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// PRODUCTION & SHOP FLOOR

Work orders that write themselves.

Shop floor software for manufacturers who build to order. When an order goes In Process, every unit becomes a work order with its BOM, configuration, instructions, and routing already on it. Your crew follows it step by step on a tablet.

Start a Conversation Try the Tablet Screen

Part of the Everything plan.

Northstar Shade
DW
Work Order
1842-1
Product
Drop Screen
Dealer
Summit Awnings
  • Work Orders
  • 1842-1
wo_01k9x2m7qd4e8hbt3n
1
View Details Drop Screen

Price

$2,184.00

Motorized Add tag
Size
Width 120"
Height 96"
Screen
Fabric Charcoal 90%
Hem bar Black
Operation
Control Motorized
Motor Somfy RTS

Production Readiness

Operations
43%
3/7 complete
Materials
67%
6/9 picked
Lots
4
consumption records

Details

Status
In Progress
Priority
High
Product
Drop Screen
Warehouse
Main Plant
Quantity
1
Est. Completion
Oct 11, 2026
Est. Ship
Oct 14, 2026
Started
Oct 09, 2026 07:05 AM
Sales Order
SO-1842

Work Order Notes

Motorized. Wall switch ships loose in the carton.

Mark Complete Put on Hold View Cut Sheet

Production

Operations 3/7
Materials Picked 6/9
Actual Time
59m
Estimated
127m
Consumed Lots
4
Planned Cost
$418.2600
001 // WORK ORDERS

Every unit becomes a work order. Automatically.

Nobody types up a shop ticket. The work order carries a snapshot of what the unit needs to be built, so later product changes never reach work already on the floor.

  1. 01

    The order goes In Process

    Once an order is approved into production, Painless takes it from there.

  2. 02

    One work order per unit

    Configuration, BOM, and instructions are copied onto each work order as it’s created.

  3. 03

    Released to the floor

    Release work yourself or let it release automatically. Priorities decide what’s next.

  4. 04

    Built, labeled, costed

    Each station finishes its step, labels print, and labor and overhead are costed.

002 // ROUTING

Routing comes from the product. Not a clipboard.

The definition that builds the dealer’s order form also says how the unit gets built: which stations, in what order, how long each takes, and what it uses. Conditions on options add or skip steps for each unit.

  • Stations for every kind of work: cut, saw, sew, weld, frame, finish, label, QC, and packaging
  • Time estimates and dependencies for each step
  • Conditions on options: a motorized unit gets Install Drive, a manual one doesn’t
  • Material use per step, with waste factors
  • Step-by-step instructions with the unit’s real sizes filled in
  • Production lines and a routing board to see work by station
Northstar Shade
DW
Work Order
1842-1
Product
Drop Screen
Dealer
Summit Awnings
  • Work Orders
  • 1842-1
wo_01k9x2m7qd4e8hbt3n
At Frame 12:04
LR
Luis
3 of 7
43%
~1h 7m of work remaining · on pace for Oct 11
  1. Cut fabric
    MR
    Maria     · Oct 9, 7:21 AM · 18m (2m under)
    Done
  2. Sew screen
    MR
    Maria     · Oct 9, 7:52 AM · 27m (+2m over)
    Done
  3. Cut hardware
    LR
    Luis     · Oct 9, 7:40 AM · 14m (1m under)
    Done
  4. Frame Frame Station 1 · ~30m ·
    LR
    Luis
    In progress
    12m / ~30m
    2 of 2 materials picked
  5. Install drive Drive Station · ~12m
    Locked
    1. Pick 1
      MTR-RTS-40
      Somfy RTS motor, 40 Nm
      D-07 · Home
      Take 1.0000 ea
    2. Build 2
      1
      Mount motor in roll tube
      Crown and drive adapter for a 70 mm tube.
      2
      Program travel limits
      Fully lowered = 96 in.; fully raised = flush with the cassette.
  6. Quality check QC Station · ~15m
    Locked
  7. Packaging Pack Station · ~10m
    Locked

Details

Status
In Progress
Priority
High
Product
Drop Screen
Warehouse
Main Plant
Quantity
1
Est. Completion
Oct 11, 2026
Est. Ship
Oct 14, 2026
Started
Oct 09, 2026 07:05 AM
Sales Order
SO-1842

Work Order Notes

Motorized. Wall switch ships loose in the carton.

Mark Complete Put on Hold View Cut Sheet

Production

Operations 3/7
Materials Picked 6/9
Actual Time
59m
Estimated
127m
Consumed Lots
4
Planned Cost
$418.2600
003 // SHOP FLOOR

A tablet screen anyone can run.

Each station gets a guided screen: Pick, Build, Finish, with one big button for the next step. Operators sign to complete, report problems without losing their place, and acknowledge station notes before they start. Try it below.

Main Plant
Sew Station 2
1847-1
sew_cover
Coastal Blinds
PO Hendricks patio
Time Elapsed
0:00

Crew at this Station

1 clocked in
Maria Reyes 06:58
Grab 4821-T001 · fabric panels
From Cut fabric.
5 Ready
THR-UV-138
UV-resistant thread #138
Take 1.0000 ea
FAB-GRAP
Solution-dyed acrylic, Graphite, 47 in.
Take 19.1667 yd
KDR-8MM
Keder cord 8 mm
Take 17.0000 ft
WEB-2IN
Polyester webbing 2 in.
Insufficient stock
Take 22.0000 ft

Configuration

unit_18471
Retractable Awning

Quantity

1.0000

Est. Completion

Oct 11, 2026

Size
Width 16' 0"
Projection 10' 6"
Cover
Fabric Graphite
Valance Scalloped
Binding Black
Operation
Control Motorized
Motor Somfy RTS

Details

Station
Sew Station 2
Est. Time
25 min
Sequence
2
Dependencies
cut_fabric
PO Number
Hendricks patio
Product
Retractable Awning
Quantity
1.0000
Est. Completion
Oct 11, 2026
Leave a note. Type @ to mention a teammate or tag an operation, # to link an order.
Internal only
Comment
Activity 1
DW
Dana Whitfield 2h ago Internal

Sewing Use UV thread on this cover. Coastal install, full sun.

Sewing · awaiting acknowledgement on the tablet

PIN logins, enrolled tablets

Shop users sign in with a PIN, no email address needed, on tablets enrolled to your shop.

Crew clock-in

When a station runs as a team, the whole crew clocks in at once instead of one login each.

Problem reports

Report a quality, material, or equipment problem, or flag a unit for rework, right from the step.
004 // TRAVELERS & LABELS

Travelers, labels, and cut sheets. Printed when needed.

Pieces move through the shop as travelers with barcode labels. Labels print on their own when a step completes, and every work order has its cut sheet.

WO-2291 UNIT 1 OF 3 · SO-1842
FRAME → INSTALL DRIVE
Summit Awnings Drop Screen · 120″ × 96″ · Motorized · Charcoal
TRV-2291-02
  • Travelers track each piece through the stations as work in progress
  • Barcode labels print automatically when a step completes
  • Zebra, Brother, and Dymo label printers, or any CUPS printer
  • A small print agent runs on a Mac or a Raspberry Pi at the plant
  • A cut sheet for every work order, ready at the saw and the cutting table

Print-server and label-printer setup is quoted separately.

005 // COSTS & MATERIALS

Know what each unit took to build.

Production is where margin is won or lost. Painless keeps the cost and the materials attached to the work.

Labor and overhead costing

Labor and overhead are costed on the work, so you can see what a unit really cost to build, not what the spreadsheet assumed.

Material reservations and shortage alerts

Orders reserve the materials their BOMs call for, and shortage alerts flag what’s about to run short. A negative count never stops production.
Inventory & Purchasing
006 // FAQ

Production and shop floor questions

What is work order software for manufacturers?

It turns sales orders into instructions the shop can build from and tracks the work through each station. In Painless, work orders are created automatically for each unit when an order goes In Process, with the BOM, configuration, routing, and instructions already on them.

Do we have to build routing for every product by hand?

No. Routing lives in the product definition, next to the order form and pricing. We set it up with you, and Product Studio can change stations, times, and steps on request. Conditions on options mean one definition covers every variation of a product.

What hardware does the shop floor need?

A tablet or any browser at each station. Labels print on Zebra, Brother, or Dymo printers, or any CUPS printer, through a print agent on a Mac or a Raspberry Pi. You supply the hardware; print-server and label-printer setup is quoted separately.

Do shop operators need email accounts?

No. Shop users sign in with a PIN on enrolled tablets, and a whole crew can clock in at once.

What happens if a product changes while a unit is being built?

Nothing changes on the floor. Each work order keeps a snapshot of the configuration, BOM, and instructions from the moment it was created.

Do we have to run production in Painless?

No. The Ordering plan covers configuration, pricing, the dealer portal, and invoicing for manufacturers who run production elsewhere. Production and shop floor are part of the Everything plan, and you can move up later.

// BUILD-READY

Take the paper off the shop floor.

Show us how a unit moves through your plant today. We’ll show you the same unit as a work order, a routing, and a tablet screen.

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