Waiting for work and Unknown Job Update

The new "Waiting for Work" and "Unknown Job" states enhance visibility into machine downtime and job tracking accuracy for customers using labor ticket job tracking. These states help users better understand when machines are either idle with no job scheduled or running without a job properly assigned. By surfacing this data clearly on the interface and capturing it in reporting, teams can more easily identify inefficiencies, improve scheduling, and reduce unplanned idle time.

Operators and supervisors benefit by being alerted when a job has not been started or was missed during sign-in. These states enable accurate retroactive job assignments and make downtime classification more transparent. The improvement also supports better accountability and planning across attended, unattended, and unscheduled shift periods.

This update also unlocks new reporting capabilities—users can now track and analyze how long machines remain in either state, regardless of shift conditions, improving data-driven decision-making for scheduling and performance analysis.

Feature Availability

How It Works

These states appear on the Machine View screen when a machine is:

• Unknown Job: A job is actively running on the machine (spindle active), but no job has been assigned in MachineMetrics.

• Waiting for Work: The machine is idle and has no job assigned.

Both states are automatically triggered based on machine activity and job status conditions. Time in each state is logged continuously and now contributes to reporting metrics. A modal allows operators to retroactively assign job start times, ensuring accurate production tracking even if a job wasn’t selected on time.

These states display differently depending on shift status:

• Attended Shift
• Unattended Shift
• Not in a Shift

How to Use It

Configuring the Feature

1. Ensure Labor Ticket Job Tracking is enabled on your account.
   1. To enable go to Settings > Company

2. Confirm that operators are trained to select jobs at sign-in.
3. No additional configuration is required—states will display automatically when conditions are met.

Operator Workflow

• If running a machine and "Unknown Job" appears:

• Click Assign Job.
  1. In the modal, select the correct job and retroactive start time (Now, Last Active, or Sign-in Time).

• Save to assign the job and resume accurate tracking.
• If idle and "Waiting for Work" is displayed:
  • No action needed until a new job is scheduled.

Supervisor/Manager

• Monitor time in these states on dashboards or reports.
• Use state durations to prioritize which machines need job assignments.
• Identify patterns of missed job assignments or scheduling delays.

Tips & Best Practices

• Train operators to always assign a job before starting work.
• Use the retroactive time selection to avoid gaps in reporting.
• Review machines in "Unknown Job" daily to ensure production data is accurate.
• Use “Waiting for Work” state data to refine shift scheduling and reduce machine idle time.

FAQs & Troubleshooting

• Why am I seeing 'Unknown Job'?
  • A job wasn't selected before the machine became active.
• Can I fix missed job entries retroactively?
  • Yes. Use the Assign Job modal to set the correct job and start time.
• What triggers 'Waiting for Work'?
  • No job is running, the machine is idle, and a user may or may not be signed in.
• Does this work during unattended or off-shift periods?
  • Yes. Both states are tracked regardless of shift status.
• Where can I see these states in reporting?
  • They are available in Report Builder under Efficiency.

Related Articles

• ShopPulse (Operator Dashboard) Driven Job Tracking