Tracking Progress

Once your jobs are set up and work orders are on the production board, you track progress by starting work orders, recording time, and completing phases as operators finish each step.

Work Order Phases

Each in-house work order moves through up to three phases:

  1. Programming — writing the CNC program or preparing instructions. Skipped if no programming time was estimated.
  2. Setup — fixturing the part, loading tools, zeroing the machine. Skipped if no setup time was estimated.
  3. Running — the actual machining or manufacturing operation. Always included.

The phase stepper on each work order card shows which phases apply and which one is active. A work order only passes through phases that have a non-zero time estimate.

Starting a Work Order

To begin work on a work order:

  1. Find the work order card on the production board (or in the list view).
  2. Click the Start button on the card (e.g., "Start Programming" or "Start Setup").
  3. Forge moves the work order to its first applicable phase and starts a timer.

Blocked work orders: If a work order has unmet dependencies (prior operations not complete or materials not received), the Start button is disabled and a "Blocked" badge appears. Resolve the dependencies first.

Equipment conflicts: If another work order is actively using the same machine (in Setup or Running phase), Forge prevents you from starting a new one on that machine. Finish or move the current work order first.

Time Tracking

Forge includes built-in timers for tracking actual time spent on each phase.

When you start a work order or a new phase begins, a timer starts automatically. The card shows:

  • A live clock counting up
  • The estimated time for comparison (e.g., "12:34 / 1:30:00 est.")
  • Whether the timer is running or paused

Pausing and Resuming

  • Click the Pause button to stop the timer without completing the phase. Use this for breaks, interruptions, or when switching to another task.
  • Click the Play button to resume. A new time entry is created so Forge tracks paused intervals separately.

Manual Time Entry

If you need to log time after the fact (e.g., an operator forgot to start the timer), click Enter time manually at the bottom of the card. This opens a dialog where you can:

  • Select the phase (Programming, Setup, or Running)
  • Choose which team member performed the work
  • Enter the duration in minutes

Manual entries are recorded alongside timer entries and included in the actual time totals.

Completing a Phase

When an operator finishes the current phase:

  1. Click the Stop button on the work order card (e.g., "Stop Setup").
  2. Confirm the completion.
  3. Forge closes the active timer, records the actual duration, and automatically advances to the next phase.

If the completed phase was the last one (typically Running), the work order moves to Completed status.

Automatic advancement: You don't need to manually start the next phase. When you complete Programming, Forge automatically advances to Setup (or Running, if Setup is skipped). Each phase transition is recorded with timestamps.

Putting a Work Order on Hold

If you need to pause a work order for a reason beyond a simple break — waiting on materials, a quality issue, a customer change — put it on hold:

  1. The work order must be in an active phase (Programming, Setup, or Running).
  2. Use the hold action on the work order card.
  3. Optionally enter a reason for the hold.

The work order stays in its current phase but gets an "On Hold" badge. The timer is automatically paused. By default, held work orders are hidden from the board — use the Show On Hold filter to see them.

To resume, click the Resume button on the card. The hold duration is recorded for reporting.

Assigning Operators

You can assign a specific team member to each phase of a work order from the routing editor on the job detail page. Assigned operators:

  • Receive a notification when they're assigned
  • See the work order highlighted on their personal production board view
  • Are automatically associated with time entries when starting a phase

If no operator is assigned, the person who clicks Start is recorded as the operator for that phase.

Monitoring Job Progress

The job detail page shows the overall progress of all work orders across all parts:

  • Operations progress — how many work orders are complete out of the total (e.g., "4/7 ops complete")
  • Sourcing progress — how many materials and purchased items have been received (e.g., "3/5 received")
  • Cost analysis — a comparison of quoted cost vs. actual cost based on completed operations, showing whether the job is tracking on-budget or over

These progress indicators also appear in the jobs list, giving you a high-level view across all your active jobs.

The Job Lifecycle

Here's the typical flow from start to finish:

  1. Open — the job is created from an approved quote. Materials may need to be sourced.
  2. In Production — work orders are active. Operators are machining parts.
  3. Ready to Ship — all work orders are complete. Parts are waiting for packaging and shipment.
  4. Shipped — parts are on their way to the customer.
  5. Completed — the customer has received the order.
  6. Closed — the job is archived.

You can put a job On Hold at any point during production if there's an issue. Holding a job doesn't automatically hold its work orders, but it flags the job in the list so your team knows to pause.

If something changes direction entirely, you can Cancel a job. Cancellation requires a reason.

Profitability Tracking

As work orders are completed, Forge compares actual time spent against estimated time to calculate a cost variance. This appears as a profitability indicator on the jobs list:

  • Green — actual costs are below the quoted amount (you're making more margin than expected)
  • Red — actual costs exceed the quoted amount (the job is running over budget)

The indicator updates in real time as each operation finishes, giving you early warning if a job is trending over budget while there's still time to adjust.

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