Unload production work

Unloading is how you take work off an asset — a machine, bench, or workstation on the shop floor — when you are finished with it or need to free it for something else. It is the opposite of loading: loading assigns a job (a unit of work travelling through your routing) or a single routing step (one operation in that job's sequence) to an asset; unloading releases it again.

Use it when a job is done at this machine, when you loaded the wrong job, when you need the machine for a more urgent job, or when Bulk tells you that completed work is still sitting on the asset and must be cleared before you move on.

Unloading does not throw work away. Unfinished loaded work can return to the loadable queue. A completed step remains completed when you clear it from an asset. If a timer (the clock that records how long work runs on an asset) is running on the work you unload, Bulk stops that timer first and saves the time tracked so far.

Before you startCopy Anchor Link

You need the following in place:

• Permission to unload. Unloading requires the production_operate.unload permission. In the default roles this is included in Super user, Entity admin, Tablet user, Invoicing, and Master data. The default Operator and Manager roles can view and run production but do not include the unload permission, so an administrator must grant it if those users need to unload.
• Something loaded to unload. An asset only offers unload controls when it currently has at least one job or step loaded on it.
• No blocking pre-use check outstanding. If a required pre-use check is blocking production on the asset, the unload controls on the production home screen are disabled until the check is completed or a supervisor overrides it. See Blocking pre-use check.

Where you can unloadCopy Anchor Link

There are three places to unload, depending on what you are doing:

• From the production home screen — the everyday path for an operator at a workstation. Unload one loaded job, or unload every job on the asset at once.
• From a routing step — inside a job's detail view, remove a single loaded step from its asset.
• From the automatic "Completed items still loaded" prompt — Bulk requires you to clear completed work that is still on an asset before you continue.

Unload from the production home screenCopy Anchor Link

This is the usual way an operator clears an asset.

1. Open Production and select the asset or workstation you are working at. See Select an asset or workstation.
2. On the workstation home screen, find the loaded-jobs area. A banner at the top shows the asset's current state:
   • Production running — a timer is running. The banner shows the running job and offers View and Unload all.
   • Loaded, not running: jobs are loaded but no timer is running. The banner reads "N jobs loaded, press Resume to start" and offers Resume and Unload all. Resume opens the operate screen; start the timer there.
3. Below the banner, each loaded job appears as its own card with an unload control (a small button labelled to unload that job number).

This banner and card layout is the Manual Selection home widget. Queue Mode uses a work queue instead, and asset-type layouts can change where widgets appear.

Unload a single jobCopy Anchor Link

1. On the job's card, select its unload control.
2. Bulk opens the Unload Job? confirmation dialog. It reads "This will unload job [job number] ([step code]) from this asset. You can reload it later from the job selection screen."
3. If that job is part of a running timer, the dialog adds a note: "Timer will be stopped. This job is part of the running timer. Unloading will stop the timer and save all tracked time." The confirm button then reads Stop Timer & Unload instead of Unload Job.
4. Select Unload Job (or Stop Timer & Unload) to confirm, or Cancel to keep the job loaded.

Unload every job at onceCopy Anchor Link

1. In the banner, select Unload all.
2. Bulk opens the Unload All Jobs? confirmation dialog: "This will unload N job(s) from this asset. You can reload them later from the job selection screen."
3. If a timer is running on the asset, the dialog adds: "Timer will be stopped. A timer is currently running on this asset and will be stopped. Time tracked so far will be saved." The confirm button reads Stop Timer & Unload All.
4. Select Unload All (or Stop Timer & Unload All) to confirm, or Cancel to keep the jobs loaded.

Unload a single routing stepCopy Anchor Link

You can also unload one step from inside a job, without going to the workstation. This is useful for correcting a step that was loaded onto the wrong asset.

1. Open Production, go to Jobs, and open the job you want.
2. Open the Routing tab, which lists the job's steps.
3. On a step that is currently loaded on an asset, select Unload. The button carries the tooltip "Unload this step from the asset." Bulk removes the step from the asset and confirms with "Step unloaded from asset."

The Unload action is enabled for an eligible loaded step. The current Routing view can retain a disabled Unload button on steps that are pending or completed.

The "Completed items still loaded" promptCopy Anchor Link

Completed work should not stay loaded on an asset. When Bulk detects job items that are marked complete but are still loaded, it shows a Completed items still loaded dialog that you cannot dismiss until you clear them. It reads "These items are marked complete but remain loaded on this asset. Unload them to continue," and lists each completed job number with the name of the person who completed it.

Select Unload N items (or Unload 1 item for one completed item) to clear them and continue. There is no cancel — clearing completed work is required so the asset is ready for the next job.

What happens when you unloadCopy Anchor Link

After you confirm an unload:

• The work leaves the asset. The loading record is closed and the asset is free to take the next job.
• Unfinished loaded steps can return to a loadable state. A step in loaded status with no remaining active loading returns to pending. If it remains loaded elsewhere, that loading is retained. Completed steps stay completed. See Load work onto multiple assets.
• Any running timer for that work stops. Bulk saves the tracked time before the asset is cleared.
• Recorded work is retained. Timers, quality records and completion history are preserved. Eligible unfinished work can be reloaded later from the job-loading screen. See Load a job.

Example: clearing a housing review benchCopy Anchor Link

At Gotham Applied Sciences, Bruce Wayne has job 2026-K42H loaded on Housing Review Bench 1 for Assembly. The home widget shows Loaded, not running, the job card and both unload controls.

Bruce starts the timer through the operate screen, then opens Unload all on Home. The confirmation shows one job and warns that the timer would be stopped and its time saved. In this synthetic example, he selects Cancel, then stops and saves the timer normally.

After Bruce completes the Assembly step through the job's Routing view, it remains loaded on the bench. Opening Operate shows Completed items still loaded, with 2026-K42H and Bruce's name. He selects Unload 1 item. The bench has no loaded jobs, while the Assembly completion, tracked time and quality records remain saved.

Feature state and limitsCopy Anchor Link

Unloading production work is generally available. A few behaviours are worth knowing:

• Unloading changes only where work sits — it does not complete, cancel, or delete a job. To finish work, complete its steps instead; see Complete a phase.
• On the production home screen, unload controls are disabled while a required pre-use check is blocking the asset. The tooltip reads "Production is blocked. Complete required checks or request supervisor override."
• The Completed items still loaded prompt cannot be dismissed. You must unload the listed completed items before you can carry on at that asset.
• When a step is loaded on more than one asset, unloading it from one asset leaves it loaded on the others.

If something looks wrongCopy Anchor Link

• The unload controls are greyed out. A pre-use check is likely blocking the asset. Complete the required check, or ask a supervisor to override it, then try again. See Blocking pre-use check.
• A routing step cannot be unloaded. It needs an eligible active loading. Pending or completed steps can show a disabled Unload action. Clear completed work through the required prompt on Operate.
• The Unload button is disabled with a lock message. The job is tied to an invoice awaiting approval or already issued, so its production is locked. Resolve the invoice before unloading.
• You are told there is no asset to unload from. The step is not currently loaded on an asset, so there is nothing to release.

Related guidanceCopy Anchor Link

• Select an asset or workstation — open the asset before you unload.
• Load a job — reload work you have unloaded.
• Timers — how unloading stops and saves a running timer.
• Load work onto multiple assets — why a step can stay loaded elsewhere after you unload it.
• Complete a phase — finish work rather than just unloading it.
• Blocking pre-use check — why unload controls may be disabled.
• Production overview — the full shop-floor workflow.