Workstations

A workstation is one place on the shop floor where work is done, for example a bench, a machine or an assembly line. Every production order is done at a workstation. The workstation's settings decide who can work there, how many orders it takes and what it is allowed to make.

Where to find it: there is no menu item for workstations. Go to Production → Planning. To create one, open the More menu at the top right and choose Create workstation. To open an existing one, click Details on its card and then Workstation card. You can also open a workstation from its area: Production → Configuration → Production areas, open the area, then the Workstations and orders tab.

When you'll use it

• You set up the shop floor: one workstation for every place that takes orders.
• A workstation gets too many orders and you want to cap its queue.
• Orders do not start because too few people are signed in. Or a machine should run with nobody signed in.
• Automatic distribution should include a workstation, or skip it.
• A workstation should make only certain products or components.
• Workers should see the workstation on a kiosk or in the mobile app.
• A workstation is no longer used.

Key concepts

Workstation type — who works there: Manual (people), Machine (a machine with an operator), External (an outside company) or Mixed (people and machines). The type is a description for people. Only Machine changes something on screen: the workstation gets a cog icon in Planning.

Area — the production area the workstation belongs to. The area decides how automatic distribution shares orders among its workstations. In advanced warehouse mode, the area also decides where the workstation takes material from and where its finished goods go. A workstation can have no area. In a company with several sites, every workstation needs an area, because the workstation takes its site from the area.

POS terminal — the point of sale (POS) terminal whose kiosk shows this workstation. A workstation is on one terminal at most. The kiosk and the mobile app list only the workstations of their terminal. A workstation without a terminal is still visible in Planning. People can still sign in to it in the browser.

Crew — two settings about people:

Setting	What it does
People needed to start	An order can start only when at least this many people are signed in at the workstation. A new workstation starts with 1. Set 0 for a machine that runs with nobody signed in.
Most logged in at once	The highest number of people who can be signed in at the same time. When the limit is reached, the next person cannot sign in.

Orders — two limits:

Setting	What it does
Orders per day from distribution	How many orders automatic distribution gives the workstation for today. Orders that are already planned on the workstation for today count too. This limit does not stop you from assigning orders by hand.
Most orders in the queue	How many open orders the workstation can have at the same time. When the queue is full, no further order can be assigned to it, by hand or by automatic distribution.

Each of these three limits (Most logged in at once, Orders per day from distribution and Most orders in the queue) has a No limit switch. A new workstation has no limits. To set a limit, switch No limit off and enter a number.

Distribute orders to this workstation automatically — when this switch is on, automatic distribution can give the workstation orders. When it is off, orders reach the workstation only when someone assigns them by hand. The switch is on for a new workstation.

What is made — the items the workstation accepts. The step has two choices:

• The first choice lets the workstation accept an order for any product or component. This is the default.
• Selected items only — the workstation accepts only the products and components on its list. An order for any other item cannot be assigned to it. An empty list means that the workstation accepts no orders at all.

You add a product with variants once, as the main product. The workstation then accepts every variant of it. Sets are not on the list, because production orders are made for the products in a set, not for the set itself. Items that you buy from a supplier are shown greyed out and cannot be added, because they never get a production order.

Colour — a colour from a fixed palette. It marks the workstation in Planning. No colour gives the card a neutral stripe. A workstation saved earlier with colours outside the palette shows Custom colour until you choose a palette colour.

Active — an inactive workstation disappears from Planning, from automatic distribution and from the kiosk. Nothing about it is deleted.

Presence

Presence means who is signed in at the workstation right now. People needed to start and Most logged in at once are checked against it. People sign in on the kiosk, in the mobile app or in the browser. See Sign in at a workstation. A person is at one workstation at a time.

The workstation's buffer

Every workstation has its own buffer. This is a place in stock that Complaia creates and manages for you. It is named after the workstation. Material brought to the workstation waits there, and finished goods are booked there when an order finishes. Goods in the buffer are counted, but they cannot be picked or shipped until they are moved to a warehouse. See Where finished goods land.

The screens

The new workstation wizard

The wizard asks one question per step. There are five steps: Name and type, Area, What is made, Crew and queue and Colour. You move with Next and Back at the bottom. A step opens only after you reach it with Next. If something is missing, Next shows what it is.

On the right, the wizard shows how the workstation will look in Planning and a summary of your answers. Change next to an answer takes you back to that step. Create workstation is at the bottom of the last step. Clear at the top resets the whole form.

📷 Screenshot to add: the new workstation wizard on the "Crew and queue" step, with the No limit switches and the preview on the right

The workstation card

The card is for reading only. At the top you see the name, the type, Active or Inactive, and a badge when automatic distribution is switched on. Under the name are two short facts: how many people the workstation needs to start, and how many orders per day it gets from distribution. The area and the creation and update dates are at the bottom of this part.

The card has four tabs:

Tab	What it shows
Basic information	The name and the production area
Crew and queue	The four limits, with a short explanation of each
Allowed items	Whether the workstation accepts everything, or how many products and components are on its list
Colour	The workstation's colour and a preview

Edit at the top opens the editor. The card does not show the POS terminal. You see and change the terminal in the editor, on the Area step.

The editor

The editor has the same five steps as the wizard, and all of them are open at once. A step with an unsaved change is marked with a dot. Save is at the bottom of every step. Cancel and Delete are at the top. The Active switch is on the Name and type step.

Common tasks

Create a workstation

1. Go to Production → Planning, open More at the top right and choose Create workstation.
2. On Name and type, type the Workstation name. It can have up to 30 characters. Workers see this name on the kiosk. Then choose who works here. To add a description, click Add a description.
3. Click Next. On Area, choose the area. If the area does not exist yet, use the link under the list to create it in a new tab. Then come back and choose it.
4. If you can see the POS terminal field, choose the terminal whose kiosk should show the workstation. You can also leave it empty and connect the workstation later.
5. Click Next. On What is made, leave the first choice to accept every item, or choose Selected items only and build the list. See Restrict what a workstation makes.
6. Click Next. On Crew and queue, set the people and the order limits. Decide whether automatic distribution should use this workstation.
7. Click Next. On Colour, choose a colour.
8. Click Create workstation.

The workstation card opens. The workstation appears in Planning and can take orders.

Create the areas first

A workstation takes its warehouses, its distribution mode and its site from its area. Create the production areas before the workstations. In a company with several sites the area is required, and No area is not offered.

Set limits and staffing

1. Open the workstation card and click Edit.
2. Go to the Crew and queue step.
3. Set People needed to start. Enter 0 for a machine that runs with nobody signed in.
4. To limit how many people can be signed in at once, switch No limit off under Most logged in at once and enter a number. This number cannot be lower than People needed to start.
5. To limit how many orders automatic distribution gives the workstation per day, switch No limit off under Orders per day from distribution and enter a number.
6. To cap the queue, switch No limit off under Most orders in the queue and enter a number.
7. Switch Distribute orders to this workstation automatically on or off.
8. Click Save.

Example: a machine that runs on its own and should never have more than five orders waiting. Set People needed to start to 0 and Most orders in the queue to 5.

Restrict what a workstation makes

1. Open the workstation card and click Edit.
2. Go to the What is made step and choose Selected items only.
3. Click Add from the catalogue. A list opens with filters at the top:
   • Components or Products;
   • Category;
   • Produced in-house only, which is ticked by default.
4. Click an item to add it. Added items are marked Added. To add every item that matches the filters at once, click Add all results.
5. To remove an item from the list, click the remove button on its row and confirm.
6. Click Save.

From now on, an order for an item that is not on the list cannot be assigned to this workstation, by hand or by automatic distribution.

Show a workstation on a kiosk

1. Open the workstation card and click Edit.
2. On the Area step, choose the terminal in POS terminal. Only active terminals are offered.
3. Click Save.

You can make the same connection from the terminal's side. See POS terminals. A workstation is on one terminal at most. If you choose another terminal, the workstation moves to it.

The POS terminal field is visible only to people who may see POS terminals.

Move a workstation to another area

1. Open the workstation card and click Edit.
2. On the Area step, choose the new area.
3. Click Save.

In a company with several sites, moving a workstation to an area of another site also moves it to that site. This is refused while the workstation has orders that have already started. Finish those orders first.

Change the colour

1. Open the workstation card and click Edit.
2. On the Colour step, click a colour. No colour removes it.
3. Click Save.

Stop using a workstation

Deactivate it if you may need it again:

1. Open the workstation card and click Edit.
2. On Name and type, switch Active off.
3. Click Save.

The workstation disappears from Planning, from automatic distribution and from the kiosk. To find it again, open its area: Production → Configuration → Production areas, the area, then the Workstations and orders tab. An inactive workstation is marked there as Inactive.

Delete it if it was created by mistake or will never be used again:

1. Move or finish its unfinished orders. You can take orders off a workstation in Planning.
2. Empty its buffer: return the goods to a warehouse or use them in an order.
3. Open the workstation card, click Edit and then Delete.
4. Confirm. Deleting cannot be undone.

When it doesn't work

What you see	Why	What to do
This workstation's order queue is full. Choose another workstation or raise the queue limit in the workstation settings.	Most orders in the queue is reached.	Assign the order to another workstation, raise the limit, or switch No limit on.
This item cannot be produced at this workstation because it is not on its list of allowed items…	The workstation accepts selected items only, and this item is not on the list.	Add the item on the What is made step, or switch back to the first choice, which accepts every item.
An order does not start and the reason says too few people are present	Fewer people are signed in than People needed to start.	Sign in at the workstation, or set People needed to start to 0 if the workstation runs on its own.
This workstation has already reached its limit of logged-in people…	Most logged in at once is reached.	Wait until someone leaves, raise the limit, or switch No limit on.
Automatic distribution skips the workstation	One of these: the automatic distribution switch is off; the workstation is inactive; Orders per day from distribution or Most orders in the queue is reached; the item is not on its list; in a company with several sites, the order belongs to another site or the workstation has no area.	Check these settings on the workstation and its area.
The workstation is missing on the kiosk or in the mobile app	It has no POS terminal, a different terminal, or it is inactive.	Connect it to the terminal and check that it is active.
The workstation is missing in Planning	It is inactive, or the Area or Site filter hides it.	Clear the filters, or open the workstation from its area and switch Active on.
On the Area step there is no No area choice, and Next asks you to choose the area	The company has several sites, so every workstation needs an area.	Choose an area.
You cannot type more characters in the name	A workstation name can have up to 30 characters.	Use a shorter name.
Most logged in at once shows an error	It is lower than People needed to start.	Raise Most logged in at once, or lower People needed to start.
The workstation cannot be deleted because it has … unfinished production orders…	Orders are still assigned to it.	Move them to another workstation or finish them. Or deactivate the workstation instead.
You cannot delete workstation “…” because its buffer holds material or output…	Goods are still in the workstation's buffer.	Move them to a warehouse or use them in an order.
A Locked badge on the card, and deleting is refused	Complaia has locked this workstation.	Deactivate it instead of deleting it.
There is no Delete button in the editor	Your role may not delete workstations.	See Permissions.
Create workstation is missing from More in Planning	Your role may not create workstations.	See Permissions.
There is no POS terminal field	Your role may not see POS terminals.	Ask someone who may, or connect the workstation from the terminal's side.

Permissions

To do this	You need
Open a workstation card	Workstations: View
Create a workstation, and see Create workstation in Planning	Workstations: Create
Edit a workstation	Workstations: Edit
Delete a workstation	Workstations: Delete
See and choose the POS terminal in the wizard and the editor	POS terminals: View
Open Planning	Production: View

Related

• Production areas — the areas that workstations belong to
• Sites — when your company has more than one location
• Planning — queues, assigning orders and automatic distribution
• Shop-floor execution — signing in, material, starting and reporting
• POS terminals — the kiosks that show workstations