Shop Control Screenshot Series
DBA is a shop control system
DBA is a shop control system. A shop control system actively manages shop activities instead of passively updating jobs at time of completion.
Work centers and routings provide the foundation
Work centers and routings provide the foundation that makes shop control possible. Work centers represent machines, sets of interchangeable machines, or work areas. Subcontractors function as outside work centers. Routings are lists of the labor and subcontract processes that comprise each of your manufactured items. Each process is assigned to its associated work center or subcontractor.
MRP generates the master schedule
MRP generates the master schedule, which is an overall plan for meeting your sales order required dates. PO and job supply dates are aligned with job and sales order demand dates so that purchased components, subassemblies, and sell items are available to meet their required dates.
The master schedule gets updated when jobs are released
Jobs are released to production within the Job Control Panel. Jobs are only released when material on hand is fully allocated to all job components. When a late PO or subassembly job for a component causes a job to get released late, the job finish date is automatically rescheduled to update the master schedule with a realistic supply date.
The Late Supply screen helps update your SO line Expected Ship date
When the job is released it will update the job finish date. When the job finish exceeds your SO line item Required date it will show up on the Sales > Late Supply screen where your sales team can update your Expected Ship date and notify the customer if necessary.
Work center queues are scheduled by job priority
Within the Work Center Schedule screen, a “queue” is displayed for each work center, which is a list of job sequences that are already in progress or are staged in the work center waiting to get started. Job sequences are scheduled in job priority order. Job priority is a measure of each job’s estimated remaining production time relative to its required date. Jobs that are running late automatically get priority over other jobs.
As workers are given assignments, the job sequence status can be changed from Ready to Started to indicate that the sequence has been assigned and is in progress.
The Work Center Schedule optimizes shop workflow by coordinating work center activities and eliminating the need for manual expediting
Material is issued to jobs in real time
The Work Center Schedule screen is also used to issue material in real time prior to starting job sequences. The Material icon in the work center queue indicates when material is needed for a particular job sequence. Clicking the icon launches the Job Issues screen opened to the selected job.
Labor is updated as job sequences are finished
The Work Center Schedule screen is also used to update job labor as sequences are finished. Job labor can be standard hours or actual hours recorded on the job traveler. The Labor icon in the work center queue launches the Job Labor screen opened to the selected job sequence.
Standard hours are recommended for improved throughput and costing
When the Standard hours type is used against job sequences, labor can be quickly updated in just a few clicks because standard setup and labor hours are applied instead of actual hours. Using standard hours eliminates all the mechanical processes that are required to collect and report actual labor hours. Our recommendation is to use Standard hour sequences and commit to reporting completions when sequences are finished.
The Work Center Schedule is a valuable management tool
The opening Work Centers tab in the Work Center Schedule screen provides a view of overall shop conditions so that machine and worker resources can be deployed where most needed. Each work center’s actual queue days can be compared with standard buffer days to identify bottlenecks. Work center loads include non-released jobs and provide a measure of your overall job backlog.
Who uses the Work Center Schedule?
The Work Center Schedule screen can be used by all personnel involved in work in process.
•Managers use the screen to assess overall shop conditions and to deploy resources where needed.
•Supervisors use the screen for worker assignments.
•Supervisors and workers use the screen to issue material to job sequences and to update their labor as sequences are completed.
POs are generated as needed for subcontract services
Outside services such as painting, plating, and heat-treating are commonly performed during the course of jobs. The First WC field within the Job Control Panel and the Next WC field within the work center queue in the Work Center Schedule screen indicate when the next work center is a subcontract process. The Job Subcontracting screen is used to generate subcontract service POs in real time as needed. Items are received back to the job through the PO Receipts screen.
Finished outputs are received to inventory
Job outputs are received to inventory using the Job Receipts screen so that finished items are available for issue to other jobs or shipment to customers. Because material, labor, and subcontract services are updated in real time as job sequences are finished, by the time job receipts are processed, all job costs will be accounted for and can be included in the final receipt cost.
Picking Manager notifies the shipping department
After the job output is receipted into Inventory, the Sales > Picking Manager screen will allocate that stock on hand in priority order to open sales lines and ensure that you are always picking and shipping according to your master schedule plan.
Job close is the final step
After the final receipt has been made in the Job Receipts screen, the last step in the job cycle is to close the job within the Job Control Panel. Closing the job automatically keeps the Work in Process account in balance by posting any difference between total job input and job output costs to the WIP Variance account.
