Process work orders¶
When a product’s BoM includes one or more operations (via a routing), confirming a manufacturing order (MO) for that product generates a work order for each operation. Work orders let employees track, at each work center, exactly how much time is spent working on a specific step of the manufacturing process.
Important
Work orders require the Work Orders setting to be enabled. To do so, navigate to , tick the checkbox next to Work Orders, under the Operations heading, and click Save.
See also
Work orders overview¶
To view every work order in the database, navigate to . The page can be displayed as a list, a kanban board (grouped by work center), a calendar, or a pivot/graph, using the view switcher icons at the top-right of the page.
- menu
- Manufacturing app --> Operations --> Work Orders
- shows
- The list view of work orders, "Operation", "Work Center", "Product", "Quantity Remaining", "Expected Duration", "Real Duration" and "Status" columns, with the Start/Pause/ Done buttons and the status dropdown visible on each row.
- highlight
- The Start/Pause/Done buttons and the status dropdown of one row.
- data
- Demo company "YourCompany"; a mix of ready, in-progress, and done work orders.
- module
- mrp
- notes
- English UI, light theme, 1440px width.
Each work order can be in one of the following states:
Waiting for another WO: a preceding work order, on which this one depends, has not been completed yet.
Waiting for components: the components required for the operation are not yet available.
Ready: the work order can be started.
In Progress: work is currently being done on the work order.
Finished: the work order has been completed.
Cancelled: the work order was cancelled, typically because its MO was cancelled.
Note
By default, work orders are only sequenced according to their operation’s order on the BoM. To have Odoo enforce that a work order cannot start before another, specific one is finished (e.g., paint cannot start before sand is done, even on a different work center), enable the Work Order Dependencies checkbox, located below the Work Orders setting. Doing so adds a Blocked By tab to each work order, used to select its dependencies.
Start, pause, and complete a work order¶
From the Work Orders list or kanban view, each work order that is not yet done displays buttons to process it directly, without opening its form:
Start: begins the timer for the work order, and switches its status to In Progress. Starting a work order for a product tracked by serial numbers automatically sets its Quantity Producing to
1.Pause: stops the timer without marking the work order as done. It can be resumed later by clicking Start again.
Done: stops the timer, consumes the components required for the operation, and marks the work order as Finished.
Note
The Start, Pause, and Done buttons are hidden whenever the work order’s work center is blocked (see below).
Alternatively, click the colored status dot at the right of a work order’s row to open its (status) drop-down menu, which contains:
Done: marks the work order as finished, equivalent to the Done button.
Block/Unblock: blocks or unblocks the work order’s work center (see below).
Print Work Order: downloads a PDF work order sheet for the selected work order(s).
- menu
- Manufacturing app --> Operations --> Work Orders
- shows
- The status drop-down menu open on a work order row, with "Done", "Block", and "Print Work Order" options.
- highlight
- The "Block" option.
- data
- Demo company "YourCompany"; an in-progress work order.
- module
- mrp
- notes
- English UI, light theme, 1440px width.
On the kanban view, work orders that are In Progress display a (run), (paused), or (blocked) icon on their card, depending on whether an employee is actively working on them.
Block a work center¶
If a work center becomes temporarily unusable, for example due to a mechanical breakdown or a missing component, it can be blocked. While blocked, none of its pending work orders can be started, paused, or finished, until it is unblocked again.
To block a work center from the Work Orders page, click the status drop-down menu on one of its work orders, and select Block. Alternatively, navigate to , and click the colored status indicator on the work center’s kanban card.
In the Block Workcenter pop-up window that appears, select a Reason for the blockage, from options including Material Availability, Equipment Failure, Setup and Adjustments, Process Defect, and Reduced Yield. Optionally, enter additional details in the Description field. Then, click Block to confirm.
- menu
- Manufacturing app --> Operations --> Work Orders (status dropdown --> Block)
- shows
- The "Block Workcenter" pop-up window, "Reason" field open showing the list of loss reasons, "Description" field.
- highlight
- The "Reason" field.
- data
- Demo company "YourCompany"; work center "Assembly Line 1", reason "Equipment Failure".
- module
- mrp
- notes
- English UI, light theme, 1440px width.
These blocking reasons are also used to compute the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of each work center. To unblock a work center, select Unblock from the same status drop-down menu, or click its status indicator again on the Work Centers kanban view.
Work order details¶
Click on a work order’s Operation name to open its form and access additional information:
Time Tracking tab: lists every time entry logged against the work order, one per employee and work session, along with an optional Productivity loss reason for each entry. The total Real Duration, in minutes, is displayed below the list.
Components tab: lists the components required for the operation, along with the quantity to consume, the quantity already consumed, and the on-hand and forecasted quantities.
Work Instruction tab: displayed only if the operation’s routing step includes a PDF file, a Google Slides link, or a text note, configured as instructions for how to carry out the operation.
- menu
- Manufacturing app --> Operations --> Work Orders (open a work order) --> Time Tracking tab
- shows
- The Time Tracking tab of a work order form, with two time entries listed (different users, start/end times, and one with a "Productivity" loss reason set).
- highlight
- The "Productivity" column.
- data
- Demo company "YourCompany"; work order with 2 logged time entries.
- module
- mrp
- notes
- English UI, light theme, 1440px width.