Getting Started with Recipes

This tutorial walks you through creating a complete recipe from scratch. By the end, you will have a recipe with a formula (bill of materials), phase parameters, and equipment requirements -- ready to be submitted for review and eventually used in production orders.

Prerequisites

Before creating a recipe, make sure you have:

1. Procedures -- At least one batch procedure with operations and phases configured
2. Materials -- Raw materials and finished products defined in the material master
3. Equipment -- Equipment hierarchy with equipment classes configured

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Recipes reference procedures, materials, and equipment. If these are not set up yet, complete those configurations first.

Step 1: Navigate to Recipe List

1. Open the Admin menu from the main navigation
2. Click Recipes to open the recipes navigation page
3. Click Recipe List to open the recipe management view

Step 2: Create a New Recipe

1. Click the Add Recipe button (top-right of the content card)
2. Fill in the General tab of the recipe form:

Field	Description	Required
Name	Display name for the recipe	Yes
Code	Unique identifier (combined with version)	Yes
Description	Optional text describing the recipe	No
Product	Output material (finished product)	No
Batch Procedure	The procedure this recipe follows	No
Expected Yield	Quantity of output product expected	No
Yield UOM	Unit of measure for the yield	No
Expected Duration	How long one batch should take (seconds)	No
Min/Max Batch Size	Allowed batch size range	No
Batch Size UOM	Unit of measure for batch size	No
Active	Whether the recipe is enabled	Yes (default: on)

3. Click Create to save the recipe

tip

The recipe code does not need to be globally unique -- OpSee uses the combination of code + version as the unique identifier. The first version is always v1.

Step 3: Add Formula Items

The formula defines the bill of materials -- which ingredients go into the recipe and in what quantities.

1. Click the edit button on your newly created recipe to open the edit dialog
2. Switch to the Formula tab
3. Click Add Item and fill in:

Field	Description	Required
Material	The input material (searchable dropdown)	Yes
Quantity	Amount required	Yes
Unit	Unit of measure (kg, L, pcs, etc.)	Yes
Critical	Flag for critical ingredients	No
Tolerance %	Allowed deviation percentage	No

4. Repeat for each material in the recipe

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Critical ingredients are flagged with a red chip in the formula grid. This helps operators identify ingredients that require extra attention during production.

Step 4: Set Phase Parameters

Phase parameters override the default setpoints defined in the procedure's phases. For example, if the procedure has a "Set Temperature" phase, the recipe specifies which temperature to use for this particular product.

1. Switch to the Parameters tab
2. Click Add Item
3. Use the cascading dropdowns:
   • Select an Operation from the linked procedure
   • Select an Operation Phase within that operation
   • Select a Phase Parameter defined on that phase
4. Enter the Target Value, and optionally the Min and Max acceptable values
5. Click Add Item to save

tip

If the Parameters tab shows a message like "Select a procedure first", go back to the General tab and assign a batch procedure to the recipe.

Step 5: Define Equipment Requirements

Equipment requirements specify which equipment class and optionally which specific equipment unit is needed for each unit procedure in the batch.

1. Switch to the Equipment tab
2. Click Add Item
3. Select a Unit Procedure (the equipment dropdown auto-filters based on the unit procedure's equipment class)
4. Optionally select a Preferred Equipment unit
5. Optionally set a Minimum Equipment Status (dirty, clean, disinfected, sterile, qc_ok)
6. Click Create

Step 6: Submit for Review

Once your recipe is complete:

1. Close the edit dialog
2. In the recipe list, find the Status column for your recipe (it shows "Draft")
3. Click the status chip to open the status transition menu
4. Select Submit for Review
5. The status changes to Review -- the recipe is now locked for editing

Step 7: Approve for Production

An authorized user can then:

1. Click the Review status chip
2. Select Approve
3. The recipe is now Approved and available for production orders

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The approving user's name is recorded automatically for traceability. All status transitions are logged in the audit trail.

Next steps

• Recipe List -- Learn about search, filtering, versioning, and bulk management
• Formulas -- Deep dive into formula item management
• Parameters -- Advanced parameter configuration
• Equipment Requirements -- Equipment class and status constraints
• Changeover Rules -- Define product-switch rules for OEE tracking

Related

• Batch Model (ISA-88)
• Procedures — complementary module