The Regional Data Libraries 2019-10 compatible with aPriori 2019 R2 have been updated to work seamlessly with the new Wage Grades functionality introduced in aPriori 2019 R2. This functionality has no impact on the values used for labor rate for a given machine, but, as summarized here, it does have several major impacts on the Regional Data Libraries (RDLs) data transparency and management. For more details about the impact of RDL updates, see the aPriori Professional 2019 R2 Release Notes.

In terms of transparency, you can now see key assumptions, such as skill level definitions and the assumed skill level for each process, in the Regional Data Library VPEs’ Skill Level, Wage Grade, and Wage Grade Association tables. The algorithms that aPriori uses to populate these tables have not changed from the previous release. In other words, the assumptions that you can now see are not new, they are simply exposed.

In terms of data management, VPE managers can now manage labor rates by using the new Wage Grades functionality. The functionality greatly increases flexibility when using Regional Data Library data. A key change is that VPE managers can now update the labor rate assumptions for a process or a machine to align with skill level while maintaining inheritance to the labor rates published in Regional Data Libraries. For example, in Regional Data Libraries, the 3-Axis Mill process uses a skill level 5 (Advanced Skills and job experience, standard vocational training). To instead use a level 6 (Advanced Skills and job experience, specialized training and certification), simply make the change in the Wage Grade Association table. The labor rates for those machines are automatically updated to use the new assumption. Furthermore, assuming no machine specific overrides are made, the 3-Axis Mill machines continue to receive updated labor rates for the skill level 6 assumption.