What data does it collect?
The core is four things: what stage the work order is at, which machine ran for how long, how much was scrapped, and how long each stoppage lasted. Operator, shift and batch are layered on top.
This has to be a record taken as the work happens, not a form filled in afterwards. Entered in bulk at the end of a shift, the data is both incomplete and a report nobody trusts.
Why does cost only appear at month end?
Because the three components of cost — material, labour and scrap — are kept in three places. Accounting collects invoices at month end, production transfers paper weekly, and scrap is often never recorded at all.
Tied to the same work order, cost appears the moment the order closes. That is the difference between guessing a price and calculating one.
Does it add work for the operator?
It does when the system is built wrong. Asked to file a report on a separate screen, the operator treats it as a chore and abandons it on the first busy day.
Built right, the record is embedded in the work: a barcode is scanned, start and stop are pressed at the machine, scrap is entered with one touch. The operator’s job does not change — it just gets recorded.