Before you begin
- No earlier cookbook topic is required.
How the workflow connects
Imagine one physical product moving from raw material to a customer. These concepts describe what happens to it.
- 01Input
Material
A Component is something consumed to make the Product. It may be tracked by lot, by serial number, or simply by quantity.
is consumed while performing an - 02Work
Operation
An Operation is a piece of work such as assembly, testing, inspection, or packaging.
is performed at a physical - 03Place
Station
A Station is the work point where the Operation happens. Stations are arranged into a Routing.
changes the in-progress item into a - 04Output
Finished unit
The output is one completed unit with its own serial number, Production Task, material history, and quality history.
is packed into a container and linked to a - 05Delivery
Shipment
The shipment record connects verified containers and finished units to dispatch, completing the traceability chain.
Step-by-step in Forge MES
- A product is the item the factory intends to make.
- A bill of materials lists the components required to make that product.
- A routing lists the operations and stations the unit must pass through.
- A work order authorises a quantity of that product to be produced.
- A production task represents one finished unit moving through the route.
Rules to remember
- A Line is a production lane; a Station is a specific place where an operation happens.
- A component can be scanned by serial number or consumed by quantity.
- A failed operation can send the unit to repair, rework, hold, or scrap depending on configuration.
Configure for the client
- Confirm the client's enabled modules, terminology, operating model, roles, and implementation boundaries before converting this standard journey into a solution design.
- Validate the configured behaviour with approved test data in the target environment before production use.
Ready when
- I can distinguish a product, component, BOM, routing, work order, and production task.
- I understand the difference between a Line and a Station.
- I know why traceability begins before production is released.