Job Cards
Open Manufacturing → Job Card.
A job card records one shop-floor operation. It includes the task, workstation, assigned employees, completed quantity, and time taken. ERPX uses these details in the efficiency, labour, and production reports.
Job cards are normally generated from the work order, with one card for each operation. Create one manually only when it is not part of the standard work order flow.
The lifecycle
Approval, assignment, and shop-floor work have separate statuses. The planner approves the card, the supervisor assigns it, and the operator starts the work.
Job card status, from generated to closed
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Generated but not yet released. Editable |
| Approved | Released by the planner. Cannot be started until assigned |
| Assigned | Has an operator. Ready for the floor |
| Work In Progress | A timer is running |
| On Hold | Paused. The elapsed time is banked and a reason can be recorded |
| Completed | Output recorded and the card closed off |
| Closed | Retired without completing. Terminal |
| Cancelled | Withdrawn. Terminal |
You cannot start a Draft card (“it must be approved first”) and you cannot start an Approved one (“it must be assigned first”). This prevents ERPX from recording work time without an assigned employee.
Generating job cards
Start from the work order
Open the work order and use Generate Job Cards. ERPX creates one card per operation, carrying the sequence, the planned time, and the quantity.
Or generate several at once
Generate Multiple splits a large operation across several cards so parallel operators can each work a slice of the same quantity.
Approve
Approve individually, or select many in the list and use Bulk Approve.
Assign
Assign to one or more users. Bulk Assign covers a whole shift in one action. Assignees are notified.
Set a default workstation
This field is optional. Set it when the card normally uses the same machine so the workstation is already selected at Start or Resume.
Fields
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Work Order / Work Order Operation | The parent run and the specific operation |
| Operation | The step being performed |
| Workstation | The machine currently or last used. Set at Start and Resume |
| Default Workstation | The machine to pre-select next time |
| Assigned Users | Who may work the card. Several are allowed |
| For Quantity | The quantity this card is responsible for |
| Completed Qty | Recorded output, accumulated across time logs |
| Process Loss Qty | Units started on this operation but lost |
| Planned Time Mins | From the operation’s standard time |
| Actual Time Mins | Summed from the time logs |
| Expected Start / End Time | The planned slot the scheduling reports read |
| Actual Start / End Time | Stamped by the first Start and by Complete |
| Sequence ID | Position in the operation order |
| Is Rework / Is Corrective Job Card / Parent Job Card | Set on cards raised to redo failed work |
Recording time and output
The timer controls the card’s time logs. Each Start or Resume action opens a time log, and each Pause or Complete action closes it.
Start
Pick the workstation, confirm the operators, and start. The card moves to Work In Progress and a time log opens with status Running.
Record quantity
Enter completed output without stopping the timer. On a long run, this allows a Finish Production entry to use the quantity already recorded.
Pause
Stops the clock and moves the card to On Hold. Record a reason in the remarks. That is what the downtime figure in the Job Card Report is built from.
Resume
Reopens a fresh time log and returns the card to Work In Progress.
Complete
Enter the final quantity. It is added to whatever was already recorded, and the total is checked against the target quantity.
| Time log field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| From Time / To Time | The session boundaries |
| Time In Mins | Duration of the session |
| Users | Everyone working during that session |
| Workstation | The machine used for that session |
| Completed Qty / Process Loss | Output and loss booked in that session |
| Status | Running, Paused, or Completed |
| Remarks | Pause reason, or a note on the session |
Completed quantity is cumulative. If you have already recorded 180 of 250 and then enter 250 on Complete, the card is rejected, because the total would be 430 against a target of 250. Enter the remaining 70.
A time log can be corrected after the fact with Edit Time Log, which is what you use when someone forgot to pause before lunch. The correction flows through into actual time, actual cost, and every efficiency report.
Sequence enforcement
Job cards respect their operation order. A card cannot complete more than the operation before it has produced. Cutting has to finish 200 panels before stitching can claim 200 shirts.
Process loss and rework
Record units lost during an operation as process loss. ERPX books that quantity to the scrap warehouse instead of including it in the output.
When lost pieces can be recovered, create a corrective job card. It is linked to the failed card by Parent Job Card, and corrective siblings sharing a parent are treated as one rework chain. The chain’s throughput is the lowest completed quantity across the group, so a redo is not counted as new production.
| Field | Effect |
|---|---|
| Is Rework | Marks the card as redoing work already attempted |
| Is Corrective Job Card | Marks the card as part of a corrective action |
| Parent Job Card | Links back to the card whose loss is being recovered |
Physical cards, scanning, and offline work
Job cards can be issued as scannable barcode or QR cards, so operators start, pause, and complete from a scanner instead of the screen.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Generate Card | Issues a physical card for a job card |
| Generate For All Users | One card per assigned operator |
| Generic cards | Unassigned cards, issued automatically when Auto Generic Job Cards is on for the work order or the operation |
| Scan | Drives the next valid action for the scanned card |
| Offline manifest | Lets scanners keep working through a network outage and reconcile afterwards |
Kanban and the floor plan
| View | Go to | Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Job Card list | Manufacturing → Job Card | Every card, filterable by status, work order, workstation, and assignee |
| Kanban | Manufacturing → Job Card → Kanban | Cards as columns by status, for dragging work along |
| Floor Plan | Manufacturing → Floor Plan | Your actual shop-floor layout with live card status on each workstation |
| Production Dashboard | Manufacturing → Production Dashboard | Recording activity, and which work orders are waiting on a manufacturing entry |
Place the workstations in a layout that employees can recognise. Live job-card status then updates the colour of each workstation. See Floor Plan for instructions on creating, approving, displaying, and exporting the layout.
From recorded quantity to finished goods
Recording quantity on a job card does not create stock. It creates a claim that a later manufacturing entry can draw on.
Each finish entry records an allocation against the job cards it drew from, which keeps a card’s remaining balance correct when a run is finished in several passes.
Common validations and troubleshooting
| Message / behaviour | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| “cannot start a draft job card - it must be approved first” | Still Draft | Approve it |
| “cannot start an approved job card - it must be assigned first” | No operator | Assign it |
| “job card is already in progress” | A timer is running | Pause or complete it |
| “can only pause a job card that is in progress” | Not running | Start it |
| “can only resume a paused job card” | Not paused | Nothing to resume |
| “cannot complete a job card that has not been started” | Never timed | Start it, even briefly |
| “total completed quantity cannot exceed target quantity” | Recorded quantity is cumulative | Enter only the remainder |
| “can only close a job card that has been started” | Close is for abandoning live work | Cancel it instead |
| “cannot modify a completed job card” | Terminal state | Correct the time log, or raise a corrective card |
| Card refuses output above a certain number | The previous operation in sequence has not produced that much yet | Complete the upstream card first |
Tips
- Approve and assign cards in bulk at the start of a shift to reduce repeated manual work.
- Record quantity as you go rather than only at the end. The work order can then finish production in stages instead of waiting for every card.
- Always enter a pause reason. A clear reason helps supervisors understand and reduce downtime.
- Set default workstations for cards that always run on the same machine. It removes a dropdown from every single start.
- Check the floor plan before reassigning work. A machine that looks free in the list may have a paused card sitting on it.
Related pages
- Core Concepts: where recorded output goes
- Work Orders: the run job cards belong to
- Bill of Materials: operations, workstations, and routing
- Floor Plan: following live workstation status
- Reports: time, efficiency, and cost