Production Planning - Jobs Tutorial 

BOS Enterprise and Production Planning

How to Enhance Production Planning

1. Ensure that your Items and Costings (tabs) are set up correctly, especially the time it takes to produce an item (Services). 

2. If a customer orders multiple items, it is acceptable to create a single Sales Order. 

3. Try to create a separate Work Order for every item that must be produced so that items can enter production as soon as their materials are ready.  This system could also help prevent bottlenecks.

How the Job View Helps Complete Orders on Time

1. The Job view shows two columns to help you complete customer orders:

   1. Required Date: This is the date by which the customer must receive the goods.

   2. Due Date: This is the date by which the goods should be produced. The Due Date can be set automatically and will consider work shifts and how long the goods will take to manufacture. 

2. If the Due Date is later than the Required Date, it will be marked in red. In this case, you can see if the job can be started sooner or negotiate a new delivery date with your customer.

How Job View Helps Plan your Production

ℹ️ This sequence of events depends on your settings.

1. The Job view integrates with your Goods Issued and Received to show you whether the materials are ready.

2. If the materials are ready (at 100%), you can proceed with the job and send it into the Planning Stage (Actions (button) > Add / Update the Planning).

3. When jobs are in the Planning Stage, they have white icons (abbreviations) for each stage that must be completed.

4. From the jobs in the Planning Stage, you can select some to send into production, and they will appear on the Planning Board (Actions (button) > Set Tasks to Planned).

5. When jobs are in the Planned Stage, they have colour-coded icons (abbreviations).

How to Manage Sending Jobs into Production

1. When choosing to send the jobs into production, consider the following:

   1. If you have many jobs and send them all into production, your Planning Board may become hard to manage.

   2. If you send too few jobs into production, departments or machines may be left idle.

2. Therefore, based on your organisation's unique circumstances, you could work out an optimum number of jobs that should be in production. This could be a fixed number,  the next two days' jobs, or the next two weeks' jobs.

Managing Jobs in Jobs View

How to Display a List of Jobs

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Menu (button) > Jobs.

2. Adjust the filters as required.

3. Click View (button).

How to Change Jobs' Active Statuses

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the entries you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left click to select multiple entries.

3. Click Actions (button) > Batch Update.

4. From the Batch Update dropdown list, select Status (Active).

5. Select a new Status from the dropdown list of Statuses adjacent to Status (Active).

6. Click Update (button).

7. Confirm the change on the popup.

How to Create the Stage Icons (Abbreviations)

ℹ️ Depending on your settings, this process will add the stages to the job in white but not place the job on the job board until it is planned.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the entries you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left click to select multiple entries.

3. Click Actions (button) > Add/Update Planning.

How to Add a Job to Production

ℹ️ This process colour-codes the icons and adds the jobs to the Planning Board.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the entries you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left click to select multiple entries.

3. Click Actions (button) > Set Tasks to Planned.

How to Remove a Job from Production

ℹ️ This process removes the job from production and resets the icons to white.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the entries you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left click to select multiple entries.

3. Click Actions (button) > Set Tasks to New.

How to Reset a Job

ℹ️ This process removes the job from production and planning. The icons are removed, and any transactions (e.g. Timekeeping) are cancelled.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the entries you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left click to select multiple entries.

3. Click Actions (button) > Remove from Planning.

How to Refresh the Planning Board

ℹ️ Only jobs that are on the Planning Board (i.e. Planned) are affected.

1. From a list of jobs, click Actions (button) > Reset Planning Board.

2. Confirm that the following actions will be taken:

   1. Job Due Dates will be set to Required Dates: The internal due dates will be changed to match the dates customers want the goods. However, due to production constraints, some due dates will be adjusted and may be later than the required dates. These dates will be marked in red.

   2. Task Start Dates will be set from Job Due Dates: The start dates will be adjusted in accordance with the new due dates.

   3. Task Start Dates will be aligned from Now in each Stage: Tasks that are first in the queue will be set to start now. Other tasks will be adjusted accordingly.

   4. Task Start Dates will be adjusted to avoid Task dependency conflicts: The start dates are adjusted to match the completion date of prior stages that affect the task.

How to Show Jobs that are Due on a Specific Date

ℹ️ Due dates are internal. It is the day production should be finished to get the order to the customer on time.

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Jobs.

2. Select a Date next to Set (e.g. Today or Next 7 Days).

3. Click the Radio Button next to Job Due (it is selected by default).

4. Click View (button).

   • Note: If nothing is displayed, then no jobs are due in the selected time frame.

How to Show Jobs that are Required on a Specific Date

ℹ️ Required dates are the dates on which the Customers want their orders.

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Jobs.

2. Select a Date next to Set (e.g. Today or Next 7 Days).

3. Click the Radio Button next to Job Req.

4. Click View (button).

4. • Note: If nothing is displayed, then no jobs are required in the selected time frame.

How to Show Unplanned Jobs

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Jobs.

2. Select a Date next to Set or select No Date to display all the records.

3. Click the block next to Show and select Unplanned from the dropdown list.

4. Click View (button).

How to Show Planned Jobs

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Jobs.

2. Select a Date next to Set or select No Date to display all the records.

3. Click the block next to Show and select Planned from the dropdown list.

4. Click View (button).

How to Show Jobs that are Ready and Mark Them Complete

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Jobs.

2. Select a Date next to Set or select No Date to display all the records.

3. Click the block next to Show and select Tasks Complete from the dropdown list.

4. On the Status Options, check only Active to show the jobs that are ready but have not yet been marked Complete. 

5. Click View (button).

6. Select all the records. Click the first entry, hold down the Shift key and click the last entry.

7. Click Actions (button) > Set the Job Status Complete.

8. Confirm the change on the popup.

How to Set a Job's Manual Progress

1. Navigate to Production Planning > Jobs.

2. Click the Field Chooser (*) and check the block next to Progress % Manual.

3. Click the first Progress % column next to the applicable job and type a number (e.g. 20 for 20%).

4. Click Save (button).

Managing Dates

How to Change the Due Dates

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the records you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple records.

3. Click Actions (button) > Batch Updates.

4. Select Due Date from the dropdown list next to Batch Updates.

5. Select a new date and time from the fields next to Due Date.

6. Click Update (button).

7. Confirm the change on the popup.

How to Change the Required Dates

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the records you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple records.

3. Click Actions (button) > Batch Updates.

4. Select Req Date from the dropdown list next to Batch Updates.

5. Select a new date and time from the fields next to Req Date.

6. Click Update (button).

7. Confirm the change on the popup.

How to Set the Due Dates to Match the Required Dates

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the records you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple records.

3. Click Actions (button) > Set Due Date to Req Date.

4. Confirm the change on the popup.

How to Set the Required Dates to Match the Due Dates

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the records you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple records.

3. Click Actions (button) > Set Req Date to Due Date.

4. Confirm the change on the popup.

How to Adjust the Dates when Departments are Idle

ℹ️ When a job has finished ahead of schedule, this process will change the start date of the next job in the queue so that it is immediately started and adjust all the start and end dates to reflect this change.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the records you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple records.

3. Click Actions (button) > Set Start / Finish from Now.

4. Confirm the change on the popup.

   • Note: There are additional options available to reorganise jobs by date when you click Actions (button):

     1. Set Start/Finish from Now (Stages): This feature adjusts the stages to start from now.

     2. Set Start/Finish by Dependency (Stages): This feature sets the start and finish dates based on the preceding jobs. 

How to Adjust the Dates so Jobs are Completed in Time

ℹ️ This process starts from the Due Date and Time and works backwards to calculate the optimum Start Date and Time for the job.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Select the records you want to change. Use Ctrl + Left Click to select multiple records.

3. Click Actions (button) > Set Start / Finish from Due Date.

4. Confirm the change on the popup.

Viewing Detailed Information

How to View Task Progress

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View Task Progress from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to Tasks View with a filter applied that only shows tasks for the job you clicked on.

   • Note: On Tasks View, the Percentage Progress is shown in the column Tasks %.

How to View Material Availability

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View Materials Progress from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to Materials View with a filter applied that only shows materials for the job you clicked on.

   • Note: On Materials View, the column Available shows what Material is available, and the column Qty (Req) shows the quantity required. 

How to View Outwork Progress

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View Outwork Progress from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to Outwork View with a filter applied that only shows outwork for the job you clicked on.

3. • Note: On Outwork View, the column Qty (Out) shows the outstanding quantity. 

How to View a Detailed List of Tasks

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View Gantt from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to Gantt View.

3. • Note: The Gantt View lists the tasks, their start and end dates, and expected duration. It also shows a visual summary of the durations. 

How to View a Job's Timekeeping

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View Timekeeping from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to Timekeeping View with a filter applied that only shows materials for the job you clicked on.

3. • Note: The Timekeeping View will show the duration and quantities completed (depending on certain settings). 

How to View Jobs' Variances (Cost of Sales)

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select Open Cost of Sales from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to Cost of Sales with a filter applied that only shows materials for the job you clicked on.

3. • Note: The columns Variance and Var % will show any variances.

How to View Linked Transactions

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select Open Transaction from the context menu. The source transaction (e.g. Work Order) will be opened.

3. You can also right-click an entry and select Open Linked Transactions to display a list of transactions on the right of the screen.

Managing Tasks (View/Edit Jobs)

How to View or Edit All the Components of a Job (Tasks)

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View / Edit Job from the context menu.

3. You will be switched to the View/Edit Job interface. This view lists all the stages the job must go through along with the expected times, quantities and progress.

How to Edit the Required Quantities

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View / Edit Job from the context menu.

3. Click the quantity in the Req Qty column and type in a new quantity.

4. Click Save (button).

How to Assign Workstations

ℹ️ This feature only applies if a Stage has multiple Workstations.

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View / Edit Job from the context menu.

3. Click an entry on the list of stages.

4. Click Assign to Workstations (button).

5. Select a new Workstation.

6. Click Save (button).

How to Assign Statuses to Tasks

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select  one of the Status options from the context menu:

   1. Next Status: Selects the next status in the hierarchy of statuses.

   2. Previous Status: Selects the previous status in the hierarchy of statuses.

   3. Complete Status: Sets the task to Complete.

How to Copy a Task

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View / Edit Job from the context menu.

3. Right-click an entry on the View / Edit Job list and select Copy Task from the context menu.

How to Delete a Task 

1. Display a list of jobs.

2. Right-click an entry and select View / Edit Job from the context menu.

3. Right-click an entry on the list of stages and select Delete from the context menu.

Related Topics

• Reference: Dashboard

• Reference: Jobs

• Reference: Tasks

• Reference: Materials

• Reference: Outwork

• Reference: Board

• Reference: Gantt

• Reference: Timekeeping

• Reference: Planning Stages

• Reference: Production Planning and Tracker Settings

• Reference: Kanban Board

• Tutorial: Dashboard

• Tutorial: Tasks

• Tutorial: Materials

• Tutorial: Outwork

• Tutorial: Board

• Tutorial: Gantt

• Tutorial: Timekeeping

• Tutorial: Edit Stages

• Setup Tutorial: Production and Tracking