groups can differentiate hourly rates and price lists. They are therefore oriented toward marketing and are often called 'CAMPAIGN', 'SPECIAL COLOR', etc.

Note: Time and Scrap Groups are typically oriented towards production, while Price Groups are marketing-oriented.

Additional Rate Groups

Create general additional rates for item costs, self-cost, and sales prices. These can be used to influence calculations, such as adding a percentage for rush orders.

The upper part of the window consists of a table where you can create the rate groups. In the middle, the three types of additional rates you can choose between, and in the lower part a table where you can create additional rates for the type selected in the middle part.

- Surcharge on cost price is the percentage that should cover storage costs, etc.
- Surcharge on own price is the extra percentage that you will earn in addition to e.g. storage costs etc.

Note: The group with standard additional rates should be created with a blank code field. This causes this rate to be chosen if nothing else is given.

Differentiating

The window includes a table for creating rate groups, types of additional rates, and a table for entering additional rates.

• Surcharge on Cost Price: Percentage for storage costs, etc.
• Surcharge on Own Price: Extra percentage for earnings beyond storage costs.

Note: Create a blank code field for standard additional rates, which will be chosen if no other rate is specified.

Differentiating Additional Rates

Each additional rate can be differentiated by product group, customer group, item quality, and item number for detailed control.

Items

In this manual, we deal with how items are set up in relation to the calculation.

The items that the calculation typically revolves around are:

• Paper
• Plates
• Film
• Color
• Sub-contracting

To pre-calculate, you need to consider the following questions for each item and enter your conclusions into the system:

• Which attributes shall the item have?
• According to which principles shall the price calculation be based?

Attributes to Consider

• Item Type
• Quality
• Calculation Unit

Setting Up for Price Calculation

For use in a price calculation, you can set up the following:

1. Price List Code: Attach to the item in the field Price list code on the General tab.
2. Rate per Calculation Unit: Enter on the Invoicing tab.
3. Cost Price: Use the field Cost Price, and for the sales price, either the field Additional % or Price.

The Calculation of Prices of Items

The program calculates cost, own, and sales prices for items based on the data entered on the tab Invoicing on the item and the data in the Additional Rate Groups table.

#	Type	Additional Rate	Cost Price Calculation	Self Cost Calculation	Sales Price Calculation	Additional Sales Price
1	Transfers	Additional Rate	Cost Price + Additional Rates	Additional Rates	Self Cost + Additional Rate	Additional Rate
2	Transfers	Additional Rate	Cost Price + Additional Rates	Calculated	Sales Price from Item Card	Additional Rate
3	Transfers	Additional Rate	Cost Price + Additional Rates	Calculated	Cost Price + Additional % from Item	Additional Rate

Cost Price Calculation Details

Cost Price The cost price is always used by the calculation, either from the Cost Price field on the item or from a price list attached to the item.

Additional Costs The additional cost and sales prices are always taken from the Additional Rate Groups table. The addition to Self Cost is generally from the Additional Rate Groups table.

Exceptions The addition to Self Cost will be calculated as:

( (Sales Price – Self Cost) / Self Cost ) * 100

...when either the field Additional % or (Sales) Price is set for transfer to the calculation.

(Sales) Price Calculation The value in the Price field can be obtained in three ways:

1. Generally: Self Cost + Additional Rate

2. If the field Price is set to transfer on the item: The value from Price on the item

3. If the field Additional % is set on the item: Cost Price + (Additional % on the item * Cost Price)

Example 1 Additional Cost Price and Self Cost are fetched from the Additional Rate Groups table.

Cost Price	Additional Cost Price	Self Cost	Additional %	(Sales) Price
1	100	20%	120	10%

Example 2 Additional cost price is fetched from the Additional Rate Groups table. The value 200 from the field Price is set to transfer on the item. Finally, Additional Self Cost is calculated "backwards" as

[ (Price- Self Cost)/ Self Cost * 100 ] :

Cost Price	Additional Cost Price	Self Cost	Additional %	(Sales) Price
1	100	20%	66.66%	200

Example 3 Additional cost price is fetched from the Additional Rate Groups table. The value 50% from the field Additional % on the item card is set to transfer, so (sales) Price is calculated as

[ Cost price + Cost price * 50% ]

Finally, Additional Self Cost is calculated backwards like so:

[ (Price- Self Cost)/ Self Cost * 100 ] :

Cost Price	Additional Cost Price	Self Cost	Additional %	(Sales) Price
1	100	20%	25%	150

Price Lists

Using price lists, you can specify how the system must calculate the (sales) price of a given item or operation. Price lists are typically used only in connection with items, but you can also connect a price list to an operation (which calculates the sales price while the cost price is calculated from the hourly rates).

Example of a Price List

We would like the price list to be constructed in such a way that the sales price of the item Plates depends on the quantity ordered. The greater the quantity, the lower the price. The cost price in the example is the same, independent of price.

The price list must have the following intervals and prices:

From Quantity	Cost Price	Sales Price
1	25	35.00
5	25	33.75
10	25	32.50
15	25	31.25

Dimensions / Differentiating

In the example, the price is dependent upon the number of plates in the order. The price list, therefore, has only one dimension: quantity. Below is an example of a price list created in the Price List Headers window:

• Calculation unit
• Ordering unit
• No. dimensions
• 1st dimension item
• 2nd dimension item
• 3rd dimension item
• Other dimensions

Example of the use of many dimensions

We will now add CTP plates to the above example (which only had traditional plates). We create the two following price groups so that the program can distinguish between the two plate types:

• PLATES - for traditional plates
• PLATES CTP - for CTP-plates

Dimension Price Group

We are able to create and maintain prices for traditional and CTP-plates in the same table by using the dimension Price Group with From Quantity:

From Quantity	Dim 1	Price Group	Cost Price	Sales Price
1	PLATES	25.00	35.00
5	PLATES	25.00	33.75
10	PLATES	25.00	32.50
15	PLATES	25.00	31.25
1	PLATES CTP	90.00	135.00
5	PLATES CTP	90.00	130.50
10	PLATES CTP	90.00	126.00
15	PLATES CTP	90.00	121.50

Dimension with Formula

We would also like to differentiate the price of CPT-plates based upon the length of the printing run (i.e., quantity), so that the plates within the indicated intervals become cheaper as the run length increases.

As the length of a print run is a quantity, we can add another dimension: From Quantity Dim 2. PrintVis has a formula collection that can obtain the run length. We can choose Formula as the unit for this dimension and connect the formula that gets the run length to it.

In the price list, we now have three dimensions:

• From quantity dim 1 - Unit: Item
• From quantity dim 2 - Unit: Formula = Quantity (run length)
• Price group - PLATES or PLATES CTP

On Paper:

Price Group	From Quantity Dim 1	From Quantity Dim 2	Cost Price	Sales Price
PLATES	1		2.50	3.50
PLATES	5		2.50	3.35
PLATES	10		2.50	3.25
PLATES	15		2.50	3.15
PLATES CTP	1	1	9.00	13.50
PLATES CTP	1	5001	9.00	13.05
PLATES CTP	1	10001	9.00	12.60
PLATES CTP	1	20001	9.00	12.15
PLATES CTP	1	50001	9.00	11.70
PLATES CTP	5	1	9.00	13.05
PLATES CTP	5	5001	9.00	12.60
PLATES CTP	5	10001	9.00	12.15
PLATES CTP	5	20001	9.00	11.70
PLATES CTP	5	50001	9.00	11.20
PLATES CTP	10	1	9.00	12.60

When using multiple dimensions in a price list, it’s important to note that the program reads the dimensions from left to right when calculating.

Formula Collection

The system contains a comprehensive collection of formulas you can use when constructing your calculation system. The formulas read and use data that is either registered in or calculated by the system depending on the task at hand.

Standard Formulas

Code	Name	Formula
1	Quantity	Quantity
2	Quantity of Colors	The largest of color front or back or total colors
3	Quantity of Color Flows	(Quantity of Colors Front / Max. Machine Colors) + (Quantity of Colors Back / Max. Machine Colors)
4	Quantity of Washups	Total Quantity of Colors * Number of Sheet Sets
5	Quantity of Films	Printed format / film format * number of plates
6	Kg. color without scrap	Net square meter printed sheets / number of square meters per kg color from the item card * colors in total * %factor / 100
7	Kg. color with scrap	Qty. of full sheets incl. scrap / m² per kg color from the product sheet * total colors * %factor / 100
8	Qty. of Layout Plates	(Pages with Print / Pages per Print Sheet) x (Colors Front + Colors Back)
9	Qty. of Sheets	Number of similar sheets rejected from the assembled pages with print
10	Qty. of Layouts	Equals number of plates
11	Number of net printed sheets	(Quantity x Qty. of Pages with Print / Qty. of Printed Sheet Pages) + (Qty. of Sheets / Section x Scrap Sheets per Sheet/Section) + (Continuous Scrap% x Qty. of Printed Sheets)
12	Kg. varnish without scrap	Net square meter printed sheets / number of square meters per kg varnish from the item card * (varnish F + B) * %factor / 100
13	Kg. varnish with scrap	Qty. of full sheets incl. scrap / m² per kg varnish from the product sheet * (varnish F + B) * %factor / 100
14	Qty. of full sheets with scrap	(End Quantity for Sheet + Scrap Sheet) / Printed Sheet/Full Sheet
15	Kg. paper with scrap	(End Quantity for Sheet + Scrap Sheet) / Printed Sheet/Full Sheet * Grammage/Square Meter
16	Qty. of full sheets with scrap	(End Quantity for Sheet + Scrap Sheet) / Printed Sheet/Full Sheet
17	Kg. paper with scrap	(End Quantity for Sheet + Scrap Sheet) / Printed Sheet/Full Sheet * Grammage/Square Meter
18	Number of Plates Shifts	Number of Plates Shifts
19	Number of Shifts	Number of Shifts
21	Qty. of scrap sheets	Total Scrap this process from scrap table
22	Number of prints incl. scrap	(Net printed sheets + scrap this process + following process) * pass
24	Estimate & further Printing	Indicates if the printing process is perfect & printing
25	Turning	Indicates if the printing process is turning
26	Tumbling	Indicates if the printing process is turning or tumbling
27	Turning or Tumbling	Get from the current sheet connected to the unit
28	Number of Intermediary Edges	Get from the current sheet connected to the unit
29	Number of Trimmings	Get from the current sheet connected to the unit
30	Quantity from Job Unit	Get from current price/planning unit
31	Hours from job unit	Get from current price/planning unit
32	Hours from job unit allocated	Get from current price/planning unit and distribute on the calculation lines
33	Number of and hours from job unit	Get from current price/planning unit
40	Quantity from Job Unit (u. following rules)	Quantity from Job Unit (u. following rules)
50	Total Pages with Print	Get from the items of the job