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Work centers and work orders

This section describes how to use Work centers and Work orders to plan and manage production operations.

Work centers​

Work center is a production unit (a machine, a group of machines, or a specific area) where manufacturing operations are performed.

Managing work centers​

To manage work centers, go to Manufacturing → Settings → Work centers.

For each work center, you can specify:

  • Name — a descriptive name (e.g., "Assembly Line A", "CNC Machine 1").
  • ID — a unique internal code for the work center.
  • Description — detailed information about the center's capabilities or location.

Practical Use​

Work centers are used to group work orders and analyze the overall production load. By defining distinct work centers, you can identify bottlenecks and balance the workload across your facility.

Work orders​

A Work order represents a specific operation or task performed at a work center as part of a manufacturing order. While a manufacturing order defines what is being produced, work orders define how and where the work is executed.

Creating work orders​

Work orders are typically created within the context of a Manufacturing order. You can break down a single production process into multiple sequential or parallel operations.

Steps to add a work order:​

  1. Open a Manufacturing order card.
  2. Navigate to the Work orders tab.
  3. Click Add (New) to create a new line.
  4. Fill in the following details:
    • Name — name of the operation (e.g., "Cutting", "Welding").
    • Work center — select the unit where this operation will take place (Mandatory).
    • Start date — the day the operation is scheduled to begin (defaults to the manufacturing order's scheduled date).
    • Start time — the specific time of day the operation should start.
    • Duration — the estimated time required for the operation (in hours).

Managing all work orders​

To see a global view of all production tasks, go to Manufacturing → Operations → Work orders. This list allows supervisors to:

  • Track the progress of operations across different manufacturing orders.
  • Filter tasks by work center or date.
  • Edit operation details without opening individual manufacturing orders.

Work center load dashboard​

The Work center load dashboard is a powerful tool for visual scheduling and capacity planning.

Accessing the dashboard​

Go to Manufacturing → Dashboards → Work center load.

Interface overview​

The dashboard features a matrix view:

  • Rows: List of all configured Work centers.
  • Columns: Days of the selected month.
  • Header: Contains controls for navigation and filtering.
  • Use the Interval field to see the current date range.
  • Click the < and > buttons to move between months.

Visual Indicators​

The grid uses color coding to convey information at a glance:

  • Green background: Represents the current date.
  • Pink background: Indicates weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
  • Blue background: Highlights work scheduled for the Manufacturing order currently selected in the dashboard header.
  • Bold numbers: The duration of work for the selected manufacturing order.
  • Small numbers in brackets: The total duration of all work orders for that work center on that day.

Scheduling and editing from the dashboard​

The dashboard is interactive and allows for quick adjustments:

Scenario A: Planning a specific Manufacturing order​

  1. Select a Manufacturing order in the dashboard header.
  2. Find the intersection of the desired Work center and Date.
  3. Click on the cell:
    • Enter a numeric value to set or update the Duration.
    • If no work order existed for this manufacturing order on this cell, a new one will be created automatically.
    • To delete a work order, enter 0 or clear the value.

Scenario B: General load management​

  1. Ensure no manufacturing order is selected in the header.
  2. Click on a cell to open a pop-up window showing all work orders for that center/day.
  3. From this window, you can view, edit, or delete existing work orders, or create new ones for any manufacturing order.

Constraints and Validations​

  • Closed Orders: You cannot create or modify work orders for a manufacturing order that is already closed. The system will display a message: "Manufacturing order is already closed".
  • Mandatory Work Center: Every work order must be assigned to a work center.