Work Centers contain the following Sections (clicking a Section Title will take you to that portion of the help topic):

General

Rates

Comments

Schedule

User-Defined

Record Header - Work Center

The Record Header located at the top of the page indicates which specific record has been selected and for what purpose (new, edit, quick view), provides access to shortcuts to the various Sections of the record (located in the Anchor Bar), and displays record specific Action Buttons (discussed below.)

For more information see User Interface.

Action Buttons

Documents (button)

This feature allows for external documents to be attached to the selected Work Center for reference and review.

Documents Button Details

This feature allows for external documents to be attached to the selected record for reference and review.

• Any kind of file can be uploaded to the Repository Manager, however only PDFs can be selected to print with records in JobBOSS²
• User Groups are used to administer access and security rights within the Repository Manager

Only PDF documents can be selected to print with E2 records such as Job Travelers and Purchase Orders.

For more information see Repository Manager, Documents, and Images.

Dispatch (button)

Clicking this button opens the Dispatch Detail screen that can be used to indicate which employees might operate the work center in addition to what other Work Centers are capable of performing the same type of work.

For more information see Dispatching.

Audit Trail (button)

This option displays information regarding activity that has taken place on the selected Work Center.

Audit Trail Button Details

This option displays information regarding activity that has taken place on the selected record.

• Provides the following information:
  • User: Indicates who performed the Action
  • Action: Indicates what the User did
    • NEW: Used when the record is created
    • EDIT: Used when the record is closed by clicking OK - even if nothing was changed on the record
    • VIEW: Used when the record is closed by clicking Cancel
  • Date: Indicates when the Action took place
• Information can only be viewed, not edited or deleted
• An Audit Trail Summary can be printed by going to Reports > G/L > Audit Trail Summary within the system.

For more information see Audit Trail.

Save (button)

Save Button Details

This button is used to close the record and save any changes that have been made while it was open. In addition, the dropdown button allows you to Save and:

• Close - close the open record.
• New - open a new blank record.
• Print - print any of the reports related to the open record.

Cancel (button)

Cancel Button Details

This button is used to close the record without saving any changes that may have been made while it was open. If this button is used after a change has been made to the record, the system prompts to verify whether the record should be closed without saving the changes.

Answering "Yes" to the prompt closes the record without saving the changes.

Answering "No" to the prompt leaves the record open.

 

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General Section

The General Section is used to provide identifying information for the Work Center in addition to details regarding how it is grouped with other Work Centers and how labor costs should be tracked for work performed on it.

An asterisk [*] indicates a required field.

Active (checkbox)

Checking this box indicates the Work Center is currently in use.

• Searches for "ALL" records only include active Work Centers by default
• Can be used as a search filter
• Remove check for Work Centers that are no longer in use
  • Remain in system as table records
  • Do not appear in search results unless specifically filtered to do so
  • Not available as an option on routing steps

*Work Center Number

This value is used throughout the system when selecting a Work Center.

• Can be up to 4 numeric characters in length
• Must be unique

Description

Use this field to provide a full description of what the Work Center is / represents.

• Can be up to 30 alpha-numeric characters
• Does not need to be unique
• Appears on the job traveler printed to accompany a job on the floor
• Can indicate whether the Work Center represents machinery, a process, a personnel group, or a cellular work area

*Short Name

This value is the shortened name assigned to the Work Center that is displayed in situations where the full Description does not appear.

• Can be up to 10 alpha-numeric characters
• Must be unique

Department Code

Selecting a department provides a way to group the Work Center with other Work Centers that perform the same kind of work.

• Can be used as a filter for searches and when running reports associated with Work Centers
• Can be used to sort Whiteboard view if Scheduling Application has been purchased

Labor Account

This GL Code is used to report and track labor costs for work performed on the Work Center.

• Can be different from one Work Center to another if applicable

Default Operation Code

Assigning an Operation Code here causes the system to automatically populate the Operation Code field and all the related details associated with it on routing steps where the Work Center is selected.

• Useful to assign a Default Operation Code for Work Centers that perform the same function, or operation, the majority of times it is used
• For multi-purpose Work Centers it may be easier to leave this field blank and simply select the appropriate operation on the routing step as needed
• Operation Code can be added / edited on routing steps at any time as needed

Default Attendance Code

Assigning an Attendance Code here causes the system to automatically populate the Attendance Code field and all the related details associated with it on routing steps where the Work Center is selected.

• Used to indicate whether work performed on work center should be considered productive or not
• Can be edited on routing steps as needed

Work Center Image File

Enter the path where the Work Center's image file is located by manually entering it or by using the Browse For Image button.

View Image

This feature can be used to view the Work Center's image file from within JobBOSS² if one is present.

• AutoVue must be loaded on the PC being used and a license must be available in order for this to function properly

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Rates Section

Use the Rates Section to keep track of dollar amounts associated with the Work Center for both costing and sales purposes.

Setup Rates

Rate Fields 1-10

Setup Rates are used to track the suggested hourly dollar amount to charge for time spent preparing (or setting up) the Work Center.

Cycle Rates

Rate Fields 1-10

Cycle Rates are used to track the suggested hourly dollar amount to charge for time spent working on customers' items.

At least one Setup and Cycle Rate needs to be present on a Work Center in order for the system to include the estimated time in its calculations of a suggested sales price for estimated items when using the Billing Rate method to do so. The lowest dollar amount entered for any of these rates should be NO LESS than the combined amount of Hourly Burden Rate and Average Hourly Labor Rate (covered below.)

Hourly Burden Rate

This dollar amount represents the estimated hourly (indirect) overhead cost of operating the Work Center.

• Typically includes items such as utilities, insurance, depreciation, etc.
• Defined costs should be reviewed over a period of multiple years in order to best estimate future costs
• This amount is also used as the actual burden cost when time tickets are turned in during production

Average Hourly Labor Rate

This dollar amount represents the average hourly (direct) labor cost of operating the Work Center.

• Common examples of values to use include:
  • Weighted average of hourly labor of employees that operate the Work Center
  • The highest possible hourly cost of labor based on the employees that operate the Work Center
• This amount is replaced by the pay rate amount of the employee that actually performs the work when time tickets are turned in

It is strongly recommended that an accountant or financial adviser be consulted to help calculate the estimated costs of operating work centers, especially with regards to burden costs.

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Comments Section

The Comments Section provides the ability to both track historical notes and schedule future follow up items related to the Work Center.

Action Buttons

Add Row (button)

This is used to add a new entry to the grid.

Internal Message (button)

This option can be used to send details related to a selected comment to any JobBOSS² User.

• This is not the same as sending an email, though User accounts can be configured to forward internal messages to email if desired

Generate Report (dropdown menu)

This option is used to print, export, or email a report containing all the Details for the line items in the grid.

Delete (button)

This button is used to delete the selected entry from the grid.

Comments Grid

*Date Entered

This represents the date the comment was entered.

• System generated
• Cannot be edited

Follow Up Date

This field can be used to indicate when a follow up should take place for the selected comment.

• Optional
• Can be edited

User

This indicates which JobBOSS² User the comment is associated with.

• Defaults to the User ID that was used to log in to JobBOSS² and physically make the entry
• Can be changed to a different User ID
• Comment entries cannot be edited by a User that is different than the one listed

If the person that enters the comment changes the User ID, they will not be able to make any additional changes to the entry since they are not logged in with the listed ID.

Completed

When checked, this indicates the action associated with the comment has been completed.

• Can be marked manually
• Will automatically be marked if the comment has a Follow Up Date and is marked as complete in the Contact Calendar

Private

When checked, the comment can only be seen by the listed User in the Contact Calendar if a Follow Up Date is present.

Comments

Use this field to provide the details of the entry.

• Will display in the Contact Calendar if a Follow Up Date is entered

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Schedule Section

Information under the Schedule Section will be used to determine the Work Center's default availability in addition to establishing how much work should be assigned to it with regards to that availability.

W/C (Work Center) Calendar By Day Of The Week

Information here is used to determine the expected availability of the Work Center.

W/C (Work Center) Calendar By Day Of The Week

Select the radio button that best indicates when the Work Center will be available for production purposes by way of day(s) of the week.

Specific Date

Use this option to designate specific dates the Work Center will limited availability due to scheduled maintenance or anticipated down time for some other reason.

• Enter a date in the Specific Date field and click the Calendar Settings button to designate what availability the Work Center will have for that date
  • This can be repeated for multiple dates as needed
• If the Calendar Settings button is clicked without a specific date selected, the system will allow the user to limit availability for a group made up of "All <SELECTED> Days" based on which radio button is selected at the time
  • For example, if no specific date is selected and the radio button next to Thursday is selected when the Calendar Settings button is clicked, the user would be able to limit availability for ALL THURSDAYS as opposed to a specific one.
  • This could be useful if a Work Center is limited in availability due to an employee's schedule

Default Settings

Information here is used to help determine how much time should actually be scheduled with regards to work assigned to the Work Center based on external factors.

Queue Time

Queue Time is used to "pad" a schedule by taking into account dead time that typically occurs between steps associated with the Work Center.

• The value entered needs to be taken into account in terms of the Queue Time Unit (designated below)
• The designated time is added between every step assigned to the Work Center
• Examples for the use of Queue Time include:
  • Allowing for dry time at a paint booth
  • Allowing for cleanup between steps
  • Allowing for the movement of material between steps

Queue Time Units

Designate the appropriate unit to apply against the time value entered for Queue Time (above) if this feature is being used. Options include:

• H (Hours)
• M (Minutes)
• S (Seconds)

Utilization Percentage

Utilization represents the amount of the Work Center's listed capacity to perform work that can actually be used in a given time frame.

• If less than 100, the number of hours the work center is considered to be truly available is decreased accordingly
  • Example: If utilization is set to 90(%), the amount of its listed capacity is decreased by 10%
  • Routing time is not affected by this value

When entering percentages in JobBOSS², enter the value as a "standard" number instead of the decimal equivalent. For example, if the value should be five percent, simply enter "5" as opposed to ".05"; the system will automatically convert the value accordingly.

Capacity Factor

This value represents the number of machines that are physically available to perform work assigned to the Work Center.

If Capacity Factor is greater than one, the machines represented must be able to perform the same kind and amount of work in order to avoid possible bottlenecks if using the Scheduling Application.

Loading Method

Information here is used to determine how much work will actually be assigned to the Work Center in a given time frame relative to its stated capacity and utilization.

Loading Method

Select the appropriate radio button to determine whether the system will limit the amount of work assigned to the Work Center or not.

• Infinite: The system ignores the Work Center's stated capacity and will overload it by way of assigned work
  • Work is assigned even though other jobs are already present that are expected to take up the Work Center's amount of available time for the stated time frame
• Finite: The system takes the Work Center's stated capacity into account and will stop assigning work to it once it has been reached
  • Jobs are pushed off to the next available block of time in which the work can be successfully scheduled
  • If Utilization Percentage is less than 100, the amount of work that can be scheduled to the Work Center during a stated time frame is reduced accordingly

Dispatching Information

1st, 2nd, and 3rd Shift Operators

Select an employee for each shift if that person is expected to operate the Work Center during that time frame and it is expected that work will not take place on the Work Center when that employee is on break.

• The Work Center's amount of available time is reduced within the stated shift for scheduling purposes by any breaks assigned to the selected employee
• It is not required to designate shift operators

For more information see Dispatching.

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User-Defined Section

User-Defined fields can be configured to track information that is unique to your business.

For more information see User Defined Fields.

The User-Defined Section and related information will only be available if the User has been granted adequate permissions within User Maintenance.

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