1. The week at a glance

Who this is for: the production manager, the planner, a leading hand who runs the week. It needs the manufacturing.manage permission for the parts that change things; anyone with manufacturing access can read it.

Planning a week in BuildTrack is four habits, one per lesson after this: release the orders that are due with the right priority and no surprise shortages (lesson 2), book their steps onto the work centres (lesson 3), set the order each centre runs its queue in (lesson 4), and let Planning tell you what to make and buy ahead of demand (lesson 5). Lesson 6 is the outside work and what the floor hands back.

Monday morning

1. Production TV (or Manufacturing → Floor → Production TV): the Late panel first, most overdue at the top; then Load per work centre, the hours still queued on each centre against the busiest. A centre with far more hours than days in the week is your problem for the week.
2. Manufacturing → Overview: orders by status, what is due this week, what is waiting on materials or outside work.
3. Manufacturing → Schedule: each centre's queue in the order it will run. Urgent orders are already at the top; the rest is yours to set (lesson 4).

The three dates on an order

• Due: when the customer or stock needs it. From the sales order or quote, or typed on the order.
• Planned start: when the first step should start. Find a time sets it; the floor's order and the TV's lateness read Due, not this.
• Start by (on Planning): when a planned order has to be released so it finishes in time, counting business days and outside work (lesson 5).

What the floor sees

Operators see the same queue you see on the Schedule board, in the same order, and nothing else: no costs, no customer. Everything in this course changes what they see next, which is why it is a manager's course.