Who is on which machine?
Each person signs in at the station; an assigned tile shows their name, initials and sign-in time. Inactivity logout is set per machine type.
Where you read itSelect Asset at the station
Shop floor software operators actually use.
Operators pick their machine, load the job, start the timer and tap the count. Every pause carries a reason, every reject a category, and supervisors see each machine running, paused or stopped as it happens.
Shop floor data collection, at the machine.
Shop floor data collection means capturing what happens at each machine while it happens, not from a clipboard at the end of the shift. At a Bulk station the operator picks the asset, loads jobs by scanning the traveller or searching, runs the Job Timer and taps the counter: one tap is one part, and workflow steps ask for a quantity, a quality check or a consumable.
Load by scan
Load a job has a Scan control, and a handheld scanner works in any scan field. The operator stages jobs up to the station’s capacity, ten by default, and loads them together.
Time without a stopwatch
Start, Pause, Resume and Stop on the Job Timer. Time is split across the jobs loaded together, equally, by weight or by hand, and an admin can allow backdating within a set window.
Count as you go
Good, bad and inspection counters per job, with production modes such as Standard and Rework. A correction posts an offsetting record, so the original stays on file.
What shop floor software should answer.
Shop floor software, also called shop floor management or shop floor control software, and shop floor tracking software when it only records, captures and directs the work at each machine: who is on it, what is loaded, how long it runs, how many good parts come out and why it stopped. It is the part of an MES the operator touches, so it has to be quicker than the paper it replaces.
What is each machine doing?
Running, paused, stopped or idle, with loaded jobs, a live timer and a 24-hour OEE sparkline.
Where you read itThe Asset Board, and any TV through Pulse
What should run next?
The station’s queue sorted by priority or due date, or the steps a planner placed on its timeline.
Where you read itLoad a job, and Scheduling
Why did it stop?
The pause reason, required when OEE downtime tracking is on, with its category and loss type.
Where you read itOEE Timeline and Downtime Pareto
How many good parts?
Total produced, good units, scrap units and yield, and output by phase.
Where you read itThe job’s Output view
Is the machine safe to run?
A compulsory pre-use check blocks the station until it passes or a supervisor overrides it.
Where you read itThe station, and Audits
Is the step really finished?
Complete Stage checks required cycles and rework holds, and can ask for a barcode scan and a signature.
Where you read itComplete Stage at the station
What did it consume?
Consumables logged against the loaded jobs, with stock drawn down for tracked items.
Where you read itInventory
Manufacturing shop floor tracking software and shop floor data collection software, question by question
Shop floor control without chasing people.
Shop floor control software decides what may run and checks that it finished properly. Bulk does it with rules at the station instead of a supervisor with a clipboard: a job that is not ready says what has to happen first, a machine with an open compulsory pre-use check will not load work, and Complete Stage will not close a job with required cycles missing or a rework holding it.
Before work
Only jobs that are ready
- A job that is not ready says which step must finish first
- Loading is refused while a timer runs
- The queue sorts by priority or due date
Up to ten jobs staged per station by default, loaded together.
Before the machine
Checks that can stop a machine
- A compulsory pre-use check blocks a machine type until it passes
- The station shows Production Blocked and why
A supervisor with override permission lifts it for 1 to 24 hours, with a reason and a signature.
After the work
Finished means finished
- Required cycles missing or a rework hold keeps the job open
- Stops the timer, closes open downtime, unloads the items
It can ask for a confirmation scan of the job barcode and a supervisor’s signature.
Every machine, live on every screen.
What the station records is what the office sees. The Asset Board shows each asset running, paused, stopped or idle, coloured by OEE category, with the last operator, the loaded jobs, a live timer and a 24-hour OEE sparkline. Pair a TV through Pulse and the board stays on the wall. Where a machine carries a sensor, its readings add a sensor lane to the OEE Timeline.
On any screen
Open the pairing page on a TV, type its six-character code into Bulk, and the screen signs itself in as a read-only display on the board you chose. Displays is in beta.
Downtime with a reason
Pause reasons carry a code and an availability, performance or quality category, with presets to import by industry. A reason can be corrected within 48 hours.
Hour by hour
The Utilization Grid shows each asset hour by hour and the Downtime Pareto ranks the losses. OEE & Analytics covers the rest.
The station feeds the rest of the plant.
What an operator records at the machine is the same record planning, quality, stock and the boards read, so nobody retypes a tally sheet.
- SchedulingPlanned steps reach the station’s queue.
- RoutingThe steps a loaded job runs through.
- ProductionThe station itself: timers, counts, completion.
- QualityRejects open quality issues.
- InventoryLogged material draws down stock.
- OEE & AnalyticsPauses become categorised losses.
- PulseThe Asset Board on any TV.
- AuditsPre-use checks that can block a machine.
Questions, answered.
01
What is shop floor software?
Shop floor software captures and directs work at each machine: which job is loaded, who is running it, how long it takes, how many good parts come out and why the machine stopped. In Bulk the operator does this at a station (a tablet or PC with a browser), and the same record feeds planning, quality, stock and invoicing.
02
What is shop floor data collection?
Recording production data at the point of work: start and stop times, output, scrap, downtime reasons and material used, entered by the operator or read from machines. In Bulk operators record it with the Job Timer, the counters and Log Material, and sensors can post machine readings through a gateway.
03
What is shop floor control?
Shop floor control in manufacturing means deciding what may run and checking that it finished correctly: job readiness, machine checks, required steps and sign-offs. A shop floor control system, or shop floor control software, enforces those rules where the work happens. Bulk enforces them at the station, with blocking pre-use checks, required cycles, rework holds and optional barcode and signature confirmation at Complete Stage. It is one part of an MES.
04
What do operators need at the machine?
A tablet or PC with a web browser, at the machine or shared between a few, and optionally a handheld barcode scanner. It needs a network connection: Bulk has no offline mode, so plan for Wi-Fi coverage at every station.
05
Do operators each have to sign in?
Yes, each person signs in, so time and counts are theirs. A station can log a person out after 1 to 120 minutes of inactivity (30 by default) with a 60-second warning, and the Tablet user role gives operators the station and little else.
06
Can Bulk collect data from machines automatically?
Machine readings, yes: a gateway you run posts sensor readings to Bulk over HTTPS, shown as a sensor lane and a paused state on the Asset Board. Downtime reasons and counts still come from the operator; Bulk does not connect to OPC UA, MTConnect or MQTT directly.
07
How do we digitise shop floor management without stopping production?
Start with one line or cell end to end. Print travellers from a PDF template with a barcode so operators load jobs by scanning, run the station alongside paper for a few weeks, then move the next line. Open jobs, parts and routings import from CSV or Excel.
08
Can one operator run several machines?
Yes. A multi-station board starts, pauses and stops timers across up to 40 selected machines at once, and the same job step can run on several machines in parallel. Loading, counting and completing still happen at each machine’s own station.
Pick one machine. Put it on the record.
Start a free trial, set up the station for one machine or cell, and let your operators run a real shift on it. No card needed.
