Shop Floor Control is the operational management system that coordinates and executes daily manufacturing activities, translating production plans into specific work assignments, monitoring progress against schedules, managing material flow, tracking labour and machine utilisation, and responding to real-time events that impact production flow. Whilst production planning determines what to make and when, shop floor control focuses on the detailed execution: which specific machine or operator handles each job, in what sequence work should be processed, how priorities change when rush orders arrive or equipment breaks down, and whether production is meeting targets or falling behind. Effective shop floor control maintains visibility into current operations, enables rapid response to problems, ensures efficient resource utilisation, and keeps production aligned with customer delivery commitments despite the inevitable disruptions and variability that characterise real manufacturing environments.
Shop floor control encompasses multiple interconnected activities. Work order dispatching releases jobs to production, communicating what to make, required quantities, specifications, and priorities to operators through printed travellers, electronic displays, or tablet-based work instructions. Job tracking monitors progress as operations complete, updating work order status and location in real-time through barcode scanning, RFID, or manual reporting. Material management ensures required components and raw materials are available at work centres when needed, coordinating kitting, staging, and issuing activities. Labour tracking records which operators worked on which jobs for how long, capturing data for job costing, payroll, and productivity analysis. Machine monitoring shows equipment status (running, idle, down), enabling quick response to breakdowns and revealing utilisation patterns. Exception management highlights problems requiring attention: jobs running behind schedule, materials shortages, quality holds, or equipment issues, triggering proactive intervention rather than waiting for missed deadlines.
Modern shop floor control integrates tightly with Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and ERP platforms, creating seamless information flow between planning and execution. Real-time dashboards display current production status, work centre queues, and performance metrics, providing visibility that was impossible with paper-based systems. Mobile devices allow operators and supervisors to access information and report completions anywhere on the floor without returning to fixed terminals. Advanced scheduling algorithms dynamically adjust work sequences responding to changing conditions, automatically reprioritising when rush orders arrive or capacity constraints shift. Integration with quality systems ensures defects trigger immediate holds and investigations rather than allowing defective work to continue through subsequent operations. As customer expectations intensify for shorter lead times and perfect on-time delivery, sophisticated shop floor control separates manufacturers who reliably execute from those constantly firefighting, replacing reactive chaos with proactive orchestration of complex, dynamic production environments.
