Manage production modes and items

Production modes and production items are two related pieces of master data that shape how work is counted on the shop floor. A production mode is a named operational mode for your plant, a reusable label such as STANDARD or RUSH that describes a way of running production. A production item is a tracking button an operator presses to record output: each button counts a good unit, a defect, or a quality inspection when it is tapped on the operator screen.

You manage both from the Master Data area of Settings, on their own pages. Set them up when you are configuring a new site, when you want operators to record a new kind of outcome (for example a specific scrap reason), or when you need to reorganize the buttons operators see. This guide covers both pages, how they relate, and the current limits of that relationship.

Before you startCopy Anchor Link

Both pages live under Settings. To open them, go to Settings, open the Master Data group, and select Production Modes or Production Items.

You need permission for each area:

• Production modes: production_modes.view to see the list; production_modes.create, production_modes.update, and production_modes.delete to add, edit, archive, and restore modes.
• Production items: production_items.view to see the list; production_items.create, production_items.update, and production_items.delete to add, edit, duplicate, archive, and restore items.

The built-in Super user, Entity admin, Manager, and Master data roles hold the full create, update, and delete permissions for both areas. The Tablet user role can view both but not change them. If the Add button or the row actions are missing, ask an administrator to adjust your role.

One difference matters for where your changes apply:

• Production modes are tenant-wide by default. A mode you add is shared across every site (entity) in your organization, unless you scope it to a single site with the Visibility field.
• Production items belong to one site. The Production Items page always shows the items for the site (entity) you are currently working in, and a new item is created for that site only. Switch sites first if you are configuring a different plant.

Production modesCopy Anchor Link

What the Production Modes page showsCopy Anchor Link

The Production Modes page is titled Production Modes with the description "Manage operational modes for allocation counting logic". It has Active and Archived filters:

• Active: the modes currently in use. The Add Production Mode button appears here.
• Archived: modes you have archived, which you can restore.

Each row shows a colored icon, the Code (a short uppercase identifier), the Name and optional description, a Visibility badge, and a Status badge (Active or Inactive). On the Archived list the status badge reads Archived and the row notes the date it was archived.

Add a production modeCopy Anchor Link

1. With Active selected, select Add Production Mode. The Create Production Mode dialog opens with the subtitle "Add a new production mode for operations".
2. Fill in the fields:
   • Code: a short identifier, up to 20 characters, such as STANDARD. Bulk stores the code in uppercase. The code must be unique within its visibility scope.
   • Name: the readable name, up to 100 characters, such as Standard Run.
   • Description: an optional note, up to 500 characters.
   • Visibility: Whole tenant (the default, meaning every site) or a specific site from the list.
   • Icon: one of ten preset icons. The selected icon is shown in the field.
   • Color: a color swatch used for the mode's icon tile.
3. Select Create.

The new mode appears at the bottom of the Active list. If you chose a site in the Visibility field, the mode's Visibility badge shows that site's name instead of "Whole tenant".

Edit, archive, and restoreCopy Anchor Link

• Edit: select Open row actions on the row and choose Edit. The Edit Production Mode dialog opens. Change the fields you need and select Save Changes.
• Archive: select Open row actions and choose Archive. A confirmation dialog names the mode and explains it will move to Archived and can be restored later. Archiving is a soft action: the mode is hidden and marked inactive, not permanently removed.
• Restore: on the Archived list, select Open row actions and choose Restore. The mode appears in the active list again.

Production itemsCopy Anchor Link

What the Production Items page showsCopy Anchor Link

The Production Items page is titled Production Items with the description "Configure tracking buttons for operator tablet UI". Choose Active for the items in use, or Archived for items you have archived. Add Production Item is shown while Active is selected. You can search the list by code or name.

Each row shows a colored icon, the Code, the Name and optional description, a Behavior badge, a Steps count (how many workflow steps the button runs), and a Status badge. On the Active list, select the row or its code to open that item. Open row actions at the end of the row also offers Edit, Duplicate, and Archive.

Behavior typesCopy Anchor Link

Every production item has a behavior type that decides how pressing the button affects production counts. On the editor, under Counting, you pick one card. That section says "How a press of this button affects production counts."

• Good: adds to the production count ("+1 production count").
• Bad: adds to the defect count ("+1 defect count").
• Inspection: records an inspection with no count impact ("No count impact").

Choose the behavior that matches what the operator is recording. A "Good Unit" button is Good. A scrap or reject button is Bad. A "First Article Check" button is Inspection.

Add a production itemCopy Anchor Link

1. With Active selected, select Add Production Item. Bulk opens a full page, not a pop-up, at /settings/master-data/production-items/new. Until you type a name, the title is Create production item, and the page description is "Add a new tracking button for operators".
2. Under Identity ("How operators and reports refer to this button."), set:
   • Code: up to 20 characters, letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores only (for example SCRAP_CRACK). Bulk stores it in uppercase. The code must be unique within the site.
   • Name: the button label operators see, up to 100 characters, such as Cracked Casting.
   • Description: an optional note, up to 500 characters. You can clear a saved description later.
3. Under Counting, choose a Behavior type card: Good, Bad, or Inspection. Set Unit. The field help says "The unit each press is counted in." If you leave the unit blank, Bulk uses the each unit.
4. Under Appearance ("How the button looks on the operator tablet."), choose an Icon and a Color.
5. Under Filters, set Routing. The field help says "Only show this button when the job matches this routing." Leave All routings selected to show the button for every routing, or pick one routing. With no mode limit stored on the item, the section reads "Where this button shows up. It appears in every production mode." There is no control on this page for assigning production modes.
6. Under Workflow steps, add the prompts the button runs. See below.
7. Select Create item. Cancel returns you to the list. If you try to leave with unsaved changes, Bulk asks Discard unsaved changes? Select Keep editing to stay, or Discard to leave.

When the required fields are valid, the footer reads "Ready to create." Until then it reads "Complete the required fields first."

Workflow stepsCopy Anchor Link

Workflow steps are the prompts an operator completes when they press the button. They are on the same editor page, under Workflow steps. The section description is "The data operators collect when they press this button."

When the button has no steps, the page says "No steps yet" and "Add a step below to collect data when an operator presses this button." A button with zero steps records its count on a single tap.

To add a step, select its tile once under Add a step. Bulk appends the step and opens its settings in place. You do not drag a step onto a canvas. Steps run from top to bottom. Drag a step's handle to reorder it. The page says "Steps run top to bottom. Drag the handle to reorder."

Each step shows Required or Optional. Select the step to open or close its settings. Those settings include a Required step switch. A Cycle step labels that switch Required cycle. Remove a step with its remove control.

These step types are available:

• Identity check: "Badge scan, PIN, or serial entry".
• Quantity input: "Enter a count or quantity".
• Quality check: "Log a defect or quality reason".
• Documentation: "Photo, signature, or note".
• Consumable: "Pick the consumable used".
• Cycle: "Pick a cycle on the process". The operator picks a cycle from the job's process.
• Mark for rework: "Flag a recorded run for rework". Add it on a Bad or Inspection item. On a Good item the tile is disabled and reads "Only on Bad or Inspection items". Its settings include Reworked in the same press and, unless that is on, Must be reworked before the job can move on. Turn on Reworked in the same press when the same press records the defect and reworks it. You can then turn on Close the linked quality issue.
• Rework: "Rework a recorded run". Add it on a Good or Inspection item. On a Bad item the tile is disabled and reads "Only on Good or Inspection items". Runs the operator can pick offers Runs marked for rework or Any recorded run. You can turn on Close the linked quality issue and set a Disposition.

An item can include only one of Cycle, Mark for rework, and Rework. After you add one, the other two tiles are disabled. The tile you used says "Only one cycle step per item", "Only one mark for rework step per item", or "Only one rework step per item". The others say they cannot be combined with that step.

Edit, duplicate, archive, and restoreCopy Anchor Link

• Edit: select the row, select the code, or select Open row actions and choose Edit. Bulk opens that item's page. The description reads "Update production item configuration". Change the fields and select Save changes.
• Clear a description: on the edit page, empty Description and select Save changes. Bulk saves the item with no description.
• Show the button for every routing: set Routing back to All routings and select Save changes. That clears a routing filter the item already had.
• Duplicate: select Open row actions and choose Duplicate. The Duplicate Production Item dialog opens. Its text says it creates a copy of the item with a new code. New Code is pre-filled with the original code followed by _COPY. New Name (optional) is pre-filled with the name followed by (Copy). Select Duplicate. This copies the behavior, unit, and workflow steps into a new button.
• Archive and Restore: select Open row actions and choose Archive, then confirm Archive Production Item. The item moves to Archived and can be restored. On the Archived list, Open row actions offers Restore. Archiving is reversible, not a permanent delete.

The list does not let you drag rows into a custom order.

Example: Wayne EnterprisesCopy Anchor Link

Wayne Enterprises runs Gotham Applied Sciences, where operators cast and machine vehicle housings. Bruce Wayne, the plant administrator, is setting up how output is tracked.

First he defines operational modes. He opens Settings, then Master Data, then Production Modes, and selects Add Production Mode. He uses the existing STANDARD mode named Standard Production, left on Whole tenant so every Wayne Enterprises site can use it, and creates a PRIORITY mode named Priority Run for expedited jobs. Both appear on the Active list with a "Whole tenant" visibility badge.

Next he configures the buttons operators will press. On Production Items he selects Add Production Item, which opens the editor page, and adds three items for the Gotham site:

• GOOD, named Good Casting, behavior Good, counted in each, with a single Quantity input step.
• SCRAP_CRACK, named Cracked Casting, behavior Bad, with a Quantity input step followed by a Quality check step so operators log the crack reason. He adds each step under Add a step, and the step's settings open on the page.
• INSPECT, named First Article Check, behavior Inspection, with a Documentation step for a photo.

He leaves Routing on All routings for each. When a priority job later needs a different scrap button, he uses Duplicate on SCRAP_CRACK to start from a copy rather than rebuild it. If he clears the description on Cracked Casting and selects Save changes, the note is removed. If he had limited that button to one routing, choosing All routings and selecting Save changes shows it for every routing again.

Expected resultCopy Anchor Link

Each production mode you create appears on the Active list with its code, visibility, and an Active status. Each production item appears on its site's Active list with its behavior badge and step count. From there, the production items are the buttons your operators press to record good output, defects, and inspections during production, and their behavior type feeds the matching production or defect counts.

Feature state and limitsCopy Anchor Link

Managing production modes and production items is a generally available feature. Keep these behaviors in mind:

• Modes are tenant-wide; items are per site. A mode is shared across sites unless you scope its Visibility to one site. Items always belong to the site you are working in.
• Codes must be unique within scope. A mode's code must be unique within its visibility scope; an item's code must be unique within its site. Item codes accept only letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores.
• You cannot assign production modes on the item page. Under Filters, the page says the button appears in every production mode, and there is no control to limit it to selected modes. You can still limit the button to one routing. Set Routing back to All routings and select Save changes to clear that limit.
• Archiving is reversible. Archived modes and items move to the Archived list and can be restored. They are not permanently deleted from this page.
• Operator counting logic uses a standard default. Each mode carries an internal allocation setting that is fixed to the standard behavior; the interface does not currently expose alternative allocation logic.

TroubleshootingCopy Anchor Link

• "A production mode with the code ... already exists in this visibility scope." Another mode already uses that code in an overlapping scope (a tenant-wide mode overlaps every site). Choose a different code, or edit the existing mode instead.
• "A production item with code ... already exists in this facility." An item with that code already exists for the current site. Pick a different code, or edit the existing item. Remember codes are compared in uppercase.
• "Cannot change visibility while production items in other facilities still use this production mode." You tried to scope a tenant-wide mode to one site while items at other sites reference it. Remove or repoint those references first, then change the visibility.
• The Add button or row actions are missing. Your role lacks the create, update, or delete permission for that area. Ask an administrator to grant the relevant production_modes.* or production_items.* permissions, or assign a role such as Master data.
• You do not see an item you created. Production items are per site. Confirm you are working in the site where you created the item. Switching sites shows a different item list.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Master data: the full set of master-data configuration pages.
• Manage routings: the routings a production item's Routing field can point to.
• Manage resources: the workstations and resources where operators record production.
• Manage units: the units of measure a production item counts in.
• Roles and permissions: how to grant the permissions this page requires.