Production tracking: bringing workshop data into ERP

In the workshop, the most accurate information is in the notes written on the edge of the work order sheet: how many pieces were cut, how many were scrapped, why a job waited. The problem is that by the time these notes reach the office they are either incomplete or too late. Production tracking is the work of recording which stage a job is at in the workshop and how much material and labor it has consumed; combined with ERP, this record also feeds stock, cost and shipment decisions.

In this article we explain where production data originates in the workshop, how it reaches ERP and which decisions need to be made when collecting it. On the ERP side we take the production area of YazSis ERP as the example.

Where does data originate in the workshop?

Production information does not arise in one place but in small pieces along the flow of the job. Each piece can be the answer to a question in the office; but if it is not recorded, it stays only in the foreman’s memory.

• Material issue: How much raw material was taken from the warehouse for which job, and from which lot or serial?
• Operation start and finish: At which station did the job start, when did it finish, where did it wait?
• Quantity produced: Finished and semi-finished quantities, and the amount that passed or failed inspection.
• Scrap: How much material was lost and why: faulty cutting, material defect, setup loss?
• Subcontracted movement: Which job left the workshop, in what quantity, and when did it come back?

Picture a small scene: a customer asks about the shipment date. The sales representative phones the workshop and the foreman says “almost done”. The work order is open in the system, but there is no record showing which stage the job is at. The representative gives the customer an estimated date; if the job runs late, that date remains a promise made by sales, not by the workshop. The real job of production tracking is to replace estimated information with recorded information in situations like this.

The data’s path in ERP

For workshop data to be meaningful in ERP, a production structure must first be defined. The bill of materials and the recipe answer the question “what is this product made from”; the work order answers “how many, when, in what order”. Once these two are in place, every workshop record that follows finds its counterpart in the system:

1. The bill of materials and recipe are prepared; the materials and quantities that make up each finished product are defined.
2. A work order is opened from an order or a stock need; the work order carries the quantity to be produced and the deadline.
3. Material is issued from the warehouse to the work order; stock is reduced in the same movement.
4. The quantity produced in the workshop and the scrap are recorded; the work order is closed partly or fully.
5. The finished product enters stock and becomes ready for shipment; the actual material and scrap are reflected in the cost.
6. Management sees the efficiency and cost variance side by side with the planned values.

The most critical link in this chain is tying material issues to a work order. If material leaves the warehouse without a work order, neither scrap nor cost can be calculated correctly. That is why many businesses start by tying warehouse issues to work orders as a first step; recording workshop events more often comes afterward.

Keeping records in the workshop should not be a side duty of the job, it should be a step of the job.

Subcontracted processing: work that leaves the workshop

In many productions part of the work is done outside: plating, painting, heat treatment, a special operation. If material sent out for subcontracted processing is not tracked in the system, after a while it sits somewhere nobody knows exactly. If subcontracted processing is also opened as a work order step in ERP, it stays visible which material is with whom, when it will return and how much of it comes back usable. The scrap and yield calculation is also set up to cover outside work.

Five decisions to make before collecting data

• Who will record? The foreman, the station lead or the shift supervisor? Recording should be possible with the least effort by the person closest to the work.
• At which moments will records be taken? At every operation, or only when the work order is closed? The more often you record, the more detail you get, and the more burden you carry.
• How will scrap be classified? A short list of reasons instead of open-ended notes makes a monthly review possible.
• How will traceability be set up? Using lot, serial and barcode helps show afterward which material was used in which finished product.
• What if the record is late? Batch entry at the end of the shift is possible too; what matters is that this delay is clearly known in the reports.

What does management start to see?

Once data starts to flow regularly, the answers to the questions change. The question “Why was this job late?” is answered with a record showing how long it waited at which station. The question “Are we really making a profit on this product?” is answered by looking at the cost calculated from planned and actual material and scrap. The KPI and real-time report view in YazSis ERP aims to let you look at these questions without preparing separate files.

If you would like to discuss how to bring the data in your workshop into ERP, you can look through the areas on the YazSis ERP page.