Production Operator

Department: Production
Level: Operational
Primary objective: Daily execution of work orders — time tracking, material consumption, progress reporting

What this role does

The Production Operator picks up work orders allocated to their work centre or team, starts/stops the timer per operation, records material consumption, and marks operations as completed. They are the real-time data source for the production planner.

Note: The production module in CRMconnect is available and functional, but in an early stage of client deployment. If you haven't activated this module yet, contact the CRMconnect team.

Modules used

Module	Where to find it	What you use it for
Work Orders	Production → Work Orders	List of operations to execute
Manufacturing Orders	Production → Manufacturing Orders	Context of the complete order
MRP Products	Production → Products	Finished products and components

Daily routine

Morning

/admin/manufacturing/work_order_manage
  → Filter: Status = Ready, Responsible = Me (or assigned work centre)
  → Check today's operation list:
     - What operation, on which product
     - Product quantity
     - Estimated duration
     - Assigned work centre

During the day

1. Open work order → "Start Work" button
   → Timer starts → actual start time recorded

2. Work on operation (cutting / assembly / painting / quality control, etc.)

3. If interrupted:
   → "Pause" button → timer stops
   → On resumption → "Resume" → timer continues
   → Each start-stop interval recorded separately

4. On completing the operation:
   → Record materials consumed (if consumption mode = manual/semi-automatic)
   → "Mark as Completed" button
   → Work Order → status: Completed

5. Next Work Order in the route sequence automatically becomes "Ready"
   (if the previous operation was blocking)

Material consumption

On completing a work order (or on MO closure, depending on configuration):

Consumption mode	What you do
Automatic	Nothing — system deducts materials automatically on WO validation
Manual	Enter quantities actually consumed per component
Semi-automatic	System proposes BoM quantities; you confirm or correct

Where: From work order → Components tab → fill in qty_done per component.

Discrepancies from the BoM (higher or lower consumption than planned) are automatically recorded in the BoM Change Log.

Work order statuses

Status	What it means	What to do
Waiting for other WO	Blocked by previous operation	Wait — cannot start before previous WO completes
Ready	Resources available, you can start	Start timer
In progress	Timer active, working	Work, take breaks if needed
Paused	Temporarily interrupted	Resume when available
Completed	Operation complete	Move to next WO

What's recorded automatically

Actual start and finish time per work interval
Actual duration vs. estimated duration from planning
The operator who executed (staff_id)
When all WOs of an MO are completed → manager is notified to mark the MO as done

Practical tips

The timer reflects reality, not what it should be. If an operation took 3h instead of the planned 2h, record 3h. Real data is the raw material for improving future planning.

Material consumption is as important as time. A large discrepancy from the BoM (e.g. used 20% more paint than planned) is a signal for the process engineer — not a "correction" to hide.

Tip

Record actual operation times and material consumption accurately, even when they exceed the plan — real production data is the raw material that allows engineers to improve future estimates and catch process inefficiencies early.

Note

Material consumption discrepancies beyond plan are visible to the Production Manager in cost reports. Accurate recording by operators triggers the right engineering conversations without requiring manual escalation for every variance.